Page 15 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues (Mystical Midlife in Maine #17)
"You bet your bottom dollar it did!" Nana cackled. "That wasn't in the original plan. That was pure Nana innovation. And judging by how quickly this storm formed afterward, I'd say our little shadow-master is scrambling."
"Wounded predators are the most dangerous," Persephone noted.
The windows rattled as another volley of lightning struck nearby. Through the glass, I could see new horrors emerging from the unnatural storm clouds. Shapes darker than the surrounding darkness were dropping from the sky like twisted paratroopers.
"Hmph," Nana drawled, peering through the window while mixing something new in her palm. "Round two already? Amateurs always overcompensate. Good thing I saved the spicier ingredients for dessert."
Aidon's phone buzzed with an incoming message. He checked it without breaking his concentration on the protective dome. "Murtagh reports shadow creatures converging on all sides," he relayed grimly. "She believes you’re in labor and she’s going to collect you and the babies now."
"Or this is revenge for killing their buddies," Nana suggested as she picked up a shotgun from the corner after she handed Mom the potion. "They always take it personally when you exterminate their kind."
Aidon shook his head and looked down when his phone pinged again. "Tseki, Murtagh, and Layla are taking the shifter teams and engaging," Aidon continued. "Stella's coordinating magical support from the east side."
"They need help," Nina said as she headed for the door despite Clio's protests about her half-treated burns.
"Wait," I called, stopping her. "Take some of Nana's shadow-killing potion. And—" I hesitated, knowing what I was about to suggest broke every rule of magical containment Clio had established, "—and take some of my magic too. "
"Absolutely not!" Clio objected immediately. "The triplets are already dangerously reactive to the storm. Using your magic could trigger premature labor."
"My magic is the only thing Lyra isn't prepared for," I argued. "She's planned for your abilities. But she's counting on me being magically sidelined."
"It's too risky," Aidon insisted with a low growl.
I met his gaze steadily. "We're past 'risk' and into 'desperate measures' territory. I'm not suggesting I go out there and blast away. But I can channel a portion of my power through Nina. It will give us an edge that Lyra won't be expecting."
Nina approached the bed cautiously. "Are you sure? We shouldn’t do anything that will risk you or the babies."
"No," I admitted with a wry smile. "But it beats sitting here waiting for those bastards to break through and take me to Lyra."
After a moment of tense silence, Aidon nodded reluctantly. Clio sighed and placed her hands on my belly, then said, "A small portion only. And if you feel even a hint of contractions starting?—"
"I'll cut the connection immediately," I promised, extending my hand to Nina.
Our fingers intertwined, and I closed my eyes. Drawing on the Pleiades magic that had become an integral part of me, I let it flood me. It responded eagerly and flowed through our connected hands. The rush of power made Nina gasp.
What I hadn't counted on was the triplets adding their own contributions. Nyssa's shadows curled around our joined hands, while Thaniel's magic created a strange bubble around us. Melaina's golden energy wove through it all, binding the disparate powers into a harmonious whole.
"Holy shit," Nina breathed, her eyes wide as the combined magic settled into her. "That's... intense."
"Be careful," I cautioned. "The babies added their own twist, and we don’t know enough to know how that will work."
She nodded, a look of fierce determination replacing her awe. "I won't waste it."
As Nana and Nina left, we observed the shadow creatures attacking our property. I didn’t have a great view, which was probably for the best. I would run out there if I saw my daughter in danger.
"They're smarter than before," Mom noted grimly as if she could read my mind.
"And more powerful," Persephone added. "Each wave appears stronger, as if evolving in real-time." Not what I wanted to hear at the moment. Not when those I loved were out there putting their lives on the line fighting them.
Lightning cracked the protective dome. "We can't maintain this much longer," Persephone warned. "She’s going to find a way around our suppression."
"Lyra's using natural weather patterns to her advantage, and we can’t control that," Aidon added.
Through my connection with Nina, I sensed our defenders barely holding on against increasingly dangerous shadow waves. "We need to break the cycle," I suggested as the thought came to me. "The storm feeds off the triplets' magic, which responds defensively, making the storm stronger."
"Right. You haven’t figured out how to do that yet," Clio pointed out.
I touched my belly, feeling the babies respond. "I need to redirect them."
