She pictured the core of the spinning sphere growing brighter.

  Nothing happened.

  Leesa’s brow furrowed with determination as she concentrated harder, willing the light to brighten.

  Still nothing.

  At least the globe was still spinning, she thought to herself. That was progress, at least. She redoubled her efforts.

  Suddenly, a green bolt shot from her stomach, striking her illumination globe directly in the center. The core of the sphere immediately bloomed into a bright yellowish green that lit up the entire clearing. The glow quickly grew too intense to look at directly, so Leesa averted her eyes. Rave did likewise.

  Concerned about the effects of such powerful magic—not the least of which was how far away the thing might be visible—Leesa ended her spell. At least, she tried to end it. Even without her active support, the sphere hung on for another ten or fifteen seconds before it finally disappeared.

  Rave turned his head from the vanished globe toward Leesa. “I’m guessing that was pretty unexpected, huh?”

  Leesa nodded. “Totally.”

  Rave placed his hand gently on Leesa’s stomach. “You don’t think our son is smart enough already to know what you were trying to do, and then to help you do it, do you?”

  Leesa laid her hand atop Rave’s. “No, I don’t—even though he has two amazing parents. I think our friend Mr. Solstice was probably involved. I’m pretty sure I felt something DRAWING the magic out of me, rather than it being sent out on its own.”

  “In that case, I think maybe we should call it a day,” Rave suggested.

  “I agree. Who knows what might occur next.” Leesa rose up onto her toes and kissed Rave on the lips. “Let’s go home and make a different kind of magic.” She grinned. “Maybe the solstice will enhance that, too.”

  Rave scooped Leesa up into his arms. “I like the way you think.”

  A moment later, they were racing through the trees.

  The days following the solstice produced no more mischief. Leesa was both relieved and disappointed—glad that nothing dangerous happened, but missing the surprise of experiencing something new and unexpected. Thoughts and concerns about the solstice were soon replaced by something else. Christmas was just a day away!

  Growing up, Christmas had never been that big a deal to Leesa. With her father gone and her mother the way she was, there had been little celebration of the holiday beyond what Bradley could manage to conjure up for her. Somehow, he always made sure she received a present or two, and as he got older he managed to bring home a small tree every year, which the two of them would festoon with homemade decorations.

  Now, however, Christmas was high on Leesa’s list. Last year had been her first real Christmas, enhanced by the recent rescue of Bradley and by her mom’s freedom from the effects of the grafhym bite. This year promised to be even more special, because her mom and Bradley were both fully recovered from their ordeals. The family would be gathering at Aunt Janet and Uncle Roger’s house, and Leesa couldn’t wait.

  She went to bed with visions of sugar plums—and pot roast and pie—dancing in her head. She couldn’t wait to wake up and begin the celebration.

  Biology—and magic—had other plans in store, however.

  25. WHAT’S IN A NAME?

  LEESA AWOKE TO BROAD DAYLIGHT. She was stunned—how could she have slept in so late on Christmas morning, of all days? Rave was sitting on the edge of their sleeping mat, watching her. A hint of annoyance at him for not awakening her earlier flashed through her, but the smile on his face and the loving look in his eyes chased it away.

  “Good morning, darling,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

  “I feel great.” Leesa stretched her arms up into the air above her head and yawned. “But how could you let me sleep so late?”

  Rave’s smile widened. “I didn’t really have much choice.”

  “What do you mean you didn’t have much choice?” Leesa started to roll onto her side so that she was facing Rave, but she got stuck halfway there. For a moment she didn’t understand what had happened, but then she looked down at her stomach.

  She couldn’t believe what her eyes were telling her. Her belly was plump and swollen now, big enough to make rolling over difficult. She was totally shocked—she had gone to bed barely showing she was expecting, and now woke up to find she looked four or five months pregnant. Balin’s warning about volkaane pregnancies being very different came back to her.

