It felt like the old days, which made me sad for some reason.
“I’ll admit she has the worst taste in men, and I've pointed that out to her enough that she's been avoiding me for the past few days, but it doesn’t take an empath to know she’s scared.”
Not that she'd sounded scared when she called. Furious was more like it and probably with me because that was the fallback position in our relationship. “Honestly, this is the worst time for her to show up here. Right when I’m trying to figure out how to deal with Diana Diamond.”
Flix wanted to know what I was up against, so I described my visions of her to him using as few words as possible.
“Got it. Crazy wannabe Goddess uses enchanted Tarot cards to increase her power base while subverting true love because she traded her heart for the chance to evolve. For the love of Danu, Lexi. You sure know how to pick them.”
Don't I know it.
“I was the pickee, not the picker in this case. It’s a Fate Weaver thing according to Delta. I’m glad she showed up, or I’d be flying mostly blind. I’m beginning to think there’s a conspiracy to keep me from learning the things I need to know.”
“Then why didn’t you bother asking us?” My entire household stepped through the sanctum door, filing in one by one; faerie, witch, familiar, alternating down the line.
“Salem, I swear to the goddess, you’re in for a lifelong kitty kibble sentence for tattling. I told you I needed time to think this problem through in my own.” I shot daggers at him from my position in the center of the casting circle.
“Technically speaking I didn’t break any rules.” Salem’s eyes shifted over to the faeries, “they wrestled it out of me.”
“They couldn’t have done that if you weren’t playing along, and we all know it.”
“You should have talked to us yourself, Lexi,” Gran stepped forward, “I know you’re trying to be strong, and keep everyone safe, but you’re putting yourself at risk and if anything were to happen to you, and we could have prevented it, we’d never forgive ourselves.”
A little piece of me, one I suspected came directly from my mother, mounted a silent protest. When would they ever think I was strong enough to fill out my witch shoes like a big girl? According to Delta, I was the most powerful Fate Weaver my father ever made, so where was the respect?
Rhetorical questions since it wasn’t about respect or recognizing my strength; the protectiveness came from their love for me and nowhere else. Only the most ungrateful wretch on the planet would react to care and affection with churlish behavior, so I stuffed my ego back in its cave and laid out what I knew for the group.
“Serena’s on her way, and I was just talking Flix out of sniping at her, she sounded scared enough as it is.” Six months ago, if you’d told me I would defend this woman to anyone, I would have called you something unflattering before dissolving into a puddle of uncontrollable giggles, but I wasn’t laughing now.
Under the top layer of ticked off, I’d heard a tremor of fear in Serena’s voice and the words she’d left unsaid tangled my guts into a knot of worry.
Worse, I was missing huge chunks of a conversation I really wanted to hear. Go figure, the first time anyone wanted to fill me in on bits of lore that applied directly to my heritage and I couldn't focus.
As the minutes passed, I couldn’t shake the sudden conviction she might not make it here at all until finally, my nerves triggered an adrenaline boost, and I knew I had to do something.
“I have to...” Concentrating on Serena’s face, I focused hard so my will would take me to her. My skimming technique was still a work in progress. As it turned out, I didn’t have to go far and shimmered back into my skin at the end of the block.
“Oh. My. Goddess.” When I caught sight of her form, bowed around a belly heavier with child than any I’d ever seen, I nearly fell over. In the span of two weeks, she’d gone from sporting an easily camouflaged baby bump to the waddling form of a full-term pregnancy. Not normal.
“What did you...? How did that...? Let me help you.” I slung an arm around her for support and guided her closer to the safety of the Balefire house. “You should have said something, I would have sent Gran to you.”
Serena winced, either in pain or annoyance. “She wouldn’t have been safe. I might have doomed you all by coming here, but I didn’t know where else to go. It’s Jett. He did this to me, and I’ve only just managed to get away from him.”
A touch of our prior relationship reared its ugly head when she added, "No thanks to you, you self-centered jerk. I know you were dodging my calls."
