by Ashley McLeo
Fire?
Aoife’s head whipped to face the fireplace. Gray tendrils of dying smoke swirled low in the pit, but no flame.
Her stomach clenched as the only other possibility hit her. One of the twins is trying to use magic!
Aoife made it three steps from the window before Brigit’s terrified voice rose over the sounds of chat and cleaning.
“Take them, Aengus, take the girls. Something’s happening. Gwenn, Mary, Aoife! Something’s wrong!”
Aoife rounded the fireplace in time to see Brigit pushing the twins into Aengus’s arms.
“Which one is it?” Aoife said, rushing to Aengus’s side, searching for a sign of fire magic. Power born of fire was often dangerous and unpredictable when used by trained witches. An infant with undisciplined power was always a terrifying prospect for a family. Still, Aoife hadn’t expected problems this early. To hear Gwenn and Mary tell it, the birth usually wore babies out.
“I—I don’t know,” Aengus said, his thick arms trembling as he held the girls out to Aoife for inspection.
It took Aoife less than five seconds to determine neither was using magic at all, let alone fire magic.
“Aoife, it’s in me,” Brigit squeaked, her back arching into an unnatural bend. “There’s another.”
“Another?” Aoife asked, knitting her brows together.
“Baby,” Brigit grunted, “I felt it move after the second girl was born but hoped they were phantom kicks. But I can feel it moving more strongly now, and I’m still so hot. She . . . or he is fire.”
“Goddess be! Another baby!” Mary cried dropping her rag.
“Stand over there, as far as you can,” Aoife hissed at Aengus, who complied without question.
“Are you sure it’s not the placenta, Brig? Birthing twins can make a ma feel a bit off,” Mary said, looking at her sister with concern as she situated herself on the stool.
“Positive,” Brigit shot back irritably. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath as if begging for the patience to explain something unexplainable. “The fire—I thought it would pass but the sensation only grew stronger. I feel so stupid. This whole time I’ve been so hot that I’ve been using what power I could to dampen the heat. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep it up anymore once I have to push again. I haven’t much energy left.” She opened her eyes and Aoife saw they were full of tears. “Do you think you can control the babe, Aoife? Fight fire with fire? You’ll understand it best.”
Aoife considered the matter. At the very least I can absorb whatever heat the babe emits and channel it out of Brigit’s body.
“I’ll be right here,” Aoife said, reaching through the bamboo. She knew Brigit was right the second she touched her boiling hot belly. There was power there. Power that was not Brigit’s. She’s been pulling from far too deep, Aoife thought, watching her sister’s arms and legs tremble.
“What was two will soon be three,” Aoife said, nodding at Mary to be ready. “Hold tight, Brig, this one’s ready to make an entrance. I can feel it.”
Brigit nodded, her eyes screwed shut as she bore down under the force of mounting contractions.
“Goddess be . . . yes! They’re coming faster now, Brig, I should be seeing a head any minute,” Mary said. Her lips began to move silently, counting seconds.
“Every time one’s about to hit, my blood burns. Can you dissipate it?” Brigit asked Aoife, her eyes pleading.
Aoife focused on pulling any wayward magic from Brigit’s body. It was easy enough to tell the babe’s power from her sister’s. The babe’s magic ran free, flowing out of the womb and through Brigit at the babe’s will. Brigit’s power simmered weakly near the womb, acting as gatekeeper to cut the fire off at the source. There you are, you wee bugger, Aoife thought shifting her hands to a congregated mass of fire over Brigit’s heart. She jumped as a jolt of red hot energy ran through her open channels. It hurt, but it was better she absorb it than Brigit.
“Ahh,” Brigit sighed, her lips easing from white to pink.
“Push now, Brig,” Mary coached, arms at the ready.
Fire sprang up in the hearth. Brigit yelped and ground her body into the table to push.
Aoife put out the flames with a flick of her wrist, as her other hand pulled magic from her sister’s blood.
