Once Upon a Charmed Time Read online

  When I heard the noise coming down the hallway I jumped up and raced to the door, swinging it open and frantically waving my arms. The guys raced toward me. Maybe I shouldn’t have scared them like that.

  “What’s wrong?” Nicolas asked as they got near.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I just have exciting news.”

  Their expressions dropped off.

  “Thank goodness, but yeah, don’t do that again.”

  “I want to show you all something.”

  They put the food down and joined me in front of the board on the wall. I grabbed my bag and pulled the mirror back out. I couldn’t just tell them. I had to show them because that was more dramatic of course. I handed the mirror to Nicolas first and said, “Look at the board in the mirror . Tell me what you see.”

  He looked at me reluctantly for a moment.

  “Just do it,” I said.

  He held the mirror and turned around. He looked into the mirror at the board. His eyes widened. That was when I knew he saw it.

  “That’s the name of the guy,” he said.

  “Yeah, exactly.” I took the mirror and handed it to Liam so he could see as well. “Now you do the same.”

  Liam didn’t object as much now that he saw Nicolas was convinced. He looked at the board through the mirror.

  “It says Edwin,” he said.

  “Yeah, I would have never figured that out.”

  “How did you do that?” he asked.

  “Oh, well, I guess I’m just good… no, actually, it was just luck,” I said.

  “Regardless, now we know, so what do we do with this?” Nicolas asked.

  “I think we have to talk to him and get him to confess who he is now that we have the first name.”

  Just then my cell phone rang. It was my mother’s number. Why was she calling? Couldn’t she just come back downstairs?

  “Hey, Mom, I have some interesting news,” I said.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “I discovered what that weird name means. It’s Edwin,” I said.

  “Interesting,” she said.

  “Do you know who this is? It’s the man from Dalton’s house. The one who tried to take the bottle.”

  “That’s strange,” she said.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I just found some old papers I forgot I’d stuck in my purse. It’s research on the family tree that your Great-Aunt Maddy did. Your great-great-grandfather’s name was Edwin.”

  “You don’t think it could possibly be him, do you?”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s possible. I mean, maybe he was hanging around the house and then you reanimated him,” she said.

  “Why didn’t he say something?”

  “I don’t know. I think you should ask him that.”

  “Well, I’d love to do that, but first we’ll have to find him.”

  “That shouldn’t be too difficult. We can just do another spell and get him to come there.”

  “I suppose. Though he might not be susceptible to the magic,” I said.

  Chapter 28

  I settled into my room and waited for everyone to go to bed. As soon as Nicolas was asleep I would leave. I’d written a note so that I could explain my reasoning for doing this. I knew that my mother would be sad. I was too. I was glad that I wouldn’t have to see the look on her face. This was already heartbreaking enough.

  It was midnight and Nicolas was asleep. I put on my shoes, grabbed my bag and jacket, and slipped the note on the nightstand where Nicolas would see it in the morning. I kissed him lightly on the lips and then headed out the door. I didn’t look back while walking out the door. If I did I wouldn’t go through with this. Why did life have to be full of so many hard decisions and heartaches? I guessed there was a balance to everything. There had to be bad in order for there to be good.

  As I headed down the hallway a noise carried from somewhere behind me. I stopped in my tracks, thinking that someone was awake in the house. Now they would likely catch me trying to sneak out. I stood there for a moment, not moving an inch so that they wouldn’t hear my footsteps. It felt as if someone was in the room with me, so I peeked over my shoulder.

  Out of the corner my eye I thought I’d spotted someone, but now I wasn’t completely sure who it was. No one was supposed to be in that part of the house. Was it Nicolas or Liam? Nicolas had been sleeping so I didn’t think it could be him, and it hadn’t looked like my mother. Was someone else in the house with us? Now I was starting to panic. I couldn’t very well leave if someone was in the house.

  But I didn’t quite want to wake up the others just yet until I knew for sure what was going on. Something told me that I needed to go check this out. Slowly I turned and looked straight down the hallway. I didn’t see anything so far. There was an open door at the end of the hall on the right, and I had a feeling that was where I’d find this person. So if I needed to check it out, then why I was standing there?

  Maybe I was afraid of what I would find. Regardless, I had to do this. So I inched down the hallway, careful that the old floor didn’t squeak underneath my feet. Why haven’t I heard footsteps from this person when he’d walked away? When I reached the door I paused. I wanted to sneak in so I would know what I was up against and be prepared. Slowly I moved and peeked into the room.

  To my surprise, no one was in the room, but that didn’t mean they weren’t hiding somewhere. Maybe behind the bed? Or in the closet? I suppose I should go into the room and take a look around. Then again maybe I had imagined this whole thing. My mind was playing tricks with me lately anyway.

  Nevertheless, I entered the room and decided to go over to the closet first. The floor squeaked as I made the first step. I paused, but decided to continue. I needed to get out of there before someone woke up. Just as I wrapped my hand around the knob and was ready to open the closet door the sound of footsteps caught my attention.

