by Theda Vallee
“I’m sorry. I couldn't help myself. You have an adorable pout when you’re angry.” He paused, waiting for me to take the bait. It wasn’t going to happen. It was too damn early for whatever weird attraction was between us. “It seems someone doesn’t play well with others after a few hours of sleep. I’ll remember to bring you coffee next time. So, we’ve been posing as the CDC to ensure that the staff keeps their distance, and we have access to the victims. If this goes on much longer, we’re going to have to figure something else out. We won’t be able to keep this up forever without giving the hospital staff answers.”
“I wish I’d have known I was supposed to be a CDC agent when I got dressed. I’m pretty sure I look like a co-ed recovering after the Sigma Phi Delta rager.”
“You’re a little old to look like a co-ed,” he said with a smirk.
“Really? I have no idea why you are being such a jovial cock this morning, but I’m so not in the mood for this,” I huffed. He’d get the silent treatment until we got to the hospital. Not only was he a jerk but he’d just told me I looked my age. I’d never been exceptionally vain, but no one wants to be told they look old. Thirty was around the corner. It was terrifying enough to realize I’d been alive almost three decades. I watched Luc’s profile as he focused on the road. Even at this time of day he was practically perfect. I‘d hoped for a slight trace of shadow under his eyes or a bit of hair out of place. Anything to show he was human, or mostly human anyway. Instead, he looked like he always did. Impossibly perfect.
“Do you understand what we’re going to do once we get there?” he asked.
“Why would I have any idea what we’re going to do when we get there? I was going to keep my mouth shut and follow you,” I grumbled from my seat. Why was he so awake, and perky?
“Perfect. That’s what I want you to do. However, I do want to see if you can pick up any feeling from the victims about the strega that’s doing this. Sometimes we can feel the residual magic of other strega. I wasn't able to pick anything up on the last few victims, but I’d like to see if you can.”
“Great. I’ll whip out my untested Spidey senses in a hospital full of people. That seems like a great idea considering what happened last time I used my magic,” I said staring at him like he’d grown a second head.
“It doesn't involve invoking your magic. You just need to see if you can sense any magic and tell me how it feels.” He shook his head at my overreaction, a smile playing on his lips.
My stomach viciously twisted, threatening to expel the pasta I’d packed away a few hours ago. This wasn’t a practice run. I was going to walk into a room full of victims. People were going to look to me for answers. How the hell was I going to do this?
We parked the car in an empty garage. Luc bounced out of the driver’s side with the confidence of someone who’d done this a thousand times. I followed behind silently brooding. The hospital sat ominously waiting for me to cross its threshold. It was as if the building knew I was a fraud. It was just waiting to oust me as a useless witch the second I stepped foot into its fluorescent corridors. I trudged ahead despite the overwhelming urge to run back to the car, lock myself in and hide until this was over. I didn't have the keys, so it wasn’t the brave choice so much as the shit out of luck choice.
As we crossed the doors into the main building I was startled to see Leontyne impatiently, tapping her fingers on the guest check-in desk. Each of her eyes had a ghastly purple ring under it that fanned out from a deep eggplant sheen on the edges to black as it moved closer to her nose. I’d had more strength in that punch than I’d realized.
Leontyne should’ve been surprise enough, but the creature standing next to her made me stop in my tracks. Towering over Leontyne was a colossal woman who stood over seven feet tall. Her skin was white with an opalescent sheen, like someone had sculpted her from pearl dust. Her hair was piled on her head in cascading waves that were a blue so deep it could easily be mistaken as black. Large fathomless eyes dominated her face. They were the same startling shade of blue as her hair. I could only imagine that was what the dark depths of the ocean would be colored. Black leather pants encased her never-ending legs. A black leather motocross jacket and black boots completed the look. I was terrified and fascinated all in the same breath. She was a biker mermaid. I hoped to all things holy she was on our side.
“Should she be standing there like that? It’s not exactly like she blends in,” I stage whispered to Luc as we came to halt in front of them. A light watery sound like the babbling of a brook filled the space around me. It seemed to be coming from the giant woman.
