Charmed Ever After (The Halloween LaVeau Series Book 6) Read online

  “Do you think she’s even home?” Annabelle asked.

  “It seems quiet, but I think she’s giving us a false sense of security. She’s waiting for her chance to pounce.”

  Right after I said that I regretted it. Annabelle’s face turned paler and I knew she was panicked.

  “Let’s take a look in the window from the porch.” I pulled on her arm.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Annabelle whispered.

  “It’s the only way we’ll see if Nicolas or Liam are here.”

  “Their cars aren’t here,” Annabelle said.

  That was her way of saying she didn’t want to be here any longer.

  “Maybe they walked like we did,” I said.

  She gave me a look as if to say that was highly unlikely. We slowly inched the rest of the way to the porch and then up the steps. My breathing became more rapid. Once on the porch, I motioned for Annabelle to peek in the window to her right and I went to the left. I had no idea what Monique would do to us if she caught us. Probably cast some terrible spell on us.

  Things looked a lot different inside the manor. It was decorated with modern-style furniture. I didn’t think it matched the style of the home, but it wasn’t my place to decorate any more.

  “What has she done with the place?” Annabelle asked when she stepped over to where I stood.

  “Created a mess?” I asked. “What I want to know is how she got the spellbook? We need to think back to when she first got there.”

  “Is there anything unusual that happened?” Annabelle said. “What if she had someone to help her?”

  “I don’t remember closing the front door. Someone could have come in after we went to the kitchen. Of course that doesn’t explain how they got into the safe,” I said.

  “Probably their witchcraft,” Annabelle said with a click of her tongue.

  “Let’s look in some of the windows on the side of the house. Maybe we can find a way in.”

  “No way, Hallie, I don’t think we should go inside.”

  I sighed. “Okay, but let’s look in the windows.”

  We walked down the steps and headed toward the side of the house. My anxiety increased as we weaved around the tall hedges. The tree branches whipped and swayed with each step we took. Oddly enough the wind wasn’t touching us. The sound of a car caught our attention.

  “She’s back. What do we do now?” Annabelle asked in a panic.

  “We wouldn’t be able to get down the driveway without her seeing us. There’s only one option. We have to go around the side of the house.” I motioned.

  We ran for the side of the house. Once there we stayed close, pressing our backs against the stone structure. My breathing was heavy and I tried to steady my heartrate. I felt like a spy on a covert mission.

  Once there, I said, “We can go to the back and around the other side. By the time we get there she should be inside and we can sneak back down the driveway.”

  “This is terrible. She will chop us into pieces if she finds us here.”

  “She won’t find us,” I said as I motioned for Annabelle to follow me.

  When we got to the back of the house, I heard Monique at the back door. Okay, this plan wasn’t working out as I had hoped. Now we would have to wait until she left the back door. I hoped she didn’t look out and see us. The graveyard was a short distance away. The small iron fence was now my focus point. I set my sights on it like a laser. That was my target and I had to reach it. Trees surrounded the small graveyard. Lucky for us they would be perfect to help conceal us.

  “Maybe we can sneak through the graveyard. It leads to the other property and we can get out that way.”

  Annabelle didn’t look thrilled about going through the graveyard, but it was better than being caught. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, we’ll go.”

  As soon as we reached the edge of the graveyard, I spotted a woman. I stopped in my tracks and Annabelle almost bumped right into the back of me.

  “What’s wrong?” Annabelle asked.

  When I didn’t answer, she followed my gaze and spotted the woman. The woman wore a dark blue dress with a cape. The hood was up over her head, but her dark hair peeked out from under it.

  “Who is it?” Annabelle whispered.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I hope she’s not with Monique. She’ll go get her and tell her that we’re here,” Annabelle said.

  The woman made eye contact with us. There was no way we could hide from her now. I didn’t know whether to run or to actually talk with her. She started over to us. There was something familiar about her. Especially in the eyes. She wore a long black dress. Was she a ghost?

  “I guess we’re about to find out who she is and what she’s doing here,” I said under my breath.

  “Hello,” she said in a soft voice once she was in front of us.

  She seemed nice enough, but so had Monique when we’d first met her too. I no longer trusted anyone.

  “My name is Gigi. Do you live here?” she asked.

  Under the circumstances, that was an odd question.

  Chapter 10

  Gigi looked around as if she was looking for someone, then she leaned closer. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  How did she know? Her voice sounded urgent. This seemed like a warning.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  I wouldn’t admit that I used to own the place. I would make her tell me that she knew.

  Annabelle moved closer to me. She grabbed hold of my arm. The anxiety oozed off her. Again, Gigi looked around, watching for someone. This could be a setup. She could be stalling so that Monique could come out and grab us.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Gigi repeated. “She’ll see you and come after you.”

  “Oh, let’s get out of here, Hallie,” Annabelle said.

  So Gigi was trying to help us. Interesting. Why did she want to get us away from the new leader?

  “Here she comes now. I think she sees us. You have to run.”

  I looked back over my shoulder, but Monique wasn’t there. I wasn’t going to take a chance and wait around until she caught us though.

