Page 37

T he First Song's power swirled around us in the ancient chamber, building as my babies filled in the gaps and fixed what was sundered. My magical mark pulsed like a beacon until pain ripped through my abdomen. This wasn't like the previous false contractions. This was something else entirely.

"Mom?" Nina's voice held barely controlled panic as she watched the tricolored light fill the chamber. "That doesn't look good."

I doubled over as another wave hit. The babies' combined power surged uncontrollably. Nyssa's shadows twisted into impossible shapes while Thaniel's temporal energy made the air ripple like heat waves. Melaina's golden resonance connected with something deep and ancient, amplifying everything.

"Get her home," Aidon ordered as he moved to support me. "Now!"

But 'home' suddenly had a very fluid definition. As the magical surge peaked, portals began opening throughout the chamber, their edges crackling with tricolored energy. Swirling windows into different places filled the air around us like soap bubbles gone mad.

"Who the hell is doing this?" I shouted as I caught glimpses of different rooms in our house.

I saw the kitchen where Clio paced anxiously, the living room with Tarja and Binx scanning the front and back of the house, and my bedroom with its familiar comfort.

But I also saw other places. Strange, foreign places that definitely weren't in Maine. Or this century.

"I'm trying to get you home," Persephone growled, her power straining as she attempted to stabilize the chaos of portals. "Your children seem to have other ideas about what constitutes 'home'."

"Well, that's new," Nana observed dryly as she peered through a portal that seemed to open into what looked suspiciously like ancient Greece. "Though I have to say, the Parthenon looks better in person. Less rubble, more gold. The tourism board really should update their photos."

"And there she goes, critiquing ancient architecture while reality unravels," Persephone muttered before redirecting another portal that tried to open into what looked like the heart of a volcano.

"Move it!" Aidon snapped as he tried to help me through a portal that had stabilized on our living room.

His shadows worked overtime batting away the random doorways that kept popping up around us.

"Before these babies decide to rewrite the laws of physics completely.

Though at this rate, I wouldn't put it past them. "

Nina grabbed several scrolls and books before she dove through first. She rolled to her feet with a grace that would have made her combat instructors proud.

Nana stopped stuffing items into her purse and followed with surprising agility for a ninety-year-old-woman.

The way her weapon/walking stick clicked rapidly on the stone as if she were tapdancing was the only indication she was in any hurry.

Persephone went next. Her power held the path open for us. Aidon's shadows wrapped around me protectively as he guided me through last. I’d barely stepped onto the soft rug when the portal snapped shut with an audible pop that nearly took off the ends of my hair.

The relative calm lasted approximately two seconds before new portals started opening throughout the house.

I reached for my phone, knowing I needed to check in with Mom about getting the other pregnant witches to safety.

But before I could dial, my gaze caught on one of the swirling windows that had opened in our living room wall.

It showed Sarah's birthing center, and what I saw made my heart skip.

The waiting room was packed with pregnant women, each one radiating different aspects of the old powers.

A dark-haired woman in her third trimester had shadows coiling protectively around her belly, responding to every sudden movement in the room.

Next to her, a redhead's temporal distortions made the magazines on the coffee table age and renew in rapid cycles.

A blonde in the corner was unconsciously harmonizing with every magical frequency in the room, making the lights flicker in rhythm with her baby's movements.

My phone rang in my hand. Had my thoughts prompted her to call? I answered and put it on speaker. "Sarah, how are things there? We just saw-"

"Things are getting intense," she interrupted, strain evident in her voice.

"Seven more women just arrived, and the Keepers aren't far behind.

We've already fought off three attempted breaches.

The shadows from one baby caught a scout trying to slip through our back entrance.

Another's time distortion trapped two of them in the east wing.

They're still frozen mid-attack. Something just fried our mundane security systems. Thankfully, we have the magical ones in place because we know there is a whole team of them trying to mask their magical signatures and get to us. "

Nina moved closer to me, her eyes fixed on the portal showing the birthing center. "Are all the babies manifesting single powers?" she asked intently. "Or are any showing combined powers like Mom's babies?"