“It is a pleasure to meet the famed Violetta Massoni at last. My name is Vellamo. You may call me Vee. It is perfectly safe for me to stand here. I’m masking my true form. You can see me because you’re a witch but no one else who should not know of my existence can.” Her voice was seductive like the lull of waves rolling lazily onto an empty beach.
“Etta, meet the team. We’re missing Brady, but this is everyone else for now.”
“Leontyne is on the team? Are you kidding me? Couldn't you have at least warned me? Unbelievable,” I snapped. I was angry, no, strike that, I was outraged! He knew exactly how much I disliked her and hadn't said a damn word.
“I assumed you knew. She was there at the arrest,” he replied, his eyes wide with surprise.
“There were a ton of people there. Not all of them are on the team, are they? Are you just playing dumb to try to keep me from being pissed or are you actually stupid?” I demanded. “While we are on the subject of things that I don’t know, what kind of creature is the ocean chick? I’m sorry that’s so rude. I was not expecting to start doing this shit so soon. Leontyne is here. I don’t even know what to think about you. I have so many questions. What if I’m no good at this? What if I can’t learn to control my magic? How do I work with Luc every day when I am torn between wanting to. Oh. My. God. why are all these things just coming out of my mouth?! I can’t stop saying whatever comes to my mind!” Panic descended on me as I clamped my hands over my mouth. Everything I’d ever thought was going to come falling out of my mouth right here. What the hell was happening to me? Is this how a nervous breakdown starts?
A wave of calm swept over me just as quickly as the panic had set in. I looked down to see the cool white hand of Vellamo resting on my forearm. Turning towards her, I craned my neck to look up at her. She smiled serenely. “I’m a water sprite. Right now, I am channeling the calming energy of water to relax you. I’m also what you call a lie detector. You will become a little less susceptible to me as we spend time together. When I take my hand away all your anxiety and fear will come rushing back. You’ll feel the need to tell me everything as it comes to your mind. Take a deep breath. Let it go. You will need to push past the fear to keep from saying something that may embarrass you later. Can you do that, Etta?”
I nodded mutely. Everything she said seemed doable. I was the master of my mouth. At least until she let go of my hand. Sure, enough a bucket of emotions splashed over me like a ton of bricks. I tried to follow her instructions. I took a deep breath. I exhaled, willing all the negative emotions to disappear. This wasn’t going to work. I’d never had a panic attack before but that had to be what I was experiencing. My heart felt like it was going to pound through my chest. The room tilted to the left as oxygen became scarce. I bent over at the waist willing the flood of emotions to bury themselves deep inside me where they belonged.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing can hurt you. We will all be there. We’re a team now. I will guard you with my life.” Vellamo stood in front me serenely watching me hyperventilate like it was an everyday occurrence. Maybe this is how everyone who met her responded.
“Thank you for offering to guard me with your life. That’s so nice.” My voice trembled, as tears threatened to escape. I wanted to hug her. I also wanted to run away from her. “I don’t trust any of you. I mean how could you expect me to? Oh, my god, shut up! Just give
me a few seconds please.” I was yelling at myself to shut up in the lobby of a hospital. Things had gone from bad to worse. I needed to get away from the water sprite and fast.
“This is absurd. Does everything with this woman have to be so dramatic? Are we just going to stand here in the lobby coddling her?” Leontyne’s voice dripped with contempt.
“You don't get to talk to me right now.” My head snapped up. All the fear that had been flowing through my body was instantly replaced with rage focused completely on Leontyne. “As a matter of fact, you need to keep your mouth shut the rest of the time we’re here. Just so you know, I’m not even sorry about your face. I’m more than willing to have a repeat of our last meeting.”
“I can’t keep up with your staggering amount of emotions. It is extraordinary.” Vee gazed at me as if I were a prize specimen. At least someone here found my fountain of truth interesting.
“She’s emotionally unstable and threatening me. Pietro will hear about this. I don’t know what he was thinking letting this unhinged, untrained, and ill-tempered strega run around loose. She should be locked up like the animal she is,” Leontyne’s said her eyes a molten fire as she glared at me.
