Chapter 51

Dakota screams and nearly breaks Sorbo’s hand with her grip.

“Come on, babygirl, you’re almost there. Hang in there, you can do it.”

The April night skies are crisp and clear as the stars shine bright in the expectation of another god being born. Though that matters little to Dakota and Sorbo for they are just waiting to meet their daughter, whose name will be Ann Ophelia Pralene.

The four moons are in position and as Dakota gets hit by yet another contraction and as her screams echo throughout the Royal Castle she starts to pulsate with a golden glow. Then like sunrays down into water, beams of light connect between Dakota and the fourth moon known as the Crystal Orb. As Dakota gets bathed in the golden light her pain eases.

Sorbo takes a sigh of relief as he brushes his pretty wife’s damp hair out of her face. He does not like seeing her in pain and he most definitely does not like not being able to do anything about it. As Sorbo is stroking Dakota’s hair and humming one of her favorite songs to her, the midwife and Casey are down at the other end watching a miracle being born. With one final contraction that convulses her entire body a baby is born.

With a sigh of accomplishment and tears in her eyes Dakota says, “Let me see her.”

“Let me clean her up a little first, and here’s your baby girl.” says Casey, setting the pristine baby girl on her momma’s stomach with the umbilical cord still attached.

When Ann opens her unfocused eyes they are the same color blue. “Look, Sorbo, our baby.”

“I see, my precious wife. I see.” He is smiling so much his cheeks are starting to hurt.

As the midwife and an army of servants get Dakota, the baby and the birthing bed squared away they move Dakota and Ann to Dakota and Sorbo’s bed.

Once everything is cleaned, removed and wrapped, Sorbo takes his baby daughter securely in his loving arms and he walks out onto the balcony that faces west into the courtyard and the oldest parts of the city Glimmer. He raises his new bundle of joy high in the air and says, “Behold, Princess Ann.” The city roars to life and a new era has begun.

Then there is a golden flash behind Sorbo and Odin comes walking out onto the balcony with him. All present kneel, but once and again Odin says, “There is no need to kneel before that which you are apart of.”

As they are walking back into the bedroom there is a red flash and then a white flash. Aden nods to his grandfather and walks over and bows to Ann. Andromeda does the same, but then she walks over to Dakota’s side and says, “Congratulations, my child.”

“Thank you, goddess.” Andromeda smiles.

After Sorbo puts Ann back in her mother’s arms he looks around suspiciously and then he calls out, “You may enter, Loki.”

And with that there is a flash of black light and there stands Loki in his black rob with the hood pulled high and as usual it is swaying to a breeze that is unseen on this plane of existence. Loki bows to his father, all ours father, and then nods to his brother and sister.

Then Loki pulls back the hood and lets it fall. “Congratulations and welcome to our world, sister goddess.”

“Son of a bitch! You’re a woman!” When Loki pulled back her hood a very pretty face with long raven hair, beautiful blue eyes and milky white skin shone from the darkness of her malice, which has dimmed to mischievousness. Then confusion hits Sorbo and he just has to ask, “Why then if you are a girl do you have your followers treat girls as less?”

Loki smiles, “Sorry, Great Protector, but that is you humans doing, not mine.”

Sorbo shakes his head, “I should have known.” Now that the truth is known Loki is at the precipice of being truly accepted back into the balance.

“Great Protector and White Sorceress, I want you to know something. When you come for the Star of Elegance forces will try to stop you. Not because I desire it so, but because it is the final test to see if this world is worth saving one more time. Even now that I know it is my moon,” as she says that last part she looks at her sister Andromeda. “And the moon of magic that you are to save this time around, the processes there will still react to your presence and I will have no control over it, or I would just give you the Star of Elegance. As it is even I cannot reach the Star of Elegance where it is in my home of the Underworld.”

Sorbo looks at Odin who nods his head in confirmation. Sorbo walks over to Loki and hugs her. At first she shies away and then once and again she takes her rightful place amongst the world and creation as she sinks into Sorbo’s embrace. As Sorbo is hugging the stuffing out of her he moves his hand down to her tush. Loki’s beautiful blue eyes go big and then Sorbo raises his hand and smacks Loki’s bottom and says, “You are a brat, young lady.”

When they pull back from each other Loki’s mouth is hanging open and several people do a nervous laughter until Loki bursts out laughing and jumps into Sorbo’s arms again. Then the whole room laughs and their eyes fill with tears as nature is once and again back in balance.

Loki walks over to her grandfather, brother and sister, and as they are doing a group hug they flash out in a pink light.

“Well, wasn’t that interesting!”

Dakota just nods her pretty head and looks at her daughter with her hand held out to her husband.

After a week of recovery, wonder and love, Dakota, Casey and Sorbo are sitting on the bed talking and Dakota says, “It’s kind of sad though that our children won’t be able to have children of their own.”

Casey clears her throat and scratches her head as she looks away. “What now?” asks Sorbo.

“Well, actually you will have four children. The fourth one will be mortal. That is how you are related to the original White Sorceress. Actually your first three children will be gods and then after that you can have all the children you want and they will be mortal.”

“They will be normal?”

“Well, I don’t know how normal they will be considering they will have magic in their blood and their father is the Great Protector, but yes.”

“Is there anything else you haven’t told us?”

“Probably,” says Casey, with a smile.

Sorbo’s eyes go big and he attacks the seventeen-year-old Seer with tickles and a million little kisses. She squeals out and Dakota says, “Shh, you’ll wake the baby.”

“Sire.”

“Yes.”

“Our spies have confirmed that an army has left the capitol city of Bounty from within Swelter and is heading to link up with Harod’s army, and then those two armies will link up with Abara’s army, which is already gathering on the border of the Free Lands of Andromeda.”

“Wow, it is August, which is the hottest months in those countries. If they are moving in that heat they must be moving with a very dark purpose indeed.”

“It appears, sir, that they plan on going along the coastline. With an army that size it will take them several months to assemble and be ready.”

“As it will for us. Pick five hundred warriors and their squires to stay behind, just in case while we are engaged with them the religious zealots try something here. Beyond that, have the Knights of Odin, and their squires, prepared to leave within the week.”

“Sir, our interrogations of the Children we captured said they have been wiped out.”

“Yes, but I doubt if they are the only ones.” Sorbo walks outside to Lender and tells him. “It has begun. The enemy is on the move. Send dragon and rider to all our friends and tell them to converge on the border of the Free Lands and Abara. Remind them to keep a token force behind, as I’m sure all the religious zealot groups will attempt to make their moves then.”