The projection shifted again. The gods stepped back and sneered at the display like it had just grown fangs and started hissing. Lyra was transforming herself. Her human form was dissolving. She was being rebuilt into something that felt a little like a god. At least that was how the power felt.
"Oh, that's just wrong on so many levels," I said as I watched the transformation process. "She's trying to become a vessel for the original sisters. She is trying to merge them all into herself so she becomes a goddess."
"It’s the ultimate parasitic spell," Artemis said, her face pale with horror. "She's trying to become them while erasing them at the same time."
"This explains why she needs the artifacts," Asterion pointed out even as his expression grew increasingly disgusted. "She's using them as anchors to maintain coherence during the transformation. Without them, attempting to merge these magical essences would tear her apart from the inside."
"She's moving," I announced when I felt the shift through my bond with the babies. It was all I could do not to ask them to whisk me away to Olympus. The babies would be safe, butno one else would be. "And she's bringing her entire operation here."
"Here?" Jean-Marc squeaked, his voice going up about three octaves. "But why would she come here? This is literally the most heavily defended location on the continent."
Lyra wasn't just planning to force the eclipse. She was going to put me into labor. She was planning to use the birth itself as a power source. She was going to channel the magical energy released during delivery to fuel her transformation.
"She can’t become them without the moment I give birth to these babies," I said grimly, one hand protectively covering my belly. "The instant when their power transitions from potential to active is the thing that will allow her to become a god. That's when she transcends into her true glory. That’s her description. Not mine."
"Over my dead body," Aidon snarled. His power sharpened and gained enough weight to make the deck boards creak.
"That might be exactly what she's counting on," Artemis said, her silver eyes blazing. "She’s going to create an artificial eclipse, and with it comes the convergence of all possibilities. What happens in the next few hours will reshape the magical world."
"No pressure or anything," I muttered.
A low harmonic tone resonated through the Earth itself, making my bones vibrate. "She's almost here," I said simply. The parasitic bonds showed Lyra's floating sanctuary breaching the surface somewhere like some nightmarish island. "And she's brought friends."
"How long until she arrives?" Aidon asked as his power wrapped protectively around me and my kids.
"Maybe twenty minutes," Jean-Marc said, frantically calculating. "Thirty at the outside."
"The artificial eclipse will reach totality in half that time," Nyx announced as she looked up at the darkening sky. "After that, the barriers between dimensions will be tissue-thin."
"It's time to show this evil witch exactly what happens when you mess with our family," I snarled as I twined my fingers with Aidon’s.
CHAPTER 16
The decision to move inside wasn't really a decision at all. Survival instinct kicked in right before Jean-Marc's laptop started shrieking like a banshee with its tail caught in a door. I needed to get my kids to safety. All of them. Unborn and alive.
"Holy shit," Jean-Marc shouted over the electronic wailing as he raced inside with us. "She's not coming alone. There are at least forty separate magical signatures."
"Forty?" Nina's voice cracked. "What the hell is she bringing to this party?"
Before anyone could answer, the first wave hit our outer perimeter. We’d made it to the living room in time to see what could only be described as nature's revenge squad pouring out of the tree line. Corrupted dryads lurched forward on root-systems that had turned black as pitch. Their bark-covered limbs dripping acidic sap that ate through everything it touched. Especially our wards. Lyra had perfected taking those down.
Behind them came what used to be woodland sprites. Now they were twisted things with wings like torn leather and claws that sparked with malevolent electricity. "Those used to beguardians of sacred groves." Thalia’s voice was incredibly sad. "Lyra's been collecting and corrupting them for decades."
"Well, they're pissed now," Nana observed, pumping her shotgun with the kind of grim satisfaction that suggested she'd been waiting for exactly this moment. "Good thing I loaded the special shells."
The house shook as something massive slammed into our magical barriers. "The barriers are holding," Tarja reported into my mind, "but they're taking a beating."
"Everyone able to fight, report to your stations," Aidon ordered. "Phoebe, you're staying in the center of the house where the protections are strongest."
"The hell I am," I protested even as he carried me toward the stairs. "I'm not hiding while everyone else fights."
"You're not fighting," he said firmly. "You're protecting our children. That's the most important job right now."
Another impact shook the house, followed by the sound of something large and very angry trying to claw its way through our front wall. The refugees who'd been gathered in the living room scrambled for cover behind furniture.
"Take her to the bathroom with the water sprites," Clio called out, appearing beside us. "That's the most magically stable location in the house. Plus, the sprites' healing magic will provide additional protection for the babies."
"Fine," I agreed, because arguing while heavily pregnant and under siege seemed like a waste of energy I couldn't spare. "But I want updates every thirty seconds."
