A Charmed Life (Halloween LaVeau Book 5) (14 page)

I didn’t want to take my eyes off her as I touched Nicolas’ arm. “It’s her. The one who did the spell at the cafe.”

I didn’t look over to see if Nicolas was watching her too. If I lost sight of her, she might slip away again.

“We have to follow her,” Nicolas said.

Didn’t anyone notice this woman in the long cloak? I felt the magic all the way across the room. Nicolas and I headed across the floor, but with the dance floor jam-packed, it was hard to make our way through. No one wanted to budge or move out of the way. Couldn’t they tell that this was urgent?

We’d made it halfway across the floor when the wind almost knocked us over. Whoever was under that cloak knew that I was coming after her. No one else had been affected by the wind. It had been directed specifically at Nicolas and me. In spite of the strong gust, I managed to remain upright. I thought for sure it would knock me over.

Finally, when the wind eased up, I pushed forward. I would try not to cast a spell until I was out of the Bubbling Cauldron, but if she kept sending wicked stuff my way, I’d have to break the rules. I guess I was just glad that she hadn’t cast a spell that had involved everyone. Chaos would have ensued and that was the last thing I needed right now.

Nicolas and I made it across the dance floor and over to the bar area. Despite my best efforts, I’d lost track of her.

“I knew this would happen,” I said.

“Maybe she went outside,” Nicolas said.

Honestly, I didn’t see how she could have gone anywhere other than out of the bar. The restrooms were at the back of the building. She wasn’t at the bar, so that meant she had to have exited. Since she had a head start on us, I doubted I’d be able to find her. Nevertheless, Nicolas and I raced out the door. Once on the sidewalk, of course I didn’t see her.

“She’s gone,” Nicolas said.

There was one thing she probably hadn’t counted on though. Since she’d been using her witchcraft, she’d left a magic trail. I sensed the leftover magic.

“We can follow her spell like breadcrumbs,” I said.

She wasn’t nearly as clever as she thought. Nicolas and I took off down the sidewalk like a couple of bloodhounds.  As long as we followed the path of the magic I was confident we’d finally find the mysterious woman in the cloak. We continued down the sidewalk, but there was no sign of her. As long as I sensed the magic though, I would keep going.

“Do you still feel it?” I asked.

Nicolas nodded. “Yes, but it does seem a little different.”

I noticed that too, but I had no explanation for what was causing it. We turned the corner and I’d hoped to see her on the other street. The only thing in sight was a possum that rushed out from behind a trash can. How far could she have gone? And how could she have moved so quickly? I didn’t think she’d that much of a head start on us.

As we moved down the street, I noticed that the magic was less and less. Nicolas and I exchanged a look.

“The trail is turning cold, isn’t it?” I asked.

He frowned. “Unfortunately, yes, I think it is.”

How could she have slipped away from us? I suppose she had used her magic to this point and stopped. She could have used magic to help conceal her movements for all I knew. I still sensed it a little though, so I figured I’d keep going just a little further. What could it harm at this point? We’d already come this far. 

A few more steps and it had finally completely faded. We stopped on the sidewalk. That was when it hit me where I was. I looked to my left at my mother’s shop.

“We’re at Bewitching,” Nicolas said in shock.

He’d just realized it too. This was too eerie and I knew this wasn’t a coincidence. The witch had led us here on purpose. But why?

“Do you think she broke into my mother’s shop?” I asked.

“There’s no sign of entry here at the front door. Let’s look around back,” Nicolas said as he grasped my hand. We rushed to the back door.

“It doesn’t look as if anyone is around,” Nicolas said.

I released a deep breath and scanned the dark street. “I’ll call my mother and check in with her, although I hate to freak her out.”

“Let’s get back to the club,” Nicolas said.

When we reached the club again, Liam was waiting by the door.

“I thought I lost you all,” Liam said.

“Are you okay?” I touched his arm.

“I’m great.” He smiled.

Did he really mean that?

“I still haven’t gotten a chance to dance with you,” Nicolas said, taking my hand.

“Let’s grab a table first,” I said.   

We made it across the dance floor, trying to find an empty table. I didn’t find a table, but I did find something else unexpected. Arthur was there talking to a woman. His presence immediately made me suspicious. Not that he couldn’t go out with someone other than Annabelle, but I was protective of her. Maybe if she found out Arthur was a jerk then she wouldn’t worry about him anymore. Of course it was totally wrong of me to think that—if Annabelle liked him, then I wanted her to be happy with him. I watched Arthur for several seconds before Nicolas realized I was staring at someone.

“What’s he doing here?” I asked.

Nicolas looked at me and said, “He’s the last person I wanted to see here.”

I scanned the area and realized that Liam wasn’t with us. Where had he gone? Was he upset with me? He must’ve gotten lost in the crowd. For a second I focused my attention around the dance floor, but Liam was nowhere in sight.

When I glanced back at Arthur, I found Liam. He was standing next to Arthur. I touched Nicolas’ arm and motioned with a tilt of my head. Nicolas followed my direction.

“This probably won’t end well,” I said.

Liam had a tendency to get right to the point. Since he didn’t like Arthur anyway, I figured it might end in a fight.

“You’re right about that,” Nicolas said.

“Come on. Let’s find Liam before this turns into something bad.” I motioned.

Nicolas and I made our way to the dance floor, weaving through the bodies pressed up against each other. When we got to the table at the back of the room, only Liam was there. Had he already done something with Arthur? That wasn’t impossible, but magic wasn’t allowed in the Bubbling Cauldron. Sure, I’d bent the rules a few times, but that was only due to an emergency
.

When Liam spotted us, Nicolas asked, “Where is he?”

