Chapter 2
Glaston Township, State: Percival, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat Year: 2040, Planet: Grimoire
Outside, shadows had already lengthened to cover most of the buildings, providing relief from the unusually bright sunlight and heightened temperatures. However, now Sherpa was very chilled to the bone. He wasn't sure if it was simply from the cold stares coming from all the adults in the clinic, or whether it had to do with the dropping of the temperature outside and that drafts were seeping in through poorly glazed and maintained windows. They were filthy and that bothered Sherpa because it meant someone wasn't maintaining cleanliness and sanitizing everything within the building. Though maybe that was just for that area specifically that no care was being paid. Whatever, his main concern now was seeing their mother.
What the eight siblings found shocked the daylights out of them. To one side sat an enormous crib. It held piteously mewling babies. Sherpa blinked. "Well, this is going to make life interesting." If he wasn't mistaken, there were either eight or nine babies in there.
Not only that but his mother's cousin, Terabithia Hodgkins, and her husband Samuel were standing off to one side, extreme disapproval radiating from them as they gazed upon Davina with barely concealed contempt.
"This is not in the contract conditions," Terabithia said angrily. "We were under the impression that we only had to care for the fifteen-year-olds, not the newborns." her voice was strident and shrill with outrage. "We have our own children we must care for. Why didn't you prepare concerning these new brats before they were born?"
Sherpa winced because this conversation evidently had gone on for some time before their unannounced arrival. Nonetheless, he took a step forward only to halt abruptly when Anara shook her head slightly. Her gaze was now upon the solicitor who also stood with the two cousins. She seemed rather confused about the solicitor's presence amid the chaos.
The solicitor cleared her throat. "Well, as it happens there were new provisions recently added and I approved them about three hours ago." She rattled off everything that was altered.
Sherpa was delighted and relieved when he heard the changes. So, another cousin had come out of the woodwork? While that was good and all, he wanted to meet the individual and make sure that he/she/they wouldn't harm the quintuplets much less the newest arrivals.
*
The solicitor, Hermina Marten had been somewhat shocked at Davina Glasson's unconventional methods in bringing out the true colors of the Hodgkin couple, in regard to the newborns. "Well, now, we're at a standstill are we not?" Hermina studied the couple with a frown. "Needless to say, I think we should all take a step back and recover our composure." She glanced at the doorway where all the fully grown and almost completely grown eight children stood waiting quietly for their turn to enter. "Why don't you two and I step outside, hmm?"
While Hermina didn't truly approve of her actions, she finally understood why Davina made the last changes while she still remained sane enough to do so. She watched as Terabithia and Samuel forced their anger aside and they summoned polite smiles to their faces. It was too late though none of the eight siblings returned the basic greeting. Hostility gleamed in their eyes. They pointedly all stepped aside as Hermina walked past them, with Terabithia and Samuel towed in her wake.
Hermina glanced at Sherpa and the others. "I'll let you know about some of the changes once I'm through with these two."
She was pleased when they nodded courteously and Harper, the eldest child, murmured. "Yes, ma'am, we'll stay with Mother until you're ready to speak with us."
Satisfied with their command of the protocol when greeting people who had direct interference with their lives, Hermina made sure that neither Terabithia nor Samuel would be able to say anything cruel to them. Now they had their precious time with their mother.
*
Sherpa inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly with relief once the antagonistic duo left the cramped room. He followed the others inside and debated whether to shut the door. After a moment, Sherpa chose to leave it propped open to keep the air circulating and so that no one became claustrophobic. He studied his mother with concern. "It seems that you took a turn for the worse."
There would be no picnic after all it seemed. He was upset, but it didn't matter if it meant that his mother would be safe. Sherpa turned his head to regard the babies in the crib. "These must be our new siblings." He wasn't sure how to feel about this situation.
Davina nodded. "Yes, they chose to come early. Just like you and the others."
Ah, so that is what happened. Sherpa sighed heavily. "Just how many are there?"
Anara laughed. "There are nine." She murmured but there was a sad note in her voice.
"Hmm, well, we can still have the picnic." Davina patted the bed. "Come, sit down on the bed all of you." She asked. "There is food in those baskets off to your left, Sherpa." Her calm voice directing all of them, settled their nerves despite the realization it would be the last one they had together.
Sherpa did as instructed, he gathered the baskets with the help of Ambrose and Sapphire. then they all gathered in a circle around their mother.
They broke their fast, laughed, and chatted, and finally, Davina sighed. "So, it seems another cousin is willing to take you five and the newborns. The problem is that they won't arrive for another month. I don't know how you'll remain housed until that time."
Sherpa was stunned silent. Then he heard footsteps. "Someone is approaching the door." It wasn't the solicitor but someone else entirely. The hair rose on the back of his neck. It was the matriarch of the Glasson family.
*
Oh dear, their precious impromptu picnic was ending sooner than Davina expected. "Please continue eating children." Not only that but the true troublemaker and bane of their lives was rapidly approaching. "This is going to be our last meal together." It was a regretful fact that she hadn't done quite enough to protect her newborns.
News spread fast in a small town, Davina reflected with a frustrated sigh. Especially when it regarded the birth of illegitimate children, the disgrace of the Glasson family, and the fact that she was dying from blood loss.
"Mother, should we activate our barriers?" Daryl inquired.
"Yes, my darlings, you should. This will turn rather ugly fast." However, Davina had known what she was doing when she made her final arrangements. "It seems that the matriarch is arriving now." She gritted her teeth with a sigh. "Fortunately, she can't touch any of you, not if she wants to retain her position of matriarch."
Davina was taking no chances when it came to her children's freedom from the tyranny of her mother who viewed everything in Glaston as her personal possessions to dispose of how she wished. That was going to end today.
Now all she had to do was confront the matriarch, her mother, of the Glasson clan for the final time. Not what she found pleasant, but it was necessary to prevent that woman from killing all of her children from petty retaliation.
The stumping noise ended when a woman shoved open the door with a cane and strode in without a word. She stopped short at the sight of the gathered children, including the newborn babies set in a crib off to one side. She scowled ferociously. "Why didn't you sacrifice those mewling brats to the goddess and remove the curse from your body?" She demanded of Davina.
"That wasn't necessary since I never planned to become your vessel to continue your youthful appearance." Davina snapped. "Not only that but their guardian will arrive sooner than anticipated." She'd received the update simultaneous to hearing her mother approach. "You won't succeed in forcing them to your will."
Davina watched as her mother realized that all the children had protective barriers raised to prevent her from stealing control over their bodies, much less their minds or souls. This was something Davina had taught them long ago in preparation for such a confrontation.
"Hmph, worthless brats the lot of you. Mark my words, they won't leave Glaston except as corpses." The woman snarled at Davina before she turned around and stomped away.