by Audra Hart
“I don’t know baby. Let’s not worry until we hear what Gullveig and Reagan think. I want to be presentable before they get here. Could you tidy up in here a little bit?” Morna says with a blush. She extends her senses and says with relief, “Kylor is already in the dining room with my father and grandfather.” She kisses her mate again and is in the shower an instant later.
Luca laughs and mutters, “I may never get used to seeing you do that.”
“Now you know how I have felt for centuries.” Morna says with a chuckle. “By the way, Gullveig must have already been here, I feel her coming this way.”
“Me too. I am just finishing up.” Luca says. “I have hung the black pantsuit out for you to wear. It has a panel in the pants to accommodate your belly. I also laid out that amber silk shell to wear under it. That way you can take the jacket off if you get hot.”
“Thank you love. I was wondering what in that closet would still fit and allow me freedom to move in.” Morna exits the shower, quickly dries her hair, brushes her teeth, and puts on her deodorant. She dries and styles her hair before putting on her make up. She laughs when she dons the bra and panty set. They match the blouse perfectly. She quickly dons the pant suit and black pumps. She knows that she looks stunning by Luca’s reaction when she meets him at the main door to their suite just as Gullveig’s knock sounds. Luca takes her hand, kisses it, “You are lovely, my dear.” And then he opens the door to Gullveig.
“Let me examine you, Morna. Let’s go to the spare room with the OB equipment. I am sure you do not want me in your bedroom after last night.” Gullveig chuckles and puts up her hand, “Don’t worry, I only sensed the very beginning. Heimdall and Collingwood successfully kept us all out after that. I must admit, I was curious and tried to get in a couple of times.” Gullveig laughs when Morna blushes. “I love it that you are still modest and human enough to blush. But let me tell you, missy, if I were in your shoes, I would do what you two did last night, every damned night. But I am a woman of strong appetites.”
Luca and Morna look at each other and smile. And then they follow Gullveig down the hallway. When they arrive at the extra bedroom. Morna comes in and takes her jacket off. Gullveig whistles, “I think Junior got a charge out of last night too.”
Morna lies on the exam table and Gullveig places her hands over Morna’s body and closes her eyes. She slowly moves her hands down and smiles as she goes. “Everything is fine. Better than fine. You moved the timetable up, somehow. I can sense his consciousness now. I bet you deliver a week or more earlier than originally expected.”
Reagan enters the room and says, “May I?” At Morna’s nod, Gullveig moves aside and he repeats the procedure Gullveig just did. After a few moments, he says, “I concur with Gullveig’s assessment. I would say we may safely deliver this child as early as April first. He seems to be perfectly healthy, as do you. May I ask what has happened?”
Gullveig laughs and says, “Let’s just say they rather gave into their inner selves last night.”
“Aha, Morna finally turned the beast loose? I was wondering if she would. She works so hard to keep her on a leash.” Reagan chuckles and says, “But you sir, I am surprised. I honestly thought that you had long since extinguished your inner beast.”
“No. He’s just firmly in hand,” Luca says with a chuckle.
“Morna, are the rumors true that you go to confront Mars today?” Reagan asks.
“Yes.” Morna says mildly irritated. There is too damned much gossip in Asgard to suit her.
“I studied with a healer in Mars’ territory for a few years. This healer was an ancient vampire and he developed a protective charm against the Mars curse. I happen to have five of them. Would you and Luca care to wear one of them, just in case?” Reagan offers earnestly. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out five simple bands with red stones set in them.
“Thank you Reagan,” she reaches out and selects one that looks like it will fit on her index finger and puts it in her pocket. Luca too selects a ring and puts it into his pocket. “So I am cleared medically for duty?” she asks with a smirk. Gullveig and Reagan both smile at the joke and nod. “Good, I can hear that we have a full house and I can smell the biscuits. I am starving. Would you care to join your fiancée for breakfast?”
“I would indeed. She refuses to leave when you are in Asgard. I am surprised she isn’t insisting upon accompanying you to Mars’ domain. She takes her duty seriously, but more than that, she is very, very fond of you and your family.” Reagan says honestly.