“Leontyne, you’re a senior agent. I expect you to act like one. She’s on our team now, so the insults need to stop,” Luc warned her.
“I will not keep my mouth shut. She acts incapable then punches me in the face. I won’t put my own safety or the safety of our team at risk because you’re too blind to see what a danger she is.” Leontyne curled her lip in rage, daring Luc to tell her she was wrong.
“Enough.” My voice filled the hollow of my chest bursting forth in a glorious roar. I felt magic rush past my tongue heading straight for Leontyne. I watched in horror as the magic I’d just spewed struck her right in the face. Again. A torrent of magic zipped across her plump bottom lip binding the two parts of her mouth together. Her mouth was sealed shut.
“That was unwise.” Vee cocked her head at me a slight grin playing across her lips. At least someone understood.
“Etta, what did you do? You always have to make things worse, don’t you?” Luc barked as he brushed past me to tend to Leontyne.
“You can’t say I always make things worse. You’ve only known me for a few weeks,” I huffed. I stood there into the floor while Luc worked to remove the bind that I’d put on Leontyne’s lips. Panic welled up inside me again. I had no business running around with supernatural beings trying to fight crime. I’d been born with these abilities but not using them for a lifetime had left them atrophied at best and dangerous at worse. I needed to be locked up. It was the only solution.
“You didn’t do any real damage. She will be angry, but I sense she is often angry,” Vee confided.
“Can you tell what I’m thinking?” I had no idea how lie detectors powers worked. I hoped she couldn't read my mind; there were some kinky fantasies about our boss buried in there.
“I cannot pluck thoughts from your head. Your emotions send out waves of energy that I can see and feel. Depending on the vibration I can tell what type of emotion you’re experiencing. This bothers you. Why?”
“Umm, because of that? It’s strange to have someone know what I’m feeling. It might come in handy on those days when I don't even know what I’m feeling but for the most part it feels invasive,” I said watching as Leontyne shoved Luc’s hand away from her face in anger.
“I do not do this on purpose. It’s simply how I am. Just as you are exactly how you are.” She replied with a slight hint of sadness.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get used to it. This is all overwhelming tonight. In a few months, I bet we’ll be getting pedicures together. I won’t even notice you make me want to shout out every secret in my head.” I smiled at her hoping she could feel that I liked her. So far she was the most genuine person I’d met in the Osservatori, even if she did inadvertently make me embarrass myself in public.
“My feet are webbed so I cannot have a pedicure.” She frowned.
“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” I kept forgetting I was no longer in my cozy little neighborhood where most of the people were human. I hope I hadn’t offended her, but I mean how could I have guessed she didn't have pedicure accessible feet?
“Luc said I would like you. I feel he is right. I have never met a creature so wholly raw with emotion. You experience everything so fully. That must be wonderful.”
I’m pretty sure that was intended to be a compliment, but it came out sounding like she was inferring I was unstable. Not that she was wrong. I was a hot mess. If I had better control over my feelings Leontyne wouldn’t be getting smacked around by my magic. I’d be able to hate her guts in private like a normal person.
“Leontyne is heading home for the evening. I was able to get her lips unbound, but she’s not feeling well. Do you think you can keep your damn magic from acting out for the rest of the time we’re here?” Luc asked scowling at me.
I nodded, but I wasn’t making any promises. I was running on adrenaline and nerves right now. That was a combination that had all kinds of potential for disaster.
“Come on. They’re waiting for us,” he said shaking his head.
We followed him into the hallways of the hospital. He walked with purpose knowing exactly where he was going. Each hall looked the same to me, a carbon copy of a never-ending carbon copy. If I had to run for my life, I’d never find me way back to the main entrance. We arrived at a set of double doors that led into a small antechamber, with another set of doors on the other side. Luc stopped and waited expectantly. The doors swung up, allowing us to move forward into the small room. As the doors sealed closed behind us, the second set of double doors opened into a large hospital room.
