by A. L. Knorr
Me: Absolutely. I really want to catch up with you.
Another text came in. From Dante.
I always get what I want, Saxony. Remember that.
I stared at the words on the screen and ground my teeth. I made a fist and then flexed my hand. A ball of white flame flared up in my palm and crackled as it died away.
Chapter 29
I followed my GPS to the address Fed had texted me. The villas in this borough seemed to grow larger and more beautiful the deeper I went. I crossed the final courtyard and approached a metal door labeled with her address. After pressing the buzzer, I waited.
"Hey, Saxony. Come on in," Fed's voice came.
Another buzzing noise unlocked the door. I pushed it open and stepped into a small but beautiful courtyard garden. A large in-ground swimming pool filled with sparkling teal water was surrounded by a white marble terrace and deck chairs. The marble patio led to the rear of the villa where a large table and chairs enough for eight people sat. Empty glasses still containing ice cubes peppered the table top as though a party had recently ended. Strange.
The weirdest feeling swept over me. Get out, Saxony. Now.
I blinked at the paranoid voice. Don't be ridiculous. Fed is your friend.
The other voice flew in like a vulture. He always gets what he wants. Remember?
The fire crackled low.
Dante's voice made me jump. "Well look what the cat dragged in. I've always loved that saying. Come have a drink with us?"
He stepped out of the open patio door and onto the marble terrace. He was followed by all of the men from the boat except for Ali. They spread out on the patio and each took a seat. Jacopo carried a jug of spritz and began to fill the glasses. They all looked at me expectantly, even pleasantly. There was one empty chair. Jacopo turned it toward me and patted it, inviting me to sit.
Chapter 30
"Nice to see you again, Saxony," Jacopo said, smiling. "It's great that you're thinking about joining the business, too. Dante says you have some special skills." His expression was friendly and open. I scanned the faces around the table. They all had the same open expression, all except Dante, who looked smug.
"Where's Fed?"
"She's inside. You can go on in and say hello if you want. We'll wait for you." Dante jerked his head toward the open door.
I approached the men slowly. They'd begun to look away from me now and speak with each other in Italian. A few of them laughed, their conversation appearing no different from any other conversation happening at a table of friends having a few drinks. Only Dante watched me as I stepped in through the open patio door.
The villa was just as beautiful inside as it was out. A large clean kitchen was the first thing I saw. This place looked old on the outside but it had been updated on the inside.
"Fed?" I scanned the kitchen and living room area where a TV was tuned in to a rowing competition. There was no reply. I looked behind me, but no one had followed me in.
"Federica?" I called, louder this time.
"Up here!" I heard her voice from an upper level. She sounded...resigned.
Following her voice, I went through the kitchen and poked my head around a corner. I ascended a wide set of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a loft scattered with couches. Well-stocked library shelves lined the walls. Fed was seated on a sofa with her legs pulled up and her arms wrapped around her shins. Her eyes were puffy. As she looked at me, her face projected abject misery.
"I'm really sorry, Saxony," she said, her voice wavering.
"What's going on?" I sat beside her.
"He's locked the gate and the front doors. You won't be able to get out. Not without burning your way out and exposing yourself to everyone here, anyway. And I highly recommend you don't do that."
"He told you what I am?" The heat in my belly cranked up a notch.
She nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Only this morning. I had no idea until I casually mentioned I was hoping to see you later today. He forced me to lure you here so he could trap you. I should never have taken you on the boat the night of the festival. This is all my fault."
"You didn't know what was going to happen. Did he tell you that I only recently acquired this, um, condition?"
"Yes. That's what sent him off. He was absolutely stunned about that. He showed me a video clip that Nic recorded before he died, talking about how the power can be transferred. I know Dante told you who that is. Well, apparently, Nic had a son."
I took this in, putting the pieces together. "I'm guessing Dante or Enzo has an arm inside one of the big banks?"
She huffed a humorless laugh. "Try, all of them."
