“Grazie, Mamma. Ti amo.” I hung up the phone and Nick pulled me off the bed.
“Nat and Jack are here,” he told me. “What did Mamma have to say?”
“They’re meeting at eight tonight and then we’ll go to the altar in the woods. They will do a protection spell over you,” I answered.
“What are they going to do to her?” Nat asked as we walked in the living room.
“Bind her magic and keep her from leaving. Rosetta is going to go get her in the morning and take her back to Italy.”
“How long will that stop her though?” Nat asked. “She’s a psycho who wants Nick’s baby. Do they really think she’s going to give up that easily?”
Nick cringed at the baby comment. “That’s what I asked, but Mamma told me not to worry about it.”
“Well, I guess they know what they’re doing,” Nat shrugged.
“What are you guys doing here anyway?” I asked.
“Just came to see how you’re feeling,” Nat answered.
“Meh. I’ll be better when this is all over,” I sighed as I sunk into the couch next to Nat.
“Hey, we were just about to go get me a new phone,” Nick said. “Do you guys want to come with and we can get some lunch?”
“What happened to your phone?” Jack asked.
“Um…” Nick hesitated.
“He threw it against the wall in a major werewolf rage last night,” I gave Nick a disapproving look and Nat laughed.
“I had a good reason,” he defended.
“What happened?” Nat asked. “And are you gonna tell me how you know where Ky is?”
Nick’s chest rumbled and I said, “It’s not important. Let’s just get out of here for awhile.” She got the hint and dropped it. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet so we went to eat first.
“So how did you get the day off work?” Nick asked Jack.
“The carpet guys were at the house we’re working on today so I didn’t need to be there,” he answered.
“Is anyone helping Mamma at the store today, Nat? I feel bad.”
“Luca went in. He wasn’t working at Monte’s today, so he volunteered to help out,” she said. “If you can believe that.”
Nat and Jack left us after lunch and we went to get Nick a new phone. Fortunately, he had insurance on his phone so he didn’t have to pay for a new one. He told the guy at the store that he had accidentally run over it when it fell out of his pocket. It pretty much looked like it had been. He didn’t know his own strength sometimes. The guy told him to be more careful, and after getting everything reset, we left with his new phone.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at home. I found a small dent in the wall where the phone hit it and made Nick promise to fix it the next day. “You have to remember you’re stronger than a normal person, Nick. You think stuff happens when I get mad?”
He laughed, “That’s why I need you here to ground me.” He leaned down and kissed the top of my head as I lay in his lap on the couch. I had some mindless, reality TV show on, but I had no idea what was going on. I was trying to plan my escape tonight.
There was no way I was letting Gia get away that easily. I was going to take her down. While my parents’ circle took care of protecting Nick, I planned to sneak away. They would never stop in the middle, and if I planned just right, I would be able to get out of there and on the road fast enough before they could stop me.
She didn’t deserve to just get shipped back to Italy. I had seen the look in her eyes more than once now when she told me she would have Nick. She was convinced she could bear his child, and there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.
I was hoping the circle would bind Gia before helping Nick out. That way, I could get to her when she was powerless. Either way, I was going and I was going to fight her. I wasn’t the slightest bit worried about Ky. I knew he loved me too much to try and interfere. He wouldn’t try to hurt me again.
We left around 7:30 pm and made it to the house a few minutes before everyone else. Mamma was already in “the magic room” gathering candles and anything else they would need for the spells. The spell I used on Marco to bind his magic was a simple one and only lasted for a short while. They would have to use something much stronger to fight against Gia’s dark magic. That was the bad thing about dark magic, it was more powerful than white magic.
“Mamma,” I called out.
“In here, Piccola,” she yelled. I found her and asked if she needed any help, but she had everything ready to go in a small basket. “Where is my Nico?” she asked as we walked back out to the front of the house.
“Here, Mamma,” Nick smiled and walked over to give her cheek kisses.
“How is my Piccola doing? Is she really okay? She will never tell me if she isn’t,” she asked Nick like I wasn’t standing right there.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and answered, “She’s doing okay. I’m sure she’ll be even better tomorrow after this is over.” She nodded in agreement.
Babbo came in through the garage door then and grabbed me in a big hug. The doorbell rang and the rest of the parents filed in. Babbo went to his room to change in to his ceremonial clothes while everyone else headed out through the back door.
“I need to use the bathroom really quick. I’ll be right behind you,” I told Nick.
“I’ll just wait for you,” he said.
Crap, I thought. Now what? “Um… k. I’ll just be a minute.” I stopped in the magic room to grab what I needed for a quick spell. I thought of it last minute so I wasn’t really prepared. I really should have done it at home where I could take my time, but there was no time left.
