Fragility Unearthed

by Rebecca Royce

  “What did you decide? You spent all day inside our home. What did you come up with?”

  She pointed at my stomach. “I want your baby.”

  “Too fucking bad. You’re never getting it.” I was proud of how I kept my voice level. The baby would be the most protected creature on Earth. The Master wouldn’t get anywhere near it.

  She shook her head. “I’m going to take it right now. In your stomach. And you’ll have to carry me to term, and you’ll have to give birth to me. You’ll know the baby you’re raising is me. And I won’t have to do a thing. My shadows will listen to me even before I can speak.”

  My heart plummeted to my stomach. “I won’t let you. You won’t kill my baby, and if in some sick way you can, don’t underestimate the lengths I will go to protect my love.”

  Claudia fell to the floor and behind where she lay, now dead, her former partner laughed. I didn’t have Ross, and I had a million and one problems that had to be handled before I could help Claudia. It was probably too late.

  The shadow formed in the room, big, scary, and all encompassing. I backed up against the door. I’d run for my life. Sometimes I had no choice.

  The door was locked. Hell, we were in an old enough motel that they still used a key. I rattled the handle. I’d go through the window if I had to. My heart beat out of control. I could hardly breathe.

  The Master rushed me, diving for a body.

  It felt like a truck hit me. I slammed back into the door, jarring my head. I cried out in pain, my hands instinctually going to my stomach. I gasped. The shadow flung backwards too, straight into Detective Torrance’s body. He screamed out. The room exploded in light.

  He hadn’t gotten into my stomach. The room spun, and I hit the floor. My last conscious thought was why? I hadn’t stopped him. So what—or who—had?

  I woke with my ears ringing, the baby fluttering in my stomach, and two dead bodies on the floor of the motel room. I struggled to my feet. Nausea rolled through me. I was the only alive person around. Clearly, dialing the phone hadn’t brought help.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed. It had been dark when I arrived, and it was still that way. Gripping the wall and then the banister, I finally got outside and back to my car. My head pounded. Finally, when I was seated inside, I pulled out my car. What had saved my baby? I rubbed my stomach as the thought dawned on me. Could it have been the baby itself?

  Was that even possible?

  I had to plug the phone in once I got to the car. It had died. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the headrest. Someone was going to have to come get me. I couldn’t drive. When the phone finally beeped back to life, it didn’t stop doing so. I quit counting after two minutes of texts bounced through.

  Everyone I knew was trying to reach me. Maybe they’d tried to find me. The phone had died. I was foggy. I really couldn’t figure anything out.

  I pressed on Malcolm’s number, and he answered before it had even fully rung. “Where are you?”

  His voice held a mixture of anger, concern, and, what made me the most upset—fear. “Downtown. You’ll have to find me. I’m at a motel. I took a hit. I think … I think I’m concussed.”

  “I’ll be there. I’ll find you, baby. Don’t move. And don’t fall asleep.”

  I groaned. “Might not have a choice.”

  I hung up the phone before he could tell me to stay on it. There was nothing I liked more than the sound of Malcolm’s voice, but all of it was buzz and pain right then. I leaned against the window.

  The shadow tried to take my baby. It couldn’t take me, not without the phoenix. Was that the problem? While the baby was inside of me, could it be protected the same way I was? If that had been the case, I doubt the Master would have pounded on me and killed two bodies. No, he’d been as surprised as I’d been.

  Poor Claudia Sun and Eddie Torrance …

  The door was flung open, and Malcolm stood in front of me, panting hard. Doubletime sucked, but it was a useful tool, and I was glad that Malcolm was willing to use it for me time and again.

  He knelt down, the smell of sandalwood wafting around me. “How hurt are you, my life?”

  “Pretty hurt. I need a doctor.”

  He hoisted me up. “We’ve got one. He’s waiting at the hospital for you. I have a hell of a lot of questions. I’ll wait to ask you.”

