CHAPTER NINETEEN
I was excited to see him since it had been about a week and a half since I left the hospital, and did my best to ignore all uncertainty I had from our previous encounter. I was in my pajamas and there was lots of snow outside, so I motioned to him that I would be a few minutes. I got into more weather-appropriate clothes and sneaked downstairs, where my snow boots and heavy coat were. I peeked in to my parents' room on the way out - they were sleeping fitfully, but they were both there and both asleep, which is what mattered to me.
I got out to the backyard and Jack jumped off the fence. "I apologize that I did not tell you where I was, I was– "
"Don't worry about it," I interrupted. "You left a note, and that's what really matters. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am. How are your wounds coming along?"
"Fine. I'm going to have permanent scars where my necklace was, but the worst part is over. Doctor Morrison gave me a really good ointment and I can even almost wear my necklace like normal again. And my hands were completely back to normal the day after I was let out of the hospital, see?" I took off one of my gloves and held it up so he could see.
"That is good," he commented and smiled.
"So why are you here at this late hour? I mean, I'm really happy to see you, but it's still pretty late."
"I apologize. I should have realized you had fallen asleep when you did not notice me out here. I saw you at your window and assumed you were awake. I’ll let you go back to sleep now..."
"No! No, it's fine. The chilly air is more than enough to keep me awake. What's going on?"
"The ghosts are having a Yule party. I was passing through on my way back from my last excursion, and they invited me to stay and requested that I ask you to join us as well."
"Oh," I said, hopefully not too sullenly.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked, having picked up on my reluctance.
"No, well, I mean... last time I went to a party of theirs, they lost so many, and it was because of me. And... that vampire..." I trailed off.
"Ah. I see. Well, you have every right to refuse the invitation, but I can assure you that none of the ghosts blame you for what happened, otherwise they would not have requested your presence. As for vampires and other dangers - Christmas is a holy day, and creatures of evil have a difficult time leaving their homes on holy days. While midnight has passed, the purity of Christmas will linger until dawn. Even if your parents' wards were not still working - which they are - you'd be very safe. I do not want to pressure you, of course," he hastily added.
"Okay... well... I guess there's no harm in going..."
"May I?" he asked, holding an arm out to me. I nodded, and he wrapped his arm around my waist. With his free hand he grabbed the top of the fence, and easily vaulted the both of us over.
The party was pleasant enough; the musicians provided Christmas music as background noise, not as dancing music, and while we did play some fun party games, the whole thing felt more like a meet and greet compared to the raucous bash I had previously attended.
Several hours passed, then a ghost came around and signaled to the others that we were talking with. I tried asking Jack what was going on, but he just shushed me and told me to watch.
All the ghosts gathered together and held their hands up in the air, then started singing:
Silent Night, Holy Night,
All is calm, all is quiet.
May we keep in remembrance
All that shines with pure cleanliness;
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
One by one, the ghosts disappeared. When they were all gone and all was quiet I said quietly to Jack, "I don't remember that verse. Is that new?"
He shook his head. "Actually, it's the original Silent Night. It's a prayer of sorts, to help remind them of the first holy day as well as to keep from getting angry, and thereby corrupt or restless. It turned into a holy hymn only after the original song was conceived."
"Wait... so... if that song was written before the original Christmas night... than what makes this night a holy night?"
He motioned for me to walk with him around the now-empty graveyard. "It's part of a weeklong ritual. It is said that long ago the evil spirits in the world ran free after the summer equinox, claiming that it was their right to be unopposed after the days were ruled by the sun for so long. They were supposed to back off and allow the good beings to take over again after the winter equinox in order to restore balance in the world, but after many, many centuries, they pushed that date further and further back, claiming that with the nights still so long, they were entitled to remain free and in power. The beings of good protested, but since they had almost all of humanity on their side, they did not think they would lose control. After all, humans prefer day to night, and most are inherently good. Soon the beings of evil were reigning the earth for most of the year, and the world was quickly shifting out of balance.
"One year the beings of good had seen how far they had fallen, and how corrupt humanity was becoming. A single man could be capable of taking over half of the known world; societies were practicing human sacrifice; plagues and diseases were rampant; intellectuals were condemned as evil, and those claiming they were working in the name of their gods were praised as vessels of divine power. They knew the corrupt would not easily give up what they had so cleverly won, and so, on winter equinox, the two sides met in battle. The battle lasted for five days, and while there were heavy casualties on both sides, the side that stood for all that was good and pure was losing, for their morale was quickly fading. On the fifth day, when all seemed lost, angels descended from heaven and gave much-needed aid to the side of good. With the angels on their side, those fighting for good found strength they didn't know they had, and they were quickly able to force those on the side of evil into hiding. That night the earth experienced true peace for the first time in centuries.
