Wonder: A Soul Savers Collection of Holiday Short Stories & Recipes (9 page)

GRATITUDE

This last short story for the Thanksgiving part of the collection returns us to the lives of Alexis, Tristan, and the rest of the gang from the main series. Please note especially for this one that it does not fit in any particular place in the main Soul Savers Series. What happens in this short may never be a part of the events in the main storyline and the events of the main storyline are only vaguely relevant to the plot here. I’ve tried to write it so that if you have not read up to
Wrath
(Book 5) in the main series, you won’t be completely spoiled here. However, your curiosity may be piqued. I hope it is! And for those who are completely caught up on the series, I hope you enjoy this extra little glimpse into the lives of the Knights and the Amadis.

Ch
apter 1

I stepped through the backdoor and into our shining white kitchen, finding it surreal to even be here on Sanibel Island, let alone back in our own home. My fingers trailed over the granite countertop of the island as Tristan and Dorian followed me inside. Sasha bounded in, passed all of us, and ran through the house, checking things out. Of course, I’d already done a mental sweep for mind signatures before we’d even come close, but the lykora wouldn’t be too careful. She’d become more protective of my son than ever.

I headed into the living room and stood in front of the windows, staring out at the Gulf of Mexico as it spread out to the horizon. The November sun remained warm in this part of the world, and it shone brightly in the western sky, reflecting off the water. From the Amadis Island, I’d seen the same sun set over the Aegean Sea many times, but it felt different here.

“It’s good to be back,” Tristan murmured in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“I guess,” I said. “It’s
ours
, at least. No one else can tell us what to do here. But there’s just so much going on. I feel like it’s too much of a luxury to spend even one night here.”

“It does feel like another world, doesn’t it?”

“A little too peaceful. Too tranquil,” I agreed. We’d seen so much war lately, so much fighting and blood and lives lost, that being here—
home
—while our people were still battling around the world felt wrong.

“Does that mean you don’t want to watch the sunset with me?” His breath was hot against my ear, sending a shock of tingles to my core.

He took my hand and dragged me outside to the beach. He plopped onto the sand and pulled me down with him, positioning me between his legs and my back against his chest, just like old times. I breathed deeply, trying to relax, wanting to feel the contentment this would have once brought me, but unable to.

“Sometimes we have to stop and appreciate this beautiful world so we can remember what we’re fighting for,” Tristan said, his voice low, nearly a whisper.

“I know you’re right,” I said with a sigh, “but it still feels wrong. I feel like I’m betraying our soldiers who are out there fighting this very minute.”

“It’s not like you’ve abandoned them, Alexis. We’re here for a reason.”

Of course, we were. This stop hadn’t been for personal reasons, to ‘go home again.’ We couldn’t afford such luxuries. The Captiva Island colony needed a visit from leadership. They needed a morale boost, and since this was the place I still liked to call home, who better than royalty herself to make the visit? I hadn’t come alone, of course. Besides Tristan and Dorian, we had a whole entourage—Blossom, Jax, Charlotte, Owen, Sheree, and Vanessa had joined us. They’d all gone on over to Captiva, Blossom and Jax to check out her house, Charlotte and Sheree to the safe house, and Owen and Vanessa to the condo the Amadis had bought for him, my protector, a lifetime ago. So much had changed since then ...

“Yes, we’re here for a reason. We should get our butts over to the safe house sooner rather than later.”

Tristan blew out a breath. “Will you at least let me enjoy the sunset? Do you know how long it’s been?”

I did. Because although I’d ‘seen’ many sunsets from the Amadis Island, I hadn’t really
seen
them. I hadn’t stopped to appreciate their beauty, to admire God’s artistic talent, to be reminded of their meaning, that we’d made it through another day. And this had always meant a lot to Tristan, so I sat there with him, trying to embrace what he’d said about needing to remember what we fought for—this beautiful planet and the people on it.

His lips peppered the skin on my neck and shoulder as the sun descended, and I did allow myself to enjoy that for a few minutes. Our time alone for intimacy had become so rare. But as soon as the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, my conscience was nagging at me. Blossom had telepathically told me that she was picking up Dorian and Sasha and taking them to the safe house, and I knew we needed to get there, too.

“We should go,” I said, my voice husky and my body filled with desire.

Tristan gathered me into his arms and flashed. We didn’t appear at the safe house, though. Instead, we stood in our bedroom.

“I’d like some time with my wife first.” His eyes sparked, his mouth lifted in a sublime and inviting grin, and I succumbed.

