Charmed Ever After (The Halloween LaVeau Series Book 6) (5 page)

We had arrived at the apartment and the movers brought in all the boxes and furniture that would fit the place. It was jam-packed. What wouldn’t fit in there we were taking to my mother’s place and a storage unit I had rented. Pluto roamed around the tiny space and then went over to the window to look out. He started meowing, probably wanting out. I didn’t blame him. I wanted out of there too. It would definitely take getting used to our new surroundings.

Now I was all settled in and everyone had left except for Nicolas.

“How about pizza?” Nicolas picked up his phone.

I shrugged. “I don’t know…”

“Extra cheese? Stuffed crust?”

Even in my down mood, I couldn’t hold back the smile. He figured that comfort food would cheer me up. I didn’t think even that would work now, but I wasn’t turning it down either.

While we waited for the pizza, I asked him to describe the spell again and how it had made him feel.

“I knew everything that was going on around me, but I couldn’t move. There was little warning that anything was wrong.”

“But you felt a tinge of magic before it hit?”

Before he answered the doorbell rang, and for a moment, I was hesitant about allowing Nicolas to answer. I reached out to grab his arm and stop him.

“It’s the pizza, Hallie,” he said as he walked toward the door.

I couldn’t live my life in fear, but I also couldn’t let my guard down either
.
   

Somehow I managed to force down a couple of thin crust slices of cheese. The world would have to come to an end for me to refuse pizza. I just needed to go to bed, wake up, and all of this would be a nightmare.

Nicolas and I walked over to my bedroom. No more canopy bed and wardrobe. There was no way it would fit in this room. Instead I’d used one of the smaller mahogany beds from the manor. Storage for all that furniture was going to cost a fortune. As I walked across the room, I bumped into the bed. I jumped up and down a few times holding my leg.

“Much smaller room than at the manor, huh?” Nicolas asked.

“I don’t like it.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. “It’s cozy and romantic.”

Again, I couldn’t hold back the smile. “Why don’t you show me how romantic it can be?”

“Gladly,” he whispered as he lowered his mouth to mine.

***

Sunlight streamed through one tiny sliver of the blinds on the window. It was the only window in this place. I was still in bed, even though it was twelve o’clock. I just didn’t want to get up. A week had passed since I’d come to this place. I really wasn’t sure what had happened since that day because I hadn’t been outside. I didn’t know what was going on with the world. Were people driving around in hovercrafts now? I had no idea.

A knock came at my door. I pulled the pillow over my head and tried to ignore it. Nicolas had left a couple hours ago and I’d fallen back asleep.  

“Hallie, I know you’re in there and that you hear me. If you don’t answer the door, I’ll have to have the police come and knock it down.”

Annabelle totally would do that. But I wouldn’t put it past her to try something else either. Like trying to knock it down herself. I hadn’t talked to her in the past week. I just hadn’t left my bed other than to eat and shower. I wasn’t so bad that I’d skip a shower. I was depressed, but I wasn’t gross.

She banged on the door again. Sighing, I finally crawled out of bed.

“I’m coming. Quit banging on the door before you knock it down,” I yelled.

When I opened the door, Annabelle was standing right in front of me, tapping her foot against the floor with her hands on her hips. Today she was wearing a gorgeous black skirt and black and white blouse. It looked as if she’d been shopping for some designer duds.

She waved her hand and motioned at me. “This is not going to work.” 

I look down at my sweats and T-shirt. “What?”

“This whole homeless look you have going on. It’s not in fashion, so stop trying to make it that way.” She stepped inside of the apartment. “Now go put on your best outfit because you’re going outside in the real world.”

“I don’t want to face the real world,” I mumbled.

“You have to snap out of this because we have things to deal with.”

I picked at the lint on my sweats. “What type of things?”

When I glanced up, the expression on her face changed.

“What? This can’t be bad news. What else can happen? I’ve already dealt with the worst news possible.”

The look on her face wasn’t encouraging.

“Something worse?” I asked.

She sighed and then said, “All right, I do have more bad news.”

I waved my hands and headed back toward the bedroom. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”

“You can’t ignore this,” Annabelle said as she followed me to the bedroom door.

“Watch me,” I said.

“It’s about your mother.” She rushed the words.

I stopped instantly and spun around. “What about her? Is she okay?”

“The new leader has ordered that her shop be closed for good.”

My nostrils flared. I was surprised that steam wasn’t coming from my ears. “On what grounds?”

Annabelle shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“That’s it. Nobody messes with my mama. I’m going to straighten this out right now.”

Annabelle’s eyes widened as I ran across the room and grabbed some clothes. I had no idea what I was even putting on. I thought I was wearing jeans and an old T-shirt, but I didn’t care. I stuffed my feet into a pair of tennis shoes and ran for the door.

“Who does she think she is? I’m going to let her have it. You can mess with me, but you can’t mess with my mama.”

“I knew you’d be mad,” Annabelle said as she ran behind me.

Mad was an understatement.

When I reached my mother’s shop, I found her in the middle of the room with boxes all around. She was putting items from the shelves inside. I expected her to be crying, but instead, her face was red and she was cussing. My ears hurt. I’d had no idea she even knew words like that. If I said something like that she would stick a bar of soap in my mouth. I didn’t say anything though because I knew exactly how she felt. I would not let Monique get away with this.

