Charmed Ever After (The Halloween LaVeau Series Book 6) (17 page)

I’d found them! Now that I had the books in my hands, I had to sneak upstairs without her catching me. That would be just as hard as it had been going down. At least now I knew that I needed to step around the broken tread, but what if something else broke while going up? That would land me in big trouble. Thank goodness I hadn’t been hurt worse the first time. I could’ve landed a lot harder.

I rushed over to the stairs with the books securely in my arms. One by one, I eased up the stairs. Once at the top, I peeked around the corner. Ben was still talking with the woman. She looked as if she was increasingly getting tired of his conversation.

Ben should’ve tried flirting with her. Though she probably would have tried to punch him or something. When I thought that they were distracted enough, I inched my way toward the door. I almost bumped into a table of books, I was so distracted by watching them. I weaved around the rack of books and made the rest of the way to the door. I was almost free. I could see the finish line… my mother’s car. Now I had to worry about getting out of there without letting the woman hear the bell.

I opened the door slightly and squeezed my body through the open space. My mother and Annabelle were watching with frowns on their faces the entire time. I smiled widely when I was on the sidewalk headed their way. I was proud of myself that I’d been able to sneak in and out without being noticed. Waving the books through the air, I showed my mother and Annabelle my accomplishment. They still had the same looks on their faces. Were they still worried that I would get caught? No need to worry now. I was safe.

Then Monique stepped right in front of me and my stomach sank. Now I knew why they had been frowning.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked with an evil smile.

I had to stand my ground and act as if I wasn’t scared of her. “I’m walking down the sidewalk and if you’ll get out of my way I’ll continue.”

Some might argue that I should have been nicer considering her status in the Underworld. But she already had it out for me, so it didn’t matter what I said or did. Baking her cupcakes definitely wouldn’t help. I figured I had nothing to lose by speaking my mind.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said with her hands on her hips.

It looked like this might end in a fight. “While I have you here, why don’t you tell me what you’ve done with Nicolas and Liam? I know you’ve done something with them and I will find them.”

“Perhaps they just got tired of you and left.”

“I know you want me to believe that, but sad for you, I don’t.”

“I don’t have time to talk to you. Give me the books now.” She wiggled her fingers.

I laughed as I tightened my hold on the books. “If you think you’re getting these books then you’re crazy. No way am I handing them over you. You’ve got one book of mine already and you’re not getting these too.”

Her eyes darkened and narrowed as she glared at me, then she cackled. “I’ll get the books and I’ll get them now.”

I was fully prepared to put up a fight, although I knew I would lose. Her magic was substantially greater than mine. At least I would have the satisfaction that I’d tried. There was integrity and reward in that.

“Give me the books and no one gets hurt.”

Since I couldn’t win against her in witchcraft, I was left with only one other option. Making sure that I had a good hold on the books, I took off in a sprint as quickly as my legs would take me. I didn’t know where I was going or how far I would get before she caught up to me, but I had to make a run for it. I also hoped that she didn’t do anything to my mother and Annabelle. Where was Ben? She was probably looking for him too.

When I reached the end of the street, magic hit me in the back. I instantly fell to the ground. The books flew from my arms. My face was now against the concrete. That was one heck of a zap with magic. Maybe I was just being self-conscious, but I’d never seemed to have that kind of power when I’d had the spellbook. Now was not the time for self-doubt though. I had to get out of this mess. Monique had told me she was going to get the books. Now it looked as if she was right.

I reached out and tried to grab the spellbook. It was the most important one, but then Monique’s shoe planted firmly on my arm. I screamed out in pain. There was no reason to be that mean. She could’ve just taken the books.

“Leave her alone,” my mother yelled.

When I looked back, I saw that a couple of men had my mother and Annabelle. Ben wasn’t around. Maybe he’d seen what was going on and hadn’t come out of the bookstore.

“Get up from there right now,” Monique demanded.

“As long as you don’t continue to step on my hand, I will try my best,” I said.

When she moved her foot, I scrambled up from the pavement. She glared at me the entire time. I had expected for her to maybe take me back down again. The men still had my mother and Annabelle at the car. If my mother and Annabelle tried to move the two men might hurt them. I scanned the area, trying to think of a way to run, but I was trapped.

