Rhiannon's Revenge, page 37
Carter spun the kitchen chair around and straddled it as he sat at the table while Anya poured some peppermint tea and sat next to Eilish. "The cradle looks great, and she said she liked it, so I'm sticking with that." He winked at Anya and then looked back at Ian. "It's not too late; I can make one for you guys. Just out of curiosity, this baby you have coming, will it, you know, feed from you as well?"
Ian smiled. "Only occasionally, to bond. She, or he, will still seek out its mother to nurse."
Carter shook his head. "Fucking weird, man. No offense. I just never saw a half-breed baby before."
Ian rubbed his hand across his forehead and brushed back his hair. "Well, that makes two of us. New territory for me too."
Eilish spoke up. "And me. I guess we’ll figure this out as we go."
Anya sipped the tea and listened. "Well, compared to what we’ve been through, I think it can’t be but so weird." She finished her tea and sighed. She had been feeling light contractions all day but wasn’t sure this was the real deal yet. "I think maybe I will take a nap; I’m a bit worn out. How about you, sis?" Anya noticed her sister had been quieter than usual today.
Eilish responded, "I'm good. I may read or nap; I just feel antsy, like there's something I should be doing, only I can't think of what it would be."
Ian rubbed her back, applying pressure low on her spine. He had watched her rubbing her own back the last couple of days. "You okay, babe?"
She nodded as she finished her tea, then looked absently around the kitchen as if looking for something to do. But Anya had the place neat as a pin. "Maybe I'll go lie down as well."
Anya climbed the stairs, lay down, and tried to get comfortable, the contractions continuing irregularly. She took a short nap and then returned to make lunch for everyone. The contractions were settling into a predictable rhythm, but she remained quiet while everyone ate. She managed to clean up the kitchen as the contractions still seemed mild, and she didn’t want to alarm Carter in case they stopped. As the afternoon progressed, they became more intense, but she worked through them easily. She decided to prepare macaroni and cheese for dinner. She was reaching high up in the cabinet for her baking dish when she dropped the dish and heard it crashing to the floor. The pain spread through her abdomen, and she cried out. Carter came running into the kitchen as she bent over in pain.
Carter ran to her as she was doubled over, then noticed the puddle of water as it spread at her feet. "Fuck, this ain't good." He yelled out for his sister-in-law. "Eilish! Get down here!"
Eilish had heard her sister's scream and was already climbing out of bed when she saw Ian at her door. "Help me up."
Ian grabbed her hand and helped her from the bed as they went downstairs. Eilish saw the puddle at her sister's feet. "It’s a full moon tonight; we should have known to expect something. Babies always come during a full moon. Your water broke, sis. I'm calling Cressa."
Carter looked worried. "Is that normal? The water thing?"
Eilish nodded as she waited for Cressa to answer. "It's normal, but she needs to lie down now." Eilish heard Cressa on the other end of the phone, and she relayed the message that Anya's water had broken.
Cressa replied. "Put that plastic sheeting on the bed I brought over earlier; I’ll be right over."
Anya took a few deep breaths and got herself upright. She grabbed Carter's hand. "I need to get upstairs and lay down right now." Carter was helping her as Eilish ended the call. Ian helped Eilish climb the stairs behind them when Anya yelled out again. "Eilish, please get the bed ready. I think this buckaroo is not fooling around. He wants out already!"
Anya waited as Eilish and Ian prepared the bed, and Carter helped her lay down. Anya continued to breathe through her contractions. "Where is Cressa? Is she here yet? What are you going to do with Ian?"
Eilish had spread the plastic sheeting across the bed and covered it with a plain sheet when she looked at Ian. "Oh, we need to hide you somewhere."
Ian felt like an outsider, always having to disappear. He'd be glad when he was finally exposed to the coven. "I can shadow myself, and I'll stay in your bedroom, so Cressa won't pick up my energy. You and Carter can stay here with Anya."
Eilish felt his disappointment as she hugged him. "It won't be forever."
