Healing Hands (The Queen of the Night series Book 2) (7 page)

Chapter Eleven

Hogmanay

I woke the next morning to a frantic Rose. She wanted the house completely cleaned and unpacked from top to bottom. At first I thought she had anxiety about the party, but soon realized she was more serious about the cleaning than pre-guest jitters. She kept talking about cleaning out the fireplace and making sure she paid all the bills. She made us visit a cell phone store in town before they closed at noon because she didn’t want any outstanding debts. We had to close our accounts with the phone company in California.

Finally, after we’d returned home, I made her sit down and take a break for lunch. As I made sandwiches and served them in the kitchen, I asked her to explain.

“It’s tradition to clean your house and fireplace before the start of the New Year. We believe you should not leave any outstanding obligations so you can start the year fresh. That’s why I have to make sure all of the bills are paid today. Beyond that, I have to prepare for a redding ritual.”

“What?  We’re having a wedding tonight?”

“No, we’re not having a wedding. It’s a ‘redding’. The Crone and the Healer come over and rid the house of old and negative energies. They cast blessings of protection and good fortune on all the people living in the house. It’s usually done after people have finished unpacking and moving into a new home, but because of Corey, Fiona wanted to make sure we did it in conjunction with the New Year. Plus, we’re gonna have something like ten people in the house for the party tonight. I’m overwhelmed.”

“I’ll help. Let’s put a plan together, starting with a list of everything we need to get done.”

I drafted Corey, reminding him that we owed Aunt Rose a lot. Once we worked together with a strategy in place, we easily finished all the tasks.

***

Pat came over around dinnertime with wood for the fireplace. He and his brother Craig stacked the wood in a rack right outside the back door. They covered it with a tarp. He cleaned out the fireplace and made sure a fresh set of logs and kindling sat in the fireplace and on the hearth.

The boys ran down to the grocery store to buy last minute items for the party while Rose and I baked shortbread and fruitcake. Rose had family recipes which had been used to make these Hogmanay treats for generations. She and I had fun learning how to bake together in our new kitchen. Ginger and Rock did last minute cleaning in the garage. Rock was quite skilled at weaving pine branches into beautiful wreaths. Ginger decorated them with things she’d found around the garden. Together, we hung them on the porch railing and the front door. Pat and Craig left, saying they’d be back later, and I went upstairs to get dressed.

I took a look around my new bedroom and decided I liked it very much. Although the same size as my room in Santa Monica, the huge window made it seem larger as it overlooked the pretty garden in the backyard. I’d moved my desk in front of the window so I could see the flowers as I did my homework. I hadn’t had time to investigate the garden yet. Since it was winter, I didn’t expect much, but knowing how beautifully Fiona and Rose kept the garden behind the cabin, I looked forward to Spring.

I dressed in my new indigo dress and leggings, brushed my hair and left it down around my face. I thought I looked pretty good.

“Wish you were here, Mom,” I whispered to the mirror.

***

Rose had explained that the party didn’t really start until midnight, so Corey and I played video games in his room for a while. A few minutes before midnight we heated the cider, lit candles and put on music. I helped Rose carry platters of finger food out to the living room.

Just as we’d finished our party preparations, the doorbell rang. Both Rose and Corey looked at me.

“What?” I asked, but then I shrugged and said, “Okay, I’ll get the door.”

To my surprise, when I opened it Evan stood on the threshold with a big grin on his face.

“I’m your first footer!” he said triumphantly. That meant nothing to me. I looked at him curiously before I stood aside to let him in the house. He was holding a canister of salt, a small bag of charcoal briquettes, and a bottle of scotch. Behind him on the porch stood Duncan and his four sons, Pat, Ken, Mike and Craig.

Even though I’d stood aside to let Evan in, he didn’t move past the threshold. Rose reached around me and took the strange gifts from his hands.

“I’m waiting…” he said mischievously.

“…for what?” I asked suspiciously.

He didn’t answer. He just pointed to the ceiling. I followed his finger with my gaze.

A sprig of mistletoe had been nailed into the transom over the door.
When did that happen
?

Evan still looked at me and the others shivered on the porch.

I stepped forward and offered my cheek.

He turned my head back to face him. We looked at each other as if silently discussing how much of a kiss he should give me in front of all these people. After a moment, he chose to give me a quick peck on the lips.

“Happy New Year,” he said playfully.

I rolled my eyes and turned to greet Duncan. When everyone had made their way into the living room I asked the obvious question.

“Okay, what’s up with the salt and charcoal?  Are we grilling steaks or something?”  Everyone laughed. Rose spoke up and answered the question.

“It’s considered good luck for your household if the first person to cross the threshold after midnight on the New Year is a tall, dark man. The traditional gifts given to the hostess are coal, salt and whiskey. The traditional gifts given to the guests are shortbread, the dark currant cake we made earlier and warm drinks.”  As she spoke, Ginger came out of the kitchen bearing trays of shortbread and fruitcake. Rock carried mugs of warm cider.

“Why does it have to be a tall, dark man who enters first?”

“We think it’s because in the old days, a blond man reminded people of the Viking invasions so a dark-haired man seemed like a safer person to let in your home,” said Pat. He continued, “Evan has the darkest hair of all of us, so he got to be the first-footer.”  He looked questioningly at Evan. “But I don’t know why he asked to join our group this year instead of going out with his own relatives.”  He addressed Evan directly. “Unless you’re laying a claim on the new girl, that is.”

Huh
?  I assumed I was the new girl. No one could claim me as a prize or possession…even Evan.

  He must have seen the look on my face, because he shook his head back and forth.

“No,” he said, “I just like being with you guys a lot more than my own family.”  The excuse sounded lame to me. I’d met his family. They were all really nice people. I adored his mom, Jenny.

