by Audra Hart
Elias listens to her heart and lungs and examines the head wound and the other wounds. For the first time, Morna notices that she is only wearing her shredded bra and panties, and it causes her to blush a little. Heimdall can feel her returning modesty and suggests to Thor and Odin that the three of them give Morna a little privacy. Thor starts to protest but he suddenly remembers the other night at the lake.
As the ‘gods’ are leaving, Odin turns and meets Morna’s eyes. “Don’t be stubborn about getting into my chamber, Baby Girl.”
Morna gulps, and says, “Yes, Grandfather.” Odin nods in satisfaction and exits with a flourish.
Luca chuckles softly at his wife’s reaction to her great-grandfather and turns to Micah. “Do you have a sedative she can take before I treat the wounds?”
“Yes, I don’t think this baby is like any other. The valium should have no effect on him. But it didn’t help that much last time.” Micah reminds him.
“It helped.” Morna assures them. “Go ahead and administer it. If I have to spend time in Odin’s little chamber over there, I will need it. I really want to just get it over with.” Morna says with a look of near panic on her face.
Comprehension lights Micah’s face. Morna isn’t fond of tight places. He nods at Luca and administers the valium. “Elias and Micah, both of you should put a binding spell on me. I don’t want to get up and start making a fool out of myself when that venom kicks in,” Morna says honestly.
“Pretty Morna, if you didn’t hunt me when that thirst was upon you, you won’t hurt us now. But we will gladly do as you ask,” says Elias as he bends down and kisses his godmother’s forehead.
Mordir clears his throat and says, “This might not be the best time to talk about this, but I wanted to talk to you about your youngest son, Madam. When you are recovered, please bring him and your chosen healers to our healing hall. The equipment we use there is much like what Madam Brigid would have at her clinic, in fact, some of our equipment is even more advanced. We might be able to save you a trip to Midgard. I suspect you might be worried about taking the children out of this protected place right now.”
“I am Mordir,” admits Morna. “But with Valgullveig as an enemy, I am not sure any place is truly safe for our children.” Morna squeezes her mate’s hand and says, “Well my love, let’s get this over with shall we? I guess you should treat the wounds on my back first.” Morna rolls over and Micah and Brian gasp at the sight of the gaping gashes there. They are already inflamed and appear to be well on their way to becoming infected.
Morna snorts and says, “Easy guys, they aren’t as bad as they appear to be. Luca will fix me right up. Get those binding spells in place as soon as I get comfortable.”
Brian clears his throat and says, “What about the exposed bone? Will the flesh close over those areas?”
“Yes, the venom will return her flesh to pristine condition. There will be a slight opalescent, silver-white discoloration for a short time. But the venom will cause her intense agony,” Luca admits miserably.
Brian sees the pain in his friend’s eyes and nods his understanding. “Er, excuse me, but I want to go let Bronwyn know her boys are fine.” And strides out of the room. Morna and Luca understand that for all of Brian’s strength, his latent empathic abilities will make it difficult for him to be in the room with his old friends during this procedure. Elias watches his dad go and is grateful that he didn’t inherit that particular trait from him.
Luca leans down and whispers in Morna’s ear, “Ready, my love?” When she nods, he says, “Forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive darling. As usual, you are mopping up my mess,” Morna assures her beloved mate. “While I am thinking of it, when I am recovered, we need to teach the children how to weave the iron-lion. Aiden and Nora are young, but I think they can both do it.”
Elias chuckles and says, “Kyle was asking us about it today, we explained the basics of it and he figured it out. He can already weave the spell.”
“Excellent,” says Morna with deep satisfaction. “Let’s get this done so that I can hurry up and get back to our children, my love.”
It takes Luca over an hour to apply the venom to every wound. By the time he is finished he looks utterly exhausted and tortured. Despite the binding spells, the medication, and Morna’s intense concentration, she wasn’t able to quell a few screams. One time when she was lying on her back, she opened her eyes to look around for an escape. When she met Luca’s eyes, she quickly squeezed her own tightly shut and deeply regretted allowing him to see the depth of the pain she was enduring. When he is finished treating the last laceration he takes her into his arms and holds her on his lap. He whispers assurances to her in a voice that is too quiet for the others to hear.
