Page 45 of Poltergeists & Change of Life

The backlash of power was immediate and intense. It slammed into Lyra, sending her flying across the asylum's main hall. But more importantly, it severed her connection to Hattie.

"Now, Stella!" I shouted.

Stella's chanting reached a crescendo. Her magic wrapped around Hattie in a web of light that pushed back the shadows intermingled with her spirit. Then, with a scream that shook the foundations of the building (and probably woke up every ghost in this godforsaken asylum), Hattie broke free. The magical backlash sent us all flying.

Bracing myself, I expected to hit the wall. Instead, strong arms caught me. He protected us from the worst of it. As the dust settled, I saw the real Hattie floating in the center of the room. She was dazed but very much herself.

"Hattie?" I called out in a wheezy voice. Getting the wind knocked out of you when you're heavily pregnant is not anexperience I'd recommend. It's like trying to breathe with a very active watermelon strapped to your chest.

She turned to me with a smile that made my heart soar. The vacant look was gone. It’d been replaced by the sharp, slightly mischievous gleam I knew so well. Her grin was full of warmth and just a hint of her old sass.

"Phoebe," she said in a voice that was unmistakably hers. "I'm free. You did it. Unlike last time, there isn’t a hint of darkness left."

I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by a scream of rage that made my ears pop. Lyra was back on her feet and looking significantly worse for wear. Unfortunately, she was still very much a threat. She looked like a supermodel in bad need of a makeover. Her perfectly coiffed hair was a mess, her designer outfit was torn, and there was a wild, desperate look in her eyes that sent chills down my spine.

"You fools!" she howled. Dark energy swirled around her like a maelstrom. That was new and terrifying. "You think destroying the Heart will stop me? The power lives on in me now! I am eternal! I will return, and when I do, all of you will tremble before me!"

And with those ominous words, she vanished in a swirl of shadow and spite. She left behind nothing but the echoes of her threats and the lingering smell of evil. And I’ll tell you, it’s not pleasant when you've got pregnancy-enhanced senses.

As the dust settled and the magical energy dispersed, we all stood there. We were panting and shell-shocked, trying to process what had just happened. The asylum looked like a tornado had hit it – if tornados were made of magic, chaos, and disco-dancing ferrets (thanks, Nana).

"Did we... did we win?" Stella asked, her voice small and uncertain. She looked like she was about to collapse. The toll ofher spell-casting was evident in the dark circles under her eyes and the slight tremor in her hands.

I looked around at our battered and bruised but very much alive family. Hattie was here, safe and free, leaning against a crumbling asylum wall and looking like she'd been through hell – which, come to think of it, wasn't far from the truth. Aidon was helping his divine troops tend to their wounds, his face a mix of relief and concern. Nana was... was she collecting samples from the remains of the Heart of the Abyss? You know what, I didn't want to know.

The triplets were doing what felt like a victory dance in my womb, and for a moment, I allowed myself to feel a glimmer of hope. But something didn't feel right. The hairs on the back of my neck were still standing up, and there was a lingering sense of unease in the pit of my stomach (and not just from the triplets' acrobatics).

"It's not over," I said in a voice heavy with realization. "We pushed her back, freed Hattie, and even destroyed the Heart of the Abyss. But Lyra is still out there somewhere. She wants me dead even more now."

Aidon's face tightened with concern as he came to stand beside me. His warm hand on the small of my back offered silent support. "You're right," he agreed. "But we will be ready. I won’t let anything happen to you or the babies. I promise."

Hattie nodded grimly. "She's weakened but not defeated. And as long as she has even a fraction of that power..."

"She's a threat," I finished, rubbing my swollen belly protectively. The triplets had finally settled down. "To us, to the babies, to every living thing, really."

Stella stepped forward, exhausted but determined. "Then we find her," she declared. "We track her down and end this once and for all."

"Agreed," Nana said with a gleam in her eye that promised chaos. She was still clutching her bag of pixies. It was now emitting a faint purple glow. "I've got a few ideas that might help us locate our little runaway witch. We might need to bend a few laws of physics, but hey, they were more like guidelines anyway."

I felt a mix of determination and dread settle in my gut. Or maybe that was just the triplets doing somersaults again. Being pregnant with magically enhanced triplets was like hosting an internal circus. You never knew what act was coming next. "Right," I sighed, trying to find a comfortable position to stand in (spoiler alert: there wasn't one when you're this pregnant). "Because it’s been so easy up until this point. She’s been playing us for months. And winning."

Aidon wrapped an arm around me. I leaned into him, drawing strength from his presence. "She has never beaten us. We'll find her, love," he murmured in a voice that was a soothing rumble. "And we'll end this before the babies come."

I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "We better. Because I refuse to bring our children into a world where Lyra's still a threat. I don't think 'hunting down evil witches' is covered in most parenting books. Can you imagine a section titled, ‘Balancing Diaper Changes and Dimensional Battles’?"

A chuckle ran through the group, breaking some of the tension. Even Hattie managed a weak smile. It wasn't much, but it was a start. We were still standing and fighting despite the hell we'd been through. Exhaustion and exhilaration warred within me. We'd won this battle, saved Hattie, and protected the world... for now. But the war wasn't over. It was never that easy, was it?

Lyra was still out there, nursing her wounds and no doubt plotting her revenge. We had less than three months to find her and end this once and for all before the triplets decided to make their grand entrance. I glanced back at the destructionas we left the asylum. Scorch marks marred the walls. The air still shimmered in places where our magic had torn through the fabric of existence. And I was pretty sure I saw one of Nana's pixies doing the moonwalk down a corridor.

"Holy crap on a cracker," I huffed, waddling like a drunk rhino next to my ragtag crew. "Pretty sure we just gave every safety inspector in a hundred-mile radius an aneurysm."

Hattie snorted. "Trust me, cupcake, this nuthouse has seen weirder shit. Though maybe not quite so... rainbow brite. Time for this old ghost to skedaddle. My rocking chair in the afterlife is calling."

I pouted, hoping she'd stick around like gum on a shoe. "Aw, come on! You could haunt my attic. Be my personal Casper the Friendly Problem-Solver."

Hattie rolled her eyes and her spectral hands gave my cheeks an icy pinch. "Listen up, Phoebe. This is your rodeo now. You don't need my translucent ass cramping your style. You've kicked more paranormal butt than I ever did with my corporeal tush."

"Wait, you've been creeping on me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Duh. What else am I gonna do, crochet ectoplasm doilies? I made the right call picking you, kiddo. Now, go set the world on fire. Metaphorically. Mostly." With a wink and a salute, she poofed out like a fart in the wind.

Nana looked like she'd just gargled lemons. She grumbled as she climbed into shotgun. "Hate to admit it, but the see-through smart-ass is right. You were born for this crazy train, Phoebe." Indeed, I was. Lyra better watch out.

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