In The Beginning, Gail Daley [red white royal blue .TXT] 📗

use the Weatherman when I hire out. I thought you looked familiar as well. You were in command of the troop of Mercs. When my unicorn was killed, you turned back to pick me up. Only you weren't using the name Benoit."

Andre nodded. "That's right. I rode with the Merc's under Hammer Smith."

Rebecca opened the cabin door. "Logan? Catrin says for you to get back in here. The baby is about to come and Sylvie wants you."

Andre took his time unsaddling all the unicorns and making sure they had feed and fresh water while the storm broke with a great gush of rain and wind. When he entered the cabin, shaking water off his hair, the girl on the bed was sitting up gripping her raised knees, her face contorted as she bore down. Logan was at the foot of the bed holding out his hands as the child's wet, slippery body slid out.

"Good catch," Catrin said approvingly. "It's a boy Sylvie. Now turn him over on his tummy Logan, while I clean his eyes and mouth."

Catrin wiped the baby's eyes with a cloth dipped in warm water, and stuck her finger in his mouth, pulling out a thin film. "Here, lay this little man on Mom's breast and unbutton her blouse. I want him to try to suckle. It will help bring out the afterbirth."

"What?" Logan gingerly laid the baby on Sylvie's breast.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Catrin said, when he hesitated to touch Sylvie's blouse. She reached up and unbuttoned the blouse herself and helped the baby find his mother's nipple.

Catrin reached for the scalpel she had boiled earlier and cut the umbilical cord, tying it off with the string she had also laid ready.

"Okay, Sylvie, this part is going to be a little messy, but you must expel the afterbirth. I'm going to help you push. Ready?"

"Yes," the voice was a thin thread of sound. Catrin laid both hands on Sylvie's belly and reached with her Magi talents to help the contraction along. There was a kind of whooshing sound as the bloody sac slid out. Catrin frowned as she saw a trickle of fresh blood leaking out of Sylvie.

Andre and Logan both gagged. Catrin pulled the bloody mess away from Sylvie's body, gathering the sheet so it wouldn't drip on the floor. She handed it to Rebecca. "Take this outside and burn it," she directed. "You will get wet I’m afraid. I'd ask one of these big strong men to do it, but I haven't time to tend to them if they barf when it starts to burn. I need to get Sylvie cleaned up."

Rebecca took the messy sheet outside, and set fire to it.

"My God," said Andre, who had followed her outside. "Do all women go through that? How do you do it?"

Rebecca glanced at him. Catrin had been right, he did look a little green. "They say you forget the pain when you hold your baby. My mother did it four times," she said, amused. "Once with twins."

To distract him and herself from the smell of the burning afterbirth, she said. "You and Logan seemed to have reached a truce. When we first rode up, I thought I might need to referee between you."

Andre shook his head. "I know him. You had better know he is one of the Wild Magi, so the Proctors will hunt for him harder than most."

"I've heard rumors about the Wild Magi. You say he is one of them? How do you know?"

"Several years ago, I was leading a troop against raids by a Sekhmet tribe. They claimed someone from a local village owing fealty to Drake Brakamorn had stolen some cattle, and they wanted the guilty party for justice. When he refused (one of the men accused was related to him) they had taken hostages, and we all knew what the punishment would be. Stealing is a death sentence in their culture. Brakamorn hired us to rescue them. Their Shaman was powerful, and we lost men trying to get into their village. Drake Brakamorn tried to get help from the Proctors, but they refused, saying by not turning over the guilty men, the Duke had violated the treaty. We needed Magi help to block their Shaman, so I sent word through the Guild. They contacted the Wild Magi and they sent us Logan. He was barely into his teens at the time, but he rode down into that Hellhole of death and torture with us to rescue the hostages. On the way back, one of the Sekhmet shot his unicorn out from under him. It went down and he turned to face them alone, giving us time to get the hostages away. I rode back to pick him up. As we left, he shot lightning bolts at them. He is a brave man as well as a powerful Magi. If we can persuade him to join us, he will make a good ally."

Inside the cabin, Catrin had diapered the baby and wrapped him in the soft blanket she had brought with her. The baby whimpered.

Catrin realized he was probably hungry. In Sylvie's weakened state, Catrin doubted the girl had any milk to feed him. Luckily Catrin had come prepared. She laid the boy in the cot beside the sleeping Sylvie, covering them with a blanket. Out of her supply bag, she took one of the jars of boiled milk she had brought and poured some of it into a glass bottle. She attached a nipple made of extremely thin leather to the top and checked it for leaks.

"What is that?" Logan asked.

"He's hungry," Catrin said. "This isn't as good as breast milk, but it will sustain him until we can get him a wet nurse. Sit down and I'll bring him to you."

"Me?" he gulped.

"Yes, who did you think I meant? Sylvie is too tired to tend him just now; she needs to sleep and recover. If you are going to stand as father, you need to learn how