Third Time's a Charm (Halloween LaVeau) (12 page)

When I turned around, Giovanni was stumbling up from the ground. He glared at me and I shot daggers at him with my eyes. His dirty looks would do nothing to me. But he wouldn’t be happy with me for zapping him with that spell.

I marched back over to where he stood. He still seemed a bit dazed from the spell.
“I suggest you leave my property now,” I demanded as I stood in front of him.

His stare was relentless, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to back down. He stood with his fists clenched by his sides. I was waiting for him to unleash his magic on me, but he turned around and headed back toward his car. I followed him, but I wasn’t sure of what he was up to. I knew that
this wasn’t over. He was probably going to try to find Annabelle.

When he reached his car, he turned to me and said, “I will get that book.”

I glared at him, but didn’t respond. The coven members were on the veranda, watching me. I was sure they’d watched the whole scene. Now I had to find Annabelle.

He gunned his engine and peeled off down the driveway.

“Is everything okay?” Kelley asked.

“I don’t know where Annabelle is and I know he will go looking for her. She’s in a great deal of danger as long as she has the book
.” I rushed my words.

Rebecca
tsked. “What a foolish girl.”

“She was just trying to help me,” I said.

“No matter what she was trying to do, it was foolish.” She tossed up her arms and turned around.

The rest of the coven members turned and followed Rebecca back inside the manor. They whispered to each other as they walked, and I knew they were talking about me.

Kelley looked at me with a pitying smile. “I’m sorry. What are you going to do now?”

“I have to find her, but I don’t know where she is.” The anxiety was evident
in my voice.

I ran inside and Kelley followed me. When I rushed into the parlor, I grabbed Annabelle’s purse where she’d left it on the small table. I reached inside and found her cell phone. She hadn’t taken it with her. I stood there for a moment
, unsure of what to do next. Where would Annabelle go? Maybe she would go to her home? Either way, I didn’t want to handle Giovanni alone.

“Listen,
Kelley, I have to go find Annabelle. I’m going to find Liam and Nicolas so they can help.” I grabbed my purse.

“Can I go with you?”
Kelley pleaded with her big brown eyes.

I stopped and looked at her. How could I say no?

“I figure you shouldn’t try to find them alone. Since you’re stressed and all.” She gave a half-hearted smile.

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.” The witches watched from the foyer. “Please for the love of all things
witchy, don’t do any magic while I’m gone.”

They nodded and gave little waves in unison. Yeah, I knew there would be
spellcasting in the manor while I was gone. They could no more resist the call of magic than I could resist the call of a chocolate bar.

“I figured I can look for my family when I get to town,” she said as she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Did you have a lot of family in Enchantment Pointe?” I asked as I navigated out of the drive and down the street.

“I have a few family members. Like I said, my parents died before me.” She stared out the window.

“Didn’t you want to stay with them on the other side?” I asked.

“Well, it wasn’t as if I had a choice. I was brought here, remember?” She looked at me.

“Oh yeah. Again, I am sorry about that,” I said, looking at the road again.

We rode in silence for most of the way into Enchantment Pointe.
Kelley asked a few questions about current events. It was refreshing to have a spirit who was nice for a change. Kelley stared out the window and absentmindedly played with her bangle bracelets. She turned the radio and found the oldies station, which now meant Eighties music like Duran Duran and Madonna.

When I looked in the rearview mirror, I noticed a car was driving close behind mine. Was it Giovanni again? It didn’t look like his car, but I couldn’t be sure that he wasn’t in a different vehicle now.

I sped up a little but the car sped up too. When I tapped the gas a little more, I noticed a noise coming from the back of the car and the steering wheel began acting strangely. Of all times for me to have car trouble. I had no choice but to pull over. I hoped whoever was following close was just in a hurry. If I pulled over, it would give the driver a chance to go around me.

I steered the car to the side of the road and cut the engine. When I stepped out,
Kelley jumped out too and followed me to the back of the car. The big problem was that the strange white car had also stopped and pulled up behind my car. My heart rate increased as the gray-haired man climbed out from behind the wheel and walked toward us.

