Stir Until Petrified

by Theda Vallee

  “We don’t have time for slow trust building. Her lack of control almost killed her last week. I can’t risk that going forward,” Luc replied, threading his hands through his hair in thought. “Look, if your magic doesn’t want to play nice you’re going to have to be the alpha. You have to make it listen. Sometimes that takes a firm hand. Why don’t you go back in and try exerting your will? See if you can push the magic into listening.”

  “Sure. I’ll just hop back into my imagination and smack my magic up.” I rolled my eyes to ensure he understood how stupid his idea was. It was already afraid of me. How deep would it hide if I went in there bullying it? “I’m going back in. I’ll think of something since you’re no help.”

  I closed my eyes, quickly sinking back into my body with little effort this time. I could feel my magic quivering behind my appendix where I’d left it. How the hell was I supposed to be some uber powerful strega when my magic was quaking in its boots from interacting with me?

  Think, Etta. How does one befriend something?

  It was a good question. One that I had no idea how to answer. I had no friends outside my family, I’d never had friends. Why did my life depend on doing all the things I was inept at? Maybe I should name her. It seemed rude to continually just call her “it” or “magic”.

  “Hey, I was wondering if it would be OK if I gave you a name? If we’re going to be friends I want to be able to call you something that suits you.”

  She slithered out from behind my appendix, pulsing short bursts of multi-colored brilliance at me. That seemed like a yes to me. What the hell do you name magic? I stood awkwardly for a few moments, pissed at myself for not having thought of that before I blurted it out. She was pulsing expectantly, putting even more pressure on me. Then it hit me. The perfect name.

  “What if I call you Stella? Nonna says starlight was made of magic and love. That seems fitting for you,” I said, hoping the love part would eventually come to fruition.

  Luc could punish and wrangle his magic like a domineering parent if he wanted. I hoped to live in harmony with Stella. Maybe even love her in a weird way since she lived inside of me. Just because I was forced into this life didn’t mean I had to start thinking like an Osservatori.

  Stella pulsed, radiating her mixture of brilliant colors so bright I needed sunglasses. We were making progress. She seemed happy.

  “I’m going to start learning how we can do things together. I’d like it if you would come work with me when I call you. Would that be OK?”

  She glowed her acceptance.

  Take that Luc. Kindness can win the day!

  “I’m going to go see what Luc wants me to practice. Are you ready to see if we can work together?” More pulses that seemed like agreement.

  I opened my eyes once more excited to see what Stella and I could do. “Alright. I think we have an agreement. What do you want to try?”

  “Are you sure? Did you get a good sense of agreement from it?” Luc asked his mouth turned down in a frown.

  “Her name is Stella and yes, she’s onboard.”

  “You named your magic Stella?” Luc said a grin exposing his adorable dimples. “Alright. Come on, let’s go over to the fire pit and see what you and Stella can do. We’re going to practice starting a fire.”

  Luc carefully stacked several pieces of wood in the fire pit. When they were arranged to his satisfaction, he held his hand out, a fire instantly sparking to life under the dry wood. He closed his hand and the fire disappeared. Show off.

  “Your turn,” Luc said.

  “My turn for what?”

  “Light a fire.” He smirked at me.

  I stood by the fire pit for forty-five minutes trying to get something to happen. I whispered, screamed, cajoled, begged, bribed, whined, and pleaded in every way I could think of to get Stella moving. I concentrated so hard I thought my eyes were going to bulge out of their sockets. Nothing I did caused her to so much as shimmer in response.

  “You guys ready to call it a day? We should probably go get some lunch. I’m starving.” Brady said stretching while stifling a yawn. He walked over, squeezing my arm reassuringly. “It’s OK, kitten. No one gets it on the first try.”

  “I just want to give it a few more minutes.” I wasn’t going to give up. I’d named my magic damn it. The least she could do was give me a lousy little spark of fire.

  Brady left towards the house to hopefully fix something delicious. All this standing around and trying nonsense had left me starving. Or maybe I just wanted to eat my feelings. I was a failure out the gate.

