Heir of Night by Emily Goodwin
Chapter 45
“The spell,” I say, slowly straightening up. “We need to cast it.”
“Callie,” Lucas starts, this time looking at me just like my friends did. “You’re in labor.”
“It’s not that bad,” I rush out, lying through my teeth. “And if I am, we need to get this done. The contractions are fifteen minutes apart and could stay like that for hours. We need like twenty minutes to cast. I can do this.”
“You can, but that doesn’t mean you should.”
“What if something happens to me and then the Horsemen show up?” I rasp, finally voicing a fear I didn’t even want to allow myself to fully acknowledge. “What if I don’t make it through childbirth like my mom? Promise me, Lucas, please, that you’ll do whatever you can to keep Juliet safe.”
“Don’t talk like this,” he growls, fangs coming down. “You’re going to make it through childbirth. You’re not human, Callie. Your mother was. Juliet has half the divinity in her that you do. You are going to survive this.”
“Promise me, Lucas.” Tears fill my eyes. “Please.” My voice breaks, and everything weighs on me.
Julian’s death. The fact that I have no idea where my father is or how to find Lucifer. How much I wish my mother could be here, holding my hand and telling me it’s going to be okay.
“I promise,” he whispers, his own eyes misting over. “I promise to take care of you and our daughter. No matter what.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, clinging to him. “I love you, Lucas.”
“I love you too, Callie.” He smooths my hair back. “It’s okay to be frightened. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” He kisses me, tongue going past my lips and his fangs scraping against me.
“I can cast the circle,” I tell him. “Just in case.”
He retracts his fangs and looks away, jaw tense. He doesn’t want me to do it, and I understand why. “Add an extra warding to the house. When Evader gets here, he can take over and cast the circle for the trap. You’re not in any condition to do that kind of magic right now, Callie.”
“That’s the third time I’ll have to have my friends do something I should be doing. I couldn’t cast the protection spell on the Ley line. I didn’t get to help with the exorcism. And now I can’t cast my own magical trap? I can’t put that on them.”
“You’re not putting it on them, Callie,” he says gently, though he could easily be angry right now. “They are your friends. Your family. They love you and care about you, and they care about our daughter. We all know you’re the best defense against the Horsemen and are the only archangel-born Nephilim. You’re not brushing off a responsibility so you can go party. And as much as I hate it, in the end, it’s going to be you who stops the Horsemen. Take the night off. You’re having a fucking baby, my love.”
I look up at Lucas, lips parting. “Holy fuck. I’m having a baby. We’re going to be parents.”
Lucas’s handsome face splits into a smile. “We are.” He turns me. “You’re going inside.”
Starting to feel anxious, I pat my leg to call Scarlet and let Lucas lead me inside. My friends are all in the kitchen, trying to act like they weren’t watching me outside. I don’t like being the center of attention, but I know I’m not going to escape it tonight.
“Anyone want to help me cast a warding on the house?” I ask, hands going to my back so I can try and stretch. “Just, uh, something simple.”
“No Solomon circles to entrap demons?” Naomi asks, eyes lighting up. She knows I’d only relent and not cast the spell if I was officially in labor, and I am.
“Not tonight.” I side-eye Lucas and try not to panic. “I’m pretty sure I’m actually in labor.”
“I’d love to help put another level of protection on the house,” Kristy says, trying to hide her excitement. She’s doing a better job than Lucas, at least. “What do you have in mind?”
“An elemental-based circle of protection.” It’s a basic warding, one I usually don’t bother with, but with four of us calling individually on each element, it can create a pretty strong warding against any sort of ill intention. “We can each take a corner and can go with the elements we were going to channel for the Solomon spell.”
“Are you ready now?” Kristy asks. “We can gather what we need and head out in minutes.”
“Yeah,” I tell her, feeling like a literal ticking time bomb. “I’m fine.”
My best friend beams. “I’ll get what we need.”
