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“Fuck.” He growled but leapt upward and then flew off like a shot toward the town. We had planned to keep them as far from the academy as possible.
Our teammates had helped negotiate this little farce and Mr. Mayhem was doing a decent job of publicly tolerating those he felt were beneath him based on nothing more than a historical pile of lies he had been fed and believed because he never bothered to look beyond what he had and what he wanted to see things any other way.
“This is the arena.” Patrick, one of the demons Braz and I were teammates with, gave the signal and the dome went up. It wasn’t enough to stop Ellie, but she was an exceptional witch and a succubus. He would not have that power because succubi were monsters, therefore, beneath him.
“Gentlemen, I need no demonstration of the games. I’m not one for sports.” He was the epitome of charm and grace.
I moved into position and said, “Nor forgiveness, or growth beyond genetics and wealth, I hear.”
“Excuse me?” he sized me up quickly and then glared. Recognition, acknowledgement, and surely the real reason he came here was because some spy had told him what he now, with just a look at me, knew was the truth. “No!”
He pushed his hands forward and motioned, but nothing happened. Not yet anyway. I breathed a bit easier and started to say something else, but the link forged between Max and me connected as though time and space didn’t matter.
Instead of telling him I was there to ensure her safety, I said, “She’s having the baby now.”
The demons who had helped us set this up looked at me for confirmation of what to do. Patrick and the twins would fight with me, if we lowered the dome, but Maxine’s dad would easily kill me and possibly them. It would depend on how fast any of us really were against how skilled he was in battle.
He didn’t look like much of a fighter in that getup, but if the magic did the work for him, he didn’t really have to use his hands for more than waving a wand or pointing a finger.
If we didn’t lower the dome, she might die in childbirth without me. As a water-creature she had to be submerged and unless someone else could breathe underwater with her and our baby, unless someone else had the strength to stretch her navel enough to let the little one swim out, I… I had to be there to help her through this. I had to push air into my child’s lungs. She would be too weak and there were no other mer-creatures around that were not also on campus teaching or taking a class right now.
“Baby?” he asked. “What… baby?”
“My baby.” I nodded and the demons lowered the dome. I took off like a shot. The shock of the statement was enough to get me out of the stadium without retaliation, but he was trailing me. I looked up and realized the asshole was on a broom. He no longer trailed behind me, he was flying past me.
I dug deeper, tapped into any reserves I had, and ran faster than I ever had before in my life.
“I don’t want to go in the water!” Maxine was screaming it in my head and as I came to a stop at the water’s edge it rang just as loud in all of our ears.
“Thurst!” Ellie looked at me, at Max, at Braz.
“She has to go in the water, and I can’t go in that open body without guards being summoned to remove me. It may even throw me back out. I don’t know.” How the hell was this going to work? I had to go in there with her. At the cabin, we had a plan. We had an isolates space, water ready, a set of gloves that would cover my entire body once put on, ready.
Why did we think she would have more time? Because she was still eating as though the babe needed more fuel to grow. That’s why and the pub was her favorite place to eat. Her father was on campus today. We were all trying to protect her. A hundred reasons began hitting me all at once. Her thoughts were hitting me too.
“I’m going to split in half.” Max was growing tired and about to surrender.
“Ellie help us! There has to be a place to put the water!” I looked around, pointed to a spot that used to have small pool. She couldn’t have them in chlorinated water. It had to be fresh or sea or—
“Got it!” Ellie put her hands on the water and created a waterspout that danced up and around and then jumped from one place to another until it landed with a splash in the distance. “Take her.”
That was direction to Braz who picked up Max and flew her to the location only to return and grab Ellie and then me. I had never flown anywhere before. It was a surreal experience. He dropped us next to the isolated pool of water and we all watched as her father, sans broom, stalked in closer.
“Maxine.” He reached for her, but as the water settled around her, she began to transform into what she truly was. He pulled his hand back, stepped back, raised it.
“No!” I shouted and lunged for him feeling more like a shark than a merman. I knew there was no going back when I chewed up the flesh and crunched the bones. The blood was filled with so much magic it was hot like a shot of the strongest whiskey searing down my throat and burning through my stomach. I spit what remained of his hand out of my mouth right before I landed.
Maxine’s father screamed out in pain, but it was the least of my worries. I was in the water with her, Blackthorn ocean waters and I was not wearing the agreed upon garment. I would be punished for sure, but it was all too late now.
I swam to Maxine. She was amazing, beautiful, and without anything left to stop me, I went to her and said through our connection,
“You’re doing great, Max. Just try to relax. Let the babe do its job now.” I mentally soothed and she closed her eyes. Trusting me.
I tried to think of all the fun times, the cuddly times, the food times to keep her mind busy laughing and relaxed as I pulled at her navel until it stretched, and stretched. Until the head of golden blonde hair popped out. I grabbed the babe as it breached completely and covered its nose and mouth with my mouth as I pushed air into its little lungs. The wiggling babe opened its eyes and then sought her out as I let it go in that direction.
I was about to breathe easy when I saw her clench in pain again, the naval opening pressed again.
Twins were not a typical occurrence in my species and I highly doubted they were normal for hers, though it did explain why it took so long for these little ones to mature. There were two of them.
