Westerham Witches and a Venetian Vendetta

by Dionne Lister

  I didn’t listen to myself. Instead, I looked down to whatever was hooked around the back of my neck and draping down my front. A gurgling noise came from my throat. Isabella laughed. “Do not worry, Lily. It is just a python.”

  Just a python?! Snakes weren’t my favourite things, but then again, I didn’t have a phobia of them—I liked to think of it as a healthy respect. We had so many poisonous snakes in Australia that it was sensible to want to stay away from them, but pythons were harmless… unless you were a small dog, rat, or possum. I was none of those, so I should be okay.

  I took a slow, calming breath—I could hardly take any other kind of breath, and at this point, I was happy any breath was going in.

  Focus. I opened myself up to the river of power and absorbed more magic. The snake, which had the top part of its body draped over my hand, slid down my arm and to my other shoulder as Isabella stared, apparently mesmerized. I did my best to ignore the sensation of the snake roaming my body. Even at the slow rate I was gathering power, I would soon have enough to do something decent. I needed maybe another twenty minutes or so. Then I could kill her. Hmm, should I kill her though? Was there something I could do to disable her until I could get help, or would I just be dooming myself to a slow death? Surely, even with my sluggish movement, I could escape?

  I took in more power.

  My arm, which was naturally not going to stay in the air forever, ached. The freeze spell usually defied gravity, but this was only half a freeze spell. I did my best to relax my arm, and it inched down. The snake had also moved towards the floor. It had wrapped once around my body, and its head was at my shin. Maybe wrangling the snake would keep Isabella somewhat occupied. She put her hands on her hips as she observed both of us.

  Deeper divots formed within her already-wrinkled forehead. Her magic prickled my scalp, and the snake stopped moving. She crouched awkwardly and gathered as much of it as she could from just below the head, then wrapped it around my neck. The snake dangled there. Had she killed it?

  She forced my arm back into its original position and draped the front of the snake over my hand again. “I have stunned it so we have no more problems. I cannot force him to stay there otherwise, so I will sculpt him first. It won’t hurt you too much—just where the snake touches your skin.”

  I blinked in slow motion. What was she talking about? The snake wasn’t just touching my hand, but it was wrapped around my arm, the back of my neck, and trailed down one side of my body, to the inside of one leg, and around the back of the other ankle. It was touching a lot of places. And what kind of pain were we talking about? I shut my eyes. Molten glass would give me third-degree burns. I was pretty sure nothing was more painful than that. And that poor snake. Tears moistened my eyes, but I bit my tongue, refusing to let her see how angry and frustrated I was. She had to be one of the evilest people I’d come across. She was giving Piranha a run for her money.

  I refocussed. If I didn’t act now, I probably wouldn’t get the chance. I doubted I’d be able to concentrate enough on magic if I were burning half to death. But what was I going to do? Did I have enough power for anything permanent? If I only half hurt her, there was no way I could gather enough power in time for a second try, and that was if she didn’t kill me on the spot.

  I breathed deeply in through my nose and did my best to not panic, to contain the rising dread within me. I couldn’t shut down now, or that would be the end of it… the end of me.

  Isabella made one last adjustment to the snake and turned my head to look up at the animal draped over my palm. Great, so she was making me watch. I welcomed the anger that built in my belly. How had I ever thought she was grandmotherly and nice? I was such a bad judge of character. And who did she think she was, ruining what was the most well-deserved holiday in the history of holidays. My mother had only just been rescued. This might break her… the last nail in the coffin, so to speak. We’d only just been reunited, something she’d been waiting for, for the last ten years. Seeing James and me again had been what had kept her going. Damn you, Isabella. You are not destroying my family.

  I syphoned another dribble of magical river, and another. It was like being made to slowly sip through a broken straw when you desperately wanted to gulp down the whole drink.

