Christmas Magic Page 7

  “Don’t tell me you don’t like using the sleigh lines.”

  He set his unimpressed eyes on me. “Unless you’ve experienced them as a shifter, I don’t want to hear about it,” he growled before turning and stalking toward the far end of the barn.

  “Gee, touchy,” I replied, having to jog to catch up with him. I knew reindeers generally didn’t like the sleigh lines because they reminded them of their enslavement long ago, but I didn’t realize it also made them sick to use it for travel.

  It had been centuries since reindeer were subjected to claus brutality, but memories ran deep amongst shifters, and even now, they still distrusted clauses and despised anything that reminded them of that time. Many wars had been fought in our history, but the biggest and most brutal one had been to bring an end to shifter slavery.

  Reindeer, like Dash, had once been captured as children and bound to a life pulling sleighs or being ridden for entertainment. It was before the sleigh lines were discovered, but once they were, they rendered traditional sleighs all but useless.

  I often thought that the clauses who had discovered the magic of sleigh lines called them such to stick it to the reindeer. The politically correct version of the story, that clauses tried to encourage, was that they were simply called sleigh lines because they were the new replacement for the outdated equipment.

  Yeah, most clauses were arrogant pricks. It was probably a good thing I didn’t grow up amongst them, or I’d likely be just as bad.

  Dash opened the barn door, peeking his head out to survey the field beyond before he exited. I followed him outside, letting out a sigh as I stepped into the cool English air. The frigid chill from the Northern Realm was gone, and it felt good to be back home.

  Dash was already trudging down the short dirt track that led to the road beyond the property. It had rained recently, and the ground had turned to sludge, so I picked my way over it with careful steps. The last thing I needed was to slip in the stuff.

  “So, what’s the plan?” I asked once we reached the road. It was narrow and lined with tall hedges like many of the backcountry lanes in England.

  “You go about your daily business as normal, and I’ll have someone from my herd keeping track of you at all times.”

  “I figured that much,” I replied. “What I meant is: how are we getting back to town? We can’t exactly rock up together.”

  “No,” Dash agreed, glancing back at me. His cheeks had a little more color in them now, and I was glad to see the pallid tone his face had taken was completely gone. As much as I didn’t like the guy, I didn’t want to see him getting sick. He was supposed to be my backup for when the elves came after me.

  “That’s why you’ll be walking while I take a different route,” he said.

  “You’re planning to shift, aren’t you?” Which was totally unfair.

  Dash laughed. “It’s the middle of the day in England. Do you think I’m going to shift into a reindeer?”

  I pictured the image of a reindeer trotting down the winding lanes that led to town and laughed. I could only image the reaction he’d get if he were spotted. My laughter dried up though when the lights on a car parked a little way down the road lit up, and I noticed Dash had the keys in his hand.

  “So, I walk while you drive?”

  From the smug look on his face, Dash was enjoying my reaction far too much. “It’s not far,” he replied. “And I’d hate for us to be seen together. If the dark elves catch onto us, I’ll have to take you back to the North Pole.”

  “Then you walk and I’ll drive,” I replied, reaching out to grab his keys.

  Dash snatched them away and tutted. “Don’t you think the elves will realize you’re driving a car that’s not yours?”

  “You’re impossible,” I grumbled under my breath. “I could have summoned the car from anywhere.”

  “Summon a car?” he replied. “Not at this time of year.”

  Maybe a normal claus couldn’t, but I certainly could. I was no longer concerned about the car though. I’d had an idea. I grinned as magic flickered at my fingertips and a bike appeared at my side. It had pink tassels on the handles and was far too small for me, but it was good sight better than walking.

  Dash laughed at me as I climbed onto the bike. I rang the bell a couple of times before zooming off down the road without him. “I’ll catch you around, shifter,” I called over my shoulder to him.

  “I’ll be watching,” he yelled in reply.

  I was counting on it.

  Chapter Seven

  “You’re about a day late for your shift,” Sam said, as I walked into The Rusty Gate and made my way toward the bar. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, but it was mostly filled with disappointment.

  It was late morning and the pub was empty, too early for even the regulars who could always be counted on to be sitting at the bar. There was no background noise of voices chatting and glasses clinking. I didn’t like the silence or the awkwardness that hung in the air between Sam and me.

  “I know and I’m sorry, Sam, but something came up.”

  He focused on the limes he was cutting up, a frown creasing the center of his brow. “I knew you were younger than most of my staff when I hired you, but I thought you were more mature than this,” he said. “I can’t afford to have employees who flake on me whenever they get a hangover.”

  His words hurt. I never thought a human could affect me like that, but we’d become friends these last weeks, and I didn’t like letting him down. I wished that I could tell him the truth, but I knew I couldn’t. What would I even say? Sorry, but I was attacked by a pack of evil elves, kidnapped by a reindeer, and held hostage in the North Pole. Yeah, that would go down real well.

  “I promise it wasn’t a hangover,” I said. “Please give me another shot. I can’t tell you what happened yesterday, but I promise that I would have been here if I could have. It won’t happen again.” At least, I hoped it wouldn’t.

  Sam let out a long, suffering breath before he looked up at me once more.

