Book Two, Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Justin slept fitfully that night. He would be having an otherwise pleasant dream—flying above Val Luminara, winning the Reindeer Games, swimming in a giant strawberry milkshake—until in the corner of his eye he would catch a fleeting glimpse of Mari Lwyd’s white, skeletal face, and he would jerk awake as suddenly as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on him. Then he would lie awake for a while, staring up at the ceiling of Charlie Dawson’s unfamiliar house, before slipping back into sleep and beginning the cycle again. It happened so many times throughout the night that, tired as he was, Justin was actually relieved when he heard Lena knock on his door.

“Get up,” she said in her false childlike voice. “Vix…I mean, Miss Vic wants us all downstairs in ten minutes!”

Miss Vic? Justin thought, getting out of bed. That must be what she’s decided to call herself while we’re on Earth. I guess that makes sense. Vixen isn’t a name you run into every day down here.

He took a few minutes to brush his fur, though he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like anyone was going to see it. He checked his antlers in the mirror too. The illusion would hide them, but he still liked to file them down once a week or so to keep them from getting too long and unwieldy. After a moment, he decided that it could wait another day or two, threw on his clothes, and tapped his finger against his badge.

Stepped out into the hall, he put his hand on the railing and…froze, realizing that he had been about to vault over the edge and float down to the ground floor the way he did in Laetitia. It was only about a ten foot drop, but he doubted that would matter much to their human hosts. Rapping his fist against his forehead, Justin hurried toward the stairs instead.

As he descended, the smell of food cooking reached his nose, and he couldn’t help but turn toward the kitchen. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he’d been too tired to eat anything after landing the night before, and the closest thing he’d had to a meal was the single nutrient bar Vixen had given him at noon. Still, everyone else was already gathered near the front door, waiting for him, and Vixen looked particularly anxious to get going. Justin couldn’t blame her. The longer they stayed in a human house, the more likely they were to be discovered—especially since Lucas seemed to have set himself on vibrate.

Looks like he decided to have his energy drinks for breakfast, Justin thought, wincing. All of them!

“Is everyone ready?” Vixen asked, looking at each of them in turn. She lowered her voice. “It’s unlikely that Mari Lwyd will attack in broad daylight, but be ready for anything. We know the location of her previous attack, and—”

“You folks’ll be back later for Thanksgivin’ dinner, right?”

Justin spun around to see Charlie standing in the kitchen doorway, a smile on his face and a half-peeled potato in his hand.

“Your hospitality is greatly appreciated,” Vixen said quickly, “but we couldn’t possibly impose on you any—”

“The only imposition would be if y’all up and flew away without helping Joyce and me eat all the food we’re cookin’ up in here!” Charlie cut her off with a laugh. Vixen stiffened a little when he said the word fly, but as far as Justin could tell, it had just been a coincidence. “Besides, it’s a little early to go carolin’, ain’t it?”

“It’s never too early for caroling!” Lena said, sounding uncharacteristically spunky. Justin looked at her in surprise. The face she was wearing might not have been her own, but he still recognized the I’ll-kill-you-if-you-ever-mention-this-moment glare she gave him.

“Besides, we need to go to town hall to pick up our…” Willow paused and looked around. “…caroling licenses?”

“Vendor’s licenses, yeah!” Justin put in, the word flashing briefly through his memory. “Since we’re making a living by going door to door, you know?”

Charlie nodded slowly. “I…guess that makes sense. But it won’t take all day, right? Joyce and I are planning to have everything ready for a late lunch by three this afternoon.”

“We’ll do our best to—”

“Heyyeahthatsoundsgreatwhatarewehaving?”

Everyone turned to look at Lucas, who was grinning and jittering like a pair of windup teeth.

“IlikepotatoesinfactIthinkwealllikepotatoes,” he rambled. “Pleasetellmethere’sgoingtobelotsofpotatoes!”

Charlie laughed, though Vixen looked like she was about to have a heart attack. “Yeah, there’ll be plenty of potatoes!”

“WOOOOOOOOO!” Lucas cheered, thrusting both fists into the air. “POTATOOOOOOOOES!”

