Holiday Magic

by Tl Reeve

  Kait had already been so accepting that I’d almost expected her to hit a point where she couldn’t deal anymore, and she just left. I wouldn’t blame her. Dating a warlock wasn’t for everyone, especially one who had crazy parents.

  Walking into the living room, I glanced at my bags by the front door. I was as ready to go as I could be. It crossed my mind more than once to just call the whole thing off and stay home, just the two of us.

  My parents would never accept that, though. They would just invade our apartment instead. It was much better to give in and visit them on their terms.

  The next hour and a half passed too fast for me, and Kait still wasn’t ready.

  “Honey?” I called as I got up and walked to the bedroom. When I opened the door, she was sitting on the bed, chewing on the side of her thumb.

  She stopped biting the moment she saw me.

  “I’m packed,” she said with a half-smile.

  She was nervous.

  Kneeling in front of her, I grabbed both of her hands and kissed them.

  “Are you okay, Kait?” I already knew the answer.

  “Yes. No. Maybe. I guess I’m just nervous about meeting your parents after all. Do you think they’ll like me?”

  “Who cares? All that matters is that I like you—I love you, Kaitlyn Danielle Howard. Who cares if they approve or not. It’s not going to change the way I feel about you. Ever. I promise.”

  “I love you,” Kaitlyn said as she launched herself off the bed and into my arms.

  We hit the ground together with a loud thud,

  “Are you planning on coming over or are you going to stay here canoodling for the rest of the evening?” my mother’s voice said. I spun around frantically to see the image of her face floating over our bed.

  I hated it when she did that.

  “We’ll be there shortly, Mother. See you soon,” I said, trying not to clench my teeth in frustration.

  “See you soon, Son,” my mother said before she dissipated.

  Kaitlyn rolled off me and stood up.

  “I didn’t know she could do that.”

  “I didn’t know she would. The first surprise of many, I’m sure. Are you ready to go, honey?”

  “Yes.”

  With a snap of my fingers, Kaitlyn and I, and our bags disappeared from the apartment, and we were instantly transported to my parents’ house in Wichita.

  2

  Kaitlyn

  I didn’t know if I would ever get used to that. The way Aramaeus could just flash us anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat, always took my stomach and knocked my legs out from under me.

  We landed right outside his parents’ front door with our bags beside us. My wobbly legs sent me careening sideways, and I toppled over into a pile of snow.

  Just my luck, his mother chose that moment to open the door. The first thing she saw was my butt in the air and my face in a pile of the dirty, cold wet stuff.

  “So this is Kaitlyn,” she said as she stood there gawking at me.

  Aramaeus helped me back to my feet and dusted my back off.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said, trying to retain what dignity I had left. I extended a hand to her, but she surprised me by pulling me into a hug. She was at least six inches taller than me, so my face was smashed right into her cleavage.

  Her hair was blonde, but it seemed to shimmer between three or four shades, never settling on one for longer than a few seconds. Her eyes were the same way. They were hazel, but they changed from moment to moment.

  She definitely didn’t appear old enough to be Aramaeus’s mother, but it was almost impossible to tell how old a warlock really was.

  “I’m so glad you are here. I’m Shahara, but you can call me Mom. Come in and meet the rest of the family.” She let me go only to grab me by the hand.

  With a snap of her fingers, our bags disappeared. Then, she dragged me into the house after her. Aramaeus trailed behind us.

  “Easy, Mom,” Aramaeus said. She ignored him and pulled me halfway into the living room before stopping abruptly.

  “Blaise, come in here. Aramaeus and his Kaitlyn are here. Zavyan, you come out here too and meet your brother’s girlfriend!”

  In the blink of an eye, the warlock I recognized from pictures as being Aramaeus’s older brother, Zavyan, appeared in front of me, too close for comfort.

  There was no denying Zavyan was Aramaeus’s brother.