Finally, Mordir clears his throat and speaks; “Lord Lucian, we really should get her in the chamber. Perhaps it will help with the pain from the venom as well.”
Luca nods and carries her to the chamber and lies her inside of it. Morna opens her eyes and says, “Luca, go tell Kyle I am fine. I worry that he can feel me from our hall. His range seems to be incredible. I will come to you all as soon as possible. And please forgive me for not weaving the spells to protect myself.”
“Morna, don’t worry about that darling. I am not able to weave spells when I am too thirsty. I understand. You couldn’t have done anything any differently.” Luca assures her. “I love you, come to us when you can.” He kisses her and looks at her pain filled eyes one more time before walking calmly out of the chamber. Once out in the hall, he reminds Heimdall to make sure she drinks more of the blood when she gets out of the healing chamber. “We must not ever allow her to thirst like that again.”
Luca looks at George, “She is fully under control. You don’t need to stick around any longer. “
“Luca I wasn’t hanging around because I thought I would have to restrain her or stop her. I am here because I am worried about her. I know that girl’s heart. She won’t hurt anyone who isn’t hurting her. She learned her control well, and from you I might add.” George says solemnly. And then he adds, “I was hoping for a chance to perform some of our healing incantations.”
“I will see to it that you are allowed to do just that, Stone Breaker,” says Odin authoritatively.
Luca nods at George and turns to Thor saying, “I need to release some pent up frustration. Would you like to meet me at the sparring field in an hour?”
Thor chuckles and slaps Luca on the back. “Sounds like fun!”
Luca nods and leaves so quickly that no one actually sees him go. Thor chuckles and says, “I bet I get my ass kicked today.”
Odin laughs heartily. “I think I might join you two today.”
When Luca arrives at Morna’s greathouse a few minutes later he stands outside the door for a few minutes to make sure his emotions are fully under control. But Kyle comes outside to meet him. He could feel him coming. “Mom okay?” He asks as soon as he sees his adopted father.
“Yes, son, she will be fine. She is still undergoing treatment. She battled a NA’YU’NUWI, it is a powerful creature from the Spirit Plane. But she should be good as new before long,” Luca assures his son.
“Dad, I could feel what both of you were enduring. But now you have completely shut your emotions off from me. She is still in horrible pain. I felt her while she was in the park. I don’t know how she could think clearly enough to do battle with that creature. The thirst was over powering. I am still craving blood and I am not a vampire. That is how strong her thirst was.” Kyle takes a deep breath. “The pain from that thing’s teeth and claws was indescribable. Yet she kept battling. And I kept getting maternal, protective feelings from her too. I don’t understand that.”
“She was probably thinking about getting back in one piece to protect you children. Plus, Elias was with her. She was probably thinking about protecting him. I don’t know how she divides her focus like that. She was deep in the throes of the hunting instinct, and yet her thoughts we
re apparently on protecting others.” Luca says, his voice full of admiration for his mate. “I don’t know if I would be able to do that. Let’s go see your siblings.”
Luca spends nearly an hour with the children while they eat lunch. He leaves them with their grandfathers, Aideen, and their Aunt Breena. Luca spends a little time with the Spell Weavers, and tells them about Mordir’s offer to use the healer’s hall here in Asgard.
“I thought of that early on, but I wasn’t sure how they would react to a bunch of Spell Weavers at their hall. I know Mordir, he‘s a good man. He did an internship at my clinic. He is an amazing healer and is open to all forms of magic and science. I would love to work with him to try to heal Aiden,” Brigid says enthusiastically.
“Sounds good to me,” Says Luca. “I really don’t think Morna will take a chance in allowing the children to leave Asgard after today. She may double the guard around them.”
“Aideen has already put protection spells on all three of them,” Enya tells Luca. She has her sword and shield handy to protect them with as well. I am very pleased to report that she is doing an admirable job looking out for her younger siblings. When Nora saw that Morna was being attacked today, Aideen put up a buffer spell around them.”