"So far none of them have shown more than one ability," Sarah confirmed.

"But the power levels are off the charts.

It's like-" She cut off with a startled yelp.

"Wait, something's happening with our garden.

The plants just... they're forming some kind of defensive line and.

.. are they actually screening visitors for magical signatures? "

"That would be my doing," Persephone said as she materialized beside us with a charcuterie tray.

The vines around her wrists were writhing with agitation.

"I thought your perimeter could use the extra protection.

Though the babies' powers seem to be enhancing my work more than I anticipated.

" Her expression grew grave. "The Song's power is building too quickly.

Phoebe, your children are trying to restore everything at once. "

"You think?" I gasped as another surge hit. A new portal opened in the kitchen. This one showed what looked like the bottom of the ocean. A curious sea creature started to swim through before Stella slammed the refrigerator door in its face, cutting off the connection.

"Can we not add eldritch horrors from the deep to our current crisis?" she called out. "The house plants are already staging a rebellion thanks to Persephone's influence." She wasn't wrong. Every plant in sight was growing at an alarming rate. They were also developing thorns.

"The mark must be removed," Persephone said firmly as she studied my belly where the tricolored light pulsed in time with the babies' movements.

"But it can only be done where the heart of the First Song is hidden.

Where its pure essence was sealed away from the world.

I had hoped that was in the same place they destroyed it, but it was nowhere in the lighthouse. "

Another contraction hit. It was stronger than the last. Clio rushed to my side.

Her healing magic immediately flowed into me in soothing waves.

"You need to calm down," she said quietly as she worked.

"These aren't the magical contractions anymore.

If you're not careful, you could go into actual labor. "

"I'll do my best," I managed through gritted teeth. "But the babies aren't exactly cooperating with the whole 'stay calm' plan."

"Just breathe," she instructed, maintaining the flow of healing energy. "Take it one moment at a time."

Once the contraction passed, I turned back to Persephone. "Please tell me this hidden heart is somewhere convenient. Like the basement?"

"You know it's not," she replied as her lips twitched.

"The Song's heart has been concealed in the deepest shadows for millennia," Jean-Marc added as he entered the room.

Persephone nodded in agreement as she smiled at my son. “Even the gods lost track of its location after the Keepers scattered its power through bloodlines they could control. We forgot about it until now."

The conversation was interrupted by Jean-Marc's phone chiming. "It's Dr. Harrison," he reported. "The protector faction wants to help. They're offering access to their archives. They have records that predate the original sealing. I bet we can find the heart’s location in there."

"Why would they help us?" Aidon demanded as he tried made a cracker sandwich out of cheese and salami and lifted it to my mouth. I bit into the delicious treat eagerly.

"Because we remember what magic was meant to be," a new voice said from the doorway. We all turned to see an elderly woman standing there. Her aura radiated ancient power. "We were never meant to control the Song. Only to preserve its memory until it could be restored."

"Speaking of restoration," I said, reaching for more prosciutto from the charcuterie board, "your timing is interesting." Another contraction hit mid-reach, and I almost dropped my lunch meat.

"Keep eating," Clio urged, pushing the meat closer to my mouth as she sent another wave of healing magic through me. "The babies are burning through energy faster than usual."

I popped the prosciutto into my mouth and grabbed a handful of almonds before adding some aged cheddar for good measure.

The elderly woman watched with understanding in her eyes.

"I'm Phoebe," I said between bites, "and this is my family.

" I made quick introductions of everyone present, noting how she seemed to already recognize several of them.

"I am Helena Blackwood," she replied with a slight bow.

"Eldest of the protector faction's Council of Seven.

" She moved closer despite Aidon's warning growl.

"We've been waiting for this moment for centuries - when the three-fold power would awaken in trinity born.

But the restoration must happen properly, or the power could tear everything apart. "