Ian had to push down the thought that, actually, it would be. Rhiannon had made it clear she wasn't his to keep. He kissed her softly and faded into nothingness as he went to the room he shared with Eilish to wait out the delivery.
Carter watched him fade and shook his head. "Jeez, how does he do that?"
Eilish looked at him. "The shadowing? He doesn't disappear. It's more like camouflage. Like a chameleon. He can assume the colors and shapes of the background."
Carter frowned, "Then how do you know he's here?"
Eilish smiled, "You don't. That's the whole point." They heard a knock on the door as Eilish turned to go downstairs. "You stay with Anya; I’ll get Cressa."
Anya looked at Carter. She tried to smile, but the pain was getting more unbearable. She tried to reassure him. "Just roll with it. Whatever Cressa or Eilish tells you to do, do it. I can do this, I promise you. Just stay with me."
Carter squeezed her hand. "I'm right here, darlin’. I just watched a vampire disappear. Can't get much weirder than that." Cressa entered the room with two large baskets, one on each arm, as she took in Anya lying on the white sheet. "Get undressed, girl."
She looked at Carter, "Cover her with another sheet, and be quick about it." Carter jumped to his feet, grabbed another sheet from the linen closet, and covered Anya as he listened to Cressa bark out instructions to Eilish. "Birth can attract malevolent beings. The infant is most vulnerable to these entities. You and the boy get towels, roll them up at the base of all exterior doors, and use something to cover the keyholes to keep the spirits out. I noticed you already have all the windows draped."
Ian sat quietly as he listened to them running about the house, shoving towels at the base of the doors and placing tape over the keyholes. This wasn't a ritual he was familiar with. He assumed the witches already considered the vampires unclean anyway, so Cressa wouldn’t be happy about his presence in the house. He heard both of them return to Anya's bedroom.
Cressa had placed the colored candles in each corner of the room to open the Four Quarters, yellow in the East, blue in the West, black in the North, and red in the South. "I'll light the candles to call on the protection of Freya to protect you during childbirth and show the infant the way."
She dug through her basket looking for her matches when Eilish lit each candle with a glance and a nod. Cressa looked up. "Oh, well, that was handy. Do you want to open the Quarters?"
Cressa crawled across the bed and created a circle made from branches of yew and juniper around Anya; as Eilish stood at the foot of the bed, her arms extended to the heavens. "Spirits of earth, I call to thee. Spirits of the air come to me. Spirits of fire, join me here. Elements of water, cleanse us now."
Cressa took up her position at the foot of the bed as Carter sat next to Anya, holding her hand and looking on in confused silence. Cressa chanted, "I create a circle here that will serve as Anya's sacred birthing space. No negative energy will touch her. This is a peaceful and positive space. When Anya is ready, may the manifestations of motherhood be upon her."
Anya was panting through a contraction as Cressa spoke. Cressa picked up a stick of cedar incense and lit it from the blue candle, symbolizing air. "Air; with each breath in and out, Anya comes closer to hearing this baby's name. Speak it now. Hail and welcome."
Anya lay still and listened between contractions until she heard the whisper. She repeated the infant’s name, "Eryn, her name is Eryn."
Eilish smiled. "A girl." Carter looked up, "Wait, what? The baby told you her name? We're having a girl?"
Anya squeezed his hand as another contraction took over, and Cressa warned him to hush. Cressa held up the red candle, which represented fire. "Fire was with you when this baby was conceived, and it will be with you to show the way."
Cressa picked up a juniper branch, dipped it in the water consecrated by the moon, and sprinkled it over Anya as some of the water landed on Carter's face. He wondered if he was supposed to wipe it away but decided to remain still. "Water, you have cushioned Eryn and given her a bed in which to grow. Flow now and let this mother's breast serve as your bed. Hail and welcome. "
As the ritual continued, Eilish began to feel her contractions and fought the need to sit down. The wind was picking up outside as the tree branches began to batter the side of the house. She tried to ignore the messages her own body was sending so she could help her sister. Cressa pulled salt from her basket, representing earth, and poured it into the circle of juniper and yew that surrounded Anya. "Earth, I thank you for cradling Eryn inside her mother all this time. You have sustained her and kept her well. Please release her to Anya so she can see the fruits of her labor. I bid you hail and welcome. "
As Cressa noted the baby crowning, Anya cried out with a strong contraction. Eilish held her hand over her belly as another contraction seized her, making her double over. Ian could feel her pain and fought the urge to go to her. The wind could be heard as it howled eerily, followed by rolling thunder. Cressa raised her arms skyward and called out. "I call upon Freya to be here with Anya as the time of her birth draws near."
