by Rose Pressey
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You are in possession of the book. This means you are now the leader of the Underworld,” Nicolas said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t want to be the leader. I tried to lead an aerobics class in college one time and I had everyone bumping into each other. I’m not good at leading. I think I’m better at blending in with the background,” I said with anxiety evident in my voice.
“You are far from blending in with the background.”
“Well, maybe I do perform spells poorly but that doesn’t mean I stand out in a crowd. Furthermore, that is even more reason why I shouldn’t be the leader of anything.”
“You’re upsetting her.” Nicolas gestured at Liam.
“She has to know the truth,” Liam said, fixing his stare on Nicolas.
The air around us seemed electrified.
“You don’t know that to be the truth,” he said, challenging Liam’s words.
I had to get out of there. I didn’t know what to think any more or who to believe. I didn’t want to believe either one. I wanted it to be the way it was from the beginning when I first inherited the manor. This was all too complex and confusing.
“The fact of the matter is, Hallie, if you don’t join the Underworld I will lose my job.”
“Oh, no pressure there,” I quipped.
Liam looked at Nicolas. “Besides, now that Halloween has performed a spell from the book, Mara will be able to track her down. You know that.”
Nicolas was silent for a moment. The tension rippled off him in waves.
“Is this true?” I asked him.
He looked down at his shoes for a moment, then back up to me.
“So I take it by your silence that you refuse to corroborate or refute Liam’s story.” I didn’t take my eyes off Nicolas.
“I’m sorry, Hallie. I am not behind Liam’s plan.” He looked down, avoiding my stare.
“What exactly is the plan? For me to be the leader of the Underworld. I can’t say that I’m on board with that plan either.” I shook my head.
“Nicolas knows Mara is evil. Why he’d want you to have any interaction with her is beyond me.”
“Are you saying that I don’t care if Hallie is harmed?” He stepped closer to Liam.
I hoped they didn’t fight. I was in no mood to deal with that.
“I think that’s what I’m saying.” Liam puffed out his chest.
Denying this craziness was no longer an option.
Nicolas flashed his fangs. Liam jumped up, waving his hand and causing a wind to whip wildly through the room. Nicolas threw back his head and released a loud peal of laughter. Liam didn’t find the situation nearly as humorous. The men stood in front of each other, their gazes fixed on one another. Liam’s eyes glowed.
“Enough!” I yelled.
Both men whipped around and looked at me with shocked expressions.
“I don’t need to put up with you two fighting right now. I have enough to worry about with this ridiculous Underworld story that you’ve thrown at me.” I backed away.
“I’m sorry, Hallie,” Nicolas said. “Please let me help you.”
“There’s nothing you can do.” I shook my head. “There’s absolutely nothing you can do to make this better.” I turned away, not wanting to hear another word of their story.
Without giving the men a chance to respond, I stormed out of the house and jumped into my car. I had to go to my mother’s shop. As much as I hated to tell her about my mistakes, I knew I had to confide in her.
As I drove down the driveway, I spotted the man and woman ghost from last night, peeking out from a couple trees on my right. Ugh. I knew they were still lurking around. They were the least of my problems right now though and I never thought I’d say that.
Nearing the gate to pull out onto the road, I looked in my rear-view mirror. Isabeau was running after my car, flailing her arms through the air like she was trying to wave down a plane. She was wearing my favorite red sweater and a pair of my jeans. So glad she could just help herself to my closet.
As much as I wanted to leave her, I had to find out what she wanted. I still felt guilty for putting her in this predicament. I stopped the car and waited as she ran toward me. I was probably going to regret this later.
She pulled open the passenger seat door and climbed in. “Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly.
I closed my eyes for a moment, willing her away. I hoped when I opened my lids this would all be a dream. Slowly I opened my eyes and looked over at her. No such luck. She was still sitting there smiling at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You can’t leave me in that big old house all day. I’m hungry and you didn’t even make breakfast. I thought this was a bed-and-breakfast. Emphasis on the breakfast part. It’s that time of the day, you know?” She tapped the clock on the dashboard of my car.
“It’s breakfast for paying guests. You’re not a paying guest.” I smirked.
“Did you make breakfast for your paying guests?” she asked with an innocent smile.
“It’s complicated,” I said as I pulled out onto the road.
“How was your date?” she asked mockingly.
I glanced over at her and she looked as if she already knew the answer to that.