  Placing one hand on her stomach, she forced herself over onto her side. It wasn’t easy, but she managed to flop over. Moving this new body of hers was going to take some getting used to.

  “Just how long have I been sleeping?”

  Rave laid his hand alongside Leesa’s on her stomach. “If I said ‘Happy New Year, sweetheart,’ would that give you clue?”

  For a moment, Leesa didn’t understand what Rave was saying, but then her eyes grew wide.

  “You’re kidding! Really? New Year’s? I slept through the whole week?”

  Rave removed his hand from Leesa’s belly and stroked her hair instead. “Yep. Just like a volkaane woman. Balin and I warned you it might happen.”

  “Yeah, you did. I guess I never quite believed it. Who sleeps for a week, for chrissakes?”

  Rave cocked his head to the side. “Cali’s here.”

  Rave’s abrupt change of subject momentarily confused Leesa, until she heard a knock at the front door.

  “How did you know?” she asked.

  “I recognized her step,” Rave replied, standing up. He reached a hand down toward Leesa. “Let me help you up.” He smiled. “You look like you might need it.”

  Leesa took his hand and let Rave pull her up to her feet. She was definitely going to have to get used to her new shape. And maybe even start thinking about getting a bed before she got too fat to get up off the floor.

  “I’ll go let Cali in,” Rave said. “You may want to run a brush through your hair.”

  As Rave left the bedroom, Leesa ran her hands through her hair and found it to be a tangled mess. She wasn’t surprised, if she’d been sleeping on it for a week. She hurried to the bathroom, where she washed her face and then worked a brush carefully through her hair, getting out at least a few of the more major tangles. She was going to need a shower to take care of the rest, so she gathered her locks into a ponytail and headed out to the living room.

  She found Cali perched on one of the cushioned chairs, waiting for her. Rave had turned around one of the wooden chairs by the table and was sitting on it. Thoughtful as always, he had saved the other cushioned chair for her.

  “Holy crap!” Cali exclaimed as Leesa entered the room. “You’re big as a freakin’ house.”

  Leesa settled herself gingerly onto the chair. “Thanks for mentioning that.”

  Cali grinned. “Hey, what are best friends for? Besides, you’re not actually that big yet—just a whole lot bigger than the last time I saw you.”

  “I sure feel a whole lot bigger. It’s Rave’s fault.”

  “Of course it’s his fault. He’s the one who knocked you up.”

  Leesa shook her head slowly, but she wasn’t really bothered. Cali was just being Cali.

  “You make it sound so romantic.” She rested her hand on her stomach. “But that’s not what I meant. This is a volkaane thing—rapid growth spurts.”

  “I know,” Cali said, nodding. “Rave told me.”

  Leesa looked at Rave and then back to Cali. “Huh? You were here? When?”

  “The day after Christmas. When you didn’t return my calls or my texts, I started to get worried.” She shot a quick glance at Rave and frowned. “Since I couldn’t call your husband to ask what was going on, I phoned your mom instead. She told me you were in the middle of an extra long nap.”

  “Oh, shit. I bet Mom was worried sick.”

  Rave got up and stood behind Leesa. He began gently massaging her neck and shoulders. Leesa sighed as his warm fingers worked their magic on her tight muscles.

  “I told your mom and Bradley on Christmas,” Rave explained. “Once you didn’t wake up, I was pretty sure what was going on. I knew they’d be worried when we didn’t show up at your aunt and uncle’s for Christmas dinner, so I went over to their apartment and explained what was happening. I told them they could tell your aunt and uncle, too. I figured they would need to know about my nature eventually, so why not now?”

  Leesa reached up and squeezed one of Rave’s hands. “Thank you, darling. It sounds like you handled everything perfectly.”

  “Bradley and your mom have been here twice, checking up on you. You should probably call them and let them know you’re awake and fine.”

  “And big as a house, don’t forget,” Cali added, grinning.