Eilish was panting, and Carter was starting to take notice of her. Eilish softly repeated the call to Freya to be with her as well. Cressa's attention was focused on Anya as she knelt between her legs and helped deliver the tiny infant into this world. She wiped the baby with the consecrated water and cut the cord before placing her on Anya’s chest. Anya cried tears of joy as Carter looked on in amazement. "We got us a baby girl, darlin'."
Cressa slid off the end of the bed and smiled as the young couple admired their new baby. It was only then that she noticed Eilish steadying herself on a nearby dresser, one hand clutched to her belly. "Child, is your time near?"
Eilish nodded. "Now. Like, right now." The house shuddered and rumbled, lightning struck nearby, and Cressa was startled by the loud sound.
She helped Eilish to the bed and shooed Carter away. "Move aside, boy. Lay down here. We don't have much time." Eilish lay down beside Anya, the baby girl lying quietly on her chest.
Anya smiled at Eilish, "They will be born together, under the sign of Taurus, almost like twins."
Ian had moved from Eilish's bedroom to stand shadowed near Anya's room, wanting desperately to go in and hold Eilish. The house shook again as the rain fell in torrents, battering the roof with golf ball-sized hail. He remained shadowed as he stepped into the doorway to watch his child being born.
Cressa moved some of the yew and juniper next to Eilish, but they didn't have much time. "Have you heard the baby's name?"
Eilish struggled to find a quiet moment between contractions and the powerful storm that raged in the night when she heard the whisper. "Wilder. His name is Wilder." Cressa frowned. It was not a traditional Celtic name. Ian smiled to himself as he heard the gender and the name and thought it was a proper name for a son born to a warrior. Cressa knelt between her legs as she helped bring the infant boy into the world and knew immediately that something was wrong. The lightning struck again, making the lights in the house flicker on and off, leaving them in candlelight.
She didn't speak as she delivered the child, and Eilish looked at her. "Is he okay?"
Cressa was unnerved by the ferocity of this un-forecasted storm which battered the house with hurricane-force winds, and nodded. "He's... healthy. Eilish, this infant is not from a witch and a warlock."
Ian was un-shadowed as he appeared in the doorway. "This infant is mine, born of the love between a witch and a vampire."
Cressa was dumbstruck as she looked from the vampire in the doorway and back to Eilish. They had heard rumors, but no one thought them true. Her hands shook as she cut the cord and laid the infant on Eilish's chest. She had never delivered an impure breed and wasn't sure if there was a protocol for this. "Then we ask Freya's blessing."
Ian sat on the edge of the bed next to Eilish and kissed her forehead before kissing his son. The winds and rain disappeared as fast as they had come, and the lights flickered back to life. The infant grabbed his finger and gave him a tight squeeze. Ian locked eyes with him as father and son bonded. "Welcome to the world, Wilder."
59
It had only been two days since the sisters had given birth, but it was time for Beltane. Eilish and Anya worked to gather the items needed for the sabbat. Rhiannon had said all four of them should go, but Eilish wasn't clear about their purpose. She told Anya they should be prepared to conduct the ritual. Anya packed the dark green candle and the various wood chips in labeled containers in a basket. She had already baked the ritual cakes ahead of time. "What about the babies?"
Eilish closed her eyes and sighed. "Rhiannon said the four of us, but we can't leave them. The coven has to have heard everything from Cressa by now. We don't have any secrets left."
Anya rolled her eyes, "Uh, I'd say we still have a few secrets. Warrick, for one. Speaking of which, what if Fina comes?"
