Chapter 170

MALACHI CHRISTMAS EVE “Just look at it though. It’s all so shiny!” Ophelia squeals with delight, clapping her hands together. Her beautiful face is illuminated by the colored lights of the Christmas tree as they twinkle in the otherwise unlit room. We remodeled the house after the “incident,” and the professor’s quarters, with the exception of his study, have been combined with the main house to make one huge open-plan living area. All of which has been decorated with garlands and wreaths and colorful Christmas ornaments. I don’t believe there’s a square inch that has not been bedazzled by Christmas. Even Alexandros’s old leather chair has been adorned with a Santa cushion. He’s sitting on it now, reading his newspaper. At least he’s pretending to, but his eyes keep drifting to the excitable bundle of elementai in the middle of the room. There must be a hundred wrapped gifts stowed underneath the tree, adorned in a variety of shimmering red, gold, and green wrapping paper. I’d bet at l