by Rose Pressey
Chapter 24
The next morning, I had prepared pancakes for Thomas and me. After my pathetic attempt at cooking years past I’d finally gotten the hang of it now. Thomas dapped away the syrup on the corners of his mouth with the napkin. “Are you sure you didn’t use magic to make the pancakes?”
I placed my hands on my hips. “I’m insulted.”
He shrugged. “Just asking.”
Okay, I had used a bit of magic to make sure the pancakes didn’t fall apart, but that was it. The rest was all me.
“Why is Pluto staring at me?” Thomas glared at the cat.
“Maybe because you got the last pancake,” I said as I placed the dirty dishes in the washer.
The doorbell rang.
“Who’s that?” Thomas jumped up from the stool.
“I’m not expecting anyway, I said, wiping my hands on a towel.
Thomas and I went to the front door. Pluto followed along too. He wasn’t going to allow Thomas to be the cat in charge.
I had to peek outside before opening the door. A werewolf could be waiting on the other side for me. I had to be ready before opening the door. That trick of hiding out of sight wasn’t going to work anymore. If no one was there then I wouldn’t open the door. People thought they could just step to the side and I wouldn’t see them. Then I’d open the door and the bad guy would run in. It wouldn’t happen this time. I’d fallen for that a couple times before catching on to the trick. I shouldn’t have fallen for it even once, let alone twice in one day. In my defense I’d been sleep deprived and not thinking clearly.
“Who is it?” Thomas leaned on my shoulder.
I swatted him away.
I didn’t recognize the men standing on my front porch. They appeared to be wearing uniforms. One held a clipboard in hand. I leaned close to the door so that I could ask who they were and what they wanted.
“May I help you?” I asked in a professional tone.
“Yes, ma’am, we have a delivery for a….” He squinted as if he was looking at the paper incorrectly.
“That’s Halloween LaVeau,” I said.
“Oh, right. We have a delivery for you,” he said.
That was odd. I hadn’t ordered anything.
“Where is it from?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I have no idea. I was just told to bring it. I don’t know what it is.”
I exchanged a look with Thomas. “Should I open the door?”
Thomas narrowed his eyes. “The one looks a smidgen hairy. That or he’s hiding a fur rug under his shirt. See the way that hair is popping out from his collar like the head of a troll doll trying to escape from prison? What if he’s a werewolf?”
I sighed. “I’m opening.”
“Why ask if you’re not going to listen to me?” Thomas shook his head.
When I opened the door, I spotted a huge crate behind the men.
“That thing is for me?” I asked.
The man checked the clipboard again. “If your Halloween LaVeau, then this is for you. Where would you like us to put it?”
“Well, I don’t know since I don’t know what it is. I suppose you can just bring it into the parlor.” I gestured over my shoulder.
The men lifted the crate with the dolly and wheeled the thing into the manor. As they wheeled the crate into the parlor they peered around the manor. Of course with me being constantly on edge, the thought crossed my mind that they were only here to get into the manor. At least Thomas was with me. I just wanted them to leave the thing and then get out. The men set the crate down and lifted it off of the dolly.
“All right, if you could just sign right here.” He handed me the clipboard and pointed at the dotted line.
I scanned the paper trying to figure out who had sent the thing. I didn’t like signing my name on something when I had no idea what I was signing. It looked to be a legitimate delivery company though, so I signed my name.
“Thanks.” He hurried and took the clipboard out of my hands.
The men headed for the door, looking around again as they made their way to the front door. Thomas and I followed them just to make sure that they left. Once they were out, I locked the door. I wanted to make sure they were outside and didn’t return.
“What do you think is in this thing?” Thomas asked as he circled the crate.
“I don’t know. I’m almost afraid to find out. What if there’s somebody in there?” I asked.
“Oh, don’t be silly. Someone would die in there. They can’t breathe,” Thomas said.
“I suppose that’s true,” I said. “So how do we get the thing open?”
Thomas knocked on the crate as if that would make it open. “We could use a spell.”
“Just to open a crate? That seems like a lot of energy,” I said.
“But doing a spell so your pancakes stay together doesn’t use too much?” He stared.
I blushed. “How did you know?”
“I heard you casting that spell. You’re not as sly as you think. Remember I have great hearing.” He pointed at his head.
I waved my hand. “Whatever. So I got a little help.”
“Do you have like a crowbar or something?”
“I think there’s one out in the shed,” I said.
“I’ll run out there and get it,” Thomas said.
He took off for the kitchen to go out the back door. In the meantime, I continued studying the crate, trying to get a peek inside. It was sealed tight and there was no way to know the contents. A few moments later Thomas returned with a crowbar. He started lifting the top of the crate. After a few tries of prying the top popped off. When the lid lifted so did the sides. They fell and we jumped out of the way. Inside the crate was a cauldron.
“Awesome,” Thomas said.
“It is lovely,” I said. “But who sent it and even more importantly why?”
