Page 30 of Pregnancy Pains & Mystic Chains
"Oh, I'm keeping detailed records," Nina grinned. "Complete with illustrations. 'Once upon a time, mama lit up like a Christmas tree and made the dishes dance...'"
I rubbed my belly as Stella and Selene proceeded to test the spell using various forms of detection magic. Selene's crystal spun uselessly in her palm while Stella's rune-etched pendant swung in random directions. A satisfied smile spread across Selene's face as her tracking spell fizzled out completely.
The babies shifted restlessly under all the magical prodding, but the symbol stayed dim. Our concealment held strong against each test. Mom's potion and our chanting had done exactly what we'd hoped. It had hidden the distinct magical signature behind a web of misdirection. For the first time in days, I felt thetension ease from my shoulders. I could finally leave the house without worrying that my magical signature would draw danger to everyone around me. I didn’t need to fear that each trip to the grocery store might end in another magical showdown in the parking lot.
"Mom!" Nina interrupted. "I found something interesting in these business records." I sighed and headed toward her voice. Magical triplets apparently meant no rest, even after spell work. At least the pickle juice helped.
CHAPTER 11
"Found something interesting" turned into hours of poring over business records, ancient texts, and what became an increasingly complex wall of conspiracy theories. By the time my back was screaming in protest and the babies were demanding their third snack break, my eyes were crossing from staring at faded script. And it felt like we hadn’t really gotten anywhere. This was all so convoluted. The danger to my babies was real yet we had no idea who or what to do to end it.
"Okay, that's it," Mom declared as she snatched the grimoire from my hands. "You need actual rest, not just shifting positions on the couch while pretending to take breaks."
I opened my mouth to protest but was betrayed by a massive yawn. "Fine. But wake me if?—"
"If the world starts ending, ancient powers emerge, or the dishes start performing Cats," Nana finished as she sipped her coffee. While the rest of us had been up all night, she had gone to bed. "We know the drill, Phoebe."
Aidon appeared at my elbow, already moving to help me up. "I'll take you upstairs."
"I can walk," I grumbled, even as I leaned into his support. The stairs had become my nemesis lately. Pretty sure they were conspiring with the coffee maker in some diabolical plot to ruin my life. Both of them probably reported to my alarm clock, the real mastermind behind operation ‘sleep-dep’.
"Of course you can." His tone made it clear he was humoring me.
Despite the early morning sun coming in around the edges of the curtains, I was almost asleep before my head hit the pillow. The last thing I remembered was Aidon pulling the covers over me and the babies settling into what felt like their naptime routine. A frantic pounding jolted me awake.
I was disoriented as alarm flitted through me. What was that? How long was I asleep? It hadn’t felt like very long. Afternoon sun streamed through the windows, meaning I'd been out for hours. The symbol on my belly pulsed with warning a second before Nina burst through the door.
"Mom! We just got a call. There's a coven emergency!" Nina began tossing clothes at me. "You know, the young witch who just moved here with her mom? Melody? Her powers are manifesting out of the blue. Apparently, she's been blessed with empathic projection and she's accidentally bringing people's buried emotions to life as spirit animals at the hospital." I recalled the young woman who was studying to be a nurse and doing her clinical hours.
My heart started racing as I struggled upright. "What kind of animals?"
"The kind that are feeding off negative emotions and growing bigger by the minute. A patient's fear just turned into a glowing blue tiger that's the size of a golf cart. If any mundanes get video evidence, we're screwed."
Well, shit. So much for resting. “Where’s Aidon?” I hauled myself up and changed as quickly as my pregnant body would allow.
"One of Aidon's UIS agents called a couple hours ago. There’s an uprising in Sector Seven. The demons are trying to sabotage the new Hellmouth containment grid," Nina explained as she helped me pull a new shirt over my head. "He said to call if we need backup."
"Gods, I hope they contain it quickly. If those demons manage to damage enough of the network nodes, we'll have breaches all across the Western seaboard," I mused as I waddled toward the stairs. "The Hellmouth system is the only thing keeping them from pouring into our realm."
"He promised to handle it fast. He wouldn't have gone if we hadn't masked the energy coming off of your magical tattoo. He's worried about you and the babies." Nina was the best daughter, and I appreciated that she was trying to reassure me. It helped me not to worry because she was right. "Plus, he's got who knows how many agents with him."
I wrapped my arm through hers and smiled at her as we waddled down the stairs. "Thanks for the reminder. Okay, back to the crisis on our doorstep. I need to call Stella."
“I already called her. She’s meeting us at the hospital,” Nina replied as she helped steady me.
Mythia had a sandwich and apple in a container for me when we stopped in the kitchen to inform them where we were going. Mom and Nana insisted on joining us and the drive to Pen Bay Medical was tense. I was acutely aware of Nana and Nina staring out the windows for anything suspicious.
Thankfully, the concealment spell on my mark held. My magical signature remained hidden, but the babies were restless. They always sensed the urgency of the situation. And they didn'tappreciate being jostled around while I speed-waddled through the hospital parking lot.
We found Stella waiting by the ED entrance with her phone in her hand. She looked up when she heard Nana’s cane. "Thank the gods you’re here. I just got off the call with Melody. She's on the third floor in the East wing," she whispered as we approached. "The emotional projections are causing complete havoc with the medical equipment. She said every time someone gets anxious about test results, their worry is manifesting as actual different animals. She's trying to ground it, but she's in way over her head."
"Please tell me this isn't all over social media already," I groaned as we hurried toward the elevators. The last thing we needed was #GlowingHospitalGhostAnimals trending on TikTok. Being in the hospital for the third time in as many days was making me jittery. My hand went to my stomach and I said a prayer that the containment kept the secret society out to get my babies didn’t find me.
"I haven’t seen any alerts come across my phone." Stella's forced cheerfulness wasn't reassuring. "But, there's currently a glowing blue tiger made of pure fear stalking the surgical ward, and it's got company."
The elevator ride was the longest thirty seconds of my life. When the doors opened to the third floor, the first thing that hit me was the noise. Alarms on the machines were beeping erratically. When I poked a head into one of the rooms, I noted the display was flickering with static.
The real problem wasn't immediately visible to mundie eyes. My magical sight picked up the shimmer of emotional energy saturating the air. Melody stood in the middle of the hallway looking like she was about to cry. Around her, a menagerie of glowing spirit animals prowled. Each one had been born from a different patient's fears or anxieties. A tiger of pure fear stalkedpast a nurse's station while what looked like a pack of spectral wolves made of raw panic paced outside a room.
