LAILAH
NINE
That night, I slept the best I had in months.
It would seem a mix of full body exhaustion and jet lag was all I'd needed to get a full eight hours of sound sleep.
When I woke up on my own it was still pre-dawn, but having gone to bed at eight last night, I felt completely rested.
I crawled out from Micah's arms and discovered that Jay was already up and out of bed.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He was always the first awake before I started having nightmares.
I slipped on a hoodie over my pajamas, the morning air cool as I headed down to the kitchen.
To be honest, I was super excited to be up early enough to make a perfect cup of tea and sit outside to watch the sun rise over the lake.
It took me a few minutes to find where whoever got our groceries put the tea.
I was gonna need to rearrange things at some point, knowing I'd be spending the most time in the kitchen.
There was no electric kettle, but I'd preemptively put the standard kettle on the stove last night to use.
As I waited for the water to heat, I meandered over to the windows looking out over the lake, taking a deep calming breath.
I'd been worried that coming here would be harder than staying at school with everything that was going on.
One thing we had to do today was make sure we put the wards up around the house and property, knowing that I was a beacon to demons.
The last thing we needed was for the reality of our work to come crashing into this part of my life.
My parents might now know a little of what was going on, but seeing it first hand was another matter entirely.
The whistle of the kettle made me jump, snapping me out of my thoughts to race over to the stove so I didn't wake the others.
Opening the cabinet, I pulled out a large mug that almost needed both hands to hold and noticed on the outside it had: tea only up in this bitch.
I would put my money down on Parker being the one to make sure this was in the house for me.
Tea finally prepared, I carried it outside and headed for the anorak chairs on top of the hill, just as the warm glow of the sun started to appear on the horizon.
Curled up and using my mug to warm my hands, I relaxed my head against the wood of the chair and closed my eyes, letting the sounds of nature ease my worries.
Birds started to chirp in the trees, the water lapping at the shore, and the leaves were rustling in the soft breeze of the morning.
This is how I wanted to wake up every day, knowing that not everything in the world was hiding darkness just behind the corner waiting to take over.
At the sound of footsteps, my eyes flew open, and I found Jay standing in front of me with a blanket in his hands. "It's too cold to be out here with just a hoodie, you're not even wearing pants."
"Good thing I have you to look after me then," I grinned, getting up from my seat to push him to take it.
Giving into my demands, he settled in the wide chair and held his hand out to me, already guessing at what I wanted.
Curling up in his lap, he tucked the blanket around my legs before wrapping his arms loosely around me.
We both let out a sigh of contentment, it had been too long since I'd had Jay all to myself where he wasn't pushing me to train or eat something.
I knew he was doing it because he cared, and from all that I've witnessed and gathered about his life—I don't think he knew how to show his love to anyone differently.
"You seem happy," Jay stated.
I took a sip of my tea giving him an acknowledging hum.
"There were also no nightmares," Jay continued, stroking a hand down my arm. "Is it because you’re away from school or being with your family?"
"Sleep wise, I think it was the travel and time change, as for feeling happy…
It's all of this," I answered, gesturing to our surroundings.
"I'm not knee deep in everything Elementi, wondering when the next problem will show up, when will we get sent to deal with another demon, what is the Dark Lord preparing for this time.
It's been too quiet and I can't tell if losing Ubel and his connection to Dantalion really hurt him, or if it's something else.
Being here in the quiet of the morning, as the sun is going to rise, with the sounds of nature, you just can't help but be reminded that this is what we’re fighting for. "
Jay didn't say anything to that, he just rested his chin on my head and held me tightly.
We sat like that for some time, watching the beautiful array of colors wash the sky, proving that once again the sun will always rise.
The sound of someone traipsing through the woods put us both on high alert, causing Jay to slide me off his lap and step in front of me.
Most of the time, demons attacked at night using the shadows to hide themselves, but they could just as well act in the sunlight.
In Jay's hand, his bow appeared as he pulled on his power, quiver materializing on his back where he took an arrow and nocked it.
The sound was getting louder and closer, making my heart beat faster as my own sai appeared in my hands.
I was never going to let my fear make me a victim.
"Oh!" a middle aged man gasped when he saw us, eyes wide with surprise.
Both of us let go of our powers, allowing our weapons to dissipate as quickly as we could. The man shook his head and rubbed his eyes like he was seeing things as shook off his fright. He wore an olive green work coverall that had a logo for some landscaping company on it.
"So sorry to startle you, I forgot they said this place finally had people in it," he shared, rubbing his hands on his coveralls nervously.
"I'm with the grounds crew, we’re hired by the community and take care of all the yards, mowing, trimming bushes, things like that.
We come on Thursdays or Mondays during the summer, depending on what part of the community you're in. "
"I see," Jay said, looking the man over carefully. "That doesn't explain why you're coming through the woods when there is a gate to the back yard behind the garage."
"Ah, yeah…well it seems that you had all the locks changed and the guard at the gate didn't have a key for us, so I was coming around to open it on this end," he explained.
Jay seemed unconvinced by his explanation. "Do you always come so early?" I asked, stepping out from behind Jay.
"Since you’re the first house on our route, yes, we try to get started early, so when the summer gets hot we’re working in the cooler part of the day."