  “Thanks, husband. Believe me, this was not the night I was expecting to have.” I’d been expecting to point out a shadow. A nothing shadow. The kind I could handle with my eyes closed. Or to tell Claudia that her partner was still fine.

  I hadn’t seen this one coming.

  I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  ***

  The doctors and nurses came and went quickly. I suspected it had to do more with Ross’ direction than anything else. They thought I was going to be okay. I needed to be observed. I understood most of it, but my head still felt foggy.

  Malcolm sat next to my bed. He’d gone still in the way only Malcolm could. If I hadn’t known he needed air to live I’d have wondered if he breathed at all.

  Without preamble, I started talking. I described the whole night to him from start to finish. He never looked up, not once, but when I was finished, he sat back in his chair.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out for the better part of the night why you called Henry and not me. You’re telling me that you had no idea whom you dialed?”

  I held out my hand. “Malcolm, I just told you that it’s possible our baby defended itself from a shadow, and you want to talk about who I pocket dialed?”

  We didn’t get to continue what we would have said because a doctor wanting to do an ultrasound of the baby appeared with the machine, and we both had to shut up. I’d had many of them before. I had three children already. Seeing the baby move, hearing the heartbeat, I knew what to expect. That never diminished the awesome moment for me.

  Malcolm’s eyes were wide. The doctor took measurements and pointed at things. The bottom line was that the baby was healthy. She turned around. “Do you want to know the sex? Has anyone told you?”

  My husband seemed to have mentally left the building. He stared at the screen, not responding to anything the doctor said. I cleared my throat. “Baby is okay? From the accident?”

  As far as the medical staff was concerned, I’d taken a spill down the stairs. I was going to hold onto the fabrication until we left here. They’d never believe the opposite. Of course, they could all be shadows disguised as humans. Maybe the whole world had been taken over …

  Life was short. “Sure, tell us the sex.”

  This seemed to jolt Malcolm awake. “You want to know?”

  “Yes, I want to know. Do you not want to know?” We’d had so few conversations about the baby. He’d only known I was pregnant for a brief period of time.

  He pointed at the screen. “Sure. I’ll find out. It’s healthy, right?” He stared at the doctor, and to her credit, she didn’t shrink from the glare that made most people hit the ground with nerves. It wasn’t the doctor’s fault if there was a problem, but we’d have a hard time convincing Malcolm of that.

  “She’s very healthy.” The doctor shut off the machine. “No more spills down the stairs. This time everyone was lucky.”

  He hissed in his breath. “A daughter.”

  The doctor left us alone, and I extended my hand. “You like Molly right? I mean, were you hoping for a boy?”

  “I’m hoping not to screw the whole thing up.” He groaned and sank in his chair. “She’s going to be just like you, and she’s going to drive me up a wall and have me wrapped around her finger. How are we going to keep her safe?”

  I touched my stomach. “I think it’s possible our daughter just protected herself in utero. Malcolm, that’s pretty significant.”

  “We knew she’d have abilities. Or at least I did. How could she not? We’re her parents. All of your kids have gifts, and Victoria and Henry’s kid is acting like he might someday as well.
They all have powers.”

  I sat up, wishing some of the wires on me could come off. We healed quickly. It was part of who we were. I was injured, but I didn’t need to spend the rest of the night in hospital, even though that was probably happening.

  “This is something else. I’m her mom. I just know it. This is real power. Beyond the other kids.”

  He leaned forward. “We can’t know that. Have any of the other kids been attacked this way? And maybe it’s not the baby. Maybe it’s you. Regardless, you shouldn’t have been there. Even if Claudia had been legit, what would you have done to the other guy? You were alone.”

  I pointed at him. “You and I both know I can handle the basic shadows still. I don’t even need the big time lights. I could have taken out a regular shadow with the streetlight. With the television. I can’t be locked up.”

