“I’ll try. I’ll call you back. I might be able to persuade him to come over, but he’s resisting more and more.” Vixen sounded concerned and I realized that they cared about Lenny more than I thought.
“Do what you can. If you can’t get him to come over, we’ll have to go find him.” As I hung up, I felt restless. Everything was coming tumbling down at once, it seemed like, and while I was looking forward to the sudden change in my future, I was also scared.
I slid on my coat and found Raj’s leash. “I’m taking Raj for a walk in the park,” I said.
“You want company?” Kipa asked.
I thought about it. Mostly when he asked, I was grateful because I hadn’t liked walking alone ever since Pandora. A lot had changed because of her, and I knew she was still out there. But tonight, I had a lot on my mind and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted company or not.
Kipa must have noticed my ambivalence because he said, “I can walk behind you, just to make sure you’re okay. Or we can go together and not talk.”
Finally, I said, “All right. Maybe we can walk him and not talk so I can think?”
Kipa shrugged on his jacket. “Sounds good. Hey, does Raj want to go for a walk with Raven and Kipa?” he called.
Raj came bouncing over. “Raj loves walks. Raj go to the park?”
“Yes, Raven and Kipa are taking Raj to the park. Now, Raj needs to sit still while Kipa puts his leash on.” Kipa leaned down and fastened the leash to the collar while Raj darted impatient glances at the door.
“I need to read that book Dek lent me,” I said, staring at Raj. “Somehow, I don’t think that…well…this situation is quite normal, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry. Very little ever goes by the book in life.”
We headed out into the snow, toward the trailhead into UnderLake Park. I lifted my head to the sky, letting the snowflakes settle on my face. All around us, the world was muffled and frozen, but frozen or not, my life was moving forward in a direction I had never anticipated. I hadn’t even consulted my gods about it.
We know. Do you think we don’t know these things?
The words echoed in my brain as I felt Cerridwen stir her cauldron, catching up my fate and destiny with her. Suddenly feeling at peace—my gods were behind me on this, and that made me feel much more secure—I tried not to think about the coming fight with the aztrophyllia while we silently walked down the trail and into the park, under the veil of snow.
Chapter Nineteen
Friday morning came early. Our walk had been helpful, letting me calm my thoughts and focus them solely on being in the present. In fact, I slept deeply, my dreams taking me to Tapiola, where I saw a cottage covered with ivy and climbing roses, and in the dream, Kipa was making fried eggs and bacon for breakfast while I stood outside, breathing air so clear that it felt like my lungs might freak out. Raj was playing with a dog that looked almost twice his size, and a cat sat in the window next to the box of magical herbs. It was so calming that I woke to an anticipation I seldom had in the mornings.
It dawned on me that maybe this move had already been in my destiny. Maybe it wasn’t just happenstance. Wondering about Fate and what part she played in our lives, I slid out of bed.
Kipa was already up and I could hear him laughing in the kitchen with my mother. I was grateful the two of them got along so well. At first, there had been a part of myself afraid he might find her more attractive than me—after all, she was as wild as he was—but he never showed any sign of seeing her as anything more than my mother, and that set me at ease. I knew he wasn’t her type, but sometimes, having a mother who was Queen of the Bean Sidhe made for insecurity.
I decided to be festive and slipped on a Santa red bra and panties, then fastened a garter belt to match around my waist, using the garters to hold up green, red, and white striped thigh-high socks. The next layer was a green tulle petticoat and then, a red satin circle skirt. Zipping up my red brocade corset over the top, I then added a green bolero jacket, and I was ready for makeup.
I quickly did goth-chic eyes with green metallic eye shadow and heavy liner and mascara, and decided to leave my lips a pale pink for a change. After brushing out my hair, I put on platform calf-high boots and headed toward the kitchen, feeling ready to face the day.
My phone jangled as I entered the dining room and I glanced at it. Vixen had convinced Lenny to be there by one.
“Hey, Lenny will be at Vixen’s by one, so we should be there at least an hour early.” I entered the kitchen to see Kipa ladling out oatmeal with raisins into bowls while Phasmoria was stacking bacon and sausage on a platter. They both froze, staring at me.
“Where’s your Santa hat?” Kipa asked, smirking.
“You look…festive,” Phasmoria added. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking quite so…festive?”
I stuck my tongue out at them. “I love both of you, too. Hey, I felt like celebrating the season, so keep your opinions to yourself if you’re going to play Scrooge.”
Kipa laughed, setting down the bowl and the ladle. He pulled me to him and kissed me soundly. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it—you make a most comely elf—though frankly, most Elves are insulted by their portrayal as non-unionized toy makers employed by a man who probably doesn’t even give them good health benefits.”
I snorted. “I never thought about that.”
“You’re lovely,” my mother chimed in. “I’m not used to seeing you wear much besides black, purple, and green.”
“I have my moments,” I said. “So, did you hear me?”
“We’ll be there early. I want to get this over with. We need to strategize, though.” He set the bowls on a tray and, with Phasmoria carrying the platter of sausage and me picking up the bowl of fruit salad, we carried our food to the dining room table. Kipa had already set out the plates and bowls, and I returned to the kitchen for the cream and brown sugar for the oatmeal.
Raj was waiting at his dish and Kipa set a bowl of plain oatmeal down for him, along with a plate with several sausages on it. Raj began to lap up the oatmeal, using his paws to eat the sausages. He hated using forks and spoons. As long as he wiped his paws on the mat after eating anything that could leave a mess on the floors, I was fine with however he wanted to eat his food.
“So, how are we going to do this? We go over there…are you going out on the astral before they get there?” I asked.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kipa said. “Since the aztrophyllia is on the astral, it might sense me if I’m out there when Lenny arrives. We will probably have to restrain him because the moment the creature realizes what’s happening, it will try to get him out of there.”
A thought struck me. “What if it leaves? What if it tries to save its ass and vanishes?”
“Then we’re so much the better. You can seal Lenny off from it, because if it leaves, it won’t have a hold on him for that moment. And then we use that spell to seal it from ever getting back to your house.” Kipa paused, then said, “I know that look. What’s wrong?”
“I wish we could get rid of it for good. I can’t help but think it’s going to search for another victim.” I hated unfinished business, and that’s what this felt like.