Page 33 of Poltergeists & Change of Life

I shook my head. "Nana, your priorities are seriously skewed. Although," I added, glancing mournfully at my now-empty plate, "if we were looking for the world's best strudel, I'd say we found it. Maybe we should forget the catacombs and stay here instead."

“We will get more before we head to the airport later,” Melinoë said as she leaned forward. "What about here?" She pointed to an area near the river. "It's old, it's creepy, and it's got that 'I'm hiding something' vibe." We all stared at her in surprise. That was a lot to get from a map on paper.

"What?" she shrugged, her black nail polish catching the light. "I know creepy. It's kind of my thing."

“We aren’t used to how your powers work,” I replied lamely as we stood to leave.

I used the restroom before we headed out. With my pastry craving satisfied for now, we headed back out into the chilly Prague afternoon. The cobblestones seemed slightly less treacherous now that I had a belly full of sugar and flour. Aidon turned to me with a thoughtful expression as we walked. "You know, love, you have magical mojo the rest of us don't. Have you tried using it to find the catacombs?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Sure," I said dryly. "Because it's just that easy. What am I supposed to do? Play magical Marco Polo with some ancient underground labyrinth?"

"It's worth a shot," he shrugged. "You're carrying three incredibly powerful magical beings. Their power, combined with yours, might be able to sense something we can't."

I sighed, resigning myself to the fact that my life had become a weird mashup of ‘Pregnant and Magical’ meets ‘Indiana Jones’. "Fine. I'll give it a whirl. But if I end up summoning some eldritch horror instead of finding the catacombs, I'm blaming you."

Closing my eyes, I reached out with my senses. I tried to feel for anything out of the ordinary. Which, given that I was a pregnant witch married to a god and walking through one of the most magical cities in Europe, was a pretty tall order.

At first, all I felt was the usual background hum of magic that permeated the city. But then, something shifted. A creepy-crawly feeling tickled my backbone, making me want to do the heebie-jeebie dance right there in the street. As we meandered through the twisty-turny labyrinth some genius called a city layout, my Spidey senses went haywire. Yep, some creeper was definitely eyeballing us. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Holy crapola on a cracker. The freaking sidewalk was doing the cha-cha under my feet, buzzing with some old-as-dirt mojo.The air around us? Snap, crackle, and pop central. Magic was oozing out of every nook and cranny like a volcano with magical indigestion.

I half expected the buildings to start whispering, "Psst, hey you!" It was like the entire city had sucked in its gut and was waiting for the mother of all magical farts to explode. "Anyone else feel like we're in a really weird episode of 'Prague's Got Talent: Magical Edition'?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Melinoë, our resident goddess of all things doom and gloom, had been doing her best impression of a sulky teenager at a family reunion. But then, miracle of miracles, her face did this weird thing where the corners of her mouth actually turned upward. "If that's the case," she drawled, sounding way too pleased with herself, "I'm calling dibs on being the Simon Cowell of this little freak show judging panel. I've got the withering stare down pat, and I've been practicing my British accent for millennia."

"Of course you do," Aidon muttered, rolling his eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of his head and start doing the macarena on the floor.

Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped around us, carrying whispers in a language I didn't understand but somehow knew was a warning. The babies inside me stirred restlessly, their magic responding to the energies swirling around us. It felt like they were doing the cha-cha using my bladder as a dance floor.

"Uh, guys?" I called out, my hand instinctively cradling my swollen belly. "I think we've got company. And no, I don't mean the triplets decided to start a conga line to get out of there."

No sooner had I word-vomited that brilliant observation than the shadows around us started doing the hokey-pokey. And let me tell you, it wasn't your garden variety ‘put your right foot in’ dance routine.

Nope, these bad boys were going full-on Transformer, morphing into something vaguely human-shaped. If humans were made of living darkness and had a serious case of the blue-light specials for eyes, that is. Somebody should really tell them that look went out of style with the 90s rave scene.

And then they opened their pie-holes. Holy guacamole. You ever wonder what it would sound like if the Tin Man gargled with Niagara Falls? No? Well, now you don't have to! It was like some demented DJ had mixed the sounds of a rusty blender with a toilet flushing and called it music.

I squinted at the shadow-people, fighting the urge to offer them a breath mint or maybe some WD-40. "Hey guys, I hate to break it to you, but the auditions for 'America's Got Talent: Steampunk Edition' are that way." I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, hoping they'd take the hint and scram.

"You seek that which is forbidden," one of the shadow beings hissed. "Turn back now, or face the consequences."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. Maybe it was the hormones, or maybe it was the sheer absurdity of our situation, but suddenly everything seemed hilarious. "Consequences? Honey, I'm carrying triplets with enough magical potential to rewrite reality. Consequences are my middle name. Well, actually, it's Marie, but you get the point."

The shadow beings didn't seem to appreciate my humor. They lunged forward, making me dance backward. Their forms stretched and twisted in ways that defied physics and common decency. It was like watching a Salvador Dali painting come to life but with more teeth and glowing eyes.

Aidon's sword materialized in his hand, glowing with his unique divine light. "Stay behind me, Phoebe." His eyes flashed with protective fury. At that moment, he looked every inch the god he was, and I felt a little thrill run through me. Whosaid pregnancy killed the libido? Mine was roaring to life while watching my mate.

Before he could engage, Melinoë stepped forward. Her power radiated off her in waves of darkness and terror. "Now, now, boys," she purred in a voice dripping with malevolent glee. "Is that any way to treat guests? I thought Prague was supposed to be tourist-friendly."

The air around us grew thick with competing divine energies. Aidon's light, while dark in its own right, still clashed with Melinoë's darkness. The collision was oddly in sync and created a dazzling display that would have put any laser light show to shame. Unprepared for a double dose of Underworld royalty, the shadow beings recoiled.

"You know," I said conversationally to Stella, who was standing next to me with her hands raised and ready to cast a spell, "when I pictured our European vacation, I was hoping for more 'sipping cappuccinos in quaint cafes' and less 'magical showdown in the middle of a tourist hotspot'."

Stella snorted. "Please, like our lives could ever be that normal. Besides, think of the stories we'll have for the triplets. 'Gather 'round, kids, let me tell you about the time we fought shadow monsters in Prague while your mom was pregnant with you.'"

As the two gods worked their mojo, there was a surge of energy from my unborn children. It was like they were reaching out, trying to connect with the ancient magic of their father and aunt. Or perhaps they were connecting with something else. Suddenly, the ground beneath our feet began to shift and rumble.

"Uh, Aidon?" I called out in a slightly panicked voice. "I think the babies are redecorating!"

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