Alpha Bear (3 page)

He seemed to be remembering things as he
spoke about them, and John could see how difficult it was for him
to speak of the events. No shifter—especially not one as strong or
capable as Tom—wanted to admit to moments of weakness.

“The lady healed me, and I had to leave as
soon as I could walk,” Tom went on. “The terrorists were still out
there, and my team was hunting them. I had to get back to the
fight, which was ongoing. I realized as I came out of it completely
that only about forty minutes had passed. The priest gave me a
quick briefing of what he knew, and I listened in on the confused
comms that were coming through my radio. The scene was still chaos,
and I needed to get back out there. The priest blessed me, if you
can believe it, and the woman added her own little sparkle of magic
as I took off and helped track down the bad guys.”

“Is that it?” John asked when Tom trailed off
again. “Is that all you know about
strega
?”

Tom shook himself and focused on John. “No,
sorry. As you know, we caught the terrorists. After that, I went
back to the lady’s house to thank her. She invited me in for
coffee, and we talked. She told me a little bit about her calling.
She said that
strega
, like all people, can be good or bad,
but that because of where she lived, so close to the Vatican,
pretty much every
strega
in the area was working on the side
of Light. In fact, they’d congregated there to take advantage of
the good juju coming off the concentration of spiritual thought and
prayer coming out of that area. A few special priests were aware of
the
strega
and their magic. The one who had brought me to
her was one of them. She clearly had great respect for the man, and
she told me where to find him. After I left her, I went straight to
the little church where she told me I’d find the priest, to thank
him. He invited me into his home for another cup of coffee, and I
was intrigued enough to accept his invitation.”

Tom reached for his cell phone, hitting a few
buttons before he went on. “I have his number, and the lady’s. I
could call either of them—or both—and ask about the Ricolettis. I
have a feeling the
strega
working on the side of Light all
know each other, or at least know
of
each other.”

“You keep in touch with them still?” John was
impressed by that. Clearly, those two people had made a larger
impression on Tom than John had realized.

“We talk occasionally. Mostly around the
holidays. Just friendly greetings. Antoinetta calls me once in a
while, if she has a shifter question, and she’s invited me to do
the same if I have a magic problem. So far, I haven’t taken her up
on it, though I’ve been meaning to call and tell her I found my
mate and maybe ask what she might know about sea monsters.” Tom
looked at John questioningly, as if seeking his input.

John thought about it for a few seconds. “Are
you sure you’re comfortable with these people knowing about your
mate?” Mates had to be protected at all costs. The fact that Tom
had found his was too precious to take lightly.

“I trust them both with my life. They saved
me once. I doubt they would do anything to me or anyone I claimed
as mine. In fact, I see them both as allies. They would help me and
mine, if they could.”

“You’re that sure about them?” John was
surprised by Tom’s vehemence.

Tom nodded. “Sure as I can be.” He paused
before continuing. “You didn’t experience that golden light, John.
There was no way either of them could ever be evil, in any way.
What I felt that day as they saved my life was a truly spiritual
experience. Oh, and most
strega
follow the Goddess, though
Antoinetta hides her devotion behind Catholic traditions. She has a
beautiful shrine in her garden with a statue of a woman at its
center.”

“All right. Make the call. Do you think she
would mind if you conferenced me in?” John asked. This was Tom’s
contact. John would let Tom decide how best to handle the
connection.

“I think she’d enjoy it,” Tom said, smiling
as he dialed the number. “Luckily, it’s not too late to call where
she is.” Tom put the call on speaker, and John heard the phone
start to ring on the other end.

What followed was one of the strangest
conversations John had ever had. Tom greeted the lady in Italian,
then switched to English as he introduced John. Antoinetta’s
English was excellent, though heavily accented. She seemed a warm
person, the kind whose friendliness reached right through the phone
lines and into the room. Magic? John wasn’t sure, but his instincts
told him she was all right.

