Divided (Elena Ronen, Private Investigator)

by Jennifer Sights

  “That you're aware of.”

  “Maybe if you’d quit being so damned cryptic, I could give you a proper answer.” The pressure from the knife grew, drawing a thin line of blood.

  “There’s an ancient language that only one strega each century is able to read. Because of the strength of your power, Samuel thinks you may be that strega.”

  “And what am I supposed to translate?”

  “A spell. Nothing more.”

  I had the feeling it was more than just a simple spell. Otherwise, why would they have had to kidnap and torture us? “If that’s all it is, why do you need Vittorio?”

  “You will need someone to guide you through the translation. Clavius has taught him about this language, though neither are able to read it. It will be easiest for him to guide you since you trust him.”

  “But why not just ask us? Why all this?”

  “Maybe it’s just more fun this way.” She cut deep into my arm. Again, I managed to not cry out in pain.

  “What’s your answer?”

  If the spell was as benign as she said it was, I know Vittorio would have done anything possible to help his friend. Rather, former friend. But if it was harmless, why was it coded in some ancient language almost no one could read? No, I didn’t think helping them would be a good idea. I spat in her face, and earned another cut. I realized she was carving a pentagram into my arm. “Very original. Can’t you think of something better than that?” Another cut. “Pain doesn’t really bother me. I can take this all day.” My voice held confidence, but I wasn’t so sure about that. There was a lot of blood dripping down my arm.

  “Very well then. Let’s try another approach.” She stood back a few feet from me, and I felt her power build.

  A million knives stabbed my entire body, as I felt when we battled at The Chapel. The pain was worse this time as she took her anger and frustration out on me. I could not stop myself from crying out. Just when I thought I would faint from the pain, it stopped.

  “Now will you help us?” She flipped the knife absently from one hand to the other.

  Breathless from the pain, it took a few moments before I could respond. “Is that all you have?”

  “What the hell is wrong with you, Elena? Just help her,” Kevin said.

  I wondered if he had endured the same from Elizabeth.

  “You should listen to your little friend, you know.”

  “Why is that? You obviously can’t finish a job. You didn’t even complete your drawing on my arm.”

  “We’ll get back to that soon enough.” She thrust another burst of knife-wielding power at me, tearing screams from my throat. “You’re not so strong when you can’t defend yourself, are you?”

  “I think I’m doing just fine,” I panted.

  “Maybe Neal’s specialty will be a little more persuasive.” I looked at Kevin’s broken arm. “No, that wasn’t from Neal. I did that when he called me a whore. Sometimes the use of your hands is the most satisfying.” She cracked her knuckles.

  Elizabeth did that? Now I was scared of her. If she was strong enough to break someone’s arm, what else could she do to the human body?

  “Oh, Neal,” she called in a sing-song voice. “I think Elena would like to talk to you.”

  Neal walked into the room playing with a metal lighter, flipping the lid open and shut with a flick of his wrist. My pulse raced. I swallowed hard and scooted the chair back until it hit the wall.

  “Looks like we may have found what frightens Elena. Neal, why don’t you show her just what she has to fear?”

  Neal held the flame near the arm that only had one cut, first just close enough for me to feel the warmth of the flame, then slowly moving it closer, until it burned my skin. I resisted as long as I could, but was forced to cry out. When I did, he stopped.

  The horror of a camping trip when I was young surged to my memory. A spark from the dying campfire landed on my sleeping bag in which I’d slept, leaving second-degree burns on my legs. I had been afraid of open flames ever since.

  Again he brought the lighter close to my arm, burning me in another place. I screamed, but this time he didn’t pull the flame away. The smell of my burning flesh sickened me. The pain threatened to make me pass out.

