Page 24 of Pregnancy Pains & Mystic Chains
Aidon moved like a dark avenger. His power ripped shadow creatures apart. My heart started racing as relief crashed through me. Tseki was fighting at his side. His dragon talons sliced through shadow as he fought with lethal precision. Murtagh and Layla were also there in wolf form. They tore through the shadows with savage grace. Persephone might be in the basement with us, but before leaving she had transformed the entire street into a botanical warfare zone. Vines and thorns attacked our enemies while protecting the neighbors' houses.
"They're winning," Clio assured me, though she kept glancing nervously at her equipment.
"But this is just the beginning." My life had been one fight after another since getting my magic, so this shouldn’t upset me. "The Keepers, the convergence points, the shadow creatures... it's all connected to whatever power marked me."
"Yes." Persephone's voice was grim. "And I think it's about to get a lot more complicated. This power feels like we're dealing with something that predates our understanding of magic."
"The Keepers call it 'The First Song’," Jean-Marc interjected. "According to their records, it's the original source of all magic. This is the power that shaped the magical world before the gods, before the Titans..." He let the rest hand.
Aidon appeared at the top of the stairs. His darkness was still rolling off him in waves. "The shadow creatures are dealt with. For now." His eyes found mine, concern evident in their depths. "But they'll be back. They're drawn to whatever power is growing inside you, Phoebe.”
Clio nodded in agreement. “Like moths to a flame."
"Yeah, I could tell," I muttered as I threw my legs off the side of the table. "We need to find out how to kick this ancient secret society and primordial magic in the pants."
“Maybe the changes to the ley lines will help you,” Clio replied.
Nina extended her hand. “It's changing, but I can’t tell what’s happening. It almost feels...”
"Like it's waking up," I finished for her. "And my babies are somehow connected to it."
"Not somehow," Persephone corrected. "They're part of it. The First Song flows through them in a way that shouldn’t be possible..." She paused, looking troubled.
"Which is exactly why certain factions within the Keepers want to control them," Jean-Marc interjected. "Some believe the babies will restore the old powers. Others fear they'll upset the current balance of power. And some..." He hesitated.
"Some what?" I demanded, not sure I wanted to know.
"Some think they'll remake the world entirely." His voice was quiet but carried the weight of prophecy.
Clio gasped and shot me wide eyes. "I bet that's why Mrs. Stavros was killed. She probably started doing research after seeing you and discovered evidence that a radical faction of the Keepers is planning to harness the babies' power for their own purposes."
I gaped at the healer. “I didn’t know you were a conspiracy theorist.” The triplets kicked in unison, making the symbol flare like a supernova. The convergence point responded by sending pulses of energy through the basement.
"I’m not. It’s the only thing that makes sense. We know at least one faction wants to hurt them. And Mrs. Stavros would never hurt anyone. She was too nice," Clio muttered as she rubbed her arms. "Even if I am wrong about her, we can’t deny the connection. The convergence point has never reacted like this before."
"It's responding to them," Persephone agreed. "The babies are brilliant. They’re connecting to the network using the ancient pathways the Keepers have preserved. They're also changing it."
"Into what?" I asked, trying to keep the worry from my voice. Aidon's hand found mine. His strength anchored me as the power continued to build.
"That's the question, isn't it?" Persephone's smile was both proud and concerned. "These children of yours are something to be feared and worshipped."
"No pressure or anything," I quipped as my heart raced. "What do we do now? We can't exactly hide from a secret society that's been around since before written history. Not to mention, I prefer to kick its ass and make it stop."
"We aren’t hiding," Aidon agreed. "But we can prepare. Mother, you said things were stirring in the Underworld?"
Persephone nodded, her expression grave. "The deepest levels are becoming active for the first time since the First War. Whatever power marked Phoebe, whatever force is growing within these children, it's affecting the very foundations of our realm. Hades has been working to contain it, but..." She spread her hands helplessly. "How do you contain something that predates containment itself?"
"We start by understanding it," Clio said firmly. "The places of power form patterns. If we can decode them..."
"We might be able to figure out what the radical Keepers are planning and stop them," Jean-Marc finished. "We might even be able to find allies among the ones who want to protect the babies rather than use them."
"The First Song is waking up and evolving through the babies," Persephone replied as she began to pace. “That's what has everyone so stirred up. The Keepers, the shadow creatures, even the gods themselves... everyone can sense that change is coming."
"A change they might not be ready for," Aidon added as he pulled me closer. "But ready or not, these children are coming. And when they do..."
"When they do," I finished for him, placing my hand over his on my belly, "we'll be ready. I don’t care what they’re connected to or channeling or changing. They're our babies. And nobody - not secret societies, not shadow creatures, not even the First Song itself - is going to mess with them." I let that sit for several tense seconds before breaking the silence. "Now, would someone please help me up? These three are practicing their tumbling routine again, and I really need to pee."
CHAPTER 9