“Do you know that man?” Kelley asked.

I shook my head. “No, I’ve never seen him.”

The man approached the car. I hoped he wasn’t a killer.

“I was trying to get close enough to tell you that there was a problem with your back wheel. I hope I didn’t scare you, but you sped up when I got close.”

I looked down at the back of my car. Sure enough
, the tire was almost flat. I groaned. What would I do now?

“Thank you so much,” I said with a smile.

“Do you need help?” he asked.

I didn’t want to tell him that I was just going to fix the flat with a little magic.

“No, I’ll be fine. Thank you.” I said.

He nodded. “Take care,” he said as he walked back to his car.

I watched as he drove off. He’d seemed honest and I knew that I was just being paranoid. It was probably a good thing he’d come along to help when he did, although I was lucky that I had magic to help me. I was sure someone had caused the flat tire—my guess was Giovanni. The stranger had probably caused Giovanni to abandon his attempt to confront me on this isolated road.

“I’ll just fix it with a little magic, it’ll be a lot faster than if we’d let him help.” I stepped closer to the car and pushed the sleeves of my sweater up, as if I was about to get dirty.

Kelley nodded. “Let me know if I can help.”

I had to admit I’d never changed a tire. Now that I thought about it, fixing a flat was probably a skill I should have learned.

I recited the words for a spell as Kelley stood beside me. This time there was no wind, no lights, no magic-charged air. When I looked down at the flat, it did nothing. I frowned.

“That’
s not what was supposed to happen,” I said.

Now that the spell hadn’t worked, Kelley and I would have to figure out how to fix it on our own.

“Maybe I can help,” she said. “Although my witchcraft is probably a little rusty. I haven’t used it in a while.”

I guess
ed it was worth a shot. Kelley pointed her hands toward the tire, but before she had a chance to recite any words or do any magic, the tire instantly was fixed.

I looked at her. “Did you do something?”

She shook her head. “No, I hadn’t even started my magic.”

As we headed back to the car, I glanced over at Kelley. I noticed the symbol sewn onto the bottom of her shirt right away. Why hadn’t I noticed it earlier? It was just like the symbol on the witches’ clothing.

“What is that symbol on your shirt?” I asked as I started the car.

She glanced down. “Oh, that’s a witch’s symbol. Just for good luck. I don’t remember how I heard about it, but I think it helps with spells.”

I stared at her for a moment. “That’s odd. The coven members have that symbol.”

She chuckled. “Well, it isn’t helping with their magic, huh?”

I smiled. “No, I suppose it isn’t.”

Annabelle lived
in a beige-colored brick ranch in a small subdivision of newer homes. I drove up to Annabelle’s home and parked the car in the driveway. After rushing from behind the wheel, I hurried up to the door and pounded on it. When she didn’t answer, I went around to all the windows and peeked in. Nothing seemed out of place. Everything was neat, just as Annabelle always left it. Sunlight streamed through the opposite window and lit up the rooms. Her living room was on the left and the dining room on the right with the kitchen behind it.

Going back to the door, I found the key that she’d given me in my purse and opened the door.

“Annabelle, are you here?” I called out.

I went from room to room, but she was nowhere in sight. There was a glass in the sink, but other than that the kitchen was spotless. The table had been cleaned off. I knew Annabelle’s routine was to clean up every morning. It looked as if she hadn’t been home since she’d left.

“Looks like she’s not here,” Kelley said.

“No, and I don’t think she’s been here either. I’m not sure where to look next, but maybe she went to find the guys too. We should head over there now,” I said.

Kelley and I climbed back into the car and made our way over to the Bubbling Cauldron. Nicolas’ car was parked on the street in front of the bar.

“Wow. This place was a grocery store when I was alive,” Kelley said as she walked beside me.

“Yes, I guess a few things have changed, huh?” I asked.

“Yeah, but they’ve made good improvements. They used to have a Pac Man game in there that I played every day after classes,” Kelley said.

“They don’t really have those anymore. Although I’m sure there are some around. You can play it on your cell phone now.” I held up my phone.

