by Lissa Dobbs
*****
It was Yuletide night, and the boys were waiting for Sir Klaus, just like always. Morgan had put them to bed and looked around the flat. There were only a few small decorations, a single red candle surrounded by holly leaves. Morgan had scraped together just enough coin to get each child a small gift, and she was waiting for them to fall asleep before she put them out. Justin was out on assignment, and she had no idea when he’d be back, but this wasn’t unusual. There were times she was out on assignment as well.
A thumping outside the flat brought Morgan to her feet, knife in hand and golden light flaring around her right hand. Her babies were in this house, and she’d be damned if someone, or something, was going to get to them.
Morgan moved toward the door and placed her back against the wall. She cracked it open carefully, to avoid being heard, and peered into the hallway. An incandescent lamp at each end provided tiny pools of illumination that caused more shadows than light. Movement at the end of the hall drew her gaze, and she squinted and tried to make out what it was.
A shadow filled the hallway, and Morgan eased out the door and pulled it shut behind her. She took a step forward. Then another. The thing in front of her rustled, a scratching noise that made her think of paint being pulled from the walls, then grunted. It moved forward, and Morgan tensed, ready to fight with blade or magic, anything to protect her children.
“Dammit.”
“Justin?”
The shadow in front of her rustled again, and Justin’s head poked out from behind the branches of a fir tree. “Yeah, it’s me. Wanna give me a hand?”
Morgan laughed, and the tension drained from her shoulders. Her heart, bound in the iron of fear, raced from its cage, and she leaned against the wall for a moment. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” Justin replied. His voice softened and became sheepish. “I just wanted to surprise you.”
Morgan moved down the hall and grabbed one side of the tree. She helped Justin drag it down the hall and into their flat. Once it was set up and ready to decorate, she jumped into his arms and kissed him. “Thank you,” she said. “The kids’ll love it…”