  “Thank you,” I said as I grabbed hold of Annabelle’s arm and ran.

  A raven took flight from the treetop, cawing as if he was watching for Monique. Was he telling her where to find us? The tree branches swayed still, making a loud noise as if to hide our movements. I could use all the help I could get.

  We ran as fast as we could through the graveyard, weaving around the stones. We came to the edge where the fence separated this area from the other property. The soft ground almost captured my shoes a few times. They were now covered in mud. The wind moved harder now, blowing my hair around my face. The smell of damp earth surrounded us.

  “We’ll have to climb the fence,” I said.

  It was a good thing that it was short because I would have never been able to climb over anything high. I wasn’t athletic enough for that. After a brief pause, I finally found a spot to place my hands so that I could hoist myself over. I positioned one foot on the bottom bar and lifted my body.

  Annabelle and I ran as fast as we could, glancing over our shoulders every few moments to see if Monique was behind us. She wouldn’t need to run after us though, she could do something else to get us. Finally, we came out of the treed area. I’d met my neighbor a few times, but the woman who lived in this house was pretty much a recluse.

  “What will the neighbor think if she sees us running through her property?” Annabelle asked.

  “I doubt she’ll see us.”

  We came to her driveway and ran down the long path. The road seemed miles away. My legs ached and my breathing was heavy. There was no time to pause. Finally, we reached the road again. There were still no cars. No one for miles except for us. What had happened to the woman at the graveyard?

  “At least we’re already back where my car is parked,” Annabelle said.

  “Yeah, that’s a good thing,�
� I said.

  We came to the road and I looked to the left.

  “Where is your car?” I asked.

  Annabelle placed her hand up to her eyes to shield the sun. She looked to the left, then the right, and then left again.

  “It’s gone. My car is gone.” She tossed her hands up.

  We walked down the road a little bit further, but the car just wasn’t there.

  “I know this is where we parked. Someone stole my car,” Annabelle said.

  I had a bad feeling about this.

  “I don’t think it was a coincidence. In other words, I don’t think some random person came along and decided to steal your car.”

  “You think that was why Gigi was warning us?”

  “How would the woman in the graveyard know about that though? Where did she even come from?”

  “The more important question is how are we going to get home?” Annabelle said.

  “I guess we’ll have to walk,” I said. “Now your car is gone and I still haven’t found Nicolas or Liam.”

  “You should call your mom to pick us up,” Annabelle said.

  “I really don’t want to worry her, but if I have to,” I said. “Before I do that I should try a spell.”

  Annabel gave me the look. “What kind of spell did you have in mind? I don’t know how to put this, but remember you’re not the leader anymore.”

  “True, but I’m still a witch. My magic can’t be that much worse already, right?”

  Annabelle released a deep breath, and then said, “Well, I suppose.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said.

  “No offense, Hallie,” Annabelle said. “Do you have a spell in mind?”

  “One that’ll get us right back where we need to be without all the walking.”

  “Just don’t get us hurt,” she said.

  After calling to the elements of air, fire, water, and earth, I recited the words and waved my arms in the air. I thought I felt energy, but it was so low that it was hard to tell if it was magic or just indigestion. I was under a lot of stress and that usually had an effect on my digestive system. Unfortunately, when I opened my eyes nothing happened and we were still in the same spot. I supposed that was better than having a bad spell. We continued walking. My feet were already hurting, so I decided to give my mother a call. The darkness stretched out in front of us like and endless dream. Or more like nightmare. Would I wake up from it soon? I hoped so. I glanced back a few times because it felt as if someone was following us.

  I had just pulled out my phone when I saw her number pop up.

  “She’s calling me,” I whispered, as if she could hear me.

  “Halloween, what have you done now?” she asked when I picked up.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “I just got a call from Mrs. Johnson. She lives down the street from where you used to live, remember? Anyway, she said she was doing her spell and then all of a sudden, bam, it went wrong. Obviously, she knew you had to be somewhere near.”

  So we were back to that again. Messing up magic spells for miles around. It had been known for years that Halloween LaVeau was a lousy witch and foiled the spells of the witches who got even remotely near me. No need for my mother to mention how disappointed she was in me, I felt miserable enough. “Never mind that. We need you to come get us.”

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “Walking along the road beside LaVeau Manor.”

  “Oh, Halloween. Sad, sad, Halloween.”

  I sighed. “If you’re finished with that you can come get us. Annabelle’s car is gone.”

  “I’m on my way,” she said.

  We continued to walk while we waited for my mother to arrive. The longer we walked the creepier it felt. Annabelle was becoming even more paranoid than me because she was jumping at the slightest sound. Even the insects scared her. The darkness of the night didn’t help either. Anyone could hide behind one of the many trees lining this windy road and jump out at us.

  “You think she’ll be here soon?” Annabelle asked.

  In the distance, I spotted my mother’s car barreling down the road like a bullet headed for its target. When my mother spotted us, she started honking the horn, as if we couldn’t see her if she didn’t. She pulled the silver Buick along the side of the road. Annabelle and I hurried over. I climbed in the front and Annabelle got in the back.