“Where’s the bag for your phone?” she asked.

I snorted. “No bag for the cell phone needed either.”

Her hair still had an amazing amount of Aqua Net and her bangs reached skyward at a height I’d previously thought gravity would never allow, so I wasn’t surprised that she still wondered about all things
Eighties.

I dialed Nicolas and Liam’s numbers, but neither answered my calls. It went straight to voicemail. Of course that upped my anxiety level even more.

When we reached the door, Nicolas and Liam were coming out of the bar.

“Why didn’t you guys answer your phones?” I asked exasperated.

“It’s strange, but they wouldn’t work,” Nicolas said, holding up his phone. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think someone had placed a spell on them so that they won’t work.”

“What’s going on?” Liam asked with a scowl on his face.

“Annabelle is gone with the Book of Mystics,” I said.

“What? What the hell happened?” Liam asked.

Nicolas stepped closer to me and touched my arm. “Tell me what happened.”

“Giovanni showed up and the coven ladies thought it would be a good idea to see if he could add a spell to the book,” I said.
Liam shook his head and Nicolas frowned. “They thought it would solve the problem once and for all if he couldn’t add a spell.”

“Let me guess, he added a spell,” Liam said.

I frowned and shook my head. “Yes, that’s when I grabbed the book. He lunged for it, and Annabelle snatched it and took off into the woods.”

“What did Giovanni do?” Nicolas asked.

“He went after her, but I zapped him. He got mad and took off,” I said.

“So you tried to call Annabelle, I guess?” Liam asked.

I nodded. “She left her purse and phone at the manor. I went by her house, but she’s not there.”

Nicolas and Liam exchanged a look.

“What do we do now?” Kelley asked.

Just then my cell phone rang. “Maybe that’s her,” I said as I answered.

“I have the spellbook,” my mother said.

“How did you get the book? Where is Annabelle?” I asked in a panic.

“She left the book with me. She’s not here. I can’t believe you let it get out of your sight. And it’s too late because the coven already knows,” my mother said.

“I don’t care if they know,
Mother,” I said angrily.

“Well, don’t snap at me because you lost the book,” she said.

“I’ll be there in two minutes,” I said. We were close enough to walk to my mother’s shop.

“What happened?” Nicolas asked.

“The book is at my mother’s, but apparently Annabelle isn’t there,” I said.

As we were walking toward my mother’s shop, my phone rang again. I exchanged a look with Nicolas. When I answered, I was relieved to hear Annabelle’s voice.
“Where are you?” I asked.

“Did you get the book back?” she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

“I’m on my way to get the book, but it sounds like you’ve been running. Is everything okay? Where are you?”

“I can’t talk right now, but I have something important to tell you. I’ll meet you at…”

The phone went dead.

“Hello? Hello? Annabelle?” I said.

There was no answer, so I immediately dialed her number again, but it went straight to her voicemail.

“What is going on with the cell phones today
?” I said as I hung up the phone.

“What did Annabelle say?” Liam asked.

“She said she wanted to meet me, but the phone went dead.”

Finally my mother’s shop came into view. We weaved around traffic as we crossed the street and walked in
to the store. When we rushed in the door my mother was standing there with her hands on her hips.

“Well
, what kind of mess have you gotten into now?” She looked at us, then focused her attention on Kelley’s hair. “Oh, dear. Is it a costume party?”

Kelley
frowned.

“Mother, this is
Kelley. She’s the witch I accidentally brought back from the Eighties,” I said.

“Oh, for goodness
’ sake, when will this end,” my mother said.

I glared at her. “I don’t have time to argue with you right now. Where is the book?”

She reached under the counter and handed it to me. “It’s a good thing you have your mother to look out for you.”

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. I looked like a complete idiot because I’d let the book get away. “Where did Annabelle go when she left the book?” I asked
, taking the book from her hands.

“She left with Misty Middleton and some man who said he was a bartender at the Bubbling Cauldron.”

That didn’t sound right. What was she doing with them? Annabelle had never cared much for Misty. “Did she say why she left?” I asked with a frown.

