“Yeah, I’ve never taken you for a cat lady, Caroline.” Deacon reached out and scratched the fat one’s head. “Or any kind of pet, for that matter.”
“I know!” She giggled and pulled the fat one down into her arms, then rubbed its belly. “But these two…do you not recognize them? These are the two who found us in Central Park.”
I gasped. “Really?” I’d almost forgotten about that.
“Yep. This big boy here? This is Gus-Gus, because he reminds me of the little fat rat from Cinderella. The healers tell me he’s stress eating.” She held her hand out and snapped her fingers, then the tiny cat jumped up and landed in her palm. “This is Zeus. He’s the one who was injured that Gus-Gus called us to. The healers say he’s recovering nicely.”
I frowned. “Zeus? Like the Greek God?”
“Yup.” She grinned. “Because he loves lightning and he’s a total flirt with every girl he sees.”
At that, I laughed. “And they’re your pets now?”
Caroline shrugged. “They refuse to leave my side. And I found I quite like that.”
Deacon whistled. “A boyfriend and pet cats. What an upgrade.”
“I know, right?” She winked. “Now, c’mon, let me show you around the youth building.”
“The youth building?”
“Oh, right.” Deacon turned to me and shrugged. “That was my call. I figured this city is intimidating enough as it is. Thought it might be best for the younger students to have their own wing.”
I blinked and pursed my lips. “Are the kids separated in Edenburg?”
“No, but that school is a world of its own. It’s a totally different mindset.”
“True. Very true.” I smiled and took his hand. “I think that was a great judgment call. Let’s go see the kid wing.”
By the time we got two buildings over to the Youth Building, I was exhausted and had a list of things I wanted to work on. My thumb was already aching from how much typing I’d done on my phone. Some of the tasks were little – like add more lights and the hallways were too cold. Other tasks were bigger – like brainstorming ways to help witches and shifters feel more comfortable together. Granted, that list wasn’t very good. Which was why I had a note to call Chutney and pick her brain.
A pair of double glass doors opened automatically as we approached…and then bright golden light washed over me. I blinked and walked inside.
“All right, this is the kid wing.”
The kid wing looked exactly the same as the rest of the school except it had brighter, softer lights. There were even lockers.
“Which ages are over here?” Deacon asked from behind me.
“Currently, K through seventh grade.”
I frowned and glanced over my shoulder at her. “Why seventh grade and not eighth?”
She shrugged. “Because eighth graders are teenagers, and they think they’re grownups – so they might as well be with the older students. Seventh and under are still kids. Puberty hasn’t claimed them all yet.”
“Oh. Okay. Makes sense.”
Deacon leaned back on his heels. “Why currently?”
Caroline smiled. “Because Headmaster Muller tells me local parents are inquiring about pre-school options.”
My eyes widened. “Pre-school? As in…toddlers?”
Deacon threw his head back and laughed. “Goddess, I miss New York.”
Caroline chuckled. “Obviously that’s just talk. Dad said he would bring it up to The Coven and see how you all felt.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m not making that call. You’ll have to speak to Tennessee on that one.”
“What she said.” Then Deacon frowned. “Do little kids need lockers? Did we have lockers as kids? I can’t recall.”
“Honestly, I can’t either. But Amelia has been my little informant and apparently the kids want lockers.” She bit her lip. “Unless that’s a problem?”
I thought about it for a second. “Well, as long as they’re taught how to use them…and we ensure there are no bullies locking little kids in their lockers.”
Caroline’s smile turned wicked. She tapped on the lockers. “Oh, no, these are magical lockers. That can’t happen at this school at all. Mom has all kinds of spells on them.”
I sighed. “I love magic.”
“Hey, speaking of Amelia…” Deacon shoved his hands into his pockets. “How is my little cousin doing with all this? I’ve asked her, but she acts tough.”
“She’s loving every second of it.” Caroline chuckled. She strolled over to a door then tapped on the wall beside it. “Have a look for yourself.”
I skipped over and peeked through the window in the door. Deacon leaned over me and rested his chin on my head. Inside the classroom there were about twenty-ish twelve-year-olds waving wands around. I scanned each face until I spotted the one that looked strikingly like Deacon.
Amelia held a crystal-tipped wand in hand, grinning from ear to ear. Her pale blonde hair was tied in pigtail braids with purple ribbons at the bottom. She waved her wand around and little flashes of magic sparked from the end.
“This is a Wands class, to teach them how to use their wands.”
Deacon scoffed and his breath brushed over my forehead. “I want a wand.”
“Actually…so do I.” I chuckled. “Can you believe I never got one?”
“What? How is that possible? You attended Edenburg.”
“Yeah, for like two days.” I watched the kids try to make magic from their wands. “And in that time, I was instructed to be in the Swords and Pentacles classes for fine-tuning my combat abilities and opening a school of magic skills.”
Deacon grimaced. “Tough break. We’ll get you one when we get back to Eden.”
I nodded. I wanted one very badly. Without it I felt like an imposter in the Wands Suit.
Ariana Grande’s voice echoed up and down the hall. Caroline cursed and dove into her pocket. She pulled out her cellphone then silenced it. “Shit. It’s later than I thought. Do you mind if I bail on you for today? I really, really like my afternoon classes.”