She explained what she could about Italian
strega
in general, but wouldn’t say too much until she knew
why John was asking. John could respect that. She didn’t know him,
and even with Tom vouching for him, she was right to be cautious.
With the strange goings on in the world today, the magical races
had to be on alert.

“I understand your hesitancy,” John said
patiently, hoping to convince the woman to speak more candidly. “We
know the world is becoming even more dangerous than it was. We’ve
been warned that the
Venifucus
are on the loose, running
around, trying to bring back their former leader.” John threw that
out there to see what the woman might say.

“If what I believe is true, they already
have,” Antoinetta intoned rather ominously.

“What?” Tom jumped on the statement. “Do you
know this for certain?”

“No, my friend. I’m sorry. It is a vision by
one of my sisters. She sometimes sees things, but I have no
concrete evidence as yet. She saw fire and smoke. Lightning and
ash. And a woman, the Destroyer, come through in the heart of
flame.”

“We know for a fact that they were trying to
siphon the power from at least two volcanoes and the San Andreas
fault to open the rift between worlds,” Tom told her. “In each of
those cases, shifters stopped the
Venifucus
agents before
they could do too much damage.”

“Let me guess.” Antoinetta’s voice sounded a
bit mischievous. “Iceland. That had to be the white tiger, right?
And maybe that mountain up near where you live, in the Pacific
Northwest? Did you have something to do with that, my friend?”

“Not me,” Tom explained. “But definitely
folks like us.”

“That leaves South America,” Antoinetta said,
a bit of solemnity returning to her voice. “Or here, in my
homeland. I will have to look into this further, but if what my
sister saw is true—and I have no reason to doubt her—then we are in
for a rough ride as soon as the Destroyer recovers from her
journey. It is no easy thing to travel between realms. Even for one
of her power, it will have weakened her. She will not want to show
herself to the world until she has regained her strength. And
then…”

“And then, all hell breaks loose,” Tom
completed the thought.

Silence reigned for a moment before John got
back into the conversation.

“With your permission, I’m going to tell the
Lords of our kind here in the States about this,” John said
politely. Truthfully, he’d pass on the woman’s words with or
without her okay, but he preferred that she knew he was going to
tell them.

“Thank you,” Antoinetta surprised him by
saying. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but we should all be wary
until we know for certain.” John sat back in his chair, pleased
with the way the conversation was going. “Now, as for your
strega
,” she went on. “What are their family names? Perhaps
I know their people.”

“They’re sisters. Their family name is
Ricoletti,” John said, surprised by his own hesitancy. He didn’t
want to cause trouble for the sisters, and somehow, he felt
protective of their privacy—which made no sense.

“Ricoletti! Why didn’t you say so?”
Antoinetta made some tsking sounds in the background. “They come
from a long line of well-respected
strega
and ones like
you.” She trailed off for a moment, then returned triumphantly.
“Maria Ricoletti was a friend of my grandmother. She married an
American and moved to San Francisco after the great war. Her
daughter was not blessed with the family gifts, but Maria said her
granddaughters were carrying on the Ricoletti name and heritage.
They were born with their father’s last name, but took the
Ricoletti name when they took their place as
strega
. It’s
how we all keep track of each other. Women with the gift take on
the name of the family line that trains them. It was easier in the
old days when we all had so many names and no computers to keep
track of every little detail,” she groused.

“So they were telling the truth about being
descended from a bear named Francisco?” John asked.

“Oh yes. Francisco was a great hero. He and
his mate, Violetta, stood against the Destroyer, successfully
defending a great swath of Italy from the
Venifucus
and
their leader. They were secret allies of the Holy See, and between
the two, Italy fared as well as any land could during that dark
time. It was much worse for our northern neighbors. Without
Francisco and Violetta, we would have been as ravaged as the rest
of Europe.”

John was surprised by what he was hearing,
but it was a pleasant sort of surprise. Maybe…just maybe…they had
found new allies in the unexpected arrival of the witchy sisters,
instead of more problems.

