Once Upon a Charmed Time Page 9

  He didn’t argue back, so I figured I’d won.

  “We need to call a meeting with the other board members. Victoria, can you do that?” I asked.

  Victoria pulled out her phone. “I’ll get on it right away.

  “We need to do this tonight. We’ll go back to your office,” I said.

  As we left the club, I glanced back. The owner was still shooting daggers with his eyes my way. Within thirty minutes Victoria had rounded the coven board members. We sat around the conference table. Of course I didn’t have a conference room back at LaVeau Manor, but hey, the manor was pretty awesome even without one.

  “Everyone, I’d like to introduce Halloween LaVeau, leader of the Underworld.” Victoria gestured at me.

  They clapped when I stood up. With all eyes on me I quickly became self-conscious. As I fidgeted with my hands and paced around the room I started discussing what we knew so far.

  “Does anyone have questions or ideas on what we should do first?” I asked.

  An auburn-haired woman raised her hand.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “So we can assume that they want everyone to lose their powers? Do they want this to happen to the whole nation or is it just this area?”

  “Well, whoever has this grudge or is attacking us I wouldn’t put it past them to try to move this out of the area as well and expand. That’s definitely something we’ll have to consider.”

  The tall bearded man raised his hand. “Do we suspect a coven member?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Could they want all the power for themselves?” he asked.

  “That’s a real possibility,” I said.

  Sadly, this meeting had posed more questions than answers.

  Chapter 18

  The next day we were waiting for my mother and Annabelle to emerge from the plane terminal. Their flight had just landed. I’d never thought I’d see them this soon. After a couple seconds they appeared. I hurried toward them, hugging my mother when I reached her.

  “How was the flight?” I asked.

  “Fantastic. We both love flying.” My mother smiled at Annabelle. “Though I will miss my husband. I told him this would be a quick trip”

  Way to rub it in.

  “Let’s get your luggage,” Nicolas said.

  Liam took her carry-on bags and we headed across the airport. Soon we had their bags and were headed out to the car.

  “Have you seen any celebrities?” my mother asked as she scanned the crowd.

  “Not yet,” I said.

  Not that I would have noticed. I’d been too worried about what was happening. There was a strange magic in the air. I worried that I was the only one who sensed it. I also worried that it was a precursor to something more sinister.

  “Oh, is that Reese Witherspoon?” My mother pointed.

  “Where?” I asked.

  She pointed across the crowd.

  “No, I don’t think it is,” I said, guiding her away from the area. I needed to get her out of there before she asked a stranger for an autograph.

  We reached the car and my mother and Annabelle stopped in their tracks.

  “What’s that?” my mother asked.

  Liam pressed the key fob. The car chirped in response.

  “How are we supposed to stuff ourselves in there?”

  “It’s like a clown car,” Annabelle said.

  “Um, it’s the rental car. It’s all they had,” I said.

  “How are we supposed to get in? Where will the luggage go?” my mother asked.

  “I’ll make it work,” Nicolas said, taking the luggage.

  He started shoving the bags into the tiny trunk. Liam was now helping shove.

  Once we got in the car, I asked, “How’s the manor?”

  Annabelle and my mother exchanged a look.

  “Oh, everything is fine,” my mother said with a wave of her hand.

  “I know that look and it doesn’t tell me that everything is fine. So just spit it out. What happened?”

  “Nothing happened.” Annabelle raised her hand as if she was under oath.

  I stared at them for a moment longer. “Okay, but if I find out you two are lying to me I will be extremely disappointed in you.”

  I was pretty sure my mother’s bottom lip quivered. That was one of her things. She couldn’t handle when someone was upset with her.

  “Where are we going?” Annabelle asked.

  “We have to go to Dalton’s house so Annette can get a look at the potions,” Nicolas answered.

  “You haven’t heard from him since the day you met him?” Annabelle asked.

  “Not a word. It’s upsetting. We have to find him.”

  “I wonder if someone else has him in a basement again.”

  “I just don’t understand why he left the hotel without telling us. We could have gone anywhere with him and this probably wouldn’t have happened.”

  “Have you ever thought that maybe he doesn’t want you to find him? Maybe he went into hiding so that no one would put him in a basement,” my mother said.

  “I suppose that is a possibility,” I said.

  We pulled up in front of the house.

  “Thank goodness we are here. I can’t wait to get out of this car. I’ve never been this close to anyone in my life.”

  They practically fell out of the car when we opened the door. It wasn’t that bad. Or maybe I’d just gotten used to it.

  “Maybe he’s back now,” Annabelle said.

  “That would be a good thing,” I said. “But I doubt it.”

  I scanned the area, but still didn’t see any neighbors. The magic was even thicker in the air now. We stepped onto the porch and up to the door. My mother and Annabelle stood back a bit just in case anything strange happened. As I suspected no one answered the door. I twisted the knob and it was still unlocked. It had been unlocked since he left. He’d thought he was coming right back.

  “I would think he would have come back for some of his belongings if he could,” my mother said.

  “Not if crazy people were after him,” Liam said.

