“Yes, I hear a lot of stories from Sacha. But they are adorable and sweet so it makes it easy to let them get away with murder.”
“That it does. Let’s get Mattie some food. Aidan, Diel, or I will be around the children at all times. We are going to try to keep them all together so no one gets surprised.”
I pick up Mattie and we walk into the kitchen and to a firestorm from Celine.
15. Aidan
I am not looking forward to telling Hannah about Celine. I know Diel will handle it with his ages old self-control, but Hannah will come unhinged and rightly so. I just don’t want to be the one to deliver the bad news. I ring their doorbell since they aren’t expecting me.
“Hey, Aidan, come on in. Hey guys. What are you doing with the twins? Did Sebastian get tired of them?” Diel laughs.
“Thanks, Diel. Sorry to interrupt your alone time.”
“No need to be sorry, man. You’re always welcome here. Let’s get the kids out of the cold.” He takes Fiona and I carry Finn.
We walk through the house to Diel’s home office. He motions me to sit in one of the chairs in front of the fire and we put the kids down to play while he takes the other chair.
“What did you have on your mind, Aidan? I can tell it’s something.” He grins at me like he’s expecting some good gossip. Men gossip as much as women, don’t doubt it.
“I just came from Lilith’s. There was an incident with Celine and the children.” Diel jumps up and growls.
“It’s been taken care of but Sebastian and I thought it would be a good idea to bring the children home until you and Hannah bring them for Santa.”
“Aidan, what happened?” He picks up first one twin then the other, checking them for injuries. “Aidan, tell me now. My imagination is going crazy.”
“We installed fingerprint security on Mathilda’s door when Celine and your father came to stay. I put invisible cameras in the hall and a panic button for Mathilda in her room. It brings me to her instantly if she uses it.”
“I knew it was a bigger hardship to Sebastian and Lily than they were letting on.” Diel shakes his head and then puts it in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. “What did she do, Aidan?”
“She took a nail file to the door when she couldn’t open it. Shocked her really well too. She denied doing anything wrong. Said she got confused on which door it was. Mattie and the twins heard a scraping noise and pushed the panic button.”
“Fuck!”
“The kids don’t know what happened. Sebastian, Annie, and I were there instantly. The part we’re concerned about is how Celine reacted when Doxie told her she wasn’t a duchess and that her children wouldn’t have a title. The way she acted made me suspect that she would do harm to you, Hannah, and the children to change the succession.”
“Hannah is going to kill me. She’s been so nervous about them. Dad seems like he is genuinely happy to spend time with me and the kids. I couldn’t detect any hidden agendas with him.”
“I think you’re right about Doxie. He had no idea what Celine was doing. He was wakened with the noise.”
“She is one cool cookie. It’s obvious that she is in it for the money and now the title too. Dad is so weak around women.” Diel rubs his face and watches his children with a worried look. I squeeze his shoulder.
“I have to get home. Manda has a Santa suit with my name on it.”
“Don’t look so excited, Aidan.” Diel laughs at my discomfort. It’s good to know he is able to enjoy my pain.
“Thanks for that. I’ll see you in an hour. See you then.”
I transmanifest back home to find Manda in the kitchen making Christmas cookies. Even though I don’t eat I can appreciate the heavenly aroma of baking cookies. I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. Manda jumps and lets out a squeak. She is so damn adorable.
“Good morning, love. I see you’re busy with cookies.”
“You scared me to death. You naughty djinn.”
Laughing, I squeeze her tighter and kiss her behind the ear in that sweet spot. I feel her relax against me instantly.
“You know I love surprising you.”
“Mmhmm. Was everything all right with Mattie? I’m assuming it is or you would have let me know.” She goes back to decorating her cookies.
“Celine tried to force her way into the children’s bedroom. Later she reacted with hostility when Doxie told her she wasn’t technically a duchess, that the title went to Fiona and Hannah since he had given it up.”
“Oh, no. Where are the children now?”
“I took the twins home to Diel and explained what happened. Sebastian has an eagle eye on Mathilda.”