  When Isabella drew more power and started chanting, I knew this was it. It was now or never. But I still wasn’t sure what to do. I moved my eyeballs as fast as they would go, searching for a projectile I could possibly send flying across the room to stab her with. I could’ve set her hair on fire, but that would require immense amounts of magic to build up sufficient heat, and I didn’t have enough.

  Then I spied the glass ornaments. She was turned side-on to them and wasn’t paying attention. There was no way she’d realise what was happening till it was too late. Did I have enough magic to send that cat flying into her skull? I’d like to think the cat would be happy to know it helped get revenge on the person who killed it. Right, cat. It’s you and me. Please don’t fall to the floor halfway to my target.

  I sucked in one last blip of power and was about to tell my magic what to do when a door shut towards the front of the house, and a male voice called out, “Nonna! Dove sei?” No, no, no, no, no! Francesco was here. Why, out of all the bad timing in the world, did it have to be now? A tear escaped the confines of my eye. Don’t waste this opportunity. I took in a smidge more power. Maybe he would just say hello and then leave her to do her thing?

  He strode through the door, and she turned to look at him, the prickle of her magic subsiding. Francesco saw me and stopped dead. His mouth dropped open. Thank God I wasn’t naked yet. He turned his gaze to his grandmother and raised his voice. I had no idea what he was saying.

  She rolled her eyes and moved her hands in an intricate conversational dance to punctuate whatever she was saying, possibly imploring him to stop being silly and go away. He shook his head, and she folded her arms. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as it seemed? Maybe he’d save me? I turned my gaze on him, hoping he could see how desperate I was for help, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was still fixated on his grandmother.

  Finally, he threw one hand in the air and looked to the ceiling. He crossed his hands in front of his body and then moved them apart in one quick motion. “Basta. Ho finito.” He flicked his gaze to me, then dropped his head to look at the ground. I knew, in that moment, that he’d given up.

  She made a violent shooing motion, and he turned and walked away, taking my hope with him. I absorbed a trickle more power. I’d just have to wait for him to leave and return to my original plan. I. Was. Not. Giving. Up.

  By the time he stepped back through the door, she’d started her chant again, her magic humming uncomfortably along my scalp. I shuddered. All the places the snake touched my skin warmed. Oh, crap. Also, that poor snake. I wasn’t sure if it was dead or just asleep. I hated that she was going to burn it alive, encase it in glass. Sorrow swept through me at the thought of her other victims—witches and animals alike.

  Should I try and throw that cat, or should I go for something smaller? Surely if I was accurate, a bird could do the job, and I could probably throw it with more force. Damn. This was so risky. I’d stick with the cat.

  I tapped into the power in my belly and silently said, Smash that glass cat into Isabella’s temple as hard as you can. The cat flew across the room, but we were too far from it, and it lost height as it went. By the time it reached her, it thumped into her hip. She staggered sideways and grunted, but it didn’t achieve anything except to annoy her before it fell to the ground with a loud clunk. Glass around the tail smashed off, revealing bone underneath. Ew.

  Most of my magic reserves were gone, only what I needed to survive left, and if things continued as they were, I wouldn’t need those small reserves for long.

  Isabella shook her head. “You dare!” she screamed.

  Oh, God, here we go. I’d poked the bear rather than killed it.

  She drew more power, the air charge
d with it. A thick layer of tiny glass beads coated the snake. Heat built. Hotter and hotter. Not hot enough to melt the glass, but hot enough to be uncomfortable. The temperature rose. It reached the level I’d snatch my hand away from a flame. Then it increased again. My stomach tightened as searing agony whipped my body.

  Even the half-freeze spell wasn’t enough to stop me.

  I opened my mouth and screamed, the sound echoing off the terrazzo floors and brick walls.

  This couldn’t be happening. I was out of options. Was there another way I could access the river of magic? There had to be a way around her spell.

  The sweetly sick scent of burning flesh tainted the air, and I moved involuntarily, albeit ridiculously slowly, my body doing its best to escape the blistering pain. My arm lowered an inch at a time, but the pain didn’t stop. Isabella’s face contorted into anger as she stepped towards me, her lips moving with whatever spell she was using to melt the glass.

