by Martha Woods
Skylar placed her hand over his, feeling the tiny movements of their child underneath. Her smile grew until it almost hurt, the prospect of finally seeing her child in the world giving her more joy than any other thought she had ever had in her life. Though she was still worried about just what she was, what her child could possibly be in turn, she was not allowing that to affect the way she thought of them. Her child could be human, her child could be supernatural, her child could be the devil themselves and it would not change the fact that she would love and nurture them until the end of her days.
The baby kicked, the two of them gasping in delight as they felt their child shifting and pushing against their hands. Skylar in particular feeling tears come to her eyes as the realization finally hit.
This is my child, they are almost here. A little part of me is going to go out into the world, and I’m going to watch it grow.
She felt a pulse, like she just touched a live wire and forgot to let go. A jolt ran through her body, starting at her toes and shooting up through to her fingers, the light next to their bed flickering slightly. Liam didn’t notice, his attention still focused solely on the child in his wife’s stomach.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it.
“So, what do you want to name them?”
Her head shot around, her reverie broken as Liam spoke, all grins and anticipation. She smiled lightly, willing her apprehension to take a back seat as she racked her brain for names. “Hmm...” She said, “If it’s a boy, how about Davis?”
“Davis huh?” He nodded slowly, turning it over in his head. “I like it, it seems really... Blues musician-y doesn’t it?”
She snorted, “Oh no, our child’ll sell their soul to the devil in exchange for a guitar!”
“Have you listened to some of those musicians?” He placed his chin on top of her head. “Definitely worth it I think.”
“For a girl...” Skylar pursed her lips, blowing out a breath. “What about Abigail?”
“Abigail?” He smiled, the name feeling just... Right. “It’s beautiful. I think it’s perfect Sky.”
“So, Davis and Abigail...” She giggled as another kick pushed its way against her hand. “Pretty soon we’re going to meet one of them. I can’t wait.”
She gasped suddenly, her stomach lurching as the baby kicked once more, but this time was different. Her vision went black for a second, her skin crawling as it kicked once again with more force than should have been possible for an infant. Liam looked around alarmed as the lights once more flickered on and off, seemingly in time with the kicks. The kicking finally stopped, Skylar clutching at her stomach and breathing out harshly as she recovered from the sudden wave of pain that washed over her. “Hey...” He took her in his arms, rubbing soothing circles into her back. “Are you alright? What was that?”
“I... I don’t know...” She shook her head, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. “Actually... That’s not true. I think... I think that I might be something. Something... Dangerous and... And dark.”
“No.” He turned her head to meet his, his jaw set and his expression leaving no room for argument. “You listen to me ok? You are Skylar Moore, you are my wife. You managed to win over some cynical prick like me just by being your wonderful self, you’ve had a major hand in bringing three groups who’ve despised each other for millennia to have peace. Don’t you dare say that you are something dark, don’t insult yourself like that!”
“Then what is this? Why is everything happening like this, why... Why do I have the feeling like something horrible is going to happen?” She sniffed, her eyes swimming with tears. “Why can I not just be happy that I’m going to be a mother? Why... Why do I have to be so afraid?”
“You don’t have to be.” Liam pulled her back against him, the two of them laying down on the sheets as he wound his arm around her. He pressed himself against her, her back slotting perfectly against his chest as he squeezed around her, making sure that she could feel every inch of his body pressed against her. “Do you feel this? I’m here for you Skylar. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, not now, not ever. However this goes, whatever happens, you are my wife, you are the woman that I love with all of my heart. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Ok.” Skylar let her head fall back, his chin resting in the crook of her neck as she shuddered out a breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Don’t ever apologize. You’re in a position that no one should ever have to be in, and yet you still remain the love filled woman you always have been.” Liam feathered kisses against her skin, pouring as much of himself into each one as he could. “You’re a truly incredible woman, you deserve to have the chance to let it all go.”
“Does it change anything? How you feel about me, about our child.”
He didn’t even need a second to think about his response. “No goddamn way. You and this baby are my entire reason for living now, I live to protect the two of you, regardless of whatever it is you might be. Nothing is going to get in the way of that, I pity anything that tries.”
She sighed contently, finally feeling some of the tension leech out of her body as she relaxed against him. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
* * *
“Hayley!” Michael followed her through the room, where she had been sprinting around desperately trying to pick up whatever book, or charm, or whatever she could after learning about Skylar. “Hayley stop! What are you doing?”
She paid him no heed, frantically turning page after page as she looked for something, anything that she could do. Finally, after being ignored one too many times, Michael growled, grabbing Hayley by her shoulders and stopping her in her place. “Hayley! Goddammit calm down, what is wrong?”
Hayley shook her head, pointing over to the book, her hand shaking uncontrollably. “There... I... I think I know what Skylar is. Take a look for yourself.”