“Hannah and Lily are going to be so mad. Nothing like a mad momma bear. I’m glad Sammy doesn’t garner any of her attention. All the same, I’ll be watching him closely.”
“All the children will be watched extra closely. Everyone is watching Celine, too.”
“Well, I can’t say that I feel great about going now this morning. But I know that you will keep us safe. At least I’m a vampire now. I can do my own ass-kicking.”
I laugh loudly and turn her for a proper kiss. I love her so much.
“Okay Xena, warrior princess, let’s see this Santa suit and then get the cookies packed up.”
16. Lilith
I wake up to Mattie and Sebastian looking down at me. My whole world, right there with me. It is what I want this holiday season. A happy, healthy family. I grin up at them and grab them both in a hug. Mattie starts giggling as I pepper her face with kisses.
“Cherie, we had a little mishap this morning with Celine.”
I am instantly alert. Fangs extended and hissing.
“Easy, Lily.” Bast talks to me like I’m a wounded animal. “Everyone was safe and Aidan and I took care of it.”
“I will kill her,” I hiss between my fangs.
“She tried to get in the children’s room with a nail file. Gave her quite a shock. She gave the excuse that she was lost and at the wrong door. Mattie pushed her button for Aidan.” He gives Mattie a squeeze. I gather her up and hold on tightly.
“Mamma, too tight.”
“Sorry, sweetheart. I love you so much. You did a good job getting Uncle Aidan. Never be afraid to press your button.”
“I won’t. Finn and Fiona were scared. But I was brave.” I laugh and hug her again.
“Yes you were, my fierce little girl.”
“Come, Lily. You need to get dressed and ready. Hannah and Diel will be here soon. Manda just showed up with cookies and Sammy. Aidan is keeping an eye on Doxie and Celine.”
“Was Doxie in on it?”
“No. Unless he is a better actor than any of us believe. He was just as surprised as we were. He had been sleeping.”
“Good, I thought he was coming around to Hannah and the babies.”
“He is. I’m starting to like him. If he didn’t let himself get pushed around by these evil women he keeps marrying…”
“I know. Okay, I’m headed for the shower and will hurry.”
Bast kisses me on the forehead and I kiss Mattie before running to the shower. I must take the quickest shower in recorded time. Sometimes vampire speed is truly a blessing. I didn’t want to leave my daughter in the same room as Barbie Bimbo.
My emerald green gown has a collar that sits off the shoulders. It’s in satin and fits like a glove. Some green eyeshadow and black liner and I am ready for the day. I head out to find my family and welcome our guests.
When I get to the kitchen, I see Manda arranging Christmas cookies on a plate.
“Did you make these?” I ask her.
“Yes, I made them this morning. I love making Christmas cookies. I used to do it with my Grandmamma. It’s just not Christmas without them even if I can’t eat them anymore.”
“Well, Diel and his dad and the twins can eat them and will appreciate them. Celine can scrounge in the alley as far as I’m concerned.” Manda makes a face.
/> “I heard. Don’t worry too much, we are watching the kids very closely. Aidan was really riled up and Sebastian hasn’t let Mattie out of his sight all morning. I’m worried about Hannah’s reaction, though,” I say.
“Me too. We’ll find out soon how she’s doing,” Manda says.
“I need to start prepping the oysters and check on the prime rib. Helena is preparing all the trimmings. It’s times like this that I wish that I could eat,” I say and sigh.
“I know. Everything smells so good. I don’t have a lot of experience abstaining. I tried to eat a cookie earlier today.” She gives me a sheepish look and I grimace. “Yeah, I can see by your face you’ve tried it before too. Not pretty. Violent vomiting. I hear it’s the only time a vampire can get sick. Well, except for when we are pregnant,” Manda says squirming at the thought.
“Yes, I’ve tried it to the same conclusion. It always looks and smells so good. But I think I’ve learned my lesson.”
“It will bring me joy to see others eat.”
“I know what you mean.” I love to feed people.
