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

bad timing in the world, did it have to be now? A tear escaped the confines of my eye. Don’t waste this opportunity. I took in a smidge more power. Maybe he would just say hello and then leave her to do her thing?

He strode through the door, and she turned to look at him, the prickle of her magic subsiding. Francesco saw me and stopped dead. His mouth dropped open. Thank God I wasn’t naked yet. He turned his gaze to his grandmother and raised his voice. I had no idea what he was saying.

She rolled her eyes and moved her hands in an intricate conversational dance to punctuate whatever she was saying, possibly imploring him to stop being silly and go away. He shook his head, and she folded her arms. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as it seemed? Maybe he’d save me? I turned my gaze on him, hoping he could see how desperate I was for help, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was still fixated on his grandmother.

Finally, he threw one hand in the air and looked to the ceiling. He crossed his hands in front of his body and then moved them apart in one quick motion. “Basta. Ho finito.” He flicked his gaze to me, then dropped his head to look at the ground. I knew, in that moment, that he’d given up.

She made a violent shooing motion, and he turned and walked away, taking my hope with him. I absorbed a trickle more power. I’d just have to wait for him to leave and return to my original plan. I. Was. Not. Giving. Up.

By the time he stepped back through the door, she’d started her chant again, her magic humming uncomfortably along my scalp. I shuddered. All the places the snake touched my skin warmed. Oh, crap. Also, that poor snake. I wasn’t sure if it was dead or just asleep. I hated that she was going to burn it alive, encase it in glass. Sorrow swept through me at the thought of her other victims—witches and animals alike.

Should I try and throw that cat, or should I go for something smaller? Surely if I was accurate, a bird could do the job, and I could probably throw it with more force. Damn. This was so risky. I’d stick with the cat.

I tapped into the power in my belly and silently said, Smash that glass cat into Isabella’s temple as hard as you can. The cat flew across the room, but we were too far from it, and it lost height as it went. By the time it reached her, it thumped into her hip. She staggered sideways and grunted, but it didn’t achieve anything except to annoy her before it fell to the ground with a loud clunk. Glass around the tail smashed off, revealing bone underneath. Ew.

Most of my magic reserves were gone, only what I needed to survive left, and if things continued as they were, I wouldn’t need those small reserves for long.

Isabella shook her head. “You dare!” she screamed.

Oh, God, here we go. I’d poked the bear rather than killed it.

She drew more power, the air charged with it. A thick layer of tiny glass beads coated the snake. Heat built. Hotter and hotter. Not hot enough to melt the glass, but hot enough to be uncomfortable. The temperature rose. It reached the level I’d snatch my hand away from a flame. Then it increased again. My stomach tightened as searing agony whipped my body.

Even the half-freeze spell wasn’t enough to stop me.

I opened my mouth and screamed, the sound echoing off the terrazzo floors and brick walls.

This couldn’t be happening. I was out of options. Was there another way I could access the river of magic? There had to be a way around her spell.

The sweetly sick scent of burning flesh tainted the air, and I moved involuntarily, albeit ridiculously slowly, my body doing its best to escape the blistering pain. My arm lowered an inch at a time, but the pain didn’t stop. Isabella’s face contorted into anger as she stepped towards me, her lips moving with whatever spell she was using to melt the glass.

I didn’t see how this could end any other way than with me dead.

Francesco silently ran into the room. Was he coming back to help her finish the job more quickly? He drew power—I remembered how his power felt from when he moved our bags on the first day. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

Isabella’s intonating ceased, surprise registering in her eyes. The molten heat stopped increasing. Was it cooling slightly? Not to get me wrong, I was still writhing as much as my limited movement allowed, but it seemed as if the heat was dissipating.

Francesco walked around Isabella until he was between us, facing her. He spoke to her in Italian, his voice rising and falling. I wished I knew what he was saying. If her eyes were any indication, she was livid. He turned to me, at first horror, then sadness in his gaze. His magic tickled my scalp, and the snake disappeared, ripping skin from my shoulder. I screamed again, and tears slid down my cheeks. I needed to pant through the pain, but I couldn’t….

But then I could.

The freeze spell disappeared.

I swayed before my knees collapsed. Francesco jumped in front of me, catching me under the arms. “I am so sorry, Lily. Oh, Dio, please forgive me for not helping you earlier.”

A wave of relief smashed over me, and I managed to rasp, “Thank you,” before the burden of pain was too great, and my awareness decided it had had enough.

As I slid into blackness, I hoped Francesco didn’t change his mind.

Chapter 10

I awoke to light streaming through the window and the absence of pain. I squinted against the brightness.

“Lily, are you awake?” Hope tinged my mother’s worried voice, and relief cascaded through my body.

I opened my eyes further and turned