The Christmas Curse (The Christmas Curse #1)

Prologue

C alyx wasn’t a confrontational person. If a restaurant got his order wrong, he kept his mouth shut and ate whatever they gave him. If someone bumped into him, he apologized instead of letting them do it.

He didn’t like fights with anyone, but he especially didn’t like fights with his family, yet he couldn’t stop what was happening around him.

“None of this is fair!” Yancey yelled. “Why did she leave the house to you?”

“Leave him alone,” Griffith said, stepping in front of Calyx. “He had nothing to do with Caitlin’s will. He didn’t force her to leave him the house.”

“He didn’t have to force her,” Shelby muttered from where he was sitting on the couch. “He was always her favorite. We should have known.”

Calyx glanced at the last of his brothers, Justin. He was curled up in the window seat, staring outside instead of participating in the fight. Calyx couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad thing. Considering Justin was half-demon, it was good that he wasn’t angry at the moment, but did his lack of reaction mean he’d try to get revenge later or that he didn’t care?

Calyx’s heart felt heavy. He didn’t want his family to fight, especially not when they’d just lost their mother.

Well, not their mother since they weren’t actually related, but the only mother figure Calyx ever had.

Calyx thought of the four men in the living room with him as his brothers. They’d been adopted and raised by Caitlin, who had just passed away and had apparently left the house in which they lived to Calyx.

“I didn’t know about this,” he murmured.

He stood near the door, just in case he needed to run. Considering they had a half-demon, a half-god, and two shifters in the room, he might have to. He didn’t think any of his brothers would hurt him on purpose, but they were angry, and when people were angry, it was easy to lose sight of what was happening. Yancey especially had always had a volatile personality, and when he exploded, it was better for everyone to take cover.

Then, there was Calyx. He was the weakest of all of them. He was a mage, and he had magic, but his body was human. In a physical fight, any of his brothers could kick his ass.

And it looked like Yancey might try.

He’d have to get through Griffith first. Griffith was defending Calyx, which made Calyx hope that maybe they could be more than brothers once this mess was over. Of course, he’d had that hope for a few years now, and nothing had ever changed between them, so maybe he was just an idiot.

Yancey snorted. “You never know about anything. You act like you’re so innocent, but I don’t believe it anymore. What did you tell Caitlin to convince her to give you the house?”

Calyx pressed his back harder against the wall. “I didn’t tell her anything. I didn’t know she was going to leave the house to me. I can give it to you if you want it.”

“No,” Justin said. “If she left it to you, it’s because she wanted to. It wouldn’t be good to go against her wishes.” He never looked at them.

Without seeing his expression, Calyx couldn’t tell what he was feeling, and it made him nervous. He’d always been close to his brothers. In fact, they’d been closer than most people, even blood-related siblings. They were each other’s chosen family, and that had meant a lot. It still did, at least for Calyx. He wasn’t sure how his brothers felt about it, though.

He rubbed his face with both his hands. He was grieving the only parent who had ever loved him. He was confused because, while she’d divided her wealth between the five of them, she’d left the house in which they’d all grown up to him. She hadn’t mentioned anything, even though she’d written her will a few years ago. She’d never told Calyx, and she definitely had never told any of the others, either. The result was that everyone was angry at Calyx while Calyx was utterly confused.

“You’re on his side, then,” Yancey said.

Justin finally turned. He was expressionless, which gave Calyx a shiver.

“I’m on Caitlin’s side. I don’t know why she did what she did, but her reason doesn’t matter. I respected her when she was alive, and that hasn’t changed because she died.”

Yancey looked like he wanted to hit something. For a moment, Calyx wondered if he would. He held his breath, watching his brother.

He breathed easier when Yancey took a step back and shook his head. Unfortunately, Calyx’s relief didn’t last long.

“Fine. You want to be on his side, then be on his side, but I’m out of here.”

Calyx pushed away from the wall. “What? You can’t leave. This is our home.”

Yancey glared at him. “No, it’s your home.”

He turned and walked away. Calyx wanted to call him back, but he knew better. Instead, he listened to his brother’s footsteps as he went upstairs, probably to his room.

“Should I go talk to him?” Calyx asked the room.

Shelby shook his head as he got to his feet. “It would be useless. He doesn’t want to talk to you. He’s angry.”

Calyx swallowed. “Does he really believe I did something to—to force Caitlin to do this? Because I didn’t. I never wanted the house. I never wanted her to die.”

Shelby stopped in front of Calyx. “I don’t know if he actually believes it, but you know how he is. Now that he said that…”

He’d cling to it because he never liked admitting that he was wrong. Even if he didn’t think that Calyx had done any of what he’d accused him of doing, he wouldn’t apologize.

Shelby left, maybe to go after Yancey. Calyx was with Griffith and Justin, but Justin was the next to go. He gave Calyx a tight smile, vanishing without saying anything else.

“I didn’t do anything,” Calyx muttered. “I didn’t know about this, and I don’t want the house.” He just wanted his family.

