Poltergeists & Change of Life (Mystical Midlife in Maine #15)

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

I 'd like to say we marched bravely into the fray and presented a united front against the forces of evil. But let's be real. We stumbled in like a bunch of drunk toddlers at a rodeo, hoping not to get trampled by the metaphorical bull that was our current situation. The moment we stepped into the hallway on the third floor. I knew we were in for a treat. And by that, I mean the kind of experience that makes you question your chances of survival.

"Um, guys?" I called out, staring at the suddenly very long, very ominous corridor before us. "I don't remember our hallway being quite so... hellish."

Where our normal, boring hallway used to be, there was now a series of elemental challenges that would have made even the most sadistic game show host proud. The first up was a maze of fire. Because why not start with the possibility of being barbecued?

"Lovely," I muttered, eyeing the flickering flames. "I've always wanted to know what it feels like to be a rotisserie chicken."

Nana cackled behind me. "Back in my day, we had to walk through fire uphill both ways just to get to school. You youngsters have it easy!" I wanted to be like her when I grew up. She hid her fear well and made you want to be as brave as she was.

"Right," I drawled. "Because navigating a fire maze while heavily pregnant is a walk in the park. Remind me to thank the universe for this character-building experience later."

Aidon squeezed my hand reassuringly. "We've got this, Phoebe. Just stay close to me."

I snorted. "As if I could get far in my current state. I'm basically a waddling fire hazard."

We approached the entrance to the fire maze, cringing when heat radiated off the flames in waves. Sweat beaded on my forehead and slipped down my spine and between my boobs. We hadn't even entered yet. This was going to suck harder than a vampire with a juice box addiction at a kid's birthday party.

"Okay, team," I said, trying to inject some confidence into my voice. "Let's do this. And if anyone has any marshmallows, now would be a great time to break them out."

“Don’t forget the chocolate and graham crackers,” Nina pointed out. “I love a good s’more.”

"Well, folks," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt, "let's not keep our friendly neighborhood inferno waiting."

We stepped into the maze, and immediately, the heat cranked up from uncomfortably warm to Satan's sauna. The walls of fire towered over us. They crackled and hissed like they were laughing at our misery. Every turn felt like a choice between ‘probably certain death’ and ‘definitely certain death’.

Nana's silver hair practically glowed in the firelight. She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and glared at the flames. "You know," she said, "I always wanted to know what it felt like to be a baked potato. I should've just asked."

Stella snorted, then immediately regretted it as she inhaled a lungful of smoky air. Between coughs, she managed to wheeze, "At least... potatoes... get butter."

We pressed on, our clothes sticking to us like a second, very sweaty skin. The heat was making the air shimmer. More than once, I found myself wondering if that next turn was real or just a heat-induced hallucination.

"Next time," I panted, feeling like my lungs were filled with hot sand, "let's just fight a dragon. It'll be cooler."

We made it through the fire maze with minor singeing and major complaining. I was just starting to feel a smidge of confidence when we hit the next challenge. Water puzzles? Let me tell you. Trying to solve intricate water-based puzzles while your bladder is being used as a trampoline by three very active fetuses? Not fun. Not fun at all.

The cocoon that formed around us was filled with a complex network of pipes, valves, and reservoirs. Water flowed through the system in seemingly random patterns. It was relatively easy to see how certain pathways needed to be opened or closed to progress. That seemed too easy.

"If I pee myself solving this puzzle, I'm blaming all of you," I announced as I frantically tried to redirect water flows without crossing my legs like a kindergartener.

Aidon, bless his heart, tried to be helpful. "Just think of something else, honey. Like... um... deserts! Yeah, think about the Sahara."

I fixed him with a glare that could have evaporated the entire puzzle. "Yahweh, if you value your life, you'll stop talking right now."

Nana chuckled. "You think this is bad? Try solving water puzzles during menopause. Now that's a challenge!"

"Not helping, Nana!" I gritted out, turning a valve with perhaps more force than necessary.

We worked our way through the puzzle by redirecting streams and opening and closing valves. In my case, trying very hard not to think about waterfalls, oceans, or anything remotely liquid-related. I nearly lost control of my bladder when we messed up and got drenched. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of aquatic torture, we solved the last part of the puzzle. A satisfying 'click' echoed around us, and a door swung open.

"Thank all that is holy," I breathed as I moved away from the liquid. "If I never see another drop of water again, it'll be too soon."

The next challenge was air currents. I had to navigate my way through what was essentially a wind tunnel obstacle course shaped like a beach ball. Yeah, it was about as graceful as you're imagining.

