Page 7 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues (Mystical Midlife in Maine #17)
Aidon was already on his phone, presumably calling Hades.
I caught fragments of his terse conversation—words like unprecedented and containment failure.
A sharp knock interrupted him. Nana entered without waiting for permission, which was typical for her.
What wasn't typical was the grave expression on her usually sarcastic face.
She carried a small wooden box that she set on the foot of my bed.
"You're going to want to see this," she said as she flipped open the lid.
Inside were everyday items. A framed family photo, one of my hairpins, a charm bracelet Nina had given me for Mother's Day years ago, and several other personal belongings.
"What am I looking at?" I asked, confused.
"Evidence," Nana replied. "Your mother and I have been testing everything in the house for magical contamination. These items are saturated with Lyra's magic."
She picked up the family photo. It was a shot of Nina, Jean-Marc, Stella, and me from Christmas. "Look closely at the frame."
I squinted, then gasped. Woven into the decorative pattern were tiny runes, nearly invisible to the naked eye. "There are symbols and they’re connected," I realized. "Like magical bridges."
"That’s what I saw as well," Nana nodded. "And they're in everything. Your maternity clothes and your jewelry. They’re even sewn into the seams of your pillowcases. Mollie found traces in the medicine cabinet. The kitchen spice rack and that new rocking chair for the nursery."
"When she finally broke through, she unleashed a magical contagion," I said as the implications hit me like a physical blow. "It's spreading through everything at an alarming rate and converting our possessions into tools for her."
"The infection rate is extraordinary," Nana confirmed grimly. "Her magic has a remarkable ability to bond with personal items. They seem to be corrupted the fastest."
The room seemed to swim as pieces clicked into place. "She's attacking anything and everything she can to create magical access points throughout the house."
"Exactly," Nana nodded. "Whatever she wants from you and these babies, she's accelerating her plans with this aggressive contamination strategy."
Aidon ended his call and joined our conversation, his expression grim. "My father is on his way with reinforcements. We need to create a containment sphere around the entire property to isolate it from the spreading corruption."
"Will that work?" I asked.
"Temporarily," he admitted. "But it will drain our resources significantly."
"And leave us more vulnerable to direct attack," I concluded.
The monitoring symbols continued moving unhindered. I glared at them, wishing I could blast them into oblivion without risking the babies. "We need to go on the offensive," I said finally. "We can't just keep reacting to whatever Lyra throws at us."
"You're in no condition—" Aidon began.
"Not me," I cut him off. "You. Hades. The shifters. Everyone who can fight needs to track Lyra to her source and end this."
"And leave you here?" He looked incredulous. "Absolutely not."
"I won't be unprotected," I argued. "The house will still have defenses, and Mom and Clio can stay with me."
"The ley line disturbances are accelerating. We don't have much time to debate," Mythia said from where she was looking out a window .
"She's right," Nana agreed. "And so is Phoebe. We can't win by playing defense forever."
Aidon looked torn. His protective instincts were warring with strategic necessity. I reached for his hand. "I know you're scared," I said softly. "I am, too. But if we don't stop Lyra at the source, these babies will never be safe. Not even after they're born."
Before he could respond, the bedroom door opened again. Jean-Marc and Nina were there with an ashen face. He clutched an ancient text. "We found something," he said, his voice hollow.
Nina nodded in agreement. "We know what Lyra's planning. At least, we think we do."
They crossed to the bed and Jean-Marc laid the book open before us.
The page showed a ritual circle with three infant-sized cradles positioned at key points.
The accompanying text was in a language I didn't recognize, but the illustrations were horrifyingly clear.
Pregnant women were giving birth within the circle.
The newborns were placed in the cradles, and dark energy flowed from them into a central figure who grew more powerful with each frame.
"It's called the Trifecta Ascension," Jean-Marc explained, his voice shaking slightly.
“It was believed that they needed three powerful babies. It doesn’t mention having the same mother,” Nina interjected. “But I found a passage that talked about the failure of the ritual in the past. We think Lyra believes your triplets will make her successful.”
“What does it do?” Nana asked.
"It’s an ancient ritual performed with babies from a powerful magical bloodline. It allows the caster to absorb the raw, unformed magical essence of the newborns, effectively stealing their power before they can fully bond with it," Jean-Marc explained.
"She’s going to take their magic." The horror of it washed through me.
"She’s going to consume it completely," Jean-Marc corrected grimly. “The babies wouldn't survive the process."
The room went deathly silent. Then, as one, every object not bolted down began to rise into the air. Books, lamps, furniture—all of it shot into the air and hovered. My connection to the triplets flared with my terror and rage. They were responding to my emotions.
"Easy," I whispered, stroking my belly. I needed to push those thoughts out of my head and calm down. "We won't let that happen." Gradually, the objects settled back into place.
"According to this text," Jean-Marc continued, "the ritual must be performed within minutes of birth, while the magical essence is still in flux. That's why she's been monitoring the triplets so closely. She needs to know exactly when you go into labor."
"And the shifting ley lines?" Mythia asked.
Nina lifted a shoulder. "I’m not certain, but I would bet the ritual requires a massive disruption in the natural magical flow to create what's essentially a vacuum that helps draw the power from the newborns."
"She’s doing this to ensure she can get to me and the babies at precisely the right moment," I summarized.
"And that virus she let loose in the house?
" Nana added with a sardonic eyebrow raise, "That's her little insurance policy, darling.
While we're out here playing magical fort-builders with our external defenses, she's already installed VIP access straight to your bedroom.
Nothing says 'evil witch with a plan' quite like corrupting a pregnant woman's bra. "
Aidon's phone buzzed with a text. "Hades and Persephone are at the property line with Murtagh and the shifters. They've started creating the containment sphere. "
"Alright," I said, decision made. "Jean-Marc, find everything you can about countering this ritual.
Mythia, work with Persephone on stabilizing the pathways.
If we can anchor even a few points against the ley line shifts, it will help.
Nana, I need you, Mom, and Nina to collect every contaminated item and create a quarantine zone.
You get to experiment ways to safely eradicate her contamination. "
I turned to Aidon, who was watching me with a mixture of pride and concern. "And you need to lead a team to find Lyra's base of operations. We know she's nearby. The magical signatures are too fresh for her to be far."
"Phoebe—" he began.
"I know," I interrupted. "You're worried. But I'm not asking you to go alone, and I won't be unguarded. Clio is staying with me, along with whoever else we can spare. But we need to act now, while we still have the element of surprise."
"What surprise?" he asked skeptically.
I smiled grimly. "Lyra thinks she's going to remain ten steps ahead of us. She doesn't know we've uncovered her plan. For once, we have information she doesn't think we possess."
"Twenty-four hours," he agreed. "I'll take a team to locate her, but I won’t engage unless absolutely necessary. Then I'm back here, regardless of the outcome."
"Deal," I said, relief flooding through me. Even from my bed, I was still a Pleiades witch. And I was gonna show her what I could do, even on bed rest.