"I was," I said, unable to keep the wonder out of my voice. "I can actually communicate with them. They're all so different—Melaina's such a curious little thing like her big brother. Thaniel is a little scientist like his older brother, as well. And Nyssa's already trying to protect everyone."
"Of course she is," Nana said with a snort. "Girl takes after her daddy. Stubborn and protective as hell." She eyed my bellywith interest. "What do the little troublemakers think about all this supernatural drama their mama's gotten herself into?"
"They understand there's danger," I admitted. "More than unborn babies should. And they want to help protect the family."
Jean-Marc leaned forward eagerly. "Is Thaniel really like me?"
"More than I thought possible. You and Nina were so different," I said. "I never dreamed kids could be so similar?—"
The house shook with a tremendous impact that sent picture frames crashing to the floor. The windows rattled in their frames, making me try to bolt out of bed. I was grunting and struggling when, somewhere downstairs, glass shattered.
"What the hell was that?" Aidon demanded as he lifted me from the bed. His power was spreading outward to assess the threat.
Jean-Marc's expression darkened. "We're under attack. Can’t you feel it?"
"This is getting old," Nana muttered. "Can't even have a family chat without some asshole crashing the party."
Through the bedroom window, I caught sight of our attackers, and my stomach lurched. They were the ugliest creatures alive. They looked like someone had raided a butcher shop and a zoo and then decided to play mix-and-match with the parts. And they did it while high on hallucinogens.
The largest creature had the torso of a bear grafted onto spider legs that clicked against the patio. Another had a head that was a nightmare fusion of an eagle and a crocodile. It even had a beak full of shark teeth that dripped fluorescent green saliva. The stuff was eating through the marble patio table like acid.
"Those claws are dripping with some kind of toxin," came a shout from downstairs. "It's dissolving our magical barriers!"
The bedroom door burst open, and a horde rushed in. Thankfully, they were on our side. Thalia, Selene, Vera, Iris, and Stella all looked grim yet battle-ready.
"How many are there?" I asked.
"At least six," Aidon replied from the window.
"Someone's been busy in their mad scientist laboratory," Nana quipped as she stood next to him.
Waddling over, I caught sight of it as another abomination crashed through the garden. That one combined the features of a mountain lion with the exoskeleton of some enormous insect. Its claws were easily six inches long and dripped with the same barrier-eating toxin as the others.
"At least we know how she’s getting past our wards," I said. "Lyra's trying to stop us from strengthening our defenses."
"These things are meant to test how effective our protections actually are," Thalia said as she pulled out a wicked-looking silver blade. "And to probe for weaknesses."
The bear-spider thing let out that grinding metal shriek again and launched itself at the house. Its claws raked across our reinforced walls, leaving deep gouges that sizzled with toxin residue.
"The babies," I gasped as their magic flared in response to the immediate threat.
"Stay with Phoebe," Aidon commanded as he headed for the stairs. "I'll handle the creatures."
"Like hell," I shot back. "We're stronger together."
"You're not going anywhere near those things," he said firmly. "Their toxins could harm the babies."
Before I could argue further, the house shuddered again as something massive slammed into the front door. The reinforced wood held. I could hear claws scraping against the barrier wards.
"The toxins are designed to eat through magical protection," Thalia reiterated. "If they breach the house wards, nowhere will be safe."
"Then we don't let them breach the wards," Nana declared, producing a shotgun from the gods knew where. "Time to take the fight to them."
A window exploded inward as one of the tentacled creatures forced its way through. Glass showered the bedroom as acidic saliva ate through the windowsill. "That's quite enough of that," Mom snarled, stepping forward with an athame.
The blade met the creature's tentacles in a shower of sparks and screams. Where her weapon cut, the toxins neutralized instantly. The thing's unnatural flesh began to wither.
"Silver disrupts whatever magic is holding them together," she called over the creature's death throes.
