“Hey, Sean,” he said after a moment, staring into my eyes. “We found my father, and it’s a lot worse than we thought. I think you are all going to need to come down here.”
The two talked back and forth for several minutes, as my dad plagued Vance with questions about the situation, before he finally hung up.
“They’ll be here tomorrow,” he said still looking at me, as he reached out to gently squeeze my hand.
“Okay,” I nodded, thinking of the date in my head. “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!” I added in surprise, wondering where all the time had gone.
Vance nodded his head.
“Your dad said we’re not to go anywhere near my father or that warehouse again until they’re here to help. He said to go buy a tree or something and decorate for Christmas. We’ll have the holiday with everyone and make a plan about what to do then.”
Dad knew I loved Christmas more than any other holiday. He was trying to distract me and I knew it, but I also knew I didn’t want Vance out snooping around by himself, possibly getting into some trouble while we waited for the others to get here.
“Well,” I said, as I looked at the three of them sitting there. “Let’s go shopping then.”
We spent the afternoon searching through several stores, purchasing decorative items, gifts for each other, and lots of groceries, before coming back to the condo.
I had purchased a classical Christmas CD, and soon the sounds of holiday favorites were floating in the air. The music was very soothing to the somber yet anxious mood we were all in.
That evening, Vance and Brad put together the artificial tree we had purchased, while Shelly and I wrapped up some presents we had bought. When the guys were done getting the tree assembled, Shelly and I came in and shaped the tree‘s branches.
It turned out to be a very Spanish-styled tree, complete with hanging red chili lights, little colorful sombrero hats, and maraca ornaments. There were gold-colored beads in strings and brightly striped ribbon which we had carefully twisted to drape over the branches. The top of the tree was graced with a plain metal gold star.
Vance surprised me after I had placed the star on the tree. He walked up to touch it with his finger, and it started to glow.
“Beautiful,” I said. He stepped back and came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
We stayed that way for several minutes, with Shelly and Brad doing the same next to us. The moment was magical.
“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Vance said softly as he ran a hand gently through my hair. “I know your dad is just trying to keep us occupied, but this is nice, in light of everything that’s going on.”
“Christmas is my favorite holiday.” I smiled as I leaned into his touch. “I love everything about it. My dad knows it, too. It’s just a shame it has to be marred by all this crazy stuff that has been going on.”
“Well, hopefully things will work out for all of us and this will be the first Christmas of many for us,” he whispered into my ear, as he nuzzled at my neck with his nose.
“I hope so,” I said, enjoying his touch. “How’re you doing by the way?”
He shook his head slightly.
“I’m still reeling, just trying to take it all in,” he said, as he ran his hands down my arms.
“Well, I hope you aren’t comparing yourself to him,” I replied, leaning my head against his chest. “You’re nothing like him. You know it, right?”
“I hope that’s true. It’s just hard to believe, since it turned out both of my parents were involved in this.”
It was the first time he had remotely mentioned his mother, since the day he had killed her.
“You did what you had to do,” I said, knowing what he was thinking, and wanting him to not blame himself.
“I murdered my own mother,” he stated softly, and I could feel the despair rippling through his voice.
“Krista wasn’t your mother anymore,” I replied, trying to comfort him. “She was just a pawn in your dad’s little web of lies and deceit. It was because of his actions she died.”
“It still hurts,” he said, very softly, next to my ear. “I had hoped to find her safe again somewhere, someday. I wanted her to be a part of my life.”
I just turned in his arms and hugged him then.
“I know you did, and I’m sorry things turned out the way they did, for you and her. You saved me, though,” I reminded him tenderly. “So … something good came from it, right?”
He stared into my eyes, searching my emotions.
“I would do it exactly the same if we had it to do all over again,” he said seriously, watching me intently.
“I know,” I replied. “I’ve never doubted that.”
We continued to stare at each other, those looks passing many unsaid messages to one another.
“Hey!” Shelly piped up suddenly, breaking the intense mood between the two of us as we remembered that we weren’t alone in the room. “Let’s make some holiday goodies now.”
“That sounds fun!” I said, standing on my tiptoes to give Vance a quick peck on the lips. I had forgotten about all the groceries we had purchased this afternoon.
The guys voted to have us bake some brownies first. Shelly and I had fun stirring up all the ingredients together, and soon we were fighting over who got to lick the bowl.
I ended up winning, and I shared the leftover batter with Vance, spooning it into his mouth, while Shelly and Brad licked the beaters.
Afterward, while the brownies were cooking in the oven, we all cuddled up on the couch and watched ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ in Spanish.
Brad chuckled over the movie translations quite a bit, while the rest of us had no idea what was being said, until Vance had the bright idea to turn on the English subtitles, which, of course, made the movie much more enjoyable.
When the program was over, we decided to call it a night. After a chaste hug and kiss goodnight with our significant others, the four of us headed to the directions of our beds.
This time, I found sleep claimed me quickly.
