Page 83 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

Anyway, Zaire had taken him straight to the clinic and left Henry in Grammy’s capable hands. Then she took off. Probably because she didn’t want to tell Daddy that he’d gotten hurt on her watch. Or, and Henry probably should have thought of it first, she didn’t want Uncle Teague to tell Uncle Meshaq.

Teague was Henry’s hellhound guard that day. Henry always had to have a hellhound guard, especially when he practiced his magic. Daddy said it was better to be safe than sorry, and that the hellhounds could do the portal thing, which was important if they needed to get Henry away.

He didn’t want to go anywhere, though, but Papa explained that their job was to keep him safe. It was all pretty confusing. Especially since Teague didn’t seem to be upset that Henry’s head might be bleeding a little bit, but he was laughing pretty hard about how upset Zaire was.

Henry really didn’t understand grownups sometimes.

Grammy said head wounds bled like a bitch, even though he wasn’t allowed to say that word. She didn’t think his very tiny scratch was that big of a deal either. She had Henry holding a piece of gauze to his head while she got together some supplies to clean it out.

“It doesn’t even hurt, Grammy.”

“I know, kiddo. But it could still have dirt or something in it from the tree, so let’s clean it out. Besides, you have blood on your face and what do you think your Papa will do if he sees that?”

“Freak out?”

“Probably so.”

They shared a smile. Papa did not like it when one of them got hurt. Ollie fell and scraped his knee a few weeks back and Papa had carried him all the way to the clinic. Daddy had assured Papa that Ollie was fine, but Papa was a worrier.

Nana explained it while they waited for Daddy to put a Band-Aid on Ollie’s knee. Henry wasn’t really sure what being a first-time parent had to do with anything, but Nana seemed to think it was important for them to know. Anyway, Papa wouldn’t be happy at all to see blood on his face.

Grammy brushed his hair aside and wiped at the wound. “Okay?”

“Yep,” Henry said.

Grammy smiled and began to sing under her breath. “Silent night. Holy night.”

It took him a second to realize she was giving him a hint, but she gave him another look when he sucked in a breath after he figured it out. She smiled at him before turning her attention back to his head.

“Not hurting?” She interrupted her song to ask.

“No, ma’am.”

“Good. Still bleeding a little so I’m going to have you put a little more pressure on it. I’ve got it all cleaned out. I don’t think it needs stitches, but I’ll have Pop-Pop come take a look.”

Henry held the gauze in place where Grammy put it, then waited while she left the room. He wished he could write down the words, but he had a feeling she didn’t want him to move. Probably so he could think about what she’d said.

All is calm.

That meant settled, right? Which is what they wanted, for everything to be calm and settled. And if it was bright that meant light. So put holes in things to let light in and everything would be okay? It made sense.

But silent night.

This was going to be a tricky clue. He really needed to get back to his brothers and sisters and tell them what he’d found out. It worked out better than he hoped because he heard a bunch of footsteps coming, and then Papa flung open the door.

“Henry!”

Papa had him pulled into a hug before he could even say a word. He hugged him super hard for a minute before he pulled away while his brothers and sisters watched from the door to the exam room.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt. Grammy said head wounds bleed like… Um, a word I’m not allowed to say.”

“Right,” Papa said. “That’s not my favorite word for sure. But head wounds do tend to bleed quite a bit. Let me see.”

Henry carefully lifted the gauze, and Papa checked his cut. “It’s not too bad.”

“Did Grammy call you?”