Marker of Hope (21 page)

“It’s low risk—one in four hundred,” Gunn
explained further. “The advantages of this test are that it would
enable us to determine if birth defects are present, as well as
define the gender of the baby with one-hundred percent
accuracy.”

“But there’s a risk of miscarriage,” I
repeated Eileen’s words.

“Yes,” Eileen said. “But if we find an
abnormality, we may be able to correct it, or, at the very least,
be prepared for when the baby arrives.”

“So what you’re saying,” I stepped next to
David’s bed, “is you want me to agree to this test.”

“We feel it would be advantageous to know
what we’re dealing with,” Gunn said.

“But we understand your concern, as well,”
Eileen said. “It’s your choice, Isis. We won’t force you.”

“I don’t think I can make this kind of
decision on my own,” I told the doctors.

“Take your time,” Gunn said.

Eileen took the clipboard from her husband’s
hand and set it on the nightstand. “We’ll be back to check on him
later.”

There was a knock at the door, and Nyx peeked
in.

“You can come in,” I said.

Nyx entered the room, Alezzander and Samuel
behind her.

“Ah, we have a visitor,” Dr. Gunn said.

“Dr. Tobias Gunn and Dr. Eileen Gunn, I
presume?” Samuel extended his hand to Eileen first, then to Dr.
Gunn. “Delighted. I’ve heard good things about both of you and your
work. I’m Dr. Samuel Leumas.”

“We’re being fired?” Gunn’s blinking tick set
in.

“No,” I said. “Dr. Gunn, Samuel is my
biological father.”

A squeal caught in Gunn’s throat.
“Your—
father
? Oh, what a good day, good day this has turned
into.” He clapped. “You and I, Dr. Leumas, must speak.”

“But later,” Eileen added. “At a more
convenient time. We’ll be downstairs if you need us.” Eileen pulled
on Dr. Gunn’s lab coat. “Come now, Tobias. And close your mouth.
Where are your manners?”

“Eileen, do you realize what this means? I
may have another test subject,” Dr. Gunn said as he and Eileen left
the room. Eileen hushed him.

I closed the door and walked to the hospital
bed.

“This is our son,” Nyx said to Samuel,
combing David’s hair with her fingers. “David.” She cupped her
son’s cheek. “My baby boy.”

“He’s young.” Samuel approached the bed.
“They both are—so young for marriage.”

“That’s been our concern, as well,”
Alezzander said. “But no one could come between these two.” He
glanced at me. “As we told you downstairs, dear friend, they were
destined for one another.”

“Truly,” Samuel agreed. “Has he shown signs
of improvement?”

“The doctors say he’s stable,” Nyx said.
“We’ve tried to heal him, my boys and me, but…” Nyx’s voice was
broken. Alezzander drew his arm around her shoulders.

“He’ll wake up,” I said. Samuel and
Alezzander traded worried glances. I turned my attention to David.
“I have to believe he will.”

***

The calendar marked the first day of
November. Five months I’d been pregnant. Three months David had
been asleep. I’d decided not to go through with the amniocentesis,
as I’d learned the test the Doctors Gunn had asked me to submit to
was called. Samuel kept his word and stuck around. He rented an
apartment somewhere in town in spite of Alezzander’s insistence to
take one of the spare rooms. Strangely, I noted how he kept his
distance from Claire, though why, I didn’t know.

A cool breeze bit my skin as I sat outside
under the veranda. I loved autumn weather, especially at dusk.
Submerged in the beauty of the auburn palette of colors in the sky,
I almost felt tranquil. I watched the sun’s last fiery tendrils
disappear below the horizon before I made my way back to the
house.

Galen and Galilea were watching TV in one of
the living rooms downstairs, and Nyx and Alezzander had stepped out
to buy groceries. Eryx had left for Caelum two days prior to
investigate if more speculation had arisen from the Council
concerning their family.

“Did the doctors go home?” I asked Galen. He
nodded.

“Samuel’s gone too,” Galilea said. “He said
he’d be back later.” She patted the couch cushion next to her. “Sit
with us for a bit. I just checked on David not two minutes
ago.”

“I don’t like to leave him alone for too
long,” I said.

“Isis, you can’t be in that room all day and
night,” Galilea said. “You’re going to go crazy.”

“Did you not see me walk in? I’ve been
outside for more than half an hour.”