For once, I let the insult go. Look at me showing personal growth. It wasn’t until a few moments later that I realized Serena had no problem calling me into the fray, and by that time there were more important things to focus on than my hurt feelings.
“Let’s get you inside and comfortable, then you can tell us what happened. It’s only a few more steps.” I eased her up the porch stairs, unlatched the door with a careless whisper of power, and nudged it fully open with one foot. A low groan issued from Serena’s lips and her belly clenched.
“You’re in labor.” Just stating the obvious.
“Thanks for the clue, I never would have figured that out on my own.” Serena panted and nearly broke my fingers when hers convulsed with the pain.
Panicked, I yelled out. “Gran, we have a situation here.” Had I just been thinking I could handle things on my own? Silly me.
“What’s...Oh.” Clara popped around the corner of the fireplace with Aunt Mag close on her heels. “Child, where is your mother?” Calypso Snodgrass might have a reputation for being a cold fish, but none of us could imagine her denying her own daughter the protections and enchantments that can only be passed down through the matriarchal line. There were rituals and rites to make the birthing easier, and given the circumstances, Serena would need all the help she could get.
“Still in the Andes. Coven business,” Serena panted. “We had plenty of time when she left.”
“I’ll get her.” Aunt Mag winked out, but as she did, I could see worry etching a few of her wrinkles deeper.
Gently, and with great compassion, Gran brushed Serena’s hair back from eyes glazed with terror. “It’s going to be okay, Serena. You trust me, right? I know you’re scared and tired, but I’m here, and I’ll take care of you.” Laying both hands on Serena’s bulging tummy, Clara concentrated and assessed.
“Is the baby okay? Jett did this to us with some kind of spell. If he hurt my baby, I’ll kill him. I don’t care what happens to me. He’s dead.” The mother bear instinct to protect her young loaned Serena the inner strength she would need throughout the coming ordeal.
Patting Serena's arm, Gran assured her, “The baby is fine, just ready to meet mom a little earlier than expected, but there’s time yet. Do you understand? All the rituals, all the protections—we have time to put them all in place, so you just hang on, honey. Okay? You’ll be cuddling your child soon, concentrate on that joy, and all will be well.”
Still, her face could have been carved from granite when she transferred the bulk of Serena's support to her and ordered me to go and tell Terra it was time. I had no idea what rituals and protections Gran was talking about, but Serena seemed comforted, and that was enough for me.
“When this is done, you’re going to help me send that jackass somewhere where he can rot for the next century.” Flix squirmed under the heat of Serena’s glare as Gran helped her into the sanctum where we all waited. “He thought he could mess with my baby, then lock me in my own house. Who does that?”
“How did you get out?”
“Blasted a hole in my bedroom wall. I didn’t know I had that much magic in me, to tell the truth. He enchanted all the doors for my protection,” her mocking tone put emphasis on the word protection. “I found a book about magical birthing rites hidden under my mattress.” Serena’s voice rose to the highest pitch I’d ever heard.
“Hush, child.
You’re safe now.” I hoped my grandmother was as sure of that as she seemed. “Terra, you’ve been through this before, you can handle gathering up what is needed.”
A look passed between Gran and Terra that seemed to hold an entire conversation. Terra nodded and took Flix aside. After a short, but animated conversation, he caught my eye, gave me the thumbs up and flickered out to run whatever errand Terra deemed necessary.
Had my birth been such a big deal?
Not wanting to pester Gran with questions at such a delicate time, I turned to ask Salem what he knew and saw his tail disappearing up the stairs toward my room. Before I could follow him, a chiming noise gonged through the house so loud the wave of sound made my teeth clack together, and my chest vibrate. What now?
“Oh!” Evian’s exclamation drew my attention to her shocked face. The whole house shook as she rose toward the ceiling and a ball of lightning encased her in a dazzling flash of brilliant white.