Lucas’s hands land on my shoulders once I take a seat at the island. “Are you sure about this, my love?”
“Yes,” I say, looking at the clock. “This spell is fast and easy to cast. I’ll stay right by the porch.”
He doesn’t say anything but brings his hands down my arms. My eyes flutter shut for only a moment, and then I look at the clock again. I’ve been having a contraction every fifteen minutes, and I’m dreading the pain already.
And I’m also looking forward to it, since it means our little girl is going to be here soon.
“I got what we need,” Kristy says, coming back into the kitchen. She’s carrying a stick of incense, a jar of moon water, and a bag of graveyard dirt. “Let’s go.” She distributes what she’s holding, and we take our places around the house. Lucas stands behind me when I go onto the stoop outside the hall next to the library. I wait a beat, listening for my friends.
“Ready,” Nicole calls.
“Ready,” I call on and hear Kristy answer. I wait a beat for Naomi to be ready as well and then hold up my hands.
“Earth, air, water, fire,” I begin, chanting in a low voice. “Earth, air, water, fire. Earth, air, water, fire.” I summon hellfire in both my hands. “I call upon the element of fire. Surround us with your warmth and protect us from harm is my desire.” I thrust my hands up and feel the fire burn hotter.
“Earth, air, water, fire.”
My friends do the same, and I can sense the spell connecting the four elements. A bright line of yellow magic circles the house, glowing bright as lightning for a moment and then fading away. I keep my hands up, fueling the spell, and then let out a breath and step back.
“Done,” I tell Lucas. “Told you it was simple.”
“Sometimes simple is best.” His hands land on my shoulders. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired and a little nervous.”
“Let’s go in and relax while we can.”
“Okay,” I say, thinking I still have at least five minutes before the next contraction. We regroup with everyone in the kitchen, and only a minute or so later, I have another contraction. I don’t need Lucas to tell me that fifteen minutes haven’t quite passed yet.
“You guys don’t have to stay,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Like hell we’re leaving,” Kristy retorts.
Nicole claps her hands together. “It’s baby time!”
I grip the counter so hard it’s a wonder I don’t break it. Lucas is at my side, looking more than a little panicked again. He holds onto me, and I want to swat him away, but I can’t move. Fuck, I can’t even breathe until this contraction is over.
Letting out a breath when it ends, I look around the room and try to imagine myself in the kitchen with a baby in my arms.
I can’t.
“They’re coming every fifteen or so minutes. It’ll be a while before she’s here,” I say only to calm myself. It’s too early. I’m not ready. Would I be ready on her mid-June due date?
Probably not.
“Statistically, home births progress faster than hospital births,” Lucas tells me, and I glare at him. Now’s not the time to show off your pregnancy knowledge, mister. “We should let Maryellen know your contractions are getting closer together.”
“She said not to worry until they’re ten minutes apart, give her the heads-up, and then let her know when they’re seven minutes.” I flatten my hands on the counter. “I do need to let Tabatha know.”
No need, Binx mentally tells me. Lucas tips his head, hearing them just a second after my familiar. He speeds to the door to let them in.
“We’ve had a small change in plans,” I say when they come into the kitchen. Tabatha must be able to tell exactly what’s going on from the grimace that’s still on my face.
“How far apart have they been?” she asks, shrugging off her sweater.
“How far is who?” Evander eyes me with confusion.
“Callie’s in labor,” Kristy exclaims. “She’s been having contractions every fifteen minutes for the last hour or so. The last one was more like ten minutes, so in about eight minutes, we’ll know if they’ve gotten closer.”
Being pregnant has been a weird experience overall, but one of the weirdest is how being pregnant gives people a free pass to talk about you like this. At least she didn’t bring up my many trips to the bathroom like Lucas did.
Tabatha’s face lights up like a kid on Christmas. “Does Maryellen know?”
“I was just about to call her,” Lucas tells her, mirroring her excitement. I love that he can’t wait to meet his daughter, but I’m one more minute closer to another contraction and I don’t want to see any smiling faces.