Eilish stopped filling the basket as Carter picked it up and carried it to the car. He had survived one ritual and felt he might make it through another. Ian, on the other hand, might have a problem. Eilish bit her lip. "I think we have to assume she’ll be there. She’ll come with the intention of leading. We may have a showdown, and I'm not sure what we're supposed to do about that."
Anya nodded. "And Ian?"
Eilish shook her head and didn't answer for a moment before speaking softly. "I fear for him. I don't know how the coven will respond or what Fina might do, but the book made it clear that he was to be there. I don't think we have any choice."
Fina had begun to prepare for Beltane many days beforehand. She wasn’t used to doing all the preparation on her own. She had made the ritual cakes and had all the candles and various items she needed. She had loaded the van with much trepidation. After Henwen had appeared at the last ceremony, she wasn’t sure who would be there. It could be that neither of her sisters would make an appearance, or both would. Everything felt out of control, but she had to remain calm and give the impression that whatever played out was exactly how she had planned it as their High Priestess. Fina knew things were falling apart, and she was hanging by a thread. She was still grieving over Warrick and missed him terribly. She had no doubt Eilish and Anya had killed him or had the vampire do the deed.
While Luna seemed to have made her home here at Warrick’s, Fina had found it hard to do the same. She hated this house and wanted to be back in the house that had always been her home, but she dared not attempt it. She had to take everything one day at a time and hope she found an opportunity to turn things in her favor again.
As the sisters finished packing, Ian appeared in the doorway dressed in black leather with the crossbow strapped to his back. Anya looked up and said, "Fuck me!"
Ian chuckled despite his mood. He had serious reservations about walking into a coven of witches who'd like nothing better than to fry his ass.
Eilish turned when she heard Anya's remarks and gasped when she saw him. He looked deliciously dangerous, and she was at a loss for words. "I... are you wearing that?"
He stared back at her. "You got a problem?" She shook her head no. She did have a problem, though. She'd like to take him back upstairs, slowly peel those leathers off him, and make another baby. "You look... intimidating."
He nodded. "That's the point. Rhiannon called me the dark one. You might as well give her what she wants. Besides, I'm not walking into that coven unarmed. Rhiannon said four would go in; she didn't say how many would walk out."
Eilish wanted to reassure him that everything would be all right, but she had no idea what lay ahead. "We're going to take the babies. The coven will be protective of the babies."
Ian nodded. "Even mine?"
Again, she didn't know the answer. "You know I'd never let them harm him."
He nodded. "And neither will I. I'm not riding with you. We need to remain separate until we understand what’s going on. I'll teleport. I'll know when it's safe to join you."
She went to him and hugged him as he wrapped his arms around her and looked down at her stark white hair against the black leathers. "I think that's best. Anya and I will carry the babies. Carter can drive." She looked into his dark eyes as his hair fell around his face. He bent to kiss her lips, whispering, "I love you." He broke away and teleported out.
When Eilish turned to leave, Anya spoke again. "Where has he been hiding that outfit?"
Eilish smiled. "I have no idea. It's the first time I've seen it."
Anya gave her a nudge as they went upstairs to get the babies and wrap them in soft blankets. "Well, tell him he can wear it more often, or better yet, tell me where I can get one for Carter."
Eilish giggled despite her nerves, trying to picture Carter in body conforming leathers.
Fina drove the van to John's Island, crossing the Cooper River Bridge, and wondered what lay in store. She was lost in her thoughts about the coven. The last gathering at Ostara had gone off the rails with that bizarre handfasting conducted by Henwen. She needed to regain control but didn’t know what she might be walking into. It was all unknown to her as she saw the massive Angel's Oak and parked the van.
Carter had moved his truck and backed the caddy out of the carriage house when he saw Anya and Eilish, each holding their newborns walk towards the car. He knew Eilish had warned Cressa about not revealing her son was a half-breed, but none of them seriously thought that information hadn't been spread to every person in the coven by now. As the sisters climbed into the car, Carter said, "Where's Ian?"