Deacon chuckled. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“Thanks for showing us around.”
“No problem.” She started back down the hall, then suddenly stopped and glanced back at us. “Hey Deacon?”
He arched one blond eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Don’t you dare let Emersyn miss seeing Christmas in New York.” She winked and disappeared through the doors.
I frowned. “Why did that sound like a threat?”
Deacon laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Because it was, Butterberry…and it’s warranted. Christmas in New York is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
I arched one eyebrow. “Yeah, you’re gonna have to prove that.”
He grinned. “Challenge accepted.”
Chapter Four
Emersyn
“Did you tell your parents we’d be out for dinner tonight?”
Deacon looked up from typing on his phone. “Literally just did. Mom was relieved, she had plans this evening and didn’t want you to think she was ignoring you. She really is trying to do better. It’s kinda nice, actually. I mean, we had a home cooked meal last time. That was huge, and it was because of you.”
I bumped my shoulder into him as we rounded the corner onto Fifth Avenue. “Glad I can be of service.”
“Though your fried chicken was better than Stedman’s,” Deacon said with a chuckle. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me close to his body just as a huge crowd almost barreled me over.
“Of course it is. I’m a southern woman. Fried chicken is what we do — WHOA!” I froze. My jaw dropped and my breath left me in a white cloud. My pulse quickened. Fire coiled around my wrists, ready to attack. “What’s going on?”
Deacon grimaced. He glanced left and right, glaring at all the people lined up like one of Bettina’s frozen statues on the sidewalk. “Trump Tower.”
I sighed and all of my sudden anxiety di
sappeared. “Oh. Donald Trump. Right. Human president.”
“I keep forgetting that dude is the President now and this corner is always a nightmare. I should’ve taken us down another block before cutting over.” He growled. “I don’t even care about his politics right now, I just care that he has to be here while in office. Makes everything nuts. New York ain’t got time for this.”
I shook my head at the dozens of people desperately taking pictures and videos of the building. “But like…do they know he’s not out there? You can’t see him, so why the craze? Although I will admit that the massive wreath on the wall there is pretty epic. Also, do New Yorkers use the word ain’t?”
Deacon grinned and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You think that is great? Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” He squeezed my side and led me forward, into the thick of the crowd.
I kept my head down while we walked, concentrating only on the feet of the constant rush of people stampeding toward us. The one thing I’d noticed about New York City was that it always felt like I was swimming upstream. At all times. I never felt like I was in the right walking lane. It was that video game Frogger but with people, and if a bus ran you over you didn’t get to restart. Or a taxi.Those drivers were insane. And the pedestrians seemed to not care about getting run over because they just went. Without looking. It was a wild kind of jungle here.
Not that Deacon noticed. I glanced up at him and found him smirking, like the chaos was entertaining to him. There was a chance he was sensing my desire to set a garbage can on fire just to clear the sidewalk a little bit. He probably would enjoy watching me do it. Luckily, he wasn’t encouraging me to.
Crowds had never bothered me, but I’d never seen a crowd like this.
Then again, nothing was like New York City.
It was an amazing place…despite the sensory overload.
Especially at night. This city lit up in the dark. There were lights everywhere – some flashing, some twinkling, some shining bright like the North Star. My eyes didn’t know where to look first. I loved the way the colored lights reflected off the streets and cars – it made the exhaust from the cabs and honking horns bearable.
There was an electricity in the air, bouncing all around us. I felt it tingling against my skin, and that was nothing compared to the way it mixed with my magic. This place was a living entity all of its own, like an actual breathing person. That was the part of this city I liked the most.
I could’ve done without the single digit temperatures, at least in a setting where I couldn’t summon fire into my palms —though I was seriously considering it. I pulled my wool coat tighter around myself, then hugged closer to Deacon’s body. I was the one with literal fire in my veins yet his body was warmer. Just wasn’t fair.
Then something Deacon said registered. I looked up at him as we stopped at a corner and cars flew by us. “Did you specifically bring us to this crowded street?”
He grinned and nodded. “Yep.”
I frowned. “Why? I’m assuming you have a reason.”
“Of course I do.” He winked then pointed to the other side of Fifth Avenue. “And you’re about to see it.”
“See what?” I followed his point…and my eyes widened.
Over the heads of dozens of people just standing still on the sidewalk, and across four lanes of cars rushing by, there was a building decked out in Christmas lights. The building itself was several stories high, but the ground floor was what caught my attention. Along the sidewalk, the single building stretched the entire length of the block. There were about a dozen massive windows surrounded by hundreds of shimmering white lights. Each window had something inside of it, some kind of display, but we were too far away and there were too many people. All I saw were bright colored lights.
“What is this place?” I heard myself whisper.
Deacon chuckled. “This is the Saks Fifth Avenue. They do the best Christmas windows and light show—”
“Light show?”
