Chapter 40.
Christian.
Ana was pulling on his hand walking as fast as she could to get them to their suite, and he had no doubt in his mind that had it not been for other people in the hotel hallways he was positive she would have shimmered them both to their suite to save them time.
"Ana, baby, are you ok?" She turned and grabbed him around his neck pulling him down to her so his face was less than an inch from hers.
"I need you inside me so much Christian, I'm aching. I have never felt like this before. I need you so much that for the first time since I changed I'm hurting." He was confused and worried, she shouldn't be feeling pain so the fact that she was, was a real concern.
"Do you think it could be because of what we did in the club?" He frowned down at her as he watched beads of sweat gather on her forehead.
"I don't know. I just know I need you to..." She didn't finish what she was saying as her eyes rolled back into her head and her skin started to glow as her body started to go limp. He quickly picked her up and stopped the world around him so that he could shimmer to their room and away from prying eyes.
"ZEUS!" He knew that he had shouted loud enough that he would have been heard for miles, but he didn't care. Less than a second later the room was suddenly filled with everyone as he laid Ana down on the sofa.
"What happened? What's wrong with her?" Carla collapsed on the floor beside him next to Ana who was now glowing like a fucking torch and unconscious.
"I don't know, but my guess is it's something to do with you having another child. Did anything like this happen when she conceived the twins?" Zeus was frowning down at Ana looking just as confused as he felt.
"No, she had pain and was sick but nothing like this. Can you not do anything for fuck sake?" He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Ava appear behind him, much to everyone's shock.
"Ava sweetie, what are you doing here?" Izzy was on her knees in front of her daughter with Elliot standing behind her.
"I heard Uncle Chris and knew something was wrong. Something weird happened earlier. I felt something rush through me and it woke me up. It was really strange but I just thought it was a dream, but when I heard Uncle Chris I knew it was to do with him and Aunty Ana. I wanted to see if I could try and see what's happening."
Christian stepped back and let Ava get to Ana and watched as she held her hand. He waited for something to happen, anything that would show them that Ava was able to see something, but nothing was happening and he could see tears running down Ava's cheeks. She let go of Ana's hand and turned back to look at him with sad eyes.
She took a deep shaky breath and turned to her mom with fear replacing the sadness he had seen in her eyes, eyes that seemed far too old and worried for one so young. "It's not working. I can't see anything. I feel like I'm being blocked by someone. Like the powers that I have been feeling growing have just stopped. I don't know how to explain it. I don't mean the power to bring things to me or shimmer. I mean being able to see things. I can't see them anymore."
"Do you mean your visions?" Izzy looked calm but he knew she was anything but. Ava's powers had been developing at a rather fast pace, so for them to just stop wasn't right at all.
"Yeah, and you know that I could see through things, I can't do that anymore either."
"Do you know when this started to happen, honey?" She turned her gaze to him and he hated the sadness he saw.
"I remember the day we were at the pool the day after you got mad with those guys that wouldn't give you the ball back. It was that day, but I just thought maybe I was tired, and then I didn't want to worry anyone because it's Aunty Huldah and uncle Beal's wedding. So I just didn't say anything, besides I could still see things then, even though it felt harder to do it, but now I see nothing."
"Zeus, how is this possible?"
"Everyone bring the children here I need to go and get Pythia." He didn't elaborate more he simply shimmered out of the room followed by the others. A few seconds later all the children were being placed in beds still fast asleep and Zeus was back with Pythia who looked drained and confused and Hestia and Demeter who looked on edge.
"Zeus, what's happening?"
"I think for some reason someone has blocked Ava's oracle abilities which means someone is up to something, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say whatever they are up to it isn't going to be good. Ava is your oracle, Christian. So someone doesn't want you to know what is going to happen."
Christians stroked his wife's face as he took in what Zeus was saying and he felt rage and despair running through his body. He leaned over to kiss Ana wishing that she would wake up and tell him that she was ok. As much as he wanted to just concentrate on her he knew that they had to make sure they were all safe, so he stood to address the room.
