Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (9 page)

She snorted. “Yeah, right. She’s your evil fairy godmother maybe.” Annabelle sighed. “I’ll be over soon. But I’m just coming into the kitchen. Maybe the dining room, but that’s as far as I go, okay?”

“Okay, it’s a deal. I’ll see you soon,” I said.

I really needed to work on Annabelle’s phobia. Maybe there was a spell for that. No, I didn’t want to jeopardize my friendship. If I messed up a spell on Annabelle, she’d never forgive me.

As I made my way downstairs to prep for breakfast, a thought popped into my head. Catherin had said she was buried in the back yard. Her grave would be there. If her name wasn’t on one of the tombstones, I’d know right away that she was lying to me.

Once I made it to the kitchen, I stepped out under the canopy of the darkened sky and headed toward the old graveyard located at the edge of the property. Tall moss-covered oaks ringed the cemetery, shading the graves and making the grounds even spookier. The sun hadn’t popped up yet, so I had to watch my step as I trailed through the grass—had I mentioned how spooky it was out there? No wonder Annabelle found even the outside of LaVeau Manor sc
ary. Spooky movies could be filmed on location at LaVeau and they wouldn’t have to change a thing.

The sensation of being watched followed me everyw
here I went. I hoped a ghost or other creature didn’t step out of the shadows and come after me. The sound of water lapping against the edge of the earth carried across the air.

It was hard to believe that a short time ago I’d been fighting for my life in that water. Mara had wanted the Book of Mystics so she could be the leader of the Underworld. We’d battled in the backyard, and when I’d run out of places to run, I had been forced to jump in the water. I
’d been known to use a water noodle as recently as last summer, so that had been no easy decision on my part.

I’d seen my Great-
Aunt Maddy in the old graveyard too. She’d reminded me of my new powers of the elements. If it hadn’t been for her, I probably would have drowned. Would she appear to me now? I could really use more advice right about now.

A black wrought-iron fence surrounded the graveyard. I pushed my way through a curtain of Spanish moss and stepped through the little gate and looked around at the aged tombstones. The names and dates had faded on most of them. Where would I even begin to find Catherin’s stone? I’d have to look at each and every one. The sun had yet to pop up, so my visibility was low. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and clicked on the flashlight.

As I stepped through the graveyard, navigating the uneven terrain, I stopped at each stone, holding up the flashlight to read the names etched in the stone. Most of the markers ended with the last name LaVeau. But there were a few other names that I didn’t recognize. I wished I’d taken more of an interest in my ancestry now. I’d always planned on researching the graves sometime in the future, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

With each passing grave, my apprehension grew. What would I do if Catherin’s name wasn’t on one of these stones? I’d have to find a spell right away and try to get rid of her. Maybe I’d have to break down and ask for help from Liam and Nicolas. But Nicolas didn’t appear to be in any shape to help. Asking for help was one of the things I liked doing the least. I wanted to be able to handle all of this on my own.

I reached the last row of graves and had almost given up hope on finding her tombstone, when I saw it. On the stone was the name Catherin Butterfield. Born 1813 and died 1865. The epitaph read:
We shall meet again
. A huge weight of relief had just been lifted from my shoulders that I’d found her grave site, but it was creepy nonetheless.

A cold breeze blew across my skin like a whisper from the dead. Dizziness overwhelmed me and then there was black
ness.

The sound of my name being called out caught my attention. When I looked around I realized I was lying on the ground next to the grave. How the heck had that happened? Had I
blacked out? The last thing I remembered was looking at Catherin’s grave. The sun had just begun its rise, illuminating my surroundings. I’d probably been out for at least thirty minutes. How could I have missing time?

Maybe I’d fallen asleep. Was that possible? After climbing to my feet, I brushed the dirt from my clothing and hurried out the old iron gate and toward the house. Annabelle was standing on the back steps waiting for me.

She rushed over to me. “Where the hell have you been?”

I brushed more dirt from my arms, then gestured over my shoulder. “I was in the graveyard.”

“What? Buried in the graveyard?” She looked me up and down.

I glanced down at my hands and clothing. It looked as if I’d tried to dig up a grave with my hands. “Maybe I fell and hit my head.”

“What happened?” She grabbed my arm and led me to the house.

After stepping inside the kitchen, I sat on one of the stools next to the center island. “I decided to look in the graveyard for the new ghost’s headstone.”

“And what happened?” Annabelle asked, handing me a towel, and then sitting next to me.

I ran my hand through my hair and pulled out a dead leaf. “It was still dark when I went out there. I had my phone as a flashlight.” I felt my pocket. To my relief, my phone was still inside. “Anyway, I looked though the whole cemetery.”

“But you didn’t find her grave?” Annabelle asked with widened eyes.

I shook my head. “No, I found it at the back. But just as I found it… I blacked out, I guess.”

Annabelle frowned. “What do you mean, you must have blacked out?”

“I don’t remember anything after looking at her grave. The next thing I knew, the sun was up and I heard you calling for me. It must have been about thirty minutes.” I attempted to run my hand through my tangled hair.

“So you think you hit your head?” she asked, touching my head.

“Well, I don’t remember hitting my head, but what other reason would there be for me blacking out? I don’t remember b
eing dizzy. And there was a low-hanging branch,” I said.

“Maybe
you should go lie down?” She furrowed her brow.

I shook my head. “No
way. I need to take a shower, then make breakfast.”

She scrunched her nose. “You go shower and I’ll make breakfast.”

Annabelle never hid the fact that my cooking abilities were lacking. Since my magic had improved, I’d resorted to cooking via magic spells. Sure, it was cheating, but that was better than eating burnt pancakes.

