Free A Wizard for Christmas by Dorothy McFalls Page B

light in the back flickered. A lone candle sputtered, its flame returning. One by one the candles surrounding that single candle took a flame, giving the interior a warm golden glow.
    A child who had collapsed in the middle of the aisle stretched his arm. His mother yawned. One by one, people started to move. And then Hadrian started to sit up. Holly gasped a disbelieving breath and rushed to his side. “My God, Hadrian!” She helped him to his feet.
    “You did it.” He broke into a wide smile and pulled her into his arms. “It’s gone. You’ve locked it away.”
    “But I don’t understand . . .” She stared up at him confused, unable to grasp what happened. She touched his cheeks, feeling their warmth, his eyes, his lips. “You came back to me.”
    “Your love brought me back. Can’t you feel it?” He kissed her hard on the lips. “Oh lord, you’re powerful. So powerful, you almost scare me. Your love, your power is surging through me like molten metal.” He held her so tightly that she knew she’d never feel alone again. “I love you, Holly. I love you.”
    “What...what do we do now?” she asked on a shaking breath.
    “We go home.”
    Together they helped the stunned congregation return to the pews. The priest, his legs a little wobbly, shook his head as he made his way back to the podium. He then opened the prayer book and started to read the closing prayer.
    “They won’t remember what happened here tonight,” Hadrian said. He held Holly’s hand as they walked out of the church.
    Holly nodded. “I think it’s for the best. I want everyone to feel a warm glow when they remember this Christmas. My first truly happy Christmas.”
     
    * * * *
     
    The Christmas bells chimed throughout the city, heralding the coming of a crisp new day. Hadrian put his arm around Holly.
    “Imagine,” he said as they walked past the manger scene in front of St. Agnes’s where a tiny, seemingly helpless, baby took center stage. “Over two millennia ago the soul eater walked the earth, and the humans were vulnerable to him. Their souls were open for his taking. But now they are protected. Sealed against the darkness. People have changed. They’ve grown. The beast could kill them...and us...but it couldn’t destroy their souls. They’re evolving. We all are.”
    “Amazing.” Holly leaned her head on Hadrian’s shoulder. She liked the warmth he gave her.
    It was over. Christmas had come and the world was safe again. A bright star twinkled in the silent sky above them.
    She closed her eyes and pictured Priscilla kissing her husband under a sprig of mistletoe while their three little ones slept in a delightful heap on the sofa. And Karen, still dressed in her new Christmas dress, was toasting the new morning with her mother—a temporary truce being made.
    A familiar ache stabbed through her. Even happy Christmases can feel bittersweet. Holly had always been on the outside, apart. Although she had Hadrian, she was still on the outside when it came to Christmas because the Christmas spirit needed families to fuel it. And a family was something she’d never had. Even her fantasy family was forever lost to her. She’d sacrificed them to defeat the soul eater. When she closed her eyes, she could no longer see them.
    But then Hadrian led her into the café. There was music and laughing. A playful brawl was underway in the center of the room. And she knew.
    She had Hadrian. And this was her place. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t even beautiful. But it was where she belonged. Finally, she belonged.

Thank you for reading
    A WIZARD FOR CHRISTMAS
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