Chapter 17 #2
Norrell pulls his box from under the tree.
His eyes light up, casting a surprisingly youthful look on his otherwise rough-hewn face.
“By the bluest glacier, I love this text. It is an incredible historical account. I have not read it since the Academy. I never found another copy,” Norrell says thickly as he holds up a worn but intact copy of a very old book titled A Compleat History of Magicks in the North.
“We thought you might,” Walt responds with a burst of laughter. “I had some help finding it—not from Ada, I might add, she had no idea—but I’m glad I managed to get it in time before Yule. Expedited shipping straight from New York City. It was a close call.”
That gives me a very good idea of who helped him, though I don’t voice my guess while I beam at the three of them who continue to animatedly discuss the gift.
“Ada, that behemoth is yours!” Walt exclaims as he points at the oversized box. Norrell brings it over and sets it on the coffee table in front of me.
As I open it, Walt’s expression is practically euphoric.
He lives for this. Watching him like this is its own gift.
“Oh, Walt, Acton, you shouldn’t have,” I blurt out, shocked at the extravagant present.
Pulling away the wrapping paper reveals a pricey looking stainless steel espresso machine with a milk frother.
“I thought you might have worked that little old coffeemaker to its last leg after hosting that large group. Time for an upgrade!” he delights.
“I will think of you every time I use it, meaning every single day,” I chuckle. “Thank you both so much.”
“Last but not least,” Norrell remarks brightly as he hands Walt his gift—several wrapped together.
“It’s like you read my mind every time,” Walt cracks up. “I’ve been thinking about upgrading these. How did you know?” He holds up the fancy waterproof camera and the water filtration system effective enough for survival situations but meant for off-grid camping, one of their favorite activities.
“I listen to your stories when you return from camping trips. I bought those over the summer!” I acknowledge, laughing at his genuine reaction.
“A star chart? Oh, that will make the nights during our trips even more special,” he says wistfully, unfolding the beautiful and detailed maps of the seasonal night skies.
Norrell and I agreed to exchange our gifts later, just the two of us, after we have the house to ourselves again.
Now that we’re done gift-giving, Walt and Acton join us in the kitchen while Norrell and I continue cooking.
Walt makes hot cider today. He calls it wassail because he says it sounds fancier for the holiday.
Cider is an everyday drink, according to him.
In no time, the rest of the guests show up. Cara and Ben hand me a farro salad with apples and cranberries before they settle in the living room. Lillian, Nicolas, and Lucas are right behind them with their B?che De Noel offering.
Sunny and Thea arrive together with a tray of immaculately iced gingerbread male cookies. They’ve been spelled with a little magick so their delicately iced faces wink and smile. I hope they don’t take Cara by too much surprise. She still gets adorably flustered by magick like this.
Clancy brings his joie de vivre and a sweet potato pie from Pearlhouse Pastries.
He is many things, but not a talented cook, so I happily accept the conspicuous pink box.
He also brings in his bench from Ben and Cara’s house, which Ben drove over in the back of his truck, so he has a comfortable seat at the long dining table.
When dinner is ready to be served, Norrell lights the Yule log in the dining room fireplace.
After bringing it home from the woods near the graveyard, we gathered some fallen greenery from the lawn and used twine to wrap it around the thick piece of wood, binding some leftover evergreen twigs to it as well.
We set it in the fireplace yesterday in anticipation of lighting it today.
As we sit around the table and watch Norrell, we all wish each other a happy Yule as the flames catch the tinder he put on the grate beside the log.
Thea stands beside his kneeling form and whispers a quick spell so that log burns for an extended period.
Warmth for comfort. Glow for beauty. Burn until the festivities end.
I’ve always appreciated the practicality of her spells.
It’s useful in her sometimes face-paced role as a healer.
Lillian bubbles with anticipation at the feast laid out on the table.
“All of this food looks amazing. Thanks for hosting us, Ada. We appreciate all the hard work it took you and Norrell to prepare this.” Everyone expresses their agreement and thanks as we pass the dishes around the table and fill our plates.
“I’ll hand it to you, yeti. You have kitchen skills. I hope you made a lot, because I eat like a horse,” Clancy jests around bites of food.
