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He doesn’t say it, but his silence slams into me with the force of a Mack truck.
“She’s our what?” Bryn asks, his eyes drooping now that he’s lost the chance of a “Joy-ride.”
Cal swallows hard but meets my eyes like a man when he says, “She’s our Center.”
Ever had an inkling about something, like an intuitive gut feeling, eh? Well, having it confirmed is strange. It’s an out-of-body experience. No, that’s not right. I’ve had one of those, when I got turned into a damned animal. Hearing that Joy is our fated mate, our destiny, makes my body feel like it’s floating through space.
I look down and realize that I’m floating somehow, hooves dangling above the ground. I must have activated the reindeer magic unconsciously.
My eyes travel over to Joy and Dem, who are diving down towards the snow-capped evergreens. Her hair is streaking out behind her, and she shrieks in delight, clutching Dem by the neck.
A feeling just rolls through me, like the crackle of a fire and the warm scent of cinnamon. It’s like the featherlight white clouds that line the streets of Hell and tickle you when you walk barefoot. It’s like the sight of mistletoe… A giant smile spreads inside of me.
Joy isours.
I ken it. I mean, I didnae really, but then again, I did. Somehow, I knew.
Gus rises into the air and then swoops down and smashes into Cal, knocking him backwards into the snow. Cal quickly whips back onto his hooves, snorting his displeasure, which comes out as a puff of fog because the air is so fooking cold.
“What the fuck?” Cal asks.
“You knew! You knew she was our Center all these years and didn’t tell us!” Gus is in full wrath demon mode. His reindeer eyes are even rimmed in red. Ohhh, he’s more pissed than the men in a pub after a football match.
“What the hell were we supposed to do about it?” Cal rages back. “We’re fucking deer!”
“I don’t know! We could have—” He cuts off whatever he was about to say, which was probably violent. “We could have avoided her.”
“You really want to avoid her?” Cal jerks his neck in the direction of Joy and Dem, who are now bounding up and down through the sky in a rainbow pattern. “She’s the only good thing in this whole place—”
Gus shakes his head. “You just couldn’t resist the fact that she lies, could you?”
Bryn sinks into the snow, tucking his legs underneath himself and getting comfortable as he watches the fight.
“Yeah, I like that she lies, okay? I admit it.” Cal says.
“You’re our fucking leader. You’re supposed to warn us about Centers!” Gus snarls, baring his teeth.
“I’m supposed to warn you about dangers!” Cal retorts. “Joyisn’ta danger!”
“Says the lying demon.” Gus lifts off the ground with a swish and shoots back into the sky. I’m surprised he doesn’t use those antlers and knock Cal in the chest with them.
My eyes travel back to Bryn, who’s just tucked his head onto his knee and looks ready to pass out. Either this whole thing is so dramatic that he’s overwhelmed, or he already guessed everything about Joy and isn’t surprised at all. It’s hard to ken with a sloth demon.
Cal sighs as he watches Gus bolt laps through the sky, ignoring the snowflakes that blow around him. “Think he’ll forgive me?”
I shrug. “He’s a wrath demon. He’s basically wired to fly off the handle. I’m sure he’ll calm down eventually.”
I hear Joy call out, “Dasher! Oh boy, you’re so fast! Come on down when you want cookies!”
Bryn perks up. “Did she say cookies?”
Joy and Comet—dammit, I mean Joy andDemstreak back down from the cloud-laden sky. Our gorgeous Center laughs when the shithead slides into his landing so he can spray us with snow like a right asshole.
And while Cal is distracted, that’s when Gus decides to strike. He zooms over us and drops a deuce right onto Cal’s head. I can’t help but admire his aim.
“Ohhh! Cupid! Oh, I’m so sorry!” Joy’s hand flies to her mouth as Cal dips his head forward and lets the steaming turd drop from his fur into the snow.
“Zorgos!” Cal bellows.
