by A and E Kirk
“Matthias!”
“Okay. Sorry. Too soon?”
“Shut up.”
Matthias watched Ayden for several seconds. “You can, you know.” He took another sip of Milo and studied his mug, “You can talk to me. If you need to.”
Ayden gave him a doubtful look. “Because you’re such a chatterbox about feelings?”
“Yeah,” Matthias said, chuckling softly. “You got me there. But I’d be willing to listen. As long as you didn’t make me throw up with all the lovesick dingo crap.”
“Wow. I can see you’re ready to be my emotional rock,” Ayden said good-naturedly, knowing how much it took for Matthias to even attempt this conversation. Then he shook his head. “Thanks. I’ll get better. I just wish everything would stop trying to kill her.”
Matthias bit his tongue on the snide comment that came to mind, and instead put a hand on Ayden’s shoulder. “I know, mate. But being so close, feeling the way you do about her, it’s taking its toll. You aren’t acting like yourself. So for the good of all of us, I really want—”
“If you’re going to tell me to break up with her—”
“Relax. You’re so bloody sensitive. I was going to say I really want to take on the overprotective boyfriend duty with Aurora tonight.”
Ayden stayed quiet for a moment. Then he looked up at Matthias. A small smile played on his lips. “You want boyfriend duty with Aurora?”
Matthias grimaced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I don’t know,” Ayden said wide-eyed, his mischievous grin broadening. “Just how far you planning to take this? Maybe it was a Freudian slip? Should I be worried? Because I want to be clear, this assignment should have no cuddling, kissing, or general making out of any kind. And stay out of her bed, even if she’s not in it because it could give you ideas. And keep your shirt on because getting naked is definitely not part of the deal.”
“Bugger off!” Matthias’ utter disgust gave way to his dimples as he punched Ayden in the arm. “Idiot,” he said. “By the way, if I did tell you to break up with her, any chance you would—”
“Tell you to bugger off? Absolutely.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“You’re such a jerk.”
“I have a reputation to uphold.”
Ayden stood and hooked an arm around Matthias’ neck. “You’re doing a great job.”
OPERATION:
This Never Happened
LOCATION:
Lahey Residence
Matthias sat up in the bed in the Lahey’s guest room. He finished writing in the journal, signing off with his usual, “Love, Matty.” The house was quiet. Finally. And he’d even gotten around to brushing his teeth uninterrupted, then returned to his room without any further conversations. A rare treat.
Matthias had tried calling Tristan again, but no answer. He was probably spending some quality time with his dad at Novo. Matthias just wanted an update since last he heard, Tristan planned to talk to Heather. Hopefully the girl had some answers. They could use a win.
Glancing at the clock, he realized it was later than he thought, but it had taken time to write up the day’s extensive events in the journal. He smiled thinking how much Mum would enjoy hearing about the adventure. As long as everyone had come home safe. She only loved a story with a happy-ever-after ending.
If only she and Bindi had…
He slapped the journal shut, along with the direction of his thoughts.
Sadie had been dosing on the floor, but at the noise, she looked up, studied Matthias for a moment, then jumped on the bed and laid her head in his lap.
“Thanks girl,” he said, petting her head softly. Matthias set the journal on the bedside table on top of the Jane Austen book he had read to Selena earlier. It usually sent her to sleep quickly. She liked his “sleepytime” voice. He wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or not.
“Might as well check on the nitwit now,” he told Sadie as he scratched behind her ears. “Get it over with. At least the first round. You stay here.”
With this kind of dead quiet, he knew all the Laheys were fast asleep. Even the twins who were usually the last to settle in for the night. And the first to wake up. While he admired their curious nature and tenacity – if not their gambling compulsion – they were too nosy for their own good.
And smart. Best for them to stay away.
Matthias listened outside Aurora’s door, and when he heard nothing, opened it, and peeked inside.
