Chapter Seventeen
Everything looked gorgeous, perfect even.
If Gigi hadn’t been aware of a looming supernatural invasion she would have basked in how exceedingly well the baby shower appeared to be going.
Blue skies overhead. Sun shining down. A large number of the family present, well over one-hundred and fifty, most of the women in summery frocks, the men in casual lightweight trousers and shirts.
An impromptu puppet show at the Library meant Asher, Theo and their respective grandmothers were absent. Hadleigh, dressed in all black camo gear, which was pretty much her regular daily attire, loitered near the bar along with her meld mate Vaughn, and most of the other Maat Warriors.
Whilst Gaia wandered the party like she was part of an inspection team sent in by Michelin, surveying the decorations and food being served with a critical eye.
Not so surreptitiously making copious notes.
Hopefully Gaia would hold off sending Gigi any fresh ideas or new changes she wanted for Theo’s first birthday until after today’s event.
Though what she could find fault with, Gigi didn’t know. Pink and yellow bunting criss-crossed the enormous back garden. Whilst large blazing paper maché suns decorated poles stuck in the ground about the place at regular intervals, long ribbons topping the poles fluttering gently in the breeze.
Nell was seated on the porch of her father’s ice sculpting studio.
Watching the proceedings from the comfort of an enormous cushioned high backed cane chair.
Yellow disco balls hanging from the porch ceiling around her, like miniature suns, sparkling away.
Nell, in a dark blue dress that matched her eyes, her honey-brown hair swept into a loose side plait, looked earth mother gorgeous.
Except the expression in her eyes simmered with heat and frustration.
Thankfully the family assumed it was because she was uncomfortable, ten months pregnant, and just impatient for her daughter’s arrival.
The fact that Drum loomed over her constantly, scowling, was perfectly normal behaviour on his part.
The only speed bump so far was Maat and Apep’s absence.
The duo sending word they had been called to Mount Olympus for an emergency meeting.
Everyone knew it was a ruse to keep them away.
But the two deities had reluctantly agreed to go along with it, not wanting to let their enemies know they were on to their scheme and have them cancel or worse, change their invasion plans.
Two hours into the party, things were going smoothly.
The buffet tables were being picked over constantly by her heavily drinking relatives.
Gigi noting that the dried lemon zest and spiced large sun shaped cookies appeared to be a favourite.
Canary, lording over the sweets table like a little furry King on his diamanté studded raised cake stand, scoffed down every treat that her relatives shoved in his tiny mouth.
Thankfully remaining a solid dark purple colour following every bite.
His necklace du jour a starburst of tiny yellow diamonds.
At the savoury table Nico’s staff could barely keep up with the demand for his prawn cocktails, beef empanadas and barbeque pork sliders.
Gigi had thought it would be difficult trying to keep her relatives contained.
They were a curious lot and liked to wander.
But Darcy had come up with a genius idea.
Requesting her father create a large ice sculpture of a sun.
Challenging him to make several of the extended solar flares from it functional so they delivered cocktails.
Lemon drop martinis. Frozen lime margaritas. Pineapple daquiris.
And with Maat’s Warriors heading off any wanderers and casually herding them back towards the bar, their plan of keeping the relatives contained appeared to be working.
The only thing worrying Gigi was Nell. Her cousin was snappish. Uninterested in any of the food fetched to tempt her, and she kept squirming, as if the cushions beneath her were made of rocks.
“Where are they?” It must have been the tenth time Nell had asked.
“They’ll get here when they get here.” Drum brushed his hand across her cheek and for just a moment Nell relaxed, smiling up at him. But the smile dropped abruptly as she winced, shifting position again.
Oh, Heavens, Gigi had a sudden, horrifying thought. Sidling over to the large chair Gigi bent over, whispering as quietly as possible into her cousin’s ear. “Are you in labour?”
“Of course not.” Nell hissed out the side of her mouth, from between gritted teeth.
“Problem?” Drum queried.
“Nothing, He-man, Gigi was just asking if I wanted more cold water.”
“I’ll get it.”
