Book Two, Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The sun was just a couple of minutes away from touching the horizon when Vixen finally gave the order to land. Justin sighed in relief when he felt his hooves touch solid ground for the first time in more than twelve hours.

They landed at the edge of a copse of trees, with a nearby road cutting through a seemingly endless expanse of farmland. In the distance, Justin could see the lights of a city less than a mile away. Justin’s ears perked up at the roar of car engines, and even from this far away he could smell the exhaust coming from a hundred different tailpipes.

Rush hour, he thought. It was strange to think, given how dark it already was, but it was only about five o’clock in the evening. It felt much, much later than that in his weary muscles and stiff bones. Lena hopped down from his saddle, and Justin stretched his back with a groan and a loud series of pops.

“Well done, everyone,” Vixen said. “Now, badges!”

He looked at her in confusion just as she tapped the silver Christmas tree-shaped badge Mrs. Claus had given her. Bright swirls of green and red magic immediately leaped from it, cascading across the old doe’s body until…

The Vixen he knew vanished, leaving behind an old, stern looking woman.

Justin tapped his badge as well, and closed his eyes as those same lights began to dance around him. He felt nothing, but when he looked down again he was startled to see pale, furless hands in front of him.

Human hands.

More lights, and Justin looked up to see a darker skinned young man with a tangled mop of curly black hair appear in front of him. A few feet away, a young woman with long, straight brown hair appeared as well.

Justin’s eyes widened. Even as a human, Willow was no less beautiful than—

“Let’s head into town,” Vixen cut into his admiring thoughts. “Our first order of business is to find a place to rest for the night.”

“Shouldn’t we be looking for Mari Lwyd?” asked an unfamiliar voice

Justin spun around, and nearly choked on his own tongue when he saw three children standing at the edge of their group. They looked to be about six or seven years old, and were staring at the Val Luminarans as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m a straggele?” the girl closest to him asked, arching her eyebrow.

Justin paused. That angles of her face…blue eyes…blonde hair that curled a bit at the tips…

“Lena?” he asked in surprise.

The girl narrowed her eyes. “Yes?”

“I just—”

“You’re adorable!” Lucas interrupted him, cackling. “I just want to pinch your chubby little cheeks, Lena!”

Lena glared at him, her false face turning red, and she reached for her invisible staff.

“Why did it turn you three into kids?” Justin asked before things could escalate.

“Because the badges don’t actually change anything,” said Tanraak, his voice a few octaves higher than usual. “They just project illusions around our real bodies.”

“We’d never be able to pass as adults,” Moryta added, “so they gave us disguises more suited to our…stature.”

“And voices to match,” Tanraak said, tapping his throat like it was a malfunctioning microphone. “This is weird. La. La! LAAAAAAA!”

“I don’t like it,” Lena muttered, looking down at herself. “But if this is what it takes to save Christmas, then so be it.”

Still laughing, Lucas walked over ruffled her hair. “If you want, we can just hide your ears and pretend you’re a midget!”

CRACK!

“Ow!” he complained, rubbing his forehead as Lena put her staff away. As soon as it was sheathed, it vanished again.

“Enough!” Vixen snapped, rolling her chair in the direction of the city’s lights. “There’s no point in beginning the hunt tonight. We’re all too tired. This town was the site of her last attack, but we don’t even know for sure if she’s still here. We’ll rest and begin investigating in the morning.”

To Justin’s exhausted ears, nothing on Earth could have possibly sounded better than a soft, warm bed right then, so he happily followed after her. The others weren’t far behind. On his right, he noticed a sign planted beside the road, just barely visible in the darkness.

Welcome to Derby Mill!

They reached the town ten minutes later. Vixen had done her best to wheel herself the entire way, but the gravel shoulder on the side of the road had proven too formidable an enemy. Ignoring the old doe’s protests, Willow had begun to push her, leaving Justin with a strange mixture of admiration for how quick she was to jump to other people’s aid, and shame that he hadn’t done so first.

