Chapter 34

       Christmas passed by quickly, but in a pleasant, warm and family atmosphere. None of Jay’s brothers came back to the theme of her relationship with Bryan, and for that she was extremely grateful. Even during Christmas party at the Weakfields' place there was no affair. On the contrary. Leonor and Bradley Weakfield seemed to be pleased with the choice, both of their son and daughter. Under these circumstances, Maria and Sean had no choice but to accept the situation. They even didn’t mind that Jay and Christian stayed with the Weakfields for the night.

       Jay had to admit that they played their role perfectly. At first they pretended to be surprised and shocked that Jay had bonded with her childhood friend, but if fact they knew about it for a long time. And judging from their goofy smiles, they cheered for Bryan in his efforts to win their ward’s heart. But still Jay felt some kind of satisfaction that Christian and Mel had stunned them. ‘And the expression on their faces? Priceless!’ She chuckled to herself. She snuggled to Bryan and fell asleep, calm and completely relaxed.

       The next morning Jay as usually woke up before dawn. Accustomed to her morning trainings, she could no longer sleep. So she was staring at Bryan's calm face. His thick black eyelashes threw long shadows on his cheeks. His hair was scattered on the pillow. With her fingertips Jay lightly stroked the perfect arches of his eyebrows, the cheekbones, the strongly outlined jaw line and chin. She stopped for a moment by his sensual, full lips. Once again, with astonishment, she realized that this wonderful man belongs to her. She leaned over and gently brushed his lips with hers. He stretched out a bit, but he was still deep asleep.

       Because Jay didn’t want to wake him up, she got out of the bed quietly and went to the bathroom to take a shower. Then she put on her little black dress and suede boots that reached for her knees. She rarely dressed up such clothes, but if she did, she always tried to look out-of-shot. And she did it. Bryan's gaze as she entered his house spoke for itself.

       Once she had put on her hair, she slipped out of the bedroom and went down to the kitchen. With relief she found that the housekeeper hadn’t woken up yet. She could prepare a cup of coffee herself and wait for the rest of the family to start a new day. She set up the coffee machine and took out a cup, then opened the refrigerator to find the cream. Then the kitchen doors, leading to the back of the property, opened and frosty air full of snowflakes swirled inside.

-       It’s terribly cold! – Leonor Weakfield crossed the threshold, rubbing her cold hands. She was wearing ecru out-stretched woolen sweater and faded fitting jeans, which legs she put in the uppers of her high boots. And with her red hair, spread by the wind, she looked like a joyful morning. – Will I get this coffee? – She asked with a smile.

-       W-what? – Jay uttered. She was confused and stunned. – Yes, of course. I’ve set up the whole jug. – She started to bubble, a bit embarrassed.

-       Great! There’s nothing like a cup of hot coffee on frosty December morning. – Bryan’s mother seemed to have fun of it. She sat down at the table and looked at Jay with joyful, but at the same time piercing gaze. – I always wake up at down and go to horses. That’s why I’m already on my feet. What’s your excuse? – She asked in a chattering tone.

-       I always break the sleep at down to jog. – Jay smiled. – But I haven’t taken any clothes with me. So I’ll be happy with coffee. Though, it doesn’t give you such adrenaline jump and highs of energy. – She chuckled

-       You rather drink coffee for pleasure. – Leonor summed up. – Just like me.

-       What coffee do you drink? – She asked when the jug was full.

-       White with sugar. I have a request for you. – She smiled at Jay’s surprised expression.

-       What’s that? – She asked uncertainly.

-       Can I ask you to call me by my first name? I won’t feel so old then. – She explained with a smirk. – Just call me Leonor. – She took a cup from Jay and took first cautious sip. Then she started to warm her hands up on the hot porcelain. – How did this happen that you’re with my son? – She asked after a moment.

       ‘And here we go!’ Jay felt hot suddenly. What should she tell her boyfriend’s mother? She didn’t have to go through this before. She even didn’t realize it could be such stressful. Until now. Even though Leonor was their mother’s friend, she treated them kindly and she didn’t mind her kids make friends with the Tylers, Jay always felt respect before that woman. She always observed everything carefully. Analyzing. Calculating. And judging?

       Jay took a deep breath. There was no point in lying. Jay was sure that Leonor Weakfield would sense a lie from miles.

-       I don’t know. – Jay said after a moment. – Relationship is not something you can plan or start like an arranged meeting. – She weighed every single word, so as not to say too much.

-       Are you happy with him? – This question confused Jay even more.

       She pondered. Was she happy with Bryan? How could she describe all the feelings and emotions she felt? Is it possible to put it into words at all? How can one talk about happiness at the age of seventeen when whole life’s still ahead of you? Did they know each other well enough, so their relationship could go through any difficulty? She didn’t know the answers to those questions, but strangely enough, she didn’t want to know them. Not yet at least. ‘Maybe one day.’ She shrugged.

-       There’s no one simple answer to that question. – She said after a while. – At the moment, yes. – She admitted. – Bryan is like a quiet heaven for me. An asylum where I can hide from the whole world. He’s there when I need him, and gives me space when I need to catch my breath. – She tried to explain. – He makes me feel special. The only one.

-       Unbelievable! – Leonor was surprised. Where seventeen-year-old girl does take such thoughts? – Sounds like he really makes you happy.