“Only because Samuel made you go.” Galilea
frowned.

“Let her go upstairs,” Galen said. “She’s
David’s wife. If she wants to be with him, it’s not your
business.”

“Fine,” Galilea said. “Go then.”

“I’ll come down in a bit. I promise,” I
said.

“I’ve heard that one before,” Galilea
mumbled.

It was getting harder to climb stairs. The
extra weight made me clumsier and drained me. I found myself dozing
off more often as I sat in the rocking chair Samuel bought me to
watch over David.

By the time I reached the top of the stairs,
I was out of breath. My back was killing me, and I wished Samuel
had bought me a sofa instead of a rocking chair. I lumbered through
the hallway slower than a legless turtle. At last, I reached
David’s room. I opened the door, my head down, my breathing
labored. I raised my eyes to check on David. What I saw standing
next to his bed terrified me.

CHAPTER 24

A hand landed over my mouth—not my own. An
arm wrapped around my shoulders, immobilizing me.

“Don’t scream,” I recognized Eros’ voice in
my ear. “Let her finish. The quicker, the better.”

But what Eros didn’t know is I was so shocked
by the gray-haired woman’s hollow eye sockets and grisly
appearance, I couldn’t even move, much less scream.

“She’s here to help,” Eros whispered. “Be
very quiet.”

I nodded, but Eros didn’t release me.

“Who’s there?” The haggard woman’s gray hair
bounced as she turned her head.

“Don’t mind the noise, love,” Eros said.
“Continue your work.”

“A deal is a deal.” The old woman smiled, a
yellow, broken tooth peering out of her bottom gum.

She waved her dirty hands over David’s head,
chanting words I couldn’t understand. Her head swayed from side to
side, and she snapped her fingers.

“The first payment is due, Son of Starr,” she
said. “Bring me the offering now.”

“Trust me,” Eros whispered into my ear.
“Don’t leave and don’t scream for help.”

The haggard woman snapped her fingers again.
“Hurry your rump, boy.”

Eros set me free. From the back waistline of
his pants, he pulled out his golden dagger. He walked to the
woman’s side and extended his arm to her. The woman licked her
lips. In a sudden swift move, Eros slit his arm. Blood trailed out
of the wound, down to Eros’s elbow. The woman sniffed the air and
quickly latched on to the gash, suckling like a starved animal,
licking his arm clean of every last red smear until the wound
closed. I recoiled in horror. It was the most disgusting thing I’d
ever seen. Then I remembered I too drank Eros’s blood once. My
stomach soured.

“So, good.” The woman licked her bloody gums
and lips. Her chin was soiled with crimson smudges. My mouth
watered, remembering the flavor, and I scolded myself for yearning
a taste, for being jealous of the wrinkled woman. “So tasty, Son of
Starr.”

“Continue, love,” Eros said, and the woman
smiled proudly again. “We’re in a rush, remember?”

What is she doing?
I mouthed to Eros
as the sightless woman waved her hands over David once more. Eros
raised his finger to his lips and crossed the room, joining me.

“She’s a Graeae Witch,” Eros whispered, as if
the name would mean something to me.

“Why did you bring her here?” I whispered
back. “And I thought I told you not to come back.”

“Trust me.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t.”

“A deal is a deal,” the blind woman said.
“The final offering seals the spell. Are you worthy of my magic, or
shall I undo what has been done?”

“I’m a man of my word, Deino. But if you
cross me, it’s an eye for an eye. No pun intended.”

“Shut your stupid face hole and come here, or
I’ll undo this mess right now,” the witch said.

“You’ve got no sense of humor.” Eros walked
to her. “Now?” he asked, and she nodded.

Eros bent over, took her horrendous face
between his hands, and shot a quick glance in my direction. Then,
without a second thought, he kissed her. The witch’s tongue
slithered into Eros’ mouth. I saw him gag, and my stomach
spasmed.

“Enough.” Eros pushed her away. “That’s
enough.” He wiped his mouth. “Payment is fulfilled. Get on with
it.”

Golden sparks exploded around the Graeae
Witch. She twirled and flailed about the room. Eros grabbed her
before she hit the machines next to David’s bed.

“Did it work?” she asked, her voice at a
different pitch than a minute earlier.

Eros removed the gray hair covering her face.
The young woman beneath the waterfall of silver strands looked
nothing like the old haggard woman I’d first seen upon entering the
room. Her skin was smooth and flawless, her eye sockets no longer
empty, her mouth lined with pearl-white teeth.