For a moment, it looked like Pat intended to say something else. Sharp looks from Rose and Duncan made him hold his tongue. After that, everyone relaxed and the conversation flowed. It pleased and gratified me that Duncan’s sons had taken Corey in as one of their own. He eagerly shared with them how he’d been able to hang mistletoe over almost every doorway in the house. There was a lot of laughing and kissing between everyone involved. At least Rose and I were kissed a lot (on the cheeks, mostly). At one point, Corey and Evan met walking between the living room and the kitchen.

Corey looked at him totally deadpan and said, “Dude, if you do, I’ll deck you.”

“I don’t know,” replied Evan, “Kyle Dawkins seemed quite taken with you.”  He grabbed Corey’s hand and kissed the back of it. Then he nimbly sidestepped Corey’s punch and walked into the living room, still laughing.

“When did you run into Kyle?” I asked as an upset Corey stomped into the kitchen.

“He came by the store yesterday. He kept talking about your friend from California. I knew you’d had no friends visit so I let him talk. When he mentioned how beautiful her freckles were, I put it together.”

“Oh, poor kid,” I mused smiling, “I hope Corey can live this down.”

“You’d better not show him that photo!”  A shout came from the kitchen.

“Oh yeah, I have a picture.”

***

The guys stayed for about an hour and explained how they had a couple more stops to make as first footers. Fiona’s cabin came next and Duncan was eager to see her. After, they were headed to the Macgregor farm to see their grandparents. Pat and Evan wanted to stay with us. Duncan asked if he could take Corey out with them. Corey was thrilled with the idea and Rose had no objection, so soon we all sang ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and said goodbye. After they’d left, Rose and Pat went upstairs to celebrate the New Year alone, so Evan and I retired to the den. We put an old black and white movie about a Christmas miracle in the DVD player and settled down on the couch with mugs of hot cider. It tasted different.

“Why does this taste weird?”

“Mike spiked it with the scotch when no one was looking.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised, “it’s not bad.”

“It was a really good bottle of single highland malt scotch,” he replied.

I settled back into the couch and let the spiked cider spread warmth inside me. After a while I stopped paying attention to the movie and realized Evan had casually draped his arm around my shoulders. For an unknown reason, my inner practical Maggie was taking a nap, so I didn’t feel self-conscious at all asking him the question that had been burning inside me all night.

“Evan, why did you want to Hogmanay with us instead of your own family?”

He didn’t seem surprised. If anything, his arm tightened slightly around me.

I wondered if the alcohol had affected him, as well.

He took a deep breath before answering. “I like you. I like being with you. You make me happy. Everyone else makes me feel weird, like there’s something wrong with me.”

“How could that be?  Your family is nice.”

“They are,” he agreed, “but sometimes the pressure gets to me. Two and a half years ago, I was like any other kid in the clan. I kept developing these new gifts, you know, so I received a lot of attention from adults, but was still just one of the gang.”

“You mean you developed rare abilities like astral projection and dreams of other people’s memories,” I prompted.

“Yeah, but the kids at school, my parents and my extended family said, ‘He’s really talented’. I didn’t feel weird.”

“What happened?”

“When Logan learned he had cancer, about seven years ago, he started training two people, me and your Uncle Larry. Then Logan died. The High Council met, evaluated Larry and me, and picked me.” 

“I didn’t know I had an uncle.”

“Yeah, your mom had a sister and your dad had a brother. Anyway, Logan left instructions with Paul Sinclair to follow after his death. The instructions recommended me over Larry as the next Great Seer. Logan thought I had more talent than Larry and he made no secret about how he felt, so the council chose me. Afterward, everyone treated me differently. At school, the other kids stopped talking to me. I felt like an alien from another planet. They were intimidated by me. Your uncle, Larry Stewart, was really upset, so he moved to Maryland and doesn’t talk to anyone in the clan anymore. Even my own relatives treated me different. It’s been really uncomfortable these last two and a half years.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“See, you don’t treat me weird. From the very beginning, you’ve treated me like a regular person. You’re not afraid to joke with me, or yell at me if I deserve it. I’m happier with you than with anyone else. That’s why I came here tonight.”

“Why do you think people are intimidated by you?”

“I guess it’s a combination of the authority I have as a member of the High Council and the extent of my gifts. It’s all bull, by the way. My vote is only one of seven. The other council members treat me as if I’m too young to know what I’m talking about half the time. It’s true. I don’t have their experience. Then there’s the fear of my powers. People are always afraid if I spend time with them, I’ll have a vision about their early demise, or something else bad.”

“Hmmm, I wonder if that’s part of the reason the High Council chose you,” I noted.

“What do you mean?”

“Most of the council members inherit their positions, right?  Maybe the council gets to select a member once in a lifetime. Am I right?”

“Yeah, probably,” he agreed.

“Well, I wouldn’t put it past Connor McCoy or Paul Sinclair or most of the other members to take the opportunity they had and use it to pick someone who wouldn’t challenge them on any issues. It would give them more influence in the Council. To them, your age makes you a pushover.”  Connor McCoy was the Great Warrior of the clan and known for being overly aggressive.

“Wow, that’s a really astute observation. I’ll have to remember to pay attention the next time we have a meeting. See, you’re smart, too. Why wouldn’t I rather be with you?”

His words made me smile and roll my eyes. As I did so I noticed something totally unexpected. “Honestly, Corey, what were you thinking?”  I groaned.

“What?” Evan asked.

I pointed overhead. Nailed in the ceiling over the couch was another sprig of mistletoe.

“Hmmm,” Evan mused, “there’s no one watching us now.”  He closed the distance in a heartbeat. It always felt so right when he held me tightly.