“How did Nora handle that? She seems fine now.” Luca says thoughtfully.
“She’s one tough little girl. She was frightened, but Aideen kept reassuring her that her Mom would be fine,” Enya reports proudly.
Luca smiles in pride at the thought of his oldest child looking out for the younger children. “She is starting to grow up some, isn’t she?”
“About damned time!” mutters Fionn. And then he looks at his friend apologetically, “Sorry Luca. I should keep my mouth shut.”
Luca slaps his old friend on the back. “Fionn, when you are right, you are right! No worries brother. Well, I am going to meet Thor at the sparring field. Blow the hall‘s horn if there is a problem here. I should be back before too long.”
Fionn understands that his old friend needs to burn off some pent up frustration and rage. “You mind if I join you? I would like to see a match between a Norse ‘god’ and a vampire.”
Luca chuckles and says, “Yeah, come along.”
Luca spends a couple of hours sparring with all comers at the practice field. Luca defeated all single comers and was equally matched when Odin and Thor paired up against him. Finally he says, “I better head back. Morna may be returning at any time.”
When Luca, Fionn and Thor arrive at Morna’s greathouse Heimdall’s chariot is out front. “Stubborn woman is already back.” Luca mutters. “Heaven forbid she take a few minutes to rest now and then.”
“Luca, she is just anxious to be with the children, and you.” Thor laughs heartily. “Don’t be angry with her. She is more Viking than she knows.”
When Luca finds Morna she is sitting at the family dining table with her children. She looks lovely. Heimdall provided her with a lovely blue silk dress to wear. The cuts and bruises on her face are 95% healed and she seems strong. She is eating a very hearty meal when he joins her.
He bends down and kisses his mate and looks around at their children. He notices that Kyle is blushing and looks at his mate. He can tell by the look in her eyes that she is struggling to control her feelings for him. Luca makes a mental note to ask Heimdall about teaching Kyle how to shut off his empathic abilities. Being around his mother during pregnancy will be an embarrassing ordeal for the boy otherwise, besides the boy should not have to endure the pain he felt from his mother today. He looks at Morna meaningfully and then at Kyle. She gets the message, concentrates on trying to recall Oklahoma state statutes regarding special education, and weaves a variation of a buffer spell around herself, and Luca smiles as Kyle visibly relaxes.
The couple spends a couple of hours with their children. Finally Aideen picks up Aiden and says, “Mom, little man is tired. I am going to take him to bed and let him rest for a bit. I think we should take him to the Healer’s Hall first thing tomorrow.”
Morna rises with them when she catches Luca’s eye. She kisses Aiden and then Aideen. “Aiden, I will check on you in a little bit, love.” Morna whispers.
“No prob Mom. You should go rest yourself. I could hear you screaming while Luca applied the venom.” When Morna looks taken aback at that statement, he adds; “You know telepathically. Collingwood says that you have always had latent telepathic abilities that work over very long distances. You have just never learned how to control them.”
“I am sorry, baby. I had no idea.” Morna admits quietly.
“No biggie, Mom. I love you.” Says Aiden telepathically. Morna watches Aideen carry her little brother from the room and turns to the group. “Does anyone know where Collingwood is right now?”
Kyle looks up and says, “Hmmm, he’s in the main hall with the weavers. He’s having a great time with them. He really enjoys the informal structure of our group.”
“I bet it is a drastic change from the way that he is accustomed to living at Alfheim. The Elves tend to be very formal. Even more so than the Norsemen.” Luca says thoughtfully. Then he looks at his mate. “Why Morna? Do you need to talk to him?”
“Yes, and then I think I should rest. I am feeling tired.” Morna admits reluctantly. “But I also need to talk to Heimdall privately.”
CHAPTER 10 - A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Morna gets up and kisses her children and smiles at her mate. She is afraid to touch him with the buffer spell down and Kyle in the room. “I will be up and around in time for a late supper.” Having said that she heads to the main hall to find Collingwood and Heimdall. She is not surprised that they are waiting for her at the entrance to the main hall. “How did you know I was looking for you? Was I broadcasting telepathically?”