"Get our things, bring our brothers back here. We are going back home in one hour. Beal, Huldah, I am so sorry that this has happened on your wedding night. Once we have this situation under control you will have your wedding night and it will be everything you could ever want. I swear."
Huldah stepped around Beal to come and stand in front of him. She looked down at Ana who was still unconscious, then turned back to him and grabbed his hands in her much smaller ones.
"Christian, right now our family is possibly in danger. There is no way on earth or heaven or even hell for that matter that we would be able to enjoy our wedding night until everyone is safe. Beal and I wanted to be husband and wife and we are. The wedding night though it is tradition is simply a night spent with my husband that will happen no matter where we are. Please don't be sorry this is not your fault. Concentrate on your wife and make sure she is ok while we do what we have to and we will all be back here within the hour." She reached up and kissed his cheek before turning and wrapping her arms around Beal.
"Beal, honey, go and get your brother's the rest of you we all have our orders." The second the last word left her lips the room was empty apart from Zeus, Pythia, he, Ana, and Ava who was kneeling at the side of the sofa stroking Ana's hair from her face.
"Ava, honey are you ok?" She had so much happening in her life and she was so young. It was so easy to forget her age because she seemed so mature but she was still a little girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders, shoulders that weren't built to carry it.
"I know something is coming. I feel it even without the visions. I want Aunty Ana to wake up so much." She turned to him and grabbed his hand with desperation and a little hope written all over her. "Remember the day we all changed? Aunty Ana and the twins showed us the future so surely that means that everything is going to be ok, right?"
"Of course sweetheart." Ava lept into his arms when she heard his confirmation and he felt like shit. He knew he was lying, he knew that visions can change, and that was confirmed when he looked at the worried expression on Zeus's face, but he couldn't bring himself to scare Ava, so they all kept the lie from her.
Ava moved from his arms and back to Ana. She picked her hand up and laid her small head on them. He watched and felt his heartbreak for his niece who now had tears streaming down her face. Maybe she had caught on to the lie he just told her. The thought made the rage already building inside him become almost uncontrollable. One thing was for sure, whoever was coming for them now was going to wish they hadn't.
He had been sitting on the sofa watching Ana who was still glowing for what felt like hours when everyone suddenly arrived in the room with their luggage. "We need to go and get the children and we need to get back to my apartment. I will take Ana." Everyone stood looking worried for a second too long and he snapped "NOW!"
He knew he shouldn't be snapping at them but he was so stressed that he couldn't help it, but still no one fucking moved, and now he wasn't feeling so bad about snapping. Why was no one fucking moving?
"Christian, first of all, don't speak to our family like that, and secondly what's going on? Why is everyone here? Why are we going home? And why is Ava crying?" The second he heard Ana's voice he spun around to see her sat up holding a sobbing and relieved looking Ava to her chest.
He ran to her and dropped down in front of her placing his palm on her cheek. "Baby you collapsed in the hallway. You have been out for a little over an hour. No one knew what was wrong or what was happening. How do you feel? Are you ok? What do you remember?"
"I feel fine. I just remember walking to our suite and I was burning up and aching... Well, you know why that was." She looked at him silently begging him to understand and not make her elaborate which made him smile just a little.
When he nodded for her to continue she did as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "The next thing I remember is that I had a feeling of floating and then nothing until now." She seemed to remember something because she sat up a little more and placed her hand on her stomaching smiling to herself.
"I think it was the baby. Remember when I got pregnant with the twins when they implanted I was sick and felt pain. Maybe since I changed this is just one of the changes." It made sense but that didn't mean there wasn't more to worry about, and it would seem now that they had more than likely cleared up what happened to her it was time to explain why everyone was here.