"How did Dante know where to look?"
"He saw Elda's name on your phone and did the math."
I swore, softly. I had been sloppy. The night that Dante and I had gone swimming, he'd gotten an eyeful of Elda's texts. "How did he know she had anything in a lockbox?"
Fed gave me a look of pity. "Dante knew that Nic had recorded messages to someone. He was there. It didn't take much to figure it out."
I put my face in my hands and groaned. I could feel the sympathy pouring off Fed, but I also felt a lot of fear. I looked up. "What's he got over on you? Why did you help him?"
She shook her head and lowered her voice. "You don't know what he can do to me, Saxony. He could destroy my life if he wanted to. He's that malicious. You're a lot stronger than me, and a lot stronger than Dante. You'll figure out a way out of this. But if I had said no to Dante, it’s game over for me. I'll never get into the university I want, and he can redirect my inheritance. He can make things go bad for me."
"Who is running the show here—Dante or Enzo?"
"Dante's got his own resources, Saxony." She lowered her voice to a whisper, her hands strangling each other in her anxiety. "None of the guys down there knew Nic. They don't even know what a magus is. Don't let them know what you are or there will be big trouble for you."
I shook my head. "Unbelievable. What benefit does Dante hope to get from exposing me to his friends?" Regret soured in my mouth. How could I have ever been attracted to him? Now that I knew him for who he was he had transformed from attractive to repulsive, from intriguing to evil, from charming to narcissistic.
A creak echoed from the stairs and Fed froze in fear, her eyes wide. She took a book from the shelf beside her and plucked a pencil from a drawer nearby. She scribbled furiously on a page in the book. She showed it to me, saying in a normal tone of voice, "It's probably better if you go along with him. Or at least listen to what he has to say."
Her scrawl was difficult to make out. I squinted at it. They're not his friends. They're recruits. The more witnesses there are to your abilities, the more he has against you. Leverage. He'll impress them by showing them a supernatural, and make you think you need his protection, all at the same time. Dante doesn't think I have the guts to warn you. He asked me to convince you to show the fire, that it is for your benefit. Please, don't give me away.
I'd seen enough. "Let’s go," I said, standing.
"Where?"
"I'm going to get us out of here."
She ripped out the page she'd written on, put it in her pocket, and returned the book to the shelf. "This is not how I thought my day would go. Try not to burn down the house, okay?"
I didn't answer. That depends on Dante. The fire was licking along my spine and down my arms, warming my fingertips.
She followed me downstairs and outside. When we stepped out onto the patio, the men stopped talking.
"I'm glad you're back," Dante said, standing. If he'd been hovering at the bottom of the stairs, he hid it well. He held a hand out to me. "I was just telling the guys you'll give them a demonstration of your power."
"Power?" I said, fixing my face with confusion. I took Fed by the hand. "Really not sure what you're talking about, Dante. But Fed and I were just leaving." I pulled her past the table and across the patio toward the rear gate. "Excuse us, guys. Have a nice night."
"Come on, Saxony." Dante said, following us. "She's a little shy about how amazing she is," he said to the table of guys who were watching with interest.
Some of them chuckled, but they still looked at ease, sipping their drinks, enjoying the evening.
Stepping in front of me, Dante took my hand from Fed and pulled me around to face the table. "Just a small demonstration? You don't have to do much. Just a little candle flame, that's all."
"What are you going on about?" I said, my eyes on Dante, my face a mask of bewilderment. My mother never called me a little actress for nothing.
Some of the men at the table shared confused looks of their own.
Dante frowned. "You don't need to pretend, Saxony. They all know what you are."
"Do you know what he's talking about?" I asked Fed. I regretted it the moment I saw her face. I had just put her in an impossible position. I had asked her to side with me against Dante and a bunch of guys he was trying to build trust with. If she did, she'd have an enemy for life. Fed crossed her arms and gave a slight shrug, which could have been interpreted in a lot of different ways.