“I’m glad to hear this,” he told the Italian
lady honestly. “I didn’t expect we would have magic users in our
community, but if they’re here, it’s important that they be on the
right side of things. We’re sworn to serve the Lady and her Light,”
he admitted, showing Antoinetta a modicum of trust.

“And I am pleased to hear that as well. If my
sister’s vision is true, all of us who are on the side of Light
will have to work together in the coming times,” she said, echoing
the words of the Lords of all
were
creatures.

“So our leaders have told us,” John agreed.
“And so I believe. Though I didn’t expect it to happen quite so
fast, or just this way. Which brings me to my final question.” He
needed to know if this woman knew anything about sea
monsters—strange at that sounded, even in the privacy of his own
mind. Nevertheless, he launched into the story of Master Hiram’s
yacht being chomped on by some giant sea creature a few weeks ago,
and the subsequent tentacle-attack on one of the Baker sisters
while she was walking near the water. He asked what Antoinetta knew
of such things.

“I have heard tales of the leviathan,” she
said quietly, surprising him yet again. “Such creatures as that
which attacked the woman in your town were known in ancient days,
and they are not of this realm. They are evil and ruled by the one
known as the leviathan. That is the largest of them all, and if it
is banished, so are all its minions. It sounds like the big one
attacked the yacht. A minion tried to kill the woman on the beach.
Sadly, I have heard stories like this from our own coasts earlier
this year, though the activity has died down a bit now. The
leviathan is a magical creature and can cross vast oceans quickly.
It is attracted to magic. It probably sensed the concentration of
your people in the area and came to see if it could feed. Whatever
you do, keep your people out of the water. It will attack any tasty
magical target, though the leviathan goes after only the most
powerful. Its minions will try for smaller prey.”

“Good to know,” John said, frowning.
Everything Antoinetta said made sense. A creepy, rage-inducing sort
of sense. John was angry that something was actively hunting his
people. “Is there anything that can stop the leviathan?” He would
make it happen. He would keep his people safe.

“I am sorry to say, such things are probably
beyond the power of people like you and me, Alpha. This would
require a specialist. Someone—or, more likely, a team of magical
beings—with power over the oceans and the creatures within. Do you
know any selkies? Really powerful ones?”

“Maybe…” John was thinking fast, wondering
who he could call on to help with his sea monster problem.

“I will see if there are any good sea witches
operating near you and put you in touch, if you wish. You need
specialized help. Do not try to engage the leviathan on your own.
Many good men and women have fallen to it over the centuries, but
it was banished before. Something freed it now. Probably
Venifucus
agents. But if we get the right kind of power
arrayed against it, it can be banished again.”

“Can’t it be killed?” Tom asked.

“Sadly, no. Not in this realm. It is not of
this place, and it is still tied to its place of origin. Or so it
is believed. It can be sent back there, but not killed here while
its being resides elsewhere—half-in and half-out of our plane of
existence.”

“I think that’s above my pay grade, but an
interesting problem,” Tom said with a grim chuckle. “Would a
priestess help?”

“Perhaps…” Antoinetta seemed to think about
it. “It couldn’t hurt to have someone casting protective spells on
your side. It might at least prevent attacks like what happened to
that girl walking on the beach. You could ask the Ricolettis to
help. They would easily be able to cast such wards.”

“Do you think we can trust them?” Tom asked.
John wouldn’t necessarily take the word of this woman he’d only
just met by phone, but Tom knew her and obviously trusted her.

It spoke well of her that she’d saved Tom’s
life, and for that reason, John was giving her words a lot more
weight than he normally would on such short acquaintance.

“Ricolettis? Of course, you should trust
them. They are one of the oldest and most respected families in our
tradition. Those girls would not have been granted the privilege of
using that family name without first proving their worth. They’ve
been tested and trained by the best. They are on the right side of
things. The Ricolettis have always served the Light.” Antoinetta’s
tone was one of shock that such a thing would even be questioned,
but then again, she knew all about the Ricoletti heritage.