As soon as he had explained what was happening she was up off the sofa. "Ok, we need to go now. I don't feel safe here I want to get home grab the bags and the kids we need to leave now." He followed behind her as did the others who were tasked to carry a child. He felt the panic all around him at what they could be facing now and he hated it.
Just when they all thought that life was getting back to normal and that they had some peace. Now all of a sudden they were preparing for the possibility of yet another fight. He picked Abigail gently up into his arms and Ana did the same with Theo. He pulled Ana into his side with his free arm as Abigail snuggled into his neck. He leaned down and kissed Ana's head as they shimmered back to the apartment, an apartment it had felt like a lifetime since they had been in.
When they arrived in the twin's bedroom they placed the children down careful not to wake them. They made a plan not to tell the hotel that they had left and simply placed a do not disturb sign on the doors of the suites they were all in, and his brothers other than Beal was going to go back to the hotel so that if they were being watched it would hopefully throw whoever was watching them of their scent, and hopefully make them believe that they were still there, just to give them time to come up with a plan and hopefully find out who they were up against.
They all sat around the front room looking worried and exhausted it felt like déjà vu and he hated it. They had gone through a list of who it could be but, to be honest, given who they were it could be anyone. Hestia and Demeter had gone to see what they could find out as they thought it best that Zeus stay with Pythia who looked very pale and incredibly exhausted. She also looked ready to give birth any second.
After a couple of hours of mulling things over, they decided to call it a night. Once again the apartment was covered in beds and everyone settled down. Beal had upgraded the wards in the apartment with the help of Ana and Zeus adding to his power so for now they were safe, not that it made things better because now they were effectively prisoners in their own home.
They had contemplated going back to the house in Italy but ultimately decided to stay here until they figured out what they could and then worked out where was safer for them all to be.
He climbed into bed next to Ana who looked as exhausted as he felt. "Are you ok Kitten?" She let out a sigh and turned to face him.
"I just can't believe this is happening again and especially now after what we did, it couldn't come at a worse time. Not to mention poor Pythia who I am sure wishes she could just enjoy the last few days of her pregnancy and give birth in peace. Then there is Beal and Huldah, they didn't even get to enjoy their wedding night." She took a shaky breath then looked up into his eyes with unshed tears.
"Will it always be like this Christian?" He wanted to say no but he knew that would be a lie and he never wanted to lie to her.
"I don't know. I think maybe the more enemies we defeat the more likely it is that others will stop coming for us when they realize that they can't win or at least that is what I hope." He held her tear-stained face in his hands hating that they have so quickly gone from such a high, having so much fun with their family and celebrating his brother's and Huldah's marriage to such a low point where once again they were facing an unknown enemy.
Desperate for her to stop crying he spoke hoping that she could hear the determination in the words he spoke. "I will not let anything happen to you or our family. I know the timing is not good, and that you must be scared because of the baby, but we will fight whoever comes for us and we will win. We have fought an army of enemies and walked away victorious and we will do it again and again if we have to, to show everyone in heaven and hell and anywhere in between that we will ALWAYS win." She nodded her head as fresh tears ran down her beautiful face.
When she looked like this she looked so young and vulnerable unlike the powerful being that she was, and he wanted to hide her away and protect her from everything. "Lie down with me beautiful. You need to sleep and tomorrow we have work to do. The one advantage we have is that whoever is coming thinks we are still in Vegas, and they more than likely have no clue that we know something is wrong so we have a head start against them."
This seemed to help her relax a little against him as he wrapped his arms around her holding her tight to him. "Christian, do you think this pregnancy will be like before? You know with me needing your essence all the time, or do you think I'm powerful enough to sustain it on my own?"
He hadn't really thought about it but the inappropriate part of him hoped that she would need his essence. He felt her chuckle softly against him and he knew when she said a quiet "never mind" and placed a kiss on his chest that she had heard what he was thinking.
He never said another word he only pulled her tighter to him and finally relaxed when he felt the tension leave her body and her breathing became slow and steady. He lay for a little while longer until he knew she was in a deep enough sleep that his movements wouldn't wake her.
