The Magic Number

by Natalie Gibson

  It wasn’t a question, but Nanae answered anyway. “Yes.”

  Israel nibbled Nanae’s earlobe before working his way down the giant’s neck. Nanae wrapped his tree limb-sized arms around Israel and pressed their bodies together. Izzy felt Nanae’s arousal growing between them as he played with the pulse he found where neck met shoulder. He applied the slightest of pressure, and the skin there gave, allowing his teeth to slide through.

  Hot, spicy, ancient blood filled his mouth. It was delicious and filled with emotions. When Nanae pierced the skin of Izzy’s neck, completing the circle, they both moaned in pleasure. Israel had never felt so connected to another being. He pulled at the wound he’d made in Nanae’s throat until he felt the punctured skin close up. He kissed the area and skated over the quickly healing scar with his tongue. He knew it felt good, because Nanae was doing it to him at the same time.

  Israel felt shaky, and Nanae turned them so they lay on their sides, Camilla at his back. He used his bicep as a pillow for Israel. “So I am a vitala?” Izzy asked as Nanae smoothed his brow with a gentle touch.

  “Vitala make excellent companions for us, and I admit, that is what I hoped for, thinking that was the best of all outcomes. But none are as good as what you are. A Lilitu is a child of light who can take prana from love. It is easiest for you to take through sex, but you must be careful. You will find your hunger almost insatiable with anyone but your maker. It is easy to take too much at first and kill a human partner.”

  “Why did I grow fangs, then?” A wave of pleasure washed over Israel at the mere memory of exchanging blood. “I wanted—still want—to taste your blood. Fangs and drinking blood—that and not being able to stand sunlight are kinda the definition of vampire.”

  “I took much from you, but I did not take the sun. Because I can walk in Ud’s rays, so can my children. As for the fangs and blood—you did what I wanted. A Lilitu is endowed with the ability to sense the desires of those around her. Sorry. Of those around him or her. You also have the ability to change yourself to supply the fulfillment of those desires.”

  Israel sat up. “Whoa, hold up. I can shape-shift?”

  “In a way. You can reflect the desires of those closest to you. The only control you can exercise over it is here at the beginning. You can keep yourself from changing with great effort.”

  “Why would I want to? This is awesome!”

  Nanae sat up on the edge of the bed next to his new progeny. There was shame in his face. “The longer you can keep from using your ability, the longer you can pass for human. You have a century at the most to live among humans undetected.”

  “A century?! Just how long will I live?”

  Nanae shrugged. “As long as we. A Nephilim has yet to die of old age, so be assured, your life will stretch out until the end of time.”

  “Shit. Forever, huh? Okay, so this isn’t all bad news. In fact, none of it is. What happens after the first hundred years that has you so scared for me?”

  Nanae took a breath, his shoulders tense with the returning stress. This was the thing about Lilitu nature that worried him. “You will not be able to retain your form. You will not be able to recall how your human self looked. You will shift constantly, taking on the shape of the desire of every human that passes. Your skin will take on the glow that you saw in me earlier, but it will grow with every passing year. Your feet will no longer touch the great mother earth, Ki. Most Lilitu become bitter and begin to take the lives of their partners out of jealously, even if they have mastered the restraint it takes to keep from doing so.”

  Israel put his arm around Nanae’s shoulders in a sign of support. “We’ll deal with that when it gets here. Let’s concentrate on my training. Maybe I can keep my form from shifting automatically. I mean, I didn’t shift or change tonight with you and Camilla.”

  Nanae lifted Izzy’s arm off his shoulders and held the Lilitu’s hand between his much larger ones. “No, and that is what gives me hope that you will last longer in this form than your Lilitu predecessors.” He looked his progeny in the eyes. He wanted to tell Izzy that a Lilitu could only be made if the Nephilim truly loved the human. Even if Nanae wished to deny loving the man, he could not. Even so, Nanae could not trust his Beast enough to make declarations. He loved Israel, every bit as much as he loved his Sinnis Camilla. Israel might be immortal now, but he could still experience pain at the hands of Nanae’s Beast. “For the time being, we both want you as you. The more time we spend together, the longer you will be able to withstand using your ability, and the longer you will be you.”

