Chapter 208
The return trip was as terrifying as the first. By the time they reached the den, Katelina was so thankful to be alive that she'd forgotten to be angry. She hurried out of the car and into the relative safety of the house, bags in her hands. Rachel had insisted that she pick out food for the Christmas party.
Christmas party. Two words that didn't fit her surroundings.
Jorick met her just inside the door. She grabbed his arm and whispered, "She's a terrifying driver. Don't make me ride with her again!"
His laughter was too amused for her liking.
While they'd been gone, Kale, Saeed, and the twins had finished cleaning the downstairs. With the wallpaper nearly dry, someone had hung a few pictures. Rachel squealed appreciatively and gave Kale a kiss, as though he was solely responsible.
The refrigerator didn't work, so they put Katelina's food in a snow drift next to the back door. As Katelina was tying up the bags, she noticed a figure lumping towards her, dragging something. Her heart caught in her throat and her imagination turned the silhouette into a blood thirsty vampire with a dead body. As the figure drew closer, she realized it was only Joseff dragging a pine tree.
He stomped past her with a snarl and made a point to slam the door behind him. She flipped him off, then marched inside and slammed the door extra hard.
By the time she had her winter gear off, the vampires had the Christmas tree situated in the living room and Rachel was giving orders.
"Ah, there you are! Jorick said you like to decorate!" She shoved a package of bulbs into Katelina's hands, then called over her shoulder, "Alex, where's the music?"
"Coming up!" He sat his laptop on the couch. After a few key clicks, a tinny rendition of "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" flooded the room.
Katelina held the glass ornaments stupidly and looked for Jorick. He'd already drifted towards the door, and she suspected he'd soon be impossible to locate. He offered her a smile that said she was right and stepped neatly into the next room.
Rachel followed Katelina's gaze. "Some people just don't like Christmas. Now come on!"
Like a bizarre television scene, the vampires decorated the tree with ornaments and tinsel, while Christmas carols played. Saeed appeared with a box of old candles and decorations. Rachel cheerfully dived into it. As she tugged out various pieces, she related random stories to anyone within earshot. Katelina assumed they were connected to the ornaments, but she wasn't sure what some of them had to do with Christmas.
Though she tried to stay out of Joseff's way, it wasn't easy. Rachel hovered around her, chattering, and where Rachel was, Joseff was, his dark eyes burning. She wasn't sure if the intensity in his gaze was hatred for her, or some unspoken emotion for Rachel. Either way, it made her uncomfortable.
When the tree was done, Kale and Joseff lit the candles. Two words summed up Katelina's opinion of real candles on Christmas trees: fire hazard. She wasn't the only one.
"Aren't those dangerous?" Yaul asked.
"Only if you're not careful," Rachel said. She looked at Katelina, "Where's Jorick? You'd better find him."
Katelina started to point out that he didn't like Christmas, then surrendered and hurried away. She found Jorick hiding in an upstairs room, his nose in the same tatty paperback he'd been reading last night.
"Where did you get that?"
"I brought it with us, in case there was a lull."
She rolled her eyes. "What is with your reading obsession?" It was a rhetorical question. "They're lighting the tree. Rachel sent me to fetch you."
He looked like he might argue, then relented. "All right."
As he followed her down the stairs, she asked, "Why didn't you stay? I know you hate Christmas because of Velnya but-"
He tugged her to a stop. "It has nothing to do with her." He gave a heavy sigh. "I've let most of my past go, but there are some things-" He shook his head. "When I was- young, religion was a topic of bloody debate. People died - lots of people died - because of what they did or did not believe. It fueled the war that killed my sister. God, Christmas, religion, none of it is a comforting subject."
Katelina didn't know what to say. Silently, she squeezed his hand and then, she found a handful of words. "Religion has nothing to do with Christmas or God or any of the rest of it. That's just a bunch of stupid man-made excuses they use to prove they're better than someone else. Most of the people who use religion to kill or condemn don't really believe. They just use it as a shield to hide behind, so they don't have to admit that they're really after power or money or whatever." Jorick stared at her strangely, so she cleared her throat. "Anyway, Christmas doesn't have much to do with religion anymore, so you might as well enjoy it."
"Christmas, as you know it, never did. But enough. We don't want to miss the tree lighting."
As they headed down the stairs, Katelina racked her brain for what historical event he'd been referencing. She knew he was turned in the 1500s in the Netherlands, and that there had been a war with Spain. What she wouldn't give for an internet connection and a computer!
She thought of Alex's laptop as they walked through the living room door, but the lights were already off. She and Jorick stopped just inside and stood, eyes on the warm, flickering glow. Something about the candles, the smell of the pine tree and the soft strains of Silent Night made her chest tighten. Christmases past played through her mind; with her mother, Sarah, Patrick. Of all of the holidays, this was the most bizarre, and yet, standing in the glow of the flickering candles, her head against Jorick's chest, it seemed the most right.
