1
Chapter
“They’ve come a long way in
the last few months,” I muse, laying my head on Kallen’s shoulder. We are watching my parents walk hand in hand
by the shore. They are walking slowly, and
carefully, but they are walking. Their atrophied
muscles were slow to wake from their years long slumber, and it’s good to see
them up and about without the physical trainer who comes daily to help them
exercise. I offered to try to heal them
my way, but they wanted to do it without magic.
“Yes, they have. If their ability to walk returned as readily
as your father’s appetite, though, they’d be running along the beach by now,”
Kallen replies with a wink.
I can’t help but giggle. As a spirit, Dad missed food the most. Since returning to his body, he has gained a
good ten pounds. He was always fit, so
no one really notices other than him, but he mentions it a lot. He’s eager to be able to exercise more
enthusiastically so he can continue to eat what he wants and not worry about
it. I try not to roll my eyes when he
talks about it. It’s ten pounds, for
goodness sake.
“Ow!” Kallen suddenly
exclaims, rubbing the back of his head.
“Leave the man alone. He hasn’t eaten in years,” Tabitha scolds.
“I was kidding,” Kallen
grouses, still rubbing the spot where she smacked him.
Tabitha sets the bowl of fruit
she is carrying down on the table.
Peering over the sand at my parents, she shakes her head. “I still can’t believe it.”
“You can’t believe we have a
Witch and a Cowan living in our realm?” Kegan jests, plucking an apple from the
bowl.
“Hey! My mother is a Cowan and she has lived here
since before my birth,” Alita growls.
Fear suddenly registers in
Kegan’s eyes wiping away any trace of mirth which once resided there. Since Alita entered the last phase of her
pregnancy, her moods have become increasingly difficult to gauge. Generally, though, they run toward being
annoyed with everything her husband says and does. At this point, I’m not sure why Kegan hasn’t
taken a vow of silence until after the baby is born. It would be most beneficial for his health
and wellbeing. Tabitha swears Alita’s
behavior is due to the fact that the end of a pregnancy is extremely uncomfortable
and her hormones are completely out of whack.
She swears it’s not because Alita has finally realized she has married a
jerk and is plotting to kill Kegan in his sleep as Kallen likes to insist is
the case. Still, Kegan really should
have known better than to say something even in teasing regarding a subject
Alita is so sensitive about.
“I love your mother,” is
Kegan’s lame response. He knows he’s in
trouble and there are no words he can think of to get himself out of it.
Tabitha takes a step back
toward the house. Kallen takes my hand,
ready to pull me out of harm’s way. I’m
not worried, I’m confident I can put up a magical shield before anything
painful happens. To me and Kallen, at
least. Kegan is on his own since it was
his mouth that got him into this mess.
Even I am smart enough not to make teasing comments around Alita right
now. About anything. She takes a lot of things personally at the
moment.
Magic floods the terrace. “You don’t think Cowans should live here, do
you?” Alita demands.
Kegan’s eyes are wide as they
dart from Alita’s face to her humongous baby bump. Technically, it is the baby’s magic spreading
outward from his wife. It is his baby’s
magic which he needs to fear. I believe
he is beginning to worry his baby hates him.
Taking a deep breath, Kegan attempts to placate both wife and child. “I think whoever desires to live here in
harmony with us should live here. I am
delighted that our family is so diverse.”
“Liar,” Alita hisses. The magic that has thus far been held back is
about to be flung forth, which will probably result in Kegan going flying
across the sand. Painfully. But instead, we are all shocked when it
simply dissolves back to the earth as quickly as it was pulled. A look of wonder crosses Alita’s face, which
is a nice change from the permascowl she’s been wearing lately. Unfortunately, the look of wonder is immediately
followed by a contorted expression of pain.
Kegan is by her side in an
instant, all threat of magical punishments forgotten in his haste to be sure
she is well. “What is it? What is wrong?”
Since Alita seems beyond words
at the moment, it is Tabitha who answers.
A wide grin spreads across her face.
“From the puddle on the ground, I would say her water just broke.”
Kegan turns his now ashen face
to the older Fairy. “The baby is
coming?” Worry, fear and joy are
colliding on his face. It’s really
rather charming. I elbow Kallen in the
ribs when he snickers at his cousin’s discomfort.
Alita finds her voice again
and she snarks through a contraction, “What, you think it is only raining under
my chair? Of course the baby is
coming.” She attempts to stand, but her
center of balance is so off, she has trouble.
She holds an expectant hand out to Kegan and he immediately rises and assists
her. “Help me upstairs,” Alita
orders. “I am not having this baby on
the terrace.” Lord, I love her
pregnant. She is such a bossy, take
control Fairy right now. I wonder if any
of it will stick with her after the baby is born. I hope so.