The magic created a vast space this time. Various platforms were floating at different heights. Strong gusts of wind blew in seemingly random patterns, making the platforms sway and shift. "I swear," I panted as I clung to Aidon and another gust threatened to send me tumbling, "if these babies come out with propellers, I'm blaming this exact moment."

Aidon looked at the swaying platforms with concern. "Maybe I should carry you across, Queenie."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Carry me? I love you, but right now, I have the approximate weight and aerodynamics of a small blimp. We could both end up as splats on the floor."

Nana cackled. "Stop your whining and start moving! You’re mated to a god, in case you forgot. He’s not going to drop you."

"I haven’t forgotten," I muttered as I eyed the nearest platform warily. No way was I going to admit Aidon’s strength and power had slipped my mind.

Aidon chuckled knowingly as he picked me up and cradled me close. After pressing a kiss to my cheek, he carried me across. He jumped from platform to platform. The wind whipped around us, threatening to knock us off balance at every turn. I felt like a pregnant Mary Poppins, minus the umbrella and the cheery disposition.

By some miracle, or more likely my mate’s prowess, we made it to the other side. I collapsed against the wall, panting. "Whoever designed this obstacle course clearly never had to do it while carrying triplets."

“Wait here while I get your mom. Layla has Nana,” Aidon replied, choosing to ignore my sarcasm.

After everyone was through the obstacle course, we moved to what I hoped was the last one. The attic door was close enough that I could touch it until the magic created a space filled with imposing stone walls. Some reached all the way to the ceiling. They shifted and moved, creating an ever-changing labyrinth of rock and rubble.

As I stood there, staring at what looked like the world's most aggressive rock garden, a strange tingling started in my fingertips. Oh no. What now? "Guys?" I called out, a note of panic in my voice. "I think we might have a prob-"

I didn't get to finish that sentence because, suddenly, the world went sideways. Literally. The earth barriers started shifting and reforming. They created a path that looked suspiciously like... "Is that... a slide?" Aidon asked as he cocked his head and examined what we were facing.

Indeed it was. The door and stairs beyond had been replaced with a perfect, smooth stone slide that led straight up to the attic. Because why walk when you can risk life and limb on a magical rock slide?

"Well," Nana chuckled, "that's one way to get upstairs. Your kids are showing some initiative, Phoebe. I like it!"

Before I could retort, another wave of tingles washed over me. This time, I felt it in my whole body. "Oh, this can't be good," I muttered as a crack of thunder shook the house. It came from upstairs.

We all looked at each other, then at the ceiling, then back at each other. "Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was," I groaned.

Aidon's face was filled with amusement. "Depends. If you think it was your unborn children accidentally activated a weather control artifact and created a localized storm in our attic, then... yes, it was exactly what you think it was."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten. When I opened them again, everyone was staring at me expectantly. "What?" I snapped. "I'm trying very hard not to freak out right now. Give me a minute."

"Um, Phoebe?" Aidon said gently. "I hate to rush you, but... it's starting to rain. Inside. From the attic." Sure enough, water was starting to trickle down the slide.

"Right," I sighed. "To the attic then. But if anyone suggests I should let Aidon push me up that rock slide, I will end you. Slowly. With a spoon."

I tried several times to turn the rock back into stairs to no avail. With a grimace and resignation, I turned to my mate. Aidon’s lips were twitching as he tried not to smile. “I’ve got you. It’ll be fun.”

“We’re going to make a train so you can push us both up, so don’t think about getting fresh,” Nana interjected.

Aidon lost all mirth, and his face drained of color. “I would never,” he told Nana.

Sitting down on the end of the slope took an act of God, Aidon, to be precise. With Nana in place behind me, Aidon pushed us up the slope. Nina crawled up behind us. Layla, Mom, and Selene weren't far behind her.

As we reached the top, I flopped onto the attic floor like a beached whale. I was panting dramatically. "That's it," I declared between breaths. "I'm never letting anyone push me up a slide again in my life. I don't care if there's a million dollars and a lifetime supply of chocolate at the top. My ass was not made for this kind of abuse."

Nana snorted as she sat beside me. "Oh please, you should be thankful. Back in my day, we had to climb uphill both ways, in the snow, just to get to the attic."

"Nana," I groaned, "we live in Maine. That's an average day for us."

Aidon laughed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably live a much quieter, less apocalyptic life," I quipped. "But where's the fun in that?"

With a deep breath, we pushed open the attic door and stepped into... a monsoon. A very localized, very intense monsoon. "Well," I said, blinking rain out of my eyes, "at least we don't have to worry about watering the plants for a while."

