Page 34 of Christmas Spirits

“Hey!” Laurence’s voice boomed from the apartment. “Don’t tell her that!”

Arianna shrugged, pulled off her coat and snow boots, and put them on the designated hooks and rug near the door. Then, she bolted up the steps.

“Where’s my little Zach-attack!” she called as I closed the door and went to follow. I heard Zach’s happy giggles at her arrival and smiled, my chest warming. He really had taken to her, and honestly, so had I. She was a good person—a good friend. I would have to tell Jade thank you again for bringing us together. When she got back.

I got halfway to the apartment before another knock on the door sounded.

“I’ll get it,” I yelled up to the others before spinning around and trudging back down. When I opened the door again, I was shocked to see Sean, Wyatt’s son, standing there with a large casserole dish in hand.

“Sean! I didn’t think you were going to make it. Here, let me take that from you.” I took the dish and gestured for him to join me in the entryway. Snow clung to his shoulders and hair, but he brushed it off before stepping inside.

“Careful with that,” he said, peeling off his layers and hanging them by Arianna’s things. “Bottom’s a little hot still.”

“You didn’t have to bring anything,” I said with a smile.

“I know, but it’s really nothing much. Just some canned tuna fish, pasta, peas, and breadcrumbs. It was something my mom used to throw together for every holiday, so Pop and I continued the tradition after she died. I thought that maybe… since…”

My heart clenched for him. This was his first Christmas with both his parents gone. It was one of the reasons I had invited him—and Arianna—to this lunch get-together. No one should be alone on Christmas.

“It smells great,” I said. “I hope you weren’t expecting to have leftovers.”

That won me a smile from him.

“Thanks for including us in your family tradition.” I tilted my chin toward the apartment. “Everyone’s already upstairs. Why don’t you get settled in, and I’ll get the table set.”

He nodded and climbed up the steps two at a time. I followed behind him.

Out of curiosity, I turned on my enhanced necromancer vision and noticed Sean’s aura was a beautiful, swirling cobalt blue.

Arianna and Laurence had explained to me that once I’d taken over the ritual and tapped into my new power, my eyes had changed. Like Rhys’s, my iris became lost behind a cloudy white film. A freaky thing to witness, they’d said, but luckily, it had gone away the moment my eyesight switched back to normal. It wasn’t permanent.

Good thing, too, because I didn’t want to scare Zach or any of my customers.

After blinking and switching my vision back, I set Sean’s dish on the table and walked into the kitchen to check on the rest of the food I had warming in the oven. Nothing crazy, just some honeyed carrots, mashed potatoes, and roasted chicken. All things I had prepared the night before.

In the small living space, Sean walked over to Arianna and held out his hand. “I’m Sean,” he said with a shy smile.

She looked him up and down, unimpressed. “Oh, so you’re the one they were going to ask for help instead of me,” Arianna said. “Some farm boy?”

“Hey,” Sean shot, glancing down at his plaid shirt and jeans. “I’ve never been on a farm in my life.”

Even though she bounced Zach in her arms as she spoke, her words weren’t playful. “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant to say hillbilly.”

“Arianna.” I glared at her, confused by her nastiness. “It’s Christmas. And Sean’s our guest.”

“Yeah, what’s your problem?” Sean bit back at her.

She huffed. “I just expected more from a human who claims to know all about supernaturals, is all.”

Sean was about to argue, but Laurence walked between them and took Zach from Arianna’s arms. “Quit it,” he told her and gave her a stern look—aDadlook—and my heart fluttered. It was hard to believe that he was now my fiancé, and soon I’d be spending the rest of my life with him.

Crossing her arms, Arianna plopped on the couch and turned her attention onto whatever was playing on the television.

Sean glanced my way with a puzzled look, but all I could do was shrug. I wanted to say “Kids, huh?” but figured that probably wouldn’t be the best thing to say, since he was also a twenty-something year old. Not to mention that it’d make me sound like an old lady.

Laurence offered Sean one of the beers from the cooler. He gladly accepted. When Arianna waved for one, too, he tossed one her way. She caught it with ease, twisted off the top, and eased back into the cushions. Laurence and Sean exchanged looks before striking up a conversation about Sean’s next semester in college and the classes he was taking.

Another knock on the front door sounded, one only I seemed to hear. Not wanting to disturb them, I crept back down the stairs.

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