Deacon held his wrist up and looked at his watch – then grinned. He paused, then pointed to the building. “Any second now—”
Loud trumpets blared into the air followed by little chirps. Light flashed and my jaw hit the ground. The entire side of the building was covered in Christmas lights that clustered together to make a massive castle that Cinderella would envy. There were towers and turrets, and big swoopy drapes – all made of lights. Red and white. Flashes of pink and greens. Instrumental music sang through the streets, and with each beat the lights changed.
Lights flashed and pulsed, they twinkled and strobed along with the holiday tune. Symbols and shapes appeared then vanished. My gaze bounced around like a kid in a candy shop, trying to soak in every detail. It was amazing. It was incredible. It was something I would’ve expected to see at Disney World, not right there on Fifth Avenue.
I found myself bouncing along with the music. My cheeks burned so I knew I was grinning, but I couldn’t help myself. This was awesome. I’d always heard there was nothing like Christmas in New York and I guessed I finally understood why. I may have been preoccupied by the crowd while walking, but I hadn’t missed the holiday décor everywhere.
Deacon chuckled and pulled me in front of him, then wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I leaned against his chest as the show dazzled me.
As the music hit its final notes, I sighed. “That was…”
“I know,” Deacon said and dropped his arms. “I had to bring you.”
I spun and pushed up on my tiptoes then gave him a little kiss. “Thank you. That was amazing — wait, did you say Christmas windows?”
He nodded and pointed behind me. “Oh yeah. Want to go over there and see? I stopped here to watch the show.”
“Can we? Please?”
He laughed and took my hand, then pulled me into the street. We rushed across the crosswalk as the little ticker counted down for the green light. When we made it over, I gripped Deacon’s hand and let him push our way through the crowd.
The first window had a woman in a stunning red gown standing in the snow, surrounded by red Christmas trees and a big fluffy white poodle. Another window featured a blonde woman lounging atop a piano with a long Rapunzel-like braid and trumpets hanging from the ceiling – and a sparkly poodle. A group of women pushed in beside me, so I skipped over to the next window.
I knew there were shoes and other things to see in this one, but all my eyes saw was a dragon made entirely of crystals. I pulled my phone out and snapped a picture, then texted it to our Coven group chat and said, Should we show this to Lonan?
My phone vibrated immediately, but I shoved it back into my coat pocket. I just wanted to focus on the windows. Besides, I heard Deacon chuckling behind me, so I knew he was answering the texts. A few of the windows were too crowded, I hurried down to where a couple had just stepped aside, then slid up to the window.
My jaw dropped. “This one is my favorite,” I whispered to no one and anyone within ear shot.
A couple of women even mumbled back their agreements. This window had a blonde mannequin standing in a winter wonderland. There was snow, icicles, a grand sparkly chandelier, and a puffy poodle looking into a grand vintage-looking mirror. The mannequin wore an elegant couture gown I knew Caroline had to own.
After a few long moments, I turned and found Deacon standing right behind me. His violet eyes sparkled like the Christmas lights on the building beside us.
He grinned and leaned back on his heels. “Happy, Butterberry?”
“Yes.” I sighed and looked around. “Are there more stores with displays?”
“Oh, yeah—”
“Can we see them?” I gripped the lapels of his coat and pulled myself closer. “Please?”
He grinned and took my hand. “As you wish.”
We spent the next hour walking all over the east side of town. I knew by the numbered blocks we hadn’t gone that far, but the crowd was thick and there was just so much to see. Each store had done their own thi
ng but went all out. Tiffany’s windows had a breakdancing robot that was the same color as their iconic brand. Tommy Hilfiger was decked out in gold and silver balls. Cartier wrapped itself in a giant red bow – which was one of my favorites of the night.
Over on Madison Avenue the trees were wrapped in white lights. The David Yurman store showed a family of polar bears. The FAO Schwarz had a magical display of toys that made me want to go inside but Deacon stopped me. He promised me it would be mass hysteria in there on a Friday night before Christmas. He also promised to take me back so I could get something for Bentley – because I was going to need time to look since my little brother acted older than I did.
And then we turned the corner and I saw it.
The giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
“Ah yes, the main event,” Deacon said softly.
“Wow. I’ve seen a million pictures of this but…”
“I know. It’s not the same as in person.”
“I wonder how many lights it took to do that?”
Deacon chuckled. “I wonder how many people it took to light it.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Can we get closer?”
“I’ll see your closer and raise you an ice skating adventure.”
I gasped. “Shut up, really? Can we? You don’t think we’re too old? Is it a kid thing? I don’t care, I wanna do it. Do you want to? Is it expensive? I heard there’s long lines for it, do you—”
He pressed his fingers to my lips and shook his head. “Easy, killer.”
I giggled. “Sorry. I got excited.”
“Goddess, you’re adorable.”
Heat filled my cheeks and butterflies danced in my stomach. “I’m sorry?”
He shook his head and laughed. “No, you’re not. C’mon, let’s go skate.”
Chapter Five
Deacon
Emersyn hadn’t stopped smiling since the light show at Saks started. I was rather thrilled myself for the evening’s success. I’d always loved ice skating at Rockefeller Center – or even Central Park – but somewhere along the way my friends had all decided they were too cool for it. Both my human and arcana friends. So even though I was trying to act cool on the outside, on the inside I was downright giddy.
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