Blood Moons Rising

Chapter 26

Nevada was in the room she had been provided, combing out her thick curls that had been taken out of their braids. She'd resumed washing it with beer and conditioning it with oils lately, and it had grown back in force the last few months. There was a knock on the door, followed a few moments later by a louder one when she didn't answer.

"Nevada...Nevada it's me," Cameron's voice came through the door, softly slurred. "Open the door."

She sighed, getting up and walking over to open it. He came in and she closed the door behind him.

"I'm not telling you." She said firmly.

"It can't be worse than what I'm imagining. Please." He said, a little too loudly.

"Quiet down," She told him, stepping closer and placing a hand on his chest. He looked as though he was about to say something but then glanced down.

"I did not notice you were showing so much."

"Yes, well, Kinara's an excellent seamstress. It's harder to hide in a dressing gown. As big as I'm getting this early, Haneul thinks it might be twins."

He smiled into a soft sigh. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrified." She admitted. "But that doesn't matter now."

Another knock and muffled words made Nevada start, and then give a relieved sigh. "I think that's Qetzl, should I let him in?"

He seemed to think it over for a moment before nodding. She opened the door and Qetzl stumbled in, Cameron catching him before he nearly fell to the floor. Nevada shut the door and they both took him over to the bed, sitting him down.

"You know wine is too strong for you." Nevada said with soft concern.

"I could not help myself, Yxotla." He said in broken Anthean, before switching to his own tongue. "I cannot bear the thought that you might die."

"Everyone must die eventually," She replied, though in his tongue it was a single word.

"He keeps calling you that." Cameron said, leaning against the bedpost. "What does it mean?"

"Yxotla?" Nevada asked. "A lot of things. Mainly Divine."

"A fitting term."

"Why are you here?" Nevada asked Qetzl.

"I have gift." He said in Anthean, and Cameron corrected him, and he repeated it with more accuracy before taking a woven beaded bracelet from his pocket and holding it out to her. He was wearing a matching one on his wrist. "It took every bit of money I had to get bloodstones here, but worth it."

Nevada took the bracelet, looking over the raw cording and fondling the green and red beads before putting it on. "Are you sure about this?"

"It is my duty to bear." He replied.

"What is it?" Cameron asked.

"It's a charm. The People use it when a woman is giving birth, and a few other instances. It's a form of sympathetic magic. The word they use for it is tachtiqetzla. Pain no one should have to bear alone." She made sure it was fixed in place. "When I go into labor or enter into any form of physical suffering, the pain will be transferred to him and lessened for me. But that's months away, why give it to me now?"

"If something happens." He replied,and it warranted no further explanation. She kissed his forehead and then took his hands, placing them on her belly so he could feel their child move.

"You're going to be a good father." She told him. Someday. She left unspoken, because part of her knew there was a good chance this one would never be born. Though she'd tried to get rid of it, it was an entirely different matter when the choice was not hers.