Chapter 17 Gia
SEVENTEEN
GIA
The ache in her head was getting worse, but Gia did her best to push through it. Normally, she’d never risk doing anything once the pain got to this point, but she wasn’t sitting around waiting for Salvator to return, even knowing Aurora could take over and wield her magic.
As far as she knew, no spell could stop a bullet.
Franco wouldn’t want her killed, but accidents happened when guns were involved, especially if Aurora threw magic into the mix. It was a miracle Salvator had kept his cool earlier.
Gia had to take this step. Take action. Manage her migraines herself as best she could. There was nothing weak about needing rest or doing things differently, but this wasn’t a normal situation. She had to stay away from Salvator, even if going out now rather than resting cost her.
Hopefully, the apothecary could help, and when she felt better, she’d see the situation with fresh eyes and figure out what to do next.
Gia exited her building, sunglasses on, and Aurora invisible by her side.
“Hey, Gia,” Viv called, hurrying to catch up to her before the front door closed.
What the hell was with this woman? “Viv. I’ve gotta run, sorry. Car’s here.” Gia pointed to the idling taxi.
“Oh, a yellow cab. How vintage. I love it.” Viv gave an airy laugh before narrowing her eyes in Gia’s direction. “Are you all right? You seemed freaked out earlier. And with that guy who’s been hanging around…” She raised a brow.
Gia’s heart skipped, her head pounding to match. “Have you seen him again?”
“Nah.” Viv waved a hand. She looked like she was dressed for the gym again, though something about the all-black aesthetic was giving thief-in-the-night vibes. “I haven’t seen him since last night.”
“Awesome. I’ve really gotta run.” Gia ducked into the cab without giving Viv a chance to reply, and shut her eyes briefly as she suppressed a groan.
This apothecary better have a magic cure.
A tiny spark tickled her hand, like Aurora was trying to comfort her, or remind her she was there, and Gia’s heart clenched. Not being alone gave her strength.
She hadn’t been her best self this afternoon, and Aurora hadn’t batted an eye. Maybe it was because they were stuck together and Aurora couldn’t run if she wanted to, but Gia couldn’t help believing it went deeper.
The taxi pulled out, and the driver confirmed the address where they were headed.
Gia should have watched for cars, kept on the lookout for Salvator or Franco’s other men, not to mention Trey.
But looking hurt, so Gia kept her eyes closed, trusting Aurora to be her lookout, accepting the help and doing her best not to feel guilty about it.
“There’s a truck double-parked ahead,” the cabbie said after a while. “Can I drop you here?”
Had they arrived already? Gia opened her eyes. The cab had pulled over at a side street, and sure enough, the way ahead was blocked by a truck.
“Here’s fine.” Gia gritted her teeth against the pain as she paid and added a generous tip. She slid out of the cab, making sure to hold the door open long enough for Aurora to slip out unseen.
“We’re halfway down the block from The Herb Emporium. It’s across the street. Green building,” Aurora’s disembodied voice whispered.
Gia nodded, spotting the place easily with its faded green sign. The street was lined with shops, but she didn’t have the energy to take it all in as she began searching for a gap in traffic. At a lull, she crossed and hurried along the block.
“Gia!” a familiar voice yelled, and she froze.
“Who’s he?” Aurora hissed.
Gia turned, knowing before she caught sight of him. “My brother.”
Marc stood merely five feet away. As far as Gia could see, he was alone, the driver’s door of an unfamiliar car standing open behind him.
“Are you following me?” Gia asked, words sharper than she’d expected.
Marc’s steps faltered, his eyes widening. “G, I’m here to help. We’ve got to get home.” He took two careful steps closer.
Her voice rose. “Are you kidding me? Home?” Gia’s headache flared, but for once, the pain was an afterthought. “To the man who killed our mother?”
Marc’s face fell, but he didn’t seem the least bit surprised, and he didn’t contradict her. “Gia…”
“No, don’t Gia me,” she snapped. “You knew? And you went along with it? Became just like him?”
“Hey, I’m not just like Father. You know there are things I’d do differently. Will do differently when it’s my turn, but come on, Gia. Live in reality. Our mother wasn’t a saint.”
“And our father belongs in Hell. Though he’s not actually my father, is he?”
“Gia!” Marc somehow managed to look offended.