He followed her sight, the sight of the book planting trepidation on his face as he let go of her. “In there? What... What could it be that’s gotten you so shaken?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it before. I... I don’t think any of us have.” She walked over slowly, gathering the book up in her hands and gingerly turning back to the page that had alarmed her so. She flipped the book around, Michael’s eyes going wide as he looked at the diagram that Cassandra had drawn of the creature.
“Jesus... What the fuck is that?”
“It’s called an Enenra. They’re creatures of smoke and darkness, people can’t decide if they’re divine or if they’re demons. To be honest, I don’t think I know either.” She closed the book, placing it on the table behind her and putting her head in her hands. “It can’t be anything else Michael, it matches up with everything else I’ve seen, even Skylar would agree.”
“How can you be sure?” He ran his hands through his hair. “How... There’s got to be another explanation!”
“This is it Michael! This is what she is!” Her voice was muffled, her hand covering her mouth in horror. “You didn’t see the... The smoke. That shit crawling out of her body... I felt it Michael. She is something else, something powerful, and I don’t know what to do.”
Michael walked over to her, taking her in his arms and pressing her head into his chest. “Hey... Hey it’s alright, you don’t have to fix everything yourself. We’re all here for Skylar, just like we’re all here for you.”
She burrowed her head into him deeper, desperate for as much contact as she could get. She breathed deeply, his scent grounding her in the moment, a heady scent of grass and the forest that was instantly calming. Hayley exhaled slowly, “I’m sorry, I know that you want to help it’s just... She’s my best friend Michael. How can I not worry like this?”
“I’m not saying don’t worry, god knows I’m close to freaking out over this. She’s the sister I always wanted Hayley, and you know how much family means to me.” He smiled, the expression a little melancholic as he tightened his arms a
round her. “The thought of losing her, to some two-bit mobster or to... To herself...” He shook his head vehemently. “I can’t bear the thought of it.”
“I swear Michael, I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure that she is alright. I just... What can I do? The only person who’s even seen one of these is Cassandra, and even then I don’t know for sure if she’s actually seen one or if this was just theoretical!” Hayley swept an arm around the room, books fluttering on the shelves from a slight breeze. “I could look through every book in this room, hell, every book in the coven, and I doubt I’d find a single thing that could help us. The baby is going to be born soon anyway, so any help we could find here would be far too late.”
Michael stepped out of their embrace, taking a seat on the other side of the room as he tried to think of some course of action, some way that they could get assistance. “What about Cassandra? She seems like the obvious choice don’t you think?”
Hayley shook her head sadly. “We can’t afford the time to make the trip, with the rate it’s been growing Sky’s baby is due any day now. If it wasn’t for that we’d be leaving right this moment.”
“What about that thing she gave us, that stick? Can’t we summon her here, get her to answer some questions?”
Again, she shook her head. “That’s not what it’s to be used for. Her giving us that summoner... That’s an extreme mark of trust, not something to be taken lightly. It’s to be used in a matter of life and death, when there is no other option available. She seems like she’s getting used to us, maybe even starting to like us, but if we used that to summon her to answer some questions? That would be profoundly insulting, and I don’t want to anger her on top of everything else that’s happening.”
Michael swore quietly to himself, though he was willing to concede the point. He considered himself to be relatively easy going, but even he knew he would be insulted by being summoned at someone’s beck and call to indulge their curiosity. And besides, even though they were growing fond of each other that didn’t mean that his fear of the witch had disappeared. He still remembered the look of cold anger disguised as aloofness she’d shown him when he got too nosy in her house. If possible, he would very happily not see that expression ever again, whether it be directed at him or his friends.
“Well what can we do then? If we can’t go to her, and if she can’t come to us...” He sighed, “We’re fucked, aren’t we?”
“It looks like that but... There has to be something that we can do, doesn’t there?” Hayley shuffled back onto the table, drawing her leg up and placing her chin on her knee. “We can’t be completely helpless here.”
“Maybe all we can do is be there for her, make sure that she doesn’t feel like some kind of... Freak of nature or whatever. Maybe all she needs is to not feel alone right now.”
“Maybe... Maybe.” She nodded slowly, staring of into the distance.
“Still though, I almost can’t believe it.” She looked back over at Michael, who shrugged. “This... Enenra thing, it’s made up of smoke and darkness, right? I think of that and I think of some kind of big scary demon thing, not Skylar. Skylar is like light itself almost, there’s nothing about her that looks dark at all.”
Hayley looked down at her hands, seeing how soft the skin remained in spite of how much power was hidden within. “Michael... Do I have the hands of a killer?”
He looked over at her, confused at the change in topic. “What?”
“My hands, do they look stained with blood? Scarred beyond recognition?” She held her hand out to him, showing off the flawless skin. “Does it look like I have the hands of someone who’s killed dozens of people before with a flick of my wrist?”
“No, your hands look like you’ve never done a day of work in your life.” He looked down at his own, faint white lines crisscrossing along the toughened skin. “Your hands don’t look like mine.”