I turned back to Dante. "I'd like to go home now."
The words had barely escaped my lips when a coiled fist hit me in the gut. The air whooshed out of me and I bent over. He hadn't hit me really hard, just enough to tell me he meant business—and enough to light the fire.
From the men at the table, there was nothing but breathless silence. If they were shocked that he'd just hit a girl in front of them, they didn't express it outwardly. I was more surprised than hurt, and I knew instantly what he was trying to do.
Oh, crap. The heat of the fire intensified and began to spiral through my arms.
"Come on, Dante, you don't have to do that," Fed said. I felt her hand on my back.
"Go inside, Fed. This doesn't concern you." Dante's voice was calm; he probably thought he had this demonstration in the bag.
From my view of the ground, I saw her feet walk past me slowly, back toward the house.
I took a few steadying breaths. I closed my eyes and gathered my thoughts. I tasted fear on the back of my tongue. It wasn't fear of Dante, though—it was fear of the fire. Fear of my own lack of control, fear of my own temper.
The boys were undoubtedly watching me with rapt attention. I tried to bring tears to my eyes, but they were too dry. I stood slowly, my face fixed with fear.
"Why are you doing this Dante?" I whimpered. "What did I ever do to you? I told you I'll never go out with you again. Why can't you just accept that?"
"Ha! That's rich," laughed one of the men. Then he spoke in Italian to the men sitting at the table. A few of them laughed, but others remained silent.
"Come on, Saxony." Dante bent close to my ear. "Just a little show. That's all we want to see. Preferably without too much violence."
A battle raged inside me. It was me versus the fire. I swallowed and turned to the men at the table, moving my hand to my stomach. They didn't need to know that Dante’s punch hadn't really hurt. "This is the kind of guy you want to work for? A coward who hits women?"
Crack. My head snapped to the side when Dante hit my right cheek with his open hand. My body spun sideways and I went down on one knee. My vision turned red, peppered with white stars. That one hurt. The flames leaped and boiled in my torso, their power building. My limbs began to quiver.
I didn’t know how long I’d be able to stay in control.
Chapter 31
The back yard was completely silent after that hit.
I remained crouched, my face turned away from the men, my eyes closed. I should have cried out to add drama but it had so caught me by surprise that I hadn't made a sound. I took deep, steadying breaths. I pushed the men watching the show out of my mind, and Dante too. I went inside to where the heat was.
I need you to stay hidden. Work with me on this one, okay?
In response, the flames fueled my limbs with more energy. Nothing would have satisfied me more than to fire a fist into Dante's face.
"Let it out, sweetheart." Dante's voice came from behind me. "You know you want to."
I fixed my face with a tearful expression, even though I had no water in my eyes. I pulled the heat away from my face like it was an elastic band. The line of heat strained at the base of my skull, wanting me to release it, to light my pupils up. But if I did that, I was so screwed.
"Let me go," I whimpered. I hated the sound of my own voice—weak, petulant. It felt so wrong when I had so much power at my disposal. I looked up at Dante, and put my hand out. "Please stop, I don't know what you want."
Dante made a sound of disgust. "Quit the act, Saxony. Don't make me hit you again."
I stole a glance at the table of men. None of them looked sure about what was going on. Two of them whispered something to each other, their faces uncertain.
Dante drew back his foot and I braced for what was coming. I closed my eyes, wrapped myself around the fire, and clenched every muscle. When his foot caught me in the throat and I flew back, I almost didn't feel it. There was more pain from the explosion that went off inside me than in my neck. It felt as though every muscle fiber had a line of fire running through it. I couldn't draw air. I gave a strangled cough and choked in my effort to breathe. The force of the kick rolled me onto my stomach and I lay still except for my choked gasps.
I had lost my hold on the elastic and the heat snapped into my eyes. They were hard and hot and if I faced Dante, everyone would see them lit like embers.