Night had fallen completely by the time we did arrive at the safe house. I’d already sensed the depressed mind signatures in the colony as soon as we’d come close enough, but seeing everyone’s faces really drove it home. Most of those who remained here weren’t fighters. They were our weaker members, staying behind and close together, while their spouses, parents, and children went off to fight the Daemoni and protect human souls. I spoke with each of them, telling them what I knew about their loved ones and reminding them that if we all stayed strong and united, we’d beat the Daemoni. And then I gave a lame rally speech to the entire group, promising them what I promised everyone.

“I will personally kill Lucas,” I said to them, my voice as fierce as ever. “And we will destroy the Daemoni from top to bottom and everywhere in between.”

My speech was met with applause, but I still sensed defeat as a thin veil hovering over the colony.

“They need something more,” Sheree, one my favorite Weres, said after my core group had gathered in my office, filling it to capacity. I sat behind my desk with Tristan standing beside me, and the rest had scattered themselves around the room.

“I have an idea,” Blossom said from her perch on the side of my desk. She faced the group at first, but then she turned toward me with a glint in her hazel eyes, twisting her blond hair around a finger. “This week is Thanksgiving. How about we stay and prepare a real Thanksgiving dinner for the entire colony?”

“Like we have so much to be thankful for,” Vanessa muttered, rolling her ice-blue eyes and tossing her white-blond hair. I couldn’t help but agree with the vampire’s sarcasm.

“We still have lots,” Blossom said defiantly.

“We do,” Sheree agreed, “and a coming together like this and sharing it with everyone will remind them that we do.”

I peered around the room, gauging everyone’s expressions for their reactions so I wouldn’t have to tap into their minds. I tried not to invade privacy when I didn’t have to. Charlotte looked to her son and to Vanessa, then at me. She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“We do have some things,” she agreed, though I could hear the reluctance in her voice. We’d lost so much, both of us ... all of us. She knew that’s what I was thinking.

Jax, another favorite Were, cleared his throat. “I think your ‘thanksgiving’ is a tad different than Australia’s. What’s the big deal?”

Blossom explained the American Thanksgiving tradition of turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings, watching or playing football, and eating yourself into a food coma.

“You don’t give thanks for anythin’?” Jax asked as he rubbed his bald head.

“Well, yeah, silly,” Blossom said, lightly punching his thick arm. “We do that before we eat, but really the whole day is about spending time with family and friends and celebrating all that we have to be grateful for.”

“Well, it sounds all right to me,” the were-croc said. “Why not?”

Everyone’s eyes came to me then, filled with expectation. I inwardly grimaced, the part of me that rebelled against having to be the decision-maker all the time rising. But I no longer had a choice. And this decision was pretty easy. As nice as a real Thanksgiving dinner sounded, we just couldn’t afford to take that time out.

“We can’t stay here that long,” I said, and I looked to Tristan, who was always my voice of reason. He’d surely back me up.

He cocked his head. “Weren’t we just talking about how we needed to stop to appreciate what we’re fighting for?”

I stared at him for a long minute with annoyance.
Argh. Is he ever wrong?

“
Not often
,” he silently replied, and I glared at him. “
Let’s give this to them,
ma lykita
. They deserve it—your team as much as anyone.
”

My eyes swept over the group once more. Owen, who leaned against the bookshelves, shrugged. He, too, knew how I felt, and he, too, would rather be fighting. He was a warlock, after all. But I also knew he, too, would enjoy a respite, especially a break from having to guard me so closely. His job had become more important than ever.

Sheree and Blossom both begged me with their eyes. How I loved their optimism and generosity. But they hadn’t experienced the recent sense of loss as I had. As Tristan, Charlotte, Owen, and Dorian had. Not at the same magnitude. They also didn’t have the same drive to fight. They were the weights that balanced the rest of us. And maybe this time they were right.

“You really think we can prepare a Thanksgiving feast for all of these people on such short notice?” I asked, and Blossom’s eyes lit up.

“I’m a witch, Alexis,” she said. “We can be quite resourceful.”

I looked again at Tristan, and he nodded.

“All right,” I said with a sigh of resignation. “We’ll stay for Thanksgiving and give the colony a boost of happiness. But first thing Friday morning, we’re on our way. These aren’t the only people who need us. Our troops are literally dying for us.”