  In fact, they could almost be mistaken for twins. If I hadn’t known Aramaeus so well, I might have thought so myself.

  They both had warm honey-colored skin and dark, cerulean eyes. But where Aramaeus’s dark brown hair was short and shaggy, Zavyan’s hair hung nearly halfway down his back.

  His facial features were more severe, and his natural resting face came off as almost hostile.

  I had to take a couple of steps backward to get some space.

  Zavyan looked me up and down as if he were sizing up cattle for auction.

  “Cute, for a human,” Zavyan said, peering at Aramaeus over my shoulder. “I’m Maeus’s more powerful, more handsome older brother, Zavyan.”

  He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his mouth to kiss it. I had to fight down a shudder of revulsion, afraid of offending him.

  Luckily, Aramaeus stepped forward to put an end to it.

  “That’s enough, Zavy.” Aramaeus slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close, a clear message to his brother that I was spoken for.

  “Boys, boys. Kaitlyn isn’t a toy for you to fight over. Zav, she’s your brother’s girl. Leave her alone,” Aramaeus’s mother said, trying to diffuse some of the tension in the air.

  “Yes, Mother,” Zavyan said.

  “Blaise!” Shahara’s voice hit an octave that was impossible for human vocal chords.

  Aramaeus’s father flashed into the room fast enough to make an audible pop in the air.

  “Yes, dear?” he said, an aggravated expression on his face.

  “This is Kaitlyn,” she said, motioning to me.

  The angry look dissipated, replaced by a big smile.

  In a move that surprised both Aramaeus and me, Blaise rushed forward and caught me in a big hug that lifted me off the ground. Aramaeus’s arm fell to his side.

  “It’s wonderful to meet you, Kaitlyn,” he said as he put me back on my feet. “Aramaeus has told us very little about you.”

  “Well,” I said, giving him the best smile I could. “He has told me plenty of wonderful things about all of you.”

  “That’s good to know,” Shahara said. She turned to focus on Aramaeus. “Why don’t you and Kaitlyn retire to your room for a while? I will have dinner ready in about an hour.”

  “That is a great idea, Mother,” Aramaeus said. He grabbed my hand and led me through the house to his old bedroom.

  Aramaeus

  * * *

  I was glad to have the reprieve from my family, especially since they were acting out of character. I needed some time to regroup and figure out what was going on.

  Since Kaitlyn couldn’t flash, I walked her to my room so she would know the way to and from if she had to get something there without me.

  As soon as Kaitlyn was settled in my old room, I shut the door and threw up a quick protection spell to give us a little privacy.

  “Something strange is going on,” I said once I was sure no one was listening in on us.

  “What do you mean?” Kaitlyn frowned as she sat down on the bed.

  “My parents. Hell, my brother. They are up to something. They are never this nice. Ever. It’s like they’ve been replaced with golems. Something is definitely wrong.” I could feel it in my bones and in the air.

  “Maybe they’re just trying to put on a good face for me.”

  “My parents have never cared about making a good impression on anyone, Kait. They’re powerful. One of the most powerful warlock families in the world. People respect them for it. And they only respect people with powers.”

 
; Kait’s face dropped.

  “Are you saying it’s impossible for them to like me?”

  I could see the tears welling up in her eyes, and it was all my fault. I felt like a giant ass.

  “Not at all, my love, I’m sure they will love you. How could anyone not? I fell in love with you the moment we met.”

  I reached out my hands to her and pulled her onto her feet and into my arms so I could hold her tight.

  “I love you, Aramaeus,” she said against my chest.

  “I love you, too.”

  I stood there for a few minutes just holding her, trying to drive away the sadness I had caused in her.

  Bringing her to my parents’ house was seeming like a giant mistake. Even being polite to her, they had found a way to drive a wedge between us—temporary as it was.

  Maybe that was the game they were playing. Making me paranoid so I couldn’t enjoy the holiday with the woman I loved was their plan.