“I know. We are fond of her too. She is remaining behind to make sure our younger children are safe. I am taking the older two into the middle of the fray,” Morna says as she leads the way to the dining hall.
Once they arrive in the hall Morna sizes up the group she is leading into the Roman war god’s realm. All are dressed like professionals, diplomats even. Morna chuckles. In a way, they are on a mission of state. Hopefully, they will begin to build an alliance with Mars. But Morna is confident that the group is ready to kick ass if it comes to that.
That idea really takes on new meaning when Odin comes up to Morna and says, “Baby Girl, bow your head.” Morna complies and he slips a heavy golden chain with an ancient pendant on in over her head and rests it above her breasts. The pendant is not overly large, but it is big enough to be seen clearly. It is Odin’s personal crest. “I want that old bastard Mars to remember every second that you are there, that you are my grandchild. He knows I will not get involved if he defeats you in a head to head combat, but if he tries any trickery on you, I will destroy him for it. I want to make damn sure, war god to war god, that the message is clear.”
“Thank you Grandfather, but I go representing my Guild and my family, not representing Asgard,” Morna reminds the King of Norse gods quietly.
“Nonsense, Morna. You are one of us, you always represent us. You always have. You know that,” Thor says and slaps her on the back. “You will notice, he made my brothers wear them too?” Morna looks closely and notices that Valliant and Vali both are sporting small lapel pins of Odin’s crest. “Allfather is protective of his children.”
“Thank you, Grandfather. Forgive me. Gratitude should have been my only reaction.” Morna says quietly. She kisses Odin’s cheek and smiles warmly. And then she looks around the dining hall and doesn’t see Maria and George. “Where are the Anasazi?” she asks.
“The lovely Maria is helping the cooks. She is making her grandson act as her helper.” says Odin with a laugh.
“Excuse me,” says Morna as she makes her way to the kitchen with Luca at her side. She gets two units of blood from the refrigerator and pours them into a cup. She joins Luca conferring with George and Maria. He is showing them the ring. Morna takes hers out of her pocket and hands it to Maria. “Well, what do you make of them?”
“They are a protective talisman. The stone is blood stone, I suspect it is to protect vampires from the Mars curse.” Maria says thoughtfully. “Do you plan to wear it?”
“I was going to check with you first. What do you think, should we?” Morna asks.
“Yes, I think you should. They are vampire made, and you might be vulnerable to the curse even though you know the incantation to break it.” Maria says honestly. Morna nods and tries to slip it on her index finger, but it doesn‘t fit, so she slips it on her left thumb.
“Well, enough chit-chat. George, you look dashing in that suit. I see Odin made you wear his crest too. Let’s eat and go. I want to have breakfast with my babies. Ingrid, Maria, I am grateful to you and the others that are remaining behind to protect our youngest children while we are gone.” Morna says with heartfelt honesty.
Maria hugs Morna and says, “I am honored.” Morna nods, finishes her cup of blood and washes the cup out, and her mouth before going into the dining hall.
By the time they return to the dining hall Kyle, Aiden and Nora are seated and enjoying breakfast. Morna prepares a plate of scrambled eggs, fruit and bacon and
joins all of their children. They are happily chatting while they eat breakfast. Luca and Morna are watching the younger ones closely for signs of stress. Even Nora seems at ease.
Finally Damian and Breena enter the dining hall. Breena joins Morna, Luca and all of the kids. “Where have you guys been?” Morna asks Breena.
“I was sleeping until about twenty minutes ago. Damian went to hunt. Heimdall and Collingwood are putting barriers around this house and the immediate grounds until you guys return safely. Damian wanted to make sure he didn’t get thirsty before you got back.”
Morna nods and smiles happily that everyone is making arrangements to protect her babies. She closes her eyes and leans back in her chair, craving a cigarette for the tenth time this morning. She chuckles at herself. She has wanted to smoke a cigarette ever since she and Luca had that wild mating this morning. She decides she better stop thinking about it before she embarrasses every empathic in the room.