  “Stop it! Leave her alone!” Kevin shouted. This only angered Neal. He pulled the flame away and I felt his power grow. If his power was what I thought it would be, I wasn’t sure I could handle it. The flames jumped down my throat, and I screamed until my throat felt raw. My body was engulfed in flames. My hair was consumed by the flames, shriveling like burnt plastic. My skin blistered and blackened before becoming like leather. Still, I was alive, though I prayed for death. Even through this pain, I would never help them.

  Then, I felt a familiar wave of power, and the burning stopped. I inspected my body best as I could while tied to the chair, saw my hair was still on my head, and my skin was not melted. I should have known. Tears poured down my face. Another minute and I think my mind would have broken. I wasn’t entirely sure it was still intact.

  I felt arms around me, and opened my eyes to find Vittorio holding me. His power enfolded me, easing my fear. I felt sane again. He started to pull the amulet from around my neck.

  “Wait!”

  “I must take this off you if you are going to be able to defend yourself.”

  “Not yet. I’m in so much pain and so angry and weak, I don’t think I can control my power right now. If you take it off now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to focus it. I’m afraid I’ll hit everyone around me, including you and Kevin. Please, get him out of here and untie me. I’ll take it off once you’re out of the room.”

  Before he could respond, he was pulled away from me by an invisible force. Samuel. Vittorio must still be weakened by the tranquilizer they gave him. I looked around frantically for Elizabeth and Neal. They were motionless heaps on the floor. At first I thought they were dead, then saw their chests barely rise and fall. At least they were out of the picture for now. Now, it was Samuel’s turn.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Vittorio and Samuel fought, though from an outsider’s view they simply stood staring at each other. Their cries of pain seemed out of place if one didn’t know what was going on. I was afraid Vittorio would lose the fight.

  When Samuel’s next attack subsided, Vittorio thrust as much power as he could at him. It threw Samuel against a wall, where he hit his head and was left unconscious.

  “He will not be out for long. We have to hurry.” Vittorio found Elizabeth’s knife near my feet and cut me free, then went to Kevin.

  “Get Kevin out first. He won’t be able to fight with his arm, and has no defense against their power. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Vittorio helped Kevin stand.

  I realized we were in the middle of nowhere with no car. How would we get out of here?

  A quick search of Samuel’s pockets gave me his keys. I handed them to Vittorio. “Start the car. I’ll be out soon.”

  “Be careful, mio amore. Please hurry.” One short glance told me he did not want to leave me, but knew he must.

  Elizabeth stirred on the ground.

  “Go!” I shouted.

  They ran as quickly as they could with Kevin in such bad shape. Elizabeth pushed herself to her knees, then started to stand. I hoped Vittorio and Kevin were a safe enough distance away. I had no idea what my power would do now. I took the amulet off and shoved it in my pocket. It might come in handy later. The instant it was gone from my neck my power flared to life; anger not a strong enough word to describe it. It ripped through the room, devastating every living thing in its path. The magnitude of my power was physically staggering, but I had to get out of there.

  Elizabeth clutched her head and let out a primal shriek unlike anything I ever heard. Neal was still unconscious, so I had no idea what my power did to him.

  Running from the room, I left Elizabeth writhing on the ground in pain, relieved she was still alive. I didn’t wa
nt to be responsible for anyone’s death.

  I reached the top of the stairs, then made sure no one was following me. When I was certain I was alone, I tried to call my power back to me. It fought, still longing to damage those who had hurt me. I didn’t have time for this. I finally put the amulet back around my neck, which forced my power back to me. It felt like it was tearing holes through my body, angry at being called back without completing its job. I screamed in pain.

  Then, it all stopped.

  Leaning on a table was all that kept me upright, then I saw Samuel at the top of the stairs. I stumbled for the front door, weak and weary, then dove into Samuel’s Range Rover. “Drive!” I shouted.

  Vittorio floored the gas pedal, tires spinning on the gravel driveway. I pressed the automatic lock button as Samuel ran out the front door. Finally, the tires caught, and we tore down the driveway. Vittorio focused on the road, for which I was thankful. He hadn’t realized the full extent of my injuries, and I wanted us to be far away, someplace safe, before he could worry about me.