I go to the oven to check on the prime rib. It’s looking beautiful and will be done by the time we are ready to eat. I then pull out the case of oysters. They’ve already been washed. I just have to open them. Another wonderful thing of being a vampire. With my strength I can open the oysters with my bare hands.
I open one of the drawers and pull out a frilly apron that looks like a cocktail dress. It was a fun gift from Hannah when I told her that I was going to learn how to cook all of Diel’s and the twin’s favorites.
I see that Annie made up the garnish for the oysters. Lemon and shallots. I bring out a Christmas platter and start to open oysters to place around the platter. It’s a soothing repetition that soon settles my mind. When I’m done I place the platter in the refrigerator. They’ll have that as an appetizer. The doorbell rings and I know that Hannah is here. Bracing myself, I go to greet them.
“Lily, OMG, what the hell?!” she yells.
“Shh… don’t upset the children. I know, girlfriend. I woke up to the mess too. Right now I really want to ignore her and give my daughter and niece and nephews a wonderful Christmas memory.”
“You’re right. Plenty of time to kick her ass after the presents and meal.”
“Exactly.”
“Let’s get this party started.”
“Come on in, Han.” I give Diel a kiss on the cheek as well as each of the twins.
The twins run to Mattie and Sammy who have been scouting out the windows for Santa. Just as I head into the great room I hear jingle bells and a “HO, HO, HO” and a booming knock on the door. I smile to myself and yell to the kids.
“I think I hear a special visitor. Could it be Santa? I heard jingle bells!”
I have to brace myself as a herd of children beat a path to the door. I can’t help but laugh. I hear the rest of the adults laughing too. With a dramatic flair I open the door to find a jolly Aidan with a lot of extra padding and a huge white beard.
“Welcome, Santa!” I say along with the chorus of “Santas” that the children let loose.
“Hello, children! Let’s go inside out of the cold. I’ve brought something special for each of you.”
“Let’s get some cocoa, Santa,” I say. “Then when all the children are sitting nicely, you can give them their presents.”
“Hurry, Mattie. Santa’s here,” Sammy says urgently while he takes Mattie and Fiona by the hand. “Come on, Finn.” The children run to the great room and take their places around the tree. Santa follows me into the room and sits in a special chair we got just for him.
“Who’s been good this year?” Aidan asks.
“I’ve been good,” Sammy says. I see Manda and Andrew taking pictures.
“Come sit on my lap. What’s your name?” Aidan asks.
“Samuel. Santa, aren’t you supposed to know my name?”
“Yes I am and I do, Samuel. It’s a pleasure to meet you and I know you have been very good this year.” Camera flashes fill the room. “I have something special for you in my bag. Would you like it?”
“Yes, please.”
Aidan reaches into his bag and pulls out a Hell Hound puppy. Sammy has been asking for a dog since he could talk.
“Thank you,” Sammy whispers in awe. “Look Mommy! He knew just like you said he would.” Sammy hugs Santa and Aidan winks at his wife.
“Really, Santa? A Hell Hound?” Manda asks with a raised eyebrow.
Aidan ignores her and she sighs in acceptance. I know I for one am not overly excited about a second Hell Hound to keep from burning down my house. Hades is ecstatic.
“Come here, Fiona. Santa has something special for you, too.” Aidan repeats the ritual with each of the children until they are all sitting quietly playing with their new toys.
“I have to go, children. Many more houses to visit.”
“Bye, Santa,” they all yell out.
Aidan makes his way to the door and then pops in as himself behind Manda. He wraps his hands around her from behind and kisses her neck. She holds his hands and leans into him. They look very happy.
Celine clears her throat until everyone is looking at her. She makes her way to the children with a gift in her hands.
“I have a special gift for the twins.” She sets down a small wrapped box in between them. The twins make short work of the wrapping and reveal a nesting doll. It’s beautiful and I’m surprised at Celine’s thoughtfulness. Doxie is shining in pride for his wife.
“Go ahead and open it.” Celine encourages with a evil looking smile on her face. Something makes me run to grab it before the twins open it. I see Aidan’s face contort just as the doll comes apart. I’m momentarily blown back into Andrew as a whirlwind is released.
