by Theda Vallee
“Look, I’m not opposed to trying new things, but I don’t even know you. You just knocked my boyfriend out cold, so I’m a little scared right now,” I said, willing myself to look her in the eye. I didn’t want to turn her down, but I also didn’t want to give her a green light.
“Sugar, you don’t need to be afraid of me. I wouldn't hurt a hair on your head. That would be like burning a classic car to the ground. Would you like to get to know me?” The salacious look in her eye told me she’d really like to get to know me.
“Well, since Jimmy looks like he will be asleep for a little bit I guess it couldn't hurt,” I mumbled, looking down at my beer shyly.
“What do you want to know, honey?” she asked, holding my hand across the table.
“Umm, so, do you work here at the bar?”
She let out her jarring laugh, shaking her head at my naivety. “Let’s just say I’m self-employed. I have skills that are prized and in high demand. I use those skills for whoever has the cash to pay for them. I’m paid a crap ton of money for it. Enough money to make your life easy. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a waitress.” I giggled, trying to flirt a little to keep her interested. “Not a very good one, so nobody pays me much.”
“If you were my girl, you’d never lift a finger again. You wouldn't have to slave waiting tables for men to drool all over you like the fucking dogs they are.”
“That sounds nice. Do you have a house?” I asked.
“Several. I travel around a lot for work and like to be comfortable. Every one of my houses has all the amenities. Big screen TV’s, surround sound, jacuzzi tubs, and king size beds; anything you could want. Come here. Sit on my lap. Let me show you how nice things could be with me.”
I stared at her across the table. The last thing on earth I wanted to do was sit on her lap. I had no idea how much longer I had to wait for help. I looked down at the table, desperately trying to figure out how to get myself out of this.
Heilwig’s impatience got the best of her, she stood and came over to my side of the table. She didn’t seem like someone who was told no very often. She grabbed my arm, pulling me up with ease, even though I’d made my body go limp as soon as she touched me. How many days a week did she have to work out to be this strong?
“Come here. I want to show you how nice I am. I know you’re scared but if you just relax, we can have a good time. I could make your life so much better.” she cooed into my ear.
She ran her hand along my exposed torso before gliding up to cup my breast. I shivered in fear, begging my magic to just wait a few more minutes. She bent forward, softly pressing her lips to mine. I stood there like a statue not moving as her kiss became more enthusiastic. Her tongue flicked out knocking against my lips, demanding entry. The hand on my breast squeezed tight, crushing it like I was getting a weird mammogram.
Her other hand slide down to my crotch. She tried to push the thin strip of denim from my shorts to the side, so she could put her hand where the sun doesn’t shine. Fuck this. I had no choice but to unleash my magic. It was either that or let the she-beast finger me. That wasn’t going to happen. This was my body, and Heilwig had gone too fucking far.
I closed my eyes, welcoming the rush as magic exploded into the cells of my body. Stella didn’t wait for me to provide intent or direction. She exploded out of me like a tsunami. Heilwig stepped back screaming in pain. Her lips and hands were charred black like a hot dog cooked over the campfire.
“Bingo! I was wondering how far I’d have to go to get your magic to peek its head out. Welcome to Mama’s Pit, Violetta Massoni.” She chuckled.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, raising my hands in front of me.
“Did you think you could waltz in here without me knowing who you were the second you walked in? You’re dumber than you look.”
“I might look dumb, but you’re handsy!” I groaned internally at my idiotic retort. I bet I’d think of something good to say in the shower tomorrow.
“Well, I did have to get creative to force you to show your hand.”
I had so many questions but now was not the time to ask. I needed to put as much space between us as possible. I grit my teeth concentrating on channeling my magic towards her. A rush of heat flared through my hands slithering through the air like a turbocharged snake. It smacked her square in the chest, lifting her off her feet. She landed on the pool table, the air in her lungs hissing out as she slammed down.
