Authors: Nicole Bailey
“Oh, no Mamma, that’s okay. You need him here. I can
hang out and help,” I said.
“You sure?” she asked.
“Sὶ, what can I do?” I asked.
“You can set my table,” Robby piped up.
Daniela gave him a dirty look and turned back to me.
“Can you make the breadsticks? They are rolled, just
sprinkle the garlic and put them in the oven.” Her accent
was even heavier than Babbo’s. It made me smile as I
thought about our time in Italy. I nodded and got right to
work beside Nick.
“Sorry it’s taking so long,” Nick apologized.
“It’s fine. I like being here. It makes me feel good to be
around your family. You would never know there was bad
blood between our families only a few months ago.”
“I know, right?” he looked over at me.
“I was especially worried about your mamma. She was
so set on you being with
Beth
,” I said it like it was a dirty
word and it made Nick laugh.
“Hey, Sof,” Robby called over.
“Yeah?”
“Can you teach me how to set the table with magic so I
don’t have to go out and do it?” he gave me a big, cheesy
grin.
“Sorry, no can do. It’s not something I can just teach
you,” I apologized.
“Well, how ‘bout you do it for me? Magically?” he
pleaded.
“Well…” I thought about it.
“Don’t do it,” Nick chanted. “Make the lazy kid do it
himself.”
“Will you give me a kiss if I do it?” I asked.
“Sὶ, anything,” he said excitedly. “Can I come watch?”
“Go make sure your parents aren’t around first,” I said.
I did not want to get in trouble by doing magic in their
restaurant, especially when it was to help Robby get out of
work. He left the kitchen and came back a second later.
“Babbo’s in the office and Mamma is all the way on the
other side,” he whispered. I followed him in to the dining
room to the missed table.
“Okay, here you go. Abra cadabra,” I said as I waved
my hands over the table. The napkins folded and the
silverware placed itself in the right spots.
Robby gasped, “Are those really magic words?”
“No, you dork. I don’t have to use words for simple
stuff like that.” He looked offended, but hugged me and
kissed me on the cheek.
We snuck back in to the kitchen where I finished
putting the last of the bread in the oven while Robby broke
down some lettuce for salad. “You are way too nice to
him,” Nick laughed. “He’s getting spoiled.”
“Oh, he’s so cute,” I said. “I can’t resist.”
Nick finished up a few minutes later and went to find
his dad. Daniela came back in the kitchen to see how it was
going. “They’re in the oven. Do you want me to stay to
take them out? Nick is finished with the pasta,” I asked.
“No, no. You go home and enjoy your marriage,” she
wiggled her eyebrows at me and I blushed. Nick walked
back in and I took his hand to go.
The next few days were eerily quiet. I was worried that
it was the calm before the storm and didn’t allow myself to
get too comfortable. Nick worked at the restaurant
everyday while I helped at the store. I picked him up when
we were both done because I would be able to protect
myself with magic if I was attacked. I was worried that Ky
or Gia could jump Nick at any time if I left him alone. He
may have been a werewolf, but if he was surprise attacked
with magic, he had no chance.
Babbo got in touch with Enzo and asked him about Ky.
Of course his parents had no idea he was working with Gia.
“They don’t even know where he is,” I told Nick one night.
“What? How do they not know where their own son
is?”
“Apparently, he moved out a little over a week ago. He
didn’t tell them where he was moving and has only called
once to let them know he was fine,” I answered.
“Do you think he’s staying with her?” he never said
Gia’s name so he wouldn’t upset me.
“Most likely. They were together in an apartment when
we had our vision.”
“What about Angelo or Carlo?” he asked.
“Yeah right. I blinded Angelo and broke Carlo’s leg.
You honestly think they would help us?” I reminded him.
“Oh. Right. What about trying another spell to find
them?”
“We have tried. She’s blocking us now, so all we get is
the same picture as before. It’s like a movie on pause,” I
explained.
Nick sighed deeply. “Well, what next?”
“I don’t know. We wait, I guess. Mamma has been on
the phone with everyone in the coven. No one has seen
either of them.”
“What if they aren’t in town?” he thought out loud.
“What if they’re hiding out in Pinetop?” Pinetop was an
even smaller town than Aspen Springs and only about
twenty minutes north. “Do you guys know anyone up there
who could look around?”
“I’m not sure. I would have to ask Mamma. I guess it’s
a start, right?” I tried to smile.
“Vieni qui,” he reached out for me. I snuggled in close
to him on the couch. The TV was on, but neither of us were
really paying attention to it. “Ti voglio bene, Bella Mia,” he
barely whispered into my hair.
