Page 31 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues (Mystical Midlife in Maine #17)

T he preparations continued through the night.

Despite Clio's objections, I insisted on staying downstairs where I could be useful.

The magical binding potion simmered on the stove, releasing spirals of silver steam.

Aidon had contributed the divine tears required.

It was the only time I had seen him cry, and it had torn at my heart.

Shaking my head to banish the memory, I focused on the activity around me. The kitchen island was crowded with crystals that Nina was enchanting one by one. She worked with practiced precision as she infused each stone with protective magic.

"How's it coming?" I asked as I shifted on the stool at the kitchen island.

Nina held up a black tourmaline crystal that pulsed with soft light. "Almost done with the seventh anchor stone. Each one is keyed to a specific family member's energy signature."

"And I've finished mapping the ritual circle coordinates," Jean-Marc added, looking up from his laptop. "The clearing Aidon suggested is perfect—three ley lines intersect almost exactly at its center."

"Which means it's probably on Lyra's radar too," Stella pointed out grimly. She was cleaning black residue from her athame at the sink. "We should expect company."

"That's why we'll have three layers of defense," Aidon replied from where he stood guard at the window. "Hades is bringing reinforcements from the Underworld at dawn."

I started to respond when a strange sensation washed over me. It was a momentary pressure, as if the air had suddenly thickened before it returned to normal. The triplets reacted instantly. Their magic flared in alarm. "Did anyone else feel that?" I asked as my hand moved protectively to my belly.

Mom looked up sharply from the grimoire she was consulting. "Feel what?"

Before I could explain, another pulse rippled through the house. It felt like a shock wave passing through everything. The lights flickered, and the protective symbols Selene and Nana had drawn on the windows briefly glowed bright red.

"That's not good," Nana said as she reached for her shotgun.

"Something's testing our wards," Aidon reported.

Stella moved to the window beside him. "The Forgotten Ones who were watching the property are moving."

Another pulse hit, this one strong enough to rattle the windows. The crystals Nina had been enchanting began to vibrate and emit high-pitched tones that clashed discordantly. "This isn't a test," I realized as a chill raced down my spine. "It's the beginning of an attack."

Aidon's phone rang, making my heart jump into my throat.

He answered it with a terse, "We know they're trying to get through.

" After a moment, he added, "Dammit. Alright, thanks.

" He hung up and turned to us. "Murtagh's team has spotted multiple breaches in our outer perimeter.

Lyra's deployed some kind of magical disruptors that are overloading our ward network. "

"What about the protection spells from Hattie?" I asked as I slid off my stool.

"They're holding for now," Aidon replied as he moved to my side. "But they're being targeted, as well. She knows where to hit us.”

I sighed and fought the urge to curse the vile witch. “It seems like we didn’t get all of those seeds after all."

A massive explosion from outside rocked the house, sending books tumbling from shelves and shattering the kitchen window. Glass rained down as Aidon pulled me away from the danger. His shadows formed a protective shield around us.

"Everyone upstairs. Now!" Aidon ordered. "We need to get Phoebe to the center of the house where the protection is strongest."

Mom and Nina flanked me as we moved toward the stairs, while Stella and Nana took up defensive positions. Jean-Marc grabbed the binding potion Mom had just finished putting it into a vial and the enchanted crystals. He shoved them into a leather satchel.

"We need to call Hades," I said as Aidon carried me up the stairs. "Tell him?—"

Another explosion cut me off. This one was powerful enough to crack the foundation.

The house shuddered, and Aidon put me down so he was ready to fight.

I grabbed the railing to keep from falling.

Through the windows, I caught glimpses of utter chaos outside.

Monsters swarmed our property, and above them hovered darker shapes.

The latter were so terrifying that they had been locked away millennia ago.

"The Forgotten Ones," Jean-Marc breathed, his face pale. "She's brought them all."

We'd barely reached the top of the stairs when a sound like tearing fabric split the air.

A jagged hole opened in the hallway before us.

Its edges crackled with black energy. This wasn't the smooth transition between spaces that gods like Hades and Persephone created. This was something forced and broken.