  “Fine,” he said. “One more chance. But it’s the final one you’re getting. If you’re so much as a minute late again, you’re gone.”

  I smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I said, rushing around the bar to give him a hug.

  Sam shook his head at me as he pulled back from my embrace. “You’re welcome, but don’t expect me to be so lenient next time.”

  I grinned. “So, there’s going to be a next time?”

  He laughed and pointed toward the kitchen. “There better not be. Now, get to work, these ice tubs won’t fill themselves.”

  I grabbed the closest ice bucket and gave him a salute. “Sure thing, boss.”

  I smiled as I walked away. Magic could be used for a lot of things, but talking your way back into a job wasn’t one of them. I felt a small sense of accomplishment that I’d managed the feat and was glad Sam hadn’t lost complete faith in me yet.

  As I walked into the kitchen, I found Alfie standing right on the other side of the door. He had a guilty look on his face, and I could tell he’d been listening in. Why else would he be loitering in the kitchen and hiding behind the door.

  Thankfully, there were no kitchen hands around, so I didn’t have to worry about looking like a crazy person when I addressed him.

  “Eavesdropping, Alfie? How terribly human of you,” I said, hugging the ice bucket to my chest.

  “This from the claus who just begged for her human job back?”

  I rolled my eyes at him before heading toward the staircase in the corner of the room. I walked down into the cellar where the beer barrels, spare crates of wine, and the ice machine lived. I didn’t need to turn to know Alfie was following.

  “So, seen any hot ghosts lately?” I asked. “I think it’s about time you started dating.”

  “You know I can’t speak about other ghosts.”

  Unfortunately, I knew that fact far better than I’d like. I’d spent m
onths asking Alfie if he knew whether my mother had become one when she’d died. Something about ghosts’ magic made them incapable of speaking about one another though, so he’d never been able to tell me either way.

  “And stop trying to change the subject,” he added. “Why do you want to keep working here so much?”

  I shrugged and started scooping ice into the bucket. “Dash told me to keep to my normal routine.”

  “That doesn’t seem like the whole story.”

  “Well, it is.”

  “It didn’t seem that way upstairs…”

  “Well, it was.”

  Alfie paused before he continued. I wasn’t exactly opening up like he clearly wanted. “Clio, you’ve been different since your mom passed. I know it hasn’t been long, but you’ve changed so much since last season. I’m worried about you.”

  I let out an exasperated breath and turned to him. “Maybe I like my human job. Maybe I like having human friends and only worrying about human problems.”

  Alfie took a step back from me. He was slightly more corporeal than he had been a couple of days ago, and it was far easier to make out the sadness in his eyes. “I wasn’t trying to upset you,” he replied softly.

  “I know.” I let out another breath and turned back to the ice machine.

  My shoulders sagged as I shoveled out a scoop of ice. I wasn’t sure why I was acting so defensive with Alfie, but I wasn’t sure why he was asking so many questions either. We rarely spoke about our personal issues. It wasn’t because we weren’t close; we just liked it that way. There was too much trauma and darkness in the both of us, and if we started exploring it, I knew we’d struggle to find the light again.

  Silence stretched between us, and when I finally shut the door to the ice machine, I knew Alfie was gone. I turned to stare at the space where my friend had been hovering, already missing him and wishing he would come back.

  “Sorry, Alf,” I whispered to the air. I couldn’t sense his presence nearby though, so I knew he hadn’t heard my apology.

  Thankfully, the pub had a large lunch crowd today, so I was kept busy enough that our argument didn’t linger on my conscience while I worked. I threw myself into my job, pouring beers and running food orders. It was all going rather well until the scent of magic tingled my nostrils.

  My head jerked up, and I watched as Dash pushed the front door open and entered the pub. My heart immediately started beating faster. If he was in here, it couldn’t be good news.

  I walked out from behind the bar, ignoring the waiting customers, and went straight over to him. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m starving,” he replied, like it was the biggest problem in the world.

  “I don’t care about your stomach,” I said. “I want to know what could be so urgent that you risked being seen with me to come in here.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh, indeed.” I looked around the room at the other patrons before grabbing Dash by the arm and leading him into the small alcove by the front door. “We agreed you would keep your distance,” I hissed. “That you would watch and wait in the shadows for the next attack.”

  “That’s not really working for me.”

  “It’s been five hours!”

  “Five long and boring hours sitting outside and watching this pub. I think we need to tackle this another way.”

  There must have been something amusing about the look of horror on my face because the corner of Dash’s mouth lifted in his signature smirk.

  “I’m not going back to your shack if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

  “Don’t pretend you didn’t love my shack,” he replied. “Hell, you liked it so much you made yourself at home and redecorated.”

  “Cutting a hole in your wall with a chainsaw isn’t redecorating.” I swear he was just here to annoy me to death. If the elves weren’t going to finish the job, it seemed like Dash was more than willing.

  He shrugged. “Looked like redecorating to me.”

  “Whatever. Just tell me what your new plan is so I can go back to my job.”

  “Well, the job is actually part of the problem. The elves won’t attack you while you’re working here, in front of all these witnesses. I’ve thought about it and have decided that our best chance of them attacking is if we have you moving about the town out in the open.”

