Westerham Witches and a Venetian Vendetta by Dionne Lister (top rated books of all time TXT) 📕

but a pulse of power pushed me back a step. Then it was gone. I froze and strained my ears. What the hell was that? I glanced back into the hallway and at the stairs. It all looked the same in the gloom.

I wished for my return to sender as I stepped into the room. Before I could chicken out, I created a small light in my palm. As the glow melted into every corner of the room, I sucked in a breath. Angelica! She was asleep or unconscious—I refused to think dead—lying on a single bed against the far wall.

I hurried over and whispered as loudly as I dared. “Angelica. Angelica.” The light still hovering over one palm, I reached out with my other hand, my breath coming faster, my heart racing. Please don’t be cold. My fingertips alighted on her cheek. She was warm. Just to be sure, I felt her neck for a pulse. Oh my God, yes. I hitched in a deep breath of relief. I grabbed her shoulder and shook. “Wake up. Angelica, it’s me, Lily.”

Crap.

She wasn’t responding at all. What had they done to her? I drew some fitful magic from the river to my reservoir. It was time to try Will again. Will?

I’m here.

I found Angelica. She’s alive but unconscious.

Where are you?

Were they footsteps echoing from the stairs? I extinguished my light, just in case. I don’t know. Venice somewhere? I think someone’s coming. Yep, definitely footsteps. They stopped down the hallway, probably at the top of the stairs. Crap. I snuck to the door and peered around. A figure stood at the open doorway to the room I’d woken up in. The person was shorter than me, about my build, maybe slightly wider? It didn’t look like Francesco—he was too thin and taller than me. His mother was about my height, so it had to be Isabella. Was she here to help me or kill me? Mmm, dumb question, Lily, since she was the one who clocked you in the head. There was my answer.

The light went on in my room. Yep, it was definitely Isabella. Had the pulse of power when I’d opened Angelica’s door been an alarm of sorts?

I ducked back into Angelica’s room and silently shut the door. Surely Isabella would come looking for me in here next. I glanced around for somewhere to hide. There was one freestanding wardrobe, but that was too obvious. Maybe under the bed? I dropped to hands and knees and lifted the sheets that draped beneath the mattress. Yes! There was plenty of space. I crawled in, disturbing dust. Choking, I coughed into my arm. I hoped like hell that she hadn’t heard me. Although, for all she knew, it could be Angelica. Still, if I wasn’t where I was supposed to be, I was likely here somewhere. I shook my head at my exceptional logic. Good one, Lily.

Now to wait. After that, who knew. I couldn’t beat her with magic…. Except, what if she couldn’t draw magic because of the wards on the house? At this stage, I had to assume that’s what was blocking the magic. I’d never come across another situation where access to the river of power behaved like an internet connection, which, let’s be honest, wasn’t great in Venice in amongst the tightly packed buildings. If I sensed her casting a spell, I’d jump straight on my return to sender, just in case she’d turned the power back on, so to speak. Being a civilian, it was unlikely she’d know what a return to sender was, so I’d have the upper hand.

Footsteps shuffled outside the door. I tried to breathe as quietly as possible, but it sounded as loud as a freight train. It probably didn’t, but that’s what it felt like. I could just see the bottom of the door. It opened. Isabella’s shoes stood there for a moment, then the light switch clicked, throwing light into every corner of the room. Because of the dangling sheet, she wouldn’t be able to see me unless she actually got on the floor and looked under the bed. Fingers crossed she was too old to physically do it.

She stepped into the room. Crap. Maybe they really didn’t want to hurt us. If they had, wouldn’t Angelica be dead already? She wasn’t turned to glass as far as I could tell. Maybe they just wanted to slow down the investigation? Although kidnapping and injuring a PIB agent was a sure way to get you thrown in jail when it was all over. So now they had more to lose. It didn’t make sense.

Her black orthopaedic sandals brought her all the way to the bed. I cringed at the proximity of her feet to my face. Gross. I could clearly see the cracked skin of her big toe. It was literally within spitting distance. I shuddered. Why me? My gag reflex kicked in. Oh, God, I needed to keep quiet. If she found me because I was dry heaving over the proximity of her feet, I’d be so annoyed. I wanted to look away from the feet, but I needed to know if she found me and was going to do something. There was no option but to suffer.

She said something in Italian—to herself or Angelica, I had no idea. She turned and walked in the direction of the wardrobe. The door creaked open, and after a moment, the thud of it closing had adrenaline ramping up in my body, increasing my heart rate and making me hyperaware. I itched to jump out of my hiding place and run, but I gritted my teeth and stayed. If the universe was in a good mood, maybe she’d leave without finding me.

The feet came back to the bed. Damn it.

“Lily, are you under there?”

Double damn it. Bloody universe.

“Lily?”

I didn’t answer. If she was going to find me, she’d have to work for it.

“You going to make an old woman get on the floor?”

Yes,