Everyone gave a somber nod, then Blossom excitedly rattled off some menu and decorating ideas, her mind going a hundred-miles-an-hour like it always did, and everyone else began jumping in. Before long, the office sounded as though it held a large crowd with all of the chatter about favorite dishes and family traditions. Nobody could forget that in a few days we’d have to return to the war, but for now, everyone obviously liked the idea of having something good to focus on.

If only it could last.

Cha
pter 2

My eyes peeled open the next morning to sunshine pouring through the curtained window, and it took me a moment to realize I lay in my own bed in my own home. Part of me wanted to enjoy this luxury, but a bigger part of me squirmed inwardly with guilt. I stretched and rolled over, right into Tristan’s waiting arms. A beautiful grin stretched across his face before he planted a kiss on my forehead.

“Good morning,
ma lykita
.”

“Morning,” I answered, and I snuggled into him, wishing his strong arms could push away the ever present feeling of dread.

Even when things were relatively quiet, like they had been for the last couple of weeks, I couldn’t shake the feeling that anything could happen at any moment. Small battles with the Daemoni waged all over the world as they increased the frequency of their attacks, but it was only a matter of time before it all escalated into a major war. Of course, the timing of it could possibly be up to us. I was sure Lucas and the Ancients waited for the Amadis to respond to their last devastating attack. Although we were building up for it, we simply didn’t have the numbers that our enemy did. And I didn’t think Lucas would wait too long to be on the defensive. Soon enough, he would go on the offensive again. I just hoped our people were ready when he did.

“
Alexis, are you up?
” Blossom’s voice said in my head. I didn’t have to search far for her mind signature.

“Did you know Blossom’s in our kitchen?” I asked Tristan.

“I heard Dorian let her in a few minutes ago.”

“And you weren’t going to say anything?”

“Oh, I was about to. I felt you tensing up with whatever is going on in your head. She’ll be a good distraction for you.”

“I don’t need a
distraction
. If anything, I need to focus more. People’s lives depend on us, and here we are planning some stupid—”

“Lex, do you really think any of us would have agreed to this Thanksgiving idea if people’s lives were at stake?”

I pushed myself up on my elbows and glared at him. “They’re always at stake, Tristan! The Normans’ souls are in danger every day with the Daemoni running around like they are.”

“And we have people out there.”

“Exactly. Fighting while we’re sleeping in our nice, comfortable bed and planning a party.”

He pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “We all do our share,
ma lykita
, especially you and the rest of us here. Everyone deserves a break, even us.”

“
Alexis?
”

Ugh. Yeah, Blossom, I’m up. What do you need?

“
I kind of hoped you’d go grocery shopping with me
.”

My eyes narrowed as I returned my attention to my husband. “Blossom wants me to go to the market with her, Tristan. To the market! And the day before yesterday I was covered in blood from a vampire attack.”

“And so was she. She needs this, Lex. They all do, or they’ll start getting sloppy. You can’t leave without protection, so if you try to go back to the fight, you’re putting even more lives in danger. Blossom’s and Owen’s and Charlotte’s. Sheree’s and Jax’s—”

I blew out a breath. “All right, all right, I get it.”

As I rolled out of bed, I silently told Blossom that I’d be ready in an hour, and she’d better have a protector lined up for us. I waited for her to leave the house, taking Dorian with her, and I pulled Tristan into the bathroom with me for a quickie in the shower.

Two hours later, Blossom, Charlotte—our protector for the day—and I were off island, pretending like we were perfectly Norman at the grocery store. Blossom tore her list in thirds and handed a part to Charlotte and one to me. The warlock eyed the witch.

“I’m not leaving Alexis’s side,” Char said.

“Oh, right. Of course not,” Blossom said, taking the paper from Charlotte.

“I’ll be fine,” I groaned, snatching the slip from the witch and handing it back to Char. “All of the mind signatures here are Norman, so just put up a shield over the store, and we’ll
all
be fine. Then we can get this done faster and get out of here sooner.”

Charlotte pierced me with her sapphire blue eyes. “And how do I know you won’t go running out of the store to jump into the middle of something you don’t belong in?”

I pressed my lips together, unable to answer her. I kind of had the reputation of diving into situations that were over my head. It’s not that I didn’t give it enough thought each time. I just can’t seem to help myself, especially when someone’s life or soul is in danger. My purpose was to defend souls, and I’d been told over and over to take that purpose seriously, so I did. Regardless of what that meant for me ... or those responsible for protecting me.

“I promised Tristan and my son that I wouldn’t leave your side,” Charlotte said. “And I owe it to your mother.”

