To Be Determined

Chapter Four: Questions & Answers & More Questions to Answer

The stew that Momma Leone prepared for us was amazing. Tender meat, fresh vegetables, and the perfect ratio of spices tasted like heaven on earth, especially to a starving man like me. She poured us each a glass of spirits as we talked. Iliad, as always, is keeping everyone on their toes with humorous and stoic stories, most of which I was there for.

"- and so I turn back to the lad and say "Refrigerator? That's my wife!"

We all laughed at the joke and he winked at me. I'm pretty sure that was a wink. He only uses one eye so I can never be entirely certain what constitutes as a blink or a wink.

"That is a lovely story Iliad." Momma Leone says kindly. She turns to me and smiles. "Olyvia my dear. You have been quiet all night. What weighs so heavily on your mind?"

I swallow hard. She knows that something or perhaps everything is wrong. "Momma, I wanna talk about the things that have been happening lately. I can't rationalize any of it."

"Tell us about it," Asha speaks up. "We're here to help."

"It all started in the desert north of here..." I explained everything that had happened recently. The water in the desert, the experience with the cat and it's human-like screams, the cryptic experience with the High Priestess in the moon's realm, the weather phenomena coming straight from my cells. The further I get into the story, the more everyone becomes engrossed. Belladonna comes over from the fireplace and crawls into my lap.

"That is an absolutely spectacular story Olyvia!" Momma exclaims.

"Yeah, way better than Iliads." Asha smiles and winks at him from across the table.

"Liv, why didn't you tell me about all of that? You shouldn't have had to go through that alone." Iliad says. He did not know about any of this, I had neglected to tell him in the confusion of it all.

"I'm okay. I've just been very puzzled by this whole kerfuffle." I placed a reassuring hand on Iliads.

"You have some deep deep magic in your veins, Miss Olyvia. I sensed that when you were nearby. I just had no idea that it was beginning to refine itself like that so quickly. It's dangerous to be involved in magic without someone more experienced to guide you through it. That, typically, is a warning I provide to people who are merely interested in immersing themselves in magic. You don't have a real choice in the matter, do you?"

I shake my head no.

"Where did you find your familiar? That may explain the sudden surge of psychic and magical experiences." Asha asks, ripping at a piece of bread.

"Belladonna was in the desert with me on the walk here."

"I'm sorry, did you just say that you walked here? Across the desert?" Asha interrupts. "So much for this being a special surprise birthday party. But seriously? How the hell did you manage not to die? That is a deathtrap."

"If we want to be technical, she did die once," Iliad interjects as well.

"Enough noise!" Momma puts her hand out and Iliad and Asha stop talking. Iliad looks like he can't move his mouth at all. "Please continue."

"Do not use your magic to silence my loud-mouthed husband. A kick to the shin normally does more than enough."

He curls his legs up and away from me. Momma puts down her hand and his lips are released from their frozen position. "I love you more than the world itself sweetie, please don't kick me."

What a weenie. I hear faintly in my own mind, it's like listening through static but it was still clear enough for me to be concerned.

"Asha, I think that I just heard one of your thoughts."