to mention uncomfortable. The baby was definitely head down and she felt as big and as hard as a bowling ball.
“Uh-huh,” Ryker said, standing up again. “Famous last words. Cali thought she had more time too, remember?”
Max remembered. She had known about the early arrival of baby Maxwell months before it happened. She had done her best to make sure one of her best friends was looked after during her time in need. Max wasn’t going to lie, she could use a phone call with her doctor friend herself. She was just standing up to find her phone when a sharp pain tightened her belly, hard enough to make her gasp. Wrapping her arms over her distended stomach, she rocked back and forth a few times trying to breathe through the pain.
“Max? What’s happening?”
Ryker’s concerned voice penetrated her single-minded focus and she was able to look at him as he rushed over to her. The pain held on for a good minute before it finally eased enough for her to draw in a deep breath and sit back down in the chair. “Oh boy. I think that was a contraction.”
“A contraction?” Ryker practically yelled from where he was once more kneeling in front of her. “A labour contraction?”
Max smiled, though she was sure it was smaller than her usual ones. “Yes, a labour contraction. Don’t worry, I’m sure we have ti –” Max broke off, sucking in a quick breath and holding it as her uterus tried to turn itself inside out. Or perhaps the baby is trying to eat her way out, she thought. The pain was certainly bad enough for Max to believe it. Panting, Max gripped Ryker’s hand hard. “Okay. I take that back. I don’t think we have time.”
Ryker’s eyes were wide and he looked terrified, still he held her close and spoke logically. “Your mother. Contact your mother. She can come and poof us right out of here and back home. Back to Jasminka and the clinic. Right?”
Max nodded, relaxing a little. Yes, she would simply call her Goddess mother. Fumbling for the connection that was usually front and centre in her mind, Max’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock. It wasn’t there. The intrinsic link she shared with her mother ever since she had used her spirit domain to heal Eden, Beyden and her own memory was no longer there. It was just … gone. “Uh-oh,” she muttered, right before another contraction hit her hard.
Ryker stroked Max’s tight stomach in soothing circular motions, instructing her to breathe with him and telling her everything was going to be okay. A full minute later, when the contraction eased, he said, “What did you mean uh-oh? What did Dana say? Where is she?”
Max bit her lip, trying to stifle the panic threatening to bubble to the surface. “She’s not coming.”
“What the fuck do you mean she’s not coming?!” Ryker yelled, jumping to his feet.
Max winced, knowing he wasn’t going to take the rest of the information well. “I can’t contact her. The connection is gone. Like I have no telepathy anymore.”
“How is that possible?” Ryker demanded.
“I don’t know. It just is,” Max said, voice shaky.
Ryker quickly crouched down again, pushing the hair back from Max’s face. “I’m sorry. It’s okay, sweetheart. Call the Order instead.”
Max nodded her head and reached for the soul-bond that connected her to every member of her Order … only to find it just as absent as the one she shared with her mother. Frantically calling up her other powers, she tried to call the air, the earth, even the water in the damn toilet bowl. Nothing. Nada. Zip. She was completely powerless. She was about to flip her shit when another contraction hit her, and she was forced to breathe through another minute of torture. Panting she said, “You call the Order. Use your potentate abilities. Do it now.”
Ryker didn’t question her, instead he immediately closed his eyes, snapping them open a few seconds later. His face was incredulous as he shouted, “I can’t reach them. The link – it’s not there!”
Max patted her very hard stomach, trying to calm herself as well as the baby who was kicking quite forcefully. “I can’t access it, either. I think …” she snagged Ryker’s eyes with her own. “I think we’re on our own.”
“On our own?” Ryker looked positively horrified. “Fuck that. I’m calling an ambulance. That’s what a human would do.” Ryker fumbled for the phone he rarely used –