16. Pancakes, Witches, and Fire
Pancakes, Witches, and Fire
Eyelids slowly cracking open, Malachi peered blearily at the window, mentally cursing the sun for its audacity of waking him before he had to get up and start his day.
Glancing at the clock, he blinked twice, trying to clear his vision, certain he was seeing things.
Realizing he was reading it correctly, he snatched it up as he flung himself out of the bed, cursing out loud as his foot tangled in the bedding.
“Chuck!” he bellowed, noticing she wasn’t there next to him.
“Chuck!” he shouted again, panicked now that someone had snatched her while he’d somehow slept through the scuffle.
They were either incredibly late for work, or she’d been kidnapped.
Neither outcome was acceptable, and there would be hell to pay.
Running toward the bedroom door, he nearly wrenched it off the frame in his haste to find any shred of evidence of her whereabouts.
The wooden slab slammed into the wall and bounced hard, almost impaling the knob in his back on the return swing.
Fortunately for his skin, and the knob, he was using his demon speed to blur into the living room.
Skidding to a halt, he tilted his head curiously as he realized the TV was on and Reena was in her usual spot.
She was watching her morning shows as if nothing were amiss.
Reena glanced at his panicked form and chuffed a good morning his way before her eyes inevitably crept back to the screen in front of her. The entertainment blab fest was apparently significantly more interesting than whatever crisis was unfolding for him.
“You’ll rot your brain,” he grumped and stalked to the kitchen where he had finally detected female giggles.
Two voices, one belonging to his Chuck, the other to Luna.
As he cleared the room, he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he worked to steady his breathing before he made his presence known.
What he saw made his chest tight and warm, a small smile tugging up the corners of his lips.
Chuck was trying to teach Luna how to make pancakes.
The small demon had batter drying in her hair while a fresh glob was smeared over one cheek.
She was holding the spatula like a weapon as the tip of her tongue poked between her lips and her eyebrows bunched together in deep concentration.
With a slow flick of the weapon-utensil, she successfully flipped the pancake, keeping ninety-five percent of the fluffy delight in the pan.
Whooping a war cry that was surprisingly loud for her tiny body, she high-fived Chuck, who was also cheering as if Luna had slain an enemy most foul.
Malachi began to clap slowly, and obnoxiously loud.
A large grin spread over his face as both ladies whirled to see him there, surprised at their observer.
His smile stretched even wider as he noted the teetering stack of poorly cooked pancakes on the counter.
It was precariously piled, ready to topple if someone breathed hard on them.
Some were burnt, some were clearly undercooked, but the two women seemed to be having a great time.
“So… did we decide to play hooky today?” he asked with a sensuous drawl as he tried—and failed—to appear unworried. As usual, Chuck saw right through him.
“I’m sorry, you seemed tired, and I wasn’t sure what to do with Luna today.
I figured we have a lot of sick time saved up, might as well use some of it.
I let you sleep in and was thinking we can work on figuring this out instead.
Pancake?” She gestured grandly to the haphazard stack next to Luna’s elbow.
Snaking his arm around her waist, Malachi pulled her close. “I understand; it just worried me when I woke up, and you weren’t there. I can’t lose you, Kelly.” His voice had dropped into a low, husky whisper. He would bite anyone who dared think it shook even the slightest bit.
Insistent banging on the door interrupted his plan to kiss her senseless for scaring him, even though it hadn’t been her intent.
It was thoughtful and smart, given Luna was almost toddler-like in her explorations.
Growling, he playfully spun her back to the stove to monitor the demon who was now gleefully flipping the pancakes toward the ceiling.
To his surprise, Reena raced him to the foyer, her claws slipping and scrabbling along the floor in her haste.
He groaned internally, now suspecting who was pounding on the front door like the police serving a warrant.
Sighing, he raked his fingers through his hair and blew out an irritated breath, trying to paste a pleasant, or at least not as irritated, smile on his face.
“Good morning, Glenda,” he called in a resigned tone as he opened the door.
Breezing past with a colorful wave of her filmy scarves and skirts, the witch sashayed her hips with extra sass and twirled her fingers.
“Hello!” she trilled before leaning down and swooping Reena up in her arms. “Hi my darling! How is my sweetest girl? How’s my little baby?
Did you miss Auntie Glenda? Did you? I brought you something!
” she gushed. Reaching into the oversized purse that could double as a carry-on bag, she pulled out a bone twice the size of the dog now wriggling in her arms with ecstasy.
“And Chuck says I spoil her,” Malachi snapped, irritated with the witch, not willing to admit it was because Reena’s greeting was more enthusiastic than the one he had received earlier.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad,” cooed Glenda, glancing at him from under her lashes with blatant amusement. “She sees you every day. If it came down to saving one of us, she’d choose you first every time.”
Glaring at her, Malachi briefly flashed Hellfire through his eyes and bared his teeth.
“I don’t wear panties,” he stated before turning his attention to the other person.
He didn’t want to admit she was right. “Hey, Nathan, how was the honeymoon?” he cheerfully greeted the quiet man who had followed the vibrant witch through the door.
“Good,” Nathan replied with a small smile and twitch of his sandy mustache. One of the few Malachi approved of. “Glenda didn’t hex anyone and her spells against sunburn worked like a charm.” He shoved up a sleeve, showing a smooth, even tan, no hint of redness.
