Charmed to Death Read online

  I raced over to the door and tried to open it. Of course it didn’t budge. I banged on the door and yelled for someone to open up. Not that that would actually happen. Now I was stuck in here… trapped. I had to get out. I went over to the window and tried to open it. No luck. It was probably painted shut. Or someone had placed a spell on the whole house. I would have to find a way to break it if I couldn’t get out of here.

  If this witch thought that she was going to play around like this, then I would have to show her otherwise. I went back over to the door and tried again. It didn’t open this time either. Now I would have to try some magic because that would be the fastest way to get out of here. My spells worked best when I was angry and now I was definitely angry. I recited the words and waved my hands. All of a sudden the door clicked open. I hurried out of through the door before it had a chance to close again.

  “Ha-ha, I guess I showed you,” I said to no one in particular since the room was still empty.

  Just because I had been locked in that room didn’t mean that I was going to give up quite yet. I made my way over to the kitchen area of the house. On the table there was a piece of paper. So of course, I picked it up to read it. There were notes. And oddly enough my name was on the paper. Not just my name, but the names of everyone else who had been kidnapped. That was a list. I knew for sure that this woman was associated with all of the bad stuff, possibly even the murders of the vampires. I stuffed the paper into my pocket. I would just take this with me for evidence. As soon as I found the witch she was really going down.

  I moved through the rest of the house, but didn’t find anything. I had to get back to Enchantment Pointe to find everyone. I hopped in the car and took off. I was kind of surprised that I didn’t have to engage in some sort of witchcraft battle while I was there, that the person had actually allowed me to leave without some kind of consequence. That had to mean that she truly wasn’t there.

  The door had closed on me in the room and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe there was some kind of trigger on the door. When someone entered it would lock. Anyway, at least I was out of there and I had gotten some kind of evidence. That would be a plus for the investigation. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her pop up in my car as I drove down the road. After all, she’d disappeared while in the car. Plus, I had seen her in the car with the others and they hadn’t even known that she was there. Maybe she was with me now and I didn’t even know it.

  Chapter 22

  I arrived back at the National Vampire Association building. This was probably my last hope of finding them. There were several reasons why. For one, the other detective was there, and he could possibly help me. Another reason was that maybe Cassandra had returned, or I would find Marissa there. The number three reason was that I could possibly find the surveillance video on my own or some other clue that might lead me in the right direction. Of course now I was working alone and that was why it was important to have the other detective to help me. In case I needed backup.

  I’d been to that place way too many times lately and I hoped that it would soon be resolved. The place was bringing back bad memories every time I saw it. Once back at the building I wheeled into the parking lot. Thank goodness the detective was still standing there. He would probably be surprised to see me alone. I pulled up close to him and hopped out.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked.

  Apparently he recognized the panic on my face.

  “Well, everyone is missing now, and I was locked up in an abandoned house. Thank goodness I got out of there. The witch was there.”

  “What did you do?” he asked.

  “I cast a spell on her, but she escaped me. Now I’m back to square one, trying to find everyone. Did Marissa return?”

  “Who?”

  I waved my hand. “Never mind. You’d know if she’d been here. Where is Cassandra Delaney’s cell phone? Who had it?”

  “Jon had it, I believe,” he said.

  “I think we should go inside this building and look for something… anything,” I said.

  “Let’s do it,” he said, motioning toward the still-open window.

  The detective had been guarding the building. At least I felt safe that no one had messed with anything in there since the last time I’d been inside. I climbed down once again with the detective right behind me. We raced across the conference room and back out into that darkened hallway. It seemed even spookier now after I knew everything that had happened.

  “Where should we look first?” he asked.

  “I think we need to find the surveillance video.”

  “Okay, you lead the way,” he said as we raced over toward the leader’s office.

  That was when I realized that maybe I was looking here for the wrong reason. Just because the receptionist said it had been in there didn’t mean it was at all.

  “I’m not sure I should look in here. The receptionist said it was here, but let’s face it, she was not truthful. Plus she’s obviously the person behind all of this.”

  Maybe there was something in her desk that I should look for.

  I paused and then said, “Let’s go to the front. I want to look in the desk up there at the reception area.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  We raced down the hallway to the receptionist area. Of course the whole place was abandoned. Where were all the other vampires? She had probably done something to them as well. I went over to her desk and tried to figure out where to even start.

  I checked all the drawers, but of course they were locked.

  “I have to get in here,” I said.

  “Well, use a little bit of magic. Just like how you got into the building.” He held his hands up. “But you didn’t get that advice from me. If asked I’ll say I didn’t see you touch a thing.”

  “I hate to be snoopy, but I have to do what I have to do, right?” I asked.

  He winked. “You have to do it.”

  I recited the words and waved my arms. Then pop… all of the drawers opened. Bingo.

  “Jackpot,” he said.

  Right away I spotted her purse.

  “She must have been in a huge hurry if she left this behind,” I said.