  How could I get her to come out and do what I needed her to do? I closed my eyes pushing myself to travel back to where I’d found Stella earlier. I found her fluttering around the bottom half of my torso without a care in the world. She froze when she saw me pulsing with defiance.

  “What’s your issue? I thought we had an agreement? Do you know Luc, who’s teaching me magic, he wants me to control you? He thinks I need to be mean to get you to do what I want. I don’t want to be like that. Do you want me to be like?” Stella glimmered her disapproval. “See you don’t like that idea anymore then I do. What do you suggest then? If I can’t get you to come out, then I’m going to be forced to do things his way. He’s my boss and there’s only so much time he’s give us to figure this out!”

  Stella didn’t like being chastised. She trembled her light quivering like she was trying not to cry. That wasn’t the response I hoped for. “I’m sorry. I thought we had an agreement. I call, and you come. Can you at least make a tiny appearance today? Something to show Luc that we can do this our way? Can I go back and try to light the wood on fire? Will you come out and help me?”

  She sat there for a few moments in what I could only assume was contemplation. I waited, hoping for a miracle but prepared to go home defeated. I’d given my magic PTSD, anxiety, and lord only knows what else from the years of neglect. She had no way to know she could trust me.

  Stella flicked rapidly, her purple and gold colors vibrantly bouncing off the shiny membrane of my internal organs. She was saying yes. Yes! Let’s see if she really meant it this time.

  I opened my eyes again, hoping that she’d follow through. I held my hand out and whispered to my magic. “Fire, please.”

  I held my breath. Nothing.

  Stella! Come on girl, don’t let me down. Let’s torch these motherfuckers!

  Suddenly, as if I’d finally said the right words, I felt the zip of electricity uncurl from my belly, spreading up until it reached my hand. A ball of flame the size of baby elephant burst to life from my hand, raining down on the logs. Instantly the pile was a rip-roaring bonfire.

  “We did it! I knew you’d come through, Stella!” I bounced on the balls of my feet with excitement. If I could reach inside and hug her somehow, I would.

  “We’re going to need to work on pulling in the reigns a little, though,” Luc said, his eyes crinkled in amusement despite his critique. “Can you put it out too?”

  “Can you let me enjoy this for a second? This was a monumental breakthrough for Stella and I,” I said wounded that he wasn’t as excited as I was.

  “Fine, but your lunch is getting cold,” He said crossing his arms across his chest impatiently.

  Of course, he knew to hit me in my weak spot, food. Begrudgingly, I held out my hand thinking about extinguishing the flame. I was thrilled when the telltale zing of magic zipped through me within seconds. As the magic released, a dark thunderous cloud appeared above us. Before I could blink, a monsoon of water poured out of the cloud putting the fire out. Drenching Luc and I in the process.

  “Fire’s out,” I said, pulling strands of sopping hair off my forehead.

  Stella had gone a little overboard with the downpour. I’d have to learn to be a lot more specific with my intent. I watched Luc peel off the shirt that had molded to his body with water. I could feel my nipples harden as I watched little drops of water move slowly down his chest. A little tingle from St
ella flashed in my gut. She’d known exactly what she was doing with that downpour. Clever girl.

  Chapter

  13

  “What if you call him and say your leg’s hurting. Tell him you need him to come over to take a quick look at it?” Nerina asked. She grasped her hands together in a pleading motion, refusing to move until I answered.

  “No! I’m not going to pretend I’m in pain, so you can stare at Leander’s butt.” I poured a cup of coffee ignoring her pouting face,

  “It’s a glorious butt. I don’t blame her for wanting a fix,” Gia said, glancing up from the magazine she was flipping through to add her two cents.

  “I gave you his number. Call him. Text him. You know where he works. I don’t care how you do it, just leave me out of it.” I stepped around Nerina, hoping this was the end of the conversation. I’d never seen her this nervous about a guy. Something about Leander had her undone.

  “Maybe I’ll just go to the hospital. I can fake appendicitis,” Nerina said, scowling at me over the lip of her coffee mug.

