Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) Read online

  “Nicolas, are you okay?” I asked.

  As if an alarm had gone off in Nicolas’ head, he jumped up from his seat. “That won’t be necessary. I’m capable of watching over Hallie.”

  Nina and Miles stared at Nicolas as if he’d just said he could fly. And not with a magical broom either.

  “Nicolas, I can understand your concern for Ms. LaVeau, but Liam has a job to do,” Miles said with a hint of challenge in his tone.

  This was an awkward situation. Liam had been in charge of protecting Nicolas’ mother when she’d been murdered. Nicolas’ posture tensed and his arms remained still by his sides. I understood Nicolas’ apprehension, but if I was reading his body language correctly, he didn’t want Liam around me period. I had to admit I had my doubts too… about Liam protecting me of course. After all, the last person he was protecting was no longer here.

  “You’re not employed with the Underworld in that department. You’d have to be authorized first. That could take months and we don’t have that kind of time,” Nina said with a wave of her delicate hand.

  “You don’t want Ms. LaVeau to be harmed, do you?” Miles quirked a gray eyebrow at Nicolas.

  Nicolas shook his head, then walked out of the room. I was sure the memories of his mother were flooding his mind. Should I run after him? No. He needed his space and a moment to collect his thoughts. Liam was staring out the window. He knew what we were all thinking—we were questioning his ability to protect me.

  Nina and Miles stood.

  “You’ll let us know if we can be of any assistance?” Nina said as she shook my hand.

  I nodded. “You’ll be the first to know.”

  That wasn’t true. I was too stubborn to ask for help. It was definitely a personality flaw of mine.

  “Thank you again for accepting the job.” Miles shook my hand again.

  They hadn’t left me much choice, right? I’d found the Book of Mystics, so the job was mine for the taking. But for all I knew, there were hundreds of highly qualified candidates for the position.

  “Yes, it was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. LaVeau.” Nina smiled.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Thanks for stopping by so late,” I said.

  See, I really was trying to be polite.

  After walking Nina and Miles to the front door, I released a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wood frame. Liam had stayed in the parlor, so I was alone in the foyer. The silence was only interrupted by the sound of the clock. Would it stay that way for long? Where had Nicolas disappeared to? I peered up at the stairs. Maybe he’d gone to bed. I needed to talk with Nicolas and Liam too.

  When I returned to the parlor, Liam was still standing in front of the window. Something must have been very interesting since he’d been staring at it for so long.

  I reached out and touched his arm. “Are you all right?”

  He nodded, but didn’t look at me. “I know you are concerned about whether I can protect you, but I promise you I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I didn’t think you couldn’t protect me…”

  Footsteps sounded from the foyer and I wondered if Nicolas had been listening. As much as I wanted to comfort Liam, I knew that Nicolas needed me more at the moment.

  “We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” I whispered.

  He turned to me and smiled softly. “Good night.”

  Liam walked out of the room without looking back. When I thought he’d had time to head up the stairs, I made my way to the foyer.

  Nicolas flashed his gorgeous smile at me. “I thought maybe you’d gone to bed.”

  Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but had the blank look in his eyes disappeared? Why was his odd behavior coming and going?

  “Without saying good night to you first? Never.” He wrapped his strong hand around mine. “You know, we didn’t finish our dance.”

  “No, I suppose we didn’t,” I said.

  Nicolas led me into the parlor to the same spot where we’d shared the kiss earlier.

  “I hope we’re not interrupted this time,” I said as Nicolas circled my waist with his hands.

  Nicolas pulled me close and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Me”—he kissed me softly again—“too.”

  This time the kiss wasn’t light, but full of passion as his lips moved with urgency across mine. Whatever had been affecting him earlier in the evening apparently had passed and I hoped that it never returned.

  I wasn’t sure if he’d just freaked out from the stress of the situation or if something more sinister had been at work. I wished the night had ended this way. That it had never taken that bizarre turn. If only I could turn back time. But how far would I have turned it back? All the way before finding the book? Before Nicolas and Liam? Life had been simpler then, but then I wouldn’t have met Nicolas and Liam. In spite of everything, I didn’t think I would have changed a thing. Well, maybe I would have wished for only the good parts of the last few days—unfortunately that was never an option.

  Breaking free from the kiss, he gently held me in his arms and said, “Thank you for being wonderful tonight.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think much of what I did was wonderful.”

  Nicolas placed his iPhone on the table next to us. After a couple of seconds, soft music drifted across the room. “May I have this dance?”

  Nicolas and I swayed back and forth to the music. His hands skimmed down my back before coming to rest on my hips. As he held me tight in his arms, I tried to let my mind relax and be carried away by the moment, but my thoughts weighed heavy on my mind. We continued moving in sync to the music, back and forth to the rhythm. Nicolas’ strong arms around me were comforting, but something was nagging at the back of my mind. I tried to ignore it, but I knew it was everything that had happened through the night.

  I had to prove that he was innocent. Nicolas must have sensed my tension. He paused and searched my eyes.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  I plastered a smile on my face and nodded. “Everything is perfect.”

