by Theda Vallee
“If we can’t find them in the real world, maybe we can find them in the dream world,” Gia said.
I looked at her for a moment, considering what she said. “So, if I got in, would there be a way to figure out who the hell it is?”
“Maybe a spell or incantation?” Nerina offered grabbing her spell book out from under the island.
“Maybe. We know I can get into dreams. Who can teach me to get in and out?” I asked Luc.
“Why would you want to go in after what happened to you last time?” Luc said.
“Don’t ask stupid questions. My grandmother is in there. I’m not going to sit back and wait for something to happen to her. Who can teach me?” I demanded.
Silence greeted my question. I looked from Luc to Brady to Leontyne. Either they didn’t want to tell me, or they didn’t know. If they didn’t know I was going to have to figure it out my damn self.
“The Benandanti? Could they not help?” Aunt Sophia asked.
The Good Walkers. Warriors of the night. They were the witch’s boogeyman. While the Osservatori monitored all of us in the supernatural world, the Benandanti had a vendetta against witches. They could walk in the dreamscape to hunt down rogue witches. I’d thought it was just a legend, another way to scare witches into submission. Maybe they were more than a ghost story.
“Absolutely not,” Luc said, shaking his head.
“Why? If they’re real, then that’s who we need to talk to. If this is a strega, then they’d be interested, right?” I asked feeling a small bubble of hope.
“Maureen at church, her daughter is Benandanti.” Aunt Sophia lifted her chin, daring anyone to argue with her.
“They’re real, but they’d rather kill you than help you. Over the centuries they’ve changed. Their original purpose was to stop the malandanti, or evil witches from plaguing humanity. After they were hunted in the Inquisition the few Benandanti that survived warped their traditions. They’re zealots now. They believe all witches deserve death,” Luc explained.
“What if they’re willing to help. None of you offered up a name when I asked who could teach me to enter dreams. That makes me think that there’s no one in the Osservatori that can help. Seventeen people will die if we don’t explore all of our options,” I said my eyes boring into Luc.
“No. We aren’t going down that road. Period. I’m done discussing this,” Luc said glowering at me from across the room.
“I’m not done. Someone please tell me what you know. We need to at least see if this an option!” I implored someone, anyone in the room to have the courage to give me something.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know, but I can’t promise I’ll help you,” Leontyne said, stepping forward from the back of the room.
What was she up to? Why would Leontyne want to help me? I nodded my head slightly at her signaling that I was willing to listen.
“No. We’re not entertaining this. That’s an order!” Luc bellowed his face turning red with anger.
“Sorry, didn’t you get the message? Oh, that’s right, you were busy being knocked out. As of two hours ago, I was discharged from your team. According to the paperwork you requested my transfer due to internal conflicts that were impacting our ability to work as a team. That’s a direct quote, by the way. Funny how you never asked me to sit down to resolve those conflicts. Even funnier I was completely unaware you’d even requested to transfer me. It’s fine. Really. I got a promotion out of the deal. I get to lead my own squad now. So, seeing as we’re equals now, I can tell her whatever the fuck I want,” Leontyne said. She raised her middle finger in a salute to ensure he got the message.
“Thank you,” I mumbled to Leontyne. I was about to be indebted to Leontyne. My magic thrashed around inside my gut making her displeasure known. Trust me, Stella, I’m not happy about this either.
“Don’t thank me. Luc’s backhanded bullshit is the reason I have the authority to do this. You can thank him later in whatever manner you see fit.” Leontyne smiled cruelly. I’d hate to see how she thought I should thank him. “Since you know nothing, I’ll start from the beginning but give you a very abbreviated version. Before the Osservatori existed, humans and lesser supernatural beings were tormented by witches. They’d torture peasants by doing ridiculous things like making their soil barren or killing off all their crops. While these weren’t big aspirations, they did destroy the lives of the filthy humans. The Benandanti were the ones that brought back balance.” She paused for a moment glancing at Luc to ensure he saw her smug look. “The first Benandanti was a farmer from somewhere in Northeastern Italy. He discovered he could change his form to a wolf and hunt the witches who were inflicting harm. Soon he discovered he could walk in the space of dreams, where he could battle the strega on an astral plane.”