“I love you so much, Nick. Non posso vivere senza di
te,” I said as I looked up into his eyes.
“You won’t ever have to live without me. We’ll get
through this. Hey, if we can get werewolves and witches to
all be ‘BFFs’ again, as you say, then we can find two
witches in this small town.” I nodded, though I didn’t
believe it myself.
All throughout the next day, I kept toying with an idea
that might help us find Ky and Gia. It wasn’t a pleasant
one, and in fact, made me sick to my stomach to think
about.
I asked Mamma at work if she knew anyone in Pinetop
that might help us look around or know something, but
there wasn’t anyone. We didn’t think it would work for one
of us to go snooping around up there. Gia was powerful
enough to do her own magic and she knew we were
searching for her now. She probably had spells in place to
sense our presence. I was so frustrated that I felt like I had
to do something. I couldn’t stand the thought of her still out
there plotting a way to get to Nick when I wasn’t around.
There was one last option though before I went through
with the plan. “I’m going to try a scrying spell,” I told Nick
after work that evening.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Well, it’s a spell to help you find what you’re looking
for. It’s not necessarily just for finding people, but we
haven’t tried it yet.”
“Why not?”
“You need a full moon, and fortunately there will be
one tonight,” I answered. “I can do it inside by the window,
but I’d rather go outside in the woods to have access to the
full brightness and power of the moon.”
“Can I come with you?” he asked excitedly. “I love to
watch you.”
“Sure, as long as you remember to be quiet,” I ordered.
He had a tendency to interrupt me during spells by asking
questions.
“I promise,” he smiled.
“I’ll wait until around 11:30 tonight when the moon is
at its very fullest. Are you sure you’ll be able to stand being
in human form tonight?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. If not, I’ll watch you as a wolf,” he
answered. While a full moon was not the only time a were
shifted, like in folklore, it was a time in the month when
they tended to be more aggressive and hormonal.
The first full moon we were together after our binding
was a little intense. After running in the woods practically
all night, Nick came in and woke me. He couldn’t keep his
hands off me, even more so than usual. It was a little
strange, but now I was used to it. Almost looked forward to
it, really. “Actually, maybe it’s best I stay a wolf. Unless
it’s okay for me to be all over you,” he grinned.
“Uh yeah, I kinda need to concentrate,” I laughed.
There was a knock at the door and Nick shouted out for
whoever it was to enter.
Nat opened the door and walked in. “How do you know
I wasn’t an evil witch coming to attack you? You might
wanna check your peephole until we get them taken care
of.”
“I know your smell,” Nick said without looking up
from the dinner table. We were eating his homemade pizza.
“I have a smell?” she asked, scrunching up her face.
“Everyone does. And there are two particular scents
that are burned in my memory, so I don’t need to check the
door. Plus, Luca set up those wards to protect our place,” he
answered.
“Hmm… what do I smell like?” Nat asked.
“I smell like fruit,” I smiled.
“Raspberries, to be more specific,” Nick leaned in and
kissed my neck. “You smell more like cinnamon,” he
turned to Nat.
“Geez, do we all smell like food to you? You’re not
gonna come attack me in my sleep are you?” she joked.
“No, not everyone smells like food. Jack smells kind of
like wet grass.” Nat and I laughed out loud.
“Où est Monsieur Jacques anyway?” I asked.
“He couldn’t pull himself away from some lame cop
show,” she huffed. “Anyway, can I have some of that? It
looks incredibly delicious.” She sat down next to me at the
table and grabbed a slice of pizza.
“Of course, help yourself,” I said. “Is that why you
came over? You smelled food?”
“No, actually. I was wondering what you’re doing
tonight. I kinda wanted to have a girls’ night. That new
romcom came out today,” she said, winding a long string of
cheese around her finger and putting it in her mouth.
“What on earth is a ‘romcom’?” Nick asked.
“Romantic comedy,” Nat and I answered in unison.
“I’m going to try a scrying spell tonight, but not until
really late. What time is the movie?” I answered.
“Oh, good idea. I hadn’t thought of that yet. Do you
want me there for the extra boost of power?”
“That’d be great,” I said.
“I’m sure Jack will come too,” she offered. “Good
grief, Nick. Can’t you wait until I leave?” Nick had pulled
me into his lap and was kissing my neck again.
“Uh, yeah, so he gets a little handsy during the full
moon,” I blushed.
“Oh, my bad. I’ll take that as my cue to leave. But the
movie starts in forty minutes.”
“I’ll come over in a bit then,” I said, swatting Nick’s
hand away from where it started to roam.