Their eyes were immediately drawn to a roadside motel with a buzzing neon sign that spelled out…something in looping, curlicue letters. Justin couldn’t decide if it was the Stop-N-Snooze or the Squat-N-Moose, and right then he was so tired he didn’t care. The door jingled as Willow pushed Vixen inside, and the bored looking receptionist droned out a greeting. Justin, Lucas, and the elves all waited outside.

“Two rooms, please,” he heard Vixen say, her voice muffled by the glass door.

For a minute, everything went quiet except for the occasional passing car.

“Hope they’ve got a hot tub,” Lucas muttered around a yawn.

Justin snorted. “It would look like someone gave their dog a bath in it after five minutes.”

“Do you see any fur on me?” Lucas snapped.

Lena reached out and pinched the air right above Lucas’ arm, then yanked her hand back.

“Ow!” Lucas jerked his arm back. “Stop it!”

“It’s still there, doofus,” Lena said, holding up a strand of dark brown fur. “Your badge only makes it so you look human.”

Lucas opened his mouth, no doubt to say something that would end with him taking the business end of Lena’s staff between his antlers again, when the familiar tune of Jingle Bell Rock reached their ears. Surprised, Justin turned to see the doors to one of the nearby shops swinging shut as the customer left, making their way across the parking lot to their car. It was a one story building, split between half a dozen different businesses. A barber shop, a massage parlor, an insurance company, a phone repair place, a secondhand clothes store—and smack dab in the middle was Dawson’s Corner Store.

“Thanksgiving isn’t until tomorrow, and they’re already playing Christmas music?” Moryta asked. “I’m not complaining or anything, but isn’t that illegal here on Earth?”

“Punishable by death,” Lucas said, nodding. “Let’s call the police.”

Moryta gave him a horrified look, and Justin slugged him on the arm. “Don’t listen to him.”

He turned to look at Vixen and Willow through the door.

“So what you’re saying is,” the receptionist was grumbling, “that you don’t have a reservation.”

“Why would we need a reservation?” Vixen demanded. “The sign says you have vacant rooms!”

“Vacant rooms for people with reservations.”

“Come on, let’s go take a look,” Justin said, setting off across the road.

“Take a look?” Lucas echoed. “It’s a convenience store. What are you expecting to see?”

“When was the last time you’ve been in a human store?” Justin asked over his shoulder. “Besides, it’s better than just standing out here.”

Lucas thought for a second, then shrugged. The elves shared a wary look. This was, Justin realized, probably their first time being in the human world—really being in it. Not just flying over it, delivering presents on rooftops. After a few seconds of hesitation, they hurried after Justin and Lucas, looking exactly like children trying not to be left behind by their older siblings.

“Now, remember to look both ways before crossing the—”

“Lucas, I will mount your head on my wall if you don’t shut up!”

With no sign of Vixen coming out of the motel’s office anytime soon, Justin and the others crossed the road and pushed open the store’s glass door.

“HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAAAAS! IT’S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEEAAAAAR!” the scratchy voice of Burl Ives greeted them as they stepped inside.

“Evenin’, folks!” a jolly voice said from the front of the store. An old man stood behind the counter, giving them a welcoming smile. He had a round belly, bald head, and a white bushy beard beneath two twinkling eyes. “Don’t think I’ve seen y’all hereabouts before. You visitin’ family for Thanksgiving?”

“Y- Yeah,” Justin said. The three elves immediately wandered off, staring at the shelves like the bags of chips and loaves of bread were animals at a zoo. Lucas headed for the drink cooler, fingers twitching when he saw the selection of energy drinks. “Our, um, aunt is across the street getting us rooms at the motel.”

The old man chuckled dryly. “Good luck with that. There’s only two places to stay here in Derby Mill: the Stop-N-Snooze and the Morceau de Merde—and you could buy the Snooze for about as much as you’d pay to stay a week in the Merde. And with it bein’ Thanksgivin’ tomorrow and all, the Snooze has probably been all booked up since September!”

Justin’s ears drooped. What were they going to do if they couldn’t find a place to stay? They weren’t on vacation, but the thought of spending the cold Iowa nights sleeping outside filled him with gloom.