  I didn’t see how this could end any other way than with me dead.

  Francesco silently ran into the room. Was he coming back to help her finish the job more quickly? He drew power—I remembered how his power felt from when he moved our bags on the first day. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

  Isabella’s intonating ceased, surprise registering in her eyes. The molten heat stopped increasing. Was it cooling slightly? Not to get me wrong, I was still writhing as much as my limited movement allowed, but it seemed as if the heat was dissipating.

  Francesco walked around Isabella until he was between us, facing her. He spoke to her in Italian, his voice rising and falling. I wished I knew what he was saying. If her eyes were any indication, she was livid. He turned to me, at first horror, then sadness in his gaze. His magic tickled my scalp, and the snake disappeared, ripping skin from my shoulder. I screamed again, and tears slid down my cheeks. I needed to pant through the pain, but I couldn’t….

  But then I could.

  The freeze spell disappeared.

  I swayed before my knees collapsed. Francesco jumped in front of me, catching me under the arms. “I am so sorry, Lily. Oh, Dio, please forgive me for not helping you earlier.”

  A wave of relief smashed over me, and I managed to rasp, “Thank you,” before the burden of pain was too great, and my awareness decided it had had enough.

  As I slid into blackness, I hoped Francesco didn’t change his mind.

  Chapter 10

  I awoke to light streaming through the window and the absence of pain. I squinted against the brightness.

  “Lily, are you awake?” Hope tinged my mother’s worried voice, and relief cascaded through my body.

  I opened my eyes further and turned to lie on my back. Mum rose from the chair at the small table and came and sat next to me, the mattress dipping slightly. For some strange reason, we were still in the hotel in Venice. “Yep, I’m awake and blessedly pain-free.”

  She smiled, her eyes glistening with what I figured were tears. She bent, wrapped her arms around me, and squeezed tightly. “We were beside ourselves with worry when you disappeared. I would’ve died if we didn’t get you back.” She sat up and looked down into my eyes. “How are you?”

  “Tired.”

  “Beren healed you at that place. That young man, Francesco, he came and got us. Thank God he’s a decent person. His grandmother… what a witch.”

  “There’s stronger language I could use.”

  “Yes, I’m sure there is. Anyway, he came and got us. Will forced Isabella to dismantle that spell on the house, and then Beren healed you. You were so burnt that no one wanted to move you. Beren insisted he heal you first.”

  “What about Angelica? Is she okay?”

  Mum shook her head and growled. “That evil cowpat almost killed her with all those sedatives, but she’ll be okay. She’s in bed, resting.”

  “Why are we still here?”

  “Will thought you might want to have better memories to take home, and we’re still supposed to be vacationing, so we agreed it shouldn’t stop us from trying to enjoy the rest of our holiday… that is, if you’re still up to it.”

  I wasn’t sure if I was, but I smiled anyway because I didn’t want to disappoint Mum. “I sure am. I wanted to go on a gondola, and we haven’t been to the Rialto Bridge yet either.” Maybe if I tried hard enough, I’d convince myself?

  Mum chuckled. “You always were good at bouncing back.”

  The door opened, and Will walked in. He halted halfway into the room, his hand still on the door, and a grin spread across his face when he saw me. He quickly shut the door and sat next to me on the other side of the bed. He kissed my forehead, lingering there for a moment before sitting up again. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine. Just the usual tiredness.”

  “Can you lie on your side so I can take a look at the back of your neck?”

  That was one of the spots the snake had been touching. I did as asked. He knelt on the bed, his knees resting against my back. His fingers brushed my hair away. After a moment, he moved back and pulled my arm gently as an okay to lie on my back again. “There’s only a bit of pink where it’s healed. There’s not going to be any scarring. Beren’s a miracle worker.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me.” We were lucky to have him.

  There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” said Will.