“Ciao,” she said as she left to go across the hall to her
apartment. Most of the time we let ourselves in, but after
walking in on her and Jack for the second time one night, I
always knocked now.
Twenty or so minutes later, Nat and I left for the movie
while Nick went out in the woods. He told me he would
find me when it was time for the spell. I made him promise
to stay with one of the other weres all night. I still worried
that Ky or Gia would show up at any time.
When we got home, I started to get my supplies ready
to go for the spell, but realized I was missing something.
“Crap, do you have any quartz?” I asked Nat.
“Uh, no. That’s not really something I keep lying
around,” she answered.
“You wanna run to the store with me really quick?” I
asked. It was closer just to head to Mamma’s store than it
was to go home to my parents’, and I had a key.
“Sure. Do you need to leave Nick a note or anything?”
“No, he’s out running until I go out there.”
“Sheesh, I didn’t realize weres got that way on the full
moon,” she giggled.
“Yeah, it was kinda weird the first month. I was like,
‘what the crap is going on with you’?” I laughed as I
climbed in my Mustang.
We got to the store, and for some reason, it always
creeped me out a little in the dark. We had a small section
of crystals and I found some rose quartz quickly. It was
close to 11pm by the time we got back to the apartment, so
I hurried to get everything ready.
“Okay, you’re sure you’ve got it all, right?” Nat asked.
“Yep, quartz, ink, metal bowl and water,” I answered.
“I’ll go get Jack then and meet you out back.”
We separated at the stairs and I headed down and out
back to the woods behind our complex. I loved the smell
and inhaled deeply. I walked far enough in that I wouldn’t
be seen by anyone pulling into the back parking lot and set
up.
It was nice and quiet so I wouldn’t have any trouble
concentrating for the spell. I had changed in to my shift and
pulled my athame out of it’s sheath around my calf. I
created a circle on the ground big enough for Nat, Jack and
I to all stand in and placed a few candles around. They
weren’t necessary for the spell, but I needed the extra light.
I smelled Nick a minute later and felt him walk up
behind me and nuzzle my hand. “Ciao, amore mio,” I
smiled. He licked my leg where it was exposed underneath
my shift.
“Hey, none of that,” I heard Nat say as she walked up to
the circle. Nick barked playfully at her in response.
“You guys ready?” I asked as I shoved Nick away. “You
stay over there outside the circle,” I told him.
Jack and Nat walked into the circle and I closed it with
my athame. I closed my eyes, breathed deeply and relaxed
to ground myself. I sat down and poured some bottled
water into the metal bowl before chanting,
Goddess of the soaring moon
Grant to me this simple boon
Show to me what I must see
Reveal to me that which shall be.
I picked up a small vial of black ink and dropped three
drops in the water and said,
Whence do I come?
Where do I stand?
Whence shall I go?
Nat handed me the quartz and I cradled it in my hands
and lifted it up to the moonlight. I closed my eyes and
empowered the stone with my desire for guidance to where
I needed to go to find Ky and Gia. I dropped it into the
bowl and shouted,
Let me see!
So mote it be!
I grabbed Nat and Jack’s hands, closed my eyes, cleared
my mind and breathed deeply. I heard Jack’s intake of
breath and figured I must be glowing. He hadn’t seen me
do that yet. But he knew better than to say anything and
break the spell.
I pictured Gia’s face clearly in my mind and searched
for her. It was like I was zooming in on Google Earth. I saw
Pinetop, then narrowed in on an apartment complex, but
couldn’t see the name of it. I zoomed in more and ended up
in an apartment again. The walls were a pale gray, there
was a black sofa, a coffee table that was pushed out of the
way, and Gia sitting on the floor. She was in her own circle,
her eyes closed, candles around her, a bowl in front of her
with dark liquid and what looked like fur floating in it. Her
eyes flew open and she looked straight at me. “It is time,”
she said wildly. “He will be mine.”
I opened my eyes, startled, and Nat was shaking me.
“What happened? What did you see? You were screaming,”
she said with wide eyes.
Nick was pacing outside the circle in human form now.
“Crap!” I breathed out.
“What is it, Sofia?” Nick practically yelled. He was
doing a good job of holding himself back. I had chastised
him enough times about disrupting a circle.
“I saw her. It was the weirdest thing. I was like
zooming in on where she was. I kept getting closer. She’s in
Pinetop for sure. I couldn’t see the name of the complex,
but I saw the inside of the apartment. Nat, she was sitting in
a circle with a bowl in front of her.” I was shaking now and
breathing rapidly.
“Calm down, you’re starting to hyperventilate. What
exactly was she doing?” she asked.
I took a deep breath and told her, “I’m pretty sure… I
mean I think she…”
“What is it already?” Nick asked anxiously.