“Thanks.” Nell smiled fondly up at him, though the moment Drum stepped off the porch the smile disappeared, pinning Gigi with a hard look. “You can’t say anything to Drum.”
“Nell. The baby is coming.”
Nico took three steps closer. “You’re in labour?”
“Shussh, not so loud. And for pity sake, smile you two.” Nell forced a gritted smile of her own as an example. Damn, she looked in pain. “I’m perfectly fine. Babies take forever to arrive. Labour can last for days you know.”
Nell’s demeanour, her snappishness, her lack of appetite. All were major red flags in Gigi’s book. “And how long, exactly, have you been in labour for?”
“Nine, maybe ten hours now.”
Merciful Lady, give her strength. “How far apart are the contractions?”
Nell’s only response was to clamp her lips together stubbornly. Seriously? This was supposed to be her sane and calmest cousin.
“I’m guessing you wince every time you have a contraction….” Gigi watching closely and though she was pretty sure Nell tried to hide it, she couldn’t. “Three minutes. Three minutes!”
“Shussh, here comes Drum.” Nell accepted the glass of water, taking a big gulp. “Honey, would you fetch Devon for me, I just remembered I forgot to tell her about yet another complaint I received concerning her hideous lack of bedside manner.”
“Devon? Why Devon? She’s an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist.” Gigi frowned, the wind had shifted slightly and she could smell something unusual on the breeze, something a little sour and chemical.
“Well I’m not letting Cousin Carl deliver my baby—”
“Knock out gas!” Gigi yelled loudly as the combination of elements registered.
Those on duty sprung into action. Two of the Enforcers creating invisible shields around the crowd at the bar and nearby buffet tables.
Several family members though had been excluded, Flynn and Dash in the process of rounding up their protesting asses and herding them towards a waiting Enforcer with shield abilities.
Drum, Devon on his heels, just made it onto the porch of the ice sculpting shed before the fourth Enforcer with a shield ability raised the final one. Problem with shields, they were great for keeping physical entities in or out, gases not so much, since people inside them still needed to breathe.
“To me.” Gigi mentally commanded Canary, watching him bound off his glittering dais and head towards her, even as Gigi turned her attention to pulling apart and smashing together the elements making up the cloud of knock out gas drifting in their direction.
It was too large an area, watching in dismay as several relatives the furthest away from her sank to the grass.
Crap, she wrestled with the elements, working faster, very relieved when one of her wind mage relatives worked out what was going on and released a blustery gale.
Phew. Gigi cut her magic off. Acknowledging Canary who was now hopping back and forth a few feet away on the other side of the invisible shield. Acting as sentry.
“Incoming.” Drum must have sensed them.
Ten creatures dropped out of thin air, landing with ground shaking thuds.
They were massive, probably falling on the ogre and cyclops family trees somewhere.
But these things were hairless, all but naked except for wearing matching grey gym shorts, their heads looking tiny on their massive muscular bodies.
More worrisome, their legs and arms were abnormally long.
Their fists and feet big massive blocks.
And clearly they enjoyed hitting things, as they swung their arms about menacingly.
Gleefully stomping on things, as one leapt high in the air, attempting to land on Elijah.
Who with five quick sword swipes managed to amputate its left leg almost to the knee.
It roared with pain, landing awkwardly but still a threat, swinging its overlong arms about.
Even as Maat’s Warriors and Hadleigh raced forward to engage the gate crashers, Drum and Nico moved to stand in front of Nell.
Drum holding a large curved scimitar that glittered with golden lights.
Nico likewise had a sword, one he’d hidden behind Nell’s big comfy chair earlier in the day.
Devon, rocking a recent Parisian runway summery dark green dress, had no weapons, but her long raven locks were currently on high alert.
Several of them swivelling back and forth, looking for any approaching danger.
Devon’s Makura needle sharp nails out and ready also.
Gigi felt the odd person out. Gaze travelling over the chaos.
Tables and chairs had been knocked aside.
Plates of food trampled underfoot, or pounded into the ground by their stomping interlopers.
The increasingly pock marked garden making things doubly treacherous.
Something catching her attention, drawing her gaze to the sky.