  “Who is having to go to hospital?” Aunt Sophia asked. She’d been sitting in the room the whole time. Her head had been buried in a plate of fried oatmeal.

  “No one, Mama. We’re joking about Nerina faking sick, so she can see Dr. Leander again. She has a crush on him,” Gia answered.

  “I can help you make sick, dolce. You want me to help?” Aunt Sophia turned to Nerina excitedly.

  This was getting out of hand. The last thing anyone needed was Aunt Sophia and Nerina scheming together. That had disaster written all over.

  “No one’s pretending to be sick. Nerina’s going to put on her big girl panties and call him like a normal person. We have enough happening to us without adding to it with crazy schemes. We’re not a sitcom.” I turned to each of them as I spoke ensuring how serious I was. I had enough to deal with.

  Vee strode into the kitchen before I could make each of them swear on the souls of our dead ancestors that they wouldn’t do anything stupid. My serious mom face would have to be enough. Vee smiled broadly at me, her rows of sharp teeth glistening in the morning sunlight. I was never going to get used to those teeth. She was clad in her usual leather, her dark blue hair in a single braid down her back.

  “Hey, Vee. Let me finish chugging my coffee before we take off.” There was no way I was going to do any training before I had finished my cup.

  “Hello, Violetta. Hello, Violetta’s family. It is very lovely to see you again. Is everyone well?” Vee asked.

  “I have a really big crush on Leander the shifter, but I can’t get up the courage to call him. I’m actually really considering going to the hospital and pretending to be sick, so I can see him,” Nerina blurted out. Her hand flew to her mouth in surprise.

  “And I want to help,” Aunt Sophia added, her eyes going round with surprise.

  Vee’s magic was working its charm on the entire room. Unbelievable! They were thinking about going through with it.

  “Are you kidding me? You two are pazzo! What do you think he'll do when he finds out you’re faking? Do you think that’ll lead to a long-term relationship?” I crossed my arms over my chest to keep from smacking them both.

  “I think she just wants to sleep with him, not marry him,” Gia said, rolling her eyes at me in annoyance.

  “Whatever the reason, he’s Osservatori. We have enough of those damn people in our lives. Sorry, Vee, you don’t count.” I said in apology. Even with daily exposure to Vee I still had limited immunity to her magic. “At this rate we’re going to sleep with the entire organization.”

  “I haven’t found anyone I want to sleep with yet,” Gia said, once again inserting her unwanted thoughts. “Wait, does that mean you slept with Luc?”

  Everyone stared at me in anticipation. “No! And you’re not helping! If you two don’t drop this idea I’m going to tell Nonna. Is that what you want?” The room fell silent. None of them would look me in the eye. Good.

  I turned to Vee, hoping this would be the last time I had to hear about Leander. “Any idea what’s on the agenda for training today?”

  “There’s no training. You and Luc have an appointment with Father DeNazzi. He requires premarital counseling before he will agree to wed you,” Vee replied serenely.

  The mouthful of coffee I’d just chugged stuck in my throat, causing me to choke and sputter. Nerina jumped into action smacking me on the back, as if that would dislodge liquid. I raised my arms above my head, bumping my sister away from me with my hip.

  “What the hell are you talking about? I will not marry that son of a bitch.” I stood, trembling, my voice coming out husky and raw from choking. I felt every set of eyes in the room rest on Vee. The tension bouncing off my back as they all waited to hear what she would say next.

  “For investigating. The Father is a strega of interest. It was the most convenient reason that we saw for meeting with him,” Vee said, cocking her head in curiosity. “Why does this cause all of you so much anger?”

  “You almost gave me a damn heart attack.” I clutched my chest, rubbing the muscles that had tensed in panic. “I thought I was being forced into some weird Osservatori marriage. Holy shit. I literally almost died right here.”

  “You almost died? I was about to chuck this cup at her head, so you could run. I think I need something stronger than coffee. Who wants wine?” Nerina set her mug down on the counter, her hand trembling as she did. She reached up into the cabinet next to her and pulled down a wine glass.

