by Theda Vallee
I hovered on the edge of consciousness, fighting to keep my eyes open. If I let the blackness win, I wasn’t going to wake up. The stairs finally came to end opening into cavernous space that was alive with activity. A group of people in medical garb waited at the bottom with gurneys.
“We have a fully equipped medical facility. They’ll get your people patched up. You and the human girl can come with me.” Charlotte nodded at her people.
“She goes nowhere without me,” Luc said, refusing to hand me over to the waiting team.
“For fuck’s sake, you stubborn oaf. You’ll only be in the way. No harm will come to her. She’s barely conscious and your fairy friend is losing his battle with gravity. Let them take her,” she snapped, crossing her arms.
He stood, unmoving. “Wherever they’re going it is with me by their side.”
“Fine. Follow them. I’ll let my sister know that, as usual, you bloody strega are impossible.” She stormed off down one of the many tunnels that connected to the main cavern.
As soon as Luc laid me down, the gurney began moving. They pushed it with urgency down a hallway lined with metal. Luc strode beside me his mouth a tight line. Nerina trotted behind trying to keep pace with her short legs. The world began to blur around me. Faces came in and out of focus. I opened my mouth mumbling incoherently. They needed to slow down. The words didn't make it out. I felt the muscles in my body seize before my body began to convulse. Screaming filled the hallway. Then the world went black.
Chapter
23
My eyes flew open, panic shaking me awake. The last thing I remembered was reaching for my sister’s hand as the world around me shook. Seizures had over taken me as the blood loss triggered a self-destruct sequence inside. Was I dead? Was this the afterlife? If it was, it closely resembled a hospital room. I’d expected fields of flowers, rainbows, and sunshine. Death so far seemed a sterile, cold disappointment.
I inhaled slowly, trying to get my bearings. Dead people couldn’t breathe. The metallic tang of blood flooded my nostrils. Looking down and following the scent, I found my sister snuggled along the length of my body. She was still covered in the remains of the battle. The steady rise and fall of her chest told me she was very much alive. I’d kept the wolves from reaching her, so unless something catastrophic had happened I must be alive too.
Straining my head to look around without waking her, I found Luc stretched out in a chair that wasn’t meant for someone of his height. He was still shirtless, his chest coated in a layer of my dried blood. He was also sound asleep, his head leaned back against the chair, light snores drifting up from his slightly parted lips.
I wiggled my toes, surprised when they moved on command with no trace of pain. My body had been thoroughly gnawed on. Everything should be hurting right now. I held my breath waiting for the pain to set it. I felt good. I felt the best I’d felt in weeks. The Benandanti must have given me the good drugs.
There was no time like the present to see if everything was still in working order. Gingerly I sat up, expecting a wall of pain to knock me back down. Nothing. I was able to sit on the edge of the bed with ease. Checking my arms, I found no cords or wires attached anywhere. Maybe it wasn’t drugs. Maybe they had some magic we didn’t know about. Whatever it was, so far nothing on me even hinted at being in recovery.
Sliding off the bed I stood up, amazed at how good my body felt. I might be able to run a marathon. I’d never felt like I could run down the block, let alone a marathon. I tentatively took a few steps, not trusting how well I felt. It was as if nothing had happened to me. I easily walked around the room, my legs supporting me without issue. There were cabinets on the wall next to the bed. I peeked in hoping to find something to wear. Someone would be coming to check on me eventually. When they found me alert and ready to go, I’m sure we’d have to meet with their head honcho. I wasn’t going to face the Benandanti leader with my ass hanging out the back of a hospital gown. The cabinet was a goldmine of clothing.
“Etta, what the hell are you doing out of bed?” Luc’s startled voice asked behind me. He was at my side, his hands on my shoulders steering me back towards the bed before I could protest.
“Looking for clothes. I found some,” I said.
“Cariad, you need rest. You lost so much blood. There’s no way you should be on your feet right now.” He said trying to get me to sit on to the bed.
“I know. I thought the same thing. But, I feel really great.” I smiled at him.
“Etta, what are you doing out of bed?” Nerina said behind me.
“I feel fine. Really. I feel better than I have in a long time.” I said doing, a little shuffle dance to prove my point. “What kind of drugs did they use? We need to get some of those in case we need them in the future.”
“I don’t think we can get vials of bird blood to carry around.” Nerina threw her arms around me.
“Bird blood? Can someone please explain that, please? I have no idea what that is,” I said wondering what the hell that was a euphemism for.
“I offered my blood. It wasn't going to be enough. You’d lost so much. You can’t have regular blood because the magic reacts violently to it. It has to be magical in nature,” Luc said, turning his head to avoid looking me in the eye.
“So, what did they use?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
“You were going into shock. You started seizing. They asked me if it was OK. I wanted to save your life,” Nerina blurted.
“You two are freaking me out. What the hell did they put in me?” I demanded.
“They gave you phoenix blood. It was the only thing they had on hand that would be enough to make up for what you lost,” Nerina said quietly.
“They gave me bird blood? Like actual bird blood? Where did they even get a phoenix?” I asked, trying to decide how I felt about this. “You know what, I don’t care. If I don’t start craving bird seed I guess it’s not the end of the world, right?”