“Couldn’t let your sisters have all the fun, isn’t that right?” Aoife said, careful to keep her tone playful despite the terror pulsing through her. What else would the babe set ablaze? She moved her hand to the left and her stomach sank as another energy store burned hot. It’s like it’s got an eternal supply in there.
Brigit pushed again, and insidious gray tendrils floated out of her ears to frame her face.
Aoife’s heart raced as the smoke traveled down Brigit’s body toward Mary, as if marking a path for the babe to follow.
“One more big push and you’re done, Brig. I see the crown now,” Mary urged.
Brigit complied, and a third girl, much smaller than her sisters, slid into Mary’s hands.
Her misshapen head was topped with a mop of bright red hair. Matching large red spots dotted her milky skin. Her discontent at being left alone was plain upon first breath. Aoife thought she sounded outraged, as if she’d known all along that no one realized she existed.
Mary cleaned the girl, wrapping her in a plain white towel Gwenn procured from the bath. She was about to hand her over to Brigit when Aoife plucked the furious babe from her arms.
“Brig needs a rest. I’ll calm this one for her first,” she said, nodding at Brigit, who lay panting on the table. Cradling a babe never feels quite as natural as others make it seem, Aoife thought. She stared down at the girl, her hands shifting, unable to find a natural hold on the girl’s tiny body. If it were any other I’d have let Mary keep her, but Mary won’t understand her as I do.
Aoife sat on the hearth stones. A fire sprang up at her bidding and she began to rock the girl, humming in low tones. Before she knew it, her tuneless hum morphed into an ancient Irish ballad of unrequited love, a lonesome life, and death by the flames. Not the most child-appropriate song, she thought, but this little one doesn’t seem to mind.
“This right here is your destiny,” Aoife whispered to the girl, nodding at the flames.
With each rock of the baby’s body, Aoife felt a bit of the raging heat and temper radiate off her. The baby’s florid skin calmed to leave stretches of unblemished flesh as the fire soothed her nerves.
“Now you’re ready to meet your mammy, aren’t you?” Aoife asked when the last red ring dissolved to white.
“Thank you, Aoife. I’m not sure I would have pulled through without your help,” Brigit said, her face glowing with happiness as Aoife handed over her youngest daughter.
“Nonsense, you’d have been fine. Might have taken a bit longer is all,” Aoife said, hoping the lie wasn’t too obvious. No part of her thought Brigit would have been fine. In fact, without her siphoning off the fire magic, the exertion of keeping it at bay might have killed Brigit. And that was without factoring in the immense effort it took to birth three babies in less than an hour.
“Looks to me as if you and Aengus have a little bonding to do.” She glanced up at her brother-in-law, who was beaming like an idiot, a baby crooked in each of his muscular arms. “I’ll be reminding you of that goofy grin when you’re going on and on about changing dirty nappies all night, Aengus,” Aoife teased, leaving the new parents alone with their babies.
“What are we going to name them now?” Aengus asked gazing down at the green, yellow, and white bundles.
“I was thinking that, too. After all that happened, Elizabeth and Claire don’t seem quite right anymore, do they? And then there’s this wee one who doesn’t have a name at all,” Brigit said gazing down at the tiny redhead.
“Seeing as it took us months to come up those names, we may have to use temporary ones. How about one, two, and three? We can use our hands to signal each other.”
Brigit smacked him o
n the shoulder, earning herself a mischievous grin.
“It won’t take us months! It can’t. And we’ll call them by their eye color until we decide, Green, Blue, and Amber.” Brigit said.
“Sounds grand, love,” Aengus said, seeking her lips through a slit of mangled bamboo. They lingered happily, five faces side by side, as their scents mingled for the first time.
“Looks like I’ll be getting to know the fairer sex even better than we thought, won’t I?” Aengus said, his jubilant smile morphing into a thin line. “Good God, think of all the lads I’ll have to scare off.”