He silently slipped out of bed and watched as her hair fanned across the pillow and smiled to himself when she grabbed the pillow that he knew would smell like him. He felt his heart sour as she pulled the pillow into her arms and inhaled deeply smiling in her sleep.
He fucking loved this woman so much and the thought that anyone was coming for her or anyone else he loved had the rage building and his darkness rattling his fucking cage with the need to destroy any fucker that dared come for them.
He made his way to his office when he stopped to see Beal sitting on a chair in front of his desk pouring himself a drink. He didn't even look up when he lifted another glass that was already filled and held it out to him. Without a word said he walked over and took the drink then sat in his chair behind his desk.
He downed the drink in one as did Beal before he reached over and refilled their glasses. "Why are you in here brother and not with your new bride?"
"She is fast asleep and I couldn't. I can't shake the anger I'm feeling at not just the fact that someone else is coming for us, but for fuck sake brother, why do they have to keep using fucking Ava? She is just a baby. They keep coming for her and it makes me want to destroy everything." He emptied his glass before refilling it and continuing.
"It's hard to believe that just a couple of months ago humans were nothing more than people we punished for the heinous acts they committed on earth. Then you meet Ana and all our worlds are turned upside down. Shit brother, I love that little girl like she was my own. I hate seeing her scared or sad or upset. I have this horrible feeling that this is more about her than we might think this time."
At his brother's words, his heart sunk. "What do you mean?"
"I mean she is your Oracle. She is beyond the power of any Oracle before her. No one has possession of a power like hers so she will be someone our enemies will want to possess. It never entered my mind until she spoke about her powers diminishing. Think about it brother, having her means that once she comes into her full power she will be able to see what is coming before it happens. So you will always be one step ahead of your enemies." He took another deep breath and drank another drink and continued.
"I have this sinking feeling that while we know that others will come for your throne, even though they know that they can't possibly succeed, I fear now that before they come for you Ava will be their primary target so that you can't see them coming, and that fucking terrifies me." Christian hadn't even thought about that, and he had to agree with Beal it made sense and frightened the shit out of him.
"We need to think about a way to protect Ava we can't have her going through this life with a giant fucking target on her back I won't allow it." He could hear his darkness desperate to break through making his voice deeper and more menacing and he didn't fucking care he was so close to just letting him free but he had to keep his cool and figure this out rationally, and once he did then he would be free to rip his enemies apart until they lay at his feet in a bloody mess.
Beal opened his mouth to speak but was beat to it by Zeus's quiet yet commanding voice. "She needs more power." He and Beal turned to face him each mirroring each other's confusion at his words. He walked over and took the seat next to Beal and poured them all a drink.
"Ava, she needs more power."
"How?" He and Beal spoke in unison and never looked away from Zeus.
"I'm not sure yet. I will have to go back and ask the gods, then..." He never got to finish because Hestia interrupted him.
"We will deal with it brother. Pythia needs you. The babe is coming and you need to be here to help her. Artemis is with her but she is asking for you." She finished what she was saying but Zeus was already gone.
Demeter and Hestia gave him and Beal the first warm smile he had ever seen from them unless they were smiling at the children. "We will protect all of the children, that we can promise you. We will do whatever we can to make sure Ava is powerful enough to handle what is coming, even if means giving her our power. All of your children are very close to our hearts and we would give our lives to protect them."
Demeter spoke in such a soft, loving, and soothing voice that just that small change had her looking so much younger, and so much kinder. She was like a completely different person. "We will continue to do what we can to find out who the new threat is but for now Pythia is the main focus. Go and wake the others they will want to know what is happening. Stay safe all of you. We will be back as soon as we can." She reached out and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly which had him stiffening in shock then they left.
"Come brother, the women will kill us if we don't wake them." He stood as did Beal as they went to wake everyone to tell them about Pythia, but he couldn't stop thinking about Ava and what all of this meant for her.