Soul Savers: Faith Part 21

"It's so faint," Carlie said. "And now come over here."

She moved his end an inch or so over. After a moment of listening, his eyes darkened and his mouth pressed into a scowl.

"I don't like that look," I said. "What's wrong?"

"You hear it, too?" Carlie asked Tristan, and he nodded. "Well, lucky for us, Owen was finally able to fix the ultrasound machine the hunters brought back weeks ago. Let's take a peek."

A few minutes later, after Carlie turned off every light and electrical device in the medical unit so she could power the ultrasound machine, I again lay on my back with cold jelly being smeared on my abdomen.

"I've had a little training on reading these things, but it wasn't exactly my forte," she warned as she pressed the wand against my skin. "Do you know how, Tristan?"

"Not so much, but between the two of us, we should surely be able to figure it out."

They took turns moving the wand around while strange noises sounded in their throats.

"I didn't think it would be this hard," Tristan said.

"The placenta seems unusually thick, I think." Carlie's brows pinched together. "Would that be possible with you guys?"

Tristan's forehead wrinkled as he looked at me, one corner of his mouth lifting. "Maybe she has a little more supernatural protection after what happened last time."

The Angels? I wondered. "Well, that would be nice. Good news for once. So why the frowns earlier?"

A moment later, when Tristan moved the device lower, Carlie answered with a little squeal as she clapped her hands together, her eyes transfixed to the screen. "There it is!"

I studied the monotone image, trying to figure out what she saw in the gray blobs surrounded by a black area at the bottom of what looked like a tunnel of more gray. "What?"

She placed her hand over Tristan's on the wand and moved it to highlight one of the gray, peanut-shaped blobs. Something small flashed in it. "One," she said, and then she moved to the other peanut with another pulsing smudge. "Two."

My breath caught as I realized what she meant, and my eyes remained locked on the screen. My own heart forgot to beat for several of those blips on the monitor.

"No," I said, shaking my head, refusing to believe it. "This can't be."

"You're having twins, Alexis!" Carlie said excitedly.

I shook my head harder, tears springing to my eyes. My voice came out in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "That's not good. I can't do this again."

"Carlie, can give you us a moment?" Tristan asked as he pa.s.sed her the wand, and then picked up my hand between his and brought it to his lips, his darkened eyes never leaving mine.

"Of course. Just let me take a quick look." She moved the wand around for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a minute or so. My lungs refused to function, and my hand tightened around Tristan's with every second that pa.s.sed while I tried to suppress the tears. "From what I can tell, everything seems to be okay. I can't see gender on the one, though. He or she's behind the-" She paused and looked at us. "Do you want to know?"

"We already know," Tristan said quietly.

"Oh. Um, okay." She handed me a tissue to clean off my belly. "I know twins are a lot of work, but if anyone can handle it, you two can."

She squeezed my shoulder before leaving us.

Tristan sat on the exam table and gathered me into his arms. We held on to each other tightly, as though if we let go, we might fall to pieces.

"At least we're certain there are two babies," he said after a while, his voice thick with the same emotions roiling through me. "No tricks this time."

"If we're lucky, which we never are."

"They're protected."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes against his s.h.i.+rt. "But even if we keep them, we have to break the curse. I ... we can't lose our sons."

He pressed his lips to my forehead before tucking my head under his chin. "Do you remember on our honeymoon when you talked about the children you wanted?"

I closed my eyes, recalling the beautiful memory clearly. We'd lay in bed in the Caribbean room at the beach house, discussing our future. That was back before I knew hardly anything about our world.

"I'd wanted a boy so badly, one just like you, and I have him. Or, I did. You said then that a son was a bad idea, and I get it now. G.o.d, do I ever get it." I opened my eyes and tilted my head to see his face. "Not that I regret having Dorian at all, but it just goes to show we should be careful what we wish for."

He pulled his head back enough to look down at me. "You'd said you wanted three or four children."

"And you said that was impossible."

"Right. And now look."

I'd have my three, four if we counted the one I lost-actually five, if Satan's story to Tristan had been true-but we'd be lucky if we could keep one. I sighed. "Again-be careful what you wish for."

He brushed his lips over my cheekbone. "I prefer the cliche of anything is possible."

After a moment of pondering his unending optimism, I nodded and said with determination, "Including breaking the curse."

News about the twins traveled quickly, and while the Normans found the prospect exciting, the Amadis among us knew what this meant. My team, especially, loved Dorian and understood the heartbreak I already suffered ... and the intensifying need to stop Dorian and break the curse.

A few days later, Char came rus.h.i.+ng into the training room where Tristan and I had been leading an Aikido cla.s.s. "We have news on the radio. Hurry."

While Tristan dismissed cla.s.s, I mentally called out to the rest of the council in The Loft, and we met them in the radio room at the command post up front.

"This news is for anyone listening, hopefully including the mother s.h.i.+p one," the man on the radio said, referring to The Loft here, since I was the mother. "Movement has been seen toward the land of the great white. Almost seems to be a migration. Take note." He paused, then started the message again.

"Daemoni are moving toward Hades," Tristan translated.

I nodded. "The great white of Siberia."

"Why?" Blossom asked. "What do you think's going on?"

Dread sent a s.h.i.+ver up my spine when the answer hit me. "This must be one of the signs the matriarchs told me about. Lucas must be getting ready to act. Which means Dorian-"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Charlotte interrupted. "Daemoni heading to Hades may not mean anything. There could be many reasons for them to go to their biggest city."

"He said a migration," I pointed out.

"Which is different than a swarm or a rush," Char said. "They're moving slowly. Right now, it doesn't sound urgent."

"Agreed," Tristan said. "It's just information at this time. But that could change."