“You might not have wanted it, but you have it,” Griffith said before stepping out of the living room.

Calyx was completely alone. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been. Caitlin hadn’t found all five of them at the same time, but Calyx had been one of the last to arrive. When he got here, he’d already had three brothers, and all of them had lived at the house since then. That meant there was always a lot of noise and not a lot of privacy, but he’d learned to love it.

His legs shook as he sat on the couch. He needed to do something, but he didn’t know what. If he could, he’d resurrect Caitlin and demand an explanation. He had no doubt she’d known what she was doing when she’d left him the house. She had to know how the others would react, but she hadn’t even tried to warn Calyx or left an explanation anywhere that would show them that Calyx had nothing to do with her decision.

Calyx wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, staring at the wall. He heard a door slam in the distance, then heavy footsteps on the stairs. When he heard the front door, he jumped to his feet, needing to know what was happening.

The door was open, but the foyer was empty. Calyx peered outside to see that Yancey was striding toward his car, carrying two bags. He dumped them into the trunk, and Calyx panicked.

“Where are you going?” he asked, almost falling down the porch steps in his haste.

Yancey glared at him. “I’m leaving. This isn’t my home anymore.”

“It will always be your home. You can have it if you want it.”

Yancey was already shaking his head. “You know what? Keep it. It’s all yours.”

“You can’t leave,” Calyx begged.

“I can’t? Watch me.”

Calyx did just that. He couldn’t stop Yancey. No one ever could.

He was the first to leave. Shelby went about half an hour after him, and when Calyx knocked on Justin’s door, he was already gone. That only left Griffith, but Calyx was scared of finding out what was happening with him, so he avoided him for as long as he could. When he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, though, he couldn’t hide in the living room anymore. He rushed to the foyer and threw the door open, watching as Griffith climbed into his car.

He didn’t look back once, and when he drove away, he carried Calyx’s heart with him.

“This is not what I thought would happen,” a woman said behind Calyx.

He screamed and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Caitlin standing by the stairs. She looked like she had a week ago before she died. She even had her glasses on.

“You’re dead,” he croaked.

“Very much so. I couldn’t not come home to my boys, though.”

Calyx’s mind was reeling. He didn’t know what to say or do. He couldn’t believe that Caitlin was standing right in front of him, looking so alive and real. “Why did you do it? Why did you leave me the house?”

She gave him a sad smile. “Because you’ve always been the heart of our family and because this is a mage’s home. There’s magic in its bones and in its foundations, and you’re the only one it could go to. I thought the others would realize that, too.”

They hadn’t, and now, they were gone. Calyx was alone.

But not for long. He slammed the front door shut and rushed to his room, which he also used as a study. He’d read a spell a few weeks ago before Caitlin had passed away. He’d never thought he’d have to use it. He needed his brothers to come back, and since talking hadn’t worked, Calyx would use his magic.

“This is not a good idea,” Caitlin warned from behind Calyx. She sounded close enough to be leaning over his shoulder.

He jumped but kept his focus on the book. He had so many questions for her, but he couldn’t ask them now. He was angry at her for what she’d done. He was shocked because she’d come back as a ghost. He wanted to yell at her, tell her that she’d ruined his life when, in fact, she’d saved it when he was a kid.

“I don’t want to hurt them,” he said. “Just for them to come back.”

“Then you’ll have to modify the spell. I’m really sorry this happened, Calyx.”

He shook his head and ignored the way his eyes burned with tears. “It’s Christmas. You weren’t supposed to die. They weren’t supposed to leave me.”

Calyx thought about the decorated tree downstairs in the living room, about the gifts he’d hidden in his closet. He thought about the Christmas dinner he’d been planning, the things he’d already bought to make this a good Christmas, even though Caitlin had just died.

Taking a deep breath, he gathered all the ingredients he needed to cast his spell.

He lit the candles and recited the incantation, his voice trembling slightly. He closed his eyes and focused all his energy on bringing his brothers back. He could feel the power building up inside him, but it was too much, too quickly, and it exploded out of him.

As the shimmering light of the beacon spell faded, Calyx felt a sickening lurch in his stomach. Something was terribly wrong. The magic twisted and warped, taking on a sinister aura that made his skin crawl.

“No, no, no,” he muttered frantically, his fingers flying as he attempted to weave counter-spells. But the curse had already taken form, a writhing mass of dark magic that threatened to explode outward with lethal force. He had no idea what had gone wrong, but he didn’t have the time to find out.

In desperation, Calyx reached deep within himself, drawing on every ounce of magical knowledge and power he possessed. It wasn’t a great twist because the spell was still a curse, but it wasn’t a deadly curse. His brothers wouldn’t die. They wouldn’t be happy with him, but if it meant they would come home, he’d deal with their anger and resentment.

A gust of wind blew through the room, extinguishing all the candles at once. The spell had become a curse, but Calyx had managed to alter its nature. The deadly energy dissipated, replaced by a softer but still ominous glow.

Panting heavily, Calyx slumped to the ground.

He was in trouble.