Chapter 10

White, puffy snowflakes danced outside the window, our small front yard as their almost invisible backdrop. Usually such a scene would have made me happy - who doesn’t love a white Christmas?

But today it just made me uncomfortable. Today, the sight of the thick snow crystals spinning through the cold air reminded me too much of the stupid insects I had risked my neck for.

If it hadn’t been for Aiden, I don’t know how the situation would have turned out.

“Maggie! Come here please,” my mother called from somewhere deeper inside the house.

Sighing I gave up my semi-peaceful sentry position at the window and once again braved the colorful and noisy chaos that called itself a Rotfuss family gathering.

Our living room was overflowing with relatives of all ages and relation grades. My grandmother was probably somewhere in the middle of it all, lording over the proceedings, while the adults had gathered into little groups and the kids ran around unsupervised for once. Not just blood-relation but also the extended family of all kinds of spouses had clustered into our living room, guaranteeing a wild mix of personalities and people.

I found my mother next to one of her decorations, a small snowed-in plastic castle that usually glittered with thousand tiny lights. Right now though, the plug had vanished - and I mean completely vanished.

My mother looked up, tucking a strand of straight black hair behind her ear. I had inherited fairly little of her more exotic features, which she possessed thanks to her Korean grandmother. Maybe my eyes were a little tilted and my skin quite pale, but otherwise my father’s genes had come through strong.

“Can you take care of this?” She asked me, glancing towards the bustling kitchen. I followed her gaze seeing a clattering knife chasing a bunch of wildly rolling onions across a counter before they disappeared from sight. I fought to suppress a smile. Jo’s mother was running wild.

“Your aunt had a little too much wine.”

I knelt beside her and started patting the empty floor next to the house. “Sure, don’t worry, Mom. I’ll also make sure to keep an eye on Finn.”

“You’re an angel,” she told me before disappearing into the throng and fighting her way back to the kitchen. I continued swishing my hands through the seemingly empty air next to the castle - until my fingertips finally brushed the invisible cable. Sighing I picked it up and fumbled around until I managed to get the plug into the socket correctly. The castle started blinking again and one crisis was averted.

“So this is where you disappeared off to.”

I looked up at Jo, standing next to me with an empty wine glass in her hand. Just like me she had dressed for the occasion, wearing a champagne-colored velvet dress, a small black purse and stockings. Her crystalline gaze wandered over the small castle, glowing without any apparent electrical assistance.

“Finn?”

“Yeah, probably. Did you see him? I promised to keep an eye on him.”

She laughed. “Good luck. You know he won’t be found if he doesn’t want to be.”

I stood up, resisting the impulse to bury my hands in my hair - which for once was tamed into something actually resembling a hairstyle. “I know.”

“Here, this will cheer you up.” She pulled her cell from her purse, presenting me with the screen after some swiping. Colin grinned back at me from her phone, his skin once again unblemished perfection, a pair of red felt antlers planted in his artfully tousled hair. The message underneath the selfie read ‘Happy Holidays’.

“So he did manage on his own.”

After our trip yesterday no one had felt up for a visit with the charming Ms. Jenkins. So instead Jo had simply pressed the full jar into Colin’s reluctant hands and sent him on his way. I guess we could thank our frostbitten faces and especially the bloody dagger sticking out of Jo’s backpack that his protests had been half-hearted at best. 
“Looks like it. And the hag delivered on her promise, it seems.”

“‘Hag’ is a bit harsh, don’t you think? She’s Grandma’s friend after all.”

Jo just shrugged and continued scrolling through her phone. “She almost got us killed. By the way, you still haven’t explained what happened there yesterday. How did these things go from salivating monsters to curled-up corpses in a second?”

Well, how to get out of this … I looked over her shoulder and widened my eyes. “Finn! Sorry, Jo, let’s talk later! I have to get a hold of him before he turns the Christmas tree invisible.”

Not giving her a chance to protest I quickly threw myself into the crowd, trusting that the mass of people would cover me for now. Before I managed to fight my way onto the other side, a hand clasped my upper arm, turning me around to my aunt’s smiling face.