“Anyway, I’m Charlie Dawson, owner of this here store.” The old man held out a hand, and Justin shook it. “My granddaughter, Joyce, is doin’ some work in the back. If you need help findin’ anythin’, let me know. But you’d better get it quick. We’re closin’ early tonight, and won’t be openin’ again until after New Years!”

“Going out of town for the holidays?” Justin asked.

Charlie tapped the side of his nose and winked conspiratorially. “Not quite.”

Unsure what to make of that, Justin browsed the store, passing the elves, who were looking at a toy brochure they’d found on the magazine rack with more excitement in their eyes than he had ever seen before. There was a small produce section, though most of it was empty, as was the dairy cooler right next to it. Justin supposed that was to be expected, if the store was really going to close for a month. Lucas was at the drink cooler, cradling three brightly colored energy drinks in his arms.

“You’re not planning on stealing those too, are you?” Justin muttered.

“Despite what Vixen might say,” Lucas shot back, “I didn’t steal that bell. As soon as it went through the ring, it was sent back into storage.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “No, Mother, I’m not going to steal these drinks.”

“Where’d you get the money?”

“Santa gave me the Opportunity just like he did for you. I had a few bucks in my wallet when I was brought to Val Luminara, and I decided to keep them hidden away in case I ever got the chance to use them.”

Justin raised his eyebrows. “Really? That’s…surprisingly forward thinking for you. Just don’t drink them tonight, okay? A flying reindeer with a metric ton of caffeine in him, bouncing off the walls and ceiling of a tiny motel room is the last thing we need.”

Lucas grinned and started toward the register. “Why do you think I’m buying—”

The door marked Employees Only swung open just as Lucas walked past, slamming right into his face with a THWACK loud enough to make Justin wince.

“Grandpa, I’m done with the—”

“MY NOSE!”

All three energy drinks fell to the floor, the cheap aluminum cans cracking and spraying their fizzy contents across the store while Lucas clutched at his face.

“Oh! Oh my gosh, I’m sorry!” the new voice exclaimed. “Are you all right?”

“My nose! You killed my noooooose!”

“I’m so, so sorry! Here, let me see!”

Justin watched as a pair of hands reached out and gently pried his friend's hands away from his face, and Lucas found himself face to face with a young woman with long, wavy brown hair.

“It’s not bleeding,” she said a moment later. “That’s good.”

“Joyce, if you’re done assassinatin’ my customers,” Charlie asked from the front, chuckling, “then go get a mop and clean up that mess.”

“Yes, Grandpa Charlie!” Joyce said, grabbing the broken cans off the ground and rushing back through the door she’d just smacked Lucas with.

“Justin? Justin?” Lucas asked, his eyes wide and mouth agape. “How bad is it? Am I disfigured for life?”

“Yeah, but don’t blame Joyce for that. You came in that way,” Justin answered. A couple aisles over, he heard Lena laugh.

Charlie chuckled again. “Sorry about that. Joyce is my granddaughter. She helps me around the store.”

The door opened again, more slowly this time, and Joyce poked her head around it to make sure nobody was in her way this time. Then she stepped fully back out into the store, rolling a mop bucket in front of her.

“Sorry,” she said again, sloshing water across the floor.

“You are a cruel and unusual woman, abusing a face as beautiful as this one,” Lucas pouted, rubbing his nose again.

“The only thing cruel and unusual,” said Lena, rounding the aisle, “is having to talk to you for more than three seconds.”

“Tell you what, Narcissus,” said Charlie. “If you can find it in your heart to forgive my granddaughter, I’ll let you have those drinks for free.”

Lucas blinked and looked at Justin. “What did he just call me?”

“It’s a compliment,” Justin said before Lucas could think about it for too long.

Lucas rubbed his nose one more time. “All four of them?”

“Three,” Justin and Lena snapped at the same time. Lucas glared at them, but then Lena touched her staff.

“Fine, yeah, three of them. I must’ve miscounted,” he said quickly. Before Justin or Lena could respond, he hurried back to the cooler and picked out his drinks again.

