I woke up from a wonderful sleep. There were no visitors and no catastrophes. I hadn’t felt this rested in a long time. I looked at the end of my bed and saw Matilda snuggled in, as usual, completely melting my heart. I looked around the room taking in how breathtaking the setting was. I understood why this location was chosen for a home. The sheer curtains let the intense sparkle from the sun reflecting off the Sound into my bedroom. It was an astounding sight with the fir trees towering over the house canopying the perfect tunnel to look out through. I left my window open for the breeze, not realizing how cold it would get in the room. The hovering fir trees out back were providing enough shade to make the breeze blowing into the room a bit icy, but the view was worth it. I took a deep breath in, feeling the fresh air fill every cell of my body. Now if I could only get enough courage to grab a robe and brave the cold air in my room. I wouldn’t be leaving the window open again. I was debating how best to shoot out of bed when the patio door opened, and Athen stood there proudly. Thank God!
“Is my timing impeccable or what?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Yeah, it’s pretty good. Have you been waiting?”
“I went downstairs and made some coffee and was drinking it up here on the patio. I have a thermos waiting for you too. It was so relaxing enjoying the view… Thanking the skies above for your return.” His eyes gleamed as I noticed that the chair was pulled up to the French doors. I knew he wasn’t referring to the view of the Puget Sound. I immediately blushed.
“Wow, well thanks. I could use something to warm up. It didn’t occur to me how cold it could get.” I spoke as he went to the window to shut it on his way to the bed.
“Well, this will warm you up. There’s another pot brewing downstairs too. Since it’s Thanksgiving, we have to keep a pot on all morning to keep Arie going.”
“Oh no! Is she down there? I don’t want to make her do all the work.” I almost jumped out of the bed until the blast of cold air hit me.
“No, she hasn’t made it down there yet. Cyril went for a walk and said she was still sleeping. You’ve got some time.”
“Phew. Thanks for this,” I said, moving my mug up towards him. I took a few sips, thinking I would bring up the demon that was apparently dashing around the property.
“Is that creature still out there?” I took Athen by surprise, but I generally got the most information when that happened, so I didn’t mind.
“No, not directly. I don’t think we should let our guard down, though. We are keeping our eyes open for sure. We’ll keep you safe. We’ll bring him down. Hopefully, he doesn’t have any minions though. If he does, we’ll have to take care of those too.”
“Minions?” I asked blankly. “Doesn’t sound as romantic as Shakespeare’s reference.”
“Yeah, no minions of the moon here. You are right about that one. Minions, in this instance, are juvenile demons that tend to an older more mature demon’s needs. Sometimes the more seasoned demon will send a minion or minions to test out the waters, a sort of judge for the battle kind of thing.”
“Ah, great. Good to know,” I said, shaking my head, “You know I think I’m set. I’m going to enjoy cooking the turkey today and put all this stuff out of my head.”
He reached over and kissed my forehead.
“Good idea. Need a refill?”
I looked down to see my cup already empty.
“Nah, not yet. It warmed me up enough to hop in the shower. I’ll grab some more downstairs.”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll let Matilda out while you get ready.”
“I could get used to this you know,” I said, as he was ushering Matilda through the door.
“Music to my ears,” he said, closing the door.
I climbed down the stairs thankful for my fuzzy, white cashmere sweater when the wonderful smell of sautéing onions in butter hit me. Arie must have, somehow, beaten me to the kitchen. I scurried that much faster down the hall only to be welcomed by a wonderful sight in the kitchen of Cyril, Athen, and Arie, all in aprons, working together preparing the bird. Athen grabbed an apron and dangled it for me.
“Your turn. Come on. We’ve got a cutting board waiting for you.” Arie sounded so excited. It got me thrilled to chop celery.
“After we get the bird in and then some of the sides started, we can start the decorating!” Arie exclaimed. I honestly thought I saw her lift off the ground with excitement.
“So chop faster is what you’re telling me.” I chipped in.
“Yeah, basically.”
I was chopping the celery as fast as I could, while enjoying the view out the window. The sun was out which isn’t as much of a novelty in the NW as some claim. The rays were bouncing off the Sound; all the while the ferry was chugging off in the distance. It was like a painting.
“It’s still kind of chilly down here, isn’t it?” Cyril asked, reaching for the fire remote before any of us could answer.
“That’s great. Thanks, Cyril,” I said relieved. I didn’t want to be the chicken who mentioned I was turning into an icicle.
The guys were slicing a variety of meats, cheeses, and veggies for what I was assuming were snacks while we decorated. There were all sorts of empty puff pastries that looked like they were waiting to be filled. Cyril went to the fridge to grab something, and I saw how many trays of food existed in there already.
“Holy smokes! How did you get so many trays done so quickly?” I asked genuinely perplexed.
“Oh, I started last night. I couldn’t sleep right away so I thought I'd get a head start.” Arie piped up rather quickly. Everything about the holidays oozed happiness through her.
“You were on watch duty the first part of the night, and then Athen was the second. Got it,” I said smiling. “It’s okay to tell me like it is, guys. Actually, it’s preferred. I swear.”
“Sorry, Ana. We didn’t want to freak you out any more than we had.” Cyril tried to assure me. “It seems to be a theme.”
“I appreciate that. I do, but I’d prefer to know. If that’s alright with you.” I looked around the kitchen at each of them and got a slow nod of agreement.
“Thanks! Now back to chopping. I’ve got to see what all Arie has planned for decorating.”
The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening Page 35