“Were you eavesdropping this morning?”
She batted her eyelashes. “Of course not. I would never do such a thing.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Had she heard the whole Underworld discussion? I hoped not. I didn’t want anyone to know.
We drove in silence for a few minutes. Isabeau looked out at the trees and occasional houses lining the road. The thoughts in my head weren’t silent though. Leader of the Underworld? That was the craziest thing I’d ever heard of. Complete and utter nonsense. And I was still wondering how in the heck I’d been able to perform that magic spell so well. I was itching to give another one a try. Would it work again or was it just a fluke? Heck, if I took one step forward with the magic, I’d probably end up taking two steps backwards and my magic would be worse than ever. Was it even possible to get any worse? They’d ban me from performing magic ever again if that happened.
“So where are we going?” Isabeau asked, breaking the silence.
“We’re going to my mother’s shop. She has bath and beauty products.”
“Oh good. I really need some of those.”
How was I going to explain this to my mother? She’d freak out.
“What are you going to do about the other ghosts?” Isabeau asked.
“You saw them too?” I glanced over at her.
She nodded. “Yeah, and they won’t go away. I mean, they’re trapped here, where else do they have to go? They have nothing better to do. Trust me when I say it gets very boring.”
I wanted to ask more about being a ghost, but we’d pulled up in front of the Bewitched Bath and Beauty. That discussion would have to wait until another time. My mother had a prime location for her store in the middle of the historic downtown. A few people strolled up and down the cobblestone sidewalks, but for the most part, the town was quiet.
It was no wonder I received strange looks when I pulled up in front of the store as if there was a fire and I was the only one who could put it out. I usually took my time and drove slowly, but not today. I wanted to be somewhere that I could get some sense of normalcy, although I’d brought part of the problem with me.
“Whoa. What is going on with all the magic around you?” my mother said as soon as I walked into her shop.
I looked around me. Did I have a sign over my head announcing that I’d been up to magical no good?
My mother eyed Isabeau suspiciously. “You’re early,” she said. “You’re never early. What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t lie to her and say nothing was wrong. I wasn’t a good actress. She’d know I was lying in an instant.
“Mama, this is Isabeau. She’s s
taying at the manor.” I gestured toward my guest.
That wasn’t a lie, right? I’d just omitted the important parts.
“Do you bring all of your guests here?” She shook her head, but her blonde curls didn’t budge.
“Hello,” Isabeau said, gliding toward my mother with her delicate hand stuck out. “You have a lovely store. I can’t wait to try your products.”
My mother glanced from me to Isabeau. “Um, nice to meet you.”
“Yes, I brought her here to try your products.” My smiled faded a little when I saw my mother’s doubtful glare.
That made perfectly good sense and my mother couldn’t question that. After all, I was bringing her business, even if I would be paying for the items.
My mother shook Isabeau’s hand, but I still saw the suspicion in her eyes.
“What type of products are you looking for? You have lovely skin,” my mother added as she eyed Isabeau up and down. “Would you like to see the bath products?”
“I’d love to.” Her voice was saccharin-sweet.
My mother took Isabeau to the other side of the store while I waited on another customer who had just entered. Once I finished with the customer I hurried over to where they stood. There was no telling what Isabeau had told my mother. Had she told her the truth? I needed to get rid of Isabeau so that I could talk to my mother alone about the book and this so-called Underworld.
“Did you find what you need, Isabeau?” I asked.
“Yes, I found a bunch of things that I need.” She gave me that look. The look that said she was going to make my life a living hell.
She knew I felt guilty and that I was stuck paying for whatever she wanted. Did she know I was broke? It had taken every penny I had to get the bed-and-breakfast up and running.
“Um, I’ll pay for all the stuff. Just put it on the counter.” I gestured with a wave of my hand.
My mother set the items on the counter, but didn’t take her eyes off me. She knew I wouldn’t pay unless there was a really good reason. Last week I’d invited her over for dinner and served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She knew I didn’t have much money.
“Isabeau, you must be starving. There’s a little café next door.” I took a few bills from my wallet and handed them to her. “Why don’t you get us breakfast? My treat.”
She smiled. “I’d be happy to. What would you like?”
“Surprise me,” I said.