A couple of the men spoke quickly in Italian. I didn't understand what they were saying but they sounded upset. They must have been addressing Dante because he spoke back to them in Italian, and then he switched to English and addressed me.
"Can't you, Saxony? Can’t you stop it?" he said. "You're powerful enough to stop me a thousand times over. This is just an act. Another couple of well placed punches and you'll explode like a firework."
After this speech, he let out a stream of Italian toward the men, but he sounded forced.
Keeping my eyes shut, I let out a choked moan and curled into the fetal position. My body began to shake. The power was building in my limbs. How much longer could I keep it inside? My mind raced, trying to dream up a way out, but I couldn't think straight. It was all I could do to stay curled in a ball, my body boiling with heat and power.
It's a test. It's a test. If you can't control it now, you never will.
I repeated this mantra. I pulled my legs toward my torso and wrapped my arms over my face. The quaking increased. My teeth began to chatter. Whimpers escaped me in my effort to stay in a ball. I took deep slow breaths, it seemed like the only thing I could control.
Chair legs scraped against stone. Angry voices. I opened my eyes a crack and peeked out from under my arm. The two men who had been whispering to each other earlier stood up. They spoke to Dante and gestured toward me, sounding upset.
Dante began to argue with them as they turned and stepped into the house. A few faces turned toward me, and another guy got up and took a few steps my way. I clenched my eyes tightly shut again.
Dante spoke more, urgency rising in his voice. He drew close to me. A hand hooked under my elbow and tried to pry my arms away from my body. "You're being ridiculous," Dante hissed at me. "Just show them your eyes. Then it will all be over."
I couldn't help it - the fire detonated in my shoulder and my elbow shot backward, catching Dante somewhere soft. It must have been his gut because I heard a whoosh of air and then a gagging sound.
A handful of voices rose all at once, shouting over each other. Some sounded like they were actually cheering me on. I heard my name said a few times. Others sounded angry. I kept my eyes shut and pulled my elbow in, cursing inwardly.
The gagging sound ceased and was followed by a pained laugh. "That's it," Dante wheezed. "Now just do that again, only this time externalize it. Show them what you're made of."
Sounds of Dante nearby, climbing to his feet. His voi
ce, uttering a bunch of surprised Italian. Some of the other guys, yelling at him. They sounded like they were moving away.
I kept my eyes closed and my quaking limbs coiled inward. I was desperate to see what was going on. The voices sounded more distant now.
My legs and arms no longer felt like normal flesh and bone. They felt like long coiled springs of hot energy. It was all I could do not to let them explode outward and send fireballs everywhere. I braced myself for the next attack, but the next time I heard Dante's voice, it was coming from inside the house.
I cracked an eye and was shocked to see that I was now alone in the back yard. That was sudden. Voices came from the house. Angry voices. Dante yelled. Other voices yelled back.
Slowly, stiffly, I lifted my head. I watched the patio door, expecting Dante to come through it at any moment, holding a baseball bat or a knife or something really nasty. But it was Fed who stepped through the door. She rushed over to me.
"My God, your eyes," she said, coming to her knees beside me. She put a hand on my back. I half expected her to jerk her palm back in pain from the heat of my body. "Are you okay? The guys are at the front door, fighting." She sounded amazed. "What you did, it worked. But you better get out of here, fast. Dante will be back any second. You look terrifying."
I tried to move but my spine felt locked, even my jaw felt like hot stone. The boiling heat needed an escape and I was afraid to force movement, in case I went off like a bomb. I tried to tell Fed to stand back but the words came out through clenched teeth.
"What?" She bent her ear close to me.
"Shtnd bck," I ground out from between locked molars.
She got up and backed away. "Where should I go? What are you going to do?" She panicked. She ran through the garden and inside the villa.
I eyeballed the pool. It was the only place I could go. Keeping my limbs locked in, I rolled my body across the stones. I must have looked ridiculous. Just as I was teetering at the edge of the pool, Dante reappeared in the doorway.