Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (6 page)

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 doo
r, 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 ha
d 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 nothing 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.

He was right of course. I was tired, but there was no way I’d imagined that, right?

Nicolas leaned down and placed his lips lightly against mine. The nagging feeling that something was wrong wouldn’t go away. Even his kiss didn’t feel the same. It didn’t feel as if Nicolas was there. It was like I was kissing a stranger. I stepped
back and stared Nicolas directly in his eyes.

“I need to go to bed now,” I said, trying to act as if I didn’t suspect anything was wrong. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He smiled, then stepped into his room and closed the door. I’d have to talk to Liam about Nicolas’ behavior and the strange look in his eyes. But first I’d check the empty rooms for the ghost, although she had probably disappeared to wherever ghosts go when they weren’t making themselves visible. They retreated to some kind of in-between world, I supposed.

Once at the end of the hallway, I opened the doors to the other rooms and poked my head inside. The ghost wasn’t there just as I’d suspected. The only other place left was in Liam’s room. As tempted as I was to peek in there, I’d have to wait until morning to talk to him about Nicolas and what I’d seen.

After placing the Book of Mystics in my room, and finding no ghost, I headed downstairs to search for her. Now I was playing a game of hide-and-seek with a ghost. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Liam was just stepping out from the parlor. A glimmer sparked in his eyes and he looked genuinely surprised to see me.

The air seemed thicker in the room.
It didn’t feel like only magic—there was something more. “I thought you were in bed already,” I said.

“I couldn’t sleep, but you need to get some rest.” He ran his hand through his thick dark hair.

Had the ghost kept him awake?

“I need to talk to you about a couple things.” I pointed toward the parlor. “Let’s go back and have a seat.
”

He frowned. “Is everything okay?”

I looked over my shoulder toward the staircase. “I’m not sure.”

Liam followed me back into the parlor. I sat on the large red velvet chair in front of the stone fireplace. He eased down onto the matching chair across from me. The only light came from the kitchen, so the room was dim. Since the parlor was massive in size, I’d placed two chairs in front of the fireplace to create a more cozy setting. I’d tried
to make the parlor more casual, a place where I could hang out and watch TV. LaVeau Manor was so big though, it was hard not to feel as every room was part of a museum.

Liam shifted in his chair. “If this is about me being your bodyguard… I can see if they can find someone else for the job.”

What was making him so anxious?

“No, no. I
t’s not that. I want you to have the job. I trust you.” I tried to reassure him with my eyes.

Had I just officially agreed to allow Liam to be around me all the time?

“What is it then?” His posture straightened and his muscles tensed.

“Did you notice anything strange about Nicolas tonight?” I searched his face for a reaction.

“More strange than usual?” he asked with a grin.

“I’m serious. Did you notice his eyes?” I waited for Liam’s answer, but as I searched his eyes, I noticed he looked a bit odd as well.

What was happening? For a split second it felt as if I was frozen, as if held captive by his gaze. Liam’s eyes glowed silver, then returned to bright blue. My lack of sleep was obviously catching up to me.

When Liam didn’t answer, I continued, “Nicolas’ behavior seems to have gotten worse as the night went on. There is
a black, blank look in his eyes. I mean, he was quiet as soon as we left for New Orleans, but I think it got worse when we left the plantation.”

“I hadn’t really noticed, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention.” He frowned.

“Do you think it had something to do with the trip to New Orleans? Could Jacobson have placed a spell on Nicolas?” I asked.

Liam leaned forward and squeezed my hand. I sucked in a sharp breath. He must have noticed my reaction because he immediately released my hand.

Liam pushed to his feet and stood beside the fireplace. “It’s definitely possible that Jacobson did something. I wouldn’t put it past him, but we have no way of knowing what kind of spell he would have placed on Nicolas.”

“I can’t believe he would do something like that.” I leaned my head back against the chair; I was beyond exhausted.

He shook his head. “I told you he has a screw loose.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Then why is he the leader of the New Orleans Coven?”

He threw his hands up. “People love him. I guess he convinced them to look past his eccentricities.”

“Well, I’m not going to look past them.”

After a few moments of silence, Liam said, “I was close to Gina too. After my mother died, I lived with her sister, then after a time my father came for me. His new wife Gina, Nicolas’ mother, was like a mother to me as well.” Liam looked down at his black shoes.

“I had no idea,” I said softly.