  When I turned around, I realized it was the man from Dalton’s house. Edwin was his name. The one who had taken the bottle. I was shocked to see him. He was staring right at me, but he didn’t speak.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  Still he didn’t answer. This was making me angry. How had he gotten in the house? Just then he turned and walked toward the door. He walked right out without saying a word to me. What did he think he was doing? Of course I went after him. He was definitely going to wake up everyone. Nicolas and Liam would freak out when they saw him in the house. Had he used magic to get in here? The floor made such a loud noise when I ran across it that it sounded like there was a herd of cattle moving across the room. Surely I would wake everyone up now. The house remained silent though. I moved down the grand staircase. Once at the bottom I’d expected to see Edwin. Still he was nowhere in sight. After checking the house I gave up on finding him. He must have slipped out the same way he’d gotten in, although I had no idea how he’d done it. Nevertheless, I had to leave. Luckily, I was able to get out of the house without anyone hearing me. I called for an Uber to pick me up at the end of the drive. It was a long driveway so they wouldn’t hear or see the car.

  It was a scary walk all the way down to the road in the dark. Of course I noticed every little noise that normally I would have ignored. The night seemed darker than dark. There were trees along each side of the driveway, making it dark and secluded. Up ahead I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. I thought for sure it was a person. But it was too dark to know for sure. Now I was even more terrified than before. What if someone else was out here besides me? I had to push forward and put the fears to the back of my mind. So I took a few more steps and that was when I caught the movement again. It was just for a fleeting moment, but I saw it this time.

  It was definitely a person and they had hidden behind a tree. Now my anxiety was sky-high.

  “Who’s out there?” I called out, as if someone would really respond.

  Was it Nicolas or Liam
? No, they wouldn’t hide like that. They wouldn’t want to scare me. I took a few more steps, hoping that the person would just go away. When I was closer to the tree I realized the person was still back there. They were probably waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump out and grab me. At first it had seemed like just a black shadow, but now as I grew closer it took on more human-like features.

  I could only see the back of the person, but I knew then that I was looking at Dalton. What was he doing here? Why was he hiding like that? How had he found us?

  “Dalton?” I called out to him, but he didn’t look back at me.

  Instead he just kept walking. Didn’t he hear me?

  “Dalton?” I called out again, louder this time.

  Again, he didn’t respond, but kept on walking. This was too strange. I had to tell him I knew he was a ghost. I stepped into the tree line and headed after him. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I could be walking into a trap, but I wanted to see where he was going and why he was here. I moved forward, stumbling over a tree branch. I managed to remain upright, but Dalton had vanished around a tree. I had to pick up the pace if I wanted to catch up with him. Where was he going in such a hurry?

  “Dalton,” I called out again.

  I was hoping he would hear me and finally stop. I didn’t even hear the crunch of branches under his feet. It was like he had vanished now. I supposed he had vanished just as he had before. I wished he’d stop doing that. It was extremely annoying.

  The further I went into the wooded area the more I started to panic. I obviously wasn’t going to find Dalton, so there was no point in me going any farther. Besides, I knew there was water at the end of the wooded area. That meant that there would be alligators. I didn’t want to run into anything like that. The creatures could be anywhere around me now and I wouldn’t know until it was too late. I hoped Dalton knew that too.

  He was obviously capable of some type of advanced magic. I assumed he was already long gone from this place, so he wouldn’t have to worry about the alligators. I had to track him down and find out what he was doing and why he was popping in and out like that.

  I turned around and headed back in the direction where I’d come from. I just hoped that I could remember where the driveway was so that I wouldn’t get turned around and end up at that water. It was so dark that I could barely see my hand in front of my face. The trees were thick and covering the sliver of moonlight. There was light out on the driveway. If only I could make it back there I would be safe. I tried to pick up my pace.

  Just before I arrived at the driveway again I saw Dalton on the other side of the path, behind the Spanish moss-covered oak trees. How had he gotten over there? This was crazy. What was he doing? I hurried up onto the driveway and across over to the other trees, making my way into the dark area. Still I saw no sign of Dalton. Was he just playing games with me now?

  “Dalton, I don’t think this is funny. Come out right now and tell me what you’re doing here.”

  There was no sign of him, or a response. I stood there and looked around for a few seconds. I wasn’t going to chase after him this time. It would do no good anyway. A noise grabbed my attention. I looked to my right, but he wasn’t there. It could have been an alligator for all I knew. It was time for me to get out of there. There were all kinds of strange noises among the trees. Probably creatures that I didn’t want to come face-to-face with. Maybe some snakes in there?

  I turned around and headed back up to the driveway. It felt as if someone was watching my every move. Had Dalton gone to the house? Was he lost and looking for the house? I hated to leave without finding him, but I had to get on with my plan. He would just have to figure it out on his own.

  I headed back down the driveway. The darkness seemed to close in on me. It seemed as if I was in another place and time. Yet I was still all alone out here. It made me afraid and I felt vulnerable.