  “I can’t imagine being locked in the basement like that,” Annabelle said.

  I turned the knob and opened the door. “Hello, Dalton? Are you here?”

  I knew I wouldn’t get an answer, but I had to ask anyone.

  I motioned for everyone to follow me into the house. “The bottles are back here in the kitchen.”

  They followed me across the living room and into the kitchen. I stopped in my tracks.

  “Where are they?” Nicolas said.

  Liam and Nicolas moved around me and started hunting for the bottles.

  “They were right here.” I pointed. “Someone must have come into the house and taken them.”

  “Do you think he came back?” Annabelle asked.

  “Why wouldn’t he lock the door if he came back?” I asked.

  “Good point,” Annabelle said.

  “Did you find anything?” I asked.

  Liam ran his hands through his hair. “It looks like they are all gone.”

  What would we do now? My mother and Annabelle had come all this way for nothing. I’d known we should have taken the bottles with us. I just hadn’t been sure it was safe to have them with us. Maybe that was the wrong decision. I hated making wrong decisions. I had my fair share of those too. I walked over to the back door and peered outside.

  “It’s okay.” Annabelle put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

  She knew what I was thinking.

  “You did the best you could.”

  I sensed the magic again. I turned and looked down at the floor. I started walking.

  “She looks like a bloodhound sniffing out something.”

  I moved into the living room. Once by the sofa, I paused. The magic was strongest there. I peered behind the sofa. “There’s a bottle back here.”

  I could have shown my mother the empty bottles we’d found, but without the pot
ions inside it was pointless.

  “Wow, how did you know that?” Annabelle asked.

  “Impressive.” My mother beamed with pride.

  Nicolas reached behind the sofa and picked up the bottle. My mother immediately took it from him.

  “Let me see that.” She studied the bottle of blue liquid.

  It looked like blueberry juice.

  “Well, can you get a sense of what it might be?” I asked.

  She studied the bottle for a while longer. “I’ve never seen anything like this. I need to find out what’s inside this liquid.”

  “How do you do that?” Annabelle asked.

  “We can do a spell and I will be able to get a sense for what’s in there.”

  “All right. What are we waiting for? Let’s get to this spell.” Liam clapped his hands.

  My mother held up her hand. “Easy, tiger. This spell can be complicated. We can’t just rush into it.”

  “What do you suggest we do to prepare?” I asked. “I really don’t have much time. This is an emergency.”

  “Okay, let me think about this.” My mother paced across the floor.

  Finally she looked at us. “All right. If you all promise to give this spell your all, then I think I know what to do.”

  She thought she knew what to do? That didn’t instill much confidence.

  “Okay, tell us what to do,” I said.

  She placed her hands on her hips. “We need a place to do the spell. It should be outside.”

  “What about here? There’s a backyard.” I gestured.

  “I suppose that will work. It would be better in a wooded area, but we don’t have much time.”

  “No, we don’t.”

  Had I mentioned that I’d singed my mother’s other eyebrow off in a spell gone wrong when I was fourteen? Thank goodness those days were over. Though to this day she had to pencil the other one in, bless her heart.

  “What else do we need?” Nicolas asked.

  “Just us. We will recite the words and use our power. That should be enough.”

  “Can I help?” Annabelle asked.

  “You can send us your positive vibes,” my mother said.

  It was sweet of my mother to include Annabelle. We hurried out the back door and to the lawn. We stood under a large tree. At least there was a tall privacy fence so no one would be able to see what we were doing back there. Though I wondered if they already knew their neighbor was a witch. The wind picked up as if it knew what we were about to do. Annabelle stood nearby and watched us.

  “You should join the circle.” I wiggled my hand to call her over.

  It would only help having an extra person to stand with us. This would be a big step for her and I wasn’t sure she was ready for it. She hesitated for a moment and then walked over. I smiled and gave her hand a squeeze when she placed her hand in mine. Liam was on her other side.

  “Shall we get started?” My mother’s voice deepened. I knew she was already getting into her witchcraft trance.

  Starting the spell she called to the elements. “Element of air, can you hear me? I call to you. Element of fire, can you hear me? I call to you. Element of water, can you hear me? I call to you. Element of earth, can you hear me? I call to you.” She recited the words carefully and waved her arms through the air.

  This just had to work. We needed for it to work. The light show began around us and I knew that she was doing something. Whether it was the correct spell or not I wasn’t for sure. There would be no way to know until after it was over. Unfortunately, that was the reality. Spells had a bad outcome sometimes and I hoped this wasn’t one of those times. Liam winked at me for assurance. He had always had faith in me even when my magic was the worst. Nicolas too. I could always count on them. I hoped my mother knew what she was doing. I didn’t know why I was worried. Unlike me, my mother had always been great with spells.

  “Allow the knowledge to be ours. The ingredients can’t be hidden. If there is bad let it be known. The good should come forward too.”

