by Fiona Roarke
Kaylae laughed at Ariah’s teasing comment. “You have no idea the romantic this guy hides under that mean shell of his.”
“I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on him over the last few months.” Ariah placed her phone and speaker on the coffee table. Christmas music began to flow through the house. Alazar returned with another round of eggnog and two rags, one of which he dropped over the mess on the floor.
“I think tradition calls for a toast, does it not?” Alazar asked, his attention split between Ariah and Kaylae for confirmation.
Ariah handed out the eggnog from the tray and nodded. “Yes. I believe it does.”
Kaylae snuggled back against Zareh’s chest, his arm loose around her waist. Together, they lifted their cups.
“A toast to love and friendships to last an eternity,” Ariah said. “And to the gifts we are graced with through our trials and our bonds.”
“And…to Christmas mayhem, because who are we without a little ripple in an otherwise calm sea?” Alazar added.
Kaylae laughed. “I think we come with more than a ripple.”
“Tsunami. Firestorm dragons and Keepers bring with them tsunamis.”
Zareh chuckled. “I’ll toast to that.” They all clinked their cups. “And to a very Merry Christmas.”
Kaylae sipped her eggnog, enjoying the company she kept—her closest friends, the promise of a new life, and the one man who was her heart and her soul.
She couldn’t ask for a more perfect Christmas.
The End
The Mistletoe Misshap
by Wynter Daniels
Chapter One
“I suppose you can’t give me tighter curls like Grace did when she used to do my hair.”
A headache flared to life behind Amethyst’s eyes as she removed the last perm rod from her mom’s hair, and tossed it into the wheeled cart next to her station at Hair Scare. “I could have if you’d mentioned that before we’d processed the perm.”
Her mother shrugged. “It’s fine, honey. Maybe next time you do my color you can make the brown a little darker, too. Grace had forty years to become the fantastic hairdresser she was. You’ve only been at this for three. Give it time.”
Ami bit back a retort. Why bother? Her mom knew everything, and if Ami contradicted her, it would only lead to an argument. Her parents quarreled enough for a hundred people—mostly over money—although both had been known to pick a fight about almost anything.
All Amethyst wanted was peace, for those around her to get along.
The front door opened and a chilly breeze blew through the salon. “Delivery.” A young man wearing a purple jacket with the logo of Enchanted Garden, the local florist, came inside and set a gorgeous floral arrangement on the reception counter.
“Maybe those are for you.” Her mom sat up taller in the service chair.
Not likely. She was finished with romance. Of the few guys she’d dated, none had measured up to her mom’s expectations, and the last thing she wanted was to start any more family arguments. Better to just remain single for now.
Petra, the new receptionist, who happened to be Ami’s bff, pulled a few one-dollar bills from the register, and handed the tip to the delivery guy before he left. Then she adjusted her glasses and read the name on the envelope. “Darcy.” She fluffed her auburn curls. “Nobody’s surprised, are they?”
Probably not, since half the staff were psychics.
Two of the other hairdressers groaned in unison as Darcy crossed the room to get the bouquet. Wearing a huge smile, she sniffed the calla lilies and pink roses as she carried the vase to her nail station.
Amethyst squelched a tiny pang of envy. Darcy deserved her happiness, it merely made Ami sad knowing that no man would make her that happy. Dustin’s face flashed in her mind, but she immediately banished it. No sense in dwelling on something that could never be.
“That’s sweet,” her mom said. “From Darcy’s husband?”
“Fiancé.” Ami used the blow-drier on her mother’s hair.
“What about you?” Her mother narrowed her eyes at Amethyst’s reflection in the mirror. “You’re not still dating that grease monkey, are you?”
Her mom had loudly registered her displeasure, so despite the fact that Ami had liked Dustin—a lot—she’d stopped seeing him. If only her mom hadn’t lost her own psychic abilities, she could have seen beyond Dustin’s blue-collar job. Then she’d know what a great guy he was. In fact, he was way more than a mechanic—he happened to own the auto repair shop down the road from the Shop-n-Save. But that hadn’t been good enough for Colleen Powers. She’d had dollar signs in her eyes for as long as Ami could remember. Not that it mattered anymore. “I already told you I wasn’t.”
