Episode 229: Power Surge (Eurydice)

Eurydice waited. She didn’t just sit there; her entire body felt more awake. Instead, she helped Endy’s littlest brothers and sisters to bed. It was easy enough to discern the thumping of somersaults and giggling at max volume, the various voices asking every Alandrial to get into their rooms, the urgency.

When the palace had quieted, and the last of the kids were asleep, Eury went back to bed. The palace was on subtle lockdown, no royal member allowed in the guarded halls. It had been a perfect distraction to not think about Endy and what he was doing. To not think of the energy she was overflowing with. It had been an awful distraction because she worried more about why he had been called.

He greeted her with a kiss. Safe, alive, healthy.

“Something happened while you were gone,” Eury stated. “Are you okay?”

“It did?” Endy’s eyes searched the room, where the lanterns from their first night together still hung. He settled on her. “What happened?”

“I just felt weird,” Eury clarified. “Everyone was told to stay in their rooms.”

His brow tilted down as he set his hand on her shoulder. “Felt weird how?”

She nuzzled against his hand. She was impossibly in love. “Like a power surge? Of magic.”

“Yeah. Regent.” His hand dropped. “So basically, we’re in charge. My dad’s in prison, my mom’s gone. Giana and Greg are dead. Talise is in labor, Nim and Terren are gone, Ach is busy.”

Eury hugged him, closing the thread of their bond so they were all but one. “This feels like everything that was going to be wrong this morning was okay, but now its not. Like we got hired before the job opening. “

He laughed. “Yes.”

She wanted his family to be safe too.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” he said. “Can you help? More?”

“Anything,” Eury insisted. “I’m here.” She had no idea what she had signed up for when she married Endy, but she trusted the bond and that this is where she was supposed to be. So she pulled whatever uncertainty she had together and said. “I’m not family family, but I’ll do whatever you need. Just point.”

“Did you hear about your sister?” Endy asked.

Eury’s eyes widened. “No?”

“She’s safe now,” Endy said in a rushed voice. “But there was an issue with your parents and that guy she was kissing. So we should probably see your mom this week and sort that out.”

“Okay.” Eury tried to clear her mind, because there was nothing she could do about Danija at the moment. “Your family.” His parents had divorced and remarried, and both people they had married had died on the same night. It was an odd coincidence. “Someone wants your parents to get remarried maybe, or something bad is happening in a weird way?” Eury tried to reason.

“Well Greg volunteered for his thing. Unless the same people took Giana, it’s not related. Just a really ugly coincidence. You said everyone is in bed?”

“Yeah. I think so,” Eury said, because. “I don’t actually know how many siblings you have, off the top of my head, but I made the twins pair up.”

Endy laughed and reached for a jacket. “Neither do I. Can we go see Spence first and have him protect Talise and Niels?”

“Yes. That’s a good idea.” Eury got her jacket too, and they took off through the palace. It was strange to be able to walk past the guards, to have them step away as though they could sense the power being regents gave them.

Eury tried not to enjoy it.

Endy let them to an apartment and knocked on a door. He smiled at her while they waited.

“Hey,” Spence Lavesque said as he opened the door. “You needed something?”

Through the door, Eury could hear a movie playing. Endy could see in the room better, but his eyes widened and he looked at Spence. “What… are… who are they.”

Curious, Eury peered into the room. There were over two dozen kids in the room.

“They’re from some group that wanted to kill them,” Spence said, like it was normal. “We haven’t set up anything permanent yet.”

“Can someone else watch them?” Endy asked.

“Lonan and Auberon and Mallory and Mara and Camilla are here. I can head out for a few.” Spence turned into the apartment and waved, then he stepped into the hall and shut the door.

The kids were too behaved. It was weird.

Except for the little brown haired girl that had slipped into the hall. “I want to come!” She exclaimed.

“Can you stay here?” Endy asked. “I have a really important job for you.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “What is it?”

“You know how it’s Grandma’s job to make sure everyone who comes to the palace is comfortable?” Endy said. “Has something to eat and a blanket and stuff?”

The girl nodded.

“Can you do that for all those kids?” Endy asked.

The girl looked up at Spence.

“It’s a big job,” Spence stated.

“I can do it,” the girl stated, firmly and assuredly. Eury hoped she looked half as confident.

Spence crouched beside her and gave her a big hug and a kiss. “I’ll be back in a little bit.” He opened the door and the girl slipped back inside.

“Something happened to Giana and my mom,” Endy stated as soon as the door shut. The group set off down the call. “Can you help me protect Talise?”

“Yeah,” Spence said, tense. “Let me just get some stuff and I’ll handle it.”

“I want to see how it’s done,” Endy requested. “And help if Talise has questions.”

“Sure.” Spence opened a door near the first door. “Let me get you guys some wards too.”

While Spence mixed plants together, they watched. Eury massaged Endy’s lower back.

“What are you going to do with all those kids?” Endy asked.

“Return as many as we can to their families. Lonan and Auberon may take ther rest in, or some guy that raised them is here.” Spence handed them both a drink inside a tube.

Eury lifted the drink toward her lips.

“Just add hair or nail,” Spence stated.

Eury looked into the blue liquid and swallowed. Hair or nail? Which would she rather eat? She hated when hair got caught in her throat. Before she could remove a piece of nail, Endy plucked one of her hairs off of her shoulder and added it to her drink.