When I woke up in the morning I was surprised to find I was the last one to get up, despite the early hour. I crawled down from the enormous bed and made my way out into the living room, finding Shelly curled up on the couch with a glass of juice in her hand and a fashion magazine in the other.
“Where did the guys go?” I asked, when I realized they weren’t in the apartment.
“They’re working out down in the weight room,” she replied and took a sip of her orange juice, as she flipped her magazine shut. “Vance felt the need to work off some aggression after his withdrawal pangs this morning. They said for us to join them when you woke up.”
“Oh. Sounds fun,” I said, watching Shelly closely to try and judge if she were hiding anything from me. “Is Vance doing okay?” I finally asked.
Shelly nodded her head. “He seemed perfectly fine to me when they left.”
“That’s good,” I replied feeling relieved.
Soon we were both dressed in some workout-appropriate clothing and headed down to the gym.
Shelly opened the glass door, and we walked into the large room to find Vance spotting Brad over at the weight bench. Brad was lifting what appeared to be a very heavy set of weights on the bar, up over his chest. They were the only two people in the room.
“Three hundred and twenty!” Brad breathed out hard, as he dropped the bar with a loud clank back into the bracket above him. “Beat that!”
Vance traded places with Brad and easily lifted the weights, not even breaking a sweat, let alone allowing a tremble to pass through his body.
“You’re cheating aren’t you?” Brad asked with a laugh, poking his finger into Vance’s chest as he stood up. “You’re using magic!”
Vance shook his head. “On my word, I’m not cheating,” he replied.
“How much can you bench press then?” Brad asked, looking doubtful as he eyed Vance up and down.
“Four twe
nty-five,” Vance said with a grin, as he adjusted a pair of fingerless gloves on his hands.
“Bull!” Brad challenged, shaking his head in denial. “That’s the school record.”
“I know,” Vance replied, as his smile widened. “I’m the one who set it.”
Brad shook his head again.
“You’re unbelievable,” he muttered as he bent to pick up some more weights. He quickly loaded the bar up to four hundred twenty-five pounds. “Prove it,” he said, as he stepped away from the bench and gestured for Vance to sit down.
Vance slid into the seat and leaned back. He placed his hands at even intervals and lifted the bar with a grunt, bringing it completely down to his chest before fully extending his arms and replacing the bar back in the brackets.
“You stink!” Brad said, grinning as he punched Vance in the shoulder.
Vance stood up and stepped away from the bench. He looked at the bar and slightly waved his fingers in an upward motion. The weight bar lifted easily by itself and floated into the air as if it weighed nothing at all.
“Now that one was magic,” he said laughing, while Brad’s eyes widened in awe.
“What a stud!” Shelly giggled, in a whisper next to my ear, as we watched the exchange.
“What a show off,” I replied back to her with a smile, as we walked over to them, my insides quivering a little in pleasure at his awesome display.
“Hey!” Vance said as he saw me, dropping the levitating bar back into the brackets, without even looking.
He came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Sorry. I’m all sweaty,” he apologized with a grin.
“No problem,” I said, smiling. “Shelly and I are going to run on the treadmill while the two of you finish your competition, uh … workout.”
He chuckled at my remark, and he winked at me, before turning to walk back over toward Brad.
Shelly and I enjoyed the view of the ocean as we ran in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that stared out over the scene. We put in a good thirty minutes before the guys were done, and then we all headed back up to the room together.
The four of us got showered and dressed before we met back in the kitchen. We had decided to make up some more goodies before the coven was supposed to arrive today.
As it turned out we had piles of brownies, crispy rice treats, chocolate chip cookies, and coconut macaroons by the time my mom, dad, and grandma walked in.
“Everything looks so great and smells so good!” my mom exclaimed as she rushed up to give me a hug.
“Merry Christmas, Mom.” I laughed as I wrapped my arms tightly around her.
“Hey, pumpkin!” Dad said, coming forward to give me a hug also, wrapping his arms so tightly around me I could barely breathe.
We were soon all chatting loudly together as the family toured the condo. They commented on everything, loving all that they saw. When we stepped out onto the balcony, they raved over the beautiful scene in front of us.
“Would you look at that view!” Dad exclaimed as he leaned over the railing. “This is gorgeous!” he added as he turned and pulled Mom into his arms.
“It really is pretty!” Mom agreed, as she leaned her head back against him.
“Shelly and I thought you two could take the master bedroom,” I said to my parents. “We’ll move into Brad’s room, and he can share with Vance.”
“Nonsense!” Mom replied. “We booked the room right next door. The rest of the coven members have their own rooms all over the hotel. We figured your condo could be our home base, since it’s the largest.”
“All right,” I said smiling.
“Pumpkin, these brownies are divine!” Dad said through a mouthful. “I’ve been starving for some good Christmas goodies!”
“Did you make all this stuff?” Grandma asked as she too bit into one of her own.
“Yes, Shelly and I did. And it was old-fashioned style, you know … no magic,” I replied, with a grin, knowing it would please my mother.
“The boys didn’t help out?” Grandma prodded.