With no answer to that, I relented, and we grabbed our shopping carts. Blossom went one way, and Charlotte and I went the other. Within no time, we met Blossom at the front of the store with three carts full of seven turkeys, four hams, several ten-pound bags of potatoes, more bags of sweet potatoes, bread for stuffing, cans of cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie filling, flour and milk for gravy, and all kinds of baking ingredients that would keep Blossom happy for days.

“So you’re good with supervising the cooking part of things while I do the baking?” Blossom asked me once we’d loaded Tristan’s truck with enough food to feed a crowd—which was exactly what we expected. Although Vanessa and Owen were currently handing out the invitations back on the island, we expected all seventy-something Amadis who remained in the colony to show up.

“Yeah, Tristan and I can handle it.”

“If it gets to be too much, just let me know,” the witch said as we climbed into the truck. Charlotte sat in the driver’s seat, knowing how much I hated driving the monster of a thing, and I let Blossom have shotgun while I took the backseat. “A touch of magic can always help.”

I barely registered her words, though, as a tingle scurried along the back of my neck. Something felt ... wrong. I opened my mind and skimmed through the mind signatures in the vicinity, searching for Daemoni. None came on my radar, though. Only Normans, all of them in relatively good spirits as they, too, prepared for the holiday: moms and grandmas doing the food shopping and preparing for Black Friday madness, children anxious for the short school week to end, men thinking about the upcoming marathon of football games. Normal thoughts for normal humans. So why did that odd feeling linger?

Right as we headed for the bridge that crossed the causeway to Sanibel Island, it hit me. Dark wave after dark wave coming from the area of Fort Myers Beach.

“Charlotte, we need to turn around,” I said, my voice full of alarm. I shared with her what my mind picked up.

“Screw that. I need to get you back.” The warlock stomped the accelerator down harder.

“No, Char!” I protested. “They’re attacking the Normans. We can’t abandon them!”

“Alexis, I’m not taking you into battle with just the three of us. Give it up.”

I turned in my seat, as though I could see the attack through the back window. But all I saw was blue sky and bright sunrays shining on the palm trees and now on the water as we crossed the bridge.

“I can let the others know,” I said. “They can flash there and meet us.”

Blossom groaned. “All I wanted was a normal, all-American holiday just this once,” she muttered.

“We’re not going to fight,” Char said. “Not now. We have people—”

“They need our help!” Not planning to argue with her a moment longer, I reached out for Tristan, sharing with him what I had with Charlotte.

“
Don’t we have people there already?
” he asked, saying what I hadn’t allowed Char to finish.

I didn’t answer him at first, though, as my eyes grew wide. A dark cloud of ... something strange ... headed our way, skimming over the land and trees on the far side of the sound.

“Um, Char,” I said, “you better drive faster or be ready to fight.”

Charlotte looked in the rearview mirror. “What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “but it feels evil.”

“
Lex, what’s going on?
” Tristan asked me, “hearing” the trouble through my mind.

I’m not quite sure, but it’s not good.

“Oh, my God,” Blossom whispered. Her large hazel eyes were wider than ever as she stared over my shoulder.

The cloud had grown bigger. And darker.

I focused my eyesight and could see now what it was: Daemoni.

“
Get home, Alexis!
” Tristan shouted in my mind.

“Get home, Alexis!” Charlotte shouted out loud.

“I’m not leaving you,” I shouted back.

“We’re going, too!” She cranked the wheel and the back of the truck fishtailed as she pulled into a church parking lot on Sanibel Island. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”

Leaving all of that food behind, the three of us flashed to Captiva, appearing near the safe house. Tristan, Owen, Sheree, and Vanessa already stood outside on the steps, and I ran for them.

“Where’s Dorian?” I demanded.

“Safe inside with the mages,” Tristan answered.

“We need to go,” I said. “Stave them off before they get here.”

“Um, Alexis,” Sheree said, her voice soft yet edged with ... was that fear or awe? Her brown eyes stared to the southeast. I turned to follow her gaze, but I already knew what was coming. I could feel their mind signatures, sense their evil intentions.

The Daemoni had followed us. Swarms of mages and were-creatures flew through the air, while vampires trampled through the islands. It was more than the bloodsucker nest that had taken over Fort Myers Beach. This was an all-out attack directed at us.

They had dared to come here, what had once been a safe haven for the local Amadis. I had brought them here.

“Looks like we fight,” I said through a clenched jaw. “Prepare for battle.”