Forever Charmed (The Halloween LaVeau Series, Book 1) (28 page)

“
Don’t be surprised if you get a visit from the Coven,” my mother said.

“W
hat? You mean they’re coming here?” I sat up in bed.

What would I tell them when they saw
Isabeau? I knew they’d see her because she couldn’t mind her own business.

“
Do you need me to come over and talk with them when they arrive?” she asked.

I
threw the covers off and jumped up. “No, no. I’ll come by the store later, okay?”

I didn’t want my mother to see
Isabeau again either. The more she saw her, the more Isabeau would open her big mouth. For heaven’s sakes, this got crazier by the minute.

“
Listen, I have to make breakfast for my guests. I’ll call you soon,” I said while pulling clothing from my closet.

“
Please be careful, Halloween,” she said around a sigh.

What was that supposed to mean?

“I will,” I said and hurried off the phone.

I’d just gotten dressed and locked my bedroom when the doorbell rang. Yeah, I still didn’t trust my guests not to take the book.
My heart told me that I was supposed to trust Nicolas, but my mind said no. I wouldn’t let my guard down.

The doorbell rang loudly through the house. Swallowing
the lump in my throat, I made my way down the stairs. I never thought I’d say this, but I was hoping it was the ghosts at the door again and not a Coven member.

When I peeked out the hole in the door
, I knew I hadn’t gotten that lucky. It wasn’t a ghost and I recognized the woman on the other side of the door right away. Misty Middleton and I had gone to high school together and now she was queen supreme in the Coven. I had no choice but to answer the door. I knew she wouldn’t go away.

The massive door squeaked as
I opened it just a little. “Hi, Misty.”

“
I guess you know why I’m here.”

“
Would you like to come in?” I asked.

I spotted the ghost
s over her shoulder and wanted to get her inside before they approached.

“
Your spells have been going awfully smoothly lately.” She regarded me with a strange curiosity.

I shrugged, pretending that it was no big deal. “I guess a little.”

Misty had long, straight brown hair that was shiny like she’d finished it off with a clear coat. She wore a black skirt, a black blouse and black heels which made her tower over me. She was tall without them, but now she was the Empire State Building and I was a one-story cottage.

“Please come into the parlor.” I gestured.

“Thank you,” she said as she scoped out the foyer.

What was she looking for?
Misty followed me into the living room. Her heels clicked against the hardwood floor.

“
Can I get you something to drink?” I asked.

I had to be a good hostess. I m
ight be nervous, but that was no reason to be impolite.

“No, I’m good. Thank you. T
his is such a beautiful home,” she said with a tight-lipped smile.

I knew by her tone that she wished the small talk was over.

“Thank you,” I said, wishing she’d get to the point of her visit.

“
It must get lonely staying here all alone?”

I picked at the edge of the wingback chair.
“Well, it’s okay. I don’t mind much.”

Footsteps echoed from upstairs. I stopped and met her gaze. I could tell her about my bed
-and-breakfast guests, but I really hoped Isabeau stayed upstairs. She was trouble and I didn’t trust her not to run her mouth about what had happened.

Misty
glanced up toward the ceiling, then looked at me for an answer.

“
I guess you’re aware that I’m running the place as a bed-and-breakfast?” I asked pushing the conversation along.

“
You have guests already?” she asked with shock.

I’d let that comment slip.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I was just getting ready to make breakfast. You are out awfully early this morning.”

S
he settled onto the deep red cushions of the chair and crossed her legs. “I do apologize for my timing, but I felt this was urgent.”

S
he couldn’t wait to let me know she was on to me. I needed her to get to the point and then leave.

“
So what is so urgent that you needed to speak with me?” I wanted her to just cut to the chase.

Her mouth curved into a smile. Whether it was a friendly or pitying gesture I wasn
’t sure. “What are you doing differently?”

“
What do you mean?”

“Your
spells don’t suck now,” she said frankly.

Well, I had wanted her to get to the point.

