Page 14 of Dreaming of an Earth Christmas

Carlie looked around to make sure she hadn’t missed it. “Where’s the offering tree?” she asked, feeling a little mischievous. She felt his hand tense in response.

“The offering tree? That is not an Earth custom. I checked,” he replied curtly.

“I know, but it was your custom. I thought it was beautiful,” Carlie said softly. “I don’t mind that it’s not here this year, but I liked it just as much as any of these Christmas trees. If I wanted everything to be exactly like it was on Earth, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with a man who wasn’t human. It bears repeating—I’ve never been disappointed.”

“I have something else to show you,” Sseith said, side-stepping her declaration. She let him pull her along, but she frowned as she saw they were approaching another doorway.

“I don’t want to leave. I want to enjoy everything you’ve done. Can’t we stay?”

“We’re not leaving,” Sseith replied. He slowly lifted his feathers and tilted his head back a little as if he was using them to point at the archway above them. “I’m showing you another Earth tradition—one that I found especially intriguing.”

Carlie looked up. The ugliest plant she’d ever seen had been fastened exactly in the middle of the arch. Its leaves were a blackish green with a bumpy texture that reminded her of warts. The thing even smelled bad. She sniffed and shuddered. Yep, the stench was definitely coming from the hideous plant.

“What is it?” she asked. She didn’t want to disappoint Sseith, but she wasn’t sure why he’d chosen this plant or why it was special when the rest of his choices had been so magical.

He raised his crown feathers and waited a beat before he dropped them and let out frustrated sounding hiss. “The plant is poisonous…parasitic,” he added with a significant lift of his brows. He gave her another look like she must be particularly dense before he glanced at her lips with a hungry sound that mixed a growl and his rattle. “Is it not clear?”

Carlie looked back up at the warty leafed plant. Had it moved? It looked like one of the stems had grown longer or fallen loose, because it was hanging down lower now. “I’m afraid not. I’m sure once you tell me it will make sense,” she said.

“Mistletoe,” Sseith told her in a low voice of seductive promise that had her skin tingling with anticipation.

His rattle hummed deep in his throat. Carlie pressed her palms against his chest as she slowly raised her face, her gaze settling on his plush, tempting mouth.Mistletoe. Just thinking the word again in his voice had goosebumps rising on her arms. She leaned forward, letting one hand travel upward to twine around his neck as she pulled him down for a kiss.

Sseith still tasted as addictive as he had the first time their lips had touched. He had her clutching his robes for balance with only the lightest brush of his tongue against hers. Then his touch grew more forceful, and she felt him haul her body against his so that his Lady’s talisman settled between her breasts. The twist of desire that had her inner muscles clenching on emptiness was highly inappropriate for a family Christmas Eve party, but stopping him was the last thing she had in mind.

A shrill scream cut through the now heavy thrum of Sseith’s rattle. Carlie began to pull back a moment before Sseith, and she saw a flash of green and red feathers below them.

“Althiss?” Sseith cried as he looked down and saw the small boy batting ineffectually at something on the back of his neck.

“What is it?” she asked, even as her horrified gaze followed the line of a black vine that attached to the alien mistletoe that was decidedlynotat the top of the doorway any longer. “It’s alive!” she shouted. “Get it off him! Get it off him, Sseith!”

Althiss was crying, his little wings flapping wildly, and still powerfully enough to pack a punch despite his small size. “Calm, Althiss,” commanded Sseith as he bent down to inspect the vine.

As he leaned over Althiss, Carlie screamed as the plant seemingly attacked her mate’s neck. The vine snapped out towards his bronze-scaled skin, one of the warty leaves attaching just above his collarbone. Sseith made a strangled sound in his throat and his eyes widened.

Althiss backed away, his little frame still shaking, and from the corner of her eye, Carlie saw K’thiss swoop in and scoop him up, but her attention was focused on her mate. At the edge of the nasty black leaf, she saw something familiar—the dark red of Sseith’s blood. She could feel her face grow paler.

“Help! That thing is sucking his blood! Do we have salt here? Kat? V’esthiss? Can anyone help?” she called out, not wanting to turn away in case the plant did something worse while her back was turned. “Should we burn it?”

“No!” Sseith hissed out as Alex rushed to her side.

“Do you have salt?” Carlie asked frantically.

“It’s not a leech, Carlie. I don’t think that will work,” Alex replied, grimacing as she watched the leaf begin to pulsate on Sseith’s neck.

With a low growl, Sseith swiftly brought a knife upwards and swept it down towards his chest. Carlie clamped her hand over Alex’s arm and screamed. Sseith turned his head side to side and shook his shoulders before he fixed a skeptical look in her direction.

“Did you truly believe I would wound myself, k’lallsa? I believe I know how to wield a knife,” he added with a distinct hiss. Then he ground the portion of the vine he’d sliced off beneath his sandal before he looked up at the rest of the carnivorous plant.

“Why is it alive, Sseith? That thing isn’t just poisonous and parasitic—it’s a menace!” said Carlie.

A slow smile began to form on her crazy mate’s face. “I believe I understand it now—your mistletoe tradition. There is a certain thrill, isn’t there, in knowing that at any moment your kiss with your beloved might be stopped by danger. Perhaps it’s best to keep this custom for adult gatherings. My apologies, K’thiss,” Sseith added earnestly. “I did not adequately anticipate the children’s curiosity.” He brought a hand to his neck. He was still bleeding from several small punctures. “I believe it’s time for an offering!” he announced in his priest’s voice. “Come, Carlie,” he said as he offered her his arm. “T’kalinth—why don’t you dispose of the u’ath stinger. I suppose it is best to destroy the specimen,” he added with a regretful sigh.

“Yes, it’s definitely for the best,” Carlie quickly agreed, eager to get away from the violently inclined “mistletoe.”

“L’xat, will you join me in an offering for the holiday?” Sseith asked as they walked back towards the center of the room.

“Gladly,” replied the other priest as he rose from his seat. “I have scrolls if you’d prefer.”

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