  It felt strange going through her purse, but if it meant getting everyone back then that was exactly what I would have to do. I mean, she’d tried to kill me, for heaven’s sakes. I rummaged through the purse, pulling out receipts and tubes of lipstick. That was when I found a letter. The return address was from that small town where the witch lived. I knew that wasn’t a coincidence. I had to read it.

  Suddenly a noise caught our attention. I froze on the spot. Was someone coming? The detective rushed around the front of the desk. Had someone returned? I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much that it was Liam, Nicolas, or Annabelle. Maybe it was the vampire leader? I would be completely shocked if it turned out to be my mother.

  The detective disappeared down the hallway. Now I was all alone up there. I didn’t particularly like that much, but I knew he had to check it out to see if anyone was in the building. After a few seconds, he returned.

  “I didn’t see anyone at all. Must’ve just been something with the building making a noise, like the air-conditioner.”

  It had sounded like steps, but I didn’t have time to search for a mysterious sound. I needed to find out what was in this letter. I pulled a page from the envelope and read.

  “What does it say?” the detective asked.

  “It’s a letter from the witch, and she is involved in all of this,” I said.

  The witch had written:

  As agreed upon you will retrieve both items for me in exchange for the spells.

  “Apparently the two of them are working together. Why would the receptionist have this letter unless she’s involved?” I asked.

  “Maybe she found it somewhere.” He leaned closer for a better look.

  “It’s actually addressed to her.”

  “Well, that ru
les that out,” he said.

  “Yes, it certainly does. The receptionist was offering something to the witch that would help her powers. She said she knew where to get it.”

  I had a feeling I knew what that was, but what I didn’t know was how she knew about it. Even I hadn’t know what I was looking for until recently.

  “I have to track them down.” I placed the letter back in the envelope and then stuffed it into my pocket.

  There was no way she was getting the letter back.

  “Is there anything we can do?”

  I blew the hair out of my eyes. “I just don’t know. I don’t know where to look, but I need to find that witch again. I have a feeling she’ll come after me. She thinks I have something that she wants. In the meantime, I guess we should get out of here.”

  I tossed her bag back and then shut all the drawers. We headed down that long hallway back to the conference room so we could get out through the window. It would’ve been easier to go out the front door, but then I would’ve had to cast a spell. I wanted to save my energy. They kept it locked and I wasn’t sure where to find the key. I’d just keep going out that window instead. We stepped back outside and over to my car.

  “I can drive if you’d like to come with me. I guess I’ll go back to the abandoned house and see if there’s a connection there. Maybe the witch will reappear,” I said.

  “I can come with you,” he said.

  As I started to open the car door I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my left and I saw her. The witch was back. I knew she wouldn’t be able to stay away long.

  “That’s her,” I said.

  “I gathered as much,” he said.

  She didn’t even speak. She just raised her arm and zapped a spell my way, knocking me to the ground again. The detective tried to cast a spell at her, but she threw one his way and he landed backwards as well. I thought he underestimated how powerful her magic really was. I had witnessed it firsthand before, so I wasn’t shocked. I managed to get up from the ground and mentally prepared myself for another battle. I recited words and waved my arms through the air. She paused again. This time it worked—she was frozen. I had to hurry. I knew I didn’t have much time. I rushed over to her and instructed her to go to the car.

  I opened the door and instructed her to get inside the car. She did as she was told. Now I had to get the detective in there as well. He was still somewhat out of it. I tried to do a spell that would counteract what she had done to him, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

  He waved his hand. “Just go. I’ll be fine here. I can’t get out from this daze yet. It’ll take a minute. You’re in a hurry, I know, so go without me.”

  I hated to leave him, but he was right. Time was of the essence. I had to get the witch to wherever she was leading me to before the spell wore off again. I didn’t know how much longer I had or if she was even taking me to the right place. So I jumped in the car and took off. When I glanced in the rearview mirror I saw that the detective had gotten up from the ground. Was he really still under the magic or did he just not want to come with me?

  Chapter 23

  All the witch did was point again. Soon we came up to the drive for the manor. That was when she motioned to the left.

  “You want me to turn into the manor? That’s where they’re all at?” I asked.

  She just pointed toward the drive again. So of course I turned left into LaVeau Manor. I drove past the gates and down the long driveway, coming to a stop in front of the manor.

  I turned off the ignition and hurried out of the car and up the steps to the front door. Oh, how I hoped there would be a big reunion once I walked through that door. I’d find everyone I had lost. It wouldn’t be too much to ask now, would it? Why else would she bring me here if they weren’t waiting for me? I glanced back to see if she was still in the car. She was sitting in the same position. She’d better not take off while I was in the manor.

  I burst through the door with excitement that I was finally going to see everyone again. When I raced through the foyer and into the parlor, they weren’t there. Overwhelming sadness embraced me. Maybe they were somewhere else in the house? I hurried toward the kitchen, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard voices. I knew right away who was talking.

  It was the receptionist Marissa and the vampires who had been with her at the abandoned house. I definitely didn’t want them to know I was here, not after what had happened the last time. I still couldn’t believe she had gotten the upper hand on me. I had to think of a spell that would get them to stay in that room. I would have to make them prisoners of the manor. I moved closer to the door so maybe I could overhear their conversation. Plus, I would be able to cast a spell easier the closer I was to them.