What kind of attack puts that look on a faerie’s face? Dazed happiness is the closest I can come to describing it.
“What just happened?” When the light show died down, and Evian returned to the ground, my voice sounded loud in the sudden silence.
“Evian was chosen.” Clara clapped her hands in front of her chest and beamed at the happy faerie. In fact, everyone in the room except me was grinning like madwomen while not telling me anything useful.
Times like these, the gaps in my knowledge make me wish I'd listened to Salem and read all the books. “Chosen for what? I don’t understand.”
“You really are dumb sometimes, Lexi Balefire.” Serena could be in labor and still have a sharp tongue. “She’s been chosen to serve as faerie godmother to my child.” Was that a tear in her eye?
“I’m a true faerie godmother.” Joy turned Evian more beautiful than she already was, a feat I never thought possible, and she executed a few graceful dance steps then, kneeling before Serena, pledged herself to the baby. A glow erupted around the pair, transmitted something of their emotion to the rest of us. Soleil sobbed with happiness for her sister, and maybe a little jealousy crept into the mix, too.
Before the lovefest got out of hand, Serena galvanized everyone into action with another moan of pain. I felt like a third thumb during the flurry of activity that followed. It seemed everyone except me knew what to do to prepare for the birth, so my assignment was to help Serena walk around until she felt she could no longer stand.
The pacing went on for at least half an hour while the others prepared the sanctuary. No one boiled water. I felt kind of let down that TV and movies had led me wrong on that one.
Compliments of Terra, fresh bedding piled itself into a comfortable pallet over the center of the summoning circle which Gran blessed with a long invocation in the old language. I caught a word or two here and there, but the rest was gibberish to my ears.
No less than four cauldrons bubbled with various brews waiting to be made into potions for healing, health, and protection. Lacking a couple ingredients, Gran prevailed upon the Fae to do their thing. Pots magically filled with dark, rich soil, into which Evian poured a spout of enchanted water that sparkled with rainbow colors. Soleil set miniature suns above each pot and stepped back to let Terra bring forth life.
Seeds shot out the tips of her fingers, arrowed into the pots, and then, like an orchestra conductor, she stood before the row, lifted her hands and funneled earth magic. The germ of life inside each seed responded to her call, to the affirming properties of Fae magic, uncurled, stretched, and burst thin shells to put down roots.
The bow played along with Terra’s movements, a properly enchanting tune that made me grin from ear to ear as the first shoots tested the air above the soil. Tendrils danced up like snakes rearing their heads until, with a final flourish, Terra brought them to full bloom. Leaves sprouted like fireworks. I tell you, watching a master make magic never gets old.
Conversation flowed around me while I turned my focus back to Serena and concentrated on keeping her moving for as long as she could, pausing while the pains rippled through her. The hand that grasped mine seemed too thin, but squeezed hard enough it felt like my fingers might snap.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you.” I muttered a litany of soothing comments while she panted and gritted her teeth. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
“I want my mom,” she said.
“Mag’s on it. If there’s anyone who can get her here in time, it’s my aunt. She’s like a bulldog when it comes to getting the job done.”
We made a few more rounds of the room before Serena stumbled, cried out, and a gush of liquid hit the floor. “My water broke.” Before I had time to think what to do next, she reached out to clutch at my other arm, her eyes rolled back in her head, then reoriented on mine. The look in them chilled me to the bone.
“Oh no. Oh, Lexi, we never found the family talisman. What am I going to do? This is the worst thing that could happen. It’s all for nothing.” The mother-to-be sagged toward the wet floor.
“Um, Gran. We’ve got a situation here. I could use a little help.” Vaeta reacted first, sent a jet of air to hold Serena up, another to dry the birthing fluid from the folds of her skirt and floor.
“She’s okay.” With extreme gentleness, Gran ran hands over Serena to assess possible injury or distress. “What happened?”