  “Yes, you can,” he downright yelled at me. “You can be locked up. You can stay in Victoria’s home until our daughter is born and maybe after that, too. Do you know what tonight was like? Do you know what the worry was like? It was always bad. It’s worse now. There are two of you to be concerned about, which is why I always said I didn’t want this in the first place.” He kicked his chair. “Shit, I didn’t mean that.”

  “You did.” I closed my eyes. “But it’s okay. You feel that way, and I knew you would. I do actually know how it is to worry. I did it for four months.”

  He was silent, so I opened my lids to regard him. “What?”

  “We’re quite a pair tonight. Bottom line is, this time you were fine. Our daughter is fine. She may be freaky-deaky powerful. I’m still scared shitless of children. But here we are.”

  I took his hand. “You’re going to like her. Once she’s here.”

  “I like her already. She’s growing. Moving around in there. And to answer your question from before, I like Molly too. I wasn’t hoping for a boy. I’d given it no thought.” He kissed my stomach. “I would like you to do a better job of not getting hurt. I would like you to stay home. Didn’t you used to do that? Didn’t you used to stay home with your kids? Didn’t you like being a stay-at-home parent?”

  Maybe I could press the button and the nurse would knock me out. That would be easier to endure than this conversation. He was trying. I could see that. I was short on patience and high on pain.

  “Malcolm, I wasn’t sitting at home. I was home sometimes. I ran errands. I took care of the house, sort of. I went to the gym. I met for lunches. I served on the PTA.” The thought caused an internal eye-roll. That PTA had been the cause of all of this trouble for me. I’d still be delightfully ignorant of all things apocalyptic were it not for the PTA. “I didn’t sit at home. A home, I might add, which is not my own but belongs to Victoria. As much as she loves all the company, she is very much in charge there.”

  He leaned forward. At this rate, he might as well climb into the bed with me. “What if you ran my business? I can’t help people if I’m constantly monitoring the app. And honestly, all I’ve heard this week is how everyone likes how you run the company so much better than I do.”

  I pointed my finger at him. “Are you humoring me?”

  “I don’t humor people, Kendall. I’m not sure I would even know how.”

  I decided to believe him.

  He kissed my hand. “No more scares. No more my not knowing where you are. I love you. That’s hard for me to say, harder for me to feel. You are it for me. Have been for so long I don’t remember it any other way. If I lost you—or her now—I’d be done. I know you would suffer if you lost me. I don’t believe it would be any fun. But you have your kids. You’d survive it. I wouldn’t.”

  “We don’t live in a world where I can in any way promise you that I won’t get hurt. I’m supposed to be battling with you.”

  He touched my stomach. “Have her first. Talk to me in six months about coming back into the fight. Okay?”

  I really didn’t have an argument. This was an incredible change. We’d compromised down to me not doing big battles, and now it was none at all. I didn’t want to be sidelined. But the truth of the matter was, I’d been lucky that my daughter had protected herself, and I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Malcolm was being really reasonable. He’d found a solution and appealed to my sense of love.

  I could dig in, but he was right and I was wrong.

  “Okay, Malcolm. Let’s see what the situation is in six months. Unfortunately, they know about Levi’s trickery. You’ll have to find the new spot and make sure the semi-conductor there doesn’t work. You’ll have to—”

  He placed his hand over my mouth. “I think it’s so hot when you order me around. But we’re in a hospital. I know all about the plan. You can remind me tomorrow if I suddenly go senile.”

  Victoria rushed into the room. “You’re okay. Henry made me wait a bit, but I’m here and you’re here and oh, holy cow.”

  “What?” Malcolm and I asked at the same time.

  She pointed at my stomach. “Your baby. It’s so powerful. I swear it wasn’t this morning.”

  I stared down at myself. “You can see that?”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Ah … yeah.” She placed her hand on my belly. Her fingers were cool but not uncomfortable. “The baby is … different. Like something recently changed. Oh, yes. Of course.”

  Malcolm stood right next to her, staring down at my exposed skin. “Is my daughter okay? The doctor used that machine, and it looked fine. She said the baby was fine.”