-       Your son is not only my boyfriend, - Jay continued, - but also my friend. You grew up a wonderful man.

-       Thank you! – She replied, pleased with the compliment. – Girls at your age do not always see this, not talking about appreciation. – She took another sip of coffee. – It wasn’t easy with four daughters. But you know this from the other side.

-       Indeed. – Jay smirked.

-       I know that it was harder for you, also because of the other circumstances. – Leonor said cautiously. – And I’m not talking about the fact that you’ve lost your mother so early.

       Jay frowned. ‘What the hell?’ She thought a bit worried. ‘Does she know something?’ This thought alerted her to vigilance. She immediately started to observe Leonor’s every move and gesture. Each, even the slightest facial expression. But she couldn’t notice anything special there.

-       Don’t forget that your mother was my best friend. – She pointed out calmly.

-       I remember. – Jay replied. – But what does that have to…

-       We had no secrets from us. – She explained.

-       Okay. – Jay said cautiously.

-       You descended from two extraordinary families. – She said calmly when the girl pretended not to understand. – Don’t look at me with such a puzzled look and don’t try to deny it! – She stopped any comments with a sign of her hand. – Our families have been living here for generations. Besides, as I said, I was friends with Isabo. – Another sip of coffee. - There were also a lot of turbulences in our family, but my great grandfather decided to cut off and live like a simple man. He had the power, but gave it up. The same was done by his children. I also rejected the curse from me. – Jay could hear pride in her voice. – My children also won’t have to struggle with it. I took care of it. – She smiled brightly. – It was my grandfather who set up our horse breeding. – She quickly changed the subject. – And Bryan will be his worthy successor.

-       No doubts. – Jay agreed, surprised by the sudden change of topics. – I hope that Sean will succeed as well.

-       For sure. And coming back to the subject. - She took up the interrupted thread and her look became icy. - Who you are and what you’re doing, it’s your own business. – Her voice was quiet but strong at the same time. – I just don’t want you to hurt my son. - She spoke bluntly. – Don’t mix him up into it! If something happens to him, you’ll regret being alive! Are we clear? – She asked imperiously.

-       I’m not going to hurt him, not to get him involved in any affair. – Jay assured, a little bit surprised by Leonor’s directness. – I would never forgive myself if something should happen to him.

-       I’m glad that we understand each other. – She gave her a warm, sweet smile from which you could get diabetes.

       Jay felt uneasy. Even though Leonor’s voice was calm, the threat all too audible. She herself wasn’t among people who left behind some understatements, so she wanted to ask Bryan's mother openly what she was insinuating, but she didn’t make it.

       At that moment, the house began to resonate with the voices of the household members. A new day began.

***

       The same day in the afternoon they sat down comfortably in Jay’s room. The map hanged on the wall. They gave their younger brothers time to get acquainted with the collected materials. Maybe a fresh look would lead them somewhere.

       Mark, Michael and Daniel carefully analyzed all the data to find the answers to their questions.

-       I’d give a lot to know how the hell the Council knows where to find hunters. – Mark summed up. – But what we have gives us nothing.

-       There must be something! – Jess didn’t consider failure.

-       Of course there’s something! – Isabela’s voice made them jump. – You just need to look deeper.

-       Will you help us? – Michael’s voice was full of hope.

-       I will, sweetheart! – Isabela was clearly in good mood. – The Shadow Coalition is the answer to all your questions. Okay, maybe most of them. – She laughed

-       What do you mean? – Jay moved aside making space for their grandma.

-       Guess I don’t have to explain what the Shadow Coalition is? You’ve learnt about it at school. – She continued after receiving their confirmation. – Coalition is an organization, which finds those with whom they want to work with. They have their, let’s say, agents, who are able to trace or find alliances. Just as the Council recruits their members. They know when something is going on and they send their people there.

-       And what about murders? – Asked Christian. – There must be some reason why so many hunters were killed.

-       When a hunter develops his talents he becomes more visible for dark soldiers. But he also becomes more aware and he can sense danger. Unless something disturbs him or he blocks himself too much. – She explained patiently.

-       For dark soldiers he’s nothing but a game for predators? – Jay summed up.

-       Rather more like a game for hunting dogs. – Grandma corrected her. – With a very specific smell.

-       So there’s nothing we can do? – Daniel was disappointed.

-       I didn’t say that. – Isabela sent them a smile, which clearly told them she’s very satisfied of herself. – Right after the New Years Eve I’m taking you to Baltimore.

-       Why? – Carter became suspicious.

-       You’re going to meet the Coalition’s Council.

-       What!? – They shouted at the same time.

-       I’ve discussed it with Sean and we decided that it’s about time to open another door for you.

       She didn’t give them time to ask any questions.

-       Everything in its time. – She said calmly.

       She said goodbye to them and told them to prepare to leave in a week.

       They didn’t know what to expect. What meeting Shadow Coalition meant for them? Should they treat this visit as an invitation? Or they just wanted to look at them closely? Should they be happy or worried? They weren’t sure, and this brought up questions that they had no answer to.

       They decided to use the remaining days of Christmas holidays to improve their psychological skills. Something told them that these abilities would be especially useful to them. There will still be time to answer their questions.