I shrugged, trying to act innocent. “I guess I’ve just been practicing and it’s finally paying off.”

She studied my face for a few seconds.
“That’s it?”

“
You know what they say, practice makes perfect.” I plastered the best fake smile on my face that I could muster. “Is that all that you wanted?”

She walked around the room, taking in
every detail. Misty ran her finger along the edge of books on the shelves, but remained quiet.

Sweat beaded on my forehead and it wasn’t even hot in the room. Did she know about the spell books? She had to, right? That was something the
Coven should definitely know about. But if she knew, then why didn’t she just come out and say so?

“
Well, whatever you’re doing you should keep it up. Your magic before was absolutely horrendous.”

I stared at her.
“Yes, I’m aware.”

She
folded her hands together and placed them her on her lap. “Halloween, I’m going to stop the charade right now. We know about the book.”

I froze. Should I continue to act as if I didn’t know what she meant, or should I come clean about what I knew?

I tilted my eyebrow up in mock surprise. “What are you talking about?” I asked innocently.

The beginning of a smile tilted the corners of her mouth.
“The Book of Mystic Magic. We know it’s here. We know you have it.”

I stared for a moment, but her gaze didn’t leave mine. There was no way out of this. I would have to tell the truth.

I waved my hand through the air casually. “I may have found a book or two here. But they are mine and you can’t have them.”

She held her hands up. “Trust me, I don’t want them.”

I didn’t know how to respond. I thought everyone wanted the powers that came with the book.

“Where did you find them?”
she asked.

“They were hidden in various places around the house.”

Her face lit up with excitement. For someone who didn’t want the books, she sure had a lot of questions.

Her tight skirt confined
her movements as she leaned forward in the chair. “Well, this is certainly a turn of events for you. I told everyone right away that you couldn’t possibly have performed magic that well without some other type of intervention.”

Her words stung. Maybe I should have tried harder to be better at the magic. Then I could have proven everyone wrong.

“Has anything strange happened since you got the new powers?” She looked at me expectantly.

“Strange?” I choked out.

She quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, have any of the spells been odd? Because there is one special skill that comes with the powers.”

I thought I knew which special skill she was talking about. And the proof that I had that special skill was walking around in high heels upstairs
and stuffing her face with cupcakes. “What type of special skill?” I asked.

I wasn’t about to give away any details unless I absolutely had to.

“This is something that only a few witches know about, but your new powers allow you to reanimate the dead. Not to mention the many other powers that you probably only dreamed about having.”

Now she was just being snarky. Plus, I had to pretend that I was shocked at the news about the reanimating. I widened my eyes and attempted my best Oscar-worthy performance.

“What do you mean reanimating?” I tried to conceal my nervousness.

“I mean you can make the dead living again. I’m not sure about all of the details. Like I don’t know how long they stay rean
imated, but it’s true.” She waved her hands through the air. “The Coven is buzzing about the news.”

Wow. I was the talk of the C
oven and for once it wasn’t because I’d screwed up a spell.

“I know why the book was hidden here.”
She smiled slyly.

“You do? How do you know?”
My eyes widened.

“You
r great-aunt was a part of the Coven. We knew she was friends with the last leader and there was a rumor that she’d hidden the books for her.”

“But why would she do that?”
I ran my hand through my hair.

She shrugged. “That I don’t have an answer for.”

“Well, obviously she didn’t tell me anything because I didn’t even know about the book or this Underworld thing,” I said.

“Maybe she meant for you to find it. She had to know you would when she left you the house.”
Her voice turned serious.

Aunt
Maddy was eccentric but why would she be involved? She had said I was supposed to take my place in the world. But how would she know I would ever find the book? It was probably just a coincidence.

“My mother didn’t mention any of this.” I said.

“She doesn’t know either. You’ll probably want to tell her before she finds out from some of the other members,” Misty said.

This news might really send my mother over the edge.

“There’s something else to
o…” She hesitated.

“There’s more?” I asked.