She was too meek before. Studying
her closely, I see the pain in her eyes is retreating, so her contraction must
be, as well. Good. Unfortunately, there are many more in her
near future.
“I will carry you,” Kegan
insists.
Alita shakes her head and her
words are even more insistent. “I can
walk. Just help me.”
Kegan turns worried eyes to
Tabitha for guidance. Tabitha nods. “She is fine to walk. Help her upstairs and I will be along shortly.” The older Fairy turns to Kallen. “Send a message to the midwife while I gather
clean linens and the pain potions I made.”
“Can I help?” I ask.
Shaking her head, Tabitha
says, “No. You better stay out here and
keep an eye on your parents. Don’t let
them tire themselves out too much.”
In other words, stay here and
out of the way. I get it. And since I’ve never had any particular
desire to be present for the birth of a baby, I’m secretly relieved. Dad showed me a video once during an anatomy
lesson when I was homeschooled. So, I
know the joy of giving birth is a rather messy, bloody and painful affair. I’m good staying on the beach. Especially since I also know that Alita is in
excellent hands with Tabitha and the midwife.
“Okay.” I watch Alita and Kegan
disappear through the door excited for them and their future.
Kallen gives my hand a
squeeze. “My cousin is going to be a
nervous wreck. If he survives the
birth.”
“Are you afraid Alita will
kill him before it’s over?” I ask.
He smirks. “I am almost certain of it.”
“What’s going on?” Dad asks as
he and Mom approach the terrace. Their
excursion on the beach has tired them. I
can see it in Mom’s eyes.
“Alita is in labor,” I tell them.
Looking longingly at the door,
Dad asks, “Do you think I could be of help?”
He missed more than food while he was a spirit. He missed being a doctor, as well.
Mom pats his arm
sympathetically. “I’m sure the midwife
has everything under control.”
Dad nods,
but the doctor in him is feeling useless at the moment.
“How are you two doing?” I ask
to change the subject. “I can’t believe
how well you’re getting around now.”
A smile breaks out on Mom’s
face. “The feel of the ocean on my toes
is magical. I tried to convince your
father to take a dip with me, but he refused.”
I give her a dubious
look. “The ocean’s a little chilly for
swimming right now.”
She shrugs, gazing over her
shoulder at the water longingly. “Soon
then.”
Tabitha comes bustling back
onto the terrace. “Just got a message
from the midwife. She’s delivering a
Fairy in the village and can’t make it.”
Even without Kallen’s mental ability, Fairies are able to send messages
with magic. They are simply sent to a
notepad Fairies keep in various places instead of a person’s mind. Sort of like calling someone and leaving a
message. Kallen’s method is more efficient
as a note can be overlooked for some time.
Not in this case, apparently.
Tabitha’s eyes move to me and
I pale. She can’t expect me to deliver a
baby. Fortunately, her eyes slide
immediately on to Dad. “Jim, we could
use a hand if you don’t mind.” I am not
going to be completely left out, though.
“Xandra, magical births are a little different than what your father is
used to attending. For his safety, you
should come along, too. The babe’s magic
could get out of hand.”
Now it’s Dad’s turn to
pale. His eagerness to help has dimmed a
little. He recovers quickly,
though. “I’m sure I can manage,” he
says, doing his best to exude confidence.
“Probably, but I’ll help
anyway.” Standing up, I give Kallen a
quick hug. “Wish us luck,” I whisper in
his ear. Kegan might not be the only one
in trouble now. The baby has more
targets. Hopefully it doesn’t remember
any of the teasing I did toward Alita earlier in the pregnancy. It was all in good fun. I was never mean. Still, do Fairy babies hold grudges?
“Good luck,” Kallen says with
a soft chuckle. He must be reading my
mind. He gives me a light kiss before
leaning back in his chair, getting comfortable.
I eye the chair I just left
longingly. With a sigh, I walk to Dad
and hold my hand out to him. “Let’s
teleport upstairs.” No sense in wearing
him out before he even gets to Alita’s room.
He doesn’t look quite as weary as mom, but he’s not as robust as he was
this morning, either. He must be
thinking the same thing because he doesn’t argue. He simply grasps my outstretched hand.
“Good luck, dear,” Mom says
before Dad and I disappear from the terrace.
A second later in the hall
outside Alita and Kegan’s room, I ask a now slightly dizzy Dad, “Are you sure
you’re up for this? It’s not too late to
say no.”
“Are you kidding?” Dad scoffs,
straightening his shoulders and reaching for the doorknob. “This is the first time I’ve felt useful in
years. It’s about time I earned my keep
around here.”
I roll my eyes. “No one is keeping score, Dad.” He ignores me and opens the door to the
bedroom.
We are met by a low and
vicious growl.