  Imani walked in, followed by Sarah and Lavender. “She’s awake!” Imani grinned and stood at the foot of the bed, shuffling over so everyone could fit into the room.

  “I am, and I’m fine. No pain.”

  Sarah pushed Will out of the way and leaned on the bed to give me a hug before standing next to the bed. “You had us so worried.”

  “I know. Sorry. And it wasn’t even my fault this time.”

  Lavender snorted. He knew me so well.

  “When Will and I got back from our evidence-gathering expedition, Isabella invited me for a drink and food. Francesco ended up joining us, and I think he almost spilled their secrets. She smashed me in the head and sent me to that house. When I came to, I went looking for Angelica, but then Isabella came back, and there was a spell on the house, so I couldn’t use magic. It was a disaster.”

  “Well, love, we’re just lucky that Francesco is a good person, or this would have had a terrible ending. He told the PIB that he didn’t want to betray his grandmother—they were very close. But when he was about to step through his doorway, he realised he couldn’t live with himself if she killed you. It was a struggle for him, but he made the right decision in the end.”

  “Thank God. He must’ve been so torn. Confess and have your grandmother, who practically brought you up, thrown in jail, or let her kill someone you don’t know. It would have been difficult.” It took some strength to stand up to her, considering he knew she was capable of murder not to mention, he loved her.

  “Oh, and thanks for the clue you sent.” Will raised one brow.

  My forehead tightened. What was he— “Oh, that’s right. I had concussion, and I vomited. I wanted you to know I was still alive, plus I needed to send it somewhere. It was stinking out the room. I thought here was as good a place as any.” I grinned and sat up. Talking to everyone whilst lying down was just weird. “So, did Elena get cleared?”

  “Yes,” said Will. “Agent Tondato arrested Isabella. Lorenzo is also off the hook.”

  “So us getting those awkward photos was a waste of time.”

  “Yep. But it was worth it to see you blush.”

  “Oh, those photos.” Lavender laughed. “You’re such a perv, Lily.”

  My mouth dropped open. “I am not! I didn’t ask for that to show up. Sheesh.”

  My mother grinned. “He’s just having a lend.”

  Lavender scrunched his forehead. “A what?”

  Mum chuckled. “Ah, that’s right. You lot don’t have that saying here. It means you were joking.”

  He smiled, then smirked. “Ah, right. So, were you having a lend last night
when you said you didn’t remember your daughter being into porn?”

  My mother blushed. “I did no—” She must’ve realised he was kidding.

  I grinned. “Don’t worry, Mum. He’s just having a lend.” Everyone laughed. God, it was good to be enjoying a joke with this lot, even if I was the butt of it. I yawned.

  Imani smiled at me. “Oh, looks like Lily needs her beauty sleep.”

  Mum gave me a kiss on the forehead and stood. “We’ll leave you to it. We’ve got the gondolas booked for tomorrow morning. That gives you plenty of time to rest. Oh, and the hotel is refunding our money. Mrs Dal Lago is taking time off to deal with everything, what with her mother in jail for murder and kidnapping, and her son in jail for accessory to murder and kidnapping. They’ve put in another manager to run the place in the meantime. They’ve confirmed we can stay for the rest of our holiday.”

  Isabella deserved to spend the few years she had left in jail—that I could be happy about. Francesco, on the other hand, was caught up in a nightmare. Maybe he didn’t even know the truth until just before we all had that last drink together? I shook my head. It wasn’t my job to worry about that. The Italian PIB would get to the bottom of it, and due process would take care of the rest.

  I shut my eyes for a moment to think. Did I want to go home and lick my mental wounds or not let the bad things get the better of me and stay? I blew out a breath and opened my eyes. “I guess we should stay for the rest of our break. But maybe we can take it a day at a time?”

  Will took my hand and held it. “That sounds like a plan. If it’s too much and you want to go home at any time, that’s what we’ll do.”

  I squeezed his hand in thanks. “What about that old woman who was turned to glass. What was the story behind that?”