Jay took my hand and gathered up the blanket. "We'll leave you to your work, but we will not give you a key. The gate will be unlocked by six am on Mondays for you to do your work. If that plan changes you will need to let us know."
The man gave him an odd look but nodded his head. "Will do, Sir."
I gave the man a friendly smile as Jay led the way back into the house.
"What the hell was that, Jalen?!" I demanded once the back door was shut. "Do you know how rude that was?"
Jay cocked a brow at me, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. His short sleeve shirt showed off his black and gray tattoos on his left arm, that I knew curled on to his pec.
"In all the paperwork we got there was no mention of a grounds crew that looked after the homes in the community.
Are you saying it was wrong of me to question someone who is trespassing on our lawn at six in the morning? "
"What's going on?" Hudson asked as he stepped out from the kitchen. "Someone is in our yard?"
"A landscaper," I answered off handedly, not taking my attention of Jay.
"Why on earth would someone who is looking to cause trouble show up now?
Wouldn't that be smarter to do at night when you can easily tell if someone is in the house or not?
This is Wisconsin, nothing major happens in rural Wisconsin, unless you're into cow tipping or something like that. "
"Sunshine, there's no need to get so upset about this," Hudson soothed. "I will simply call the HOA and ask them about what this man has said, then the matter will be settled."
"That's not the problem," I huffed.
"Do you mind explaining to us what is the problem?"
I knew my irritation over this was out of proportion, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why it had rubbed me the wrong way.
Then it struck me, "I don't want to live my life believing that every person is out to get me.
It was a perfect morning, everything was peaceful and calm, then in one second we were on high alert, weapons drawn ready for a fight and it was just a man trying to do his job. "
My shoulders sagged as my eyes started to burn with held back tears.
Since I laid there, holding Ubel's hands mourning the loss of what I'd done, I hadn't cried.
In all my panic attacks, therapy sessions, and training, the one thing I couldn't do was cry.
Like now my eyes would burn, the pressure would build, but nothing ever happened past that.
Hudson stepped forward and took the mug from my hand, setting it down, and wrapped me in his arms with Jay pressing up against my back.
"Beautiful," Jay said into my ear. "It’s my job and part of the oath I swore to you, that I will protect you know matter what.
To me, anyone I don't know is a danger to you, but I can also see it from your perspective.
I'm not going to change my mind on this, you're just going to need to trust me that everything I do is to keep you safe.
" I nodded my head against Hudson's chest as Jay kissed the back of my neck and stepped away. "I'll make breakfast today."
Hudson shifted me so he could scoop me up into a bridal hold and carried me back up to my bedroom, where Micah was still passed out. He climbed into bed and set me down, wrapping himself around me as Micah muttered something in his sleep, moving closer to me.
"Never change, Sunshine, we need you to continue to see the good in people.
The rest of us have been in this life for too long.
We've lost the ability to see the humanity in those around us—even our own families at times," Hudson whispered.
"This is what makes you who you are, the pure goodness and light that no demon or Dark Lord can diminish.
We, as your knights, are to protect you from the darkness, but also to advise you when the way is not certain.
None of us know how prevalent the demons are in this area, we don't have the house warded, and we are in a different country.
You'll have to forgive us when we don't have the same sense of calm that you do being back on your home turf. "
As always, when Hudson took the time to break things down for me, it made more sense.
It made me think back to when I first arrived at Ryevick and how lost I felt, not knowing where anything was or the customs around me.
Lifting one of his hands I kissed the back of it, "That makes sense when you put it that way.
I forget sometimes that you're just as human as I am about these things. "
Hudson chuckled, his body shaking as he tried to keep quiet. "You forget we're human?"
"You know what I mean," I huffed. "Sometimes, I feel like you are all superheroes or something, with how you handle all the crazy stuff we've been through the past eight months of knowing each other."
"I think I like being thought of as a superhero," Hudson teased, kissing the top of my head.
"Would you two shut the fuck up," Micah grumbled. "Some of us are trying to sleep here."
Reaching out, I poked Micah's cheek playfully which made him crack open an eye, teeth snapping at my finger. "So, you don't care that there was a mysterious man that showed up in our backyard at six in the morning while I was sitting out there?"
Just as I guessed, Micah's eyes snapped open and he sat up, giving me his full attention. "What the fuck, Lailah! Are you okay, because if that asshole touched you I'm going to burn his ass until he's ashes and no one will be able to find him."
"It would seem we have a grounds crew to take care of the yard," Hudson shared, a hint of laughter in his voice.
Micah's face changed from concerned to pissed as he looked down at me. "Seems like you forgot to mention that little detail in your story there, Cookie Monster."
"Oh, but you were sleeping. I didn't want to bother you," I taunted.
Micah grabbed my ankle and snatched me away from Hudson slipping his hand under my sweatshirt to tickle me. "You think that's funny, do you? Well, let me show you what you get for pulling dirty tricks like that, Cookie Monster."
Wiggling under his tickle assault, I tried to get free but he was sitting on my legs, making it impossible. I turned my head to Hudson, who was now leaving the room and me to my fate. "Hudson, you get back here and help me!"
He just looked over his shoulder, laughter in his eyes and smiled, shutting the door behind him.