“Where are you from?” Joyce asked, wringing her mop out in the bucket and setting up a wet floor sign. “You obviously aren’t locals.”

Justin shared a look with Lena. “Um…up north.”

“What, like Minnesota?”

“A little further than that,” Lena said.

“Oh, you’re from Canada?” Joyce’s face lit up a little. “I’ve always wanted to visit! Is it nice up—”

Before she could finish, the bell above the door jingled again.

“There you all are!” Vixen said sharply as Willow pushed her chair through the store. “I leave you alone for five minutes, and you all wander off like children!”

“We just went across the street,” Lucas protested. He turned around, his replacement drinks safely contained in a plastic bag. “Are our rooms ready—and do they have a hot tub?”

“No, they are not ready,” Vixen huffed. “They have more than a dozen vacant rooms, but apparently they’re all reserved.”

Charlie chuckled, something he seemed to do a lot. “Told ya!”

“So, what are we going to do?” asked Tanraak, who had been examining the candy aisle. “We can’t hunt—”

Moryta slapped her hand over his mouth. “We can’t go Christmas caroling without a place to stay.”

“Mmm?” Tanraak asked, voice muffled. Moryta glared at him and jerked her head toward Charlie and Joyce. “Mmm! Mhmm!”

“Wait, you’re Christmas carolers?” Joyce asked, cocking her head. “Like, professionally?”

“We go door to door and sing for people,” Lucas said before anyone else could chime in. “Then collect tips afterwards.”

“And that’s enough for you to live off of?” asked Charlie with a raised eyebrow.

Lucas shrugged. “It’s enough for a couple rooms at the Snooze, but not the Merde.”

Charlie let out a low whistle. “That’s mighty impressive. You know, you could call Joyce and me Christmas connoisseurs, ourselves.”

Joyce’s face lit up with a massive smile. “Grandpa Charlie spends every December playing Santa at the mall!”

“Wait,” Willow said, speaking up for the first time since she entered the store, “he does what?”

“He dresses up as Santa and lets kids sit in his lap! They tell him what they want for Christmas and get their picture taken. And the best part is, Grandpa Charlie gives all the money we make to charity!”

“You’re part of it too?” Justin asked in surprise.

“I, well…” Joyce blushed, but never stopped smiling. “I help out, yeah. I’m an elf.”

“Couldn’t do it without her!” Charlie said, beaming just as brightly as his granddaughter.

“But why?” Willow asked.

The smile fell from Joyce’s face. “Why? Well…because it’s fun, I guess.”

“You’re a professional Christmas caroler,” Charlie said, eyes narrowing, “but you’ve never heard of a mall Santa before?”

“She’s new!” Justin and Lucas blurted out at the same time.

Joyce looked from Justin, to Lucas, to Willow—and then her face almost split in two when an even bigger smile stretched across her face.

“Grandpa Charlie, I just had a great idea!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down so erratically she sloshed mop water onto the floor. “We should let them stay with us!”

Justin’s ears perked up in surprise at that.

“Oh, we couldn’t ask you to do that,” he said. “You don’t even know us!”

“Nonsense!” Charlie said, nodding to Joyce. “She’s right, that’s a wonderful idea! I’ve got myself a big ol’ house, but only she and I are livin’ in it. My other grandson, Shane, was supposed to come over for Thanksgiving, but it sounds like he’s fallen sick, so we’ve got plenty of room to spare!”

“It’s not every day we meet people who love Christmas as much as we do!” Joyce said, practically begging. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

The Val Luminarans all shared a look with each other, then at Vixen.

“Very well,” she said, to Justin’s complete and utter surprise.

“Perfect!” Charlie exclaimed, beaming. He pulled out a pen and a sticky note, quickly jotting something down. “Here’s my address. Joyce and I will be closin’ up in less than an hour. Head on over as soon as you’re ready!”

He handed it to Vixen, who read it, then handed it to Justin. Justin glanced at it as well. 15 Joyful Orchard Road, it said. He quickly put it in one of his inner jacket pockets.

“We appreciate your kindness,” Vixen said, lowering her head almost as if she were bowing to him, “and humbly accept your hospitality.”