Page 21

I jolted awake on the couch with my heart racing as fragments of my dream slipped away like water through my fingers. What the hell had scared me so badly? My family's quiet movements were comforting and helped settle my racing heart as I chased the wisps of memory.

Between one second and the next, images slammed into me like a punch to the gut.

My breath caught. I’d dreamed of desperate mothers who were fighting to protect their babies.

There had been a woman in Salem whose fingers trembled as she carved wards into floorboards by candlelight.

I could see the beads of sweat dripping down her face.

Each mark blazed with power meant to shield the life growing inside her.

The image shifted to a Victorian witch in London.

Her corset strings were woven with spells so intricate I wondered if it was a family heirloom.

It would have taken hundreds of hours to get them done like that.

Her magic twisted through the fabric and around her growing belly.

When she left her house she seemed to fade into the shadows of cobblestone streets.

My heart pounded as another vision took hold. This one involved a witch under towering pines. Her voice carried ancient songs into the misty air. The melody wrapped around her like a cloak to mask the spark of power that burned within her daughter.

I lay there with my pulse racing as their fear and fierce determination echoed through me. The scent of Mom's cooking finally broke through my nightmares. It grounded me in the present, making my stomach growl. The weight of those mothers' plights pressed against my chest.

"Are you okay? You were glowing," Nina said from her spot on the floor. She was surrounded by ancient texts and her laptop. "Your belly became a nightlight. And muttering in what sounded like Ancient Greek."

"The babies were active too," Stella added from the kitchen doorway. She balanced a tray loaded with steaming mugs on one palm. "The symbol was pulsing like a disco ball."

I struggled to sit up, which was about as graceful as a walrus attempting her return trip to the ocean. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour," Mom answered as she emerged from the kitchen with Mythia fluttering behind her.

Her hands were stained with herbs, and I think she had dragon scales in her hair.

"Persephone left to do some research in the Underworld.

She thinks there might be records in the oldest sections of their archives about similar pregnancies. "

"Did she say when she'd be back?" I asked, accepting a mug from Stella. The tea inside smelled like midnight gardens.

"She said it might take a while," Mom replied, brushing absently at her apron. "Apparently, the deepest archives are guarded by something she called 'The Librarians of the Void.' They're very particular about their filing system."

The scent of herbs and something distinctly magical wafted from the kitchen. "What are you brewing?"

"A potion to support the concealment spell we found," Mom replied. Her eyes had that manic gleam that meant she was in full Kitchen Witch mode. She had a knack for making potions and enchanting food. She could do both without much thought.

"The archives had some interesting templates we worked from," she continued. “Lilith sent over several promising options as well. Though most of them were designed for significantly less... complicated situations."

"Templates?" I asked warily. If anyone would be able to created a complicated potion, it was Mom. That didn't mean I liked the idea of taking the risk with my babies lives on the line.

"Mmhmm," she hummed distractedly as she consulted Hattie's weathered grimoire. We had started our own family’s magical journal but we used hers more often because it had countless spells, potions, and rituals in it.

"The basic framework is there. We just need to adapt it for your specific situation. The original spell was designed to hide a single magical child. Not divine triplets connected to primordial forces.”

Nana’s snort interrupted what Mom was saying. "It has been like trying to modify a recipe for a cupcake to make a wedding cake that can act as a hat box as well."

"That's... not exactly reassuring," I muttered as I sipped the tea.

"Oh, don't worry," Mom waved off my concern with a spoon that trailed sparks. "I've only had three minor explosions so far. And that purple smoke from the second attempt? Completely harmless. Though, you might want to avoid the kitchen drawer where we keep the utensils. It started snapping at us."

Aidon appeared behind them. His expression was caught between amusement at my mother's magical experiments and concern for what they might do to his unborn children.

"Whatever we do needs to be powerful enough to mask the energy signature of the mark and the babies completely.