  Israel pulled his hand from Nanae’s and held his maker’s face between both his hands. He planted a hard, quick kiss on the god-king’s lips. With their noses touching, Izzy said, “I guess you’ll both be moving in then, won’t you?” He stood and stretched his long, lithe body, his cock already rising again at the thought of them all living together. He looked down at their lovely Camilla curled on her side. “Lay back, Nanae. Roll her over on her back.”

  Nanae obeyed. It was what he wanted too, after all. He needed to be with both his beauties just as much as Israel needed to be with them. He rolled her breasts in his hand as Israel slid onto the bed at her feet. With her knees resting on his shoulders, his face at the junction between her legs, Izzy could smell their sex all mixed together. He knew it would taste even better than it smelled, and he wondered how that was even possible.

  Before Izzy could test his hypothesis, Nanae stopped him with a warning. “We can try this, but I will hurt you if you lose control.”

  “Good. I’m counting on it. Don’t worry so much, Nanae. You’re a healer. She’s a healer. I said we could make this work last night, and even with all that happened, I still believe it.” Camilla’s body, still slick and swollen, called out to him like the scent of coffee and sizzling bacon in the morning. This was right. Izzy dipped his head to her folds. For the first time as a Lilitu, he tasted a woman. “Let’s wake her up and give her the good news.”

  Camilla looked around her sparse quarters for the last time. It had only taken her boys one trip to carry all her belongings to Izzy’s place. It was their home now—all of theirs. Camilla didn’t want to risk them seeing what she hid under her bed, but she was never alone to retrieve it. First, Nanae couldn’t leave her side for fear she might lose the baby, and today, Israel was just as glued to them.

  “Did we get everything, Chickadee?”

  She’d had her coffee this morning, but she was still hesitant to speak. Izzy apparently couldn’t drink or eat anymore after his encounter with Nanae’s Beast, but he’d still made her morning drink for her. He’d vowed to make it every morning for the rest of her life. This should be one of the best days of her life, but something about the change nagged at her. She held up one finger to indicate there was one more thing and pointed to the bed.

  “We can’t all fit in that bed, my beauty.”

  Israel was already on his hands and knees, reaching underneath. He pulled out the dusty box. “This is the last? What is it?” He started to open the lid, but she put her foot on it to keep it closed. “Oh. Is this the box? I’ve always wanted to see inside one of these.” He grabbed her ankle and kissed his way up to the inside of her knee. She jerked her leg back and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  Nanae spoke from the doorway. “What is the box?”

  Izzy gestured for him to come in and close the door. “Every girl has a box under her bed filled with all her kinky bedroom stuff—crazy sex shit you and I can’t even imagine. I was with this girl in her apartment once. She had to open hers up to get a condom, and I got a peek. There were wires, remotes, feathers, handcuffs, bottles, and this one thing… I don’t have any idea what that monstrosity was.”

  Nanae sat next to Camilla on the bed. Camilla covered her face with her hands. Nanae pulled her into the shelter of his shoulder. “Don’t you know yet that you don’t have to be embarrassed about that around us?”

  Camilla’s voice was muffled b
ehind her hands. “It isn’t sex stuff.”

  Izzy opened the box and pulled out the top item. “Baby clothes?” He held up the tiny sailor suit and pink sundress, both with matching hats. He giggled. “This is nothing to be ashamed of. You’re pregnant.” He started pulling out the clothes layer by layer, each separated by thin paper. There were eleven layers with about a dozen outfits each, for a total of 125 total. The clothes at the bottom were at least twenty years old. There was a note at the bottom, and Israel pulled it out. The paper was discolored with age, but the marker it was written in was bright red. The writing was sharp, pointed, and painful to read. He read it out loud.