“Don’t even think about trying to run again,” Monique said. She motioned for a man standing near to us to pick up the books. “I’ve been looking for the second book,” she said.

What did she mean, the second book? How did she even know about this book?

“Plus, I see that you were trying to do a little research.” She smirked. “Too bad you don’t know as much as I do.”

She was so arrogant.

“Not all of us can be as conniving and evil as you,” I snapped.

“You only wish you were half as good as me,” she said.

“I don’t want to be anything like you,” I said.

The man reached out and grabbed my arm. “Come on, you’re going with me.”

I tried to yank my arm away, but he had a tight grip on me. Then the other man came over and grabbed me by the other arm. They led me over to the black Mercedes that had just pulled up to the curb. The man behind the wheel climbed out and rushed over to open the back door. They led me to the car and then stuffed me inside. I had no choice but go with them.

It wasn’t as simple as just getting out of the car. They had locked the door. I couldn’t unlock it. Trust me, I was trying, but they had cast some sort of spell on me that made me unable to go any farther than a few steps in each direction.

The man climbed behind the wheel. The other man got in the passenger seat, but unlucky for me, the new leader of the Underworld sat in the backseat with me. I supposed she wanted to keep an eye on me.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked.

She laughed as if I’d told the most hysterical joke she’d ever heard in her entire life.

“You can’t possibly think I’m going to tell you that. What benefit would it have for me?”

“Well, I’m going to find out eventually because we’re going there, so why not just tell me now?”

“Because that’s what you want and I can’t have you getting anything you want.”

“You have real issues, you know that?” I said.

“No one else seems to mind my wonderful personality.” She studied her fingernails.

“Whatever you want to believe,” I said.

I peered back to find my mother and Annabelle. I was sure they were freaking out. When I looked at the spot where they had been just moments earlier they were gone. I looked all around and didn’t see them.

“What are you doing with my mother and Annabelle?” I asked. “If you hurt them I swear to you that you will pay.”

“Stop talking. I’m sick of listening to your voice,” she said.

The man started the car and pulled away from the curb. We headed out of town and I knew the ride all too well. As we grew closer, I realized where we were probably going. I didn’t say anything though because it would be pointless. A few moments later, we pulled up to the manor. The man pushed in a security code and the gates opened.

She glanced over at me and said, “Nice touch, right?”

I had no comment for her smarmy remark. Okay, maybe I had one comment. “I didn’t need gates because my door was always open for the other Underworld members.”

“Yes, and because of that your book is gone—both of them now—and I’m the leader. Wish you’d done things differently, right?”

“I wish I’d done one thing differently. Namely, I wish I’d kicked you out of my house.”

If I’d only known.

We pulled around the circle drive and parked in front of the manor.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“This is where I live, remember?” she asked.

“Yes, but why did you bring me here? I don’t live here anymore, remember?” I smirked.

“No, I’ll never forget.”

The driver had gotten out of the car. He opened my door for me and motioned for me to get out. I did as he instructed. I figured he would just pull me out anyway. I didn’t need any more bruises.

She pointed for me to walk up the steps to the front door. All of a sudden it didn’t feel like home anymore. It was scary and I was terrified to find out what she was going to do to me. What was waiting for me on the other side of that door? The tree branches blew even harder than they ever had before, as if they were warning me.

The man opened the door and motioned for me to step inside. She had changed so much about the house that I almost didn’t recognize it. Except for the intricate wood and ornate moldings—they remained the same. I had sweet memories every time I looked at each spot: the parties we’d had here, the laughter and the good times. Everything that I’d shared with my family and friends. Monique might possess the home, but the memories would always be mine in my heart. She would never be able to take that away from me.

A strange sensation circled me. I knew she had some kind of magic cooked up. She grabbed my hand. I tried to yank it away, but she had a tight grip and wouldn’t let go. The men stood behind me, as if guarding the door in case I wanted to run.

“Come with me. I want to show you something,” she said as she pulled on my arm.

“What, a torture chamber?” I asked.

“You’re so witty,” she said.

That was something she hated about me, among everything else that I was sure she detested.