At the sight of their boss being tossed around, the thugs who’d left the room to give us some privacy came charging towards us. I had to keep them from getting back here. I was going to have a hard enough time dealing with Heilwig, let alone seven trained criminals. They might very well have magic. I didn’t need them joining this party.
Shit! What do I do? Thinking on my feet had never been a strong suit of mine. I liked to take a long time to think things through before making any move. The universe seemed bound and determined to get me over that hump.
Mustering every bit of magic I felt inside me, I focused on the opening between the two rooms. I raised my hands willing the magic to create a barrier. Magic poured from my hands smacking into the space that the men were barreling for. My hands began to burn like they were being held over a hot grease fire. The magic filled the space between the two rooms, layering upon itself to create a wall of energy that couldn’t be crossed. When the men hit the wall they screamed in pain, as the wall seared anyone dumb enough to touch it. I was exhausted.
Panting, I grabbed a pool cue. It’d be good to have a weapon just in case I couldn’t keep my magic flowing. I turned towards the pool table to make sure Heilwig hadn’t moved. The good news was she was still on the pool table. The bad news was I’d turned just in time to watch her flip off the table UFC style. She arched her back using her massive thighs to propel her body back to standing. I would’ve been impressed had she not scared the shit out me. What the hell was a pool cue was going to do against her? Still, I held it out in front of me, hoping it would let me keep some distance between us. She’d probably snap it like a toothpick and use the shards to impale me.
“I would have never guessed you were the type that likes it rough. Good news, sugar, that’s my specialty.” She lunged towards me, every bit of muscle in her enormous body working to her advantage. I jumped to the side, but I wasn't fast enough. She caught a clump of my hair, fisting her hand deep into the curls. With a snap of her arm, she jerked me backward towards her. If my hair stayed attached to my skull it would be a miracle.
Flailing out behind me with the pool cue, I felt it connect. Heilwig snarled, cursing under her breath, but her grip held firm. I hadn't inflicted any damage. It was like poking a bear. You knew it was dumb, but you couldn't just stand there and let it eat you. She snatched the pole from my hand. The tender flesh on my palms burned as the cue slid from my grasp. She clawed her hand deeper into my hair, pulling me flush against her body. If by some miracle I lived through this, I was getting my hair chopped off. Long hair was an occupational hazard.
“Let down the barrier and your friend will die quickly. Keep fucking with me and I’ll make sure he begs to be killed by the end. Do you understand?” she asked, breathing harshly in my ear.
I nodded feigning agreement. I pulled on my magic forcing it to bend to my will. The air around me crackled with electricity. Static charges rolled off my body. A burst of energy surged through me causing her to yelp in pain. She loosened her grip on my hair as she tried to get away from me.
I slammed my head back desperate to get away. It felt like I’d slammed my brain into a brick wall. Sweet mother of all things holy! Even if I’d caused her damage, I’d probably given myself a concussion. My head throbbed in agony, but I felt her hand drop from my hair completely.
I dropped to the floor, diving for the only cover in the room, the pool table. I rolled under it feeling a wave of nausea as my head reminded me it wasn’t happy with my antics. Hopefully her mountain
ous body wouldn't be able to get to me under here. I needed a few seconds to catch my breath. My energy was depleted from the amount of magic I was tossing around. I had no idea what would happen if I kept pushing it, but I didn’t want to find out. A primal roar filled the room. I watched her legs stalk towards the table. She crouched down peering at me, a wicked grin on her face.
“Come on out, Etta. I’m not going to kill you. There are too many interested parties. I need to get out of the building and you’re my ticket. I’ll hurt you enough to make you regret showing up here today, but you’ll live.”
“Kiss my ass,” I shouted. I was too tired to try for any sort of wit.
“Have it your way.”
She stood up staying close to the pool table. Her knees bent into view, while she grunted like a wild boar. The legs of the table began to lift off the floor slowly. No! There was no way she could lift a pool table! This thing had to weigh a thousand pounds! She was buff, but there was no way she was that strong.