  “Camilla, these clothes are for you to keep. Forever. I bought them for my murdered children. May they constantly remind you of all the babies you’ve killed. Mom.” Israel sat back on his heels, stunned.

  Camilla shrugged, completely used to the idea of herself as a baby killer. “She brought that box into my room with only a few outfits in it when I was eight years old. I thought they were for me to dress my dolls in. I was so excited. I found the note at the bottom a few hours later after I had put every one on a different doll around my room. They were all staring at me with their dead eyes while I read it. Once a month, after she knew she wasn’t pregnant again, she’d take me to the store and make me pick a new one to add to the box. When I was old enough to refuse to go with her, she continued adding to the collection. Every month, I’d find the box on my bed with a new outfit on top. I hid the box a few times, but she always found it. It always showed up on my bed like clockwork.”

  “That’s fucked up. Your mom is one sick bitch.” Israel came to sit on the other side of Camilla. He patted her knee.

  “She was cruel, but she was right. I am a baby murderer.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “She wanted them, and I kept them from being born. It’s the same as if I’d kicked her in the stomach once a month.”

  “It’s not the same at all. Those weren’t babies. They weren’t alive. At a month or two old, they weren’t even apple-sized. Most of them didn’t even have heartbeats.”

  “Ours is only two months old. Are you saying it isn’t a real baby? That it isn’t alive? It most certainly is. I love it and want it, and that makes it alive.”

  “Okay, it’s alive. We love it too, and we would kill anyone who tried to take it from us, but that’s just it. You didn’t try to kill those babies. It isn’t like kicking her in the stomach. You didn’t have control over your power. They were accidents. I can’t believe your dad let her do this to you. It’s torture, you know. Psychological torture.”

  “He didn’t know. No one did. I’ve never told anyone before.”

  Nanae picked her up and set her in his lap. Israel scooted over to fill her seat and held her legs. “I am glad you told us. It’s good to get it out of your head. Now we can destroy this together.”

  “No, I need them. The only thing that kept me from killing myself was the hope that someday I would see these on babies of my own.”

  “That is a fine idea, but I’m going to destroy this hate right here.” Israel held up the letter. He put it between his palms and moved them back and forth like a Boy Scout starting a fire with a stick. His hands moved so fast that the paper was a blur until the friction built up enough heat. The letter went up in flames, and Izzy let it go as it burned. The ever-shrinking slip floated on an unseen air current as it smoldered and vanished.

  Camilla had nothing left to lose. Her dirty laundry was out for everyone to see; what was one more pair of underwear? “Can we have lots of babies?” she asked softly.

  “We’ll do our best, Chickadee. Won’t we, Nanae?”

  Nanae stood, bringing Camilla with him. Israel grabbed the box. “We certainly will, my beauties.”

  THE FIRST week went by quickly. Their schedule was a little odd, but it met all of their needs. Camilla, the only one that needed sleep every day, slept during the day while Israel and Nanae basked in the sun in the newly built sunroom right off their bedroom. Israel had built it himself during the night hours when Camilla and Nanae were with the Capacitors. Now that Israel was finished with it, he’d started on the baby’s room. They all sat down to breakfast and dinner together, though breakfast was at 7:00 p.m., dinner was at 7:00 a.m., and only Camilla ate. They were happy together.

  It was noon, but Nanae and Israel were still in bed, with Camilla sound asleep between them. She had to sleep propped up to prevent her horrible heartburn, and the boys were turned so that her feet were between their faces. They could talk that way and see each other while still keeping Camilla company. They each had a hand on her belly.

  “What is up with this baby? Either that’s a monster three-month-old fetus or there’s like five kids in there. We need to take her in for some testing, I think.”

  “The baby—singular—is just fine. She’s more like eight months pregnant than three. Being down in the storage room with all that magical energy makes him grow faster than average.”

  “Him? We’re having a boy?” Israel leaned forward and kissed Nanae. “I put the stem on the apple, as my granddaddy would say. I wonder what our next one will be.” Nanae’s face went sober. “By ours, I mean the three of ours. You’re every bit as responsible for our children being conceived as I am. The kids never have to know the details. They’ll grow up here and won’t know that having two daddies and one mommy is anything weird.”