  “It’s nine in the morning. Put that away,” I snapped at her. I swear it was like I lived with a bunch of children. “Are we sure it’s safe for me to go? I can’t deal with another accident.”

  “You’ve made good progress this week. The priest is not a very likely suspect, but we don’t have much to work with right now, so we need to follow every possible lead. It will be easy.” Vee’s face remained the same the entire time she spoke. I had no idea whether she believed any of what she just said.

  “Just like visiting comatose patients in a hospital was supposed to be easy? Fine. Let’s do this. Lead the way to my doom.” I grabbed keys off the counter, stomping towards the back door.

  “I think you meant groom?” Vee asked as she followed behind me.

  “Same difference.”

  We found the church, Our Lady of the Holy Cross, twenty minutes later than the estimated drive time on the GPS. Vee was not good at following directions. She’d argued with the GPS most of the drive, missing turns because she thought the directions were incorrect even though she’d never been to this church, let alone this city. I’d rather ride with Nerina and take my chances even with her penchant for running stop signs and forgetting to look before she switched lanes. We would’ve been here thirty minutes ago.

  The building we pulled up to was one of the adobe structures that’d been built in the early 1800’s. A simple wooden cross rose up from the roof, casting a shadow across the parking lot. The rest of the building was free of any trim or ornamentation that might belay its humble roots as a mission. The landscaping was simple, small squat bushes lining a trim lawn. It seemed like an innocuous enough place for a strega to stay on the down low.

  “There’s my lovely bride to be,” Luc greeted me as I walked up to him. “Shall we go see if the good father will let us hold our wedding here?”

  “My grandmother is never going to forgive me for lying to a priest,” I hissed in reply. The realization I was going to step into a church and bald-faced lie had hit me like a ton of bricks on the way over. I was going to hell and it would be the Ossevatori’s fault.

  “Nonna and God will understand. It’s for the greater good. Don’t worry, kitten, I’m sure you’ll do far worse after working with us for a year,” Brady said. “I get to be the best man. Isn't that exciting! I am going to throw the best stag party ever!”

  “May I be the maid of honor? I’ve never been to a wedding. This would be very exciting for me,” Vellamo asked her huge
eyes beaming with excitement.

  “We’re not really getting married,” I practically shouted at them.

  “Thank God for small miracles. You two wouldn’t last a week,” Leontyne said, shoving me aside to stand next to Luc.

  I bit my bottom lip anxiously as Stella reared her vindictive little magical head. That was not good. I’d always thought my magic responded to my emotions. I was annoyed right now, but nothing terrible. Stella had a grudge all her own against the heartless bitch. We need to be chill, Stella. I’m glad we both agree that she’s garbage, but we cannot do anything about it today. Please. I’m already on thin ice for the last two incidences. I felt my magic begrudgingly shift, tucking herself back into the pit of my stomach, vibrating in displeasure as she went. Even though I had to deal with Leontyne, I was thrilled at the progress I’d made with Stella. She didn’t always do as I asked, but we were getting there.

  “We’re here to do work. Can we just get on with this?” I was so over this mission.

  “Alright, guys, let’s get on with it. Etta, you’re Rebekah Contadino, my fiancé. I’m Marco Marino, your beloved. Vee, I want you patrolling and maintaining the perimeter. Brady, you’ll control the interior. Leontyne, I want you interviewing the nuns that care for the grounds. See if any of them have seen anything off about the good father,” Luc said, becoming all business.

  “Don’t you think it would be better if I went in with you? No one is going to believe that you two are getting married. She hates you. It radiates off her like a beacon,” Leontyne said with a practiced nonchalance.

  The way she stood there examining her manicure as if she really didn’t care one way or another was almost enough to make me let Stella out to play. Why did I have to deal with her on top of everything else? Please, dear lord, don’t let me beat this woman on holy ground. If I did, I’d probably end up having to say rosaries until my death bed to atone for it.

  “I want her close to me in case something happens. She’s not ready to be on her own yet.” Luc brushed her request off like an errant piece of lint. “We’re on complete radio silence unless there’s an absolute imperative to break it. That means no verbal communication between us either, Brady. Got it?”