“Just because something looks one way, doesn’t mean that it is that way.” She sat down next to him, running her finger along one prominent scar that stretched over the back of his hand and traveled up his forearm. “She could have some darkness within her, and none of us would know until it was too late, maybe not even her. She’s a lot stronger than she looks, but for all we know this could amplify that feeling until she lost control.”
“But... Where did this come from? How is something like this even created?”
“The book said that people think that there are two different ways that they come into being, the first is that some are just... Born, like normal creatures are. The other is...” She trailed off, hoping that the second way wasn’t the correct one.
“Hayley? Hayley what’s the second way they’re created?”
She shuddered out a breath, pushing her words out in one breath. “The other way happens when someone dies, then they turn. I don’t think it’s that, since we looked over her history as well but... We can’t rule it out.”
“Jesus...” Michael covered his own face, Hayley’s arms winding around his neck. “What can we do for her? If this is actually dangerous... What can we do?”
“I want to trust her, I really do... But something like this is dangerous if you don’t know how to control it, and she didn’t even know supernatural beings were real a year ago.” She sighed, already regretting making this decision. “I think, if we’re going to be able to protect her as well as ourselves... I think we need to assume the worst.”
Chapter 2
Andrew’s head felt like it had been split open with an ax, dots swimming behind his closed eyelids as he slowly regained consciousness. He blinked blearily, groaning in pain as the light flooded his vision and made him screw his eyes shut once more. His mouth tasted like iron, the telltale taste of blood overpowering, only getting a modicum better once he spat out a thick glob onto the ground.
With his head swimming, he went to run a hand down his face, but when he started to move his arm he found that he couldn’t raise it at all. An inspection through blurred vision was all he needed to see that he had been tied down, half a roll of duct tape on each arm keeping him securely in the seat.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try though.
Andrew shook in the chair, rocking back and forth as he tried to get some form of momentum, or even to damage the chair itself, but it was no use. The tape on his arms was too thick for him to deform, and the legs of the chair, made out of steel rather than wood, were bolted directly into the concrete floor. He groaned in frustration, the noise quickly turning into a growl when he remembered why he was there.
“I swear to god, if he hurts Skylar...”
The sound of the door opening drew him from his thoughts, especially once it was accompanied by a mocking strain of laughter. He raised his head slowly, grimacing when he saw who his guest was.
Sarconi clapped mockingly, delighting in seeing someone tied down in front of him, helpless to whatever it was he decided he wanted to do. It felt... Familiar.
If only Grayson was there.
“So, Andrew, you’re finally awake. Bout time too, we were getting worried for a second there.”
Andrew groaned, spitting onto the ground once more. “Who is we? Another one of your friends? I’d rather not honestly.”
Sarconi stepped over, grabbing a fistful of his hear and tearing his head back, sneering into his face. “Don’t be like that Andrew. I think that you two will get along pretty well. Well, better than us at least.” He dropped his head, wiping his bloodied hand off on Andrew’s shirt. “Really, I can’t wait for you two to meet. He’s been helping me out quite a bit, we only met very recently but... I feel like this is a partnership built to last. I think we might be kindred spirits.”
“Oh, you speak to highly of me, I’m just a lowly hunter, nothing to be in such a fuss over.” Andrew looked at the man who had just entered, head tilting at the display. He was dressed almost as a priest, though the gun on his hip obviously crossed out any affiliation with the church. Well, any nor
mal church at least. After the last few months, Andrew was willing to believe in the strange.
“Who the fuck...” His words were cut off as a fist connected with his cheek, Sarconi almost moaning as he shook his hand out.
“My god I missed that.”
The other man placed a hand on Sarconi’s shoulder, giving him a pointed look. “Please, you can wait until I’m finished before you start.” Sarconi chuckled, but he acquiesced, stepping back and leaning against the wall. “Now that that’s done, I believe you were asking me a question?”
Andrew spat blood at his feet, cracking his jaw from side to side. “Yeah, I was asking who the fuck you were.”
He brushed a hand down his chest, cleaning off whatever imaginary dust he thought he had collected. “Of course, how rude of me.” He held his hand out, smirking when Andrew looked at it in irritation. “My name’s Christian, I’m a hunter.”
“Christian?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, looking over his outfit. “Don’t you think that’s a little on the nose?”
Christian rolled his eyes. “Of course, I haven’t heard that one before.”
“Well no offense but maybe you should change out of that get up. It’s not like you’ve been sewn into those clothes.”
“You know, you might want to watch the way you speak to me. I’m not itching to see you bloody but I’m not exactly going to stop Leonard here if he wants to continue.”
Andrew laughed, “Leonard? Your fuckin’ name is Leonard?”
“Leonardo.” Sarconi looked over at Christian. “I thought I explained that.”
He shrugged. “Guess I forgot, sorry about that.”
“Look, if you two idiots are done are we finished here?” Andrew shifted in his seat, tensing his shoulders and shaking. “If you’re gonna kill me just go ahead and get it over with, I’m sick of fuckin’ waiting!”