When she opens her eyes, Breena is blushing and Agnar is chuckling happily. Morna is amazed that Aiden and Kyle seem blissfully unaware. Agnar comes up to Morna, puts his hand on her shoulder and whispers softly in her ear, “I suggested that they use their off switches because you wouldn’t want them be aware of all the preparations you undergo before a possible battle.”
Morna pats his hand and says, “Thanks Ag.”
“Are you finished eating?” Agnar asks. When Morna nods he says “Follow me Mo.”
Morna looks at Luca and he shrugs. He returns his attention to his children. Morna watches them for a few seconds and realizes that to anyone who didn’t know the family, any outsider would assume that he had fathered all of the children. His love for each one of them is evident in his voice, his actions and his words. Morna smiles, she is indeed a blessed woman.
Morna is following Agnar outside when they meet Ingrid and Reagan in the hallway. Ingrid is flushed and euphoric looking and Reagan’s hair is mussed. Morna tries to hide a knowing smile as she says good morning to Ingrid. Ingrid hands Morna a small leather pouch and says, “Enjoy.” She glances at Reagan and says, “Your physician gave the green light.”
Morna steps out into the back garden with Agnar before she opens the pouch. She laughs when she pulls the pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of it. Agnar laughs when he sees it. He pulls a pack out of his coat pocket. “Great minds and all that,” he murmurs.
“I shouldn’t, being pregnant and all.” Morna says guiltily.
“Morna do you really think a couple of cigarettes could harm that child?’
“No. Thanks for protecting my boys from their mother’s outrageous libido,” Morna says with a blush.
“Mo, I am just glad you are finally allowing yourself to be who you truly are. You have always had a hidden wild thing, and now it is vampire charged. It must be exhausting to constantly fight against it,” Agnar says in all seriousness.
Morna shrugs and sits on the marble bench and leans against a tree trunk. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and then opens her eyes and lights the cigarette. She inhales deeply and exhales slowly. She savors the burn, the harsh taste, the rush of the chemicals releasing their stimulant effects into her bloodstream. “Damn, that is so good! If I had two fingers of scotch it would be perfect.”
Agnar laughs. “Mo, you are so one of the boys!”
“I can’t help it. I am probably the weirdest woman to ever live.” Morna chuckles at herself.
“You are pretty weird, but not the weirdest.” Agnar says with a laugh.
“Well I guess we could say we are both pretty weird. We have always had a pretty weird connection,” Morna says with a laugh.
“True enough. I have always confided in you. You are the only person I can tell anything to and you never judge me. You might try to kill me over something stupid, but you never judge me. Well, until you found out I was in love with your daughter. But seriously, our connection may be weird, but it’s always been something I could count on. I guess my being in love with your daughter might get in the way of that?” Agnar asks uncertainly.
“No, not really. We are friends. I can keep that separate from my daughter. I am pretty good at compartmentalizing my life. Just don‘t ever deliberately, or carelessly hurt her, and you and I will work our differences out like we always have.” Morna says simply.
“So in other words, we will kick each other’s asses on a regular basis?” Agnar asks with a chuckle.
“Yeah Ag, I figure we probably will.” The friends spend several minutes in small talk as Morna smokes her second cigarette. She snuffs it out and weaves a spell over the butts and the pack.
“Did you make them disappear or just hide them?”
“They are gone. I shouldn’t do any more smoking until the baby comes.” Morna says firmly. “We need to leave. I am dragging my feet about going.”
“I bet. You are off to possibly fight a war with your in-laws. That can’t really be easy,” Agnar says glumly.
“It’s not. But mostly I am wondering about the wisdom of taking Aideen with me. She‘s up to this, right?” Morna asks quietly.
“She is Mo. I wouldn’t say she was if she wasn’t. I love her too much to take that kind of chance,” Agnar says sincerely.
“I’m counting on that. We better go,” Morna says as she stands up.