“You didn’t need that much. They told me it was like ultimate healing powers. I had no idea it would make you feel this good.” Nerina laughed, hugging me again. “I don’t care if you only eat birdseed. I’m just glad you’re alive.”
“Me too, but I wonder what the hell it’ll do to me long term.” It was weird, but I was alive. If it was because I’d been pumped full of bird juice, so be it.
“You’ll find your eyesight improved, scars will disappear, you’ll have an increase in fertility, and many other subtler side effects. None of them bad,” Charlotte said, standing in the open doorway.
Increased fertility? That was a side effect I didn't need. I better ditch the pill and have my gyno to build a wall in my uterus on my next visit. “Thank you for saving my life. I have to imagine phoenix blood is very hard to come by,” I said
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you recognize the generosity. I see you found the clothing cabinet. Feel free to use whatever you find. There’s a shower in the bathroom. Please make use of it. My sister requests your presence for dinner. I’ll return in an hour to escort you.” She pivoted easily on her towering heels clacking away down the hall.
“She’s such a goddamn peach,” Brady said, announcing his arrival.
I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck. I felt his body stiffen, as he inhaled sharply. “I’m sorry, you’re still hurt.”
“Yeah, no exotic bird cocktails for me. Only dying people get that elixir. The rest of us have to heal slowly,” Brady said, hugging me back despite his pain. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
I nodded, not sure what else to say. I wanted to apologize, tell everyone how sorry I was that I’d gotten us into this mess. There was no time though. We still had to meet the head honcho and hope she was willing to help us. If she was anything like her sister, it was going to be a terrifying meeting. I could only hope they kept to their promise and didn’t kill us on the spot. Instead of saying everything I wanted, I simply kissed his cheek before shuffling off to scrub the blood from my body.<
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We were ready when Charlotte reappeared. She looked us up and down before indicating we should follow her. As we wound through more of the metal maze, unease settled into my belly. It would take years to figure out how to navigate this place. One wrong turn and we’d be lost for days. There was no way we were getting out of here on our own. Not having an escape route was never a good thing.
After so many left turns followed by an equally endless amount of right turns we reached our destination. Charlotte opened the door depositing us in a cozy den. An ornate mantle with a real wood burning fire was the centerpiece of the room. Positioned around the fireplace in a casual arrangement were a sofa and two wingback chairs. The far back wall was lined with books from top to bottom. A gray cat curled up at the bottom of the bookshelves having made itself comfortable on a stack of papers. A table stood off behind the chairs piled with an array of foods.
“Help yourselves, my sister will be here shortly,” Charlotte said, leaving us to wait.
“Where do you think the chimney goes?” Brady asked, eyeing the fireplace suspiciously.
“I wondered the same thing. We’re like in the middle of the earth where would it even go?” Nerina asked, joining Brady in speculation.
Refusing to be drawn into their conversation, I wandered over to the table where our dinner had been set out buffet style. What the hell was this? Trays of the most random food choices I’d ever seen were displayed in silver serving dishes. Chicken nuggets. Banana pudding. Chocolate pudding. Grapes. Gummy bears. French fries. Were we supposed to eat this?
“This looks like a preschool graduation dinner. Is this the meal, or appetizers? I’m so confused.” Brady stood next to me with an empty plate.
Elbowing him in the stomach, I whispered, “Be polite. We’re guests.”
The door to the den opened again as I settled on the couch with my plate of food. Charlotte stomped in without a word. Behind her trailed an even smaller woman. She looked like a pocket version of Charlotte. While their appearance left no question they were related, they were as different as could be. Pocket Charlotte had the same blonde hair but instead of the severe cut it hung in ringlets down her back. She wore a pink bow placed slightly off-kilter on her head. She had large, luminescent brown eyes that seemed to bore through your soul the second they met your gaze.
She stopped for a moment before entering the room and bent over to adjust one of her white knee socks that’d slid down into her shiny black patent leather shoe. Having fixed the errant sock, she straightened herself brushing the front of her rose patterned dress as if she were searching for a speck of dust. Standing next to Charlotte it looked like a caricature of good girl versus bad girl. Charlotte preferred short leather skirts and whips. Her sister looked like a porcelain doll come to life.
“Hello, thank you for coming. My name is Clara. I am so pleased to meet you.” She stood in front of me and curtsied.
I smiled at her with a mouthful of nuggets. She giggled at my full mouth, waiting patiently, a crooked smile plastered to her face.
“Thank you for seeing us. I’m Etta.” I wiped my hand on the borrowed yoga pants before extending it.
She stared at my hand for a moment before lightly grasping it in return. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying the meal. I had them make all my favorite things for you. The banana pudding is divine.” Clara beamed with pride at her food choices.
With a flourish she seated herself in one of the wing back chairs, primly crossing her hands in her lap. The chair swallowed her tiny body, making her look even more doll-like.
“I’m so pleased you’re here. We’ve been watching you for so many years. All that magic poured into one body. When you lost your daughter, we thought for sure that was it. Critical mass. Boom! Another strega lost to her powers.” Clara said with relish.
