Page 27 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
Lyra was standing before an ancient text. She was tracing symbols identical to those that appeared on my stomach during pregnancy. The images shifted, and suddenly there was a marble basin filled with dark liquid. Lyra's reflection was in it. She had transformed. Her eyes glowed. Her skin was translucent. And veins of power were visible beneath the surface.
"The essence of nine made three," she whispered. "The perfect vessels. When combined, they'll unlock what has been sealed since the First War." Pain struck everywhere. It was bone-deep and savage. I couldn't breathe?—
"MOM!" Jean-Marc's voice cut through the vision. The pain receded, leaving me gasping.
"She's bleeding," Aidon said, making me focus on him. I’d never heard panic like that from him.
I looked down and saw blood staining the sheets. My heart began racing as a vice closed around my chest. My babies could be in danger.
"It’s not the babies," Clio announced as her diagnostic magic spread through me. "The hemorrhaging is from her. The vision caused physical trauma."
Everyone began talking at once, and I couldn’t make anyof it out. Finally, Nana's voice cut through the chaos. "Everyone out who isn't actively keeping her alive!"
The room cleared out except for Clio, Aidon, and Nana. My breathing steadied as Clio's healing magic soothed the damage. "What happened?" I managed.
"Lyra happened," Nana said. "That wasn't a vision. It was a direct attack disguised as one."
"The symbols I saw," I realized. "They're the same ones that appeared when each baby's magic manifested. She's created a connection using them."
"Smart bitch," Nana muttered. "She's using your own pregnancy against you."
"How did Jean-Marc break through her hold?” Aidon asked.
"I think it was his connection to you and the babies," Clio observed. "Blood calls to blood. I think Aidon would have been able to as well."
“He spoke before I could,” Aidon countered as his cheeks flushed. I could see he felt guilty when he didn’t need to.
Clio's brow furrowed as she thought about things. "These markings... I've seen similar ones in ancient codices. They're associated with sacrificial rituals that were once used for power transfers within bloodlines."
"What kind of sacrificial rituals?" I asked.
"The Codex Eximius described ceremonies where dying elders would voluntarily transfer their magic to younger family members," Clio explained. "There were also Sumerian healing rites where parents would temporarily channel their life force to critically ill children. The Athenaeum in Alexandria had scrolls documenting similar practices among Mediterranean magical communities."
I nodded weakly, making Aidon's shadows pulse with relief. Nana's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like Lyra took that voluntary transfer ritual you mentioned andtwisted it into something nasty. Typical of her to take something meant to heal and pervert it into a weapon."
"I won’t argue with you about that," Clio said grimly. "In their original form, these rituals required consent from both parties. What Lyra's attempting is a forced extraction, which is potentially catastrophic. Forced power transfers create dangerous magical instabilities."
"That fits with Jean-Marc's research," I said. "She's combining different magical systems, using our babies as stabilizers."
Aidon's eyes widened. "But if the process is already unstable..."
"Then using infants as anchors could tear apart magical reality," Nana finished, her face grim. "I may be new to this witch business, but even I can see that's a disaster waiting to happen."
Aidon’s phone pinged. He relayed the message to us all. "Hades has identified the location from your vision. It's a temple complex beneath the Mediterranean, predating the Titans. The Forgotten Ones used it as a power nexus."
"We could have found her evil headquarters," I said, excited for the first real lead.
"The complex was sealed because it amplifies forbidden magic,” Aidon added. “Particularly blood sacrifices and power transfers."
"She needs that amplification to handle the combined magical systems," I guessed.
Nana nodded. "She's building a supernatural pressure cooker, and our babies are the release valve."
"Not if I can help it," I growled. "There has to be a way to break this connection."
"In your vision, Lyra mentioned 'the essence of nine made three’," Nana said. "That refers to the Pleiades power—the seven sisters plus Pleione and Atlas."
"But how does that help us?" I asked.