The attic was a chaos of wind and water. Rain lashed down from a swirling vortex in the center of the ceiling. Gusts of wind sent papers and small objects flying around the room. In the eye of the storm, I could see a small, innocent-looking box. Which, given our luck, probably contained either the secrets of the universe or a really angry genie. Maybe both.

As we approached, I noticed something odd. There were symbols etched into the box, symbols that looked vaguely familiar. "Hey," I called out, squinting through the rain. "Doesn't this look like Hattie's handwriting?"

Nana peered at the box, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "Well, I'll be damned. She definitely wrote this. Looks like we've got ourselves a good old-fashioned riddle box."

What this day really needed was a linguistics puzzle. In the middle of a magical monsoon. While heavily pregnant. "Alright," I sighed, resigning myself to yet another bizarre challenge. "Hit me with it, Nana. What's it say?"

What followed was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. It was a game show from hell that would've made even the most sadistic TV producer cringe. We had a very pregnant woman waddling around like a constipated penguin. A grumpy god with the social skills of a caffeinated squirrel. A shifter who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. A tribred trying to control her baser urges. Plus, a seventeen-year-old who was one eye-roll away from spraining an ocular muscle.

Oh, and did I mention we were all soaking wet? Nothing says ‘let's solve ancient riddles’ like looking like we'd just participated in the world's saddest wet T-shirt contest. And the cherry on top of this disaster sundae? We were trying to decipher a language that made Klingon sound like Shakespeare. Every guess was met with either blank stares or hysterical laughter. Sometimes both. At one point, I'm pretty sure I accidentally summoned a demon or ordered a pizza. Honestly, either one would've been welcome at that point. It was like playing Pictionary with a drunk octopus while riding a unicycle through a hurricane. In other words, nothing out of the ordinary for us.

Nana squinted at the top of the box with a furrowed brow. "I think it says something like... 'I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?'"

I blinked rainwater out of my eyes. "Seriously? We're solving riddles now?"

Aidon was already thinking. "Without a mouth... comes alive with the wind... It's an echo." The moment he said it, one side of the box clicked open, revealing another riddle.

"Nice job, pretty boy," Nana cackled. "Maybe you're not just a pretty face after all."

The next puzzle was even more confusing. "Okay," Nana said, "This one's a doozy. 'I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?'"

"A very boring place to live?" I suggested, earning me an eye roll from Nana.

Aidon snapped his fingers. "A map! It's a map." Another side of the box sprang open. Damn, he was good at this. I gave him an appreciative once-over.

Deciding he could handle the hard part, I tried to focus on the babies and get them to stop with the storm. We continued like this with the others solving riddle after riddle, while I tried to stop our indoor weather problems. Some were straightforward, others had them scratching their heads. I tried to connect to my babies’ magic for what felt like hours.

I understood their impromptu storm was keeping the worst of the Dark magic at bay at the same time they reached the last riddle. I stopped trying to make them stop. Their intervention was likely the only reason we hadn’t been attacked or electrocuted or poisoned by darkness. Of course, by that point, we were all shivering. Our teeth chattered as we huddled around the box.

"Last one, kiddos," Nana said. "Make it count. 'I am not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?'"

I joined in this time, ready to solve the puzzle. Instead, we all stared at each other, stumped. The rain seemed to pour down even harder as if mocking our confusion.

"Not alive but grows... needs air... water kills it..." I muttered, wracking my brain. Suddenly, it hit me. "Fire! It's fire!"

The final side of the box clicked open, and the storm around us began to die down. As the rain lessened to a drizzle and then stopped entirely, we all leaned in to see what was inside the box. There, nestled on a velvet cushion, was a locket. It was beautiful, ornate, and radiated a warmth that seemed to chase away the chill of our impromptu shower.

Nana reached out and gently lifted the locket. "This is Hattie's locket. I haven't seen this in, well, a very long time. And it is vastly different from the last time I saw it. The Dark magic is eroding the metal."

As we stood there, dripping and exhausted, I noticed something else. There was a small, leather-bound book tucked away in a corner of the attic. It looked old and well-worn. "Is that Hattie's journal?" I asked, reaching for it.

The moment my fingers touched the cover, I felt a jolt of something. Recognition? Memory? Whatever it was, I knew this journal was important. Nana tapped the cover. "The things you can find in an attic, eh?" She chuckled. "Looks like we've got some reading to do, kids."

My eyes widened when I flipped open the journal. There, on the very first page, was a name I'd come to dread. Lyra. "Oh boy," I muttered, looking up at my equally soaked, equally stunned family. "I think we just found the missing piece of the puzzle. And something tells me we're not going to like the picture it completes."