“As you can see, I did a bit of renovation.” She waved her arm through the air. “It was just so hideous with the décor.”

She really was pushing me with the insults. It was as if she was trying to get me to do something to her so she would have an excuse to use some really bad magic on me. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. She looked over at me for my reaction. I remained calm and acted as if everything was just peachy
.

I was being escorted through the house, but what was in store for me next, I had no idea. We moved through the library and headed toward the parlor. I still couldn’t get over how weird it felt to be in the house now that I wasn’t the one living here. I didn’t like her being in the house. It was mine and I didn’t think she should be touching anything, or using my kitchen, my cauldron… nothing. She knew that too and she made it even worse by rubbing it in.

As soon as we stepped into the room, I saw them. My stomach dropped and instantly tears filled my eyes. Nicolas and Liam were tied with rope to two chairs. They had tape over their mouths. The magic in the room was so thick that I could hardly breathe through whatever spell she had cast on this place. I assumed it was to keep them from being able to break free from the restraints.

I hated seeing them like this, but I was just overjoyed that they were safe. I didn’t want to say that I’d given up hope, but it would have been hard not to have had some negative thoughts when it had been so long without them. I rushed forward to hug Nicolas, but the man grabbed my arms and stopped abruptly. Nicolas wiggled in the chair.

“Sorry, no touching,” Monique said.

If I got a hold of her, I’d show her no touching. She deserved a sucker punch in the face. I tried to break free from the hold, but as usual I couldn’t escape that man’s grip. Next thing I knew, they had more rope and were tying it around my wrists.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.

“It should be pretty obvious, shouldn’t it?” she asked in a mocking tone.

“I know what you’re doing, but why are you doing this?” I snapped.

“Don’t you worry about it. You just let me handle all of this, okay? At least the Underworld now has a competent leader.”

I tried to break free again so that I could punch her, but no luck. She laughed at my failed attempt.

After tying my hands, they shoved me down into a chair, then tied my feet together. Next they secured my hands to the chair and pulled out the tape. I knew what was happening next.

“Is it really necessary to cover my mouth? I mean, who am I going to talk to? There’s so much magic around this place blocking everything that nobody will ever find us.”

“That’s true, Nicolas and Liam have been here all along and you never had a clue, but alas, I want to tape your mouth shut because I don’t want to hear you yapping.”

“You are such a…” The next thing I knew my mouth had been taped, cutting off my words. I was pretty sure she knew what I’d been about to call her though and the title was rightfully deserved.

“Now that’s much better. You all have fun and I’ll be back later.” She tossed her hand up in a wave and sashayed out of the room.

Now I was alone with Nicolas and Liam, but unable to communicate with them. We looked at each other. It was so hard to deal with looking at their sad eyes. Now what would we do? Nicolas motioned across the room with a tilt of his head, trying to alert me with his eyes. When I looked across the room, at first I didn’t see anything, but then I finally realized what he was trying to show me.

She’d left the books on the table across the room. How could I get them? I so wanted to get my hands on them, but how when my hands were tied? I wiggled my hands to see if there was any way I could loosen the grip, but nothing happened other than a burning sensation from the rope.

It wasn’t like I could do magic either. She had such a spell on this place, it was all bound up. Who was I kidding? Even without her casting a spell on this place I wouldn’t have been able to do any witchcraft without the help of that book. I wondered if Nicolas and Liam had tried to do magic since they’d been here? I was pretty sure they had. They looked as if they were exhausted. They’d probably been using all of their energy to try magic to break free from this spell.

I tried to remain calm so that I could figure out a way to untie the ropes, not to mention they were hurting my wrists. And the tape across my mouth was very unpleasant as well. I wiggled my wrists back and forth again, thinking that I would loosen something. The only thing I would probably loosen was my joints. I’d had no idea anyone could tie a rope that tight. It was probably breaking through my skin. Nicolas and Liam were watching me as if they couldn’t believe I was trying to break free.

I supposed they had tried to do that many times over the past week. I jumped in the chair and it actually moved a little bit, although noisy, but not too bad. Maybe if I took it slow I would be able to scoot myself across the floor. Though I had no idea what I would do when I got there since my hands would still be tied.