  “Kevin, can you get your shirt off? I need to wrap something around my arm.”

  He struggled, but eventually managed to squirm out of it and handed it to me. I wrapped it tightly around the arm Elizabeth had paid the most attention to just as Vittorio turned to look at me. “I’ll be fine, just concentrate on getting us someplace safe.” Already the shirt was soaked with blood.

  “You do not look fine, mio amore. You and Kevin need a doctor.”

  “I don’t want to go to the hospital if we can avoid it. Too many questions to answer.” My head swam from blood loss, though I tried to hide it from Vittorio.

  “I agree,” Vittorio said.

  We thought for a few minutes, then Vittorio sighed.

  “I will call Dr. Fandazione. I have not talked to him in years, but hopefully he will help.”

  “Why haven’t you talked to him?”

  “We had a falling out when I started working for Porter Industries. He did not like Samuel and tried to tell me there was something malicious about him, but I would not listen. I suppose now he can tell me ‘I told you so.’ I hope his number has not changed.”

  Vittorio’s hands shook as he put on an earpiece and dialed a number on his phone.

  I wondered what Samuel had done to him. That would have to wait though.

  “Julian. Please do not hang up. This is Vittorio. I know it has been long since we spoke, and we did not end our last conversation on the best of terms, but I desperately need your help. I do not know who else to turn to.” There was silence on Vittorio’s end, then he explained briefly what happened. “Yes, you were right. I am sorry. Please, will you help us? I will tell you more when we get there if you agree.” More silence. “Thank you so much, my old friend. I am forever in your debt.”

  “He’s going to help us?”

  “Yes. He was not entirely pleased to hear from me, but as a doctor, he cannot turn down someone in need. He will meet us at his office.”

  I glanced at Kevin, who appeared to be sleeping. “I hope Kevin will be alright. He’s never been much of a fighter, but don’t tell him I said so.”

  “I am most worried about you, mio amore.” He glanced at the arm not wrapped up, at the burn marks. “How are you?”

  “Not thinking about it. I can’t think about it right now. Please.”

  “I am sorry. I hope you will be able to talk to me about it later.”

  “Later, yes, but not now. I can’t handle it right now. Whose house was that?”

  “It is Samuel’s father’s. He couldn’t stand to stay there when Samuel’s mother died, so he moved, but never sold it.”

  “What did Samuel want from you?”

  Vittorio told me the same thing Elizabeth had.

  “But why wouldn’t he just ask us?”

  “Nothing good ever comes of spells hidden in the ancient language. He would have known I would not willingly help him, or in this case, help you to help him.”

  “I had a feeling it was something like that. But how does he even know I can read it? What if I can’t?”

  “Samuel must be desperate. I do not know what would cause him to go to these lengths.”

  “That’s not very comforting,” I said.

  “I am sorry, mio amore. It seems I have gotten you into yet another dangerous mess.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  We drove in silence until I remembered my phone call from Ms. Carmen. I told Vittorio about the map.

  “I remember when Samuel tried to buy that map, now that you bring it up. And you say Courtney is missing again?”

  I nodded. “Oh shit, you don’t think Samuel has done anything to her, do you?”

  “Hours ago, I would have said no. But now, I am not sure what he is capable of. We must find her.”

  “But how? If she’s with Samuel, I doubt he’ll let us near her. And she’s not answering her cell phone.”

  “We will think of something. Does Ms. Carmen have a copy of this map?”

  “I can call her and ask.” A quick phone call told me that she did have a copy, and would slide a duplicate under the door to my office. That was a good thing; she didn’t need to see us in the condition we were in.

  More than an hour later, we made it to Dr. Fondazione’s office without incident. It was an old, renovated building in the Central West End, a high rent district of town. He must do well in his practice. When we got inside, tension seeped out of my body. We were safe, for now. That’s when it all hit me. I started crying and Julian wanted to give me a mild sedative, but I refused, insisting he take care of Kevin first.