  We repeated after my mother. Even Annabelle recited the words. The air thickened with energy so that was a good sign. I wasn’t sure how long we were supposed to keep this up. I assumed my mother would let us know when she felt the spell was done. My mother sped up the words. It was hard to keep up with her. I’d never seen her like this before. What was going on? She was starting to scare me. I sensed something was wrong, but when did I give in to my feelings? What if I was wrong and messed up the whole spell? I was always second-guessing myself.

  The wind whipped so hard I felt as if I was in a hurricane. That was when I knew it was time to stop this. Thunder crashed through the air. My mother fell back. Nicolas and Liam rushed to her.

  “Annette, are you okay?” Nicolas asked.

  Her eyes were closed, which sent panic through my body. I raced to her. It was hard to stay by her side because the wind was so strong. It was almost as if the wind would blow me away.

  “Mom, talk to us,” I said.

  She opened one eye and then the other, but she still appeared dazed.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  Nicolas helped her to a sitting position.

  She rubbed her head. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I think the spell got a little out of hand.”

  “Help me up,” she said.

  Liam and Nicolas took her by the arms and helped her to her feet. The storm had passed as quickly as it had started. I knew that it had been caused by the spell. Or had it been? Maybe someone had been trying to stop us. Thank goodness that was over.

  “Do you think the spell worked?” I asked.

  She contemplated this for a moment. “I can’t sense anything.”

  This was a disaster and I didn’t know if the spell had even worked. I sensed a presence. When I glanced over at the gate that led out of the fenced-in area, I spotted a man. He was staring right at us. My anxiety increased just by looking at him. Why was he staring at us like that? Was he angry that we’d cast a spell? How long had he been watching us? Maybe he was a neighbor. He was tall, thin, and wearing a hat.

  “May we help you?” I asked.

  That was when it hit me that this could be one of the people who’d taken Dalton. That made me panic even more. I immediately became suspicious. Nicolas and Liam stepped forward. When the man moved toward us they started walking toward him. Why hadn’t he spoken to us yet? The longer he remained silent the more he creeped me out. He’d better talk soon before I decided to hit him with a magic spell. I didn’t want to give him a chance to hurt us first.

  The man walked up to Liam and Nicolas. I hurried up behind them.

  “Halloween, please be careful,” my mother said.

  She didn’t care if I was the leader of the Underworld. I was still her baby.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  Chapter 19

  “My name is, um, Edwin, if you must know,” he said in a very proper voice.

  He was exceptionally snooty. Who did this guy think he was?

  “Well, Edwin,” I said with my hands on my hips. “Exactly what do you want?”

  “I could ask the same of you.”

  “Hey, that’s Halloween LaVeau, leader of the Underworld, thank you very much,” my mother said.

  “LaVeau?” He eyed me up and down.

  I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Again I ask, what do you want?”

  I was beginning to lose my temper with this guy.

  “I’m looking for something. Please don’t stand in my way. It’s for your own good.”

  “You’re looking for something, so what exactly are you looking for? How do you know what’s good for me if you don’t even know me?” I smirked.

  “Listen, buddy, you need to tell her why you’re here or else I’m going to kick you out of this yard.” Liam shoved the guy.

  “Sir, kindly take your hands off of me,” Edwin said.

  Edwin looked around Liam and that was when he gl
anced over at my mother. She was still holding the potion bottle. His eyes widened and he made a beeline for her before we could even think to stop him.

  I screamed out, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  That was when he yanked the bottle from my mother’s hand and turned to flee the yard, but Nicolas tackled him. Liam jumped on as well as they tried to get the potion bottle from him.

  Even if we could subdue him what we would do with him afterward? I wasn’t quite sure, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with that bottle. There was a lot of yelling as he demanded that Liam and Nicolas take their hands off of him. There was pulling of shirts along with slapping. This was certainly an odd fight. That was when I decided I would get the bottle from him.

  I rushed over and reached for the bottle. I had a tight grip, but so did Edwin. He wasn’t about to let it go. I kept struggling to get it from him, but that was when he pulled hard and I tumbled backward to the ground. My mother screamed out and Annabelle ran and jumped on the guy’s back as well.

  Nicolas pushed the guy again. Edwin stumbled backwards, but somehow he still held onto that bottle. He had a death grip on that thing. It must be extremely important if he wanted it that bad.

  “Nobody messes with my best friend,” I said.

  My mother ran over. “Nobody messes with my daughter. Who do you think you are?” She started smacking him in the head and he was swatting her away like he was trying to get rid of a mosquito. I couldn’t believe that an all-out battle had taken place and it was taking all of us to fight against this guy. He had some real strength and ability.

  And I was surprised at his ability to struggle with us while still holding the bottle. Once again I lunged for the bottle, but he yanked it away like a dangling carrot. I fell backward with my arms whirling as I tried to get my balance. Luckily I remained upright. That was when Nicolas went in and gave him a one-two punch in the stomach. Nothing seemed to faze this guy. I was going to try to get that bottle again, so I lunged forward, grabbing at his hand. My hand made contact with the glass this time, but all of a sudden the bottle was tossed up into the air. All the contents spewed out and landed right on my face and all down my shirt.