The shifter, Leander, from the Osservatori council was waiting for us on the other side. He was wearing a white coat and had a stethoscope around his neck so if I was following clues, he was our doctor on the inside.
“Ms. Massoni. It’s an absolute pleasure to see you again so soon,” He said with a welcoming grin.
“It’s my first day on the job,” I mumbled awkwardly.
“I won’t tell a soul.” He winked at me and turned his attention to Luc. “She’s over here.”
“Lead the way Doc,” Luc said as he walked after Leander. The jovial attitude he’d been sporting since he picked me up had been replaced with the somber, man-in-charge Luc. How was he able to just turn his personas on and off like that? It must come from years of training. Maybe one day I’d have different Etta masks that I’d slip in and out of with ease.
The room was large to hold twenty beds lining the length of the room on either side. There were no windows and no other doors in or out. The beds were separated by geometric patterned curtains that hung on ceiling track. Sixteen beds were occupied. It was starting to get crowded. I stopped at the first bed unable to keep myself from staring at the victim. He seemed so peaceful. Like he had just laid down for a quick nap and would be waking any moment. A serpentine tangle of wires twisted off his body, all plugged into machines that softly beeped, the only sound in the otherwise tomb-like atmosphere of the room.
“How long has he been like this?” I whispered to Luc as he came up beside me.
“You don't have to whisper. They won't wake up.” Luc picked up the chart at the end of the bed and looked it over. “He’s one of the first. He’s been here for a little over a month. No change at all. Occasionally there’s a spike in heart rate or respiration. Vee senses fear coming from them when that happens. Other than that, this is how they stay.”
“So how do you know for sure it’s a strega doing this?” I asked.
“We don’t. We're making an educated guess based on what we do know about supernatural beings and their gifts,” he said placing the chart back into the slot at the end of the bed.
“Is there any reason these people are the victims or were they just picked at random?” Looking around the room I couldn't see anything that looked like a pattern. Yo
u know, with my super fine-tuned detective skills.
“Nothing that we can find. We’ve tried to make a connection no matter how tenuous and it just doesn't make sense.”
I moved through the room to the different beds. Every victim was the same. No movement. Not even an eye flutter. I stopped in front of a teenage girl. A lump formed in my throat as I thought about her mother. I imagined my own daughter lying comatose, in the clutches of some crazy strega hell-bent on harming her for no damn reason. Peering into her face, I wished there was something I could see that would help me bring her back to her family. Her sandy blonde hair spread on the pillow like a halo around her head. She had a cute upturned nose with a light smattering of freckles across the bridge. She looked like the prototype for the girl next door. She should be out on the field cheering on the football team. Her biggest worry should be what to wear to school, not whether she’d live to see graduation. She’d stay lost in her dreams, possibly even dying, unless we could figure out who had done this and how to undo it. That was my job now. The weight of responsibility settled itself on my shoulders. Staring at this girl, Kayleigh was the name on the chart, I felt an urge to protect her. I wanted to fix this. I wanted to find the person that did this to her.
I took her hand, needing to impart that to her somehow. If she could feel the comfort of my touch wherever her mind was, I wanted to give that to her for just a moment. As my skin connected with her inert hand I felt a searing wave of electricity shoot up my arm. This was nothing like the sensuous electric surge that had filled me yesterday. This was unbearable. My legs collapsed underneath me as the room folded over swallowing itself. My sight blurred as a wave of panicked motion surged over the room. I could barely make out the shadows of people running towards me, alerted by the agonized sound that was coming from my mouth. The pain was so overwhelming I prayed to lose consciousness.
As suddenly as the pain had come, it stopped. I opened my eyes expecting to see a slew of people standing over me. Instead Kayleigh, the girl from the bed was standing over me screaming like a wild parrot. What the hell was going on? She was supposed to be in the bed sleeping, or in a coma, or whatever it was going on. She shouldn't be standing here screaming at me. Maybe I’d electrocuted her awake? Or maybe I’d electrocuted myself into an early grave. Of course, that would happen to me.