“Good, because your father’s hoping to get financial backing for his mop-cycle from a certain handsome vampire.” She waggled her eyebrows.
Amethyst wondered what her dad’s latest invention had to do with her. “And?”
Before her mom could explain, Petra came over and handed them each a red envelope. “Excuse me, ladies. I want to make sure you both got an invitation to the salon’s holiday gala. With me in charge of it, I can assure you that this year’s event is going to be the best ever, and our first masquerade party. You have two weeks to find the perfect mask, although with Amethyst’s purple hair, she’ll be easy to pick out, mask or not.”
Her mom grabbed Amethyst’s arm. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you took Lawton to the gala?”
Ami racked her brain to figure out who her mother was talking about. Despite the fact that Amethyst was empathic, her mother had always been one of the most difficult people for her to read.
Petra beat Amethyst to the punch. “Who’s Lawton?”
Spinning the chair around to face them, Amethyst’s mother sucked her lips into her mouth as if she was holding back some secret magic spell. Unfortunately, she didn’t keep her lips sealed for but a moment. “You met him at our house a few weeks ago, Ami. He’s that handsome vampire, remember? And he’s wealthy as can be. Most of them are, you know. I wonder if that scrying mirror of yours would show you if you two were destined to be together.”
Amethyst vaguely recalled the vampire with the bleached-blond hair. She’d stopped by her folks’ house to say hello, and realized they had company, so she’d left after a few minutes. She’d barely spoken to him, except for a cordial hello.
Her mother spoke to Petra. “Lawton and Amethyst would make a wonderful match. His family and the Ellinghams go way back, although you never see Lawton during the day. I wonder how the Ellinghams manage that.”
“Keep your voice down, Mom.” Amethyst craned her neck to check the nail stations. Everyone who worked at Hair Scare had some sort of supernatural gift, although they kept that fact on the down-low when there were any regular humans within earshot. Plus, both Elenora and Delaney Ellingham came regularly for manicures and pedicures, but thankfully she didn’t see either of them.
Her mother waved away her concern, and continued speaking to Petra as if Amethyst wasn’t there. “Anyhoo, Lawton Langford, III is perfect for my Amethyst. He’s quite tall, has thick blonde curls, and what a dresser. All his suits are bespoke. Granted, he’s probably a lot older than Ami, but you know how vampires are. Immortality keeps them young looking.”
Amethyst narrowed her eyes at her mom. “Don’t most vampires who marry mortals turn their spouse into vampires, too?”
Her mom’s complexion paled. “Not always.”
Ami thought back to the night Dustin had come over to meet her folks last month. To Dustin’s face, her mom had been sweet as candy. But the moment she’d gotten Amethyst alone, she’d let loose.
“That’s the man who works at the auto repair shop.” Her mom jabbed a finger at Amethyst. “A grease monkey. Oh, Lordy.” She dropped into a chair and panted as if she was about to pass out.
“Actually, he owns it,” Ami retorted. “What’s the difference? He’s a nice guy.”
Her mother fann
ed herself. “Here we go. You’re following in Emerald’s footsteps, aren’t you? As if your sister didn’t destroy us enough. Are you trying to be the final nail in my coffin?” Setting a hand over her heart, she gasped. “I don’t think I can take anymore. What have I done to be so despised by my own children? You should end your relationship with him. If you don’t, I might not make it.”
Amethyst shook herself out of the painful memory. She’d done what her mother wanted, as she always did, but that time the cost had been so dear. Merely thinking about it made her want to cry.
As her mom rambled on about Lawton, Amethyst opened the envelope and glanced at the invitation.
Bubble, bobble, toil and tribble. Came one, come all,
Trip the light fankastic at the Nocterun Fills Holiday Gaal.