“Do we ever?” Stella asked rhetorically.

I shared a look of agreement with her and started to read aloud. "Dear Diary, Today, I met the most extraordinary woman. Her name is Lyra, and she promises to teach me things beyond my wildest dreams. She says she’s going to teach me real magic. Not the parlor tricks I've been reduced to performing at my mother’s behest. She speaks of power and changing the world.

“She also spoke of making those who laughed at me pay,” I continued. “I know I should be wary. Mother always said that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. She also told me the burden of our lineage meant we had to hold ourselves to higher standards. She wouldn’t even let me feel the Pleiades power. I can't help but be drawn to Lyra. She understands me in a way no one else ever has.

“She's given me this locket as a sign of our new friendship. It's beautiful, unlike anything I've ever owned. When I wear it, I feel different. Stronger. More confident. Lyra says this is just the beginning. I can't wait to see what happens next." I looked up from the journal and my heart was pounding like a bass drum. "Guys? I think we might have a problem."

Aidon's face was grim. "Yeah. Lyra began this process with Hattie decades ago. She manipulated her and tried to befriend her.”

I grimaced. “She even used her insecurities against her."

Nana nodded grimly. "And that locket? I'd bet my last bottle of century-old whiskey it established this connection before Hattie ever inherited her full powers."

“It sure seems that way.” I flipped through more pages of the journal, and my stomach churned with each entry. "It gets worse. Listen to this. ‘Lyra's teachings are incredible. I can move objects with my mind now. I can also make people see things that aren't there. But sometimes, when I use these powers, I feel... strange. Like something's consuming me from the inside out. Lyra says it's normal, that there's nothing wrong. But I'm not sure...'

“And this one, dated a few weeks later.” It was difficult to consider Hattie doing these things. “'I did something terrible today. A man laughed at my performance and called me a fraud. I've never been so angry before. Suddenly, he was on the ground, choking. I didn't even intend that to happen, but I knew it was my doing. Lyra was pleased. She said I'm progressing faster than she expected. Why doesn't that make me feel better?'”

I closed the journal, feeling sick. "Lyra wasn't teaching Hattie magic. She was corrupting her. She rebuffed Lyra after that and refused to interact with her again. Too little too late. Lyra’s hooks were already set."

Aidon ran a hand through his hair. "That's how she was able to turn the locket into the conduit. It was her way to channel Dark magic into Hattie after she was dead, slowly transforming her."

"But why?" I asked, looking from Aidon to Nana. "What did Lyra gain from this?"

Nana's eyes were dark with understanding. "Power, kid. Pure, unadulterated power. Dark magic feeds on corruption, on the twisting of a good soul. And from the sounds of it, Hattie was as good as they come before Lyra got her hooks in."

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with my wet clothes. "Lyra was planning on taking Hattie’s power all along. She put Myrna up to everything that led to Hattie not being able to have children and an heir of her own." Sadness washed through me for how much Lyra had taken from Hattie throughout her life.

"And she won’t give up until she has it," Aidon said grimly. "She’s taking the raw energy of Hattie's corrupted magic and amplifying it, making it usable for her purposes."

I looked down at the locket in Nana's hand, then at the journal in mine. "So how do we fix this? How do we save Hattie?"

For a long moment, silence reigned in the attic. Then Nana spoke in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "We've got the locket. We've got the journal. And most importantly, we've got you, kid."

"Me?" I blinked. "What can I do? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in fighting shape here."

Nana's familiar smirk returned. "Maybe not. But you've got something Lyra doesn't. Something she can't corrupt or twist."

"What's that?" I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"Love, you nitwit," Nana said, rolling her eyes. "Pure, unconditional love. For your family, for your friends, for Hattie. That's the kind of power Dark magic can't touch. And with those three little powerhouses you're cooking?" She gestured to my swollen belly. "You're practically a walking beacon of the stuff."

I placed a hand on my stomach. The familiar flutter of movement reassured me. "So what you're saying is..."

"What we're saying," Aidon cut in, taking my free hand, "is that you might just be our secret weapon. The one thing Lyra never accounted for."

Which was why she was working overtime to take me out. I kept that observation to myself. No need to point it out again and worry everyone. I looked around at my ragtag family. "Well," I said, a smile tugging at my lips despite everything, "I guess if we're going to save the world, we might as well do it in style. Who's ready to crash a Dark witch's party?"

Nana cackled, sounding more like her old self. "Now you're talking, kid. Let's go show Lyra what happens when she messes with our family."