Page 85 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

“Could be, but why would they specifically say holy night? I don’t know. It sounds like Henry’s going to need to be able to move some air, right?”

Ben nodded. “We can open the windows for sure. But… I agree. I don’t think that’s what she meant. Holes. What else?”

“Brooks makes holes in the walls with his drill,” Jack offered. “Remember when Pop-Pop hung up our artwork in special frames in the clinic? He had Brooks come, and he used his drill to make the holes.”

“Good thinking, Jack,” Natasha said. “How can we get our hands on the drill?”

“We ask.” Emily looked around at all of them. “He’ll let us borrow it if we ask nicely.”

Henry chewed his lip for a minute and thought it through. “He will. But what about the silent part? Drills aren’t quiet.”

“No. But maybe we have to be? Is that part of the magic or something, Henry? That we should be quiet when we make the holes?”

“Oh, or should Henry be the one to make the holes?” Ben asked. “And then he can ward them. But we usually have to be quiet when he’s warding so he can concentrate. Right, Henry?”

“You guys are awesome,” Henry said. “Yeah. I can make wards on the holes and that way we can have more. Plus, if we open the windows, it’ll give Santa easy access. But he can’t get through a tiny drill hole, right? But air can. Man, that was a tough clue, but we got it. I’m sure of it.”

“We need to figure out the best place to put the holes. We need a plan.”

“We can use my sticky goop,” Jack said. “Papa says it’s allowed on the walls because it comes off. We can mark the spots with it like Brooks did when he hung the pictures. Then we’ll know where to drill.”

Henry crawled onto his bed and laid down. His head did hurt a tiny bit. Ben frowned and walked over to him. “Do you need an ice pack or something?”

“No. It doesn’t hurt that bad. Just a little.”

“You were trying to make a stronger ward, huh? To get ready for Santa?”

“Yeah,” Henry confessed. “Zaire says I shouldn’t push so hard, but we don’t have a lot of time. I’ve gotta make sure I can ward the chimney and now ward all of the holes. It’s a lot.”

“We’ll help you,” Natasha promised. “I’m sure that’s part of the challenge. We all have to work together.”

Ben nodded. “We’ve got this. This Santa guy won’t know what hit him.”

Henry closed his eyes while his brothers and sisters found spots on his bed beside him. He dozed off while they kept making notes. He was glad Grammy had given him his clue when she did so they had plenty of time to plan. It was definitely complicated, but they would figure it out. He had all his brothers and sisters to help. Santa was doomed.

If Natasha had learned anything since coming to live with her new pack, it was to observe. It was something Calli taught her the first time they worked together. Aunt Calli was a badass hellhound. Natasha wanted to be a badass fox. It was pretty different, but she asked Calli to help her anyway.

Papa was always telling them to pay attention, and Calli said the same thing too. With the Santa threat quickly approaching, she’d asked Papa to have Aunt Calli come a couple extra times for training. Of course, Aunt Calli had been on a mission for the goddess, so Natasha had to wait for her to arrive.

It was then that she got her clue. From Grandpa William, of all people. He’d asked Brooks to take him into town for some important business. But then he’d come home with a bunch of bags from the mall.

Natasha tried not to be upset that she’d not gotten to go with him. She loved shopping, and Grandpa normally let at least one or two of them come with him. And he usually bought them something too.

Brooks carried the bags upstairs for him while Grandpa made his way into the house. His back was clearly bothering him, and Natasha opened her mouth to fuss at him for overdoing it, but then Grandpa started to sing quietly.

“Deck the halls…”

He smiled at her as he continued to walk slowly up the drive. She waited on the porch, trying not to get too excited. This was it. Her clue. She focused on the words, even though some of them were kinda funny. And who was Holly? No one in their pack was named Holly.

Calli arrived as Grandpa reached the steps. He ran his hand over Natasha’s head and smiled down at her. “All right?”

“I’m good. Being observant.”

“Excellent. Come see me when you’re done. We haven’t had a chat in a while.”

“Okay, Grandpa. And you get your feet up and make sure you put a heat pack on your back. And take your medicine, too.”

Grandpa chuckled and saluted her. “Yes, ma’am. Such a bossy thing.”