The Pagan Stone Page 0,105

eyes. "Nobody tells me to put off my morning coffee. Move it or lose it, Q."

"No coffee until after this." She picked the pregnancy test off the counter, waved it in front of Cybil's face. "Your turn, Cyb."

"My turn for what. Move!"

"To pee on a stick."

Cybil's jones for coffee tripped over sheer shock. "What? Are you crazy? Just because sperm met egg for the two of you doesn't mean-"

"Isn't it funny I have this on hand just like I had one for Layla."

"Ha ha."

"And it's interesting," Layla continued, "how you pointed out yesterday the three of us are on the same cycle."

"I'm not pregnant."

Layla looked at Quinn. "Isn't that what I said?"

Nearly desperate for coffee, Cybil rolled her eyes. "I saw you pregnant. Both of you. I didn't see me that way."

"It's always harder to see ourselves," Quinn returned. "You've told me that a few times. Let's make it simple. You want coffee? Go pee on a stick. You won't get past both of us to the goal, Cyb."

Fuming, Cybil snatched the box. "Pregnancy's made both of you bossy and bitchy." She stalked off to the first-floor powder room.

"It has to mean something." Layla rubbed her hands over her arms, ridiculously nervous. "If we're right, or if we're wrong, it has to mean something. I just wish I could figure out what."

"I've got some ideas, but..." Worried, Quinn paced to the kitchen doorway. "We'll think about that later. After. And either way, we have to be with her on this."

"Well, of course. Why wouldn't... Oh. You mean if she is, and she doesn't want to be." With a nod, Layla stepped up so she stood beside Quinn. "No question about it. Whatever it is, whatever she needs."

They waited a few more minutes, then Quinn dragged both hands through her hair. "That's it. I can't stand it."

She marched to the door, knocked for form, then pushed the door open. "Cyb, how long does-Oh, Cybil." She knelt down immediately to gather Cybil up as her friend sat on the floor.

"What am I going to do?" Cybil managed. "What am I going to do?"

"Get off the floor to start." Briskly, Layla leaned down to help her up. "I'm going to make you some tea. We'll figure this out."

"I'm so stupid. So stupid." Cybil pressed her hands to her eyes as Quinn led her to the kitchen and a chair. "I should've seen it coming. All three of us. It's a perfect goddamn fit. It was right there in front of my face."

"It didn't click for me," Quinn told her. "The possibility of it didn't click in for me until the middle of the night. It's going to be all right, Cybil. Whatever you want or need, whatever you decide, Layla and I are going to be right there to make sure it's all right."

"It's not the same for me as it is for the two of you. Gage and I... We don't have any plans. We're not..." She managed a weak smile. "Linked the way you are with Cal and Fox."

"You're in love with him."

"Yes, I am." Cybil looked into Quinn's eyes. "But that doesn't mean we're together. He's not looking for-"

"Forget what he's looking for." Layla's voice was so sharp, Cybil blinked. "What are you looking for?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't this. I was looking to finish what we started here, and to have some time with him outside of this. If I looked further than that, and I'm not so strong and coolheaded that I didn't look further and hope that we might make something together. And not so wide-eyed and optimistic that I expect to."

"You know you don't have to decide right away." Quinn stroked Cybil's hair. "This is between the three of us, and we'll keep it that way as long as you want."

"You know we can't do that," Cybil replied. "There's a purpose in this, and that purpose might be the difference between life and death."

"Gods, demons, Fate-," Layla snapped. "None of them have a right to make this choice for you."

When Layla set the tea on the table, Cybil took her hand, squeezed fiercely. "Thanks. God. Thanks. The three of us, the three of them. Ann Hawkins had three sons and they were her hope, her faith, her courage. Now there are three more-the possibilities of three more inside us. There's a symmetry there that can't be ignored. In many cultures, in much lore, the pregnant woman holds particular power. We'll use that power."

She took a deep breath,