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As I frantically climbed—no longer sure just what my original plan had been—the sap and resin began to stick to my fur.
Oh shit, everybody was going to be pissed as hell at me. Amid a growing panic, I made my way into the upper regions of the tree, where I found a spot in which to snuggle, right under a delicate five-pointed star that lit up the room like fireworks on the Queen's birthday. Nervous, I peeked out of the branches. I felt safe in my little cubbyhole made of fir branches, and I could see the entire room from my vantage point.
Dizzy with accomplishment, I began to purr.
Down below, Camille and Iris were in an uproar. Iris was grumbling what sounded like obscenities in some obscure Finnish dialect, while Camille was shaking her finger at me.
"You come down here this instant, Delilah! Do you hear me? I know you understand what I'm saying!" She rested her hands on her hips and glared at me.
Vaguely irritated, I let out a loud yowl. Just then, a noise startled me, and I swung my head, only to see Menolly hovering near me.
Damned… silent… vampire… whatever it was…
As she reached for me, whispering, "Here, Kitten, come with me," I decided to forgo the assist. If they wanted me out of the tree, I'd get out of the tree, but I'd do it my way. I gingerly pawed my way out on the branch, but it was too thin, and the next thing I knew, I lost my footing and went sliding down the slopes of Mount Fir in a wild ride, taking any and every ornament with me that was in my path.
Iris yelled something, and I heard Camille give a loud shout. The next thing I knew, I landed hard on the floor, and the shock jolted me so much that I abruptly began to shift back. Too quickly, it seemed, because I was still caught up in the tree limbs, and when my legs lengthened, I twisted wrong.
"Oh shit, look out!"
Menolly's voice cut through my brain fog. I blinked amid the pile of broken glass and boughs that I was lying in and looked over my shoulder just in time to see the twelve-foot fir sway as it gracefully toppled in my direction.
"Out of the way!" Camille screamed, and she and Iris ran for the hall. Menolly lurched midair and fell to the floor in a heap, her concentration broken. As for me, it was like being caught in a nightmare where I knew something horrible was about to happen but found myself paralyzed, unable to move as events played out in slow motion.
I ducked my head under my arm and pressed my face into the rug as the thundering fir, complete with decorations, landed across my back, covering me in a pile of scratchy branches and broken glass. The tub of water the tree had been sitting in tipped as well and streamed along the floor to soak my legs and feet. I breathed very slowly while I waited for the fallout to settle.
"Delilah! Delilah, are you okay?" Camille's frantic voice spiraled into a throaty shriek from the left side of the tree.
"Kitten? Kitten?" Menolly peered through the branches on the right side, though she was cautious to avoid any pointy limbs that might act as a natural stake. "You alive?"
I managed to croak out a reply. "If I wasn't, what would you do? Turn me into a vampire?"
"I couldn't if you were already dead. Maybe Camille could manage to zombify you, but—"
"It was a joke, damn it!" I struggled to pull myself out from under the tree. So far, nothing seemed to be broken. "Help me get out of this mess."
Menolly lifted the tree, while Camille pulled me up and dusted me off. Covered with sap and scratches, I gingerly-moved each leg and arm, then rolled my neck and shrugged my shoulders.
"Nothing broken," I said.
"Maybe we should have thought this out better," Camille said, looking woefully at the downed tree.
"Didn't Mother used to attach the tree to the top of the ceiling when we were girls?" Menolly asked.
I blushed, both embarrassed and yet defiant. I couldn't help it if bright, shiny toys were so tempting. When I'd been a little girl, it had been a lot worse. "Gee, I guess I'd better avoid shopping too much during the holiday season, or things could get really ugly, really fast."
The thought of passing by dozens of decked-out trees was a little more than I could handle. At least this had happened at home, where I could slink off to my room without having the good citizens of Seattle pointing at me and yelling, "Grinch!"
As we surveyed the mess—Iris with a few tears in her eyes—the phone rang. She went to get it, and I sighed as Menolly righted the tree. Camille found a sturdy length of wire and a large screw hook and handed them to Menolly, who floated up to the ceiling and began anchoring the fir—which wasn't terribly worse for the wear—against any further mishap. I was about to fetch the broom and dustpan when Iris peeked around the corner.
"Phone for you, Delilah. I'll clean up. And tomorrow I'll buy new ornaments," she said. I could tell she was pissed. She'd worked her butt off on decorating the living room, and I'd just destroyed her winter wonderland in under five minutes. My track record was getting better. Or worse, depending on how you looked at it.
"I'll take the call in the kitchen," I said, hurrying past her with a gentle, "I'm sorry." As I picked up the phone and peered out the kitchen window at the still-falling snow, I was surprised to hear Zachary's voice on the other end.
"Delilah?" He sounded out of breath, unusual for a Were who was as fit as he'd looked.
"Yep, it's me. What's up?" His voice sent chills up my spine, and they weren't unpleasant. The thought that maybe he was calling to ask for a date flickered through my mind, but I quickly pushed it aside.
"You'll still be coming out here tomorrow, won't you?"
