by Rose Pressey
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nicolas stood behind me. “Please, let me help you.”
I studied his face as he stared. There was a restless energy about his movements. Did it have something to do with the vampire thing? A lock of hair fell forward on his head and I resisted pushing it back. He ran his tongue across his lips as he watched me. The urge to protect my neck came over me. A hunger flashed in his blue eyes.
“I suppose that would be okay,” I said reluctantly.
It didn’t appear as if I had a choice.
“Where’s the book?” he asked.
“The spell book that will make me look like me again?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Well, I found this map. It led me to the book that explains what is expected of a leader of the Underworld.” The thought of me being the leader caused disbelief to come through in my tone. “The other mark was for outside. I’m praying that it’s the book that will fix this. If not, I’ll have a whole lot of explaining to do to the Coven.”
“I can see where they’d want to know what is going on, yes.” The sides of his mouth curved slightly into a grin.
“I supposed if I’m the leader of the Underworld I could just tell them to mind their own business.” The thought brought a smile to my face.
Nicolas didn’t comment on my snub of the Coven as he walked beside me. We headed toward the tree.
“Who hid these items all over the place?” he asked.
I cast a sideways glance at him. “I don’t know what’s going on, so I couldn’t say for sure. My guess is my great-aunt did it, but why, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me? Who was the leader before? It surely wasn’t my great-aunt, right?” I asked. She did have all those postcards from people around the world.
“The leader was a powerful witch named Gina Rochester.” His voice cracked at the mention of her name.
“Shouldn’t she have been in possession of the books?” I asked with curiosity.
Nicolas nodded. “Yes, she should have been. Apparently, somehow your aunt got them. The Underworld has been looking for the books for a long time.”
As we neared the tree, I said, “Because it needs a leader?” I asked as we neared the tree.
“Yes,” Nicolas said softly.
And that lucky person was me? The Underworld surely wouldn’t want me. Nicolas’ voice seemed different, more distant, as if his thoughts were a million miles away.
“So where are we looking?” Nicolas asked.
“The map pointed out the spot right here between these two roots. I guess it’s buried under there. At least I pray it is.”
“Me too, because we have to get your appearance back to normal. Talking to myself is freaking me out.”
I nodded. “That’s understandable. We need to dig it up? I think there’s a shovel in that shed.” I pointed across the yard.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” Nicholas said as he turned and walked away.
I leaned against the tree and watched his muscular body as he walked away. It certainly was a nice view. As I waited for Nicolas to find the shovel, I scanned the area. I felt eyes on me and I knew the ghosts were watching. Luckily, if they saw me, they’d think I was Nicolas. They wouldn’t confront him. At least I didn’t think they would.
It only took a couple of seconds until I spotted the ghosts down by the river, unsuccessfully hiding behind a tree. The three of them stood together, staring at me. I pretended not to notice them. After all, a normal person might not see them, right? They obviously fell for it because they didn’t offer to come toward me. They were busy talking to each other, probably plotting on how to get me to change them back to the living.
When I glanced back toward the shed, Nicolas had the shovel clasped in his hand. He didn’t appear to notice the ghosts watching him as he walked across the back yard. Would the ghosts think it was strange to see two of Nicolas? Maybe they’d think he was a twin. What must Nicolas think of me? Who was this crazy witch who had changed her appearance to look like him? Wait until Annabelle found out what I’d done.
“Found it,” Nicolas said as he approached. “Where should I start?”
“I think right there would be a good spot.” I pointed.
I prayed that the map had been correct. I was preparing myself mentally if it hadn’t been.
Once back at the tree, Nicolas stabbed the earth with the shovel and dumped the fresh dirt in a pile nearby. The smell of musty earth tickled my nostrils. After several shovelfuls, another box came into view.
“Right there,” I said as I pointed at the ground.
Nicolas stood up and plunged the shovel into the ground. He knelt down and dug the rest of the dirt out with his hands. Nicolas reached down and pulled the box from the ground.
“That’s it. It looks just like the other one I found,” I said breathlessly.
“It’s locked,” he said.
“The key I found is upstairs in my bedroom. I hid it,” I added bashfully. It seemed kind of ridiculous to hide it now that I said it out loud. But I couldn’t be too cautious.
“You’re something else.” He chuckled. “How about I put the shovel away while you get the key?”
I wanted to tell him that I could handle it from here. Having him hang around while I tried a spell from the book would make me nervous. That was if there really was a book in the box. I surely didn’t want him around if it didn’t contain a book.
“That sounds good,” I said finally.