"That's why they're so desperate," Nana said as she lobbed a vial of brownish sludge. They made several destroyers dissolve into screaming puddles. "The Keepers based their entire power structure on keeping magical bloodlines separate and controlled. But the babies are undoing centuries of magical manipulation just by existing."
Through my connection to the other mothers, I felt every moment of their evacuations. The midwife network moved with practiced efficiency, getting the pregnant witches to safety. I knew Mom, Stella, and Selene were running interference against the Keepers while they worked. Between one blink and the next, I shared one woman's terror as she clutched her swollen belly. Her baby's temporal magic surged wildly in response to her fear. Beneath the panic was a core of steel. She wouldn't let them hurt her child.
Another mother's emotions hit me differently. This woman had a cold, calculated fury as she packed emergency bags. Her unborn daughter's shadows were already learning to wrap protectively around her mom like a cloak. Each time a Keeper'smagic brushed against her wards, the shadows lashed out with surprising ferocity for something still in the womb.
A third mother's energy sang with fierce maternal protection. Her unborn son's power was harmonizing with the ancient wards embedded in her family home. I felt her satisfaction as everyday objects transformed into magical defenders. The herbs in her kitchen window sprouting thorns and her grandmother's old rocking chair creaked to life. Even the welcome mat became a trap door for uninvited guests.
My head was spinning as I tried to ground myself. I had to focus on the fight happening around me. Finally, I latched into the steady, reassuring presence of the midwife network. Their centuries of accumulated knowledge and power had them moving with quiet determination to protect the next generation. Their magic felt like a warm blanket as it wrapped around each mother-to-be. It is precisely what I needed to keep from being overwhelmed. I was able to keep from being sucked in as they coordinated the evacuations with the precision of a well-oiled machine.
I could still feel the subtle ways each baby's power reached for similar energies, but wasn’t overwhelmed. I marveled at how like power recognized like across miles and bloodlines. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once. These tiny lives were already so powerful. Already so aware of the magic flowing through their veins. It wasn’t until I pulled back that I noticed my own triplets' magic pulsing in harmony with each new connection among other babies. They strengthened the growing network of power that the Keepers had tried so hard to prevent.
The buzz of my phone shattered my connection. I put the call on speaker when I saw Jean-Marc's name. "You need to hear this," he said without preamble. "I found something in the restricted archives about the Keepers' power structure. They literally built their entire network on stolen power. They evenanchored at specific points across the globe. The texts mention something about 'nodes of corrupted resonance.'"
"Save the cryptic bullshit," Aidon growled as his shadows ripped apart a destroyer trying to breach our defenses. "What does it mean for us right now?"
"It means their network is already destabilizing," Jean-Marc said urgently. "These texts are like a blueprint of how they corrupted the original system. We can target the locations and further destabilize them. If you look at the magical resonance from their attacks you see they're being forced to draw on those stolen reserves. Power that was never meant to be contained is breaking free."
A magical explosion rocked the chamber with enough force to send ancient texts tumbling from their shelves. Dust and debris rained from the ceiling as the destroyer faction renewed their assault on our position. "Their magical signatures are all over the place," Nina observed, shielding her eyes as she looked up through the layers of wards and stone. "We can deal them a big blow here. But we need to be careful.”
“That's why they’re having a magical panic attack," Nana observed. “Now the energy is practically eating itself. Whatever power they stored in those nodes is starting to backfire."
"That's why they're so desperate to stop this," Jean-Marc added. "The babies are accidentally dismantling the very foundation of the Keepers' stolen magic. Each new magical pregnancy where power is regained weakens another node in their network. And once those nodes start failing, there will be no stopping it."
"They are now tapping into death magic," Aidon said grimly as another blast shook the chamber. "This is the kind of power that demands a price.”
My magic flared instinctively with the next blast. “I hope that means they're literally burning up their own magical cores."
"I wouldn’t be so sure about that. The energy patterns are stabilizing," Nina replied as she obviously tapped into her new power.
"How is that possible?” I blurted. “As each mother connects with others sharing their baby's power type, the magical framework gets stronger. More natural.”
Nina nodded in agreement. “I’m not sure because you’re right. It's like watching a broken bone knit back together."
“Maybe the First Song is also restoring them,” I suggested. I could feel the power of it building and responding to something in my babies' combined energy. Nyssa's shadows twined with Thaniel's temporal distortions while Melaina's resonance bound it all together. Their distinct powers reached out and connected with the ancient magic in ways that felt right. Natural. True.
"Nina," I said before she could respond. The chamber's power was building toward something inevitable, and I wasn’t sure it was going to be safe for us. "What exactly did that prophecy say about what happens when the bloodlines are freed?"
Her grin was fierce as she quoted, "'And the First Song shall echo once more through all realms, united in power, pure in purpose, bound only by love and need and truth.'"
The spell on the chamber's door finally gave way, and the destroyer faction broke through. Their expressions changed from triumph to terror as they saw what awaited them. The First Song's power rose around us like a tide. For the first time in centuries, magic began to sing.
CHAPTER 18
The First Song's power swirled around us in the ancient chamber, building as my babies filled in the gaps and fixed what was sundered. My magical mark pulsed like a beacon until pain ripped through my abdomen. This wasn't like the previous false contractions. This was something else entirely.
"Mom?" Nina's voice held barely controlled panic as she watched the tricolored light fill the chamber. "That doesn't look good."
I doubled over as another wave hit. The babies' combined power surged uncontrollably. Nyssa's shadows twisted into impossible shapes while Thaniel's temporal energy made the air ripple like heat waves. Melaina's golden resonance connected with something deep and ancient, amplifying everything.
"Get her home," Aidon ordered as he moved to support me. "Now!"
But 'home' suddenly had a very fluid definition. As the magical surge peaked, portals began opening throughout the chamber, their edges crackling with tricolored energy. Swirling windows into different places filled the air around us like soap bubbles gone mad.
"Who the hell is doing this?" I shouted as I caught glimpses of different rooms in our house. I saw the kitchen where Clio paced anxiously, the living room with Tarja and Binx scanning the front and back of the house, and my bedroom with its familiar comfort. But I also saw other places. Strange, foreign places that definitely weren't in Maine. Or this century.
"I'm trying to get you home," Persephone growled, her power straining as she attempted to stabilize the chaos of portals. "Your children seem to have other ideas about what constitutes 'home'."
"Well, that's new," Nana observed dryly as she peered through a portal that seemed to open into what looked suspiciously like ancient Greece. "Though I have to say, the Parthenon looks better in person. Less rubble, more gold. The tourism board really should update their photos."