“You’ve been watching me? How?” I said almost choking on the banana pudding. It was already bad enough that the Osservatori had been spying on me. Now I had to worry about the Benandanti too. I was never getting naked again.
“Of course, silly. That’s our job. Never mind the how, we have to keep some of our secrets.” She giggled before popping a gummy into her mouth. Closing her eyes, she chewed slowly, savoring the candy before continuing. “You’re the real mystery here. Instead of losing it, you just baked bread in the bakery. Can you imagine my surprise? Then here come the Osservatori, and your grandmother gets taken. We thought surely no one can suffer that much without snapping. I waited. We were ready to strike. But what did you do? What did you do?”
“I came here to ask for help,” I said hesitantly. I wasn’t sure if she’d meant for me to answer but I didn't want to offend her by not answering. There were so many things about her that scared me, I wanted to err on the side of caution.
She bounced up and down in her chair clapping her hands together gleefully. “Yes! You came here asking for help. Can you imagine my delight that you surprised me so? I’ve been watching strega repeat the same mistakes over and over for a century. Why are you so different?”
I had no idea how to answer her. If all strega were prone to going rogue at some point, I had no explanation why I hadn't. My gut told me that their idea of a witch going bad and mine, might be two very different things. I needed her to want to help me though. What answer could she possibly be looking for?
“I just want to understand. You hold some of the most ancient strains of magic inside of you. Magic that has never collected into one strega. You could level a whole city if you choose to. Why do this instead?” She leaned forward, peering at me intently.
“I won’t have my daughter come home to a monster. I can’t have my family look at me in fear. I want to be the woman that my family thinks I am. When I look in the mirror, I need to recognize the person I see. I thought hiding from my magic would let me do that, but since that’s not an option, I refuse to let it change me. I’m learning to coexist with it. I’ll use it to help people or not at all.” I maintained eye contact with out flinching. She needed to see I meant every word I said.
“You’ve made me very happy. Thank you for sharing your truth. Had you lied, I would’ve killed you instantly. It pleases me that I can let you live. You’re the most exciting thing I’ve seen in a quarter of a century. Really so very fascinating.” She clapped her hands again bouncing with excitement. “Your heart shines with love. You didn’t say those exact words but that is the crux of your answer. Love. Love drives you. Do you know that throughout history love is responsible for some of the most beautiful acts of self-sacrifice ever witnessed?”
Charlotte snorted in the corner in disagreement. “It’s also been responsible for some of the most heinous acts of selfishness ever witnessed. What do you think she’d do if faced with the choice of saving humanity or one of the fools that cluster around her? Do you really think she’d choose the selfless path?”
“You must excuse dear Charlotte. She's allowed centuries of disappointment to sour her outlook. While I’m on the side of hope, she wallows in despair. You may be the one to prove her wrong. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps,” Clara said smiling brightly at her sister.
“I say we kill them now and spare ourselves the disappointment. If we look at facts she’s a ticking time bomb. Her family lineage alone is all the proof we need to know she’ll eventually stray. Please Clara, we need to mitigate the damage now before she leaves a trail of dead in her wake.” Charlotte’s cold hard eyes bore into my skull as if she was desperately trying to read my future choices.
“This’s not your decision to make. I’ll hear no more of it in front of our guests. You’re making them uncomfortable. I’m the Supreme Commander and as such I have the final say.” Clara hissed at her sister, pounding her fists on her legs. “We will help her defeat the succubus. Once that’s done we will continue to watch her as we always have. If she puts a toe out of line, I will cut her in half myself.”
“Thank you for helping me.” It was all I could think to say. It was good news. They were go
ing to help us. They were also going to continue spying on me. One wrong move and the doll-woman from hell was going to butcher me. That was a worry for another day though. Right now, I needed to focus on whatever help they were offering.
“Excuse me? Did you say succubus? We’re not searching for another strega? All this time we should’ve been looking for a succubus?” Luc asked incredulously.
“Of course, you poor dears. You’ve been barking up the proverbial wrong tree. However, don’t let the strega theory go so fast. I can’t give you all the answers you’re seeking, where would the fun be in that. We can only guide you in the right direction. You'll find the succubus with our help. That does not end the reason for the actions that’ve been set into motion. As a rule, succubi don’t work this way. Find her true reason. It’s going as they hoped. Except for your journey here. That was most unexpected by all.” Clara said grinning widely.
“Ok, so we need to find a succubus but there’s more involved. Will finding the succubus stop all of this?” Brady asked.
“I can say no more and no less. Charlotte will oversee your training. We’ll show you how to project yourself into the dreamscape. I'll also send two of my best warriors with you to ensure your journey is a success. Charlotte will be pleased to help you in your battle, even if it’s not the fight she was looking for.” She gave her a sister a sharp look, daring her to say otherwise.
“Thank you, Clara. I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to repay you for your help.” She freaked me out but for the moment she was my ally, so I was going to be gracious.
Clara stood from the wingback chair, smoothing her dress down with her tiny hands. Daintily she walked over to where I sat, leaning over she whispered in my ear. “Prove my sister wrong and we’ll be even.”