Allure (The Hoodoo Apprentice) by Lea Nolan

Author:Lea Nolan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: young adult, magic, Lea Nolan, Gullah, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure, Voodoo, Lower YA, Conjure
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2013-09-30T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Drawing a deep breath, I stare at the intercom panel installed next to the glossy, black double door to High Point Bluff, preparing myself for the inevitable encounter to come. An hour ago, when Jack and I hatched this plan as he walked back home from Miss Delia’s, and I rode alongside, it sounded brilliant, but now, not so much.

“Are you going to buzz or not?” Jack nudges my side.

“I will. In a second.” Gnawing my lip, I adjust my messenger bag across my back, then turn to him. “Maybe we should just forget the whole thing. It’s probably pointless anyway.”

He narrows his eyes. “Buzz, or I will.”

I nod, knowing he’s right. We’re here on a mission and can’t turn chicken now. Taneea’s slip about a “friend” teaching her magic raised too many questions. But one thing’s for sure. Someone taught her some pretty advanced hoodoo, enough to afford her awesome toys and the freedom she’s so desperately desired. If Miss Delia’s right and Claude is the one pulling the strings, then he’s no ordinary investigator—he’s a conjurer with a dark agenda. Is he really dedicated to uncovering the truth about the robbery at the museum, or does he have some other motive for pursuing Miss Delia like a hound on a fox? And why did he push so hard for Sheriff Walker to agree that Missy’s death was from natural causes? Could it have anything to do with why he’d sneak into Beau’s private study, then threaten me and everyone I know to keep my discovery secret? We can’t explain everything to Beau—how does one describe a three-hundred-year-old, soul-snatching curse?—but we can warn him not to trust Claude.

I mash the doorbell button on the panel. It’s one of the new security features Dad put in for Missy after she freaked out about the museum burglars being on the loose.

“Yeah?” Beau’s voice crackles from the intercom speaker near the door.

Depressing another button, I lean toward the speaker. “Hey Beau. It’s us. Emma and Jack.”

“My sweet, darling Emma!” His voice is even more slurred than usual. “Cooper isn’t home. And why are you calling on this contraption anyway? Y’all should just walk in.”

Jack steps close. “We’re actually here to talk to you if that’s okay. We didn’t want to assume you were free.”

A moment passes before he answers. “Come on in, then. And make it quick. I’m busy.” The front door buzzes and the latch clicks, allowing us entry.

The light in the library is on, casting a glow on the buffed hall floor. Heading toward it, we run smack into the scent of rancid meat that hangs thick in the air, proof positive of Beau’s presence. My eyes sting as I peek through the doorway. As expected, Beau is sprawled on the sofa, sunk into his favorite spot, the cushions slung low and nearly touching the floor.

He toasts us with his drink, a pint-size tumbler nearly filled to the brim with a dark brown liquid. “Set a while.”

Veering as far

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