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Makoa gave me the same stupid grin he’d used since we were kids that always managed to make me smile, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop myself now.
He clapped. “Ahh! There we go! Iknewit, brotha!”
“No, no, no,” I said, waving my hand. “All I did was laugh at that stupid smile of yours.”
“Ariiii,” Makoa said. “Something happened. I can tell. Care to share?”
“I think I’d rather not. I’ll let you use your imagination.”
“You jellyfish.”
The door to the office burst open again, this time breaking off its hinges. I whipped around to Leo standing in the doorway, dripping with water and panting for breath. My anger about the door disappeared immediately—something was wrong.
“Ari,” he said. “You have to get to the house. It’s Enry.”
* * *
We shot out of the surf and glided on our sail fins through the air to land on the beach, shifting back to human form as our feet touched the sand, and then sprinted to the horse and cart waiting for us at the top of the beach. Leo drove the horse at a full gallop while Makoa and I hung on as the cart bounced and jolted over the dirt path going up to the main house.
The workers who’d been helping with the mahinui gate were all listlessly hanging around outside, like they’d been kicked out. The moment I entered the house, a strange feeling surrounded me, like I’d just drank the biggest cup of tea in the world. Makoa looked at his hands—he’d felt it too.
“Come on,” Leo urged. “The gate.”
We went to the courtyard garden and hurried to its center, where the gate was being built within the big waterfall pool. I was surprised at the big group that was gathered there, and my attention was first drawn to Istil. It was the first time seeing him since the ceremony. He looked back at me, his eyes full of worry. Enry was lying on the ground, his head propped up by a pillow, and Istil and Visir were clutching his hands as he strained and struggled.
The egg was coming.
Grandmother rubbed a bracelet of prayer shells between her palms as she muttered one of her incantations. Shen paced around, tapping his forehead.
“Thank the Gods, you’re here,” he said.
“What the hell is going on here?” I demanded. “Bring Enry inside!”
“No!” Enry groaned. “I can’t.”
“I know it hurts, but it’ll be much easier for you if we can get you nested up.”
Enry shook his head, but couldn’t speak. Sweat poured down his forehead. That was when I noticed the blue glow shimmering from the pool. I looked around, waiting for someone to give me an explanation.
“We’re in the last phase of activation,” Shen said. “And only Enry’s power can complete the connection. If we lose it now, it’ll be another month before we can try again.”
Enry had told me a little about his abilities—he was a human but held within him a force that could interact with elemental energies and amplify them. Grandmother had a word for people like him—Maupialug. Admittedly, I’d not given it much credence. Even the idea of a mahinui gate still felt like something out of one of Grandmother’s stories—just one of the old rituals to be observed. Maybe part of me doubted anything would come from this project, but now it was obvious I was wrong.
“We’re so close,” Enry said. “I can do this.”
“Then we’ll do the best we can to make you comfortable,” I said. “But if it comes down to it, your energy needs to go towards getting that egg out of you.”
I stood up and went to speak to Shen.
“He wants to be with his mate,” Shen told me. “That’s what he’s focused on.”
“That’s understandable, but my priority is making sure he’s safe. You’ve done this before, right?”
“Uh… I mean, I read a few books and made it work, but I’m no healer.”
I leaned in and spoke close to Shen’s ear. “Well, perhaps it’s not the best time for me to say this, but I’ve never had to deliver an egg before.”
Apparently, Istil had some extreme powers of eavesdropping. His head snapped up in surprise. “You’ve never delivered an egg?!”