I was wrong. She was that strong. Her magic skittered across her skin, imbuing her with the strength needed to lift a half-ton table. I watched in horror as my shelter lifted off the ground, then tumbled across the room end over end. She smiled at me, shaking blood and snot off herself like a dog after a bath. Droplets of it landed on me, making me gag.
I scrambled backward like a crab. My hand searched the floor for something to help. My fingertips brushed against the pool cue. I grabbed it, whipping it front of me. She leaped towards me her body flying in a perfect arc. I lifted the pool cue willing magic into my muscles. With every ounce of strength left in me I rammed the end of the cue into her crotch. Howling with pain, she clutched at her lady bits, hurling out a string of curses.
That was going to hurt for a few moments, but not for long. I needed to do something to keep her from getting her hands on me before she recovered. Most of my magic was pouring into holding the barrier in place. I didn’t want to risk another huge surge because I had no idea what that would do to my body. The only option I had was to weaken the barrier and pull some magic back to me.
Reluctantly I released some of the magic back into me. The voices on the other side of barrier became louder but they still couldn't get through. With the minimal magic I had available and my mediocre skills, I did the only thing I could. Focusing my intent, I started hurling everything that wasn't nailed down at Heilwig. Ashtrays, beer bottles, billiard balls, and a few other things I didn't recognize, all took to the air. The room began to look like an asteroid field from a sci-fi movie. My aim wasn’t fantastic, but my goal was to keep her away from me. Brady should be coming through that front door any second now. I just needed to last a little bit longer.
As I pulled more magic to keep up my juggling act, I could hear the voices on the other side become louder. Channeling all that magic in two different directions took more energy than I had. I couldn’t risk them getting into the room. Resigned I flung everything I had left into the shield. With no magic or weapons, I was on my own. I picked up the chair next to me hurling it in her direction. It dropped almost directly in front of me with a dull thunk. Not nearly as effective as my magic had been.
In two short strides, Heilwig crossed the distance between us. Her behemoth paw circled around my neck. My feet dangled as she lifted me inches from the ground. Slowly she applied pressure to my throat, cutting off my air.
“Looks like you’re going to be my golden ticket after all. Don’t worry, I’ll only make you wish you were dead,” she said, punctuating her sentence by shooting a burning stream of magic into my body. The magic felt like it lit my blood on fire. I was boiling from the inside. Her mouth opened wide with glee as I squirmed in agony in her grasp. Another pulse of fiery lava spread through my body, while her hand continued to tighten around my throat. As the world around me started to turn hazy, I heard the most wonderful sound that had ever graced my ears.
“You need to put her down. I will unleash a whole can of fairy up on your ass if you don’t.” Brady stepped into the room as I lost hold of my magical wall. Behind him were dozens of agents fighting with Heilwig’s minions. Leontyne stepped into view to stand next to Brady. Vee and Leander joined her.
Heilwig looked over to the group of Osservatori standing in front of her. She didn’t seem to register that she was surrounded. Her focus returned to me and I could see the gears turning in her head.
“Take another step toward me, and I’ll snap her head off her body,” Heilwig said. “Move back and let me through.”
Brady looked at Leontyne for confirmation. I could feel their magic buzzing in the air around them. A small tilt of her head told me that they were going to let Heilwig pass. She really was going to use me as her ticket out.
“That’s what I thought.” Heilwig said tossing me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Gulping down air, I hung limply over her shoulder. My face bounced up and down on her burly back as she strode from the room. I tried lifting my head, but it made me dizzy.
I heard Leontyne bark at the other Osservatori to let us pass. Wasn’t there something else they could do? They were just going to let Heilwig walk out of here with me? How’d they know she wouldn't snap my neck at leave in a dumpster somewhere?
We moved behind the bar, my head clipping the edge as we went. Really? My head didn’t need any more trauma today. A rumbling sound came from in front of where we were standing. The bottles on the shelf tinkled as they shifted, lightly tapping into each other. We moved forward again into pitch blackness.