  “That’s just about the most stupid suggestion I’ve ever heard,” I replied. “You want me to waltz up and down the streets of Bramblewood until I’m attacked?”

  “And quit your job. It’s making keeping an eye on you more tedious.”

  I shook my head at him. Who did this reindeer think he was? “I’ll have you know that neither of those things are happening. I’m not quitting, and I’m not wasting my time out on the streets waiting to be attacked. I have a life here, and it is not run by you.”

  He lifted one eyebrow at me, like he thought my little outburst was funny rather than intimidating. “Well, I’ll just have to make myself at home in here then.” He moved past me to sit down at the closest table.

  “You can’t stay here,” I growled, trailing right after him.

  “I think you’ll find that I can,” he replied with a knowing grin. “I’ll have one beer.”

  “Fine.” Magic swirled in my fingers, and a glass of beer appeared in my hands. I closed the distance between us and pretended to stumble as I drew close. The beer sloshed out of the glass and poured into the shifter’s lap. My lips tightened as I tried to withhold a grin.

  I expected him to shout at me or splutter a round of curses, but instead, the corner of his mouth lifted in a calculating smile. His eyes sparked with fire as he looked at me, and I took a step backward as he stood up so he towered over me.

  I was frozen as he lowered his lips to my ear. “A little beer isn’t going to change my mind. This isn’t over.” He turned and left the building.

  I didn’t breathe again until the door swung shut firmly behind him.

  “Who was that?” Sam asked, coming to stand at my side. Typical. He’d spent most of my shift up in his office and only now had he decided to make his presence known.

  “It was no one.”

  Sam tilted his head, watching me in a way that made me feel exposed. “Well, next time no one comes into my pub, can you please refrain from throwing beer all over them?”

  My heart dropped to my stomach at his comment. “It was an accident,” I stuttered. I was fairly certain he hadn’t seen me summon the beer, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t at risk of losing my job for the part where I’d spilled beer all over a customer.

  Sam was looking at me like he didn’t quite believe me, so I knew I needed to do damage control.

  “But, I’ll try not to spill beer on customers in future,” I added.

  Sam gave me one nod in response and turned to walk away. He glanced over his shoulder at me just once as he left, and the frown gracing his forehead had me wondering if perhaps he’d seen more than just the spilled beer.

  One of the reindeers was waiting for me when I finished my shift at the pub. I felt their gaze on me the moment I stepped outside. It was late afternoon, and the sun was still shining, so I highly doubted the dark elves would be gunning for me as I walked home. My watcher wasn’t standing anywhere obvious, but after a quick scan of my surroundings, I caught sight of him sitting in one of the blue bucket chairs in the laundromat across the street. It was Blitz.

  The shifter looked so big in the tiny seat that I wanted to laugh. I was tempted to give him a wave, but I thought better of it. I couldn’t afford to draw any more attention to him.

  I started the walk home and could sense him following me. I felt a strange wave of disappointment that it was Blitz watching me and not Dash. I guess I’d given Dash every reason to send in the B team rather than look out for me himself.

  I wondered what Blitz would do once I arrived home. Would he be expected to watch my apartment from the street all night? Maybe Dash was right. Maybe this wasn’t the be
st way to draw out the elves.

  I knew I was nearly home when I rounded the corner and the smell of curry greeted me. I’d never been a fan of Indian food before, but now, it was like a warm welcome whenever I finished a long shift at the pub.

  My body ached as I trudged up the stairs to my apartment. I was placing the key in my door when I immediately felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. A tingle of magic fluttered against my skin and I froze. Closing my eyes, I extended my senses out and caught the scent of reindeer coming from within my apartment. Reindeer, yes, but not Dash.

  Opening the door with slow and silent movements, I sent a pulse of magic to my fingertips, and a small dagger appeared in my hand. I had no idea who was in my apartment and was jumpy enough that I wasn’t prepared to face them without some form of defense.

  I silently padded down the hallway, the strong scent of magic and shifter growing more potent as I tiptoed toward the intruder. I sensed they were in the kitchen, and taking a deep breath, I pounced into the room, my dagger out before me.

  I’d been expecting a reindeer, but I was shocked by what I saw. My eyes widened and my body went still in shock as I discovered Vixen standing in my kitchen cooking while Tomi stood by the pot humming as he helped her. Even though it was Vixen of all people, I found I was less bothered by the intrusion and more bothered by my traitorous tomten who was helping her cook.

  “What the hell is this?” I growled.

  Tomi didn’t even look up as he continued to stand by the stovetop and stir the pot. His small boots were almost touching the gas. It was lucky the little rascal wasn’t flammable, or he’d currently be in cinders.

  Vixen glanced up at me, not at all surprised to see me standing there like an idiot with my pathetically small dagger held out in front of me. She shrugged. “We got hungry,” she said before she went back to seasoning whatever was in the pot.

  I let out a sigh, slowly lowering the dagger and placing it on the kitchen countertop. My nerves were frazzled, and I felt far too tired to bother questioning her about how she ended up in my apartment or ask her how long she was planning on staying.