  What a big fat lie. He probably knew it too. I was a lousy actress. He embraced me again and we continued dancing. As I rested my head on his chest, I inhaled and caught his warm masculine scent. The aroma was almost hypnotizing.

  The first song had ended and another beautiful melody spilled from the tiny speakers. Unfortunately, just as I’d allowed myself to relax, my phone rang, breaking me away from the moment.

  “Don’t answer it,” Nicolas whispered.

  I thought about ignoring the incessant ringing, but if it was Annabelle or my mother they’d just call right back, thinking that something terrible had happened to me. I had to answer it.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, stepping away and grabbing my phone from the nearby table.

  Nicolas groaned as I walked away. When I looked down at the phone, I saw Annabelle’s number. She’d called several times and I knew this would be her last before she picked up her gigantic purse and hauled her butt over. She hated coming to LaVeau Manor, so I wanted to spare her that agony. But I had a lot of explaining to do about the night’s latest events. I’d fill her in as quickly as possible on the key moments, then give the full details tomorrow. It was getting late and I really needed to get some rest. I stepped out into the foyer so that Nicolas wouldn’t have to relive the events of the evening via my phone conversation with Annabelle.

  “Hey, I tried to call you, but didn’t get an answer. Is everything okay?” Annabelle asked suspiciously.

  Annabelle claimed to have zero paranormal ability, but I wasn’t convinced that was completely true. She had a bit of a sixth sense about stuff. She sensed things about the people she cared for. How would I begin to tell her what had happened?

  “There was a bit of an issue after you left,” I whispered.

  “Why are you whispering?” Without taking a break for me to answer, she continued, “Did the demons come back? I knew it. I shouldn’t have left you.
”

  What did she think she could have done if she hadn’t left? The demons were nothing to mess around with. I wanted to stay as far away from them as possible and she’d be wise to do the same.

  “The demons didn’t come back, but Liam did.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath. I heard the sound loud and clear through the phone. “Oh, dear. Did they fight?”

  “No.”

  “So what happened then?” she asked.

  “Nicolas has been accused of stealing another witch’s powers and we drove to New Orleans so I could formally hear the charges against him.”

  “Get out. Tell me everything.” Her voice echoed loudly through the phone.

  After I explained what had happened, there was a long pause.

  “So what are you going to do now?” she asked.

  “Check back with me tomorrow and I may or may not have an answer for that.” I chuckled nervously.

  “Just please be careful.” Annabelle’s tone had turned serious.

  I assured her I would, but that didn’t necessarily mean much. It was kind of out of my control.

  After hanging up, I rushed back to the parlor. When I stepped back into the room, Nicolas wasn’t there. I looked over my shoulder to see if I’d possibly missed him, but he wasn’t there either. Maybe he’d gone into the kitchen for a snack. There was still food left over from the Halloween Bash and none of us had eaten much. I was starved myself. If it hadn’t been so late, I’d whip up a batch of cupcakes. I’d recently mastered a cupcake spell that produced drool-worthy sweet treats.

  Nicolas’ phone still sat on the table where he’d placed it, so I knew he couldn’t have gone far.

  “Nicolas?” I whispered. “Where are you?”

  It was like playing a game of hide-and-seek, although I didn’t think he was hiding on purpose. Had he overheard my conversation with Annabelle? I hadn’t thought I’d said anything to upset him, but just the mention of what had happened might have been enough. When he didn’t answer, I decided to check out the kitchen. I tiptoed across the room and to the kitchen door.

  When I stepped into the room, Nicolas wasn’t there either. Why did I have a surge of panic? That nagging feeling at the back of my mind was pushing its way to the front. I told myself that I was just tired. It had been a long night and I needed rest. Heck, it would be daylight before long. I stepped from the kitchen over to the dining room thinking that maybe he was in there eating. But once again the room was empty.

  “Nicolas?” I whispered again.

  Why was I whispering anyway? It wasn’t as if anyone was in the room. Did I think he was hiding or something? Next thing I’d be checking under the tables. I’d look in all the rest of the rooms. If he wasn’t downstairs, then he must have gone to his room. Maybe I’d been so consumed in my conversation with Annabelle that I hadn’t noticed Nicolas slip up the stairs. He’d probably thought that our dancing time had ended when I’d spent so much time on the phone. In my defense, it had been hard to stop Annabelle from asking a million questions.

  After searching everywhere downstairs, I made my way up to the second floor. Unless he was in my bedroom waiting for me, then I couldn’t imagine why he would be on the second floor. When I opened my bedroom door, I was slightly disappointed to find that he wasn’t waiting on the bed for me, but I digress.

  I headed up to the third floor thinking that Nicolas was for sure already in his room. He was probably already fast asleep, exactly where I should be. When I noticed that his room door was open, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach again. This was really odd. I stepped into the space, but the room was empty.

  I decided to check downstairs one more time. Maybe he’d gone outside for some fresh air. If he wasn’t downstairs this time, I’d just go to bed. He probably needed time alone to think about everything that had happened. I couldn’t say that I blamed him.