“You guys need to chill,” I say, wanting to pull a classic Callie and deny what’s actually happening, because right now, I’m doubting my ability to be a parent and questioning why the universe is trusting me with the responsibility of a child. “I might not actually be in labor.”
Tabatha smiles warmly at me. “I was nervous too,” she says, and for some reason, her words bring tears to my eyes. I blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears away, and realize why this is hitting me so hard. The loss of my mother was sitting heavy on my heart, but my mother has been here all along. “You’re going to be just fine.” She takes my hand and wipes a tear from my cheek. “Let us know what you need right now.”
I nod, having to actually think about what I do need. There’s a running list in my head of things to do and ways to prepare, and I’m coming up blank on everything. When it comes to material items, we’re as ready as we’re going to be. There are diapers and wipes ready in our bedroom, the family room, and the nursery. Lucas and I picked out Juliet’s first outfit. It’s a black onesie with little gold stars printed all over and matches the much-cuter-than-hospital-issued gown I’m supposed to change into.
The bassinet is next to my side of the bed, and several swaddling blankets are neatly folded in the little storage basket underneath. The apnea monitor Abby got me is charged and ready to offer Lucas and me reassurance our baby is doing just fine as we’re trying to get some sleep. I even have bottles and a breast pump at the ready, along with post-delivery care items for myself.
We’ve read the books—and Lucas read them a second time—and are ready. Yet I feel so unprepared, and all the normal worries crash down on me, bombarding me with a million what-ifs.
“Right now,” I start, “I feel like walking around. With only Lucas,” I add. Knowing I’m going to have a house full of people is starting to sound incredibly unappealing. Ideally, I wanted just Lucas in the room with me along with the midwife, of course, and Tabatha would be right outside the door, ready to come in and give me support if I needed it.
My friends would come over not long after the baby was born, and Lucas and I would get to spend the first precious moments alone with our daughter. It’s not going to happen that way, and I understand why. It’s just as much for Juliet’s protection as it is mine.
“Then you do that. I will contact Maryellen.” Tabatha squeezes my hand and lets go, looking at the twins, Evander, and Kristy. “You four, go to your rooms and don’t come out unless I tell you to.” She smiles. “It’s been a while since I’ve said that.”
“What rooms?” Evander retorts, amusement on his face.
“Find one,” she says right back. “There are plenty in this house. You four are here as magical protection backup if the need should arise. This is an important time for Callie and Lucas to spend together. That goes for all of you,” she adds, eyeing Eliza. I’m so grateful for Tabatha. She didn’t enter my life until I was ten years old, but she is my mother. I feel it more now than ever. “Now go and watch a murder documentary you millennials love so much.”
“We can laugh at the rookie mistakes the murderer made to get caught,” Evander adds. “I’ll make popcorn.”
“If burying bodies was a game, we’d win,” I chide, absentmindedly rubbing my stomach with one hand. “It’s almost a shame it’s not a game.”
“How would you play this game?” Nicole asks.
“Everyone gets a body to dispose of and whoever’s body is discovered first loses, and so on until there’s only one hidden body left to find. That’s the winner.”
“We would win that game.” Lucas holds out his hand for me to take. I grunt when I get to my feet, so damn uncomfortable. I make a pitstop at the bathroom to pee before Lucas and I go outside, slowly walking down the steps.
“Too many people in the house?” He takes my hand, thumb rubbing circles over my wrist.
“Was it that obvious? I don’t want to make anyone feel unwelcome.”
“No, and you shouldn’t feel bad if it was. You’re in labor, my love. If there’s any time for you to act selfishly, it’s now.”
“I agree,” I tell him. “I shouldn’t feel bad that my friends are stuck here for the foreseeable future, but these damn hormones are getting to me.” I look up at the sky and inhale. It’s peaceful outside, and as long as we stay in the warding, we’re safe. “I wanted it to just be the two of us.”
“It still will be.”