  “I think she’s more than fine. I can see her because she’s a witch. We can always feel or see each other’s memories.”

  I sat up on my elbows. “Victoria, neither Malcolm nor I are witches or wizards. We can’t have a child who is.”

  “Troy was one. You used the Phoenix. You took his magic. I told you there would be karma. Et voila. She’s a witch. She’s probably got your powers too. This is a hell of kid in there.”

  Malcolm blinked rapidly. “That’s why she could protect herself. Witches are hard to take over. It’s tough to possess them. Even for the shadows. The demons can hurt them but not take them over.”

  My head spun. Molly, Grayson, and Dex had enough trouble with their powers, and they were all somewhat manageable. What was going to happen to this baby? How was she going to make it in a world where she had so much more to handle?

  “Kendall.” Malcolm forced me to meet his eyes. “Before we worry about the details, let’s give her a world to be born into. Let’s keep you alive to make sure that happens.”

  ***

  Five months meant season changes. I saw most of it from the inside of Victoria’s kitchen, where I spent most of my time. Malcolm yawned and sat down next to me, setting a cup of coffee on the table at the same time. He kissed my cheek.

  “Did you find the semi-conductor?” I pinged the app to accept a new user and then looked at my husband.

  He’d been working like a lunatic. I knew he wanted to give me back a world I could step outside in. So far, he and the others hadn’t been successful.

  Malcolm shook his head. “I think it’s pointless. It could literally be in any building in the city, and until Victoria can figure out how to scry for it, we’re getting nothing.”

  Our daughter kicked me hard. She’d been doing that a lot lately. Nine months pregnant and I was more than ready for her to come out and play. Or at least to get out of my belly. I ached everywhere. My back was killing me.

  “Don’t get frustrated.” I was great with platitudes. Molly ran over and kissed me on the cheek before doing the same with Malcolm. He accepted her affection as he’d easily been doing for months. Levi scooted in next to us. Like me, he was back to work. Telecommuting made hiding so much easier.

  Molly hopped off to sit on his lap. The boys were in the backyard shooting rockets skyward. One thing about them having no contact with any children their own age for five months was that they were now each other’s best friends.

  Levi sipped his tea. “Are you going to tell him?
”

  Malcolm went still. “Got a secret, Kendall?”

  “No, I don’t think so. How could I have a secret? I never go anywhere, do anything, or see anyone outside of this house. I thought Annika’s head was going to spin yesterday when I asked a million questions about shorts at the mall.”

  “Tell him.”

  I’d forgotten that Levi was basically the labor whisperer. He’d always known when I’d started labor, sometimes before I did. I’d suspected for about an hour that things might be picking up. His statement confirmed my thoughts.

  “I think I might be in labor.”

  Malcolm paled. “She’s coming.”

  “Sometime today.” I got up. I hated to leave Victoria’s kitchen a mess. She’d come to count on me to keep the house in order since, unlike me, she went out to help people every day. Her son ran through the kitchen, squealing in a way only the newly mobile could do. I grinned at him.

  Malcolm jumped up. “What are you doing? Sit down.”

  “Movement moves things along. You can’t micromanage this. Hell, I’m not even in control of this. The baby and my body will do what they do. Stay near the house and don’t make me have to worry about you, and we’ll be fine.”

  Three hours later, his daughter was born. Although I’d thought several times he might faint, he managed to keep quiet and be supportive—most of the time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You okay?” Malcolm sat down next to me in the dark. He kissed my cheek, snuggling up against my side while I fed our daughter. He touched the top of her dark head gently. Malcolm treated every touch of Abigail like it was the most important thing he’d ever do.

  I kissed him back. “She’s just hungry.”

  “Did you get any sleep?”

  I leaned my head on his shoulder, the sucking of our daughter tugging on my breast something I never thought I’d feel again after Molly. I hadn’t sought this, but boy, did I love it. “When dealing with infants, it’s best not to really focus on the sleep question.”

  “I’d do it for you if I could.”