Three figures stepped through. They were humanoid in shape, but that was where the similarities ended.

Their limbs were too long, and they had extra joints.

Their faces were smooth expanses of darkness with only the suggestion of features.

They looked like an artist's rough sketch.

They moved with an insectile grace that made my skin crawl.

"Get back!" Aidon shouted as he pushed me behind him.

The intruders didn't retreat. Instead, they opened mouths that hadn't been there a second before, revealing nothing but endless darkness. They inhaled in perfect unison. I watched in horror as Aidon's shadows were drawn into those gaping maws. They were consumed like smoke sucked into a vacuum.

"What the hell?" Stella gasped.

"They're feeding on his power," Jean-Marc realized, his voice tight with alarm. "Don't use direct magical attacks. They'll just absorb them."

Aidon staggered as his connection to his shadows was forcibly severed. I caught him before he could fall. The triplets responded to his distress with protective fury. Their combined magic flared white-hot within me, and for once, I didn't try to contain it.

"Let it out," I whispered to my unborn children. "Help your father."

The resulting surge of power was like nothing I'd experienced before. It exploded outward in a wave of pure magical force that slammed into the Forgotten Ones. It sent them flying backward through their own portal. Persephone’s power rushed past me, and a second later, the tear sealed itself with a sound like thunder.

"Holy shit," Nina whispered, staring at me with wide eyes.

"That won't hold them for long," I warned as the magic already began building again. "We need to?—"

My words were cut short by the sound of breaking glass downstairs. It was followed by Nana's shotgun blast and a string of colorful curses that would have made a sailor blush. "They're inside," Mom said grimly as she looked over the railing to the entryway.

Throughout the house, I could hear monsters breaking in simultaneously.

Through the window, I glimpsed Tseki's massive dragon taking to the skies.

He engaged with flying creatures that resembled a cross between bats and squid.

The ground below was a battlefield with our allies fighting desperately against overwhelming numbers.

"We need to get Phoebe to the panic room," Aidon ordered as he recovered, although his shadows remained worryingly absent.

"No way," I objected. "I'm not hiding while everyone fights."

"This isn't about your pride," Aidon snapped. His eyes flashed with desperate fear. "They're here for you and the babies. If Lyra gets her hands on you?—"

The wall beside us exploded inward, showering us with debris.

Through the dust stepped a figure I recognized immediately.

Lyra. She looked different from what I remembered.

Her once beautiful appearance had deteriorated dramatically.

The flawless porcelain skin that had made her the envy of every woman was now sickly and translucent.

Bile surged to the back of my throat when I noted the dark, angry veins crawling beneath the surface like poisonous rivers.

Her formerly captivating eyes, which could charm even the most resistant souls, now glowed with an unnatural purple light.

They were also cold and predatory. Her elegant features were now sharpened to almost painful angles.

She looked as though the magic was consuming her from within and hollowing her out.

"How sweet," she purred. "The family united in its final moments."

"Go to hell," I snarled.

Lyra's smile was predatory. "I’ll pass this time. Although I will have to visit soon to reclaim my wife."

She raised her hands, and the air around her shimmered with distortion.

The triplets reacted with alarm and their magic activated.

But as they released their power, something strange happened.

Instead of striking Lyra, their magic scattered and bounced wildly around the hallway like ricocheting bullets.

One blast hit Nina and sent her flying into the wall.

Another struck Jean-Marc, freezing him momentarily in place.

"What's happening?" I gasped, trying to rein in the chaotic energy pouring from my belly.

"She's using their magic," Aidon realized as he reached for me. "Phoebe, you need to?—"

He never finished the sentence. A portal opened beneath his feet, swallowing him instantly. It snapped shut before anyone could react. "Aidon!" I screamed and lunged forward, only to be held back by Mom.

"Don't," she warned. "That's what she wants."

Lyra laughed in a sharp and unpleasant tone. "Your defenses are impressive, I'll admit. It took months to find the right combination to neutralize them. But everything has a weakness. Even gods and their magic."