Brigit’s bark of laughter woke Green and Amber.
“They’ll be wanting milk.” Brigit motioned for Aengus to hand over Green, as the babies’ cries saturated the room. “To think I was worried at feeding two at once. I’ve no idea how I’m to manage three.”
“We’ll figure out a way,” Aengus reassured her. “I’ll take Blue for a quick stroll about the room. She doesn’t seem hungry yet and we don’t need her—or any of them, really—getting jealous, do we?” He grinned, snuggled a sleeping Blue close to his chest, and began to stroll the room’s perimeter.
The aunts converged on Brigit.
“How are they?” Gwenn cooed.
“Perfect,” Brigit replied, beaming up at them.
“Milk come in alright then?” Mary asked, bending down to get a closer look at the babies.
“For now, though I’m more worried than I ever was about not producing enough with an extra mouth to feed.”
“Don’t fret, Brig, your body will compensate. I can’t believe there was one hiding in there all along! I’ll bet the doctor didn’t spot the youngest. She’s so small.” Mary drew her finger over Amber’s smooth cheeks.
“Her name’s Amber, the other two are Green and Blue, after their eyes, at least until we get proper names sorted. The old ones didn’t seem to be . . . enough for them anymore.”
“You’ll be wanting powerful names for these girls. All three are forces to be reckoned with,” Aoife inclined her head at Amber. “And we’ll need to keep a close watch on her so she doesn’t burn the house down, at least until she can control herself.”
“Lucky for us she has her very own fire auntie,” Brigit said. “Between your mind magic—sorry, ceremens—and fire magic, I doubt Amber will be getting away with anything with you around, Aoife.”
“We’ll all do our share,” Gwenn added, clearly not wanting to be left out of auntie duty so early on.
“’Course you will. I think knowing you three are around is the only reason Aengus hasn’t faked his death by now.”
“I reckon he hasn’t ruled it out,” Aoife chortled. “He’s a smart man. Probably keeping it in his back pocket for when times get really tough. Like when they start dating.”
The room erupted with laughter.
“That was freaking wild!” Lily exclaimed. Watching the births and keeping track of the conversations going on inside and outside Aoife’s head had been like being a novice in a professional doubles tennis match.
Sara nodded, mesmerized. “I’m pretty sure Aoife can manipulate what thoughts we’re privy to. And when we knew to follow Aoife to the living room when she opened the window! Total mind control!”
“I wish she’d pull us out of here. We’ve seen what they wanted us to see and I for one would like to go home. Or at least to the present,” Evelyn said, shifting uncomfortably on the tiled counter. “The last part was nice and all, but I’m still feeling queasy from all those contractions.”
“There must be something else,” Sara said.
“It’s still so hard to believe, isn’t it? That she had no idea there were three babies?” Evelyn asked, following her own train of thought.
“Maybe witch pregnancies are a little different from what we are used to. They’re certainly unpredictable. Makes me wonder how I would deal with any pregnancies if we never came here,” Lily said, her eyes glued to Brigit and her sisters fawning over her.
“That’s been bugging me. Why did they even bring us here? My parents forced me. Said the meeting had been arranged years ago, as a stipulation of the adoption.”
“Why wouldn’t she want to meet her daughters?” Sara asked, a puzzled look on her elfin face.
“I mean, I can see why she wanted to meet us and have us meet each other, but it seems so . . . coordinated. Why now? Why the secrecy? And why did my parents know about it years ago? I doubt most adoption reunions are this big a production.”
“Most adoptions don’t involve witches or triplets either,” Sara shrugged.
“I think we’re about to find out why we’re still here,” Lily said, her eyes widening. “Something’s up with Mary.”
Mary stood rigidly next to Aengus. Her arms hovered at awkward angles by her sides, and her mouth hung wide open. Her skin had lost all color, creating an unpleasant, possessed quality that made Lily shiver.