My mother shook her head. “No, they were secretive, which I found a little odd.”

“We should find out what’s going on,” Nicolas said.

“Thank you, Mom, for taking care of the book. Now we have to find Annabelle.”

She looked at all of us and shook her head. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yes, call me if she shows up here again,” I said.

“Well, I tried to call you, but the phone wasn’t working. Maybe you should think about getting a new service provider,” she said with a frown.

“I’ll think about that,” I said.

Now that I had the book back, I had to find Annabelle to make sure she was okay. With our cell phones not working, it would be kind of hard to call Misty.

“We’ll have to go to
Misty’s home,” I said.

“Let’s go,” Liam said, holding the door open for
Kelley and me.

“Thank you, Mrs.
LaVeau,” Nicolas said, waving to my mother.

My mother blushed and wiggled her hand in a flirt
y wave.

“I hope I remember which house is
Misty’s,” I said as we rushed back to my car.

We loaded into the car with Nicolas and Liam in the back seat and headed toward the other side of town. It would be hard not to speed because I couldn’t get there fast enough. Something wasn’t right and I had to figure it out before it was too late.

As I drove down the main street, I glanced over at the sidewalk. “Hey, there’s Annabelle.”

I whipped the car over in front of several cars
, causing angry honks. I steered over to the side of the road and tapped the horn. Annabelle jumped and clutched her chest. A look of relief fell over her face when she saw us. I shoved the car into park and cut the engine. We all jumped out and rushed over to her.

“What is going on? Are you okay? I was worried about you,” I said.

“Sorry about that, but my cell phone isn’t working,” Annabelle said.

“Yeah, it seems like no one’s phone is working lately. Where have you been?” I asked.

“I was with Misty Middleton and that guy from the bar who said he was her friend.” Annabelle’s neatly plucked eyebrows furrowed.

“
I take it from your expression that you don’t think he’s really a friend,” I said.

Annabelle frowned
and shook her head. “No, I don’t think he is. I overheard him talking and he was talking with that Giovanni.”

“Damn it,” Liam said.

“I knew it. I knew we couldn’t trust this guy,” I said.

“What else did he say?” Nicolas asked.

“He was supposed to meet Giovanni, but he told him that he didn’t have the book yet. I guess that made Giovanni mad because I think they were arguing on the phone,” Annabelle said.

“It’s funny that their phones work,”
Kelley pointed out.

She was right. I’d have to find out which service they used.

“Why were you with Misty?” I asked.

“She said that she had something for you and it was a surprise. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have been so gullible,” Annabelle said.

“What was it?” I asked. I didn’t care if it was supposed to be a surprise, something told me this wouldn’t be a gift that I would want.

“I don’t know
, I never saw it. As soon as I overheard the conversation, I took off. They’re probably looking for me now,” Annabelle said.

I narrowed my eyes. This made me furious. I didn’t know what tricks they were up to, but I had to find out. “First, I need to take the book back and make sure it’s in a secure location, then we need to find Misty Middleton,” I said.

“Why don’t you let us find Misty and Kevin and you go back to the manor with the book?” Nicolas asked.

“That sounds like a good idea,” I said.

We drove Nicolas and Liam back to his car and then we headed back to the manor.

“I’ll try to call you. If the phone will work,” Nicolas said as he climbed out of the car.

We exchanged a look. Nicolas’ eyes held strength, but underneath there was an uneasy worry. As much as he tried, he couldn’t hide it from me.

I watched for a moment as the men walked away. Liam turned around and gave me a reassuring nod. How had he known that was just what I’d needed at the moment?

“I can’t believe you took off with the book like that,” I said to Annabelle as we steered away from the curb.

“Sorry about that
,” Annabelle said with a sigh. “I didn’t know what else to do and the impulse hit me, so I ran with it. Literally.” She snorted.

“No, I’m glad you did because I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t taken the book,” I said.

She smiled. “Thanks. This paranormal stuff is crazy.”

She could say that again.

We pulled up to the manor and hopped out. This time I had a tight hold on the book in case Giovanni showed up again.