“Thank you, Clancy. In the settlement, if we wanted a good meal, we would often have to make it ourselves,” Norrell acknowledges.
“He’s taken over the kitchen, and I don’t mind a lick,” I exclaim.
“Well, I’m glad he’s doing his part to take care of you, Ada. Seems like he took those friendly reminders to heart,” Clancy remarks, winking at me.
“Congrats, Walt, on the win a couple weeks ago. With all the new blood on town council, you’re going to have a packed house again for your meetings.
I stopped attending when Ben took over the business, but I might have to start up again at the next meeting in a couple weeks,” Nicolas says from across the table.
“Nicolas looks forward to holding court during the public forum at the end of each meeting like he used to,” Lillian jokes, smiling affectionately at her mate.
“I’m looking forward to the friendly discussion and banter again. It had been sorely missing for a time,” Clancy chimes in, shaking his head.
“Hear, hear!” Nicolas agrees.
“You’d have thought the meetings were political,” Walt adds drily. “I’m glad to help change that.”
“It still keeps me up at night how close we came to disaster. That we’re not even out of the weeds yet with that fae lingering in containment.
And still no cure for Ada. I don’t think I’ll get a full night’s sleep for a while yet,” Clancy admits, the look in his large brown eyes softening when they meet mine.
“We stalled out on progress and Ada suffers for it. It is frustrating to just sit and wait,” Norrell concurs, his expression turning dark.
“It’s eye-opening to realize how much damage some deranged, power-mad warlocks could do in such a short time. We’ll be dealing with the fallout for a long time,” Thea laments.
“At least there’s hope again for our community with the new town council,” I chime in, not wanting the dark cloud hanging over us to put a damper on our celebration. “Monstera Bluff will be stronger for it.” What I can’t say to them is that I may not be here much longer to see it.
“A silver lining was that Cara was only subjected to one meeting of torment,” Ben says ruefully. “And that she didn’t pack up and leave that very night.”
“Well, someone told me how they really felt and changed my mind,” she admits with a bashful smile on her face.
“Who knew Ben was such a charmer?” Lucas quips and claps his brother on the back. Ben had been gazing affectionately at his mate, but he twists toward his brother on his other side and flicks him on the shoulder in return, cracking Lucas up.
“How long are you in town, Lucas?” I ask, curious because he came home for a week right after Ben and Cara were injured on Samhain.
“Turns out I felt really homesick after I left last month.” He chuckles self-consciously.
“I wasn’t planning on it, but I figured I’d request an extended leave this month.
My bosses knew I had left for a family emergency.
They’re so impressed with my work, naturally, so they told me to work remotely the entire month of December.
I’ve been busy hanging out with family and old friends, taking advantage of this time at home.
I’m not looking forward to going back next week if I’m being honest.”
Clancy perks up. “I knew you’d be back for good!” he announces smugly as he rubs his hands in front of him. The two of them are almost as close as brothers since Clancy was a regular fixture at the Garde-Pierre household during his entire childhood.
“Well, not quite yet. In the next year or two,” Lucas clarifies. “I have a lot left to learn. My bosses are exceptional engineers. They’ve been excellent mentors too.”
“We’re glad to hear this. He’s been away for so many years. All my boys will be together again,” Lillian adds with a happy sigh as she smiles fondly at the males. She has always treated Clancy like a third son.
“I can’t believe you’re not chomping at the bit to come home.” Clancy chuckles at himself. “But I am glad you weren’t part of Niven’s tracking teams. We had a few gargoyles here. One got stuck in a fae-made trap set by the warlocks. It wasn’t pretty.”
“His team brought him in during my shift. The damage to his wing resisted healing for quite some time. It took several of us using an incredible amount of healing magick to mend it well enough so he’ll fly again,” Thea replies, shaking her head.
“It’s lucky we didn’t see too many other patients that day because we were almost spent. ”
“I might be the only gargoyle in New York City who isn’t on one of those teams. They’re the only other gargoyles I’ve met so far. They’re a tough bunch. An injury won’t stop any of them for too long,” Lucas remarks.