“It looked like a bowl of blood in front of her. There
was something floating in it.”
Nat sucked in a breath, “Blood magic.”
“What is that?! Will someone tell me what the frick is
going on?” Nick was right behind me now, just outside the
circle.
I ignored his question and continued talking to Nat.
“I’m almost one hundred percent sure it was fur floating in
the blood.”
“Ah crap!” Jack spoke for the first time. “That’s not
good.”
“
Really
not good,” Nat agreed.
I could see that Nick was about to break the circle, so I
quickly said, “It is done,” and scraped away an opening
with my athame.
He was crouched down to my level and I practically fell
into his arms. “Will you please tell me now what the hell
this all means?” I could hear the frustration in his voice.
“It means she is casting powerful, dark magic, and she
has…”
“She has what?” I could hear the nervousness in his
voice.
“She has your fur,” I finished.
“Ah damn,” he whispered.
“She must have gotten it out here at some point. She
has to have been watching you to know your color and
where you run.” I let go of Nick and turned to Nat. “Crap,
Nat, she’s gonna do it. She’s gonna take him away from
me,” I cried.
She held me silently for a few minutes before speaking.
Nick was up and pacing again, mumbling swear words in
Italian under his breath. “No, Sof. We absolutely will not
let that happen. We can get the entire coven together if
necessary. We will find a way to block her and protect
Nick.”
I couldn’t speak. I was still crying softly while Nat
rocked me gently. Jack stood and cleaned everything up for
me. Nick had stopped pacing and was standing there unsure
what he should do. Nat helped me stand, called him over
and handed me off to him.
I couldn’t even walk. I was too upset so Nick carried
me back to our place, Nat and Jack following behind. I
wasn’t speaking, and as we got to our door, Nick asked Nat,
“What can I do for her? Is she going catatonic on me?”
“Just hold her. All night if you have to. I’m going to call
my maman right now and tell her what happened. She’ll
know what to do about Gia. I’ll call you first thing in the
morning.” He nodded and pushed the door open with his
foot. Nat pulled it closed behind us and Nick carried me to
the bedroom.
He put me on the bed, kicked his shoes off and lay
down next to me. I still wouldn’t speak. My mind was on
overdrive, replaying every detail of the vision. I realized I
needed to put my plan in to action. The one that made me
sick to my stomach. But I was willing to do anything it
took to keep Nick away from Gia.
Nick had his arms wrapped around me, my head resting
on his warm chest. I stopped crying at some point and let
the beat of his heart lull me to sleep. I had to act quickly
before he could stop me. Gia’s spell would be strong. Blood
magic was powerful and I didn’t know what she was
planning. And now that she knew I had seen her, I was
worried it would be something that made him walk out on
me right now in the middle of the night.
I forced myself to dream of Ky. I focused my energy on
his face. A face I knew from the time we were babies. As
angry as I was with him, it really did make my heart hurt
that we were no longer friends. I really had meant it when I
told him I loved him. It just wasn’t romantic love. But I had
to put that aside now and become the best actress possible
if this was going to work.
I found him lying on his back in a bed, staring at a gray
ceiling. I could tell it was the same place Gia was and knew
I would have to act fast if I didn’t want her to find out what
was going on in the next room.
He must have been thinking about me because it was
almost too easy to reach him. I sat down on the bed next to
him. He sat up as he realized who it was. “Sofia, amore
mio,” he said. I almost threw up when he called me his
“love”. “What are you doing here?”
Time to act. “I’ve missed you Ky. You were right.”
“Right about what?”
“Us. You and me.” Before I could say anything more,
he was kissing me. Now I really felt like I would puke.
Hold it together. Think of Nick,
I told myself. I let him kiss
me for way longer than I should have, but I needed to be
convincing.
He finally pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Have
you really changed your mind?” he whispered. It genuinely
made me sad. I saw the love in his eyes and it broke my
heart even more. “Gia’s spell must have worked.”
“Nick is still here with me, if that’s what you mean. He
hasn’t left, but I’ve been thinking about you.”
Oh barf, I
don’t know if I can do this.
“But if I’m going to leave him, I
need to know where you are. I have to come to you before
he finds out.” I could hear Nick stirring in our bed and I
tried to ignore him. I needed to stay focused or I would lose
the dream.
“We should meet somewhere. Gia will be mad if I tell
you where we are.”
“What does it matter if I know? I’m already planning to
leave him. She can have him. I realized after your last visit
how much I missed you. You’ve always been in my life and
I don’t want to lose you forever.” I could feel Nick shaking
me, trying to wake me up. I concentrated harder.