  Vittorio and I waited in another room. Only then did he noticed I still wore the amulet. I had forgotten about it as well.

  “I couldn’t bring my power back under control.” I told him what happened when I took the amulet off. “I think it’s safest if I leave it on until I am a bit stronger.”

  “I agree, mio amore. You seem to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Can you talk to me now?”

  “Yes, now that all we have to do is wait for the doctor, I think it’s okay if I lose it.” I told him about the camping incident. “I’ve had a terrible fear of open flames ever since, so when Neal started burning my arm, I couldn’t handle it. Then he unleashed his power on me. If you hadn’t come when you did, I don’t think my mind would have survived. If you hadn’t…” I trailed off, sobbing, scared of the thought.

  “You are safe now, mio amore.” He held me while I cried, and his warm, soothing power embraced me.

  Kevin cried out in pain.

  I ran to his room across the hall. Julian had just set his broken arm. I sighed, relieved it was only that.

  “What else did they do to you, Kevin?” Julian asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m embarrassed to say that all this,” he motioned to his battered face, “is from Elizabeth. She and Neal used that power crap on me. I don’t know what they did, just that it hurt. A lot. I think I passed out.”

  “Kevin, I need to use my power to try to find out what they did to you. We need to know if they did any damage to your mind. Are you okay with this?” Julian asked.

  “I guess so.”

  “Try to relax. I promise I will not hurt you.”

  Julian’s gentle, healing power wrapped itself around Kevin, bleeding off throughout the room. After a few minutes it dissolved into the air. “You will be fine. Your physical injuries are the worst of it. You might have nightmares about your ordeal, but they did no lasting damage.”

  “Thank god,” I said. “Kevin, I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “It’s not your fault.” He tried to shrug, and groaned.

  “Yes, it is. If you weren’t my friend, this wouldn’t have happened to you.”

  “I’m not blaming you. I’m gonna go to sleep now. The nice doctor gave me some medicine,” Kevin slurred as he lay down on the examining table, then fell asleep.

  “Do you have a blanket to cover him wi
th?” I asked.

  Julian retrieved one from a closet. “Alright, let’s go across the hall and have a look at you now, Elena.”

  He started by unwrapping the T-shirt from my arm, which had started to dry and stuck to my skin painfully. He soaked it in warm water to loosen it.

  Vittorio gasped when he saw the extent of the damage. “Elena, why did you not tell me you were so badly injured?”

  “I wanted you to get us here safely. You would have worried too much to focus on driving.” I hissed as Julian pulled the cloth from my arm.

  “You have lost a lot of blood, Elena. Do you know your blood type?”

  “O negative.”

  “I’m going to give you a transfusion after we fix you up. I am surprised you are still walking on your own.” Wide eyes belied the calm in his voice.

  “I can be damn stubborn when I need to be.”

  He cleaned both my arms, and decided to start with the stitches in the worse one. I gritted my teeth as Julian sewed up my arm, but his needle was nothing compared to what Elizabeth had done to me, and I preferred to deal with the pain over the nausea anesthesia would have caused. When he finished stitching the partial pentagram, he moved to my other arm. Then, he examined the burns. He said they were third degree, put some burn cream on them, and wrapped my arm in gauze. “You’ll have to apply this cream every four hours, and put clean gauze on each time. If the gauze gets soaked in pus, change it more often. It is important you keep the wounds clean.

  “Now, I would like to examine your mind, if you agree.”

  “Okay.” I was pretty sure my mind was at least partially damaged from Neal’s attentions, and didn’t think he’d be able to tell me anything I didn’t already know.

  He rested his hands lightly on either side of my head, and his power embraced me gently. I felt calm and soothed, as if everything was right in the world. I relaxed into that power, let him probe my mind, unconcerned with what he would find. I was sad when he pulled his power back to him.