“It worked,” Eros said to her.

“I’m beautiful?” she asked, doubtful. “As I
was before?”

“Yes, love,” Eros said. “As you’ve always
been.”

“As I want to be,” she said. “And so it is.
And so it’s done. And so the future is sure to come.”

The witch turned, touching her surroundings.
She may have had eyes now, but she was still blind. Ironic, she
desired to be beautiful, but she would never see herself.

“Where’s the girl?” Deino asked. “Come to me,
girl.” Eros jerked his head in Deino’s direction, and I stepped
forward. Deino put her hands on my face and ran them down to my
stomach. “Ah.” She breathed. “Your womb is filled with life, just
as the sleeping prince told me.” She cocked her head. “But if you
think the battle ends upon the child’s arrival, you’re wrong.
They’re crawling and clawing to get to you. Be warned. Your war is
near. Ask me nothing more of this. But I will grant you another
question.”

“What did you do to him?” I asked the witch.
“To my husband?”

“A deal is a deal,” Deino said. “And my deal
is not with you.” She reached for Eros. “Take me home to my
sisters, Son of Starr. They’ll be ever so jealous.”

“What did she do to him?” I looked at
Eros.

“What you asked for.” He took Deino’s arm.
“Be patient. David will come back to you.”

My heart leapt and sank at the same time.
Deals amongst the gods didn’t come without high-priced
consequences.

“At what cost, Eros?” I asked.

“That’s my business,” he said.

“Why would you…? I never thought you’d—”

“I told you I’d do anything for you, my
sweet.” He caressed Deino’s hair. “I’d love to stay and chat, but
this ravishing woman needs to return to her envious sisters.”

“Yes. Time is ticking,” Deino said. “A deal
is a deal. Take me home at once.”

“Thank you,” is all I managed to say before
they disappeared.

What Eros had done for me was much too
selfless for me to understand. The act could be fathomed coming
from anyone else. But from him? He wanted me for himself—this he’d
told me time and again—yet, he’d bartered with a witch to deliver
what I’d defined as my happiness. And Eros was well aware my
happiness wasn’t vested in him, but in David. The thoughts in my
head looped and twirled and left me no palpable answer—at least not
one I could accept. He couldn’t have negotiated dark dealings with
a witch for the sake of seeing me happy, could he?

David’s breathing was soft and calm as I
watched him. I wondered how powerful a Graeae Witch’s magic was,
how long it would take to have him back. My rounded belly bounced,
and I focused my attention on the movement under my shirt. It felt
strange but natural to have a tiny person living inside me. I
recalled what the witch, Deino, said about the fight not being over
once the baby was born. It disquieted me when she mentioned war, as
well.

Before, I would’ve kept what just happened to
myself, tried to remedy it on my own. But this didn’t involve only
me. It involved my family, who’d grown exponentially in the past
few months. It involved David and my unborn child. It involved all
of us.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to an
unconscious David and kissed his forehead.

***

Snores came from the living room where I’d
last seen Galilea and Galen. I poked my head in, and Galilea
glanced at me. I wiggled my finger, motioning her to follow me. She
rose from the sofa, and Galen let out a loud, snorting snore. I
walked to the kitchen where I was sure Galen wouldn’t hear us.

“What’s up?” Galilea asked. “You need bigger
underwear again?”

“Not yet,” I said. “But there are a few
things I want to discuss with you. Specifically, with you.”

“Are we doing BFF secrets?” Galilea asked. I
nodded. “You’ve got my attention.”

“Good,” I said. “You can’t be angry at me
once I tell you the whole story.”

“I’m not liking this anymore.”

“Promise, or I won’t tell you.”

“Okay.”

I raised my index finger. “Say it.”

Galilea rolled her eyes. “I promise I won’t
be mad at you. What’s the big secret?”

“Well,” I said, “About an hour ago… No, wait.
Let me start over.” I put my thoughts in order. “I have reason to
believe the demon attacks won’t stop after the baby’s born.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“A witch told me.”

“Have you been calling those psychic
hotlines?”

“No, I said a witch, not a psychic. You know,
like a Graeae Witch. One named Deino.”

Galilea gaped at me. “Graeae Witches are bad
news, Isis. Where did you see Deino?”