The Old Dragon of the Mountain's Christmas (Dragon Lords of Valdier #9) (8 page)

Edna glanced up from where she was preparing a late breakfast the next morning when she heard Bo bark in excitement. For a moment panic hit her. She had forgotten that Shelly, Jack, and Crystal were bringing her a Christmas tree today. Her eyes flew to the back bedroom where Christoff was still sleeping. She had gotten up to let Bo outside so he could take care of his morning business and to feed Gloria.

“Bo, hush,” she ordered, biting her lip. “Behave. Spark, you, too! Go to Christoff.”

The symbiot had risen off of the rug in front of the fire and had shifted into a large beast that Edna swore was a cross between a lion and a sabretooth tiger. It was staring at the door emitting a low growl. She could just imagine Jack and Shelly’s faces if they came in and saw it.

Wiping her hands, she walked over to Spark and touched him. The symbiot immediately calmed under her hand. Warmth filled her as it responded to her gentle stroking.

“It’s my family, Spark. I need you to go to Christoff, stay with him until I call you. I need to explain you and Christoff before they see you,” she explained. “Please.”

Spark snorted and shook his head before reluctantly turning toward the bedroom. Edna breathed a sigh of relief. Wiping her hands along her jeans, she listened as the sound of car doors shutting. She glanced back at the bedroom one last time before she opened the door.

“Hey, mom,” Shelly called out.

“Hi, Edna,” Jack said as he began loosening the ropes holding the Christmas tree onto the roof of the SUV.

Edna’s expression softened as she watched her thirteen year old granddaughter struggle for a moment in the thick snow. She rubbed her hands together at the biting cold and watched as Bo raced over to see what Jack and Shelly were doing.

“Come on in, Crystal,” Edna said with a smile. “Are you enjoying the snow?”

Crystal made a face as she walked by. Edna released a sigh. Crystal was going through a difficult time. The few times she had gone down to the house, Shelly had complained that Crystal’s moodiness was getting unbearable.

“It’s okay. It’s kind of hard to walk in,” Crystal mumbled as she walked pass Edna.

Edna nodded and turned to follow Crystal into the house. Closing the door, she helped Crystal with her coat. Crystal bent awkwardly to remove her boot.

“You have a new prosthetic,” Edna noted, seeing the space age looking lower limb on Crystal’s left leg.

“Yeah, I got it last week. It’s going to take some getting used to,” Crystal replied with a shrug.

Edna nodded. Crystal had lost her left leg in a car accident that had killed her best friend and her friend’s mother two years ago. Since then, she had transformed from a sweet, outgoing young girl into a solemn one. She seldom left the house anymore. Edna had been hesitant when Shelly mentioned that she would be homeschooling Crystal, afraid that it would encourage Crystal to withdraw even further into her shell. The only thing that seemed to help was her granddaughter’s love of music.

Edna turned when the door opened and Shelly and Jack came in carrying the tree. A shiver escaped her as a gust of icy air swept in behind them. Bo followed, shaking snow off of his coat and sending icy droplets everywhere. She closed the door and hurried to the kitchen. Grabbing a dishtowel, she quickly mopped up the melting snow off the floor so it wouldn’t be slippery.

Her gaze swept to the now closed door of the bedroom. She hoped that Christoff stayed in the room enough for her to explain him to her family. Returning to the living room, she nervously smiled at her daughter as they straightened the tree.

“That is a beautiful tree. How was the drive up the mountain? It can be a bit harrowing sometimes,” Edna commented, wiping up the water.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It looks like one of the snowplows had come up it earlier,” Jack replied, bending to tighten the screws on the stand. “We made it to the Christmas tree store first thing. Crystal helped us pick it out.”

“Hopefully, she’ll help us decorate it, too,” Shelly added, glancing at where Crystal was sitting on the couch playing on her cell phone.

“Yes, well, that would be wonderful. How long are you planning on staying?” Edna asked, glancing toward the bedroom again. Had she heard a noise? “I forgot to get the decorations out of the workshop.”