“He disappeared on me.” Liam ran his hand through his hair.

I shrugged. “I can’t find him. He was here one minute, and then gone the next.”

I felt no magic in the air. How had he gotten away so quickly? If he’d used magic, I wanted to find him right away. 

“Who was the woman with him? Did you find out?” I asked.

“I didn’t find out anything,” Liam said, sounding discouraged.

Arthur had a way of moving quickly and getting away.

“I’ll text you if I find him,” Liam said as he walked away.

“What is he doing?” I asked.

“I guess he’s going to try to find him,” Nicolas said.

I blew the hair out of my eyes. “He really doesn’t like the guy, does he?”

“I don’t blame him. I don’t like the guy either. Come on, let’s go outside and see if we find him.” Nicolas took my hand and helped me navigate across the dance floor again.

Maybe Liam had spotted Arthur and hadn’t told me. I wished he would have filled me in on what he was doing though. Nicolas and Liam could be stubborn.

Nicolas and I made it outside onto the sidewalk once again. Not only did I look for Arthur, but I scanned the area to see if the woman had returned. No such luck.

I paused. “Okay, now that we’re outside, I can do a spell.”

“What do you have in mind?” Nicolas asked.

“I’ll cast a spell that will with any luck lead me to Arthur. We’ll just see what sneakiness he’s up to,” I said.

Nicolas smiled. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just take my hands and repeat after me,” I said.

Nicolas recited the words with me.

“Element of Earth, we call to you. Lead us to the person we’re looking for.” We turned to face the west, and recited the words: “Element of Air, we call to you to stop any evil against us.” Turning toward the south, we recited the words: “Element of Fire, we call to you for protection from the evil.” To complete the spell, we turned toward the east. “Element of Water, we call to you to bring the person we’re looking for.”

I repeated the words again just to make sure the spell worked. As I released Nicolas’ hands, I motioned for him to follow. The spell drew me to the parking lot that was a short distance from the club’s entrance. It was where the spell was drawing me. When we got there, I saw no sign of Arthur or Liam. However, my eyes were drawn to something on the pavement. It was right by my feet. Had the spell worked? The black leather wallet on the pavement had to mean something, although I’d wanted to find Arthur, not his wallet.

“Look what I found,” I said as I picked it up from the ground.

Before even opening it I knew who it belonged to. But what would I find inside?

I opened the wallet and immediately looked past the condom wrapper to the driver’s license. It was Arthur’s wallet, but there was a name on the license that I hadn’t expected. A different last name was on his identification. I’d seen his driver’s license when he’d checked in that night and the last name had been White. Now his last name was listed as Rankin.

“What did you find?” Nicolas leaned closer. “Besides the condom.”

I showed him the driver’s license. “He has the same last name as your brother.”

Nicolas took the wallet from my hand and studied it.

“Do you think this is a coincidence?” I asked. “What could it possibly be?”

“I don’t know, but I think it must mean something. First, we need to tell Liam about this.” Nicolas handed me the wallet.

I scanned the parking lot to see if Liam was there. When I didn’t spot him, I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.

I need to talk to you.

This was too complicated to explain in a text. I needed to see him in person.

Liam replied,
I’ll come by the manor soon. I have a ride. You all can go without me.

I frowned. “That’s odd. Liam said he has a ride and will stop by the manor.”

“I guess we should go back then,” Nicolas said.

I blew the hair out of my eyes. “I guess. It doesn’t look like we will find Arthur right now.”

I had expected the spell to take me right to Arthur. Now it had just caused the mystery to deepen. We went back across the street and hopped into Nicolas’ car. The entire way back to the manor I was lost in thought, wondering about the connection. Nicolas must have been thinking the same thing.

We pulled up to the manor and hurried out of the car. I hadn’t even gotten to the front steps yet when that bat swooped down and flew right by our heads.

“It’s back,” I yelled as I ducked.

I was pretty sure the thing was trying to attack me. Did bats attack? Maybe only the ones that were vampires. That was when it hit me. I’d had problems with vampires recently. Could one of them be disguising himself as a bat in order to get to me? I wouldn’t hang around outside long enough to find out.

But how would the vampire have gotten inside the house if that was the case? I needed to make sure that there was no way to get in. How creepy and scary to think this might be happening.

Nicolas rushed me inside before the thing had a chance to come back. “Are you okay?” he asked as he touched my arm.

I nodded. “I’m okay. I had a thought…”

He quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“What if that bat is a vampire?” I stared at him.

“You mean like in the movies?” he teased.

I shook my head. “Don’t make fun of me. I’m being serious.”

A noise sounded from the parlor and my heart rate went up. Was the bat inside the house? I followed behind Nicolas as we went across the foyer and to the parlor. I stopped in my tracks and let out a screech. It wasn’t the bat, it was Arthur. How had he gotten here so quickly?

“Did I scare you?” he asked with a slight smile on his face.

“What are you trying to do?” Nicolas asked with irritation in his voice.

I knew he felt the same way as Liam about Arthur and this stunt hadn’t helped.

“You did scare me,” I said, still trying to calm down.

Arthur held his hands up. “I didn’t mean to. I tried to make some noise.”

“Not nearly enough,” I said. “We saw you at the Bubbling Cauldron.”

“It’s a shame I missed you there,” Arthur said.

“Yeah, such a shame,” Nicolas said sarcastically.

“Apparently you lost something there,” I said, pulling out Arthur’s wallet and handing it toward him.

He peered down and took the wallet from my hand. Now he knew that I knew his secret. But would he admit the truth? Or keep up with his lies? How many more surprises did he have in store for us?