Amethyst couldn’t read another word. Petra knew better than to print something without having it proofread. How many copies of the unreadable invitations had her friend already passed out?
Leaving her mom and her best friend for a moment, Amethyst hurried to the reception area and grabbed the stack of red envelopes from behind the desk. Returning to her station, she found Petra whispering to her mother.
When they saw Amethyst, they broke apart, as if they’d been conspiring about something. Oh, lord. She hoped they weren’t planning another surprise party for her birthday, as they had last year. After her sister had stormed out of the house, and her mom had taken to her bed, the rest of the guests had quickly left, and Amethyst had ended the evening in front of the television, drowning her embarrassment in a huge slice of red velvet cake from Delaney’s Delectables.
She touched Petra’s shoulder. “There are a couple typos on the invitations, sweetie. I can redo these for you on my break.”
A pink flush rose on Petra’s cheeks, and Amethyst immediately regretted saying anything. When they’d attended Harmswood Academy together, Amethyst had been her friend’s tutor, although Petra still had trouble with her writing and her spell casting, thanks to her dyslexia. Just last month she’d attempted to cast a locating spell to help a customer find her lost keys, but instead of them turning up, keys belonging to everyone in the salon at the time, had disappeared. What a fiasco!
“Sorry,” Petra said. She grabbed the envelope from Amethyst’s mom. “I’ll get one to you later, Colleen. It’s our first masquerade party. All the clients and staff are invited.”
“How fun. Thank you, dear.” Her mother patted Petra’s hand, and Amethyst was even more convinced that the two were definitely up to something.
“A masquerade party will be just the thing to lift Amethyst’s mood.” Petra headed away.
What was her friend talking about? Her mood was fine. Maybe she was a little down about not being able to go out with Dustin anymore, but she didn’t think she’d brought any of that regret to work with her. Hmm. She spun the service chair back toward the mirror and went back to work on her mom’s hair.
“Perhaps if you invite Lawton to the gala, that’d put a smile on your face.” Her mother lifted a penciled-on eyebrow at Amethyst.
She bristled as she teased her mom’s hair. “I hardly even know who he is.”
“I understand that, but as I said, he’s in a position to really help your father. Dad’s worked so hard on the mop-cycle. All he needs is the financing. Trust me, honey, this will be the one that makes your father a household name.”
Amethyst’s dad had invented at least two dozen machines, and her mom had always been positive that each was going to be ‘the one’ that would take off, and allow her to retire early from her job as an administrative assistant at Harmswood. Yet none had made it past the prototype stage. Each new invention had caused financial setbacks, and eventually more arguments.
In her mind’s eye she pictured herself as a little girl, pillow over her head to keep from hearing her parents yelling at each other. Heck, she’d attended the beauty academy at sixteen in order to be able to afford to move out the moment she graduated high school. Even though her mom had talked her into renting their garage apartment, at least it was far enough away to give her some measure of privacy and independence, and most importantly, she didn’t have to hear most of their altercations anymore.
“I don’t know what help you think I could be,” she said. “Me going on a date with a man won’t convince him to fork over money to Dad.”
Her mother patted Ami’s arm. “Oh, but it might. He insinuated as much after he met you.”
Ami froze and met her mother’s gaze in the mirror. “So this is his idea? That’s kind of icky, Mom.”
“And going out with a man who gets automotive grease under his fingernails isn’t?”
Channeling her inner yogi, Ami drew a calming breath. She wished she didn’t feel compelled to always give in to her mother’s demands. Someday… “Dustin’s nails were always clean for our dates. But like I just told you, that’s over.”
Her mom ignored the comment. “If only I hadn’t lost my own psychic abilities, I’d be able to tell you what man you’re destined to be with.”
After a bookshelf had fallen over and whacked her mom on her head a couple years ago, she’d not only lost her psychic gift, but her personality had changed as well. She’d always been difficult, but after the accident, it was as though every negative aspect of her mom’s personality was on steroids. Although for Amethyst and her sister Emerald, the loss of their mother’s psychic powers had been more of a relief, since she’d always used her fortunetelling abilities to tell her daughters what they were doing wrong.