  “Whew. Thank goodness. Now I can stretch out my legs,” Annabelle said as she stretched out in the backseat.

  My mother made a U-turn in the middle of the road. The tires screeched and I slid on my seat. Even the seatbelt locked. It was like being in a NASCAR event. I was surprised the car hadn’t flipped onto its side on two wheels. My mother didn’t seem to notice that I was jolted around like a rag doll in the seat.

  “Where are we going?” my mother asked. She focused her eyes on the road. “Did you find Nicolas or Liam?”

  I leaned back in the seat. “There was no sign of them. We’re going to New Orleans.”

  I didn’t tell her about seeing the woman in the graveyard.

  “I think the only other place they would be is New Orleans,” I said.

  “So we’re going on a road trip?” My mother glanced over at me.

  Secretly I thought she was enjoying this a bit. Not that she was happy that Nicolas and Liam were missing. But that we had a mission.

  I glanced back at Annabelle. She was leaning back in the seat with a shocked expression on her face. I figured as much. My mother’s driving would do that to anyone.

  She shrugged. “I think we have no choice but to go. We have to find them.”

  It was good to know that Annabelle wanted to stick it out and help me find them, even if it was slightly dangerous.

  “New Orleans or bust.” My mother punched the gas.

  It wasn’t a long drive, only about an hour. We were nearing the plantation where Liam lived. It was the headquarters for the New Orleans Coven. Just up ahead was the gravel road. I spotted something near the turnoff.

  “There’s a car across the road up there,” I said.

  Something wasn’t right about what I saw up ahead. My stomach flipped and my heart thumped. Was there a way around it? We would probably get lost if we tried to find one. That would make the situation even worse. We’d be better off to stay on our planned route. I wasn’t sure we should try to go through this road block though. We were so close to Liam’s. I didn’t want to stop now.

  “What do you think they want?” Annabelle asked as she leaned forward in the seat for a better view.

  “Maybe there’s something wrong with the road,” my mother said.

  It was possible, but I had a strange feeling that it was much more than that. Something told me we didn’t want to be a part of it either. We neared the car and that was when I saw her.

  “It’s Monique. She’s standing by that car talking to that man.”

  Had I seen that car before? They didn’t look over and even notice that a car was headed their way. Did they even care? They probably knew we would have to stop. I couldn’t stop though. It was way too dangerous.

  “Why is she so evil?” Annabelle asked.

  “I bet they’re looking for me. They have to know I want the book back. Plus, I think they’re tracking my every move.”

  “What do we do now?” my mother asked in a panic. “Should I keep driving?”

  “Can we turn around?” Annabelle asked.

  My mother didn’t wait for an answer to turn around in the road. She was actually kind of good at defensive driving. My mother maneuvered the wheel like she was a professional driver.

  There was one problem with turning around though. My mother had successfully turned us around, but now there were two more cars across the road the other way.

  “They’re waiting for us down there too,” Annabelle said. “We’re trapped.”

  “We have to stay calm,” I said.

  I didn’t want my mother pa
ssing out behind the wheel. I knew Monique was responsible for this, but why? She already had the book. Did she feel threatened that I would soon get it back? How had she traveled from the manor to here so quickly? Clearly she was using the spellbook. I’d known she would be dangerous as the leader and this just proved it.

  Without saying a word, my mother made a sharp right turn down an old gravel road. Dust swirled around the car as we sped toward the unknown.

  “Do you know where this road leads to?” Annabelle asked. “It’s not on the GPS.”

  I hated to break the bad news to Annabelle, but the odds were likely that we would soon be lost. My mother remained silent, focused on the road.

  “I hope they didn’t see us come down this road,” Annabelle said.

  I hoped so too, but they already knew we were on the road. They would figure it out soon enough. I looked in the rear-view mirror to see if anyone was back there. At first, the cars weren’t behind us, but then a black sedan turned onto the road.

  “They’re back there now,” I warned.

  My mother punched the gas. “I don’t know where to go.”

  Now she told us.

  “Just don’t wreck and send the car into a swamp. One of the gators will eat us for a snack.”

  If this road turned out to be a dead end, then we were in serious trouble. Annabelle and I watched as the car raced down the road toward us. My mother sped up even more. I was worried her Buick would blow a tire soon. Or maybe the engine would fall out.

  “Halloween, I need your help,” my mother said.

  “With what?” I asked as I continued to watch the rear-view mirror.

  “I’m going to do a spell.”

  Oh, I knew she didn’t mean for me to feel bad, but this was terrible. Magic ripped from me… a magicless witch.

  “Grab my bag. I have a bottle of spell sparkle in there. I’ll recite the words and you sprinkle the sparkle.”

  “I’m not sure about this. Remember my magic?”

  “I just need you to sprinkle the sparkle. I’m doing the magic.”

  Obviously she underestimated my disastrous magic even after all these years. My mother still had that false sense of hope. I reached for her big brown bag and rummaged through.