“How did he figure these things out?” I asked. With no one to help teach me how to wield my magic I’d been useless.
“He never recorded exactly how he learned of his powers. He was clearly far cleverer than your average peasant. He did record meeting other Benandanti as he aged. One of the things he discovered they had in common was they’d all been born with the caul intact.”
“Which means what?” Nerina asked.
“Can you and your family keep your yaps shut for five minutes?” Leontyne rolled her eyes. “I’m getting there. A Benandanti is created when a human child is born with the amniotic sac in place. That’s the caul. When that happens, a magical seal is created that allows them to leave their bodies behind through astral projection. They can either hunt through dream paths in their human form or inhabit the body of wolves in the real world. Once they discovered this, they began recruiting midwives to report caul births to them. When a child was ten years old they would go to the family to offer the child an apprenticeship. As word spread about the good the Benandanti were doing, it became an honor to give birth to one. Parents handed their children over quite willingly. These children were trained as warriors.”
“So maybe they’d be able to help us find who’s doing this, or help me figure out how to leave my body? Do you know where we can find some Benandanti?” I asked.
“My church friend’s daughter calls her on Sundays,” Aunt Sophia offered. “I can ask, no?”
“Yes, that’s a great idea. Thank you, Aunt Sophia.” I squeezed her hand.
“These people are dangerous. They no longer distinguish good from evil. We have no way of knowing what will happen if we show up at their door.” Luc said pacing in frustration.
“I don’t want to agree with him, Etta, but he’s right. They were honorable warriors for many years. They only sought out witches who’d gone malandanti. Then the Inquisition came. The church didn’t know what to do with them. They wanted to label them as heretics, but because of who they were battling they decided to use them instead,” Leontyne said. “The code that the Benandanti had lived by became warped. It was twisted to meet the churches vendetta against all magical beings. When it ended, the Benandanti were no longer the soldiers of the people. They’d become a sword for the church. Over the years they broke with the church, seeing them as a path to evil as well. Now they’re just a dying cult of zealots who’ll kill anything that blinks magic.”
“Fine, but what if I can convince them to call a truce until we capture the strega who’s doing this? If they’re so hell-bent on punishing rogue strega, this is one hell of a catch.” I said looking at Leontyne for confirmation.
“Etta, maybe we should look at other options,” Nerina said tapping her fingers nervously on the counter.
“We don’t have time to look at other options.” I said. I turned to Luc, staring him down with what I hoped was fire in my eyes. “Either you help me, or I figure out a way to do this on my own. I’ll do whatever I have to save my grandmother and those other people. That includes walking into a camp of crazy witch haters waving a white flag.”
“Kitten, if you walk into that camp they aren’t going to be the only crazy ones there,” Brady sai
d under his breath.
“Good. Then maybe they’ll be afraid of me,” I said, giving Brady my most maniacal grin.
I was planning a suicide mission. Shit.
Chapter
20
Baltry, Wyoming.
That was the city the American branch of the Benandanti called home. Why couldn’t they have been holed up somewhere like Hawaii?
Aunt Sophia’s friend Maureen had been happy to tell us where to look. From what I could piece together of the conversation, she was devastated with how much her daughter had changed since she’d left to join the Benandanti. Before she’d left, she’d been someone who laughed easily, loved to travel, and would never miss a family meal. Maureen said that her recent calls with her daughter might as well have been with a stranger. She didn’t outright ask, but I had a feeling she wanted us to make sure her daughter was there of her own free will. I was grateful for the information, but it added another layer of terror to the trip. They might want to kill me, and they might also be keeping people there under duress. What the hell would we do if that was the case?