"The side of evil eventually fought back, of course, and one could argue that eventually the world fell into a daily battle of good versus evil. One day a year, though - this one - evil remembers the sting of that one battle, and lets good prevail."
I said nothing for a while and we walked on in silence. Finally I said, "That is probably the most epic story I've heard in a long time. It kind of makes sense, though. Is there a night where good backs down and lets evil run loose? Wait, wait. Lemme guess - Halloween, right?" Jack nodded. "Of course. Well, that kind of takes the fun out of dressing up."
We slowly continued on in silence, and snow started to gently fall. I hesitantly stepped a little closer to him and put my arm through his. He seemed taken aback, but didn't move to pull away.
"How are your parents doing?" He finally asked.
"Fine," I answered automatically, then remembering that I was talking to someone I could trust, I said, "Actually, no. They're not fine. They're like complete strangers now - to me, to Arvin, and even to each other. Mom is never not cold any more. We have the heat turned up enough that I practically have to wear summer clothes indoors, and she still has to wear a sweater and scarf at all times. She can hardly touch anything with wards carved onto it - which is most of the stuff in our house - without going into an anxiety attack. She tried helping me with dinner tonight, but the most she could do was open packages, work the microwave and stir the gravy. She can't touch the knives because they all have wooden handles with wards for accuracy and safety carved on them, and she almost couldn't even stir anything because we only have one spoon that doesn't have wards carved into the handle. Dad is acting like a lost puppy, which just breaks my heart because it's so pathetic. He keeps trying to touch my mother, but every time he does she just gets colder, and I don't know if it's because she just doesn't want to be touched or if it's because he's gotten so corrupt, and it's so difficult trying to take care of the house, I mean I'm only sixteen for goodness sake! It's like I'm taking care of a couple of children on top of
worrying about Arvin, and, and, and– " I was starting to hyperventilate. I hadn't let anyone know about how stressed I was getting, and it wasn't until I started talking about it that I realized just how deep that stress was myself.
Jack stopped and wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his chest and held on to him as though it was going to somehow save me. I heaved deep, dry sobs, finally letting out all the stress and worry that had been building up. He stroked the back of my head and quietly said, "It's okay. You're a strong person. Going through all this just proves how strong you are. Everything is going to be just fine."
"How do you know, though?" I asked into his jacket.
He pulled himself away from me and reached into one of the inner pockets of his jacket. "One of the things I did while I was gone was stop by Alessandro, the Italian wardcarver. He is a descendent of the Templars, and much of his wards have to do with the purification or banishment of evil. I told him about your parents and he willingly gave me some of his more powerful wards. Here. I was going to give these to you when I took you back home, but I suppose that now is as good a time as any. They’re symbols for clarity, which should help your parents find their way back to where they were before." He gently took my hand and pressed four small, flat stones into my hand. I examined each one - there were two distinct symbols, each carved onto two stones of their own. The symbols didn't resemble anything that I had ever seen before; they looked like fancy knots, though they lacked symmetry.
Jack saw my confusion, and tried to explain, "He carved a unique symbol for each of your parents, and carved two stones so you could have a backup for each of them. He said that they work most efficiently when the person they're carved for isn't aware that they're there, so it would be best if you placed them around your house in places your parents won't notice. Above doors, perhaps, or under their bed. Any place they pass by often."
I nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. But... these look so different. Nothing like what we have in our house."
He nodded. "Most wardcarvers establish their own style of wards. It is not uncommon for them to vary dramatically in how they carve their wards, especially if they're well established, like Alessandro."
"Huh. Interesting." I pocketed the wards and patted the outside of my coat to make sure they were secure. "This... well, it means a lot to me. Really. It's a fantastic Christmas present." I smiled and gave him a quick hug. He hugged me back, but let go as soon as I did.
"Actually..." he trailed off. It was hard to tell... was he blushing? He cleared his throat. "I actually got a Christmas present for you. I mean, different from those. One just for you. Um. Here, you'll probably need this," he said, fumbling through his pockets. He took out two long, thick leather gloves and handed one to me. He put his on, and I followed suit, confused. Once I had mine on he whistled a slow, low whistle, then steadily raised the note until it was almost beyond the range of human hearing. He was looking up, and I tried looking where he was. Nothing happened for almost a full minute, then suddenly a ball of fire burst into existence about forty feet above the cemetery. It glided down towards us, and I kept looking back and forth between it and Jack. He made no move, so I assumed that's what he was expecting, but I was still ready to make a run for it if we were actually in danger.
It slowed down and landed on Jack's outstretched, gloved arm. I panicked, ready to help put out the fire, when I noticed that it wasn't spreading. The fire calmed down and started to take shape.
It was a very large bird. It was still on fire, but only along the edges of its wings and the end of its long, curling tail. It had deep, black eyes that stood out against its bright orange and yellow feathers.