“You Demon spawn! You just had to meddle with things, you greedy woman!” Even in this catastrophe Aidan tries not to curse around the children. “Annie, take Samuel and Mathilda to her room. Now!” Annie is a streak as she gathers up the children and flies down the hall.
In all the commotion I didn’t see the two ifrits holding the twins. Several more are protecting Celine.
“Ifrits! Release the children and leave now. I will only warn you once,” Aidan shouts. Ifrits are lessor djinn-demon combination. They are very fierce but they can be killed. I’ve never seen one before now. I’ve never wanted to kill something so much. Every protective bone in my body is on edge.
“Now, now, Aidan.” Celine shakes a finger at him. “You should watch yourself. There are too many for even you to handle before the children and their parents are dead.” She looks at Doxie. “If you still had your title this would be so much easier.”
“Ce-Ce, the baby. We can talk about this. Please don’t hurt my grandchildren. I beg you.”
“I’m not pregnant you fool! I want my title. Then I’ll have them take you out too.” She smiles at us, her eyes flat as a fish’s. “Nothing will stand in my way.”
Before we can react, Fiona floats herself and Finn over to Hannah. Hannah hands them to Sacha and begs her to take them into Mattie’s room. Hades is hot on their trail, scooping the puppy up as he runs by. Protecting the children to his death if necessary. With the threat against the children neutralized, Aidan starts blasting the ifrits. Diel joins him and begins sending the ifrits back to hell.
Sebastian engages the closest one as does everyone else. Aidan still has six to himself. I focus on Celine.
Celine is watching everything happening before her. In typical bad guy fashion, she is letting the ifrits do all the heavy lifting. I start sneaking around the edge of the room, making my way to her. I think she realizes that she greatly underestimated us because her gaze narrows and she starts to scope out an exit. I have a rude awakening for her. I’ve been studying parkour in online videos and I can’t wait to whip out a few moves on her gold lame covered ass.
I jump and flip in the air to stand just behind her. Ha-ha! It worked. I tap her on the shoulder and she
spins around with a look of surprise in her eyes but a snarl on her lips.
“You bitch! I can’t reach Hannah but I can get you,” she says as she pulls her fist back in preparation to hit me.
Before she reaches me I’ve already punched her face which is contorted with evil intentions. Vampire speed. Ha! Her head whiplashes and I step back and kick her in the stomach before she can recover. I jump up and pump my hands in the air only to have my hair yanked almost from my scalp. Yikes. She recovered faster than I thought. Time to get serious.
Why is it that in a fight girls pull hair and scratch?
I grab Celine’s bottle-blond hair and yank her off me. She retaliates by scratching down my face with her fake nails.
“First blood!” she yells. I shut her up with jab to her nose. Demon blood spurts everywhere. I run away from her so I have enough room to do a flying roundhouse to her head. The force of it spins her around and knocks her out cold.
I look up and see everyone watching me. I have to laugh. Helena is smiling at me as well as Hannah and Manda. The guys are in awe. It’s a beautiful sight.
“Mon Dieu, ma cherie. Where did you learn those moves?” Sebastian asks as he walks up to me and pulls me into his arms.
“Online. I’ve been studying parkour.” I back up to show some more moves but as I go to run across the wall I fall on my butt instead. I quickly jump up. “I guess I have some more to learn.” I give Bast a sheepish smile. He grins and kisses me. Mmm, so worth it.
“I’ll teach you parkour, Lily,” Julian says.
“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you know parkour?” Hannah says. She shakes her head then she lifts her chin towards Doxie.
He’s sitting on a broken chair with his hands in his hair.
“Why do I always pick the psycho ones? Why don’t I see it?” Doxie says to himself.
“Doxie, I don’t know why you pick the crazies but just know I would love you to visit again. But don’t bring any lady friends,” Hannah says and pats him on the back. Diel looks shocked.
“Hannah,” Doxie says as he grasps her hand. “Thank you, daughter. I want to be a part of my grandchildren’s lives. They are so amazing. I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve ever caused you. Please forgive me.”
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