Gross.

Before she could drink it, the liquid spilled over and a small bird chirped.

Eury tried not to stare. She turned to Endy, a big smile, and plucked one of his hairs and added it to his not drink. His formed golden tamarind.

“These should help,” Spence promised. “They’re like familairs but aggressive and they can shield you.”

“Do we get these forever?” Endy asked, his hand running along the length of his monkey.

“If you want,” Spence said. “Familiars are made of you, like soul. They’re obedient.”

“How aggressive are they?” Eury asked.

“Just to enemies, people who have the intent to harm you. They’re friendly, even in play fights.”

“Thank you,” they both said.

“Are you giving Talise one?” Endy asked.

“That’s the plan. Go ahead and drink this.” Spence handed them a purple drink, with no instruction to add bodily pieces it. Eury drank hers and it tasted sweet, like some kind of over ripe fruit.

Then, Spence submerged two wristbands in another liquid, one that was amber with specks of black and gold. “You should wear these too. The wards aren’t just spells, so these things should shield you well, unless someone is doing complex magic.”

They each put a bracelet band on. Amber coated her wrist above and below the band. Black speckles appeared to crawl through the liquid, but she couldn’t feel them.

“Let’s get Talise and Niels their animals, then I need to do a few other things to ward the palace, okay?” Spence asked.

“Yeah,” Endy replied.

They took off down the hall, Eury’s bird on her shoulder and Endy’s tamarind crawled over his shoulder.

A few feet down the hall, Spence looked back at them. “Actually, I’m sticking with you two.”

Eury tried to figure out what had changed, but Endy was off thinking about something and Spence had stopped again in front of another door, this one maybe three away from the place they had gotten him, four from the room they were just in.

“Do they have needles?” a voice said from inside.

“Nope,” Spence announced as he entered the room. “Just drinks.” He walked over to her and plucked a hair from her head and gave her a smile. “You look gorgeous in labor.”

Talise shook her head. “I look gross.”

“Sweat is shiny, you’re glowing,” Spence argued. On Talise’s lap, the drink bubbled into an otter. Her fox, a familiar, started to sniff it, then settled back down between her feet.

“You’re an ass,” Talise said, petting her new otter.

“I’d be an ass no matter what I said,” Spence joked. “At least I’m a caring ass.”

Niels offered up his own hair and Spence held out the blue liquid. He dropped it in and an emu formed. Almost an ostrich, but a little different. Smaller. More pecky.

“Ach is coming to hang out,” Spence informed them, like he wasn’t being sent to babysit them in case something went wrong. Eury looked at Endy, unsure if they were supposed to keep the palace issues a secret or not.

Based on Spence, secret.

“Fine,” Talise said.

“Spence sat on the edge of her bed, but looked more at Niels. “I don’t know everything, but we’re going to figure this out.” His eyes focused on Talise, and Eury could see that their old marriage wasn’t just a joke – they did love each other.

“I need you safe,” Spence said. “I want you here, because all of our kids are next door. They have plenty of guards, but Ach can help too if he’s needed. I’m going with Endymion and Eurydice, they’re regents, as long as they need me.”

“What is this that you’re trying to figure out?” Niels asked.

Spence stood. “Greg turned himself over to a group, the group gave us his sons and thirty kids. Emily and Rhyss broke up, and Emily went with Greg, Nim and Soren are missing, and,” Spence’s body softened. “Both your moms are missing.”

While they observed that, Spence continued. “Meldrick is under surveillance for the time being, and no one has any idea how all the pieces fit so were just being cautious. No one thought an attack coming, so probably this is overkill. Consider it a drill until something concrete is reported.”

Before Talise could yell – which it looked like she wanted to – Acheron came into the room.

“Can I stay here?” Acheron asked. “My room’s really lonely without Spence.”

Talise rolled her eyes and Niels laughed a little.

“Something concrete, like my mom missing?” Niels asked, stone faced again.

“Maybe she went to get Cille and Jerome,” Spence suggested, which sounded more like a lie but Eury wasn’t going to call him out on that. “We don’t know. Just keep your familiars close.”

Talise sighed and looked at Ach. “You can hang out, Ach. I get it.”

Ach’s skin flushed light pink. “You do?”

Eury was learning so much about the family. She tried to absorb every detail.

“Yeah,” Talise said. “But it’s going to be gross soon. So don’t puke.”

Ach sparked a little, but pulled them in. “I won’t.”

Eury leaned toward Endy. She was glad not to be having kids. It made everything about the night more complicated.

“Go ahead,” Talise insisted to Spence. “Go be Mr. Amazing.”

Spence grinned. “A compliment? Wow.”

“Shut up!” Talise joked. “You’re still an ass.”

Spence laughed and opened the door to the hall. He turned back to Ach and kissed him. “I love you.”

It was innocent, calm, but it felt like there was a fear and a pressure underneath it.

Eury squeezed Endy’s hand. She wasn’t ready to lose him, now or ever. All of her we’ve got this feeling sunk into reality, where they were the regents to the Dells and the Dells might be under attack.

Endy squeezed her hand back, kissed her jaw right before it met her ear, and whispered, “I love you.”

It wasn’t reassuring.

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