“You wish to exclude us from the fun?” Kees growled, his eyes glinting with both humor and bloodlust. It made for an interesting expression.
“Actually, I was just thinking about how synchronous it all seems,” Ella said, leaning into the camera. “Four nocturnis attempting to open four portals to the demonic planes. Four Guardians and four Wardens. Doesn’t it just seem like Fate?”
To Kylie it seemed like something that fit way too perfectly to be true. It made her want to look over her shoulder and spit.
“Ella and I will come as well,” Kees proclaimed, and Kylie sighed.
“Looks like I’ll be furnishing those extra bedrooms sooner than I intended,” she said. “Just wait till my grandmother hears. She’ll be so pleased.”
*
“You got a doorbell!” Wynn beamed at her the minute Kylie opened the front door. “And look! You answered it and everything. Wearing clothes, no less. It’s so sweet.”
“Get inside, you smart-ass,” Kylie grumbled, stepping back and waving in the onslaught of houseguests. “If we’re going to turn this place into a barracks, we might as well get on with it.”
“Did your grandmother bake while she was here? Please tell me she did. I’ve been dreaming of her kichlach since we booked our plane tickets.”
Kylie gave in to the urge to give her friend a hug while the circle of hulking males hauled in luggage and exchanged greetings in the form of grunts and nods. “She tried to teach me how to make them. Again. Ten minutes later, she was on her way to the closest kosher bakery to buy me a gift certificate.”
“Yes, but did she leave any behind?”
Kylie laughed. “She put them in the freezer. Her subtle way of reminding me not to have any leavened food during Passover.”
“Score!”
While Wynn scampered into the kitchen, quiet Ella stepped forward and took her turn for a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you in person,” said the art historian and the first one to be dragged into this big mess. “Wynn’s been talking about you for weeks now.”
“Yeah, when she hasn’t been talking about your grandmother’s cookies.” Fil flashed her a grin and offered a brief one-armed embrace. “I’ve been fantasizing about stuffing so many in her mouth at once that she’d finally be forced to stop speaking for five minutes.”
From the pile of testosterone near the bottom of the stairs, a deep voice emerged. “Did someone say cookies?”
Ella shook her head. “Kees has a bit of a sweet tooth.”
Kylie laughed. “Okay, everyone in the kitchen. We’ll have a nosh and get settled in before we get down to business. Remember, we’ve only got four days to pull this thing together.”
“Yes, but the cavalry has arrived.” Fil swung her arm over Kylie’s shoulder and half dragged her down the hall after Wynn. “Everything will be fine. Just wait and see.”
Oy. Kylie knew famous last words when she heard them. She just hoped the reality check wouldn’t hurt as bad as a hockey check. Maybe she could find some pads, though. Just in case.
For a short while, they gathered in the kitchen over kichlach and coffee, tea, or soda like a group of friends who didn’t often get the chance to spend time together. They laughed and joked, teased and shared gossip, but the constant undercurrent whispered of the coming danger, and the interlude couldn’t last long. They all knew too well what they faced and how many lives were at stake. They also knew that they stood as the only defense between humanity and the Darkness.
Yet more evidence they should have a cool Avengers-style nickname, Kylie concluded. And capes. She would definitely be needing a cape for this.
Soon enough, the group migrated to the living room, which sported a second sofa, two new chairs, and a couple of end tables hastily ordered and delivered to accommodate the influx of guests. Kylie had even remembered to buy lamps so that when they sat down to talk, they didn’t have to do it in the dark. Go her.
Kees immediately claimed the end of the older sofa and pulled his mate down beside him. “We must get down to business,” he said in his gravelly, rasping voice. “Kylie, you will fill us in on the most recent developments.”
Recognizing the order as a personality trait of the gigantic, dominant Guardian, Kylie managed not to get her back up and to reply civilly. Hey, look—personal growth.
“The darknet has gone quiet,” she said, settling down on the floor while Dag took the chair behind her. There were enough seats to go around now, but she was accustomed to the floor and found it perfectly comfortable. Especially with the new rug softening the hardwood surface. “I think they must be under orders to keep quiet now that the event is getting so close. I haven’t heard anything new in the last two or three days.”