I’d fought with Luc for hours last night about coming to Wyoming. We’d gone around and round, neither of us willing to budge. Finally, somewhere into the third hour of our shouting match he’d caved. He was convinced we’d die as soon as we set foot in Wyoming, but he wanted to help me save Nonna. I had a feeling he knew we were out of options. He’d made the call to Pietro, somehow getting the go-ahead to move forward with our half-cocked plan.
When I say halfcocked, I’m not kidding. We’d figured out how we were getting there, and that was about it. Brady found a fairy ring that was active three miles outside the city limits. We’d used the fairy rings to travel here and rented a car when we got to town. Our hope was that as soon as we stepped foot into their territory the Benandanti would know and send a greeting party. In the meantime, we wandered around town waiting for something to happen. It’d been three hours since we arrived, and so far, crickets.
“Maybe we should find a hotel and get a room for the night? Give them some extra time to show? If we don’t get anywhere tonight, we’ll need to flush them out tomorrow,” Luc said staring down the empty street.
“I say we just stand in the middle of the road and demand they come out. We need to make ourselves as obnoxious as possible to get their attention. I don't want to hang around this place any longer than needed,” Brady said.
“Because your outfit isn’t obnoxious enough?” I asked laughing.
“What’s wrong with my outfit? You’re just jealous we didn’t ask you to match with us. That’s your fault. We knew you’d say no.” Brady crossed his arms and gave me the hairy chicken eye.
Brady was decked out from head to toe in camouflage. His green and brown camo fatigue pants were tucked into black military issue boots. A camo tank top with what appeared to be brown mesh on the sides, topped the pants. He had a fitted camouflage hat to go with his ensemble. Standing next to him was my sister, also wearing head to toe camo. She’d opted for short shorts in camo print, a fitted V-neck shirt, faux army boots, but with camo socks, and a very lovely cap that was an exact match to Brady’s. I’d tried to make them change before we left but neither of them would budge.
“Don’t give me that face. We look cute.” Nerina twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “Besides, you’re the one that told us we were going to a forest. What else would you wear in a damn forest?”
“It’s called Bighorn Forest, but most of its meadows and grasslands. I tried to explain this to you last night,” I rolled my eyes.
“Then why is it called a forest?” Nerina asked.
“I’m not having this conversation again. I like Luc’s idea of finding a hotel in case we need to stay overnight,” I said.
“I saw one a little way down the main road. Let’s go see if they have any rooms,” Luc said, heading towards the electric blue convertible Mustang Brady had rented. He wasn’t allowed to oversee anything that required subtlety going forward.
“Come on G.I. Jane and Army Ken Doll, let’s go find a terrifying motel to sleep in,” I said, following Luc
“For the record, I’m not flat down there. In case anyone was inferring that from the Ken doll reference,” Brady mumbled behind me.
“Nobody thinks you were born without a dick,” Luc said as he bent down to get into the Mustang.
We found The Wagon Wheel motel a few blocks down the main street. It fit the overall aesthetic of the town perfectly. It was a small U-shaped building that had seen better days. The paint flaking off the building reminded me of a snake shedding its skin. They boasted an on-site restaurant serving American-Chinese cuisine. The parking lot was empty. Hopefully that meant we’d be able to get rooms. Then again, maybe no one was staying here for a reason.
We sent the boys in to see about the rooms. Nerina and I lounged on the Mustang trying to be seen. As always that was not a problem for my sister. She smiled and waved at every car that drove by, while I leaned beside her, glowering. I felt both were viable options for getting noticed. A bubbly girl in camo and her angry companion in cheap jeans leaning on a brilliant blue sports car; it was impossible to miss us.
From across the street a tall drink of water smiled and waved back at Nerina. He was lanky, wearing his dark blue jeans well. His upper body was broad with well-defined muscles. They were the kind of muscles that you only get from hard work. He wore a white V-neck shirt that showed a smattering of dark chest hair. Black silver-tipped cowboy boots peeked out from the hem of his pants. I straightened up, plastering a welcoming smile on my face as he headed over. No need to be unfriendly to a hot cowboy. He may have noticed Nerina, but I noticed everything about him.