  I kissed the top of her head, then leaned back to smile down at her.

  “Just promise me you’ll be on the lookout for tricks and spells. I love my family, but I don’t trust them. Not where you’re concerned. Just remember the things I taught you. Okay?”

  “I promise.”

  “Why don’t you unpack our bags? I’m going to run down and talk to my mother for a minute.” I gave Kait a quick kiss.

  “Okay, honey. I’ll be down soon.”

  I gave her a smile and flashed out of the room.

  Landing in the kitchen, I appeared a few feet behind my mother.

  “What are you doing, Mother?” I asked, trying to get to the bottom of things while Kaitlyn was occupied.

  She was standing at the sink and pouring water into an ancient-looking teakettle.

  “Making a nice hot drink for your lovely girlfriend,” she said without turning around.

  “Since when do you make tea?”

  “Since you brought a human home for the holidays.”

  Mother brushed past me to put the kettle on the stove—something she never used. Something had to be wrong if she was doing things the mortal way.

  While her back remained to me, I scanned the kitchen to see if she was doing something sneaky without my knowledge.

  Her mortar and pestle were on the counter where she had just been. Three canisters stood behind it. Three herbs that I recognized—and knew what the combination was for.

  “Clary sage, violets, cherry blossoms,” I said as I picked up each jar from the counter by the teapot. “I know what these are for, Mother. How dare you attempt to cast a truth spell on my girlfriend? I suggest you dump the pot and bring her a glass of water instead. I will flash us out of here so fast it will peel the paint in the living room.”

  I was about to do just that, but my mother caught me by the arm quick enough to stop me.

  “What did you expect of me, Aramaeus? You have barely spoken to us in forty years, and you suddenly want to bring your human girlfriend home for Yule? Do you blame me for wanting to take the easy way to get to know her?” The tone she used when she said human made my skin crawl. There was nothing wrong with Kaitlyn being human.

  “Yes. Anything you want to know about her, you can ask. If she doesn’t want to answer a question, that is her right. One more attempt to mess with her or me or our relationship, I’ll make sure you never see either of us again.”

  3

  Kaitlyn

  Once our stuff had been put away, I left Aramaeus’s room on my way to rejoin him and his family in the living room. Halfway down the hallway, Aramaeus flashed in front of me.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” he said.

  “Everything okay?” I asked. I knew the situation was contentious with his mother, and I knew he would bury it down deep if he were upset… to avoid troubling me.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

  The way he looked at me, I knew something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on what, though.

  Aramaeus has given me a few lessons about how to tell if a witch or warlock had shape-shifted into someone I cared about.

  No matter how much they knew about the person they were impersonating or how close they were to their subject—they were still themselves under the glamour. They could never completely hide it. So, he told me to look for one thing that didn’t fit. Maybe it was a word they used, a twitch, fidgeting, or even the way they were standing. They would always give themselves away sooner or later.

  I focused on Aramaeus’s face, searching for it.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked as he took a step closer to me. The fake Aramaeus wrapped his arms around my waist and tried to pull me against him.

  “We’re in the middle of the hallway. It’s not the best place to be hanging all over each other,” I said, coming up with the best lie I could muster at that moment.

  “Mom and Dad won’t care. Come on, Kait. Just give me a kiss.”

  There it was. Aside from the slight snarl that happened when the imposter was talking, I knew Aramaeus never called his parents Mom and Dad.

  “I don’t know who you are, but you are not my Aramaeus. Find someone else to kiss you.”

  I shoved him as hard as I could. Catching the imposter off guard, he instantly let me go. I tried to run past him, but he had regained enough of his faculties to catch my wrist in his hand to keep me from leaving.

  “What are you doing, Kaitlyn?” he asked, still trying to convince me that he was Aramaeus.

  “I said drop it. This glamour isn’t going to fool me. You are not my Aramaeus, no matter how hard you protest. Leave, or I will scream for him—so help me.”