My aunt Patrizia was one of those tall women that towered over other people not only in height but also in presence. She wore heels so high I almost broke my ankles just thinking about them, lot’s of big necklaces over a glittering blouse and tight snake-print leggings. Her make-up was comparable understated, but managed to draw attention to her big grey eyes and away from her slightly too long nose.

“Maggie, here you are. I’ve been looking for you since I arrived.”

Oh no. When my aunt was looking for someone it could only mean one thing.

She had a feeling.

Just like Alice, my aunt had some precognitive abilities. But while Alice’s magic manifested in all kind of forms - dreams, poems, drawings - my aunt always got ‘a feeling’. She never really explained what that meant, but if she walked up to you and said she had a feeling you’d need a coat today, you better damn put one on, no matter the temperatures.

“I have a feeling there’s someone special you haven’t told me about.”

My aunt’s cousin and the sister of her wife, who’d been standing behind her up until now, stepped forward, interest written all over their faces.

“Hello, Aunt Patrizia, Melanie, Beatrice. It’s been so long!”

Melanie, my aunt’s and father’s cousin, which made her my first cousin, once removed, smiled at me, her pudgy cheeks dimpling. “Maggie, how are you? I think we haven’t spoken since Trizi’s birthday. How is school …”

Patrizia shushed her. “Time for niceties later. First, tell me about the boy.”

“What boy?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. The boy! The boy you like.”

As we were standing in a sea of people, of course a lot more curious faces turned in my direction. I felt my cheeks getting hot from all the attention.

“Aunt Patricia …”

“Ah, there he is!”

“What?” For a ludicrous second I thought Aiden had somehow appeared in the middle of my family’s Christmas party, before I felt my phone vibrating against my leg.

“Go on, take it,” my aunt encouraged, curiosity written all over her face.

“I don’t think now is …”

“If you don’t answer it, I will.”

This family … Self-conscious on a new level, I slowly answered the call, not even having to check the screen to know who it was.

“Aiden.”

“Mags.”

His voice was quiet and deep, and I felt my heart beat faster.

He continued: “Merry Christmas.”

If I couldn’t feel the piercing stares of my family my answer would surely have been more eloquent than a mumbled thanks.

“Jo, there you are!”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my aunt lock onto her new target and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Finally feeling like I wasn’t lying under oath, I asked: “Are you spending your evening in the dormitory?”

“Hmm. What about you?”

“With my family.” Which absolutely failed to describe the current situation.

I glanced toward my aunt, who was still talking to Jo - who was smiling happily.

Wait a second …

I followed their glances to one of our big glass sliding doors leading to our small garden. As it was already dark outside the glass worked just like a mirror - a mirror currently displaying Aiden in all his glory, lounging on his couch. He was wearing a loose white shirt and low-hanging sweatpants, and his hair was still slightly damp from his shower.

“Oh, hell.”

Mirror-Aiden’s pierced lip twitched in slight amusement. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s just say I’m really grateful you’re not in the habit of walking around in the nude.”

Mirror-Aiden’s head tilted slightly as he was apparently trying to make sense of my nervous chatter. Meanwhile Aunt Patrizia was looking him over, finally declaring: “Oh well, not as pretty as I’d hoped but I can see the appeal.”

“Especially with those eyes,” Melanie, the traitor, added.

“Yeah, a bit of a bad boy charm - look at those tattoos. Embarrassing on a guy my age but on him …” Jo’s mother added.

Someone kill me now.

Jo was shooting her mother a disgusted glance and swished her hands, making the image disappear.

Before I could react, Patrizia had already walked over to me and snatched the phone from my hand. “Hello, young man? This is Maggie’s aunt. I couldn’t help but overhear that you’re spending your Christmas alone and I simply had to invite you over!” Her eyes flashed mischievously. “Oh no, don’t worry dear, you’re not imposing on anyone! In fact, I insist.”

Well, this just went from bad to worse.