I jumped in the chair again and it moved a little further. Nicolas and Liam shook their heads. I wasn’t sure if they were just laughing at what I was doing or telling me not to do it. I had never been any good at taking hints anyway.

Now I was right beside the book. It was too good to be true though. I stopped to listen to the noise. Was Monique coming back? It definitely sounded like someone was coming close. If they caught me trying to get those books I would be in trouble. I didn’t want to inflict any more pain on Nicolas and Liam because of my carelessness. I had gotten them into this mess to begin. How did I keep making so many mistakes?

The noise sounded again. Now I had to contemplate what to do next. My anxiety increased at the thought of someone coming back into the room and catching me.

I had no choice but to go back. I scooted in the chair as fast as I could without making too much noise. My heart thumped faster and my anxiety was at an all-time high. I just didn’t want to get caught. There would be really no way to explain what I was doing. They would take the book away, spoiling my chances of me ever getting it again. Finally, after a lot of work, I made it to the other side. I was totally out of breath.

I tried to make sure I was in the same position as when they’d left me. I wasn’t sure if I’d accomplished that, but there was no time to change the position of the chair now.

Monique walked back into the room. She stared at me suspiciously and then looked at Liam and Nicolas. I figured she was suspicious, but apparently she had no way to prove that I had moved the chair across the room. In this day and age she could have set up a simple app to watch us. So much for her being so smart.

I wanted to ask her what she was doing back in here. Why didn’t she just leave us alone?

“Are you all up to something?” she asked.

I shook my head and tried to convince her with my eyes. Finally, she came over and ripped the tape from my mouth. I screamed out in pain.

“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.” She laughed.

“I said we’re not up to anything. What are you doing?”

“You know, I didn’t know that they would give you the second book too.”

How did she know about the second book and what did she mean by ‘they’?

“But just the same, I have them both now anyway,” she said.

She pulled out the roll of tape and took off a small piece and secured it across my mouth again.

“Enough from you for right now.” She wiped her hands as if it had been a dirty job. “Now I have to get back to work. You all be very good boys and girls, okay?”

The more she talked the more I couldn’t stand her. I tried to talk again, but it all came out as just grunts and moans through the thick tape. She looked irritated that I was still trying to talk.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but shut up because I’m not going to take the tape off again. It’s a whole big ordeal. My fingers get that sticky stuff all over them and I just don’t like it.”

Oh, she didn’t like it? I was so sorry to be such a burden to her when she’d had me kidnapped and tied up. Poor little leader of the Underworld. I wished I could really let her have it.

“Now be quiet. I don’t want to have to come back in here. No funny business,” she said with a wave of her hand and then she walked away.

If anyone needed to shut up it was definitely her. Just when I thought she was gone, she popped her head back around the corner of the room unexpectedly.

“Just remember, I’m watching you,” she said with that stupid smirk on her face.

Now I didn’t know how long I had to wait until I could try to get across the room again. If I could just touch the book a little bit, maybe with my face, then I could get some of the energy from it. Enough to cast a spell against her. Maybe a spell that would break the one she had on this room. Nicolas and Liam would have enough magic to get us out of this.

A couple of minutes had passed and I had to try to get back over there again. If I got caught, then so be it. I would just have to take my chances. What other option did I have? She was going to do something awful to us anyway. I might as well do it now and get it over with. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least try to get us out of this mess.

I moved my body so that the chair would skip again across the floor. This time I must have been getting better because it made even less noise.

I had successfully made it across the room and was now in front of the books. Now what would I do? Still I couldn’t break my wrists free. My hands were tied, so it wasn’t like I could use my legs to get the book. Like I said, maybe all that was needed was just to simply touch the book to get some energy. I leaned down and pressed my face against the book. I immediately felt some tingling and I assumed that the magic was working. I hadn’t had this much hope in a long time.

All of a sudden Monique screamed out. “I told you not to move. You didn’t listen to me.”

I immediately moved my head. I knew I had a panicked look on my face. I was completely busted. There would be no explaining away this one, and she would take the book away forever. I couldn’t believe she’d left it there in the first place. Maybe she’d wanted me to attempt something like this so she would have a reason to do something to me.

Monique immediately stomped over to me and slapped me across the face.