  Whoever it was flashed out a second later.

  My wrist was turning red from where he’d grabbed me. I rubbed at it for a few seconds, trying to disguise the finger marks he’d left behind.

  The last thing I wanted to do was to come between Aramaeus and his family. I chalked it up as a harmless prank. If it happened again, though, I would have to tell him. I sent up a silent prayer that it was just a one-time thing.

  “Dinner is ready,” Aramaeus’s mother called throughout the entire house.

  Relief washed over me. Dinner was easy. I could do that. I had impressed many boyfriends’ parents over a meal. I just had to see Aramaeus’s family as regular people.

  I took several calming breaths to ease some of the anxiety that was suddenly bubbling in my chest. Then, I walked downstairs to join everyone at the table.

  The only chair available was across from Aramaeus, beside his brother. I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of sitting beside him, and, from the looks of it, Aramaeus wasn’t happy about the situation either.

  “Mother, Kaitlyn would be much more comfortable if she were sitting beside me,” Aramaeus said as I approached the table.

  “Pish, Aramaeus. She will be just fine sitting next to your brother. He’s not quite the monster you make him out to be. You’re fine with the seating arrangement, right Kaitlyn?” All eyes turned to me.

  I wanted to say no, but the expression his mother was giving me frightened me enough to cause goosebumps.

  “Right,” I said, with the best fake smile I could muster.

  With a wave of his hand, Zavyan pulled out the chair next to him for me.

  “Thank you,” I said as I sat down. Before I could scoot my chair up to the table, it moved and startled me enough that I almost fell out of it.

  “Is this your first time celebrating Yule?” Aramaeus’s father asked, trying to break the tension.

  “Yes,” I said. “I’ve only celebrated Christmas until now.”

  “Christmas is a lot like Yule, actually,” Blaise said.

  “Yes, dear. Because Christmas was built on our sacred holiday. Now, we’re forced to share it,” Shahara added.

  “We decorate an altar with candles and herbs. Red, green, and white are sacred colors, and mistletoe is traditional to Yule as well. And, of course, the Yule log, which still bears the Pagan name.”

  “What else do you do
?” I asked.

  “We dance naked under the light of the moon,” Zavyan said.

  “Really?” I barely knew them. There was no way I was getting naked and dancing anywhere.

  “Of course not, dear. It’s much too cold for that here. We save that for the summer solstice,” his mother answered.

  “Yule is a fairly mild holiday. Its purpose is to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. It lasts most of the month,” Aramaeus said as he started putting food on his plate.

  Everyone at the table was silent for a few minutes as they filled their plates with the delicious-looking food.

  “Tell me, Kaitlyn, how did you and Aramaeus meet?” Shahara asked.

  “It’s actually a funny story. He came into my homeopathic herb shop one day, searching for a few items for a potion he was working on. He was buying a larger quantity than most customers. So, I jokingly asked if he was a witch. And, deadly serious, he looked at me and said, No, I’m a warlock. I laughed for a second before I realized he wasn’t making a joke.”

  “When she didn’t freak out, scream, or throw me out of her shop, I knew she was the kind of woman who could handle it. That, and she is gorgeous. So I asked her on a date, and the rest is history.”

  I reached across the table to touch his hand for a second, but I quickly pulled mine back when I realized his mother was glaring at me.

  She was an intimidating woman, that was for sure.

  Aramaeus

  * * *

  “Mother,” I said in a low, warning tone.

  The glare my mother returned melted into a normal, pleasant look, and I watched Kait relax a little in her chair.

  My father cleared his throat. “We’re actually going to go harvest our Yule log after dinner tonight, Kait. Would you like to accompany us? I’ll even let you pick it. I want to give you the full Yule experience,” he said.

  Mother always ran the household growing up, but I didn’t always get along with my father either—mostly because he was either backing her decisions or hiding in his lair working on a project or spell for a client.