“I’ll go get them,” Jack said.

“That would be wonderful,” Edna said with a relieved smile.

“Come on, Bo. You can help me,” Jack said as he adjusted his hat.

Edna watched as Jack disappeared back outside. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to look at the tree. Instead, her attention was caught by her daughter’s stern expression.

“What’s going on? I haven’t seen you this frazzled since you and the red hat ladies got drunk at the Golf Resort last Christmas and had to call me to pick you up,” Shelly said, folding her arms across her chest.

“Why would you think anything is going on?” Edna asked, lifting her hand to smooth her hair back from her face.

Shelly looked critically at her for several long seconds. Edna grimaced and looked away. She had forgotten what it felt like to be a teenager.

“You have your shirt on inside out,” Crystal commented without looking up. “And you have a hickey on your neck.”

“I have a....” Edna’s eyes widen and she could feel her cheeks heating.

“A hickey! Where?” Shelly demanded, stepping closer to her mom.

Edna covered the mark on her neck and glared at Crystal who ignored her. She winced when Shelly reached up and pulled her hand away. Stepping back, she straightened her blouse, noting that Crystal was right, it was inside out.

“ I… There’s something I need to tell you,” Edna began.

Things would have gone much better if both the front door and the bedroom door hadn’t opened at the same time. Edna didn’t know which way to look first. She heard the box Jack was carrying hit the floor at the same time as Bo barked, Shelly gasped, Crystal released an exclamation that sounded suspiciously like “Whoa, hunk alert!”, and Christoff emerged from the bedroom.

“Mom?” Shelly squeaked, stepping backwards and running into Jack.

“What the hell?” Jack muttered, staring in disbelief.

“Whoa, grandma! Nice boyfriend material,” Crystal breathed, looking at Christoff in awe.

Edna glanced back and forth between everyone before finally throwing her hands up in the air. She glared at Christoff. He just grinned at her with that damn smile that melted her heart.

“I need some coffee – with a shot of whiskey in it,” she growled, turning on her heel and heading for the kitchen.

“Mom?” Shelly yelped.

Edna turned and looked at her daughter with an exasperated sigh. “This is Christoff. He’s… staying with me,” she stated before walking into the kitchen.

Edna could hear Jack clearing his throat. The prosecutor was coming out, she thought in resignation. Christoff was about to get drilled.

“I’m Jack Anderson, Edna’s son-in-law, and you are?” Jack asked, staring warily into Christoff’s unusual eyes.

Edna paused in pouring the shot of whiskey into her coffee cup and waited. An amused smile curved her lips when Christoff finally spoke. Leave it to an alien to make a great first impression on the family.

“I am Christoff Anatu, from the village near the Dragon Claw Mountains. I am Edna’s true mate. I claimed her last night,” Christoff replied with a pleased grin.

“Oh,” Jack muttered. “Is that in Europe somewhere?”

Edna turned in time to see Christoff frown and shake his head. She waited, counting, for the other shoe to fall. She almost made it to seven when he finally responded.

“No, Valdier. I am not from your world,” Christoff said. “I have only been on your planet since yesterday. I do not know this Europe.”

“Mom!” Shelly screeched. “You slept with a guy that you just met?!”

“Yes,” Christoff responded before Edna had a chance to open her mouth to explain.

Edna didn’t say anything. She wondered how long it would take Shelly to comprehend the part where Christoff said that he was an alien. Lifting the cup to her lips, she took a sip of the hot liquid, enjoying the slight kick to it. Something told her today was going to be a very, very long day.

“Mom, I don’t think grandma sleeping with the guy is going to be the problem,” Crystal interrupted in a shaky voice.

“Why…? Oh!” Shelly started to say before her voice faded.

Spark had decided to make an appearance. Instead of being in the huge cat-form or a dog like Bo, the symbiot looked like one of the stuffed teddy bears that adorned her bed. Crystal had given her a new one each year for her birthday and she always decorated the bed with them.