She slept on her side, one hand under the pillow, the other clutching the comforter under her chin. Moonbeams streamed in through the window by the tree next to Tristan’s house and shone directly on her face. She looked peaceful. Good. He wanted to keep it that way.
He scanned the room. No predators. No cat, either. He checked the closet. Empty.
The door to the bathroom she shared with Luna was slightly open, the princess nightlight letting off a soft pink glow. He checked that room too. Nothing.
He made sure the windows were secure, but that was more an attempt – probably useless one –to keep out errant Hex Boys rather than demons. The wards around her house were more than capable of stopping hellions before they got anywhere close to a window.
Across the way at Tristan’s house, Matthias didn’t see any lights or movement. He hoped they were all getting much needed sleep. He closed the curtain to keep the moonlight off Aurora in case it woke her, and started to leave, planning to check back in an hour or so.
He had his hand on the doorknob when the whimpering began.
Not loud, but the small noise somehow carried a level of deep despair. He turned. Darkness obscured Aurora’s face, but his powers allowed him to see the frown lines across her forehead. The lines deepened. Her head began moving from side to side. The whimpering rose in volume.
He paused, unsure what to do.
Luna shuffled in through from the bathroom, yawning wide. She stopped when she saw Matthias. Her sleepy eyes registered surprise.
“Hey,” Luna said quietly. “I thought you were Ayden. She wake you up too?”
“Um, no. Was on my way to the kitchen for a snack. Will she be okay? Can I do anything?”
“Thought you didn’t like her much,” Luna said with a smirk.
Matthias thought it best to keep quiet on that score.
Luna sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing a soft hand on Aurora’s back while humming a soothing lullaby.
As Matthias contemplated leaving, the bedroom door opened. Selena shuffled in clutching Bubbles. He shook his head. It was like Grand Central in here.
With eyes half-closed, Selena said, “Hi Matty,” like it was no big deal to see him in her sister’s room in the middle of the night. She walked past him, handed the stuffed platypus to Luna, then laid her head in Luna’s lap and watched Luna lightly brush Bubbles’ face on Aurora’s cheek.
After a few moments, Aurora’s sad noises stopped, and she settled into peaceful sleep again.
Luna kissed Selena on the head. “Worked like a charm. As always.” She handed the stuffed toy back.
Selena took it and walked across the room toward the door. “Night, Matty,” she said as she passed.
At Matthias’ questioning look, Luna said, “Bubbles’ magical kisses.”
“Ah,” Matthias said. “I’ll get her to bed.”
He picked up Selena, who happily went limp and dropped her head on his shoulder. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. After tucking her in, he returned to Aurora’s room. Luna still hummed, her eyes closed as she stroked her sister’s back. Aurora fidgeted, but remained silent.
“How long do you have to do that?” Matthias asked.
“Depends.” Luna shrugged. “This doesn’t seem like a bad one. Not anything compared to when she was in the hospital. They had to give her sedatives to keep her quiet enough so the other patients could sleep. When she finally came home, she still had the nightmare
s but hated using the drugs. Eventually, the nightmares went away, but we all slept in her room for a while. Still do sometimes. Company seems to help. Even if she isn’t fully awake.”
“She seems settled now,” Matthias said.
Luna yawned. “Yeah. Hope she stays that way. She was doing really good, then over the last few months, the nightmares have gotten worse again. Not sure why.”
Matthias had an idea why. Demons. Lots of them.
“Maybe this one’s over,” Luna said. “If it isn’t, Mom or Dad will hear her. Or Ayden will show up before that. I give him a hard time, but since she’s gotten worse, he’s actually been helping out a lot. Seems almost like he feels guilty, but that doesn’t make sense. It’s not his fault.”
Technically, maybe not, but Ayden saw it differently.
Luna yawned again and rubbed her eyes. “Ayden hates seeing her like this. We all do.”