When they rejoin everyone in the dining hall, Rinda is there. She kisses Morna hello as usual. She wrinkles her nose at the cigarette smell. “You, Breena and Agnar and your damned cigarettes. I think Ingrid does it too.”
Morna laughs and then goes into the kitchen to rinse her mouth out. Luca comes up from behind and encircles her waist with his arms. “Morna I could smell it when you were outside.”
“Sorry. I just wanted a smoke ever since this morning.” She turns in his arms and kisses him passionately and wraps her body around his with a moan. She tries to pull away reluctantly. “You have to walk away, Darling.”
“No.” Luca says, scoops her up and takes her to the pantry. He erects a buffer spell and makes love to her against the door of the pantry. When they finish Morna is reluctant to stop kissing him and get dressed, but she does. “What is wrong, love?” Luca asks quietly, he can tell she is worrying over something.
“Today is big. Today turns the tides, one way or another. I am certain that Kyera or Valgullveig, or both are there, and I am certain that we will be forced to take one of them out. Perhaps even up this maddening game that they are playing with our lives.” Morna sighs as she pulls her blouse on.
“Mars doesn’t worry me too much. He is powerful and unpredictable, but I don’t think he is insane like Kyera. Those who are crazy or on a vendetta can’t be persuaded. But Mars is different. All that we need from him is to leave you and Kylor alone and leave our Guild alone. Kylor seems to think that if I can gain his respect, he will leave us alone. That seems to fit what little I know about him. And I will make him respect me, one damned way or another.” Morna says as she gets dressed.
“You didn’t call Valgullveig insane. What reason could she have for coming after her own sister but insanity or jealousy?” Luca says gently.
“No I didn’t. There is something about my sister that is tugging at my memory, at my consciousness. I just can’t get a handle on it yet…” Morna shrugs. “It will come to me.” She turns to smile at her mate and says, “But for right now, we focus on Mars and whoever else might be with him.”
Luca takes her face in his hands as she bends down to put her pumps back on. “Baby, if I was any kind of a man, I would refuse to let you go today. I would protect my mate and my child.”
Morna stands up slowly and cups his face. “You will protect me. You will have my back. You always do. You have saved my ass many times and we both know it.” Morna says honestly. “But Darling, this is my duty. You could not make me stay out of it. If you tried it would drive a wedge between us.” Morna pauses and looks into his eyes. “Is my going already driving a wedge between us?”
“No, Morna.” He kis
ses her lips tenderly; “As you said, baby, it is your duty. I understood that before I married you the first time.” Luca says quietly, and strokes her cheek. “Promise to use the iron-lion, protect my reason for living.”
“I will.” Morna says and kisses him again. “We have to go. They must all know what we are doing since we just disappeared.”
Luca chuckles, drops the spell and says, “I don’t care what they know. You are my mate, my beautiful wife. We will love when we wish.” When he opens the door, the kitchen is filled with the fighters bound for Mars’ realm.
Kylor laughs heartily and says, “Hear, hear Father!” Everyone else joins the laughter.
Morna blushes bright red and says, “Oh hell! Let’s go! Luca, let’s go kiss the little ones goodbye. We will meet you guys out front.”
Maria stops Luca and Morna on the way to see the children. “I hesitate to mention this, but I can intercept any visions that Nora gets. I usually wouldn’t even considering doing it, because it is an invasion of another’s privacy, and an encroachment on their power, but she is such a small child, I will do this, but only if you want me to.”
Morna hugs Maria, and says, “Please do! No child should have to witness their parents doing what we are off to do today. Thank you, Maria.”
Morna is much calmer and even happy when she and Luca say their good byes to the younger children and the adults remaining behind. Morna feels the excitement building in her blood that she always feels before a big fight. As they are walking away, Kyle says quietly, “Mom, Dad, don’t forget you have a wedding to go to tonight.”
“We’ll be there,” Morna promises with a big grin on her face.
“Grandmother, Damian, Maria, Rinda, Collingwood, and Ingrid are here if you need anything. I suspect Odin and Thor will be around too,” Luca says before he and his mate walk out the front door.