Jack smiled and looked at me. "Kenna, this is a phoenix. The phoenix that helped me escape from Germany, actually. It took me years to run into him - he doesn't often show himself to people. I'm actually surprised he came when I whistled for him. I wanted you to get a chance to meet him."
The phoenix looked at me intently, cocking its head from side to side, as though it were trying to figure out what it was seeing in me. It let out a whistle and looked at Jack, then back at me.
"Hey! I think he likes you! That's great! Hold out your hand." I cautiously held my gloved arm out in front of Jack's, and immediately the phoenix stepped from his arm to mine. I was surprised at how light he was, considering he was at least two feet tall from his talons to the top of his head. The tail feathers were another two feet long, making him an incredibly impressive-looking bird.
Immediately I felt a connection to this bird, and somewhere inside me I could feel Adena paying very close attention to him. I didn't feel a connection in a way that I would connect with a human, but not in the way that a kid connects with a puppy, either. Somewhere in between - I could tell from his eyes that he was incredibly intelligent, and that while he was no one's pet, he could recognize those he could trust. The phoenix started singing, and while somewhere in the back of my mind I was worried it was going to wake the neighborhood, I was mostly entranced by its song. I had never given thought as to whether animals had souls before - now I knew that at least one did. By the time it was done my eyes were wet, touched by the beauty of what it had sung.
"Wow," I breathed, and held my hand up to pet it. It met my hand and nuzzled its head in my palm. It drew back, so I dropped my hand, and it stretched a wing out and started preening. I glanced at Jack and did a double take - he looked nothing less than stunned. I turned my attention back to the phoenix, which had stopped preening and now had a long, bright feather in its deadly, curved beak. It stared at me, then started inching its way up my arm. I froze, not sure what to do. It stopped right before it reached the end of my glove, and started trying to extend its neck closer to me. I finally understood, and gently took the feather from its beak with my thumb and forefinger. It whistled, and without warning flapped its way off my arm and up into the sky.
I dropped my arm and watched as it flew higher and higher, then disappeared in a burst of fire. I grinned and looked back at Jack, who still had a stunned look on his face. "Wow! That was amazing! Now I feel terrible because I didn't get you anything for Christmas. Jack. Hellooo, Jack?" He still looked like someone had punched him in the gut.
He finally shook himself out of his shock and said, "I had no idea... well, I was definitely not expecting that."
"What do you mean? What were you expecting?"
"There are only a handful of phoenixes left in this world. They used to be companions to very powerful warlocks, but once humans started hunting them and their numbers started dwindling, they avoided humans more and more until they became a myth. I honestly wasn't even expecting him to let you hold him, never mind sing a song for you and give you one of his feathers. Do you even know what kind of feather that is?" I looked at it and shrugged. "That's a primary flight feather. They take a long time to grow back, so it is an immense show of trust that it gave that to you; that is a great treasure indeed. It has been long enough since phoenixes have chosen human companions that I'm not sure what the process for choosing is, but if I had to guess, I'd say he just chose you."
Now it was my turn to be stunned. "So... what does that mean, exactly?"
"I honestly don't know. But I'm willing to bet you'll be seeing him a lot more often. I now have to apologize again; I meant for this to be a thoughtful, unique experience, not one more burden for you to bear."
I gave him the warmest smile I could muster and said, "It was very thoughtful, and definitely unique. It's the best Christmas present I've ever received. Thank you, and again, I'm sorry I don't have anything for you."
"Are you happy?" I nodded. "Then you don't need to apologize. Seeing you happy is enough for me."
"That is so cheesy, you doofus," I teased, and wrapped my arms around his neck to hug him. He put his arms around my waist, and we held each other like that in peaceful silence. I slowly leaned back to
break away, and as I did my cheek brushed against his. His cheek was mostly smooth and soft, though some stubble was poking through just along his jaw line. I could feel my heart suddenly beating faster as I had a flash of the moment that almost happened in the hospital.
He took a step back, though, and said, “It’s getting late. You should probably go back home to get some sleep.”
I nodded, still feeling my stomach doing flips. "You aren't going away again anytime soon, are you?"
"I don't have plans to, why?"
"I just want to see you again. Spend time with you, talk with you."
"I take no issue with that," he replied warmly. "You're tired right now and need sleep, but I will be by later on today. May I take you out for dinner and a stroll through a real park?"
"Of course! When will you be by?"
"Does five o'clock work for you?"
I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see him even earlier than that, but I nodded and said, "I'll be ready by then."
He gave me a boost over the fence, and I noticed that he didn't leave until I had reached my room and checked out the window to see if he was still there. I waved goodbye to him, and he left.
I didn't bother getting back in to my pajamas, and as soon as my shoes were off and I made sure my phoenix feather was protected by a small scrap of cloth I managed to find in my mothers' craft box, I collapsed on the covers and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.