With Aurora finally silent and unmoving, Luna stood and patted Matthias’ arm on the way by. “Thanks. But go to bed. We don’t want to break you again. Aurora would never forgive us. Who would she have to torture?”
He knew it.
Aurora didn’t want her family bothering him, not because she was looking out for him, but because she thought only she should have the pleasure of torturing him. That made much more sense than her being nice.
Luna glanced a sad look at her sister. “Besides, hard as it is, sometimes you just have to let her scream it out.” She sighed and trudged toward the bathroom. “See you in the morning.”
“Yeah,” Matthias said. “Night.”
He knew Ayden had been watching over her, that his anxiety had risen, but tonight was the first time Matthias heard about the nightmares escalating. Aurora certainly wouldn’t mention it. What else did he not know?
He did know he had promised Ayden. So despite her ulterior motives of being his sole torturer, he rolled his eyes and muttered a quiet, “Bloody hell.”
He would stay. Just to be sure she was indeed sleeping soundly.
He wandered around her room. Saw the umbra stone on the table next to her bed. He wasn’t sure what to make of that thing, but felt relief that Selena no longer had her hands on it.
Checking out the bookcase, he mostly found volumes on mythical creatures and mythology folklore. Not only Greek but Egyptian, Roman, all European in general, Asian, African, and North and South American. Sad that he had owned more romance novels that she did.
After picking one on Greek mythology, mainly because he had recently met some of the star players in person, which was cool in a lot of ways, he dropped into a chair and began reading.
But he was tired, and it didn’t take long before his eyelids became heavy, and he fell asleep.
The whimpering began. Matthias jerked awake, startled, not sure where he was. He looked around, then after a moment, he calmed. The Laheys’ house. Aurora’s room.
She whimpered again. Louder. Her face skewed as if she was in pain. Matthias shot up, barely catching the book from his lap before it fell to the floor, and strode toward the bathroom intending to get Luna. Then he paused, closed the bathroom door, and went to stand next to Aurora’s bed. She rocked from side to side, moaning softly.
Matthias pulled the comforter up to her neck and laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. He patted it softly. Unable to remember the tune Luna hummed, he started one his mother used to sing. Aurora quieted for a moment. But then she began moving again. And whimpering. She pushed the covers off. Her pathetic sounds grew louder.
Great.
He looked around, uncertain.
The bedroom door opened. Good. Someone had come to handle the situation.
Sadie pushed her way in, padded over to the bed, and nuzzled her nose under Aurora’s hand. Almost immediately, Aurora quieted again.
But not for long.
Her hand remained on Sadie, but her head started thrashing from side to side. “No, no, no,” she muttered. “No, no…no!”
“Shhhh,” Matthias said.
Sadie looked expectantly at Matthias.
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “You’re better at this than I am. Maybe we should wake her up. Or let her scream it out.”
A tear slid down Aurora’s cheek. Matthias groaned. The dog’s tail wagged and thumped against the mythology book he held in his hand. Matthias started to put it down, then had a thought.
“Be right back,” he told Sadie.
He stuffed the mythology volume onto the shelf, then hurried to his room and returned holding the Jane Austen novel. He opened it to a random page and began reading. He read too fast because he wanted this to work and tried to rush it along.
Aurora’s movements and sounds of distress worsened. Matthias moved closer to the bed so she could hear him without his being so loud it would wake her up, because that would be embarrassing. She’d probably see him and scream, and then they’d have the whole family in here and more talking would ensue and dear God he didn’t want that.
So he made a concerted effort to slow down his delivery and speak in the steady, deep voice that sent Selena to sleep so quickly.
Moments passed. Aurora got a little louder. Matthias kept reading. She became louder. And louder. And louder.
Matthias felt the beginnings of panic, but kept reading.
Then suddenly, the noises, the movement, all began to subside. After several minutes, Aurora quieted altogether. Her brow smoothed, and she returned once again to a silent slumber.
Sadie wagged her tail. Matthias smiled. “Well, it was your idea. Nice work.”