I went into the bathroom and plugged the sink. I turned on the faucet and let it run long enough to fill the sink with a few inches of water. I put a white candle in the water and three black candles around the sink in the shape of an inverted triangle. I blew on each one to light it and closed my eyes to concentrate on Gia’s face. I whispered the words,
Hear my power call out to thee,
O’ Mighty Goddess Queen Hecate,
Move against Gia and she to me,
Thus she blaspheme ever my name stub her tongue
upon thou teeth,
Thus she move thou hand or foot against me immobilize before thou reach,
Thus she bid me found bewilder her unto foreign land, Thus she raise enemies against me mutiny upon her alone shall thou stand,
Grant me courage to fear not my adversary nor weapon she bear,
For thine is my Goddess Queen Hecate so doeth take care.
There was a knock on the door just as I finished
speaking. “You okay, Sof?” Nick asked. “Are you still sick?” I quickly blew out the candles, stashed them under the sink and pulled the drain plug. “Just finishing up,” I said through the door. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and opened the door.
Nick was waiting with a smile. “They already went out back. Are you feeling okay?”
“Still just a little stressed out about all of this.”
“It’s almost over, Bella.” He took my hand and I hoped he couldn’t feel me shaking next to him.
When we arrived at the altar, the parents were surrounding it, waiting for Nick to enter the circle. Mamma told him to stand next to the altar and she closed the circle on the ground. I hung back as the rest of the group held hands. I gave Nick a reassuring smile and waited for Mamma to start. The spell they were using was slightly different than the one I had used on Nick after we got home from Mexico. I had no doubt it would work. Mamma’s circle was strong with the seven of them together.
I kept backing up, slowly at first, but several lines in to the spell, I bolted.
~Chapter Eighteen~
Nick’s eyes went wide with surprise, but he didn’t stop me. I was pretty sure he thought he could outrun me once they finished, so I ran as fast as I’ve ever run in my entire life. I made sure we took the Charger because it was much faster than my old Mustang.
I sat in the car for a minute, breathing deeply, trying to calm myself and get enough courage to actually do this. I was counting on the fact that Ky was waiting for me. Hopefully Gia wouldn’t expect an attack since she thought I was giving up. I found the apartment and as I knocked, I whispered,
Love, hate, light and darkness
Help me out fighting this battle,
I summon powers from the life beyond
And just as Ky opened the door, I finished with, Stun it be!
So mote it be!
I threw Ky back with a wave of my hand. The look on
his face was utter shock. “Sofia, what are you doing?” he asked sadly. He was lying on the ground off to my left, but Gia walked in and I turned my attention to her.
“I told this idiota that you were full of lies, but he would not believe me,” she laughed. “He is too blinded by his love for you. Why he loves you, I cannot understand. Simple, little witch. You actually think you have a chance?”
“Oh I know I do,” I glared at her hard. I wasn’t sure if the binding spell was working on her yet, but didn’t want to take my chances.
I raised my hand, but before I could say anything, Gia cut her hand with her athame and started chanting,
With my blood, I show you my pain,
Return it back from whence it came.
Now is the darkness, I do call,
Sending shadows once and for all.
I collapsed on the ground and screamed as a searing pain ripped through my entire body. I heard Ky yell out to Gia to stop hurting me, but she threw him back to the ground. She stalked toward me and I tried to get my mind to stop focusing on the increasing pain and come up with a spell. I was completely blank. I was in complete agony. She stood over me, her athame raised in the air. Ky was screaming out to her but frozen in place. He couldn’t help me.
Gia knelt down and whispered, “He will not remember you when I am done with him. I will bear his child and rule the covens. No one will have power to take me down.” I finally gained enough strength to use the same stunning spell I had used on Ky when he opened the door. It was weak, but Gia fell over and dropped her athame. Her spell on me was broken and I crawled to pick it up, but she was right there with me.
We both grabbed the athame and struggled with it. She tried another curse, but it didn’t work. Mamma’s circle must have completed the binding magic ritual. Gia ended up on top of me and had the athame aimed at my chest, but I continued to struggle against her and it ended up digging into my arm instead. I cried out in pain and she laughed. She tried another spell, but again it didn’t work.
“What have you done to me?” she shouted in anger. She must have hit an artery because the blood started to pour out of my arm way too fast. I rolled out from under her and got to my knees, breathing heavily.
“Sofia, are you okay?” Ky said from the floor on the other side of the room. I couldn’t figure out why he still wasn’t moving. I gave a slight nod of my head and stood. Gia got on her feet again and was circling me with the athame still in her hand.
My brain finally started to work again and with my remaining strength, I threw a spell at Gia that knocked her to the ground. The athame went skidding across the floor. I stood above her and closed my fist, choking her. She gasped for air and clawed at her throat like the first time I had done it. I continued to squeeze my fist even tighter. I welcomed the darkness this time. I wanted to kill her. She wouldn’t stop until she had Nick. I couldn’t let that happen. I thought I could hear Ky trying to tell me something, but everything was going dark around me.
“Sofia, make yourself stop,” I heard in a whisper. I smelled Nick and felt his lips at my ear. He broke through the darkness with that quiet whisper. I opened my hand and released Gia. She was still conscious, but too weak to move and I turned and collapsed in Nick’s arms. “Where is she bleeding from?” he asked Ky frantically.
“Her arm. Gia cut her deep,” he answered from somewhere on my other side. I was starting to lose consciousness from the blood loss.
