Page 16

Aidon let out a low whistle. "That wasn't easy, either. Mrs. Stavros was no amateur."

We followed Todd upstairs to what had clearly been a magical workspace.

The metallic smell of blood hit me first. Mrs. Stavros lay crumpled near her desk.

Her body was positioned with an unnatural precision that made it worse somehow.

Deep cuts formed symbols across her skin.

Her face was untouched and frozen in an expression of surprise rather than fear.

Like she'd known her attacker. Like she hadn't expected. ..

I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away.

Books and artifacts lined floor-to-ceiling shelves.

Dried herbs hung from the ceiling like potpourri, and a ritual circle was permanently etched into the hardwood floor.

On every wall, glowing faintly in the dim light, were the same symbols carved into her flesh.

"They were still glowing when I got here," Todd said quietly. "I cleared the scene and called you right away. Regular forensics would probably blame it on some new-age gang tags, but I wasn't about to chance it."

I moved closer to one wall, drawn by the familiar energy despite my churning stomach. The symbols had been carved with precise, deliberate strokes. This wasn't the frantic slashing you'd expect from someone who had torn through her wards. "This wasn't rage," I murmured. "This was purposeful."

Aidon nodded, keeping himself between me and Mrs. Stavros's body. "Like they were copying text from a book."

"What is the message?" Stella asked as she examined another section, her voice steady despite the paleness of her face.

"Or a warning." I pressed my hand against the nearest symbol. Power surged through me like static electricity. The mark on my belly flared in response. Images flashed through my mind. They began with Mrs. Stavros at her desk, surrounded by books.

"Phoebe, look at this," Stella called from the desk, carefully avoiding looking at the body of our friend. She held up a receipt. "Madame Rosewood's Antiques on Cedar Street. Dated two hours ago."

"That place has been closed for years," Todd frowned.

"To mundies, yeah," I explained, grateful for any reason to look away from the scene before us. "But for those with magic, it's been open for business ever since. Mrs. Stavros must have found something there."

Stella nodded and said, "We should check it out."

"Be careful," Todd warned as we headed for the door. "Whatever did this..." He gestured to the symbols and then to the body. "It's still out there."

"We always are," Stella assured him with a quick kiss. I didn’t miss how her hand trembled slightly. "Tseki and Murtagh will pick her up and take her to Bridget. We'll call if we find anything."

The drive to Cedar Street was tense. None of us spoke until we pulled up outside what appeared to be a dilapidated storefront.

Faded letters spelled out ‘Madame Rosewood's Antiques’ above windows so grimy they probably hadn't seen Windex since the Carter administration.

"Ready?" Stella asked from the backseat.

I turned my head and noted she was clutching her bag to her like a life jacket.

Given that there were emergency magic supplies in there, it very well might.

"As I'll ever be." I got out and waddled toward the door.

Aidon joined me and placed an arm around my shoulders.

One of my hands went to my belly where the triplets were unusually still.

Either they were sleeping. Or they had more sense than their mother about walking into potentially dangerous situations.

A bell chimed as we entered. It wasn’t your typical brass shop bell. It sounded like crystal wind chimes in a hurricane. The glamour fell away, revealing shelves packed with magical artifacts and ingredients. Ancient texts sat in glass cases, and crystals hummed with contained power.

"Can I help you?" A voice like autumn leaves called out. We turned to the side in unison. The woman behind the counter looked maybe thirty. Her eyes said she remembered when the continents split.

"We're here about Mrs. Stavros," I said carefully. "We were hoping you might have information about what she bought here earelier.”

Aidon took up a position behind me and kept his hands on my shoulders. “Perhaps she was researching some symbols."

The woman's expression didn't change, but the temperature in the shop dropped faster than a skinny-dipper in a Maine winter. "I'm afraid I can't help you."

"She's dead," Stella said bluntly. "She was murdered. And she had symbols carved into her flesh and walls."

Now the woman's mask cracked. Fear flickered in those ancient eyes. "You shouldn't be here," she whispered. "Especially not you." She looked pointedly at my belly. "The old magic is stirring. The children must be protected."

"Protected from what?" I demanded. I was sick and tired of cryptic warnings. "What do you know about our babies?"

Instead of answering, she began muttering in a foreign language. Objects throughout the shop pulsed. Wind that shouldn't exist indoors whipped through the aisles, smelling of ozone and possibility.

"Time to go," Aidon grabbed my arm and then Stella’s and pulled us toward the door.

We burst out onto the sidewalk just as every window in the shop imploded.

Instead of glass, shadows poured from the broken panes.

They writhed like smoke before splitting into two groups.

One set dissipated into the night air. The other coalesced into something with teeth and claws that lunged straight for us.