He continued reading, wondering how long before he could quit. It seemed to keep her settled, so he sat down in the chair and kept going.
Until he heard someone at the window. Matthias froze and stopped reading. The curtain fluttered as the window squeaked open. Matthias looked at the book in his hand, then at Aurora, who didn’t seem to be waking, but if she did, her and the Boys would never let him live this down. He gestured at Sadie to get out. She quickly padded out of the room just as the window opened fully and someone started to push the curtain aside.
Matthias lurched up and dove behind the chair.
Ayden. The idiot. Why couldn’t he trust that Matthias would take care of things?
“Aurora?” Jayden whispered. “I have some queries for you regarding the cipher. Do you think Aunt M would more likely use a coded algorithm which…Aurora?”
Peeking from behind the chair, Matthias saw Jayden shake Aurora’s shoulder. When she didn’t respond, he shook her again. Undoing all the work Matthias had put in to keeping her asleep. Matthias resisted the urge to throttle his friend and instead started to army-crawl toward the door. He needed to get out of here before Jayden woke her.
“Hmmm?” Aurora hummed.
Matthias stopped.
Jayden sat on the bed. “I wanted to discuss the cipher.”
Aurora made a groggy noise, then muttered, “Don’t like typfers. Go ways.”
“Typfer? No, the cipher. Are you listening?” Jayden shook her again, but Aurora swatted him away.
“Listen…no…shut…need five.” She mumbled something unintelligible, then swatted him one last time and rolled over.
“This is urgent business, but very well,” Jayden said with a yawn. “I will give you a few moments to collect yourself to a more aware state while I review.”
Jayden climbed onto the other side of the bed and arranged himself sitting up. He turned on a mini flashlight and held it in his mouth, pointing the light at a stack of papers in his lap, which he studied, and occasionally wrote notes.
Matthias briefly considered revealing himself, but now it was extremely awkward, and he’d have to explain why he was hiding in the first place. Which he’d rather not. Ever. But Jayden didn’t look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. Unless…
Using his powers, Matthias darkened the room and snuffed out Jayden’s flashlight beam slowly until it went
out.
Jayden shook the flashlight. Banged it against his hand, but the light didn’t turn on. Then Sadie pushed the door open and entered the room, ignoring Matthias who gestured for her to get out, and trotted directly to Jayden who petted and fawned over her as she made happy dog noises.
While she caused a distraction, Matthias darkened the room even further and continued the army-crawl across the floor. He was almost to the threshold when two glowing eyes appeared from the darkness blocking his path. Matthias bit down a startled noise, shocked that a demon had gotten in so easily.
Oh. Wait.
Van Helsing stared at Matthias with a look that somehow conveyed utter distain. The feeling was mutual, but he held his breath and silently begged the infuriating feline to stay silent and not give him away.
The end of the cat’s tail flicked back and forth. He bared his teeth in a silent hiss. Then he blinked once, turned with a haughty air, and sauntered down the hallway.
Fan-bloody-tastic.
Matthias let out the breath he held. Just a few more inches and he was home free.
“Matthias,” came a soft whisper.
The Aussie dropped his face to the floor. This just wasn’t his night. He whispered back, “Yes, Jayden?”
“Are you actually under the delusion that I could not ascertain the subtle use of you darkening the room or the difference between my flashlight battery dying and you instigating your powers?”
“I was kind of hoping. Obviously.”
“Well, hope no more, because I can.”
“I’m getting that now.”
“I am also aware of your blood flow and your heart beat and general anatomical relevance.”
“Right. Said I get it.”
“In addition, before entering the room, I heard you reading aloud to Aurora.”
Matthias bopped his forehead on the floor a few times. Brilliant. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you immediately attempted to hide, and I therefore concluded that you preferred I remain unaware of your presence. Is that a correct interpretation of your behavior?”
“Yes. Yes it is.”