Those Keepers are still out there, watching and waiting. "

"Speaking of watching," Selene called from the island where she'd set up her research station, "I think I found something about their network. We knew they were using business fronts all over New England. Not only are there antique shops, but there are also bookstores. And coffee houses. They’re all perfectly ordinary on the surface, but their logos have at least one symbol hidden in them.

And when I looked further, I noticed they are connected by ley lines. "

I hauled myself off the couch and waddled to the kitchen.

I had to pause briefly when the babies decided to use my stomach as a soccer ball.

Swallowing back the bile, I snagged a ginger ale from the fridge and joined her.

When I got closer, I noticed that the wall on the other side of the table in the breakfast nook was covered in maps and printouts.

Spots were connected by red strings that made the whole setup look like something from a conspiracy theorist's dream board.

I waved my hand toward the display. "Explain, please."

"Look at this," she pointed to a cluster of pins. "Every major city has at least three businesses that form a triangle around places of power.”

“They use them as observation posts to monitor magical activity in the area,” Jean-Marc added. I hadn’t seen him sitting at the corner of the table. “And the energy signatures suggest some of these setups have been in place for centuries."

"If we use the antique store that attacked you guys as the first point of a triangle, we can pinpoint two more potential areas to look," Nina said as she joined us. “One of the other points is hidden somewhere near the Old Port, but we haven't pinpointed it yet."

"And it gets weirder.” Selene waved her cookies through the air as she spoke, making me want one. "Some of these businesses are chains. Like, actual corporate franchises. The Keepers have literally incorporated their surveillance network."

"That’s not something I thought you would say," I muttered as I searched for the cookies. Seeing them on the island, I crossed back and snagged one. "I guess chicken sandwich run is out of the question. We can’t risk the mundies."

"Actually," Stella interjected as she spread out a map marked with blue dots, "I've been cross-referencing their locations with known allies and neutral parties.

Some are protected locations. Businesses run by friendly forces or neutral entities.

Places we can go without worrying about being attacked.

See this bakery here? The owner is a retired valkyrie who makes the best baklava this side of Athens. "

"And this bookstore," Nina pointed to another blue dot, "is run by a family of kitsune. They've been helping magical folk hide in plain sight for generations."

The sugar jolted the babies, making them start another round of acrobatics.

The symbol flared in response and sent ripples of light across the room.

It made the red strings glow like neon. "That's going to be a problem," I said, gesturing to my midsection.

"We might as well paint a target on my belly and hang a sign that says 'magical'. "

"Actually," Mom called from the island. My head whipped around when I heard a small explosion.

"I think I've got something that can help with that.

" She waved at a cloud of sweetly scented smoke.

She smiled as she ladled her potion into a glass.

"This should amplify the concealment spell and make it harder for them to track you.

I combined several old recipes with some modern innovations. "

I eyed the swirling liquid suspiciously. It looked like the northern lights had been liquified. "What's in it?"

"You don't want to know," Mythia answered with a tinkling laugh as she swooped past. "She made sure it won't taste terrible. To you. I'm not sure anyone else would care for the pickle juice."

"At least it’ll be delicious," I replied as I accepted the cup. "Bottom's up, I guess. Here's hoping it doesn't turn me into a human lava lamp."

The potion tasted like bitter dandelion tea mixed with honey and cloves. The aftertaste of pickle juice made it possible to keep it down. Warmth spread through me like hot chocolate on a cold morning. It settled deep in my bones. The babies stirred gently, as if soothed by the herbs.

"Now for the spell itself," Mom said as Nana set our family grimoire on the island in front of Nina.

“You can write it as we figure it out,” Nana told her. My daughter nodded her head eagerly.

"We'll need to modify it significantly,” Mom reminded us as she turned to a page in Hattie’s grimoire. "The basic structure is sound. It was originally created to hide a child blessed by the moon goddess."

" I can help with that ," Tarja offered as she and Binx materialized on the island. " There were records in Stuleros that had detailed accounts of how similar spells were adapted throughout history. ”