Nicolas and Liam were obviously still sleeping since I hadn’t heard any movement coming from the third floor. My bigger concern at the moment though was Catherin Butterfield. All I wanted to do was get to rid of her as soon as possible. Right after breakfast I was definitely casting a spell to send her back to the grave.

While in the shower, I thought back on what had happened in the cemetery. It was very disturbing to think that I’d been out there in the middle of the graveyard passed out like I’d crawled home from an all-night college party. Since I had no other explanation, I had to assume that I’d either fallen asleep and not remembered, or bumped my head. Either way, I hoped it never happened again.

All this magic and running around was cutting into my routine. Dirty laundry overflowed from my hamper and my cupboards were bare. After finally finding a half-decent clean pair of jeans and
a blue sweater that I hadn’t worn since senior year of college, I slipped on the clothing.

Next, I needed to find something for Catherin. I sifted through my closet, but there was nothing that looked remotely like something she’d wear. She would have to settle for modern clothing. I decided against the sweats with
Juicy
written on the butt though. Something told me she wouldn’t appreciate that. I pulled a pair of brown slacks and a cream-colored silk blouse from their hangers and headed out the bedroom door.

The faster Ms. Butterfield came out of her room, the sooner I could cast a spell and push her into the afterlife permanently. I knocked softly on the door, but before I’d even lowered my fist, the door swung open.

“Hello, dear,” Catherin said with a wide smile.  

She was awfully bright and cheerful for so early in the morning. A morning person. Ugh.

I held out the clothing to her. “This won’t be a style you’re used to, but it was all I have. I’ve missed laundry day for a while.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you with my old-fashioned clothing,” she said, gesturing toward her dress.

“Oh no, you’re not embarrassing me at all. I just want you to be comfortable.” And to hide the fact that she was a ghost from Liam and Nicolas, but I left that part out. But who was I kidding? The truth would slip out and it probably wouldn’t take long either. “Please come down for breakfast when you’re ready. My friend is here and she’s preparing food for us.”

“Isn’t that lovely. You must be starving from your walk,” she said while studying the blouse I’d brought her.

I froze on the spot. “How did you know I’d been outside?”

She smiled sweetly. “I looked out the window and saw you, dear.”

“Oh yes, right. Well, whenever you’re ready,” I said, still not convinced.

As I turned to leave, a crash rang out from downstairs. I dashed away from the door and down the hallway. I hoped that Annabelle was all right. The sound of running footsteps sounded from above me, then Liam bounded around the corner
, almost smashing right into me.

His eyes were wide. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. The sound came from downstairs. Annabelle is down there,” I said breathlessly.

Liam rushed around me and down the stairs. I must have been slower than I thought because as I ran down the stairs, Nicolas caught up with me. It was good to see that he was awake, but the guilty feeling of knowing I had allowed his mother
to slip away came flooding back.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked.

He sounded like Nicolas, but when I looked into his eyes, they had that now-familiar blank stare.

“Annabelle is downstairs. She must have knocked something over,” I said, searching his eyes for answers.

Before he answered, another loud crash rang out. When we reached the bottom step, I noticed the front door was wide open. Nicolas and I ran over and out onto the veranda. Liam stood on the front driveway, but he wasn’t alone. Jacobson Stratford was there and he had his arm around Annabelle’s throat. She was trying to scream, but he was cutting off her airway.

“Let her go now, Jacobson,” Liam demanded.

“I’ll let her go when you turn over Mr. Marcos.” He yanked Annabelle tighter as she tried to escape.

This had gotten totally out of hand. What would I do now? I was the leader and I had to think of something. Pronto.

“Jacobson, I demand that you release her right now, or I’ll be forced to strip you of your witchcraft powers. You’ll no longer be the leader of the New Orleans Coven.” I shot daggers at him with my eyes.

W
here had that statement come from? I wasn’t even sure I could do that. But the words had just popped into my head and it sounded like the right thing to say at the time. Annabelle’s terror-filled face was killing me. I knew she hated the paranormal stuff anyway. She’d tolerated it because we were best friends, but that friendship was in serious jeopardy at the moment.

The magic’s energy was waiting to be unleashed. The power zinged through the air. Who would be the first to cast a spell? I was scanning spells in my head, trying to think of one that would work the best to get Jacobson to release Annabelle.

“This is your last warning!” I pointed and a furious wind blew around Jacobson, almost knocking him to his feet.

I couldn’t believe that had actually worked. For a nanosecond I glanced at my finger in shock. Why hadn’t my magic worked when I’d cast the spell to bring back Nicolas’ mother? Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline that coursed through me at the moment. With the way I felt, I could’ve probably lifted a truck off someone right now.

As if he’d lost control over his actions, Jacobson released Annabelle. She stumbled up and ran over to the veranda where I stood. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d jumped in her car and driven away.

I grabbed her arm. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, that lunatic just popped up in the kitchen and snatched me from behind.” Annabelle rubbed her neck.

Annabelle was safe at the moment, but now I had anoth
er problem on my hands. Liam and Jacobson tumbled to the ground. Liam smashed his fist into Jacobson’s face. Jacobson viciously swung his right arm, but Liam easily ducked the blow. I clearly had no idea what being a leader of the Underworld meant. Things had spiraled out of control.

By the time I rus
hed over, Jacobson had managed to slip away from Liam. He rushed over to his car, spewing a few colorful words on his way.

“Jacobson, as your leader I demand that you leave the premises right away.” I pointed at his car. “I’m calling an emergency meeting with your Coven. I’ll be at your home this afternoon at three.”

He actually looked stunned that I’d called him out like that. Having the meeting this afternoon would give me time to consult the Book of Mystics for the proper procedure on a situation such as this.