I threw up a protection shield at the same time Aidon snarled, "Get back!

" Aidon shouted as he stepped between us and the shadows.

Darkness rolled off him in waves as he called on his Underworld powers.

His eyes blazed with hellfire, and the temperature plummeted as he reached out with both hands.

The attacking shadows recoiled as if burned by his touch.

They recognized a higher power when they saw one.

"You dare?" His voice echoed with otherworldly authority as he began to pull the shadows apart. Their screams sounded like nails on a chalkboard. My gaze was torn between watching him and scanning for the other shadows to attack from behind. I’d never seen Aidon force anything back into their base components.

"This is my family you're messing with."

Stella and I pressed together. My shield flickered as more shadow-creatures tried to flank us. But Aidon wasn't having it. He moved like a dancer. Each gesture was precise and deadly as he systematically destroyed the attacking shadows. Only the smell of grave dirt and frost was left behind.

One particularly large shadow tried to dive-bomb us from above. I reinforced my shield just as Aidon spun, grabbed it mid-air, and crushed it in his fist. The remaining shadows scattered into the darkness where they belonged.

"Are you both alright?" Aidon asked. His eyes gradually returned to normal as he pulled his power retreated.

My phone rang before I could answer. It was Selene. "Get back here," she said without preamble. "I found something. The magical disturbances we've been tracking? They're connected to buildings disguised as mundane businesses. Just like that antique shop. It's a network."

"We'll be there in ten," I told her. My hand was still shaking slightly as I ended the call.

I filled them in while Aidon drove. None of us mentioned the fact that those shadows had seemed almost afraid of Aidon. Or that his display of power had probably just announced his presence to whatever was hunting us.

Back home, we found everyone gathered in the living room. Papers and maps covered every surface. Selene stood at the center of the chaos. Her hair was a mess and she had a manic look in her eyes.

"Look at this," she said, pointing to a map marked with glowing dots. "Every major magical disturbance in the past month corresponds to a location hidden by powerful glamours. We had no idea before, but we began looking deeper."

"It forms a ritual circle," Nina said from where she next to Charlie and Reece. I hadn’t realized they’d come over.

"And that's not all,” Charlie pointed out. “Remember that history project we were working on? The one about local architecture? We found these." She held up several yellowed papers covered in what looked like architectural drawings.

"They were hidden in the library's archives," Nina continued. “But look what happens when you apply a reveal spell."

The three of them muttered a quick incantation. The seemingly innocent drawings transformed. They revealed complex magical formulas and notes about something called ‘The Awakening’. "They're coded documents about magical pregnancies," Nina explained.

" They date back centuries and describe babies with unusual powers ," Tarja added. She was sitting regally on an end table near the girls.

I opened my mouth and jumped when thunder crackled outside. What the hell? The sky had been clear all day. "That's not natural," Nana said as she moved to the window. Dark clouds had appeared from nowhere and were roiling in with unnatural speed.

Wind howled around the house as the sudden storm intensified. Lightning flashed, and shadows danced across the lawn with military precision.

"Do you see that?" Nina asked, pressing her face against the glass.

"Only those with magic can," Aidon replied, his own power crackling in response. "But these aren't like the ones that attacked us. Look at how they move."

I placed my hand against the cool glass, watching the shadows patrol. The symbol on my belly pulsed steadily. "They're protective," I realized. "Like guards."

"Keeping something out," Stella confirmed grimly.

The storm raged for hours. We gathered what information we could, comparing Nina's discovered documents to Selene's map and Nana’s information about pregnancies. We then factored in our encounter at the antique shop. A picture was emerging, and it wasn't exactly comforting.

"So let me get this straight," I said as midnight approached and the shadows continued their vigilant dance.

"There's a network of magically hidden locations, Mrs. Stavros was killed after discovering something about them.

Her death triggered shadow creatures to attack us, and now we've got these guardians. "

"That about sums it up," Stella agreed with a yawn. "The question is, what do we do about it?"

"We keep digging," Selene said firmly. "None of this is coincidence. Everything points to these babies being important enough that forces we don't understand yet are either trying to protect or harm them."

I rubbed my belly as the triplets shifted restlessly. "Well," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "at least we know one thing for sure."

"What's that?" Nina asked.

"These babies are definitely going to keep us on our toes." I managed a smile. "Though I really wish they'd come with an instruction manual." The weak joke earned a few chuckles, but we all knew the situation was deadly serious. Mrs. Stavros had died trying to understand what was happening.

"We should try to get some rest," Mom suggested. "We can't figure this out if we're exhausted."

She was right, but I stayed by the window watching our shadowy protectors. The storm showed no signs of letting up. Our guardian’s movements were oddly comforting. Whatever was coming, at least we weren't facing it alone.