“Alright, Mary?” Aengus asked, assessing her stance and taking a step back.
Mary’s eyes bulged at the sound of his voice, and Lily saw they’d changed color, from bright blue to black.
“Stand back Aengus! Mary’s not with us,” Aoife said, taking a protective stance in front of Aengus and Blue.
Brigit and Gwenn’s heads swiveled to face their sister, their arms tightening around their charges.
“Is she having a stroke?” Aengus asked, his voice shaking.
“I’ve only ever heard of such signs, but I believe our Mary is about to deliver a prophecy—” A booming voice, so unlike Mary’s sweet soprano, shot out of her overstretched mouth, cutting Aoife off.
* * *
“Three, three, three, shall it be,
The ones to save humanity.
Desperate to expand his throne,
He seeks to conquer all Earth grown.
Though abandoned years ago,
His time is nearing,
The fata king will soon know.
Hecate’s daughters are born anew,
Chimeric spawn from him they flew.
* * *
“The Earth’s power in fair Lilith’s hands,
Is given to you to sow your plans.
Eve with beauty, wit, and spite,
Offers all oceans as your birthright.
Fire, power born of this soil,
Is Seraphina’s weapon for all who toil.
’Twas the magic of the three,
As they were, so will you be.
* * *
“But know this, long-awaited star,
Use only magic and you will be par,
Only a life, a family all your own,
Love, and knowledge can thwart the throne.
* * *
“You must be canny,
remain unseen.
Hidden, until the time is right.
Or all human life,
Shall endure a timeless night.
* * *
“Unearth Seraphina’s tome.”
* * *
Mary’s mouth began to pulsate as her body contracted and relaxed in spastic intervals. Her eyes, once again their original bright blue, flew around the room in terror. It seemed the spasms would go on forever when all of a sudden Mary’s body stiffened and she collapsed to the floor.
Chance and Choice
“What the hell was that about?”
Lily’s eyes cracked open.
“What did it mean? Were you possessed? Are you possessed? Who the fuck is Seraphina?” Evelyn screeched, her pitch escalating with each word.
God, I wish she’d shut up, Lily thought, her head throbbing.
“We’ll answer what we can, as soon as the other two wake up,” Brigit said.
“I’m awake,” Lily pushed herself up and swayed where she sat, small spots clouding her vision.
“Me, too,” Sara said, rising to rest on her elbows.
“Why don’t you girls have a seat on the couch? Does anyone need food or water? Your first magical experience can be quite drai
ning,” Brigit said, her eyes raking over them.
I must look as bad as I feel, Lily thought as Brigit rushed past Sara and Evelyn to help her up, eyes wide with concern.
“Thanks,” she said, doing her best to sound grateful when all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry.
Lily’s legs shook as she shuffled to the couch, where the others were waiting. Neither Sara nor Evelyn had needed help to hobble around like an eighty-year-old woman. Lily pretended not to see Sara extend her hand as she collapsed onto the couch, cheeks burning. Why am I the only one who looks like they’ve been hit by a truck? Even Aoife seemed better off than her, though not by much. Lily watched as Gwenn brought Aoife a blanket, wrapped it around her trembling shoulders, and stoked the fire at her sister’s back.
“Some people have a bad reaction to mind magic. It’s not natural to have someone rooting around in your head. I made these before you came. They’re my own recipe. Full of fortifying herbs and plenty of chocolate to hide the taste,” Mary said, handing Lily a plate of cookies.
Lily ignored her nausea and shoved a cookie in her mouth.
“Well, I must say you all did quite well. Most vomit or pass out their first time. Now that we’re all stable, we’ll try to explain what you saw. We won’t have all the answers. To be honest, we’re hoping you can help us find them. Where would you like to start?” Brigit asked.
“Evelyn seemed to have a few questions,” Mary said with a small smile. “You were curious about what I said at the end? Is that right?”