  It sounded like someone was walking behind me. I spun around, but no one was there. At least not directly behind me. My heart sped up as fear raced through me. I looked around, but didn’t see Dalton this time. I had to get out of there. My mind was probably just playing tricks on me. Maybe I hadn’t seen Dalton at all. What was happening to me?

  I raced down the driveway now. How long until I reached the road? The drive seemed to get longer with each step, as if an unseen force was stretching it. My speed was slipping. I slowed my pace. It still felt as if I wasn’t alone out there. I started walking again. The presence stayed with me.

  I kept glancing over my shoulder. I expected to see something directly behind me. Was Dalton trying to scare me? He was doing a good job of it. I wasn’t going to look for him any longer, even if I spotted him again. I couldn’t help but glance over the side of the driveway to the left and into the darkness. I would give up my search for him. I had to find Annabelle. Still, it seemed as if the driveway kept stretching on forever. I was beginning to panic at this point. Maybe I should turn around and go back, but I’d come this far. I couldn’t turn back now.

  A loud noise echoed from somewhere in front of me. I stopped in my tracks. My breathing was heavy and fear coursed through me. What had made the noise? Was someone throwing things at me? I sensed magic around me now. If someone was trying magic against me I would be in big trouble.

  “Who’s there?” I asked. “Dalton, is that you? Are you trying to scare me?”

  I got no answer. Whoever was doing this, if they wanted to scare me it was working.

  With my next step something crunched under my foot. When I looked down I spotted a bottle. It was a potion bottle just like the ones we’d found at Dalton’s. He had to have dropped this here. Was he trying to cast some kind of spell on me?

  Chapter 29

  I reached the end of the driveway and stood by the road. I was almost positive that I would be caught. My mother had a way of sensing when I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to. I was an adult now though and she didn’t have much say in it. She tried though.

  Not long after I arrived I noticed headlights coming down the road. Soon the dark car pulled up and I recognized the Uber sticker on the window. I sure hoped this was my ride. With all the shady magic going on I wouldn’t put it past anyone to try to trick me into getting into the car with them. But I had called for the car, so I would just have to assume this was for me.

  I opened up the door and hopped in the car. This was more than a little scary, getting into a car with a stranger in the middle of the night on a long deserted highway. It was something straight out of a horror movie, but then again, I was always doing something that was straight out of a horror movie.

  “Good evening,” the driver said.

  He looked at me in the rearview mirror as I slid into the backseat. I couldn’t get a good look at his face. All I knew was that he had dark hair and it appeared dark eyes as well.

  “So you want to go to Bourbon Street?” he asked.

  I released a heavy sigh. “Yes, I suppose.”

  “You don’t sound very sure of that,” he said.

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure if that’s where I need to go, but I’m all out of ideas.”

  “Are you with the coven?” he asked as he glanced in my rearview mirror again.

  I didn’t know if I should answer truthfully or not now. That question made me nervous. Maybe I was a little too suspicious.

  “Yes, I’m with the coven. Why do you ask?” I said. “Well, I suppose not this coven.”

  Did he know that I was the Underworld leader?

  He studied my face for a second longer and then he said, “Hey, I know you. You’re the leader of the Underworld.”

  Wow, I was getting recognized now. That was pretty cool. Or maybe not so cool after all.

  “How do you know me?” I asked.

  That was when I thought maybe he really could have bad intentions. I was back to my old negative thoughts again. But I had to be that way to a certain extent if I wanted to stay safe. I had to be suspicious
of things. Otherwise I would be too trusting and go right into the bad guy’s plan.

  “I’m a witch too,” he said with a little smile.

  I quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Are you part of the New Orleans coven?”

  “Yes, I am. Liam Rankin is the leader.”

  He certainly had all the right answers.

  “Listen, I can take you wherever you need to go,” he said. “After all, you are the leader.”

  I leaned forward in the seat and showed him the picture of the building. “I need to find this building, but I’m not having much luck. Do you know where it is?”

  He glanced over at the photo. “You were just going to walk around aimlessly looking for this place?”

  I nodded. “That was the plan.”

  “Well, there’re plenty places that look like this one.”

  “That’s what I’m discovering. I thought there were only three that had this look with this color. But apparently there are others.”

  He pulled over to the side of the road. “Let me take a closer look at that picture.”

  He took the picture and then turned on the overhead light. I got a better look at him now. He was probably in his thirties. I wondered if Liam truly knew him.

  “Yes, I know where this place is.” He tapped the photo.

  “You do? Are you sure?”

  “I am sure. See the corbels on the edge of the building? That makes this one stand out from the others.”

  “Wow, I never would’ve thought about that,” I said. “Thank you so much.”

  “No problem. Like I said, anything for the leader.” A huge smile spread across his face.

  This guy was actually making me blush.

  “I can take you there right now,” he said.

  “Yes, please, if you don’t mind.” I leaned back in the seat.

  He pulled back out onto the road headed in that direction. The car’s headlights sliced through the darkness that surrounded us. It was the only light. My thoughts were consumed by the recent events. I couldn’t believe what had happened to LaVeau Manor. Someone was out to destroy me.