So, he knew that part too. She fumed, fists clenched. “Where are all your men, huh? You never go anywhere alone.”
Marc swiped a hand over his face. “They don’t know I’m here. Look, I’m taking a risk right now. For you. There isn’t much time. Come with me, and we can work something out. I know what happened with Salvator earlier.”
He did? How was he not freaking out? Guess he had a better poker face than Gia gave him credit for.
Gia’s voice dropped to a growl. “Then you know you don’t have any power over me. Leave me alone, or I’ll toss you aside and burn more than your hand.”
Marc’s face bloomed with splotches of red. “I’m your brother. Your family. How dare you?”
“How dare you talk to me after lying to me my entire life. You knew, Marco. And you didn’t care.”
Marc surged forward, his voice raised. “What do you know about how I feel?”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” a tall, Latino man asked, his hard stare fixed on Marc.
Marc puffed out his chest, adjusting the sleeve of his suit jacket. “None of your business.”
“No?” The man crossed his arms, muscles bulging. “Last I checked, what happens on this street is my business. I suggest you take your shit elsewhere.”
“Fine. Gia, let’s go.” Marc gestured to the car.
Gia turned away and walked past the random guy without glancing at him. She was grateful for the interruption, but so fucking tired of needing people to step in.
“Wait,” Aurora’s disembodied voice hissed, and Gia realized she’d walked past the apothecary.
She doubled back and ducked into the faded green shop. The scent of herbs filled her nose, and her head pounded. Would Marc follow?
The door opened behind her, bell ringing as someone else entered. “Do you need help?”
Gia turned to see the man from the street staring at her, his gaze much warmer than it had been, but she wasn’t comforted. “Are you following me?”
He maneuvered carefully around her. “No, this is my shop.”
She registered his stained apron as he slid behind the counter. “Oh.”
“So, can I help? Or are you browsing?”
Maybe Gia should relax, but between the budding migraine and Marc, it was impossible. “You’re a witch?”
The man nodded. “And so are you.”
Gia’s gut twisted. It was so weird how they could tell. She’d need to ask Aurora how to detect witches herself. “Is that why you intervened outside? Because I’m a witch?”
“No.” He shrugged. “It looked like trouble, and like I said, trouble doesn’t fly around here. I’m Nico, by the way.”
This was the man who was friends with the Lockwoods. Gia took a reluctant step closer to the counter, wishing Aurora were visible so they could confer. So she didn’t have to face this unknown witch without a clue what she was doing.
“A friend recommended I come here,” she began.
Nico nodded, waiting patiently for her to go on.
“I’m not, um, I haven’t known about magic long, but I get really bad migraines and was wondering if you had anything for pain?”
Nico turned toward a well-stocked shelf on the wall behind him, perusing the vast array of tiny bottles. “Sure do. Have you tried any potions before?”
“No. I didn’t know about witches until I met one recently. I brought the pills I usually take, if that’s relevant?”
Nico selected two bottles and set them on the counter. “May I see them?”
Gia extracted the bottle from her backpack, careful not to let the cash show.
Nico took it. “This isn’t a standard label.”
It seemed normal to Gia, but she’d been taking these pills for years.
“May I open it?” Nico asked.
Gia nodded, and he unscrewed the lid, shaking a few pills onto the counter. He frowned, a deep crease forming on his brow.
“Mixing magic and human medication can be risky,” he ventured.
“I can stop taking the pills while I try a magic solution. Are those potions?” She pointed to the little bottles.
“These?” Nico looked confused. “Yes, they’re potions. But I meant mixing magic with the pills, like you’ve been doing.”
“Like I’ve been what?” Gia couldn’t help glancing to the side, as if Aurora would explain. A comforting spark nudged her shoulder, but no clarity came with it.
“These pills—which appear pretty garden variety—have been altered with magic.”
“What?” Gia repeated, her head throbbing anew.
“You didn’t know?” Nico scrubbed a hand over his face. “Melanie?” he called, and a woman popped out from behind a curtain that must have led to another room.
“Yes?” she said.
“Can you examine this for me?” He handed over one of the pills.
“Sure thing.” Melanie grabbed it and disappeared again.
“Those pills can’t have magic,” Gia protested, her sluggish brain doing its best to keep up. “They’re from a human doctor. The prescription gets filled at a regular pharmacy.”