“Of course we did! We were the official taste testers,” Vance said with a little laugh.
“Ah! I see,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “So how’s everything else going? Any news?”
“No, No!” my dad said, stepping between them and waving a finger at Grandma. “There’ll be no talking about that tonight. Tonight we celebrate the holiday!”
Chapter 8
Christmas morning dawned clear and beautiful.
My family, Brad, Shelly, and the rest of the coven gathered together at the base of the tree to open the few presents we all had for each other. The wrapping paper was soon piled up around us, as we laughed and smiled over each other’s gifts.
Vance seemed to really enjoy the pullover sweater I had bought for him, though I felt completely cheap when he surprised me with a diamond tennis bracelet.
“You really shouldn’t have,” I said to him, as we had a private moment together.
“Why not?” he asked as he smiled softly at me. “I love you, and I enjoy showering you with beautiful things.”
“Yes, but all I got you was a sweater,” I complained, feeling badly.
“That was exactly what I needed,” he said. “I love it! It’s perfect!” He grinned brightly at me.
“Whatever,” I mumbled as I turned away from him.
“Hey,” he said, as he reached out to turn me back to him so he could look deep into my eyes. “I have never received a bad gift from you. I absolutely treasure everything you’ve ever given me, whether it’s a physical gift or an emotional one.” He lifted my hand and ran his finger over the diamond ring there.
“You agreeing to marry me was the one thing I really wanted,” he said smiling. “Nothing I could give you could ever trump that,” he added as he reached out to stroke a hand over my hair. “I love you, Portia.”
My eyes watered slightly at his words, and I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him close to me.
“I love you too, Vance. Thanks for being so good to me,” I replied, as my mom interrupted, calling out that it was time for the blessing on our Christmas breakfast.
We had a lovely meal, which Mom, Grandma, Shelly and I had prepared for everyone. It was complete with eggs, ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns. We also had eggnog and orange juice to drink.
When the meal was over, everyone just spent the day hanging around visiting, watching movies, and eating way too much food.
“I feel like a stuffed turkey,” Vance commented later, with a laugh, as we lounged together on the couch that afternoon. “See? Look how fat I am!” he added, patting his sculpted abdomen.
“Whatever,” I said rolling my eyes. “I could scrub laundry on that washboard stomach of yours.”
He leaned over to give me a quick peck on the cheek, flashing his baby blues at me in the process.
“So you still find me attractive even when I’m fat dogging it on the couch?” he asked, his eyes sparkling in amusement.
“I always find you attractive, no matter what you’re doing.” I smiled back at him, meaning every word of it.
“Good to know,” he said, nodding his head. “And I wouldn’t be too horribly opposed to watching you try to wash stuff on my abs.” he added in a whisper, his expression clearly hinting that he was flirting with me.
I blushed furiously at his remark, the image of me scrubbing wet material across his chiseled stomach burning into my mind, but I didn’t get a chance to answer him as our conversation was interrupted.
“Portia, Vance?” my dad called to us from out on the patio where he was sitting with Mom. “Could the two of you come out here?”
I stood up, turning to pull Vance up to his feet. The two of us walked hand in hand out onto the balcony.
“Close the door,” Mom said, gesturing to the sliding one that we had just walked through.
Vance turned and shut door before walking over to join me at the
outdoor table.
“Have a seat, kids,” Dad said, as he patted the chair next to him.
“What going on?” I asked, as I sat down.
“I thought maybe you could tell us,” Dad replied, giving me a questioning look.
I was at a loss to figure out what he was referring to.
“I asked her to marry me,” Vance piped up.
Suddenly I realized what was happening, as I followed their gazes. I still had my engagement ring on and my parents had noticed the bejeweled finger.
“It’s a little early for that, son, don’t you think?” my dad asked, staring up at Vance, his expression unreadable.
“I had every intention of asking you before I gave it to her,” Vance said politely. “I’m sorry that didn’t go as I’d planned, but I want you to know this is not something that I did lightly. I love Portia, and I know that our love is the real deal. We’ve been through a lot together, and I wanted to give her something tangible that signifies my commitment to her.”
“And what about her safety?” my mom interjected, frowning slightly. “I understand that even though you’re no longer going through a demon conversion the desire is still there for you. Isn’t that a threat to her?”
I could see he was struggling with his answer for a moment.
“It could be,” Vance agreed, nodding his head. “Portia has been trying to help me see that I’m still responsible for my own actions, though. She has really helped me to learn to exercise control over my cravings.”
“So, can you say for a certainty that there will no longer be any danger from you toward her?” my dad asked, looking at him with a hard expression.
I watched the emotions on Vance’s face as they warred with each other before he replied.
“No, sir. I cannot,” he replied truthfully.
“Well, you must understand our concern,” my dad replied, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. “I had sworn to myself you would never lay eyes on her again, after I had to sit there helplessly and watch you feed on her. I was very angry with you. I feel you broke my trust in every sense of the word that day.”
Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss Page 8
