"Okay." He looked depressed, but I gave him a rea.s.suring smile.

I whisked the baby out of the room, but not before my sister and her bride flew through the kitchen window.

Bill and Anna stood there in shock.

"We can't find Hiroshi anywhere, but we did find what looks like a grave somebody was digging...right between the edge of our property and the Huang property. h.e.l.lo, and who are you?" Kalani asked, casting a glance finally at Tem's parents.

"Kalani, these are Tem's parents."

"Hi there," she grinned.

"How did you do that, come bursting through the window like that?" Anna asked.

Thank G.o.d, she hadn't seen them flying...

"A lot of practice," Kalani laughed. "Oooh, champagne. I love it. Clancy darling, you want some?"

"That would be yummy." Clancy took her arm from around Kalani and accepted a gla.s.s.

"So you two are a couple?" Anna asked.

"Yes." Kalani sounded defensive, but Anna seemed merely curious.

"And you all live together?"

"Yes. My sister and I have lived her for many years...and then, like magic, we met these two wonderful people and they came into our lives and-"

"And what did you mean about a freshly dug grave?"

The baby started the hideous wailing again and I ran from the kitchen with him, a fresh bottle of formula in my spare hand.

In our bedroom, I paced with him, but he would not accept the bottle. Nothing I did placated him. We needed those herbs. I didn't know what to do with him. His body felt hot. Maybe he had a fever? I ran lukewarm water in the bathroom sink as Kalani slipped into the room and joined me.

"Here...let me help you." She squeezed some lavender body soap into the sink and helped me undress the wriggling, burning up baby. The unearthly screaming stopped as his body descended into the scented suds. He laughed happily and the strangest thing happened. One of his razor sharp little demon teeth fell out of his mouth.

Kalani and I kept sponging him and the baby luxuriated in the sensation of being in water. Plop, another tooth fell out. A third one landed on his chest. The baby allowed me to trickle water over his head.

"Don't look now...but I've just figured out something," I told my sister.

"I know what you're going to say." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He's a storm demon, isn't he?"

Chapter Ten.

em was sitting in the bath with me, holding ourTwet, naked and kicking baby in his arms. "Okay. So now, explain a storm demon to me again."

"It's very simple, really. He was born a vampire, but someone thought he was dead and tried to bury him. There was rain last night, the baby was struck by lightning and...voila, we have ourselves a storm demon."

"So...wait a second, you don't think he's an ancient baby?"

"No. In fact, I am beginning to wonder why Hiroshi even floated that possibility out to us."

"Maybe he knows we're vampires?" Tem looked at me, nervous now.

The thought had occurred to me, too. "Could be, but I don't think so. I do think he suspects the baby is a vampire...and I do know that we need to bury that old casket. If it is what I think it is, the casket of an ali'i, ancient royalty, there is a kapu on .

it and if there is one thing this family doesn't need is more bad luck."

"But what about the baby? Are we supposed to keep him in water to keep the demon curse off him?" Tem stepped out of the bath, handed the baby off to me and dried off hurriedly.

"One man's curse is another man's blessing, sweetheart. He's a hybrid. They're very rare. When he's older, he'll be able to control the demonic side of him. Like any baby, we need to nurture and grow him...very carefully."

"You seem very excited that he's a storm demon." Tem's curious gaze was on me as he got dressed for Christmas dinner.

"Sure I am. I've never met one before. I want to make sure he puts it to good use, that he uses his power wisely. Until then, yes, we need to keep him in water. As he gets older, he'll need it less and less."

"So he's kind of like Spiderman, a sort of super hero?"

"Exactly. A sort of vampo-demo Man."

Tem looked delighted. "With all his powers, he can right wrong, destroy evil doers everywhere..."

"Yes, when he gets control of his bladder." I pointed to the baby lying on a bed of towels. His wiener was having a wee wee fiesta. "Don't worry, I'll clean him up." I glanced at my man. "Must you cover up that gorgeous, delicious, hot .

bod with clothing?"

"For now." He grinned. "I do belong to you, remember? I plan on a little fun with you the moment we're alone again."

"Good." I watched him moving around in his tight black pants and red cashmere sweater, and I longed to get my tongue on his skin again.

"You're wearing the hunter green sweater." Tem gave me a kiss, his long, pink tongue flirting with my mouth.

I squawked when he moved away from me again. "Hey, I was starting to enjoy myself."

"That was just a little soupcon of what's in store for you the second I get you back in this bedroom tonight."

"Tonight? Can't you give me a little soupcon more?" I whined.

I got one more tiny, sweet kiss and he picked up the baby bottle. "Well, darling, at least we don't have to worry about getting more of these herbs from Hiroshi."

I picked up the baby from his towel collection and put him back into the makeshift bath in the sink. He was a little darling now that water was getting to him in big doses. I made funny faces at Beelzebub and Tem shook his head.

"And all this time we thought it was the herbs...but it was the bath the girls gave him? Div, we can't spend all day bathing him."

"We have to do it in turns. At least once every hour, somebody has to bathe him." I checked the baby's mouth. Two very stubborn bottom teeth remained and only one ear was pointed now. Both his hands were baby's hands again, but he still had a forked tongue.

Tem sounded stressed. "I am in the middle of cooking Christmas dinner, you know, Div."

"I a.s.sure you, between the four of us, Clancy, Todah, Kalani and I can handle it."

"Where is Todah, anyway?"

"I have no idea. I came in here with you after we opened a few gifts...I haven't seen him since."