I passed Serena into waiting Fae arms, repeated the warning she’d given, and explained how she’d nearly fainted. “She didn’t want to tell you before because there was plenty of time, but she hasn’t been able to find the Snodgrass equivalent of the Stone of Blood. I helped her ransack her house the other day, but the thing never turned up. I feel like there’s something going on between Serena and Calypso or she would have just asked her mother where to look.”
Hands busy with mixing potion ingredients, Clara sniped. “Calypso Snodgrass is so uptight, I bet her farts have to turn sideways to sneak out.”
“Gran, that’s...” Hilarious was what it was, and probably all too true. “...not very nice.”
“It should have been given to Serena when she Awakened. That’s tradition. The vessel that holds each family’s ancestral blood is different. Ours is an amulet because the Balefire women have an affinity for stone and metalwork. The Blankenship witches have always been potters, so theirs is a teapot.”
Well, that explained some things. “A red one shaped like an elephant?”
“How did you know?”
“Um...I’m not sure. I must have overheard someone talking about it.” No wonder the ghost of Tansy Blankenship had been hellbent to retrieve that very same teapot from the repository where dangerous magical things are kept. But I wasn’t about to tell the story of my Halloween haunting to my grandmother now. There were other, more important things to worry about.
“Is it a witch thing to require the talisman during a birth or a demigod thing? Maybe Serena left out certain bits of information when she talked to her mother about the pregnancy.”
“Demigod. Oh, I see what you’re getting at, and it makes sense if Serena hid the information given the way Calypso acted when your mother turned up pregnant. Between you and me, she's quite the snob. You’re going to have to go over there and fetch it for me, but don’t go alone. Is that Fiach still around?"
Wondering why she'd want Delta in on this, I yanked my phone out of my pocket and shot off a text. Yeah, bounty hunter for the gods used modern technology. Shouldn't come as a surprise.
"Good. Take her with you. Salem, too.”
Not that I was complaining, but I had to ask. “You’re not trying to get rid of us, are you?”
Orange mist belched out of the potion Gran was stirring, and she held up a hand for silence while she stopped and moved the spoon backwards as if undoing the last three turns. Then she said, “Just be careful. And hurry. Nothing is normal about this birth. I need you back here in time.”
"I can't promise anything, I have no idea where else to look?”
"Good thing I used to be coven leader, then isn't it?" Leaning close Gran whispered the location in my ear, and a grin split my face.
“Really? Tell me you’re serious.”
“As a heart attack.”
I had to know. “However did you learn that tidbit of information?”
“A story for another time. Take this.” She handed me a glass ball filled with swirling mist.
“What is it?” It paid to ask when Gran pulled something out from up her sleeve.
“Bottled wall. Toss it into the hole to secure the house when you leave.”
“Serena, do you have your house key? I’m going to go find your talisman.”
She raised an eyebrow at me and I like to think the sarcasm distracted her from the pain for a moment. “I think you’ll manage to find a way in given there’s a huge hole in the side of the house.”
“Oh yeah, brain cramp. Just keep your legs crossed until I get back.” My joking tone and willingness to help released a little of the tension from Serena’s body, her shoulders settled into a less hunched position, and she let out a small sigh of relief.
Chapter Nineteen
I HAD JUST TURNED TOWARD the fireplace, noticed the door stood open and Salem’s human form was framed in the opening when Flix materialized in front of me and I slammed into his chest so hard it knocked Mag’s glass ball out of my hand. Lucky for me Vaeta was watching; she snagged it out of thin air with, well, thin air.
“Oof.” My teeth clacked together. The man’s body was harder than a stone wall. “Dude, there’s such a thing as working out too much.”
“Never.” He brushed me off like I was a little kid who had taken a tumble, and handed a leaf-wrapped parcel to Terra, who waved it around and did the kind of happy dance that on anyone else would look dorky, but on her, looked like it should be happening on a stage in front of adoring fans. Male fans, that is.
Once he’d handed off his burden, Flix grabbed my arm and kept me from ducking through the sanctum door.
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