  Leesa glared at Cali for a second before breaking into a smile. “I can’t argue that, I guess. I’ll call them in a bit. Right now, I’m famished.” She got up and padded into the kitchen, which was separated from the living room by only a low tile counter. “You want a PB&J?” she asked Cali.

  “Sure. I could eat.”

  Leesa grabbed what she needed from the cabinets and the fridge and began making two sandwiches on the counter. She found it a bit awkward at first, with her swollen belly preventing her from getting as close to the counter as she was used to, but she gradually got the hang of working with her arms part way extended.

  “I guess we can start telling people I’m due sometime in April,” Leesa said to Rave as she spread strawberry jelly onto the two pieces of bread she hadn’t covered with peanut butter. “I think my sleeping for a week is a pretty good indication our little guy is coming in six months rather than nine. As big as I suddenly am, he darn well better not wait any longer than six months.”

  “I think six months is probably a pretty safe bet,” Rave agreed.

  “Anyone who doesn’t know about volkaanes and does the math is going to think we got married just because I was pregnant.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Cali said. “Anyone who has seen you and Rave together will know how disgustingly in love you two are.”

  Leesa slapped two halves of a sandwich together. “Thank you for that, Cali…I think.”

  She put the second sandwich together and brought the two plates around to the table. Cali got up from her chair to join her.

  “You know, with this kid getting as big as he is,” Leesa said as she sat down, “we should probably start thinking about a name for him.” She looked at Rave. “You have any suggestions?”

  “I do!” Cali said quickly before Rave could respond. “I’ve got the perfect name. I was hoping I’d be around when you started talking about it.”

  Leesa wasn’t exactly sure she wanted to hear Cali’s suggestion. This was Cali, after all. The name was certain to be a wild one—but it couldn’t hurt to hear it.

  “Okay, go ahead. Lay it on us.”

  “You could call him Domino, after Dominic,” Cali said, grinning.

  Leesa rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t mind naming their son after Dominic, but no way were they going to call him Domino.

  “Can you be serious for once.”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist the joke. I do have a serious suggestion, though.”

  “Let’s here it, then.”

  “You could name him Calin—after me and Balin. I’ll tell people it’s Cali with an ‘N’ on the end, and he can tell people it’s Balin with a ‘C’ at the beginning.” Cali smiled proudly. “Pretty cool, huh? It even sounds volkaane.”

  Leesa looked at Rave. “You know, that’s not half bad. What do you think, Rave?”

  “I like it, I guess. Like Cali says, it does sound volkaane. And Balin will be pleased, I know.”

  Leesa ran the name through her head a couple of times, trying it on for size. She turned to Cali.

  “I like it, too,” she said, “but not quite enough. You’ve given me an idea, though.” She looked back at Rave. “How about Ralin? After you and Balin.”

  Rave shrugged. “That works for me, too.”

  Leesa wasn’t surprised at Rave’s apparent lack of any major enthusiasm. Since volkaanes had no families, names were not that big a deal to them. Rave had a family now, though.

  “Ralin’s not bad either,” Cali admitted grudgingly. She grinned. “I guess if you’re not going to name the little guy after me, you may as well name him after his pops.”

  Leesa laughed, happy that Cali was being a good sport.

  “I guess that’s settled, then. Ralin it is.” Leesa looked down and put her hand on her stomach again. “Hello, Ralin. Nice to meet you. You ready for some lunch?”

  PART TWO

  26. BIRTH DAY

  LEESA MET RALIN FOR REAL on a sunny afternoon in mid-April, almost six months exactly from her wedding day.

  Knowing the baby could arrive any day, she and Rave spent their time at home in the company of Balin and Kaila, a volkaane mid-wife almost as old as Balin who had delivered scores of volkaane babies over the centuries. Kaila looked enough like Balin to be his sister, with the same gray hair streaked with dull copper highlights and a similar lanky build. Since no one knew precisely what to expect from the magical human/volkaane hybrid child, they thought it best to be prepared for anything. Balin and Kaila did not mind sleeping on mats spread out on the floor of the living room, when they slept at all. If Rave’s nocturnal habits were any indication, Leesa suspected that most evenings the three volkaanes probably spent a significant portion of the night watching her sleep. She felt self-conscious at the thought, but there was also comfort in knowing they were there watching over her and her unborn child.