I put a hand on my lower back and groan. Juliet feels heavier and heavier with each step.
“Do you want to go back inside?” Lucas asks when my pace slows even more.
“Not yet. I’m feeling some weird instinct to walk and let gravity do its thing. And don’t contradict me if it doesn’t work that way,” I add. “It’s making me feel productive.”
Lucas chuckles. “I wouldn’t dream of contradicting you now.” He looks at his watch, and we keep walking. Twelve minutes after my last contraction, I have another, and then another ten minutes after that. This pain is different and more intense, and I can feel it pushing the baby down.
“Come here,” Lucas says gently, lifting my hands and putting them on his shoulders. I lean forward, widening my legs and trying to find some relief. I suck in air, gritting my teeth as a deep pressure pushes down from inside. Lucas rubs my back, and I cling to him, reminding myself to try and breathe.
“This isn’t fun,” I grunt as the pain starts to subside, and Lucas laughs. He continues to rub my back and kisses my neck.
“How are you doing?”
“Okay. They’re getting more intense, but I’m okay. We can keep walking. It’s nice out.”
“It is.” He looks up at the moon. “It’s a good night to meet our daughter.”
Taking another few seconds to recover, I run my hands down Lucas’s chest. I can sense my familiars nearby, still refusing to leave my side but giving me space to be alone with my husband. We stay close to the house, and my heart jumps when something moves through the woods. I’d know if a demon or a Horsemen were nearby since they’d trigger the warding. It would do little to keep them out, but at least we’d know.
Freya chases the bunny away, and Lucas and I turn back around, walking down the cobblestone path that leads to the front door. We’re going slow, and he has a steady hold on my hand. Only four or five minutes go by before I have another contraction, this one just as intense as the previous one but lasting nearly seventy seconds, according to Lucas.
“I’m fine,” I tell Lucas, though he didn’t ask. My voice comes out shaky, and a dull ache is starting to form in my lower back. “I’m fine.” I put my hands on my hips and sway a little, blowing out another breath. These breathing exercises don’t do shit to alleviate the pain or keep me calm. Lucas moves behind me and massages my shoulders. I lean over, hands on my knees.
“Are you still doing all right?” Lucas asks when I straighten up.
“Yeah,” I pant. “I’m thirsty.”
“Eliza,” Lucas calls, turning his head toward the front door. “I know you’re listening. Bring Callie a glass of water.”
“With ice,” I add, raising my voice a bit so she can hear me. “I got like a hot flash with that last contraction.” I take another breath and reach for Lucas’s hand. He helps me up the porch steps, and we sit on the porch swing. I wince as it rocks under our weight, and Lucas puts his feet down to keep it from swinging. Leaning back, it feels good to be off my feet.
Eliza brings the water only a moment later and stands back, saying she’s going to wait for me to finish so she can take the glass inside. I take a few small sips and watch my familiars wrestling around the yard, acting like normal cats.
Five minutes later, I get another contraction. Eliza is practically bouncing with excitement as she hurries inside to tell Tabatha so she can relay the message to Maryellen.
“It could still be a while,” I tell Lucas.
“I know,” he says calmly, rubbing my back. Once I’m able, we get up and start the slow shuffle around the yard again. The contractions hurt worse sitting than standing, and I spend the next twenty minutes alternating between hanging onto Lucas during contractions to squatting down to relieve some of the pressure.
We go inside when Maryellen gets here, and it takes me forever to get up the stairs and into the bedroom. Tabatha comes with, helping Maryellen get everything ready for delivery. Then she checks me, and I can’t deny I’m not actually in labor anymore.
“You’re about seven centimeters dilated,” she tells me, and I sit up on my elbows, peering down at her. “You’ve thinned out and the baby is engaged.”
“Seriously?” I ask, and both she and Tabatha laugh.