“Lucas,” Justin said slowly, “how many of those energy drinks did you have?”

“ThethreeCharliegavemelastnight,” Lucas answered, spinning to face his friend. “AndthenfivemoresinceCharliegavemethoseforfreeIstillhadmoneyleftoversoIwentoutaftereveryonewasinbedandboughtsomemorefromagasstationdowntheroadandthenIdrankthemallatoncewhenLenawokemeupandndidyouknowyouhaveazitonyourchinILOVEPOTATOESSOFREAKINGMUCH!”

Everyone was quiet for a minute as they watched Lucas do his best to vibrate his own molecules apart.

“I should have known he would do something like this the moment I took my eyes off of him,” Vixen muttered, too low for Charlie to hear. “Eight energy drinks all at once? With a reindeer’s metabolism, that would be like drinking fifty of the godforsaken things!”

“Will he be all right?” Justin asked worriedly. “This won’t, like, kill him…will it?”

“As if we would be so lucky,” Lena said in a low voice, earning her a glare from Justin.

Vixen sighed, rubbing her temples. “He’ll be fine. He’ll burn through all of the energy in less than an hour, but the caffeine crash he’ll experience afterwards will give him the mother of all hangovers.”

“What do we do?” Willow asked.

Vixen grimaced. “We can’t take him with us like this, obviously. And that leaves us with only one option.”

“HeyguysIbetIcanrunfastenoughnowthatIcanplaycatchwithmyselfwannaseemetryI’mgonnatryitIthinkIcanseeintothefuturenowdoyousmell—”

“Lucas!” Vixen said sharply, and the hyperactive buck spun to look at her. “Why don’t you stay here and help our hosts prepare Thanksgiving dinner?”

“DoesthatmeanIgettocookthepotatoesIcandothataslongasIgettoeatthemafterwards!”

“Good, then it’s settled. Tan…Tanner, you stay here and keep an eye on him,” Vixen said, turning to Tanraak, who nodded solemnly. Then she turned to Charlie. “Put him to work, and don’t go easy on him—no matter how much he complains.”

Charlie burst into laughter at that. “There’s always room for another pair of hands in my kitchen, especially on Thanksgiving! Come on, young man, we can watch the parade while we cook!”

Lucas giggled stupidly as he walked away on legs that shook like freshly strummed guitar strings. He looked over his shoulder, giving them a thumbs up while his tongue hung limply from his mouth.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Justin asked.

“This is the best place for him while we investigate,” Vixen answered in a low voice. “Even Lucas isn’t stupid enough to reveal himself just because he has a few energy drinks in him.”

“CAFFEEEEEEIIIIIINE!” Lucas roared from the kitchen.

“I hope.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Justin leaned in close. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for us to be without him?”

Vixen turned and gave Justin a grave look. “Mari Lwyd won’t come out during the day unless she’s forced to, and right now we have no idea where she’s hiding. Lucas will have more than enough time to calm down before we confront her.”

Justin hesitated, then nodded.

“We’re sorry for the trouble,” Vixen said, turning her chair toward the door. “Your hospitality is humbling, Mr. Dawson.”

“Ain’t no Mr. Dawson here,” Charlie chuckled, “and there ain’t no trouble either. You folks’ll be back—”

“By three o’clock for dinner, yes,” Vixen said with a nod. “Now come on, everyone. We’ve got a lot to do today.”

Justin pushed Vixen outside and onto the driveway. There, the group stopped. Charlie’s house was in a sparsely populated part of town. His closest neighbor was over half a mile away, and Derby Mill could only be vaguely glimpsed in between the trees.

“Right,” Vixen said decisively. “Down to business, then. Willow, is anyone watching?”

Being the last one out, Willow glanced over her shoulder as she shut the door behind herself. “No, they’re all in the kitchen.”

“Good. Quickly, before anyone can see us—fly!”

Lena leaped up onto Justin’s back, and he took one side of Vixen’s chair while Willow and Moryta did the same on the other side. Then they rocketed skyward, up into the clouds and out of sight.