Chapter 26Nicolaj was sitting on the top step of the porch when the front door opened early the next morning. He sat against the railing watching as the world woke up around their home. As the sun began to lighten the sky birds took to chirping, a rabbit munched on dewy grass close to a thicket of bushes should he require a quick hidey hole, and a squirrel eyed the birdfeeders, fuzzy tail twitching. He’d spent most of the night wide awake, first hashing things out with Lydia, who reiterated her fears for Westley when he brought up the wounds, and then sitting vigil at the entrance to their home as if he expected a clover hooved-horned man to come waltzing down the driveway in their direction. A bag, full of all the things Lydia assured him would banish the demon, sat on the porch swing.
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