“Seriously,” Maryellen says, standing up and taking off her gloves. “I can’t give you an estimate of time. I’ve had moms go from a four to crowning in under an hour, and I’ve had moms stay where you are for hours.” She picks up the doppler and checks Juliet’s heartbeat. “Everything is looking good with the baby. Now let me check you.”
My blood pressure is up but not high enough to cause alarm. Maryellen mixes up a potion for strength and then gives me a big bottle of electrolyte water.
“Move while you can,” she tells me. “Stay hydrated and rest when you need to. Are we still getting in the tub when your contractions get about two minutes apart?”
“Yes,” I say right as another contraction rolls in. I’m still on the bed, and I reach for Lucas, wanting him to pull me up. Lying down makes my back hurt so much worse. Going on instinct, I roll to my side and let Lucas pull me up.
“It hurts worse when I’m lying down,” I grumble.
“It’s not a natural position for birth,” Maryellen reminds me. She checks the baby’s heartbeat again and encourages me to get up. Walking around the house is making me anxious for some reason, and since my contractions are still five minutes apart, Lucas and I go back outside.
“Are you tired or hungry?” I ask him. “You have time to rest, and Eliza brought blood, right?”
“I ate,” he reminds me. “Which means I don’t need much sleep. What about you, my love?”
“I’m tired,” I admit. “There’s no way I can sleep right—oh, fuck.”
Lucas holds me up, and I curl my fingers into fists, nails digging into my palms. My eyes are closed, yet I can tell a bright light is glowing around us. Teeth gritted in pain, I look up and see streaks of blue magic sizzling through the air. They get brighter and brighter as the pain ripples through me, exploding into a million tiny pieces, looking like our own private galaxy hanging in the night sky above us.
“Three minutes,” Lucas says, holding out his hand. Pieces of magic hit his skin, burning the surface. I’m still bent over, still trying to catch my breath. I’m in pain—obviously—but the same weird warm feeling grips me. I didn’t mean to use my powers like that. Tipping my head up, I watch the last of the magic fade to black.
The last time I had an explosion of magic like this, Lucifer showed up just in time to throw off the other archangels. Did I accidentally create another archangel beacon? Now is not the fucking time. The empty space in my heart aches, and I so badly wish Julian were here, awkwardly sitting with my friends, asking questions about humans giving birth.
But he’s not here, and it’s because of that very fact I am here.
“Still doing all right?” Lucas runs his hands down my arms.
“They’re getting stronger.” I take in another breath, feeling winded.
“Are you ready to go inside?”
I shake my head. I’m not good at sitting still, just waiting for something to happen, and there’s something about being under the moon that’s calming. It won’t be full for another couple weeks. We stay outside for fifteen more minutes and then go in because I’m starting to feel a little sick. Being pregnant pushed the limits on the how much humanity my body could handle. Giving birth is like the ultimate test, and I just hope I can do it.
Maryellen checks me when I get back inside. Juliet’s heartbeat is strong, though we don’t need the doppler to tell us since Lucas can hear. Still, it’s nice to hear it myself. My blood pressure isn’t rising, and with my contractions consistently coming every three minutes, she says it would be a good idea to get the bath ready.
Tabatha twists my hair up into a bun while Lucas fills the tub and gets my change of clothes laid out. Maryellen pulls down the comforter on the bed, getting it ready for me and Juliet after I’ve given birth.
“Is that a puppy pee pad?” I ask, feeling my abdomen start to tighten when I see Maryellen lay one on the bed.
“That’s not what we call them, but essentially, yes,” Maryellen says.
I laugh right as the contraction takes over. I lean on my bed and Tabatha moves behind me, hands going to my back to apply pressure to help alleviate the pain. I groan, feeling like I can’t take any more pain—and then it gets worse.
“It’s almost over,” Tabatha tells me, applying more pressure. I dig my fingers into the mattress and suddenly feel the urge to push, which scares me. The floor creaks, and Lucas comes back into the bedroom. He kneels on the bed, gently cupping my face with his large hand.