“Is there a packing slip that maybe has a note on it?” Thomas asked, looking around the inside of the crate.
“I don’t see anything.” I leaned close and peered into the cauldron, thinking maybe something was inside, but it was empty as well.
The cauldron had intricate scroll work on the sides that traced all around the top. It was much more beautiful than the one that I had, although I was partial to mine since it had been my great aunt’s.
“What’s so special about this one? I have to find the delivery company and ask more questions. Maybe they can tell me who sent it,” I said.
“Well, someone obviously wants you to have this gift. I think it’s a nice gesture,” Thomas said.
“It is nice, but I already have a cauldron.”
“A witch can never have too many cauldrons,” Thomas said with a click of his tongue.
I suppose that was true, although I didn’t know what I would do with this one. Where would I put it?
***
That night I was already in bed when a noise came from downstairs. Once again Thomas wasn’t here and he said he wouldn’t be back all night. Maybe I’d imagined the sound. No, it was there. It almost sounded like a bubbling noise. That was odd. Maybe it was the pipes. This was an old place. Or perhaps it was the werewolves again. I had to check it out, so I climbed out of bed, slid into my slippers and headed out the door into the hallway. I never knew what I would find when I walked out there. Maybe a ghost this time? Either way, I knew it was something strange.
I made my way down the stairs. The sound grew louder now that I was at the bottom. I thought it was coming from the parlor so I turned in that direction. Was someone in the house? I was really starting to panic now because the sound was so loud. There had to be someone doing that. The more I listened the more I didn’t think it was pipes or anything else. Maybe it really was a ghost.
As soon as I made it to the parlor I saw the cauldron. It was all lit up and bubbling. The bubbles reminded me of the ones at the Bubbling Cauldron, except for these were green. No multiple colors.
I stood there in shock for a moment, staring at it
. I wasn’t sure what to do next. How had this happened? I looked around the room to see if there was a witch in the room cooking up a spell. Nope, it was just me. I decided to move a little bit closer to take a better look at what was inside. Although it could be dangerous. Someone could be casting a spell right here in the parlor on me and I would be completely clueless. I’d walk into their spider web like a fly. I inched closer to the cauldron as if maybe it would reach out and bite me if I got too close. As I got closer the bubbles started to fade.
The pull and connection I felt to the cauldron was undeniable, but I wasn’t sure why. The thing wasn’t mine. Well, I guess it was now, but I’d just gotten it, so there was no special connection. Something about it made me want to use it though. For a moment I thought I should do a spell. No, I definitely should ignore the feeling. Don’t do it, I told myself. I’d at least wait until I knew more about this thing. Tomorrow I would try to track down who had sent it. If it was a gift then I would be more than happy to cast spells in the beautiful cauldron.
The bubbles had completely stopped and the water had vanished. This was strange and I had no idea how this was happening. Someone had to be in the house with me. I moved into the kitchen to check, but no one was there. Not in the library either. I forced myself to go back to bed and forget about the cauldron.
However, when the sun popped up the next morning I hopped out of bed and hurried downstairs to check on the cauldron. I had to admit I was a bit excited about seeing it again. Also, I was a bit perplexed and intrigued at the same time over the whole thing. Part of me wondered if it would still be there when I reached the parlor.
My main focus this morning would be to figure out who had sent it. The suspense was getting to me. I had barely been able to sleep for thinking about it. Thoughts of the cauldron whirled through my mind all night long. And of course I had dreams about it that cauldron and chocolate cake. Lately my dreams had often involved some form of food.
My anxiety increased with each step toward the parlor. I reached the bottom of the staircase and then practically slid into the parlor. The cauldron was still here. Though it wasn’t bubbling as it had been last night. I still wondered if maybe that had been a dream.
I stepped closer to the cauldron. Leaning over the edge, I peered inside to see if there was green liquid. It was empty, just as it had been when it had arrived. Not wasting any more time, I pulled out my phone and pushed the delivery company’s phone number. I’d tried to call last night, but of course they were closed.
On the second ring a nice lady answered the phone.
“How may I help you?” she asked.
“Good morning. My name is Halloween LaVeau and I had a delivery yesterday. I was just wondering if you could tell me the shipper’s name?”
“I’d be happy to help you with that. Can you please spell your name?”
I gave her the spelling and then waited for her to look up the information. The clicking of computer keys sounded through the phone.
“Can you spell your name again?”
Once again, I recited the letters.
A few seconds later and she said, “I’m sorry, but we don’t show any deliveries for you. Perhaps if you give me the address.”
I gave her the address and still, she said, “No, it’s not under that either. Are you sure it came from our company?”
Now she had me doubting. Perhaps I had misread the name. I let out a deep breath.
“Okay, I guess I dialed the wrong company. Thank you anyway,” I said.
“Oh, you’re welcome. I hope you find the information,” she said.