“Edna,” Jack muttered, staring at the large golden bear. “What is that?”

“That is Spark, an alien symbiot that belongs to Christoff,” Edna said calmly as the whiskey started to spread through her. “Christoff is an alien dragon-shifter from a planet somewhere off in space. The same ones that took Abby.”

“That took…. Jack,” Shelly said hoarsely. “I don’t feel so good.”

Edna watched as her daughter’s eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted. Jack caught Shelly and lifted her into his arms. He staggered at first before deciding the couch was the closest stop. Crystal scooted over, keeping a wary eye on Spark that was now sitting in front of her, returning her wide-eyed stare with a goofy grin on its face.

*.*.*

An hour later, they were all sitting around the dining room table. Edna and Christoff on one side and Jack and Shelly on the other. Crystal was sitting on the couch giggling at Spark. The symbiot was shifting into the animals that Crystal held up on her cell phone.

“Mom, watch this!” Crystal called out.

They all turned to watch as Spark turned into a unicorn with wings. Crystal’s delighted laughter filled the room when Spark leaned forward and brushed a long tongue up her cheek. Edna’s eyes softened at the flushed face of her granddaughter.

“So, you arrived yesterday from another world, Christoff,” Jack said with a strained smile. “It must have been a long trip.”

“No,” Christoff replied.

Jack swallowed and glanced at Edna. “Surely it must have taken years to get here? I believe I’ve read that it would take thousands of years just to journey to the next star system,” he said.

“No,” Christoff said again.

Edna finally took pity on her daughter and son-in-law. It was obvious from the possessive way Christoff was sitting next to her that he wasn’t sure about them. Pulling her hand out of Christoff’s, she looked at her daughter. Shelly was clenching her second cup of whiskey between her hands. She had asked for a cup of coffee and whiskey minus the coffee.

“Christoff doesn’t remember how he got here,” Edna replied. “It doesn’t matter.”

“How can you just accept an… an alien into your house like you’ve known him forever?” Shelly asked in a strained voice. “He gave you a hickey!”

“I gave her more than that,” Christoff growled, tucking his hand back into Edna’s again.

“Christoff,” Edna chided. “You are not helping the situation.”

“I know,” Christoff replied with a grin.

Edna bit back a laugh at the mischievous gleam in his eyes. He was having fun. Her gaze swept over to where Crystal was laughing and running her hands over Spark. That alone was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“Mom,” Shelly groaned, dropping her head into her hands as she leaned against the table.

“I met another alien before,” Edna finally admitted. “I came to pick up Bo and Gloria. Abby was watching them for me so I could drive down for Crystal’s birthday. When I arrived, Abby wasn’t alone anymore. A man with gold eyes was with her. He took me up to the high meadow.”

“Why?” Jack asked.

Edna swallowed and squeezed Christoff’s hand. “So that I could understand him. His symbiot was there, but it was much larger. It was in the shape of a space ship. When we stepped inside it, I could understand what Zoran was saying. He told me that he planned to take Abby back with him to his world.” She reached out with her other hand and touched the small globe sitting in the middle of the table. “This proves he did.”

“Is Christoff going to take you back to his world?” Shelly asked, fear lacing her voice.

Edna glanced at Christoff when he squeezed her hand. She had never thought of that. Would he return to his world and if he did, would he expect her to go as well? A frown creased her brow.

“I do not know,” Christoff replied, staring back at Shelly. “My symbiot is not large enough to be used as a transport, especially for intergalactic travel that would require a tremendous amount of energy.”

“I don’t think it is safe for him to remain here,” Jack protested. “There is no way you could hide his… differences from everyone. Someone’s bound to discover him.”

Tears burned Edna’s eyes at the thought of losing Christoff. Last night had been incredible. For the first time in years, she felt whole again.

“We’ll take it one day at a time,” she replied in a quiet voice. “We don’t have to make a decision yet. It can wait until after Christmas.”