“We’ll be fine,” Ruby says, answering the unasked question as nicely as possible.
“I’ve already sent my familiars out,” I remind Lucas. “They’re patrolling the woods for more scrappers or something else. Scrappers follow more powerful demons, so we all need to be on high alert. Oh, and I almost forgot. Binx brought one of the scrapper demons’ bodies back. Could you do me a huge favor and burn it for me?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks. Maybe out back? I don’t want to smell the charred flesh in the morning.”
“The backyard is rather patchy,” Lucas says. “We already have one designated area for burning bodies. I don’t want to singe more of the grass. We want to rent this place out in a few months, remember?”
“Oh, right. Good point. Then the usual burn pile.”
Ruby shakes her head. “You two are a really good fit for each other.”
Lucas grabs me around the waist, putting his lips to mine. “We are.”
Ruby and I set off, leaving through the back door. Freya is waiting for us at the end of my yard, where the overgrown grass meets the trees.
“I have fallen behind on my yard work,” I muse. “I was never that good at it to begin with, but things have been a little hectic the last few weeks. Hell, the last few months.”
“Yeah, it’s not really a priority. You think you’ll be moved out in a few weeks?”
“We’re hoping so.” I conjure an energy ball to light up the dark forest. “We have two construction crews working on the house. Humans during the day and vampires at night. The kitchen is pretty much all done, and by the time we get back from Florida, the pipes and heating system should be good to go.”
“That’s exciting.”
“I can’t freaking wait! I’m already dying to decorate the house for Christmas. I might have pre-ordered a twelve-foot tree to go in the foyer, as well as a shit-ton of garland.”
“You really like Christmas?” she asks incredulously.
“I do.” I turn, glancing at Ruby. It’s nice having her on Team Callie now, though it’s a little strange. We’ve known each other since we were ten years old. She’s heard the rumors and has seen a lot of the truth of my past surface in the last few days. “Christmas was always my safe place when I was still living with the Martins, and I know how fucked up it is.”
“Your safe place?”
“Every year, Nancy and Willian would throw this big Christmas party. It was a total sham, put on just to make the family look good and get donations for political campaigns. There were people in the house a lot around the holidays, and when people were around, William put on the act that he cared about me. Even when I was sold to that research lab, he’d come get me for a week around Christmas just to hold up the front we were a loving family. I had to be included on the Christmas card.”
“That is fucked up,” Ruby says slowly. “I’m…I’m sorry.”
I wave my hand in the air. “Don’t be. You’re not the one who sold me. And really, it worked out, didn’t it? It’s how Tabatha found me and how I came to attend the Academy.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shakes her head. “You don’t resent Christmas?”
“No, and I know there’s something seriously weird about that, but I still associate Christmas with feeling safe. I love decorating and go a little overboard. I have an ugly sweater party every year and we eat our weight in Christmas cookies and play drinking games. I won’t be drinking this year, but you better come and have some wine for me.”
Ruby smiles. “I’d like that. And…and I like this. I’ve, um, I’ve never had a close girlfriend before.” She makes a big deal looking at the ground in front of her.
“Well, you have one now. Four, actually. Kristy, Nicole, and Naomi are kind of a package deal when you’re friends with me. I’m going to work on including Eliza in that, but it might take some time. She’s warming up to me.”
“She and Lucas never…”
“Nope. I think she went through a period of wanting him romantically, but he never felt that way about her.”
“Interesting,” Ruby notes.
“Yeah, it was kind of an adjustment. Lucas was the first vampire I really interacted with,” I remind her. “I always avoided them before, like a good little witch.”
“It’s probably for the best, since we harbor grudges on both sides.”
“Right. It’s time to just let that shit go. We have enough working against us, and the more we hate on the vamps, the more likely they are to call us out publicly.”
“Do you ever wish we could come out the way they did?” Ruby asks apprehensively.
“Sometimes. Mostly so I could then out William Martin for being the crusty piece of shit that he is. Why? You do?”