Enchantress Underground: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Arcane Artisans Book 3) by A. C. Spahn

Author:A. C. Spahn [Spahn, A. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sealook Press
Published: 2019-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

THE YEAR BEGAN to wind to a close. Somehow the rest of the group found out that Colombians observe Christmas the night of the 24th, and they decided we would all celebrate Nochebuena together. Veronica recruited Pete and Sam to kitchen duty to help her prepare Cena de Navidad. Though we were on a budget and the meal had little in common with the feasts my abuela had prepared when I was little, Veronica managed to produce a decent sancocho, a hearty soup, and buñuelos, small balls of dough mixed with hard white cheese and fried. Pete found a mix of vallenato and cumbia music online, two styles for which I retained a fondness. We sat on the floor, using the one chair as a platform for the laptop, and listened to drums and accordions and Spanish singing while eating from paper bowls.

I didn’t know how everyone had concluded my traditions were the ones we’d follow, particularly since the close living quarters left no room for private conspiring, but the evening meant a lot to me. Not only for the honor paid to my heritage. It was also a vote of confidence, a tacit acknowledgment that they trusted me to bring us through this dark night. Kendall’s words were true. The Underground didn’t follow us as a group. They followed me. Adrienne Morales. La Espectra de San Francisco. The woman the cult could not kill.

We exchanged gifts, such as they were. Desmond had gotten hold of some thick sticks outside, cut them to palm-sized, and carved each with one of our names and some decorative floral work. Kendall had cut up the duct tape purse she’d had with her when we fled the Void Union, and she’d used the fragments to create tiny finger puppets on which she drew caricatures of our faces. Veronica crafted everyone’s favorite fancy coffee drinks, complete with her signature latte art. She’d learned to make chocolate con queso perfectly. Pete sheepishly offered his own contribution, which turned out to be little homemade soaps. He’d saved the unusable fragments of our soap bars, melted them down, and poured them into an ice cube tray to solidify while he studded them with flower petals. It was shockingly creative for him, and we all thanked him profusely. He turned red and admitted he’d found the idea online, but had done the work while he was the one staying in the apartment to watch Sam. At his prompting, Sam went to retrieve a bundle of papers from beneath the stove, which turned out to be drawings he’d encouraged her to do for all of us. They weren’t as good as her normal work, not by a world, but the fact she could comprehend the idea of drawing at all was a good sign. Dr. Richards had only recently joined us, but she offered free checkups which we laughingly declined.

For my part, I’d claimed a few old nail polish bottles from the apartment building’s trash and used them to make a dye dip.

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