Page 95 of Lourdes & the Mafia
“I mean, why are you being so damn annoying and rude?”
She stares at me with confusion, and I wonder if she even meant the words to be insulting. I know demons are mischievous by nature, sometimes cruel, but I wonder if it’s just innate second nature at this point. If their cruelty is just such a part of their lives and themselves that they have no idea they’re even doing it anymore.
She smirks. “Your magic is weak because you do not practice it. If you continue down the path of ignorance, you will continue to have weak magic.”
Nowhere in my abuela’s journals did it say that I needed to practice my magic. Granted, I’m not sure I can even trust her ramblings anymore given all that she’s hidden, and at this point, I’m not sure I want to. Not knowing that she destroyed crucial information about the magic that lives inside me. But from what she always told us, the magic was its own thing, and it was best to let it come when it did. There was no training. There was nothing to do but hold on as it consumed.
As far as I know, there’s nothing to do when it comes to my magic.
“How do you expect me to practice?” I ask with an eye roll. “The visions just come. That’s it.”
The she-demon snorts. “There have been many seers burning in The Pit, and I have seen through the minds of everyone. I’ve stood beside King Kane as he tortured many a witch.Allmagic must be honed.”
Could I? Could I hone my magic? Could I somehow make my visions stronger? Could I make them come to me of my own free will?
“How?”
Ralgoron makes a sound of exasperation and flicks sand up around us. “Stupid human. You have to bring the visions to you. Not just see them, but feel them, live them, interact with them. Perhaps you could even see into the past, into the present.” She shoots to her feet. The way her wings stretch casts a shadow across my body. She looks irritated and obviously done with the conversation.
“Wait!” I call out before she walks away. She stops, those eerie eyes settle on me. “Why are you even helping me?”
She flashes those fangs. “Because,” she begins, “nobody wants to be ruled by a weak Queen of the Underworld.” Her wings stretch. “And I like you.” She pushes her wings up and then she’s airborne and gone, leaving me with questions and a reeling mind full of confusion.
My abuelita said there’s untapped magic inside me. That I’ll feel it if I just reach for it. It’s why I’m being hunted in the first place.
Maybe… maybe if I manage to tap into it, to hone it, to use it, I’ll find who the asshole is who is trying to find me.
I’ll find them first.
And this will be over.
Joder.
I never thought I’d actually see the day when I’d actually want to enhance my magic.
I guess that day is today.
Lourdes
HowdoIevenbegin to will a vision to come? That’s the question running through my mind as I lay on Lorenzo’s sheets, staring up at the ceiling.
Candles and incense are lit all around the room, filling the space with calming scents that should relax my mind. Even the dimness makes my eyelids heavy with relaxation, and yet my thoughts are racing.
I’ve been sitting in the same position for what feels like hours now, and so far nothing has happened.
With a groan, I sit up on my elbows, glaring at Lorenzo, who sits on a chair across from the bed, staring at me with his hand in his chin.
“I can’t concentrate,” I grumble.
His eyes are soft on me. “Learning takes time, Amore. I’ve no doubt you’ll get it right.”
A flare of annoyance shoots through me. “I don’t need you to coddle me,” I snap. “I need to learn how to do thisnow.”
He looks taken aback by my outburst and it automatically makes me feel like shit. He doesn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of my wrath especially when he’s been nothing but supportive of me this entire time.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I shouldn’t have snapped like that. It’s just…” I huff a frustrated breath. “None of this is working.” I gesture at the candles he lit, at the effort he went through to make me as calm as possible so I could get a feel of the magic inside me.
He stares at me in a long moment of silence. Finally, he stands up. “Fine,” he says. “My method won’t work, so let’s find you a proper teacher who can really help.”