  As I rounded the corner of the landing to head back downstairs, a noise sounded from down the hallway. Much to my chagrin, I knew it had come from that creepy attic. There was always some kind of creak or bang coming from that room. No wonder people had claimed a body was hidden in there.

  When I stepped up to the little attic door, memories came flooding back—confusing memories of when I’d found the Book of Mystics. The book had been hidden in the attic along with a map leading me on a weird paranormal scavenger hunt. Did I mention that my Great-Aunt Maddy had been eccentric? The Book of Mystics was written in an unknown language. I still hadn’t been told what it all meant. Maybe someday someone would be nice enough to clue me in.

  I really didn’t want to check the attic again, but since I’d looked everywhere else, I knew I might as well look there too. What harm could it do?

  I opened the door just a little and peeked in. So far I didn’t see anyone, but it was dark, so someone could be hiding in there for all I knew. I’d found Liam looking for the book in there one night so I wouldn’t be surprised by anything I found in the attic. With some hesitation, I finally stepped into the room, but after looking around I saw nothing.

  A musty smell hung in the air and cobwebs decorated the corners. A few boxes lined the wall to my left and a couple of brown vintage suitcases set to the right. An old wingback chair with a bureau pushed up next to it took up space at the back of the room. I didn’t want to waste any time stepping farther into the space. If there was another ghost in there, well, they’d just have to stay there. I didn’t want to know about it. I closed the door and headed back down the stairs.

  When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Nicolas was standing in the parlor where I’d left him.

  “Oh, you’re here,” I said with shock. How had I missed him? “Were you outside?”

  He looked at me blankly. I stepped closer and studied his expression. Something seemed different again. That blank expression had returned, but that wasn’t all— it was something else. I studied his face as he smiled slightly. Even his smile seemed different. When I looked down, I noticed a necklace around his neck. He hadn’t been wearing it earlier. I definitely would have noticed something that gold and shiny. That was odd. I looked up at his face again, but he remained silent.

  “I’m really tired. I think I’ll just head off to bed.” I gestured over my shoulder.

  He nodded. “I understand. It’s been a long day. I’ll walk you to your room.”

  His voice even sounded different. This was not the Nicolas that I knew, but I followed him across the room anyway.

  “Oh, wait. I left the spell book in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” I held up my index finger indicating I needed a second.

  Nicolas nodded. His silence was eerie. Once in the kitchen, I grabbed the book and hurried back across the house. When I stepped into the foyer, Nicolas wasn’t there. Had he already gone upstairs? He’d said he’d walk me to my room, but had he changed his mind? I looked up to the second floor landing, but didn’t see him there either. As I made my way up the staircase, a sound caught my attention. When I looked up, I spotted what I thought was a woman. What the hell? Who was in the house?

  I rushed up the steep and winding stairs, trying not to trip and kill myself. The first thought that came to mind was that I had another ghost in the manor. Word had probably spread within the graveyards that I could reanimate the dead. How had the ghost gotten into the house though? I’d cast a spell to protect LaVeau Manor, although there was no guarantee that it had worked.

  When I reached the second floor landing, I caught a glimpse of the figure again. The only thing visible was the back of her long off-white dress as she continued up to the third floor. Her gown reached all the way to the floor. I had to warn Nicolas that a ghost was coming his way, but she would probably reach him before I did.

  “Stop,” I called out.

  Would Liam hear me and come running? I didn’t want to startle him over something as simple as a ghost. The only harm she could cause was if I brought her back to life, right? And I had zero plans of doing that. It had caused noth
ing but problems when I’d done it accidentally. I sure wasn’t going to do it on purpose.

  The ghost didn’t stop when I called out to her, but I hadn’t anticipated that she would. It had been worth a shot though. I rushed around the landing, down the hall, and up the third flight of stairs. My day had been strenuous already, and now I had even more cardio. I would need an oxygen tank by the time this day was over. When I finally reached the third floor landing, I stopped in my tracks. There was no female ghost in sight. In fact, there was no ghost at all. However, Nicolas was standing at his door. His back was facing me.

  “Nicolas, are you all right?” I asked.

  At the sound of my voice, he turned around. That same blank look filled his eyes. Something was definitely wrong with him. This wasn’t normal behavior.

  He smiled that dazzling smile as if nothing was wrong, but that strange look in his eyes remained. He couldn’t hide that no matter how hard he tried. “I’m fine. Just thought I’d get some rest. You should do the same.”

  “Did you see someone else up here just now?” I asked as I looked down the hallway.

  He shook his head. “No, it’s just me.”

  The ghost must have disappeared into another room. I’d have to check the empty rooms for her, but what if she’d gone into Liam’s room? I’d have to warn him that a ghost might be lurking in the manor.

  “I thought I saw a woman in an ivory-colored dress come upstairs. I’m almost sure of it.” I sighed. “There may be another ghost in the house.”

  As soon as I found her I’d order her to leave. Or better yet, first thing in the morning I’d find a spell to force her out of the house. She couldn’t hide out in here forever. I’d banished a demon; surely I could banish a ghost too.

  “You’re tired. Maybe you were just seeing things.” He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.