"We should check it out," I said to him. "See for ourselves what's going on."

He nodded. "Maybe find out Lucas's plans."

Charlotte pointed at me. "You're not going anywhere."

"Don't be like the others," I said harshly. "You know d.a.m.n well that I am. Tristan and I are the only ones who can go."

"Hey," Owen protested. "Vanessa and I did fine before we found you."

I turned to look at him while crossing my arms over my chest. "So you're going to open a portal to Hades and let a sorcerer or Lucas trap you?"

"f.u.c.k no," Vanessa replied before Owen could open his mouth.

"We'll have to eventually," he said. "If we're going to battle at some point. Why not beat them there now?"

"Because we're not talking about going to battle," Vanessa said. "You're talking about the two of us going there alone to scope things out. On land. Alone."

Tristan rubbed his chin. "She's right. We need more intelligence before you take the risk of a portal and getting stuck there like we did last time. We won't take the chance until we're ready for that point of no return."

"Tristan and I can do a flyover, maybe pick a few brains, and get back," I said.

"You hope," Charlotte corrected.

I tossed my hands in the air. "We have a better chance than anyone else here."

"We're stronger than ever, Char," Tristan said, clapping his hand on his own shoulder, gesturing to his wings. "Alexis is right. We can be there and back. Trust me-nothing will happen to her and our children."

With only a scowl as a reply, she turned her back on us and strode out of the room.

"I'm with Char on this," Sheree said, her eyes sad as she looked at me before hobbling through the door.

Blossom stood up. "Sorry, Alexis, but I am, too. Maybe you should let someone else do the dirty work for a change."

"My life is no more valuable than anyone else's."

She glanced down at my belly. "Considering there are three lives in that package, yes, your body is more valuable."

She left, too, and I stood there in shock for several long moments while those who remained in the room stayed silent. With a split vote, Tristan would be the tiebreaker, although the final decision always belonged to me. But I didn't think this was really a split vote. Owen, Vanessa, and Jax showed their support of whatever I decided by staying here, but that didn't mean they liked it.

Tristan broke the silence. "Since we agree it's not urgent yet, why don't we wait a few days or so before we go? Let Robin and the other were-birds continue watching."

"You were just all for us going," I argued. "You know we can do this."

"Yes, we can. And eventually, probably soon, we'll have to. But for now, you should probably listen to your council's advice." He lifted his brow as I stared at him, and I opened my mind to his. "You need them one-hundred-percent behind you when the time comes. Show that you can listen."

I blew out a harsh breath.

"Okay, fine," I acquiesced. "Have Robin and the others gather intelligence for now. But if something changes, we're out of here."

Giving in to their wishes went a long way with my team, which was good because less than a week later, something did change. Daemoni moved more rapidly and in larger numbers toward Siberia and Hades, according to the reports coming in on the radio. And then Robin showed up.

"I wanted to come tell you myself," she said as soon as she saw me with Tristan on my heels as we entered the command post room. "Lucas has been sighted."

My stomach tumbled with fear. "Is Dorian ... with him?

"Not that anybody saw. We found it bizarre, though, that Lucas was moving to the east, away from Hades."

"While everyone else is headed toward there," Tristan said, as though finis.h.i.+ng her thought.

"Exactly."

I clutched Tristan's arm. "He might be going after Dorian, tired of waiting on him."

"That would be stupid of him," Tristan said. "He knows Dorian must come to him. To the Ancients, more precisely."

"Unless he doesn't care about winning Dorian over and only wants him to open the Gates to h.e.l.l."

Robin made a noise that sounded like a freaked-out chirp. "What?"

Tristan eyed me. I threw up my hands. "The time has come for our people to know. From the sounds of things, we won't be able to keep it from them much longer."

So we told Robin about Lucas's need for Dorian to open the Gates to h.e.l.l and bring Satan to Earth, knowing she'd spread the word to the groups hiding around the world.

"Keep this among the Amadis only," I ordered her. "The Normans will panic."

"Everybody will want to fight," she said.

"Not yet," I said firmly. "Tristan and I will go first, and find out what Lucas is doing. n.o.body moves until you hear from us. Got it?"

She gave a sharp nod. I turned to face my council who stood behind me.

"Any objections this time?" I asked. "Or do we agree the time has come to move?"

"I still don't like it," Char said as she stepped up to me and put her hands on my shoulders. "You're like a daughter to me, Alexis. Those babies are family, too."

"And if we want them to have any hope for a future," I started, and she nodded, not needing me to finish.

"You two find out what you can," she said. "We'll worry about preparing the Amadis."

"n.o.body does anything until we say," I repeated. "If we get lucky, maybe the Amadis can take Lucas down, and we can avoid going to Hades to fight the rest of the Daemoni."

"Wishful thinking," Vanessa muttered under her breath. Probably, but I ignored her.

Robin took off to begin alerting the rest of the Amadis, while Tristan and I hurried to our room to change into our fighting leathers. Then we headed to the Armory where Char and Brogan met us. I had my trusty dagger on my hip and my knife in my boot, but I didn't hesitate to grab a silver-bladed sword and two handguns. Brogan fitted straps over my chest and back to hold the sword, gun holsters, and ammo clips. Tristan also strapped on a sword and a couple of guns, although he contained the deadliest power in his hand. We loaded up on as much silver-coated ammo as we could hold.

"Weren't you the one who taught me guns were pretty useless in our world?" I asked Char as she made sure my leather straps were tightened.

"They are if you don't want to kill, which has always been our way," she answered as she pulled the guns out of the holsters and inspected them. "But weren't you the one who started this war saying we'll do whatever it takes, even if it means slaying Daemoni?"