Abruptly she dropped me to the ground. I slammed onto my tailbone yelping in pain. A light flared in the dark outlining Heilwig towering over me, her hand aglow with a soft orb.
“That door is sealed shut for an hour. Nothing will be able to get through it during that time. It can’t be opened while it’s in panic mode. In an hour you can press here, and it’ll open again.” She raised her hand to show me the smooth panel on the wall that would operate the door.
“You’re really not going to kill me?” I asked my eyes widening in surprise.
“Do you want me to?” She laughed.
“No. I just don’t understand,” I said pathetically.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand. Let me give you some advice you didn’t ask for, trust no one.”
“What does that mean? What are you telling me?”
“I gotta go. You’re tougher than I thought, kid. There might be hope for you yet.”
She left walking into the darkness her light bouncing off the walls in front of her. Within in a few moments her silhouette was gone, leaving me alone in the dark. I closed my eyes in relief. It was over. I was alive. But why? Why hadn’t Heilwig killed me? What the hell was she trying to tell me? Trust no one? Damn supervillains and their cryptic ass reveals. I was already paranoid enough. Fuck my life.
Chapter
18
Leander crouched next to me completely nude. At some point he’d shifted, and his clothes were MIA. It took everything in me not to glance down at his man business. Nerina would kill me for seeing him in the buff and not having a detailed report to give her. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure it was rude to stare at a shifter’s junk when they’re trying to heal.
“You’re going to have a few nasty bruises on your neck. Other than that, you’re in pretty good shape,” Leander said. He stood up giving me a front row seat to his jiggling man flesh. At least now I could tell my sister that it had some raw potential.
He offered his hand to help me up from the disgusting floor. I was going to be pissed if I survived this encounter only to contract some disease from the germ-ridden ground. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest as I rose to my feet. I was going to be in agony tomorrow.
“There’s my girl! Kitten, you’re the talk of the town. The cat’s meow. The bee’s knees. All of that and a bag of chips,” Brady said practically vibrating with excitement. “You survived a cage match with Heilwig Neuhaus. You’re not even that i
njured. How does it feel?”
“Painful,” I grunted. “How’s Luc?”
“He’s doing good. Surly as usual. They think he has a mild concussion but nothing major, thanks to you,” Brady chirped.
“I don’t know why everyone’s so excited. She got away. We’re back to where we started with no leads, and no idea who the hell is trapping these people,” I snapped at him.
“Someone needs a nap,” he said laughing at me.
I wanted to be proud of myself. The work I’d put into learning control my magic had paid off. I’d been able to protect myself. What did it matter? I was right. We still had no leads. People were trapped in their dreams, everyday closer to dying because we couldn’t figure out who was doing this. To add to that worry, my rose-tinted glasses were shattered. I’d walked out of the escape tunnel leery of everyone I interacted with. Heilwig’s words ran through my head on an endless loop. Trust no one. I was smart. I’d already had an inkling that something was rotten in Osservatori land. They’d decided not to kill me, but for how long? Or to what purpose?
“Etta, is this your phone?” Vee asked as she glided up to us. “You did a very good job today. You have learned your magic better than we had hoped for.”
“Thank you, Vee,” I said, taking the phone she held out to me.
“You are sad. Why? You are not proud of your accomplishments? I don’t understand.” Vee frowned.
Damn lie detectors. If I opened my mouth I’d spill everything. Trust no one. That included the kindly seven-foot-tall water sprite who cried at Finding Nemo. That was the worst part. I had started to like Brady and Vee. Despite the warnings in my head, I wanted to believe that they were good people who had my best interest at heart. Even Nonna loved Brady for God’s sake. She would know if people couldn't be trusted, right?
My phone vibrated in my palm providing a welcome distraction. Nerina’s face popped up on the screen. I had twenty-seven missed calls from her. That could be good. Then again it was Nerina. Running out of wine was an emergency to her.