“Prescription? They look like over-the-counter painkillers to me. Do you pick them up yourself?”
“No.” She’d always had people to run errands for her, at her father’s insistence, but that was an image thing. “I know they’re the same shape as other pills, but they’re not the same as the over-the-counter stuff. They can’t be.”
Anger flared, and Gia’s head bloomed with pain. Not every pill looked completely unique to the average person. He must be wrong.
Nico studied the remaining pills on the counter, picking them up one at a time. He set one aside. “This one doesn’t seem to have any magic to it, but the others do. Would you mind letting me inspect the rest?”
Gia dumped the pills on the counter. “My family doesn’t know about magic. I’ve only ever been to regular doctors, so I don’t see how there could be magic in any of them.”
“Perhaps the person who fills the prescription messed with them without your family’s knowledge. Most of these are unmagical, but these”—he nudged another pill into a growing pile—“have all been altered.”
“But why are they mixed with non-altered ones?” Even if, say, the doctor or pharmacist was a secret witch, trying to help with magic pills, wouldn’t they all be the same? Gia had never added pills from one bottle into another.
“I don’t know.” Nico’s frown deepened. “I’m sorry to spring this on you, but it’s good you’re here. We’ll figure out what the magic does and get you something else to help your headaches. I’ll be right back.”
Nico disappeared behind the curtain.
“Are you sure your family doesn’t know about magic?” Aurora hissed.
“Yes.” Of course they didn’t know. If Franco knew about magic, he’d have far more power than he did already. “Didn’t Lilly check me for magic? I’d taken a pill within the two weeks.”
“She checked for spells cast on you. Magic acting on a secondary item alters the item, not you. It wouldn’t have been detectable unless you’d been in the process of taking a pill when she checked.”
Fuck, but before Gia could respond, the curtain shifted, and Nico reappeared, looking grim.
“Melanie did a basic analysis. Something more thorough will take more time, but she can already tell the spell wasn’t meant to enhance the pill’s effects.”
“Meaning what? Explain it to me like I learned about magic yesterday.”
“Yesterday? All right. If someone was trying to help your headaches, they’d cast a spell to increase the painkiller’s effectiveness, but this spell seems to do the opposite.”
“The opposite.” Goddamn, she’d turned into a parrot. Apparently, this was her breaking point.
Nico nodded, nothing but serious. “I’m afraid so. Wherever these pills came from, the person who messed with them was using them to make your headaches worse.”
Gia gripped the counter as dread welled within her. “Could the spell make me black out? Take my memory?”
Nico’s eyes went wide. “No. Witches can’t alter memories. A spell could make you black out, but from what Melanie is picking up, it’s a pain trigger and nothing more.”
Sometimes the pills worked, and sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes her headaches got worse even if she took them.
Gia’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the counter harder. That was why they were mixed. It was a crapshoot. The pills worked enough to keep her taking them. But sometimes, they made her worse. On purpose.
Why would Franco do this to her? Because she couldn’t believe this was a coincidence, or some other malevolent force. Franco must know about magic after all. Something like this didn’t happen under his nose without his knowledge. He was always two steps ahead.
Marc hadn’t been shocked to hear Salvator had seen a ghost or been burned inexplicably. He must know about magic, too. Did he know about the pills? Was he…
“Was the guy yelling at me outside a witch?” Gia asked.
Nico seemed thrown by the change in topic, but recovered quickly. “No. He was human.”
“You checked?” She had to be sure.
“I did. Was he the one to give you the pills?”
“No. Never mind.” She had to figure out why her father would play games, making her headaches worse, when she already had intense blackouts and memory loss that couldn’t be due to the tainted pills.
Wasn’t her condition bad enough? Or did Franco need her to believe she was even sicker than she was? And if Franco knew about magic…had her mother? She had to talk to the damn lawyer. See what Susan had told him before her death.
“I’ll take the potions, thanks.” Gia pointed to Nico’s selections.
“Of course. Do you have anyone to help you deal with what you’ve learned? Are you safe from whoever gave you these pills?”
It was kind to ask, but Gia wasn’t banking on this random guy’s help. “I know the Lockwood Coven. They’ll help.”
Nico nodded. “They’re good people. If you need something else, I’ll be here.” He explained a few things about the potions and how they worked, then rang her up.
It was time to hear out the Lockwoods.