On second thought, maybe that hadn’t been the best thing to say to her. I watched as she sashayed out the door, waving the cash I’d given her as a farewell. I felt my mother’s gaze boring a hole through the side of my head. I moved things around on the counter and pretended to work. Finally, I couldn’t stand her stare any longer.
“Okay. Just spit it out,” I said, turning to look at her.
“Who is that woman? Why are you buying things for her when she is a paying guest at your bed-and-breakfast? And why is there such strong magic around you? What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into?” She gestured toward the door with a tilt of her head.
“What makes you think I’ve gotten myself into a mess?” I picked an imaginary piece of lint off my sweater.
“For the reasons I just listed,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “There’s never been magic that strong around you in the past. Something has changed and I want to know what right this minute. I’m your mother and I deserve to know the truth.”
“I may or may not have performed magic from the spell book I told you about and allowed Isabeau who was a ghost to become living again because of me.” I rushed my words.
The bell on the door jingled and saved me for having to explain more at the moment.
My mother clutched her chest. “You’re going to be the death of me, Halloween. The only spell you can do correctly is bringing a corpse back to life.”
I looked at Isabeau. She didn’t act as if she’d heard my mother’s comment.
“I’m back,” Isabeau said, waving the bag of food in the air as she approached.
My stomach was too upset to eat.
“You can have mine. I’ve lost my appetite,” I said as I stared at my mother.
My mother still clutched her chest. “Halloween, we need to discuss this.”
“Come on, Isabeau. We’d better get back to the manor.” I grabbed her big bag of bath products and wrangled her toward the door.
“I’m not done talking to you, Halloween.”
My mother had always called me Halloween. She refused to use the nickname I’d picked out for myself.
“Your mother wasn’t happy with you. Is everything okay?” Isabeau asked innocently.
She knew part of the reason for the tension was her. I wasn’t falling for the innocent act.
“Look, we need to have a discussion about what you’re going to do.” I said, slipping behind the wheel of the car.
“What do you mean?” she mumbled as she stuffed a bite of bagel in her mouth.
“What are you going to do now that you are living again? I mean you can’t continue to live with me. Don’t you have family you can stay with?”
“Oh yeah.” She pointed the half-eaten bagel at me. “I’m working on that. I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
I glanced at her. “You’re sure?”
“Oh yeah, positive. I’m just thankful that you allowed me this journey back to the living world. I’m forever grateful to you and I’ll repay the favor.” The tone of her voice didn’t sound sincere, but I’d give her the benefit of the doubt.
That offer didn’t sound appealing to me. I’d been around a lot of backstabbing women in the past and I could tell when someone wasn’t being sincere… and Isabeau definitely had her own agenda. Did I have time to figure it out or should I just kick her out on the spot? Who was I kidding? I knew I couldn’t kick her out. I’d gone over this a million times in my head. I was a pushover in this type of situation.
As much as I didn’t want to go back to the manor to deal with Nicolas and Liam, I had no choice. What else would I do? I had nowhere else to go. I’d almost killed my mother with the news about Isabeau. What would she say about the whole Underworld business?
The first thing I wanted to do when I got back to the manor was snatch up the book and find a way to get rid of it. Liam had said he would take it, but I didn’t trust him. I’d get rid of the thing and all my problems would be over. But was the book the reason that I’d been able to do the spell last night? I wouldn’t lie, that had been cool. I wished I could do magic like that all the time. Maybe before getting rid of the book I needed to try out another spell or two and see if my powers really had improved or if last night was a fluke.
Regardless about last night, the spell to turn Isabeau had worked. I had the proof sitting right next to me stuffing a pastry into her mouth.
“You do know all that stuff has calories, right?” I asked as I navigated a turn.
She studied her fingernails. “I haven’t eaten in fifty years. I think I’m entitled to a few cheat days on my diet.”
“So you’ve been dead for fifty years!” I exclaimed. “Finally, I have a little detail about your life.”
That was when it hit me. Why hadn’t I tried to research her while I was in town? Duh. There had to be a death certificate. I’d have to put that on my to-do list. Or better yet, maybe Annabelle could research it for me. She could do it without Isabeau even knowing what we were up to.
Isabeau frowned at her slip-up. Why didn’t she want to divulge any information about herself? Why was she so secretive?
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been dead.” She licked her fingers.
“No,” I said with a sly smile. “It doesn’t matter.”
With any luck, Annabelle would soon find out all there was to know about Isabeau, whether she liked it or not.