My mother tossed her arms up. “I’ll have to sell the building. Without the income from the shop how will I survive? I don’t have enough for retirement yet. Not to mention I’m way too young to retire anyway.” My mother tossed more items into a box.

I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Don’t put another thing into a box. I’m putting a stop to this. You’re not going anywhere.”

My mother snatched another item and tossed it into the box. “No offense, Halloween, I love you, I really do, but you can’t even do magic. How are you going to stop the leader of the Underworld?”

“There are ways,” I said.

I hadn’t thought of them yet, but that was a minor issue.

"I really don’t know what we’ll be able to do to stop her,” my mother said.

"Just because she’s the leader doesn’t mean she gets to do whatever she wants.”

My mother cringed every time I mentioned that Monique was the new leader.

“Come on, Annabelle.” I motioned over my shoulder.

“Where are we going?” Annabelle asked as she hurried along behind me.

“Be careful,” my mother called out as we headed out the door.

“We’re going to the manor. I’m going to confront her.”

We stepped out onto the sidewalk. Enchantment Pointe was busy with people walking up and down the sidewalks. They went in and out of the shops and restaurants. It was life as usual for everyone else
.
 

“Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Annabelle asked. “I think she will have you arrested.”

“For what? Talking to her? She’s the leader. She’s supposed to handle problems. Well, I have a problem and she’s going to deal with it.”

Annabelle sighed. “Okay, but I’m driving.” Annabelle pulled out the big poufy white fur ball that she used as a keychain.

We made the short trip to LaVeau Manor. Tall pine and oak trees covered with moss shrouded the entrance. It wasn’t just the camera that made me feel as if we were being watched. Maybe it was witchcraft… perhaps the trees standing guard… or was there something else hidden from sight? Spirits waiting to be reanimated?

It was surreal pulling up to the drive and having the gate be closed. Things had changed. There was a lock on the gate and Monique had installed a camera.

“I think someone is watching us.” I pointed at the camera angled in our direction.

Annabelle leaned down and peered up at the camera. “Do you think she’s watching us now?”

“I guarantee it.” I opened the car door.

“Where are you going?” Annabelle called out.

“I’m going to inspect it.” I got out of the car and looked up at the camera. “Come out here and talk to us right now.”

The pebble drive crunched under our feet. It was the only sound.

Annabelle joined me at the front of the car. “I don’t know if we should do this.”

I wasn’t going to let Monique scare me. “Are you afraid to confront us?” I yelled.

A siren sounded from behind us. I spun around to see a police cruiser had pulled up behind my car in the driveway. It was blocking me in. The words Enchantment Pointe Police Department were written on the side of the car. I glanced at the back seat with the partition that kept the prisoners confined. Yeah, I didn’twant to be back there
.
 

“Uh-oh,” Annabelle said.

“I can’t believe she called the police.”

“Well, you should believe it,” Annabelle said.

The officer got out of the car and walked over to us. His dark blue uniform was neat and precise. Dark hair peeked out from under his hat. Even though he wore aviator sunglasses, I knew his gaze was focused on us. As he approached, he whipped the sunglasses off and narrowed his dark eyes. He continued his march toward us. 

“Just act casual,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.

“I don’t think I know how to act casual,” Annabelle said through a fake smile.

Yeah, I knew that would be almost impossible.

“Is there a problem?” the officer asked, looking us up and down.

“We were just leaving,” I said as I headed for the car.

“Not so fast.” He blocked me from going any further. “Are you harassing the owner of this home?”

That question was like a slap to the face. “I own this place.”

He frowned. “She said you would say that.”

“We really were just leaving. We don’t want any trouble,” Annabelle said.

The officer looked us up and down again. “I’ll back up so you can get your car out. Then I’ll follow you to make sure you leave.”

Annabelle and I climbed back into the car.

“That’s it. I’m in
The Twilight Zone
,” I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

Annabelle backed out of the driveway. Sure enough, the officer followed us down the street.

“He’s making me nervous. I just know I’ll make a mistake. Accidentally roll through a stop sign. Run a red light.”

“Don’t do those things,” I said.

“It’s impossible with him following me.”

“Yeah, you already said that. Should I call the jail and have them reserve our cell?”

“Can they do that?” she asked. I stared at her. “No, they don’t take reservations.”

“Do you think he’s going to follow us all the way back to town?” I asked as I looked in the side mirror.

“Probably,” Annabelle said.

We reached the edge of town and he was still behind us. With the added traffic, I hoped that we could lose him.

“Maybe we should turn off into one of the shop’s parking lots,” Annabelle said.

“Give it a few more seconds to see what he does.”

Finally, when we reached the red light, he turned.

“Whew. Thank goodness he’s gone,” Annabelle said.

“He’ll probably still keep his eye on us. We need a plan,” I said as I stared out the window.

The light turned green and Annabelle took off. “What do you think?”

“We should go back to that house where she lived and talk to the neighbors.”

“Do you think they will talk to us?” Annabelle asked.

“Well, it’s worth a shot.”

“Do you remember how to get there?” Annabelle turned at the next light.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

“Where do I go now?” Annabelle asked.

“It’s the street by that yellow street sign.”

“I turn at the gas station?” Annabelle asked.

I nodded as if I was confident, although I had a tiny bit of doubt whether I actually remembered how to get there. Luckily, I recognized the house and released a pent-up breath.