Born of Stone (18 page)

“It’s hard,” he said. The wizards all frowned so he put his hand on her again. Suddenly there was a pulse against his palm. “Did you see that?”

“What?” Corbin asked.

Orestes shook his head and placed his other palm against her gently. The pulse came again with slight pressure against his palm. He immediately lifted both hands and everyone gasped at the outline of a tiny foot pressed against her flesh.

“It’s a babe,” one of the wizards said.

“Impossible,” Orestes said. “She’s been with no man save me for over a year.”

Though he said the words and believed them, a smidgen of doubt crept in. He looked Astrid in the eyes, which were wide with fear. She caught his stare and shook her head, clearly reading his thoughts. “No…I swear. Only you and no other for longer than a year.”

He nodded and accepted her words without further doubt. She had no reason to lie to him. He’d known she wasn’t untouched when he first had her. Why lie about that now?

“Then it must be yours,” Bastien said.

All eyes turned to him and Orestes’s pulse began to race. A child? His?

“Is it even possible?” he asked.

“It should be,” Corbin confirmed. “When you were made, it was with the full physiology of a human man. You have all the parts needed to procreate.”

“But we’ve been bedding women for years and this has never happened.”

“That doesn’t make it impossible.” Corbin looked down at Astrid as if assessing her for the first time. “Perhaps you just needed to find the right woman.”

“There is the strange phenomenon of you feeling her pain and knowing where to find her,” another wizard said. “Any other odd occurrences between you two we should know of?”

Orestes started to shake his head then stopped. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking of her for long since first noticing her at our table. I tried. But even leaving her at the castle was…disturbing to me.”

All the wizards nodded in understanding just as Astrid cried out and clutched her belly again.

“She’s in pain,” Orestes said. “Do something. Please.”

As if they’d only been waiting for him to ask, the wizards stepped closer to the altar and lifted their hands in unison. Three began chanting but Corbin moved to the end of the altar and clasped Astrid’s ankles. He slowly pulled her closer and bent her knees up so he had her legs spread wide. Orestes growled and had to fight the urge to beat the wizard away from what he considered for his eyes only. However, he knew if the babe was ready to be born, he didn’t have the skill or knowledge to help.

“It’s only been a matter of days. Would she be ready to deliver already?” Orestes asked.

Corbin shrugged and pushed his sleeves past his elbows. “This will be the first gargoyle baby ever to be born. Who knows what the rules are?”

The chanting of the other three wizards sped up and took on a more frantic tone. Orestes was barely aware of his brothers entering the room. They stayed near the door and out of the way but their curiosity was palpable. Orestes kept his attention on Astrid while she continued to cry and moan in pain. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore and moved to hold her head between his hands.

“My love, I’m so sorry you’re in such pain. Please, hold on a bit longer.”

She nodded with tears streaming down her face but said nothing. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and brushed her hair from her face.

“All right, Astrid,” Corbin said. “When I tell you to, push down with all your strength. Perhaps we can get this child out of you quickly.”

She gasped and nodded while Orestes moved to the head of the altar. He climbed up onto it and sat her up so she was reclining on his lap. She grasped his arms and he held on tightly.

“All right, now. Push!”

Astrid screwed up her face and bore down as hard as she could, pushing with what strength she had left. The shock of being pregnant still hadn’t sunk in past the pain. At the moment her only concern was stopping the discomfort. Once she’d exhausted her strength, she lay back against Orestes, panting for breath.

“Why is there blood?” Orestes asked.

He was trembling beneath her and she heard fear in his voice, but she refused to let it overwhelm her.

“Not to worry,” Corbin said. “This is to be expected and it isn’t too much…yet.”

She could have done without hearing that but bore down again anyway.

“Good girl. Again!”

She pushed a second time and screamed with the effort. Orestes’s grip on her arms tightened as if he was trying to lend her strength. A great searing pain shot from between her thighs and was suddenly gone before the sound of a baby’s cries filled the air.

“She is born,” Corbin announced.

The other wizards stopped chanting and let out a cheer even as the other Masters did the same. Astrid fell back against Orestes and sobbed in relief.

“A girl, Master Orestes. You have a daughter.”

His rumbling laugh echoed in her ear and she felt it shake his frame beneath her, but Astrid was too exhausted to join in. With the sounds of celebration all around her, she gave in to the darkness.

Chapter Thirteen

Orestes watched the beautiful creature in his arms while she slept and marveled again at how weak that simple act made him feel. She was gorgeous, even more beautiful than her mother, though he’d never say that out loud. How he could help create something so perfect eluded him but he was eternally grateful.

“What will you name her?” Haldor asked.

Orestes shrugged without moving his gaze away from his daughter. “As soon as Astrid wakes, we’ll discuss it. For now, she needs no name.”

Haldor chuckled while he moved closer to inspect the tiny bundle in Orestes’s arms. “She’s so small.”

“Good thing too or she might have done more damage to her mother,” Bastien said while closing the distance.

The wizards had left the room shortly after ensuring Astrid was healing in order to restrain Albain. He was now locked in the dungeon where they had found their human staff.

“Have the others been made ready to travel?” Oretes asked.

Haldor nodded. “We found wagons in Albain’s barn and they were just big enough to fit everyone. Goran and I will lead them home while the wizards wait here for their brethren.”

“The Twenty are coming here?”

“Well, it will be the fifteen, but yes,” Bastien said with some amusement. “We will mete out Albain’s punishment and then report to the king.”

Orestes nodded before looking over to where Astrid slept on a bed nearby.