  I leaned close to the door, trying to hear the conversation. I hoped that their talking would lead me to Nicolas, Liam, and Annabelle. Maybe they were somewhere else in the house. Soon I realized the uninvited guests were only discussing taking over the Underworld. Why wasn’t I surprised? Everyone wanted to control the Underworld. I recited the words for the spell and within a few seconds I felt the energy. I waited a few seconds before looking in to see what was happening. They had stopped the conversation. That was a good sign.

  Opening the door, I peeked inside the kitchen. The receptionist and the vampires were frozen on the spot. Their eyes moved, so I knew they saw me. They knew what I had done too. I needed to get information out of them now that I had them in this spot, but there was one thing I needed to do to make sure I got the full truth from them.

  I had to get that brooch to see if it would work again. Then I would be able to read what was really on their minds. However, I had to get there without them knowing it. The spell should keep them there while I went upstairs and got the brooch. That was if they hadn’t found a way to get into my bedroom. They had probably been looking for the brooch all along.

  I hurried away from the kitchen to the parlor, then into the foyer. I stopped when I saw that the stray cat was there.

  “What are you doing back here?” I asked. “How did you get here?”

  He meowed, but I continued up the stairs. There was no time for chitchatting with the kitty. He followed me up the steps. He was probably just glad to see me instead of the vampires. Again, why did I have to be up on the second floor? All the steps were killing me. I was just thankful I didn’t have a room on the third floor. The cat raced up the steps ahead of me. Apparently I was moving too slow.

  Finally, I reached the second-floor landing. I had to get down the hallway to my bedroom. That was when I noticed the other bedroom door open. There had been no guest in that room for about a month, so there was no reason for the door to be open now. I had cleaned the room and closed it behind me the other day. As I neared the open door, the sound of someone moving in there stopped me in my tracks.

  I shoved my body against the wall. The cat stopped with me. He sat down next to me. What would I do now? I had to cast another spell against the person. But first I had to know who was in the room. I leaned forward and peeked into the room. My heart beat faster. Thank goodness the man wasn’t looking in my direction. It was another one of the vampires. It looked as if he had just made himself at home in the house.

  Now I had to cast a spell without him realizing I was standing right out there in the hallway. I recited the words and felt the energy move past me and into the room. I held my breath, hoping that it actually worked. After a few more seconds, I peeked around the corner. He was frozen just like the others. Now if he would just stay that way long enough for me to get what I needed. His back was still facing me so he had no idea that I was even around, and that was the way I wanted to keep it. I eased past the door, feeling a great sense of relief once I got by.

  The cat followed along with me. I guessed he was helping me in his own way. Pluto never did this. The only time he followed me was when he wanted food. Maybe that was what this cat wanted, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the c
ase. He had led me to so many other places it seemed as if he really wanted to help me.

  I had to keep the key to my room around my neck too. No way could these keys leave my side. My hand shook as I tried the lock. Finally I unlocked the door and hurried over to the closet. Everything seemed to be just as I had left it. I was hoping that was the same for the safe. I opened the door and moved the items, revealing the safe. Thank goodness it was still there and the door was closed. Unless they were trying to trick me and had fixed it to look like it hadn’t been touched.

  For some reason I felt pretty confident that everything was just as I’d left it. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that no one was in the room with me. Just then the cat came over. He sat right there behind me, as if he knew exactly what I was going to do. I almost didn’t want him to watch me open the safe so he wouldn’t know the numbers. Silly, I knew, because the cat couldn’t figure that out. What would he do? Use his little paws to open the thing?

  I took the key for the safe that I kept around my neck and opened one of the locks. Then I unlocked the next one. I glanced back to see if the cat was watching. Yes, he was, but I continued on anyway. My hand shook so badly that I missed the first time around. I had to start all over again with the combination.

  Why was this taking so long? The spell would wear off soon. If I didn’t hurry then I’d be in real trouble soon. The vampires in the kitchen knew I was here. When I’d peeked into the kitchen they had been looking straight at the door. They knew what I had done to them and they wouldn’t be happy. I had to take care of all of this before they got free from the spell. I had just placed my hand on the dial to try again when a noise caught my attention.

  At first, I thought it might have been the cat. He was right behind me. As I moved my hand away from the safe, the cat got up and took off across the room. When I eased to my feet he ran back over to me. It was as if he knew someone was coming. That was when I heard the sound. It was like footsteps. I couldn’t let the person catch me right here with the closet door open. I shut it quickly and then ran for the bed. I scurried under there. Oddly enough, the cat got under there with me. It was as if he knew exactly why I was doing this. It was so weird. I remained quiet, trying to slow my breathing so no one would hear. Someone was coming. Thank goodness I had remembered to close the door. I hoped they didn’t walk in. I should try a spell on them right now. But what if it was Nicolas, Liam, or Annabelle? It could be my mother.