Throwing on some clothes as Tem played with the baby, I tried not to feel the stab of childish hatefulness that I wasn't the one getting my tummy tickled.

There was a knock at our bedroom door. I picked the baby up out of his bath and checked the time. Eleven a.m.

"All we need to do is keep this little guy on his water schedule and keep your parents on champagne and we'll be fine." Tem opened the bedroom door as the baby kicked his little feet in a big fluffy towel.

"Say...his hand is all better!" Anna pointed a drunken, wobbly finger at the baby who looked at it like it was food. I was afraid his two remaining teeth would sever that finger in one little chomp.

Christmas in the emergency room wasn't my idea of fun.

"Hi there...yes, amazing isn't it?" I grinned. "Are you ready for more champagne?"

Anna nodded. I stole a kiss from Tem who gave me the baby and hustled off to the kitchen. Anna followed me down the maze of stairs to the cellar and a weird feeling came over me.

Someone was in here. I felt acute danger and tried to stop my mother-in-law from entering the climate-controlled cellar. She pushed her way forward and another strange sensation pa.s.sed through me. n.o.body was here. I was imagining things.

Anna's eyes popped at the stunning collection of wines we kept in the rooms.

"Oh, Bill has to see this." She turned around and tore up the stairs and the baby blew a raspberry at me.

"Your grandma is funny. Can you say funny?" I whispered to him, and the baby yawned in my face. Geez, in just a few hours he's already figured out I'm not the funniest guy in the world after all. Bill arrived, equally impressed with our stash of vintage wines and he and Anna grabbed a couple of bottles each. I picked out some wines for dinner and we went upstairs again.

In the kitchen, my husband was the picture of domestic G.o.d-liness, turning over the huge pieces .

of sea ba.s.s that had been marinating in hoisin-lime glaze since the previous day in large baking dishes. He brushed a thin layer of b.u.t.ter over the whole snapper with ginger and lemongra.s.s, tied up in rice paper. Then he dotted some more b.u.t.ter on his turkey with the wasabi soy crust and prepared to steam the lobsters from the freezer with garlic, ginger and chili.

He had things under control, but I could feel his mind humming with the details as he turned his attention to the bunches of Thai basil that he started to chop for the Szechuan shrimp. Tem had spent the previous day hand cranking sesame udon noodles for his Vegetable Penang dish. For dessert he was making banana spring rolls and tamarind Buddha chocolate. This was my favorite thing in the world, next to Tem's red velvet cake. It consisted of a hand formed bittersweet chocolate sh.e.l.l filled with a rich tamarind-flavored chocolate and ginger mousse. For the fresh Kauai estate Peaberry coffee he was planning to serve with it, he had traded it, via the old Hawaiian bartering system, with our neighbors, the Huang family, for his best-of-the island poi.

"Can you take the poi next door, darling?" he asked me. All our neighbors went mad for Tem's poi and I was thrilled to be married to a man who could make it better than even the old timers.

"I think I am half out of my mind with love for .

you," I told him.

"That's lovely, sweetheart, but it still won't get you out of helping me," he laughed. I knew our entire menu, I had listened as Tem changed it daily. Now it was happening and I wanted nothing to spoil our first family Christmas. This was the most important day for him as a newlywed and so far not one single thing had gone according to schedule.

"Don't worry, I'm all yours."

My sister was on her cell phone, a furrowed look to her brow.

Hiroshi, she mouthed to me.

"What is it?" I asked the second she ended the call.

She glanced at Tem and back at me again. "I need to get that burial basket back outside," she whispered. "That was Todah. Hiroshi is here...he won't come in. He says there's a kapu on the house."

Oh, smashing. I tried telepathing all of this to my husband, but he was too busy wigging out over Christmas dinner. I could read his thoughts. He was focused completely on cooking times and fretting about running out of b.u.t.ter. I handed him a fresh two pound box of organic European b.u.t.ter out of the fridge and he gave me a dazzling smile. Now he was worried about not being ready when we had a house full of guests due to arrive in a .

couple of hours.

"You don't need to come with me, Jimmy." Kalani indicated the array of half cooked dishes on the counter tops.

"I'm not leaving you on your own out there. Besides, I have to take the poi next door." A kapu. My G.o.d, that was fine and dandy on Christmas day.

"Here." Tem handed me a basket of freshly baked croissants and brioches. "Give these to anyone who wants them on your way out. Oh...and Div, can you do me a favor? Can you give my mom one of her presents to open? She's driving me crazy and I am afraid I will murder her. I'm this close." He held his thumb and forefinger together.

"Understood. Which one do you want me to give her?"

"It's a white box with a red velvet ribbon. And please don't be long, Div. I need you. Do you have any idea where Todah is?"

"No. It's so weird. Where could he have gone?"

Kalani shrugged. "Probably on his fourth shift by now."

I gave Tem another kiss, for medicinal purposes, and went off to find Anna and Bill in the living room, yucking it up with two other family members I'd barely had time to meet. Tem and Todah's middle-aged Aunties had arrived .

from San Francisco. They were women who dressed conservatively but I knew, after a couple of drinks, they'd be a gas. Tem had told me so.

"h.e.l.lo, Jimmy. I'm Rita and this is Sandy." Was she flirting with me?

I gave them a smile, popping the basket of baked goods on the coffee table.

"How are we supposed to meet men when all the good ones are married or gay?" Sandy pouted.

"I honestly don't know. Would you like a blueberry Brioche?"

As they attacked them, I rooted around the base of the tree, handing out a few gifts to keep them distracted.