“You three can stay here as long as needed, though she should be healed by the time she wakes,” Bastien said.

“Thank you for healing her,” Orestes said. “And for safely delivering my child.” He looked down at the miracle in his arms again and smiled. “I never would have thought…”

“Nor I,” Bastien said. “Nor any of the Twenty, though we didn’t prevent the possibility in your creation. I hope you don’t mind if we watch her progress from time to time. It will be interesting to see what traits she takes from her father.”

“I nearly expected her to be stone when she was born. Considering how hard Astrid’s belly was when we arrived.”

“Yes. That was my fear also. I don’t think a human woman would survive that. However, to the best of my ability to discern, I’d say she was stone until the birthing time for her own protection. Then when Astrid began to push, she reverted to a fully human body. There were no traces of stone in Astrid’s womb. Her body was soft to the touch almost immediately after.”

Orestes growled at the memory of Bastien’s hands all over his woman. At the time, he’d been too concerned for her health to protest but he clearly remembered the sight. Bastien had the nerve to laugh.

“I assure you, Master Orestes, that these old bones couldn’t handle a human woman like Astrid. Or any other for that matter. It’s been nearly two hundred years since I’ve touched a woman for pleasure and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”

Orestes blinked when he realized the ridiculousness of his jealousy.

Haldor chuckled. “You look so good for your age, Bastien, we often forget it.”

Bastien made a noncommittal noise before turning away. “We’ll be waiting for the others in the courtyard. The Wizard’s Stone should be safe again but you may consider moving it or adding other protections just in case.”

The gargoyles watched him walk out of the room before facing each other again.

“Will you be all right with Wynn or Steinn carrying part of your precious cargo home?” Haldor asked.

Orestes started to nod before stopping himself to think it over. “I honestly can’t say which I’d be willing to put into another’s arms.”

He looked between the two females with equal parts fear and awe.

Haldor chuckled and clapped him lightly on the shoulder. “I understand… Well, not really. But I can sympathize. Perhaps you should carry your woman and one of the others can carry the babe. Small as she is, there is no danger of them dropping her and she won’t know the difference anyway. If Astrid wakes mid-flight she might be fearful.”

Orestes hesitated a moment before nodding. There really was no question of his staying in Albain’s home for any length of time. His anger with the wizard made it impossible. Plus he wanted his daughter under the protection of the Wizard’s Stone as quickly as possible.

“All right. Steinn can carry her with Wynn flying directly below him…just in case.”

Haldor chuckled and left the room.

Astrid woke slowly and stretched her sore muscles. For a moment she didn’t know where she was but felt certain she should be frightened. She opened her eyes to the sight of Orestes’s bedroom around her and smiled. No need to be frightened.

As she lay there, her memories of waking in Albain’s home surfaced. Then his threats and her pain, Orestes and the wizards’ arrival and the birth of her child. She sat up with a gasp and looked around frantically. All was as it had been the day Orestes left her. She threw off the warm covers and looked down at her body. Her stomach was flat, though not sunken in like before, and her breasts were a bit larger. She ran a hand over her body and rubbed her thighs together. There was no pain but every movement proved her breasts were tender.

“Was I dreaming?” she asked the quiet room.

Flames crackled in the fireplace and a tray of bread and cheese sat on a nearby table. She slid off the bed and found one of Orestes’s shirts on the floor. Pulling it over her head, she went to the tray of food.

If it had all been a dream it was one of the most vivid she had ever experienced. Though she was fine now, she could still remember the pain of having a gargoyle’s babe in her womb. She ran her hand over her belly again and sighed. Would Orestes enjoy having a baby? Would he even want one…with her?

She shook away her thoughts and finished eating, determined to keep any sadness at bay. He hadn’t made any promises and she would be a fool to look for a future that wasn’t there. For now, she would just be content with the care he gave her.

She washed her face and hands and then donned one of her pretty new dresses. They were still in the crate they’d arrived in, but Orestes had promised her a new wardrobe. She didn’t plan to hold him to that promise. For all she knew, he would tire of her long before a wardrobe could be brought in. Just as she was slipping her feet into another new pair of shoes, the bedroom door opened.

“You’re awake. Thank the Goddess.”

Her head shot up at the sound of Orestes’s voice and she flew into his open arms. He laughed and lifted her off her feet, holding her tight to his chest. She gasped at the soreness of her breasts again but didn’t relinquish her hold on his shoulders.

“I missed you,” she said.

He gave her an odd look but then smiled and kissed her lips. “I missed you too. I was worried when you slept so long. How do you feel?”

“Now that I’ve eaten, much better. How long did I sleep?”

His humor disappeared. “Three days, my love. I was beginning to fear for your health, but the wizards said your body was merely healing. I was able to get broth down your throat but you never opened your eyes.”

Elation filled her at the endearment but she frowned and looked down at herself again. If anything, she looked healthier than ever before and felt just fine.

“Well, I’m all right now.”

His smile returned. “Good. Are you ready to meet your daughter now? Poor thing is still waiting for us to name her.”

She stilled in shock and her mouth dropped open.

His smile disappeared again and he watched her warily. “Astrid?”

“It wasn’t a dream? I really had your child?”

He grinned and gave a nod. “Yes, you did. And she is the most perfect, most beautiful creature ever created. We did a spectacular job.”

Astrid laughed both in amusement and relief while Orestes finally set her back on her feet. Her heart was racing and tears burned the backs of her eyes but she was elated. If he was truly happy about the child, maybe he did plan to keep her around.