“You’ve been the good one since you were a little girl, the one we could count on, unlike your sister. Which is why I suggested Lawton make an appointment with you for a haircut. You two could get better acquainted. And then who knows? Maybe he’ll ask you out so you can be more comfortable together before the holiday party.”
Amethyst tamped down a groan. “Sounds as if this is a done deal.” Her mother never let anything go. Ami should probably just give in and accept her fate, but a vampire who dyed his hair? Ugh.
Petra returned carrying a cup of coffee. “Here you go, Colleen.” After setting the drink by the mirror, Petra just stood there, apparently unaware that she was in Amethyst’s way. Fluffing her red locks, she grabbed one of Amethyst’s scissors. “My bangs are a little long.” She snipped the ends then took a backward step, which gave Ami just enough room to continue working.
Her mother’s aura shifted from its usual brown and gray, to pale yellow. The suddenness of the change gave her pause. What had just happened to switch her mother’s guardedness and insecurity to optimism?
Her mom and Petra exchanged a knowing glance, the second time in the last half hour. As Amethyst contemplated what the looks could mean, Petra bumped into her back.
“Oops, sorry.” Her friend set the scissors down on the counter.
Ami picked them up and was about to dunk them in the sanitizer jar when she thought she saw a few strands of her own purple hair between the blades. Before she could question Petra, her friend slipped away, toward the reception area.
Weird.
“Amethyst will be with you in a few minutes,” Petra said from the front desk. “Have a seat.”
What the…? Her mom was her last client of the day, or so she’d thought. She stole a quick glance toward the sofa and glimpsed the back of a man’s head. His bleach-blond hair left no doubt as to the man’s identity. Ami’s stomach lurched.
Boy, her mom sure worked fast. Ami hated that vampire’s auras were so difficult to make out, since she used that information to make a quick judgement about people, at least about what kind of energy they had.
Her mother tugged on Amethyst’s arm, forcing her to lean in closer. Keeping her voice to a whisper, she reiterated how important it was to Ami’s father that Lawton invest in his invention. “I don’t want to frighten you, honey, but our money is tight—like borderline bankruptcy tight.”
Amethyst gulped. “I had no idea, Mom. I-I can pay you guy
s more for the apartment.” She’d been renting the space over their garage from them for several years, mostly to help them out. Sharing a place with Petra would be a lot more fun, but when she’d mentioned wanting to do that a few months ago, her mom had broken down in tears, so she’d stayed put.
Shaking her head, her mother sighed. “That won’t do it. We need a big break. We need one of Dad’s inventions to take off. And in order for that to happen, he must get major financing, the sort that someone like Lawton can provide.”
Ami slid a glance toward Lawton, and her shoulders sank from the weight of what her mother had just shared with her.
After she finished with her mom, she swept up her station, pretending not to listen when her mother spoke to Lawton in the waiting area.
“Amethyst is looking forward to getting to know you better, Lawton,” her mom said.
“She won’t be disappointed,” he replied.
Oh, boy. He sounded way too full of himself. Definitely not her type. Dustin’s face flashed in her mind. He’d been totally her type.
“Night, y’all.” Petra waved to no one in particular. “See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll walk with you, Petra,” her mother said.
Ami glanced around the room. She was the last one there, and in a moment she’d be alone with a vampire. Thankfully none of the vampires in Nocturne Falls were permitted to feed upon humans against their will, and she had no desire to be a blood donor tonight.
Hoping for the best, she pasted on a smile and waved Lawton over to her chair. “Nice to see you again.”
As he strode toward her, he skimmed his gaze over her body. She had a sudden desire to take a long, hot shower.
Before sitting down, he took off his jacket, and carefully laid it over the chair in the neighboring station. “You think it’ll be safe here?”
Ami raised her arms in surrender. “I can promise you that I won’t attack it.”
His blank stare let her know that he didn’t have much of a sense of humor. Or if he did, he didn’t care for hers.