  As her stomach grew bigger, getting up off her own sleeping mat had grown progressively more difficult, so she and Rave had purchased a simple wooden bed that was much easier for her to get in and out of. When she experienced her second sleep-for-a-week growth spell a month earlier, she was especially glad for the new bed. Her stomach had become huge after that week of somnolence.

  The previous few months had been a roller-coaster. Days—and sometimes as much as a week—would pass without a magical peep from Ralin before his green magic would erupt. Most times it took the form of harmless patterns of energy, sometimes quite intricate and beautiful, but not always. The ceiling above Leesa and Rave’s bed bore scorch marks from one late night eruption, and there were more than just a few trees and rocks in the woods bearing scars from Ralin’s magic. As he grew larger inside Leesa, his magic had grown correspondingly more powerful.

  Despite the uncertainty, Leesa continued to practice her magic every day, especially her shields. She had a feeling they were going to become increasingly important once Ralin was born.

  Today, they were in the woods only a few hundred yards behind the house, staying close to home just in case. Rave, Balin and Kaila watched Leesa work on her spells and powers. Most of it was old hat to Rave, but Balin—and especially Kaila—were less familiar with waziri magic and watched with great interest.

  Leesa readied herself to perform one of her favorite new innovations, a trick she had learned completely by accident. She levitated herself about twelve inches off the ground, something she could do now almost without thinking about it. Once she was floating in the air, she focused her telekinesis on a huge tree just beyond Rave’s left shoulder.

  She had discovered that if she tried to move something toward her that was beyond her power to budge—in this case a large tree rooted deeply in the ground—then her telekinesis worked in reverse, pulling her toward the object. As she floated slowly across the clearing toward the tree, she grinned. It wasn’t quite flying—that remained impossible—but it was the next best thing. Even Dominic hadn’t realized this possibility hidden within their wizard powers. She suspected it might be because the waziri wizards were too intelligent to waste time trying to move objects beyond their ability, and so had never discovered this trick. Her grin widened at the thought. There were definite advantages to being new and ignorant!

  She shut down her telekinesis when she was just a few inches away from Rave. Still suspended in the air, she bent her head down and kissed him softly on the lips.

  “How does it feel to be the shorter one now?” she asked him when she pulled her mouth away from his.

  Rave smiled. “Kissing you is fun from any position, my love.”

  Leesa thought his reply deserved a second kiss, so that’s exactly what she did, kissing him longer and more deeply this time.

  Suddenly, a burning pain erupted in her stomach. The intense pain yanked her concentration away from her levitation and she dropped to the ground, pulling her mouth from Rave’s. Her knees would have buckled, but Rave quickly grabbed her upper arms, keeping her from collapsing. Instead, he lowered her gently to the ground as Balin and Kaila rushed over.

  With her eyes screwed shut, Leesa rolled onto her side and curled up in agony. She had felt pain of this sort from her baby twice before, but this was worse—much, much worse. She could barely talk, could barely think. Pain consumed her world.

  “Hurts…” she moaned, not even realizing she was speaking. “Burns…like fire in my belly.”

  “Block it with your shield, Leesa,” Rave pleaded frantically. “Like you did the other times. Block it, Leesa. Now!”

  Rave’s voice seemed to come to Leesa from somewhere far away, but it managed to pierce the fog of her pain. Her intensive practice with shields over the past few months paid off now, allowing her to successfully wrap one around the nearly full-grown baby in her womb almost without thinking. The fiery pain subsided, blocked by her magic. Unlike the previous times, though, the pain did not disappear completely. She could still feel residual heat, even through her shield. It was uncomfortable, but bearable, and much preferable to the agony she had been suffering.