Collingwood smiles, “Yes, Lady Morna. Broadcasting rather loudly, I might add.” He adds with a chuckle. “Ask Heimdall your questions and then you and I can talk. We have a lot to talk about.”
Morna nods at Collingwood and then turns to her godfather. “Heimdall, can you teach Kyle to shut off his empathic abilities?”
“Why Morna?”
“Because his hormone driven, pregnant mother is embarrassing him. I can’t walk around reciting Oklahoma State statues in my head and maintaining a buffer spell around me all the time. I have to drop it every time I want to touch someone or talk to them, and I can’t always control what the hormones make me feel inside. I can only control how I act on them,” Morna admits with embarrassment coloring her face.
“Yes, that might be a problem indeed. I have learned how to ignore those feelings when they emanate from you, but I guess your son might have a harder time with it. I will go to him now. It’s an easy enough fix. I will teach Aiden as well.” Heimdall assures his goddaughter and heads off to find Kyle in the family dining room.
Morna looks at Collingwood and says, “I finally placed where I know you from. You were one of the Elvish envoys that visited Airendell when I was twelve years old, aren’t you?”
“Yes Lady Morna, I am your Elvish mentor. But the High Council, in all their vast wisdom, forbade me from teaching you anything until now.” Collingwood admits.
“Why?” Morna demands.
“Because they thought you needed to be fully mature before you were allowed to completely realize all of your power. I believe we could have saved you a lot of heart ache if I had been allowed to come to you sooner. I could have showed you how to break the curse long ago.” Collingwood admits ruefully. Suddenly he chuckles and says, “Language! Morna, please watch the language. Your thoughts that you are broadcasting right now are being received by your young son as well as me.”
Morna blushes and says, “How do I stop it?”
Collingwood mutters the ancient light-Elvish word for shield. “That will stop him from hearing anything else until I can teach you to control it on your own. Shall we go to your private sitting room? I think I can have you up to speed in about twenty minutes. We can at l
east cover the basics that quickly”
Morna nods and leads the way. “By the way, today when you came across Kyle in the park, even if you had not been able to control yourself, you would not have been able to harm him. I have a shield over all three of the children.”
Morna stops and takes Collingwood’s hands into her own and kisses them. “Thank you, sir. Thank you for protecting my children.” Tears are welling up in her eyes. “Forgive me, for the tears and the showy emotional outbursts. Pregnancy hormones make me act quite the fool.”
Collingwood laughs. “My wife was the very same way. Most women of great magic and power are affected that way during pregnancy. Fret not, you control it admirably. I am linked to you as your mentor and I could feel every emotion and read every thought if I so choose. But I don’t wish to invade your privacy. Even so, enough comes through for me to say that you have a firm grip on yourself. Today when you were in the throes of the blood thirst and when you battled that creature, I was impressed with your control and the organization you displayed in your thoughts and emotions. I am sure it didn’t feel that way to you, but you had yourself well under control. You are more than ready for anything I might be able to teach you. The High Council can go hang if they disagree with what I am about to do.”
Morna laughs heartily as she opens the door to her suite of rooms. She leads the way to her private sitting room and invites Collingwood to sit down. “Okay, how do I control what I broadcast? And who can hear what I am broadcasting right now?”
“Well, until you learn to control it, Aiden, Heimdall, Agnar, and I can hear you. By the way, we can hear you through a Spell Weaver’s buffer spell as well. But you don’t just broadcast willy-nilly, so don’t fret too much on that score.”
“Fine, teach me to control it. I won’t subject my child, or you for that matter, to the nonsense that goes on in my head.” Morna says firmly.
Collingwood chuckles, “Morna, there is no nonsense going on in your head. You just like to keep a tight rein on yourself at all times, and the hormones make that difficult. But you are not, by anyone’s measure but your own, out of control.” He assures her as he pats her hand. “Now, as to how to control your telepathic broadcasts. Think of your thoughts as tangible things, as waves. Much like you think of many of your spells. Approach this the same way, and then you will be able to control the direction you send telepathic messages. With a little practice you will be able to send your thoughts just like Aiden does, but over much longer ranges, because you are much stronger physically and magically than he is.”