A/N: I don't own Darquesse, Anton, Tanith, Ghastly, Lord Vile, Erskine, Gordon, Saracen or Dex.

When we reached the small building right on the beach I shook my head in amusement. Tanith and Ghastly were waiting for us, and Tanith charged at me happily. "Hey, Sis!" She said, grabbing me in a massive hug. "Guess who's getting married?" She squealed happily.

Before I could even congratulate her there was a boom like thunder, and Erskine, who had also been waiting for us roared out a warning. "Incoming!" Ghastly and Dad raised shields of air just in time as a shadowy mass aimed right at the building made contact. The shield shook, but stayed, barely.

I looked out to sea and couldn't believe my eyes as I beheld a centuries old galleon in terrible condition. Pirates! But clearly Necromancers from their black robes, and as they gleefully reloaded I knew we didn't have much time. I shouted to Abby to summon Midnight, then ran past the shields and onto the beach, Midnight charging at my side. I vaulted into the saddle, barely making it, feeling heavy and weak.

I cursed silently. I'd been lethargic the last few days, and now I could barely summon my shadows. The best I could do was call my sword to me and ride on, hoping to provide a distraction.

And I did. The next shot was aimed at me, and Midnight barely cleared it in a leaping jump. This made the pirates laugh hysterically, so did the fact that we were so far below them on the ocean waves and had no hope of boarding. But as we neared I manipulated the waves and we were launched aboard in a tremendous crash that knocked our enemies to the deck.

I dismounted, swinging my sword and decapitating the nearest pirate, realizing why they had really been wearing robes. The fools had turned themselves into zombies as well. At my side Midnight squealed angrily then rose up, hooves slashing. He tossed me a look and I nodded. He shifted to human form, took his own sword from his back and started swinging.

But there were too many of them, even for Darquesse. It was too late to retreat to safety as one pirate that had climbed the rigging dropped down on me, his slimy body stinking of rot. I gagged, and forced him away, not wanting to see if it was possible to get infected if he bit. More zombies flowed up the rigging and from below decks. And as they pressed in and I knew we were done for.

I cursed myself for my bravado, for not just rising up as I would at one time to destroy them from above with my shadows, but I hadn't wanted to hurt anyone on shore with a backlash. That, and I'd have likely crashed into the sea. And just as the zombie horde surged over me, there was a flash of darkness and Lord Vile stood on the deck, releasing Anton and Ghastly. Vile started tearing into the zombies in an absolute rage, his shadows impaling multiple enemies at once.

I couldn't focus on more than battling my own enemies but I could hear Ghastly cursing as he waded in, and the angry howls of Anton's Gist. Anton! I fought my way to him, the surge of zombies at last dwindling, and came to him just as his last attacker fell. His Gist half turned on me, enraged, and as he flew at me I recognized the maneuver at the last second and ducked, allowing him to hit the zombie crewman that had crept up behind me.

After that, the battle was over. "We should go down below, make sure there's nothing lying in wait. The last thing we need is a colony of sea zombies headed for shore." I said, then had a sickening feeling. Midnight took one look at me, shifted then ran and dove over the side of the ship.

I ran to the side and watched him dive repeatedly and come up empty. I turned, facing three angry men. "Attacking a whole ship, by yourself? And why didn't you launch an attack from above, Darquesse?" Ghastly asked angrily.

I wanted to lie, to put up a false front and pretend everything was OK, but when the ship rolled on the waves and I lurched with it, Ghastly caught me by the shoulders. "You couldn't could you?" He asked, his voice gentle, and when I shook my head no he bundled me into him tightly.

When we'd returned to shore it was as if nothing had happened. Although startled, the crew of the restaurant had stayed and we were soon sitting down to a feast of everything on the menu. I could feel the concern in my friends and family. "Something went wrong, my magic's not working." I admitted

I sat down, feeling confused and dejected. What good was I to anybody now? Abby came and cuddled into my lap, hugging me tightly. "We still love you, you know that."

"But I'm weak now, Abby. I'm more emotional, my magic is weaker. It slowed me down, you could have all been killed. And that frightened me. Fear shouldn't have been an emotion Darquesse could feel." I sighed, wanting to run away again. It wasn't like I was useful now.

Dad looked at me. "I had the same struggles, I still do. Even on the ship something could have went terribly wrong. But you take your chances. You're fusing both sides of you. That, or you're pregnant." He said, eyeing me as I did my best not to inhale my food. But I was starved.

Anton perked up at the idea of another baby, and willingly pushed over some fried fish. "That explains it. Your emotions, you feeling your magic draining. Sweetheart, I think he's right. You're pregnant." He said gently.

Could it be? Could I possibly be pregnant again?

It turned out that Erskine was going to marry Tanith and Ghastly at the hotel so our feast celebrated our victory, their impending wedding, and as more cars pulled up a reunion. The rest of the Dead Men joined us, Dexter whining when he found out he'd missed the fun of a good fight. "We could have used all of you." I admitted and dad nodded.

"Maybe we will." Anton said, and we all looked at him. "As you know with magic being exposed we've all gotten a lot more popular, thanks in no small part to Gordon's books." He titled his head to my uncle who bowed gracefully, grinning hugely. "The truth is I've wanted to expand the Midnight Hotel and perhaps add on lunch, but we'd need a much larger staff.

"Do you always have this much action going on?" Saracen asked excitedly, "If so, then I'm in." And all our brothers agreed, we'd be a family unit, the Dead Men would remain together, and now it didn't matter if I had fluctuating magic, we'd have all the magic and muscle we needed for any challenge.

We indeed had a camp out that night in the common room, and Abby made sure to unroll her sleeping bag beside mine. She fell asleep quickly, and I did too, but awakened later to find the room only lit by moonlight. I was restless, so I slipped into the secret room, finding Uncle Gordon hard at work on a novel and a waiting carafe of hot water. "I'd dearly love to know how he does that." My uncle said as I made myself coffee. "Somehow he knew you'd be in here."

I nodded, distracted. The whole time I'd been here I'd only remembered reading one book. And it was the one on Gists. It seemed important to find it now, because I'd remembered in my dream reading something about pregnancy involving Gists. And then I found it. The explanation for my gaining weight, yet loosing fat and becoming more muscular.

The reason my body felt heavier was because it was becoming more rugged. My magic was fluctuating as my body adapted to my pregnancy and was being drained at times right into my unborn child. But he, and I knew the baby was a he, was giving me gifts in exchange. The strength to defend myself, and my body would match Anton's for the next nine months. For although pure Gists being born were rare, it did happen. And now I had my own Gist inside me, and I could hardly await the day of his arrival.

Aww, a tiny Gist. Imagine the wee teeth and claws.