I looked for any company that had a similar name, but I found nothing. I just knew that I had had the name right. But if she claimed she didn’t have the information then what could I do to find it? I had to give up on this for the moment, but I would figure out another way. Someone had to know who sent this to me and why. I suppose I could call everyone I knew and ask them.
Oddly, I was still drawn to the cauldron. I felt as if I couldn’t stop myself from casting a spell using this cauldron. I didn’t even know what kind of spell I would cast, but it didn’t matter as long as I cast something. Maybe one that would tell me where the cauldron came from and who had sent it. Now that I thought about it that wasn’t such a bad idea. I would give it a try.
I headed for the kitchen and gathered up the ingredients I needed for the spell, although I would have to add water. There was no fire underneath, so it wouldn’t be boiling water. Though the concoction last night hadn’t needed a fire in order to bubble. Maybe it had been a dream after all. None bubbling water would just have to do because I felt as if I needed to cast the spell now. Somehow by doing this I would get the answers I needed. I added water, even though it wasn’t much. Then I dumped in the ingredients. I raised my arms and waved them over the cauldron.
I had just opened my mouth to recite the words for the spell when a tap sounded against the glass window. The noise broke me out of the trance and startled me so that I jumped and almost tumbled backward.
Chapter 25
When I looked over at the window, I spotted Liam. He waved his arms at me. I rushed over to the front door to find out why he was peeking in the window. Liam was racing up the steps when I opened the door.
“Are you all right?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, of course I’m okay. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve been ringing the doorbell and trying to call your phone. You weren’t answering. When I looked in the window, you were in front of that cauldron, like you were in some kind of trance.”
“Really?” I pulled out the phone from my pocket and saw that I had missed several calls and text messages from Liam.
“I don’t know what happened. I guess I was really in a trance.”
Liam moved around me and headed for the parlor.
I raced after him. “What are you doing?”
“I want to know what that huge thing is in your living room.” When Liam got excited his cute Southern accent slipped through.
“It’s a cauldron of course.”
“I know it’s a cauldron, but it’s not your cauldron. Where did you get it?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Someone sent it to me.”
“You don’t know who sent it to you?”
“I have no idea. There was no shipping information.”
“And you were going use it?”
“I had thought about it, yes,” I said.
He shook his head. “You can’t do that.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because there could be something bad attached.”
“Yes… I guess there could be. It’s just that I’ve been so drawn to it. I almost couldn’t resist.”
He took me by the hand. “This is not a piece of chocolate. The fact that you can’t resist it means it probably has a bad spell attached to it.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right,” I said around a sigh.
He pulled on my hand and directed me toward the kitchen.
“What are we doing?” I asked.
“We should use your cauldron and see if we can get any information on who may have sent this.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s the best thing to do,” I said.
My thoughts had been influenced by the new cauldron. I wasn’t thinking clearly… not making wise decisions. Not that I always made the wisest decisions anyway.
“With the cauldron here I haven’t been thinking clearly,” I said.
“I know exactly what you mean, Hallie.” He gave a pitying grin.
“I called the company who delivered it and they said they had no record of sending it out.”
“That’s because they probably didn’t. It was somebody just tricking you,” he said.
“I know, but I didn’t want to believe that. The cauldron is just so pretty that I don’t want to give it back.”
“Let’s just figure out who sent it first,” Liam said.
Liam and I gathered ingredients for a spel
l. This time it would be better because the bubbling water would be there and that would aid in casting a spell. I wasn’t sure what I’d been thinking about trying to do a spell in that cauldron.
After starting a fire in the fireplace, the water heated up so that it was bubbling. Next, Liam and I sprinkled in the spell’s ingredients. Slowly at first until soon I started tossing them into the cauldron’s water.
Liam and I stood by the cauldron, holding hands while we concentrated on the spell. I recited the words and Liam followed after me. The energy zinged between us, back-and-forth like we were at a tennis match. When I glanced over I realized that the bubbles had stopped. The spell was over. Liam and I leaned over to peer into the water. I hoped to get an image of who may have sent the cauldron.
“That looks like, Nicolas,” I said.
Of course I only saw the back of the person. The scene looked as if he was just walking into a house.
“Are you sure that the spell worded correctly?” Liam asked.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Are you asking me if I’ve ever made a mistake with a spell?”
“Touché,” he said.
“Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure we did it right. I don’t understand what scene we’re looking at unless that’s Nicolas and he found a cauldron in that house.”
“You don’t recognize the place?” Liam asked.
I shook my head. “No, I’ve never seen it before.”
It was an old white Victorian house with a wraparound porch and shutters that were slightly falling from the windows. Before I had a chance to study it any longer the spell started to fade until soon the image had disappeared. I wondered if I did the same spell again if it would give me the same thing. Probably not, so I shouldn’t use my energy. Now Liam had put the doubt in my head on whether the spell had actually worked. And he was the one who suggested using this cauldron instead of the other one. Maybe the other one would’ve provided us with the answer. I wouldn’t give up on trying the other cauldron just yet.