“Your mamma is almost here, Sof. Just hang on. She’ll heal you. You’re going to be okay,” he said as he held me against him. “Can’t you do anything you useless idiot?” he yelled at Ky.
“Not on my own,” he sounded like he was crying.
“Use their power then, damn it,” Nick shouted again.
“Gia’s magic is gone and Sofia is passing out. I’ll drain her if I try,” Ky answered helplessly.
My eyes were closed now, but from behind me I heard a shout, “No! He will be mine!” I spun around in time to see Gia lunging at me, ready to finish me off. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the athame fly from Ky’s hand and land in Gia’s chest. She crumpled to the floor.
“No, Ky! What have you done?” I cried. Though I hadn’t hesitated when it came down to killing Gia, I didn’t want Ky to have to live with that. I reached out to him and collapsed. Nick caught me before I hit the floor, but everything went dark.
I vaguely remember hearing Mamma yelling and felt her at my side. I blacked out for a few minutes, but came to when my arm started to feel warm and tingly. I could feel Mamma’s hands wrapped around my upper arm where the knife wound was. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Nick pacing behind her.
As soon as he saw me open my eyes he was at my side, his hands on my face, his lips touching mine. “My Sofia. Why? Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“You know why,” I barely got out in a whisper.
“You stubborn girl,” Mamma said. “Why didn’t you trust us? We did the spell. She lost her magic, no?”
“Sì, but not before she cursed me.”
“What did she do? Is there any more pain? What hurts?” Mamma asked, checking me over.
“The pain is gone. It didn’t last, but it was enough that she caught me in the arm before I could move. Is she… ?” I didn’t want to finish. I wanted her dead, but I didn’t want it to be Ky’s fault.
Mamma nodded. “Are you sure you don’t have pain anywhere else? Can you feel your arm yet?”
I sat up slowly and moved my arm around. “I’m fine. And my arm is perfect, Mamma. Grazie.” I kissed her on the cheek. “Is Babbo here?”
“Here, Piccola,” he said. He was just closing Gia’s eyes and turned to face me. I reached out to him and he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. To Nick he said, “Nico, take her home now. We will clean up and fix this.” He released me and Nick helped me stand.
“What’s going to happen to Ky?” I asked Babbo. “It wasn’t his fault. He was protecting me.” Ky looked over at me from where he was sitting on the sofa. I met his gaze and he gave me a sad half-smile. I wanted to go to him. To hug him and thank him for saving me. To apologize for lying, but the warmth of Nick’s hand in mine kept me from doing it. I didn’t want to hurt Nick any more than I already had. For once, Nick’s chest didn’t rumble and I saw him slightly nod at Ky.
“It will be fine, Sofia. Go home and rest now,” Mamma assured me. She kissed me on the cheek and shooed us out the door.
Nick was quiet for most of the drive home. He drove the speed limit, an indicator to me that he was thinking about what he was going to say to me. Or maybe yell at me. As we exited the highway I couldn’t handle it anymore. “Will you just get it over with?”
“What?” he asked, coming out of his daze.
“Will you just yell at me already so we can be done and move on?”
“I’m not going to yell at you. You know what you did was stupid.” He pulled in to our regular parking spot and turned the car off. I opened my door and started to
get out, but he just sat there, staring at the dashboard.
“Nick, are you coming up?” I asked. He looked up at me and blinked. “I said, are you coming up?” He nodded and got out of the car. I still felt a little dizzy from losing blood and wobbled on my feet. He was at my side and caught me by the arm. “I’ll be alright.” He picked me up anyway and carried me up the three flights of stairs. I just rested my head on his chest and breathed in his woodsy scent.
He carried me straight to the bedroom and laid me down. Without a word, he took my shoes off, then my socks. “Are you ever going to speak to me again? Please just yell. Anything is better than silence. I don’t even care if you start throwing stuff at the wall again.” He was kneeling by my feet and dropped his head in my lap and started to cry. Like really cry. I had never seen him break down like this and it worried me. I didn’t say anything. Just ran my fingers through his hair until he stopped shaking.
He finally looked up at me and I pulled him up to the bed. He sat next to me, gently took my face in his hands, and just stared. All the emotion in his eyes overwhelmed me and I started crying. Everything hit me. I really had been an idiot. They stopped Gia’s magic, they could’ve just banished her to Italy forever, but I was thinking with my heart and not my brain when I made the decision to go after her.
Nick wiped at my tears and kissed me. “Sofia, do you know what it would’ve done to me if something had happened to you?”
“I wasn’t thinking straight,” I tried.
“Shh… let me talk,” he interrupted. “I wish you could trust me to help you. I know I’m not a witch, but—”
“No, Nick that has nothing to do with it,” I stopped him.
“Then why can’t you ever let me help you? I know you don’t need me,” he started.
“Nick, stop. Of course I need you. You are my rock. I just knew you wouldn’t let me go if I told you. And even if they kept her from doing magic tonight, she would come back. I wanted to end her and I knew you wouldn’t let me,” I rushed. “Non posso vivere senza di te, Nico,” I finished in a whisper.
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