"I'll do it," Selene volunteered immediately. "We’ve already got a full house, and I've got experience with magical chaos. I wasn’t sure if I should try to contain it before. You know how many magics refuse to be suppressed. I didn’t want to do anything to hurt the babies.”
“Good point,” Lilith said as she and Lavinia exchanged a glance. The pair moved closer to me. They extended their hands and muttered a spell. The warmth of their magic washed over my belly like warm water. After several seconds, my symbol flared in response, sending a pulse of light that filled the room like a camera flash.
"It's old magic," Lavinia said, lowering her hands and gesturing to the stairs. "But not malevolent." That was our clue to leave, it seemed. We descended before her.
"You're certain?" Selene asked as we reached the ritual room. “It won’t fight me?”
Lilith nodded. "The energy is... playful, almost. You can try containing it with your usual methods, though I doubt they'll be completely effective. It's too strong and too ancient to be fully controlled. But containment spells should at least keep the chaos from spreading beyond the house."
"That's settled then," Nana said as she reached for her cookie tin. "Selene will contain what she can. Anyone else need a snack for the road? These meetings always leave me peckish."
Everyone grabbed a cookie and began filing out. Bridget caught my arm. "Phoebe," she said quietly, "whatever this is, it's powerful. But it doesn't feel like it intends to harm you. It’s more like..." She searched for the right words. "More like something old is waking up."
"That's comforting," I muttered, but squeezed her hand in thanks.
"We'll start researching right away," Lilith assured me. "And we'll contact you the moment we find anything significant."
"Thank you. I mean it. This feels far more personal than some of what Lyra has done. And that is terrifying. I know my babies are safe right now, but I worry they could be in danger,” I admitted. And that was going to keep me up until I was certain they were safe.
CHAPTER 3
"Istill say we should've brought a book home to study," Nina argued as we left Nightshadow Grove. She and Selene piled into the car with Aidon and me for the trip to Clio's office. Before everyone dispersed, Clio had asked us to stop by her place because she wanted to do an ultrasound.
"Last time you brought home a suspicious magical book, it tried to eat Binx," Selene reminded her.
My head snapped around so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. "When did this happen? Why did I never hear about this?"
Nina waved her hand dismissively. "It's not a big deal. The book was evil, and no one had any idea. I think it was a trap set by Lyra." My daughter held up her hands when I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. "Don't get upset about it now. We burned the book without incident. No harm no foul. We didn't tell you because you don't need the stress. The more important issue is that we are no closer to answers now than before the coven meeting."
"No big deal?" I sputtered. "A book tried to eat your grandmother’s familiar! He was one of the first familiars to beborn in more than a century, and you almost got him killed. And you didn't think this was worth mentioning?" The symbol on my belly pulsed. It was probably picking up on my agitation. Great. Just what I needed. Magical pregnancy tattoo meets mama bear instincts.
"The babies are where we need to focus right now," Aidon cut in, his hand finding mine. "We can discuss Nina's questionable choices later." He shot my daughter a look that promised a lengthy conversation about informing us about important things. "Right now, we need to make sure our children haven't developed any new... talents."
I slumped back in my seat, knowing he was right. But this conversation wasn't over. Not by a long shot. Sometimes I wondered if my family's talent for getting into magical trouble was genetic or if we just had really bad luck. Probably both.
The rest of the drive to Clio's was mercifully uneventful. Unless you considered my phone suddenly playing "Baby Got Back" every time we hit a bump. By the time we pulled into her driveway, I'd developed a twitch in my left eye.
"I'm just saying," I told my belly as I heaved myself out of the car and waddled up Clio's front walk, "one normal appointment. That's all I'm asking for. No magical hijinks. No ancient prophecies. Just a regular check-up with maybe a tiny bit of supernatural ultrasound action." The symbol pulsed like it was laughing at me. Rude.
"And you can stop with the light show," I added, poking at my stomach. "I swear, between you and the babies, it's like carrying a rave club."
Aidon and Nina laughed as one of the triplets kicked in what felt like agreement. That set off another round of disco lights that shone through my shirt. Perfect. Because who doesn't want their midsection doing its best Times Square impression? I sighed as we continued up the walkway.
Clio's house was a cozy craftsman style that seemed to radiate peaceful energy no matter the season. The pale blue exterior was usually adorned with carefully tended climbing roses. This time of year, they should have been in full bloom. Usually, just walking up the path made me feel better. Today, something felt off. The roses were tightly closed despite the warm of the late afternoon. The garden gnomes had been moved from their usual spots in the flower beds. And the wind chimes hung silent despite the breeze.
"Huh," I muttered, one hand resting on my belly as the symbol started to warm. Behind me, I heard a car followed by the hurried footsteps of Mom, Nana, and Stella rushing up the walk. I wasn’t surprised they followed us from the coven house. They wanted to see the babies too.
The front door opened before I could finish puzzling over the strange feeling in my gut. Clio stood there, smiling warmly. Kind of. Something was off. She'd changed from the practical outfit she’d been wearing at the coven meeting. Damn. That was a quick change. We were right behind her. And since when did she wear red lipstick?
"Come in, come in," Not-Clio said. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes like it normally did. "Let's check on those babies. I'm sure they're just perfect."
Yeah, no. The real Clio would never have said she was sure about something. She always got a feel for things before offering any reassurances. I reached for my phone, but Not-Clio was faster. Her hand shot out and morphed into something with way too many fingers. What the hell happened to her skin?
"Fuck a duck," I yelped as I stumbled backward. My magic surged in response to my panic and whatever signal the symbol was broadcasting.
My phone rang as I yanked it out of reach of No-Clio. The real Clio's face popped up on the screen as I tossed it behindme to Nina. She must have answered because I could hear Clio talking. "Phoebe? Sorry, I'm running a bit late. I got a flat tire and had to change it. I should be there in about twenty minutes. Is everything okay?" Oh, that was not good.
Aidon pushed me behind him as the shapeshifter lunged. Its form rippled between shapes faster than a mood ring in therapy. I did the only sensible thing I could. I let my hormone-enhanced magic loose and hoped for the best. It threw her off balance at the same time Aidon’s power lashed out. The energy he let loose scorched the side of Clio’s house.
