Chapter 4
Glaston Township, State: Percival, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat Year: 2040, Planet: Grimoire
The wellspring of good fortune amidst severe maladies striking simultaneously gave Davina some good feeling. She'd needed some good tidings to reach her in her last hours. As Davina pondered her next move, she surveyed her offspring.
All but two daughters and one son resembled their father. The trio that resembled her was something of a mystery to Davina. Anara, Daryl, and Sapphire all had black hair, but different coloration in highlights that kept them from being exact copies. Their eye color ranged from thunderstorm dark grey to colorless almost transparent quartz. They were also the smallest ones since neither of them grew taller than five foot two, a sore point for Daryl, although Davina thought he would experience a growth spurt soon. He was at the right age for it to occur. Harper and Sherpa had maroon-hued hair and blue-green eyes, with gangly builds and heights over six feet. Ambrose, Jennifer, and Holly all had platinum-blond hair and brownish-black eyes and were middling five and a half feet and taller as did their sires. They were so precious to her. A sigh escaped Davina when she glanced at the newborns. She couldn't discern what traits they would possess yet. While they all had tufts of black, white, and brown hair that didn't mean much. Their eyes weren't completely opened either, so she didn't know their color either.
I need to get them to the meadow of blessings one way or another. While she disliked death, Davina knew that it came to everyone at some point or another. If I don't, that old hag would find a way to tie them permanently to this area. She'd hoped to live long enough to her newest-born children's eighteenth birthdays also, but clearly, it wasn't meant to be.
Davina hardened her resolve when she recalled what faced her children shortly. Damn that old bitch. How dare she order me to commit such a heinous crime? I refuse. She detested what that old hag told her to do to remain alive. Kill her newborns, merely to remove a curse that was draining the lifeblood out of her? No way, not going to happen. Davina blinked when she heard Joan Whitcomb's suggestion. "Could you repeat that?" She was shocked.
"That habit of not hearing other people speaking hasn't changed I see." Her cousin rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Marcus and I want to take you and the children to the blessing meadow where all newborns are named and receive blessings," Joan informed her. "That is where you wanted to take the older ones, was it not?"
Yes, that was true, but Davina wondered if it was even possible, much less workable to do anything of the sort. "I'm not sure I can move independently."
Joan looked surprised. "Oh, you don't need to. Marcus and I can transfer you to a new portable bed and someone will carry you out." She waved a hand airily. "The same goes for the newborns. After all, the truth about all your heritage needs to be aired."
Huh? Davina gazed at Joan bewildered. Now she was just utterly confused. Evidently, she'd missed something while her thoughts had absorbed her attention.
"Oh, I haven't said anything yet," Joan reassured her. "I'm going to tell you all when we're gathered somewhere much warmer and comfortable."
Hmm, well that didn't sound too bad. It also fit with what Davina wanted so maybe this would work out after all. "All right, it beats remaining here and becoming a prisoner." She knew that would happen if the matriarch had her way.
*
Harper who'd been standing closest to the newborns, finally determined just how many there were. Eleven that were visible, and four more that were partially hidden, so fifteen total. Although he wasn't sure if his mathematics was correct. He started when a muffled commotion occurred outside the door. That didn't sound good at all. "Err, mother, there might be a problem as far as getting out through the traditional method." He finally mentioned, reluctant to interrupt the fascinating conversation between Joan and Davina.
"Oh dear, I knew this was going to be difficult." Davina grimaced. "I should've known that woman would do something nasty like this."
There was a beeping noise from Joan's wrist.
Much to Harper's astonishment, he saw that she wore one of those new communication types that had the latest technology squeezed into a small goal. "Oh, good to hear that you found another way out, dear. We'll be ready." Joan nodded. "I understand," She glanced at Davina. "Marcus has found another route for us to traverse out of here." She shrugged. "Evidently Miss Marten is running interference so that we may depart unhindered."
Wow, that solicitor was something else. Harper had to admire her perseverance even when she hadn't approved of a few of his mother's antics. Yet, she wasn't going to become an obstacle to their departure either. How fascinating and troubling simultaneously.
"I hope she doesn't get into too much trouble." Davina obviously had similar concerns to his.
Joan's face darkened with displeasure for the first time since her arrival in the delivery room. "Oh, she won't." Her tone was quite firm and stubborn when she explained tersely. "Marcus and I took some measures before arriving to ensure that no one touches Miss Marten in retaliation for anything that happens in the next couple of hours."
Harper found the entire situation quite entertaining. However, he also saw the need for them to leave if they didn't want any delays occurring. He didn't have to say a word.
Right then, Marcus returned with the portable bed, along with some contraptions in which the newborns were deposited. Harper and the others each took a side on the contraption, while Joan and Marcus carried Davina on the portable bed. They were unusually strong, and Harper found that discovery rather remarkable. It would make their departure all the easier to carry out. He was more than willing to take advantage of anything that would make the leave-taking that much easier.
Within ten minutes of leaving the room, the fairly sizable group finally managed to break free of the township's inner boundaries and headed to the special meadow according to Davina's instructions. As Harper looked around, he was quite bemused. This place felt eerily familiar although he could've sworn, he'd never stepped foot there. Had they gone through some kind of ritual here? It wouldn't surprise Harper if indeed that was the case.
After walking for another ten or so minutes, much to Harper's relief, Davina murmured. "We've arrived." She was half resting on her elbows as she looked around carefully to ensure they'd arrived at the correct location.
*
It had taken some serious planning to pull off this heist of the entire family. Joan and Marcus Whitcomb hadn't been certain they could do it. However, with the grudging help of Hermina Marten, they'd managed to pull it off.
Now as they gathered in the meadow, Joan and Marcus were shocked at the sight of their dear cousin, Davina, and the bad shape she was in. There was no doubt about it, she was dying. However, she wasn't letting that stop her from achieving the independence of her offspring if not herself.
Joan sighed. "So, what have you named the newest children?" She knew that Davina had some idea of what to call them.
Davina hesitated. "I was actually going to let the older children name at least eight of them." Her mouth twisted wryly. "As for the others, I'm not sure what to do yet." She looked uneasy for the first time. "I don't know if all of them are alive, to be honest." Somber shadows darkened her light grey eyes to stormy thundercloud darkness. "Some of the nurses and orderlies thought a few of them were unresponsive and possibly dead on arrival."
Yeah, right, there was no way any of those babies were dead. Joan shook her head and scoffed. "Hmph, scare tactics." She folded her arms. "All right, so how many children are in there?" Maybe Marcus could answer that question.
Marcus cleared his throat. "Originally, I thought there were only about fifteen maybe sixteen in there."
When the children frowned and exchanged puzzled glances, Marcus clarified. "I found a few others who'd been stashed in odd-looking containers that most certainly weren't incubators." He shook his head. "I think there was going to be an attempted removal without permission."
Ah, a quite common dirty tactic when there was a surfeit of children that the mother birthed. Joan exhaled. Well, that was quite a bit to take in. That also begged for an answer that hadn't been offered straightforwardly enough.
Surprisingly enough one of the older children, Harper, Joan thought it was, spoke up in a polite courteous tone.
"There are twenty-one altogether." He shrugged. "I counted them as they were transferred into the portable bassinets. I also included the ones in those odd-shaped containers. So yeah, the final count was twenty-one."
Hmm, that was quite an auspicious number to work with. Joan grunted. "Since you've done all the hard work, you may choose who goes first to name what child." She suggested. That way, with eight named by their older siblings, Davina could do the rest.