Snorting, Glenda hurried to embrace Chuck, who had come out to greet her best friend, Reena still tucked in one arm. “Kelly! Darling! You two simply must visit the Maldives. It’s gorgeous!”
“Sand? Sun? Tourists? No thanks,” Malachi replied with an exaggerated shudder.
“I don’t know, a vacation to some far-away exotic destination sounds kind of good to me.
I mean, think about it, Malachi. What if we could just lie on a beach somewhere on one of those islands, sipping tropical drinks, no crimes to solve, no demonic hijinks or plots to uncover,” Chuck said with a wistful smile.
“Oh, and since I don’t have an anti-sunburn spell, I’d need you to rub sunscreen on me. All over me.”
His eyes brightened, and his earlier sensuous smile returned as he asked, “Would you wear a bikini? A red one? That’s my favorite color on you.”
Whatever her response would have been, it was cut short by the loud shriek of the smoke alarm as acrid black clouds filled the doorway to the room. Everyone hurried to the kitchen where they found a frantic Luna trying to put out the small fire on the stove.
“Sorry! Sorry!” she cried, eyes wide in terror, flailing her spatula uselessly at the flames.
Glenda shoved Reena at Malachi before she waved her hands and mumbled something that sounded mystical but was simply Latin for fire stop burning.
A few more words—smoke be gone—and the room cleared of the foul-smelling cloud.
She studied the new demon with interest and plopped her fists on her hips.
“Well, hello there darlin’. Heck of a way to make an introduction. ”
“Lunatic Fringe was just demonstrating her new cooking skills, which clearly still need some work,” Malachi called in his best helpful tone, grinning madly at Glenda, who merely rolled her eyes. She was used to his antics and mostly ignored him. He growled when Chuck stomped on his foot.
“I’m Glenda,” she offered softly, noticing how warily Luna was eyeing her.
“I’m a friend of Kelly and the cretin.” She ignored Malachi’s protests and continued, “But as you might have guessed, I’m also a witch.
This is my husband, Nathan. He’s a police officer who works with Kelly.
We just got back from our honeymoon, and I sensed trouble.
I figured it was most likely just Malachi up to his usual mischief and bullshit.
I never expected to meet a Nephilem in person.
Aren’t you just precious? So pretty and your aura is adorable!
Also, I’m sure Lunatic Fringe is not your real name, but Malachi gives crazy nicknames to almost everyone.
That being said, what should I call you, honey? ”
Luna blinked a few times at this barrage of information and took in the people staring at her.
The spatula fell from her hands as she rushed toward a surprised Glenda and threw herself into the witch’s arms. She began to sob, as if everything inside of her was breaking all at once and had nowhere else to go.
A torrent of emotions from the years of torment and abuse by her own kind, the rejection from the other half of her heritage, had all bottled up until someone’s immediate acceptance of her knocked the lid off.
“Shh, it’s okay, sweet baby,” Glenda whispered and petted Luna’s hair. She glanced over her shoulder at the others and gestured with her chin that they should leave and give them some privacy.
Malachi grabbed Chuck’s arm, noticing her eyes were damp and a soft smile graced her lips.
Her aura was pink-streaked in gold, and he smiled in response.
This was the side of her he loved the most. The genuine side that loved and cared for others, the one that fought for justice and truth.
As he watched, the aura began to sparkle and grow stronger, something he had never seen before.
Silently, he observed her while they adjourned to the living room.
“What?” she mouthed to him, staring at him with concern over the intensity of his gaze.
Your halo, he sent to her, not wanting to share this out loud with the others.
It’s doing something weird. I’m guessing it’s probably something angelic in nature, but I don’t know for sure.
I’ve never seen that happen before. Not even with Nickelrama.
He tilted his head and studied her more closely.
The sparkle began to fade as she twitched nervously.
It’s going away, huh. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but remind me the next time we see your uncle; I’ll ask him.
Well, that is if the asshole can be polite long enough to have a civil conversation.
Which is doubtful, even though I am the absolute poster child of inter-celestial being cooperation.
Chuck snorted in disdain and turned her attention to Nathan. He was sitting quietly in a chair, petting Reena while he waited for his new wife to finish comforting the other demon. He and Glenda had just returned from their honeymoon after tying the knot two weeks prior.
Malachi was still shocked that for all his teasing and nudging them together, the unlikely pair had become a solid unit.
Nathan was a stoic police officer, an older man with two ex-wives and two grown children.
His sandy hair slowly graying, he was tall, thin, and ruggedly handsome.
His blue eyes were often stern as he observed his surroundings in quiet contemplation.
Glenda, on the other hand, was a curvy bombshell of riotous curls, loud colors, and boisterous laughter.
Her smooth chocolate skin was often wrapped in silky scarves that flailed about her with her flamboyant gestures.
They were as different as could be, but the quiet policeman and the vibrant witch had fallen in love, then made it official.
Malachi glanced at Chuck and briefly wondered if she had hopes of marrying him someday.
It definitely wouldn’t be in a church, but maybe she’d like it to be official.
His stomach grew warm, and he tabled that thought as it was too much to unpack for the time being.
They had other more urgent things to discuss at the moment.