“Evening, ladies. It looked like needed some assistance. I thought I’d be neighborly, see if I could help out,” he said to us in greeting.
“That is so sweet. Our friends are getting us some rooms for the night and we’re just killing time. I’m Nerina.” She flashed her perfect smile at him.
“Welcome to Baltry, Nerina. I’m Brett. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, taking my sister’s hand and shaking it firmly. “What brings you two out to our neck of the woods?”
“Wait, do you guys have woods around here?” Nerina asked. I could see the hope on her face. She really wanted to be vindicated for wearing that damn camo.
“An hour or so out there’s a decent forest, but mostly it’s just an expression.” He chuckled a little, smiling even broader at my sister. “But you didn’t answer my question. What are you two beautiful ladies doing in a small town like this? We don’t get too many visitors through here.”
“We’re heading out to Yellowstone for vacation,” I answered cutting Nerina off before she could say anything else.
“It looks like you’ll get to see those forests after all. And who might you be? I didn’t catch your name.” He locked eyes with me, his plump lips titled in a smile.
I looked into his dark brown eyes, my senses flared to life. I could see the cocky awareness lurking in his pupils. He knew who I was. He’d been sent to feel us out. I guess the Benandanti thought we’d be distracted by his rugged good looks. That was just rude. I wasn’t that easily distracted by eye candy. I tapped on my magic pulling it to the surface. His eyes flickered with hesitation as the magic pulsed out, brushing over him gently tasting his power. He tasted like a lap dog. Poor Brett.
“Brett is it? I have a feeling you know who I am. Why don’t you stop with the games and say what you need to say?” I said, my voice strong and even.
“Everything alright, Etta?” Luc asked walking up to the side of the car with Brady in tow.
“Everything’s just dandy. This is our new friend Brett. He’s here to deliver a message,” I said, maintaining eye contact with the man standing in front of us.
“I suppose I am.” He held out a piece of paper with a map drawn on it. “That there is where you can find us tomorrow. Our leader’s willing to listen if you can pro
mise you come in peace.”
I took the paper looking at the crudely drawn map. From what I’d garnered of the area this looked like it was about ten miles outside of town in the middle of nowhere. “We come in peace, but what promise do I have that you’re offering the same?”
“You don’t. You came looking for us, so I guess you’ll have to take your chances.” He smirked. “Tomorrow at ten a.m. If we don’t see you, we’ll assume you decided to leave town.”
He tipped his head at us in a goodbye. His eyes lingered on Nerina for a minute giving her a full body once over.
“You’re not that cute, cowboy. Go ahead and get along,” Nerina snapped shooing him with her hands.
We stood watching him walk away. Dread settled into me like an old unwelcome friend. I’d done a pretty good job of keeping it a bay for the last few hours. This is what we’d hoped would happen when we got here, but now that it had I wanted to run home. We could get back to the fairy ring and walk into Palermo Bay just in time for dinner.
Except Nonna wouldn’t be there to make dinner. We’d walk into a house that was missing the one person who’d continued to breathe happiness into our lives, despite all the misfortune we’d endured. I was going to that meeting tomorrow, even if I threw up a hundred times before we got there. And that was a very real possibility.
“Well, looks like we have the invitation we came for,” I said turning to Luc.
“It’s too bad he was here to send us into a trap. I could’ve died and gone to muscle heaven tonight,” said Nerina.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” I asked Luc.
“I have no idea,” he replied eyebrows furrowed in thought. “We need to be prepared for whatever it is.”
“Great. So, what do we do with ourselves for the rest of the night?” Brady asked.
“Rest. Try to relax. Make sure we’re ready for tomorrow.” Luc said firmly. “Let’s get dinner and then we’ll turn in for the night.”