  “I need to tell you something that I should have told you a while ago, but I couldn’t. I was scared. I am not sure that, as Lilitu, your genetics will be passed on to any more children. You and I will be fathers to any children Camilla brings into the world, but another man may have to provide the spark of life.”

  “I’m not sure I can share her with anyone but you.”

  “I would not enjoy it either, but it would be selfish to deny Camilla more children.”

  “I know. Our relationship is just so new. I’ll get over my jealously before it becomes an issue. So Lilitu never have children?”

  “You may be different than the others. I’m not saying it is impossible, but you should prepare for the possibility that it might not be your seed.”

  Izzy nodded. If Nanae could deal with it so graciously, then Israel was determined that he could too. They had to put their family before their pride. When Nanae could see that Israel shared his mindset, he continued, “In the past, Lilitu have been able to father children.”

  “You lost me. I thought I was the first male.”

  “You are the first to start as a human male. All Lilitu have the ability to take on different forms.”

  “I can be a woman?” Israel forgot to regulate his volume. Camilla stirred. He cringed and dropped his voice. “I’ve been being so careful not to shift that I haven’t really even thought about my ability to at all.” If female Lilitu could take on male form and impregnate human women, then he could—what? Take female form and get knocked up? “I’m not sure I could do that to Camilla. She needs to be the one to bring these babies into the world. She needs to be their birth mother as well as their momma. If I was the pregnant one, I’m not sure she could use that baby to undo the worthlessness her mother instilled in her. You know, I’d like to wring that crazy bitch’s wrinkled neck.”

  Nanae growled. “As would I.”

  “How could any moral person torture a child, especially one as beautifully innocent as Camilla must have been?”

  “Inability to reproduce can poison the mind if you allow it. I am glad you understand why it is important to give our Camilla as many children as is possible, as many as she wants. But you can never carry a child in your belly, no matter what shape you take. Lilitu cannot carry children, perhaps because of their constant shifting. But to father a child only takes a few minutes, not the months it takes to carry a child to term.”

  “I love you, but sometimes you don’t make any sense. Just tell me how we can give Camilla the children she wants.”

  Nanae’s s
miles were more and more frequent these days. “Either she can go to another man or you can. You can go as a woman, take the seed from a man of our choosing, store it, bring it back, and, as yourself, impregnate our songbird with it.”

  Israel laughed. “You are so much kinkier than I gave you credit for.”

  THE CIRCLE was up, and it was perfect. Maeve had called a surveyor and architect to the compound to plan it out. The Guardians had barely given them enough space to breathe, much less work. Maeve had not been surprised when the two men laid out the marks around the compound in record time. They told her that if she built a fence just inside the flags they’d placed, she would have a perfectly circular enclosure. They didn’t ask her why she needed it. She doubted they remembered that they had worked here, much less what they had actually done for the Daughters.

  It went against their nature for the Guardians to let strangers in so soon after an attack, but they wanted more protection for their possible Sinnis. They would take that in any form it came in. They had all but taken over Tank’s security detail. He remained there in title only, really. After allowing the invaders to overtake them and enter the grounds, Tank wasn’t trusted. But Maeve still trusted him, and she made sure Tank knew that. It wasn’t only Tank and his human guards who had been subdued by the military men. The Guardians’ egos were bruised, and they feared for their possible Sinnis pool. But now was not the time to point out their weaknesses. They were already painfully aware of the few there were.

  The Guardians were intrigued when Maeve and Nathalia had told them about Christy’s rare ability. Christy was a little overwhelmed. The Guardians had flooded in, curious about Christy. She did not seem to have a maternal bloodline that traced back to any of theirs. Her ability seemed to have developed on its own. Parallel evolution or something like that. Maybe this was the way nature would supply Sinnis to those Nephilim and Akhkharu who had been unable to protect their mother’s line.