"You want to channel their magic into something else," Aidon realized .
"The shadow seeds," I explained. "Nina said they're dormant. What if we use the triplets' magic to neutralize them completely?"
"That requires precision," Clio cautioned. “Directing their power, coupled with the storm, could send you into labor. It’s too early for them to be born.”
"I won’t have to do much. They can do the heavy lifting. Nyssa can find the seeds, Thaniel can isolate them, and Melaina can neutralize them."
Another bolt made Persephone and Aidon’s dome crack further. “We need to try,” Persephone said. “My grandbabies are brilliant. They won’t hurt their mother.”
I placed my hands on my belly, focusing the triplets' attention. "Okay, little ones," I murmured. "We're going to play seek and destroy." Not quite as innocent as hide and seek, but our babies were special.
I closed my eyes and projected vivid images of the shadow seeds into our magical connection.
The dark, malignant specks pulsed with dormant malice.
At first, nothing happened. Then I felt a cool ripple of awareness brush against my consciousness like midnight silk.
Nyssa was extending her shadow senses beyond the confines of my womb.
Her presence stretched outward. Dark tendrils of her perception slid through walls, seeking the familiar resonance of shadows not hers or her father’s.
She even went into the earth to make sure there weren’t any beneath us.
Each time she located a seed, I felt a tiny pulse of triumph flow through our bond.
Thaniel was right behind her. His magic manifested as a strange displacement that made the air around me shimmer and distort.
The seeds Nyssa found froze when his temporal magic touched them.
Literally. He suspended them in a pocket that separated them from everything else.
They were like insects trapped in amber.
Melaina joined last. Her golden energy flowed through me in warm, harmonious waves that made my skin tingle and the hairs on my arms rise.
Where her power contacted the frozen seeds, golden light enveloped darkness.
She transformed them into kernels that would become giant oak trees if planted.
It was like watching ink dissolve in clear water, molecule by molecule.
The sensation spread outward from my bedroom in concentric rings of power.
Through our connection, I could sense each seed as it was found and neutralized.
They took care of the hundreds scattered around the house, then thousands more buried throughout the property.
They were dismantling ticking magical land mines.
I felt their joy with each neutralized seed.
My muscles tensed as pain rippled across my abdomen.
Clio began healing me, and I breathed through the worst of it.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as I continued channeling the triplets' magic.
My hands were pressed firmly against my swollen belly where their combined power hummed beneath my palms like an electrical current.
Outside, the storm's rhythm faltered. The lightning strikes became erratic. Through the windows, I could see the shadow creatures halt mid-attack. Their formless heads swiveled in confusion like predators who'd lost the scent of their prey.
"It's working," Mom whispered. Her face was bathed in the alternating glow of fading lightning and the golden aura now emanating from my skin.
The moment of triumph was short-lived. A bolt of lightning unlike any before, struck directly overhead with a deafening crack.
The protective dome shattered like glass.
The glittering magical shards dissolved into the air.
White-hot pain lanced through my abdomen.
I doubled over as the triplets' magic flared chaotically in response. Their carefully orchestrated effort was threatened by Lyra’s magic.
"No," I gasped, forcing my will through our bond. "Stay with me. Finish what we started."
Another contraction seized me, but I maintained our focus, sensing we were so close.
There were just a few seeds left. I poured every ounce of concentration into completing our task.
Nyssa located the last five, and her brother and sister did their thing.
The moment the last black seed was gone, everything stopped. The storm ceased.
"What happened?" Mom asked.
"The last seed," I explained, exhausted but triumphant. "We got them all."
Triumphant energy pulsed from the triplets, briefly making everything levitate. Outside, the shadow creatures fled like rats from a sinking ship. "They're regrouping," Aidon observed. "I doubt it’s over."
Clio placed her hands on my belly, and her healing energy seeped into me. "Neutralizing those seeds disrupted Lyra’s attempts to force you into labor."
Stella burst in then with a huge smile on her face. She was disheveled from battle but happy. “We did it. Nina was astonishing and forced them to flee. We don’t have many injured, either.”
I nodded and returned her smile. I wasn’t about to tell her what the babies had done. There was no reason to steal her thunder, so to speak. “You guys are amazing. I couldn’t survive without you.” They would be by my side until we stopped Lyra.