I sit on the bed once the contraction is over, hands shaking. Lucas moves next to me, and I lean on him, head resting against his chest. His cool skin is comforting.
“I have to sleep on a puppy pee pad,” I tell him, lifting my head.
“That’s better than the blue tarp you wanted,” he shoots back with a grin.
“Blue tarp?” Tabatha asks, eyebrows going up.
“I watched YouTube vlogs of home births, and they’re messy.”
Tabatha laughs and presses the back of her hand to my forehead. “I’m going to bring you a popsicle. Lime or berry flavor?”
“Lime,” I tell her and rest my head against Lucas again. He runs his fingers up and down my back. We wait until another contraction comes and goes—this one even more intense, and I accidentally blow up my nightstand light with magic—and then Lucas helps me into the tub. The contractions are getting closer together and even more painful, making it not weird at all to be sitting in the tub in just a bra while Maryellen and Tabatha stand in the bathroom with me. Lucas pours warm water on my back, and I eat the popsicle, not realizing how good it felt to have something cold until now.
The urge to push comes with the next contraction, and I’m certain this is it, but it’s not. Being in the water helps, thank fucking goodness, because half an hour passes and I’m still pregnant. We’re refilling the tub with fresh warm water when I get the weirdest fucking feeling of something rushing out of me, and then the contractions get even more painful.
“Your water broke,” Maryellen tells me as I’m squeezing Lucas’s hands, thankful he can heal because magic is now sparking around my fingers.
“Breathe,” he tells me when I cry out from the pain.
“You. Fucking. Breathe,” I tell him when I can speak again.
“I don’t have to,” he replies calmly, and I let out a strangled laugh. My hands are shaking again, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. The nauseousness doesn’t subside with the pain, and Tabatha gets me a trashcan just in time for me to throw up into it.
“This isn’t fun anymore,” I say, sitting back for a minute to give my thighs a break from squatting.
“Birth is a miracle,” Maryellen says, checking Juliet’s heartbeat again. “It’s nothing less than that, but it’s by no means fun.”
“Making the baby was fun,” Lucas quips, turning the hot water off and picking up the bowl to pour water on my back again with his free hand. I still have a death grip on the other.
“I feel like I should’t agree,” I groan, fighting exhaustion and wanting to take a five-minute break. “You were curse—ahhhh.” Pitching forward, my body is telling me to sit up again because this is it. The pain intensifies tenfold, and I can feel her moving down. “Holy fuck,” I pant and then whimper in pain. My eyes widen, and I look down. “I think she’s coming.”
“She is,” Maryellen says after a quick check. “Get ready to push.”
Lucas gets to his knees right in front of me, and we hold onto each other. I suck in air, getting ready for the next contraction. I yell from the pain and push with everything I have, but it’s not enough.
“What if I can’t do this?” I blurt, getting choked up.
“You can,” Lucas tells me calmly. “You are the strongest person I know, Callie. You can do this.” He lifts my chin and kisses me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Preparing for another contraction, I reach inside, drawing on my powers. Magic sparks above me when the next contraction comes on. Tabatha and Maryellen encourage me to push, and I scream as pain rips through me.
But then it’s over, and Maryellen is telling me to grab my baby.
My baby.
Everything is surreal in that moment. My body still hurts, but the pain doesn’t register. I bring Juliet up out of the water and put her to my chest. My eyes fill with tears, and I look at Lucas. His eyes are full of tears too. A second passes, and then Juliet cries.
“Get a towel,” Maryellen tells Tabatha, who hands her one. She puts it on Juliet, rubbing her and getting her to cry again. “Good baby,” she tells her. “Clear those lungs.” Juliet lets out another loud cry, and Maryellen steps back, letting Lucas move in closer.
“It’s our baby,” I say, voice all squeaky, and blink the tears out of my eyes. Lucas rests his hand on Juliet’s tiny head and kisses me. “She’s here.”
“She is,” Lucas whispers, bringing his head down to his daughter. “And she’s perfect.”