Book Two, Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Four

(Five Days Later)

A cold December rain fell over Derby Mill, giving it a fittingly dismal atmosphere as the Val Luminarans stood in a huddle in their human disguises around the gray, freshly carved headstone.

Charles Robert Dawson

September 16th, 1956

November 29th, 2024

He proved that the greatest gift

On earth is your family.

At the center of the group stood Joyce as she wept, tears running down her cheeks as the raindrops drummed a ceaseless rhythm on their umbrellas. Nobody spoke. There was nothing to say. All any of them could do was mourn for the man who had been kind enough to take them in. He’d had every right to kick them out when he’d found out they’d lied to him, but he had possessed a spirit of charity that was rare even in a place like Laetitia.

And they had killed him for it.

Justin flinched as guilt stabbed him in the chest. Mari Lwyd may have been the one to rip out Charlie’s heart, but she had only come there in the first place because they had accepted his invitation. They were supposed to be Santa’s warriors, his first and last line of defense against the forces of Darkness, but they had willingly put two of the very people they were supposed to be protecting directly into Krampus’ crosshairs.

Justin had to look away to keep the others from seeing his own tears.

We should have been better than this, he thought. We should have been strong enough to say no!

Weakness was truly the only word he could think of to describe their behavior over the past few days. So what if they hadn’t been able to get a room at the motel? They were deer! All they needed to live comfortably was a wide open patch of grass—something that Iowa had in no short supply. Yet they had considered themselves above such inhuman barbarity. They were Santa’s reindeer, and they deserved to live in a house, sleep on beds, and eat freshly cooked meals three times a day.

Justin hadn’t felt this disgusted with himself since he’d stopped being the lightless one, and at least then he’d been able to take comfort in knowing that everybody was wrong about him. What was he supposed to say to make himself feel better now? Not even Mari Lwyd’s defeat made Charlie’s sacrifice worth it, and now Joyce was going to pay the price for their selfishness.

Jack Frost, he cursed in his head. What’s she going to do now? Her grandfather was the only family she had left. He owned their house, their store, everything!

The thought of Joyce, all alone in that gigantic not-quite-mansion, all alone in the entire world, was enough to squeeze Justin’s heart like a frozen vice. All he wanted to do was fall to his knees and apologize to her. But what good would that do? He could say he was sorry from now until next Christmas, but it would never bring back what they had stolen from her.

Willow gave his hand a gentle but firm squeeze. It was a simple action, but it held more meaning than he could possibly explain. She was comforting Justin, reminding him that she was there with him, but also telling him that he needed to be strong. It wasn’t his place to break down and cry right now. Joyce had lost more than Justin could imagine, and she needed them to be there for her. They were, after all, the only people she had left.

They were a sad, lousy replacement for a family on a sad, lousy day in a sad, lousy world.

It had been five days since Mari Lwyd’s defeat. Vixen was anxious to get back to Val Luminara to report what had happened, but even she had acknowledged that they had a responsibility to see Joyce through this as much as they could. It was as though Santa didn’t already Know what had happened anyway, Lucas had argued. Besides, everybody was in rough shape after the fight. Trying to fly all the way back to the North Pole in this condition would have been suicide, so they had stayed, letting themselves heal, and doing their best to keep Joyce’s spirits up while also staying out of her way as much as they could.

The police had shown up the next morning, but some quick thinking on Willow’s part had left them believing that Charlie was just the latest victim in a string of murders. The nonexistent serial killer, who the news referred to as the Black Friday Butcher, had reportedly begun his killing spree with Joyce’s cousin, Shane, before moving on to a client that Shane had been in contact with at work, before finally setting his sights on the Dawson household. He had stolen a truck, used it to break down the garage door, and then proceeded to chase everyone in the house outside into the yard before killing Charlie. Whether Charlie had been his only target to begin with, or if he didn’t believe he could take on everybody else at once, authorities weren’t sure. In any case, after claiming his third victim, the Black Friday Butcher had fled the scene, and had yet to be found.

The entire story made Justin feel sick to his stomach, but what choice did they have except to let the world believe it?

Charlie’s funeral had been on the third day. That had easily been the worst part of all of this. Joyce had collected herself enough to make calls to every living family member she could find, telling them what had happened and asking them to come and help see him off into the afterlife. They had all moaned their regrets at not having been there and offered Joyce encouragement to stay strong, but not a single one of them had actually shown up for the funeral. A few of Charlie and Joyce’s friends from in town had come to pay their respects, and while Joyce had obviously appreciated the gesture, their presence had done little to comfort her. She had gone to stand by herself as they’d lowered Charlie’s coffin into the ground and filled in the hole. Even when the funeral had ended, and they’d all gone home, she’d refused to say a word and retreated into her room and locked the door.

Now, five days later, they were all finally back in fighting shape thanks to the healing power in their badges, and Vixen had announced that it was time to leave. Sitting beside Justin, the Elder doe raised her hand and put it on Lucas’ arm. He turned to her, and she nodded to him. Lucas closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and then stepped forward.

“Hey,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“You’re going, aren’t you?” Joyce asked without taking her eyes off of Charlie’s gravestone.

Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. Instead, he just nodded shamefully.

Justin felt his heart go out to his friend. Nobody’s suffering was worse than Joyce’s, but Lucas seemed to be taking things the hardest out of all the Val Luminarans. Justin couldn’t blame him. Anyone with two eyes could see what was happening between him and Joyce, and for something this horrible to have happened to her while under his protection…he probably felt like this entire mess was his fault.

Joyce finally turned to look at him, her eyes bloodshot and cheeks shining where tears had left trails on her cheeks.

“Take me with you,” she whispered.

Lucas swallowed, glanced at Vixen, and then shook his head. “We can’t do that. I’m sorry.”

“Please!” Joyce begged him. She had been crying so much that her voice cracked with every word she said. “Grandpa Charlie was the only person who cared about me. I have nothing else—nobody else! My own family wouldn’t even come to see me when Grandpa Charlie died. I don’t want to live in this world anymore!”

“Joyce, please believe me,” Lucas insisted. “I’d bring you with me in a heartbeat if I could, but I can’t.”

Joyce reached out and grabbed him by his jacket, shaking him, her face contorting in anger. “You live in Santa’ Claus’ village! Do you have any idea what I would have given to have something like that? Christmas has been my whole life for as long as I can remember! Now that I know it’s all real…all that magic, and wonder, and joy…do you really expect me to just go back to how things used to be? Especially now that my grandpa is…is…”

Lucas wilted, and he looked pleadingly over at Vixen. The old doe sighed and bowed her head in grief, but still shook it.

“I’m sorry,” Lucas said, hugging her. To Justin’s surprise, she hugged him back. “I’m sorry for everything. This is all our fault. If we hadn’t shown up at your store—”

“No, stop it!” Joyce snapped. “That’s not what Grandpa Charlie would want!”

Justin’s ears perked up.

“Helping people in need is its own reward,” she went on. “That’s what he always told me when I was little. That’s why he never kept any of the money we made from his job as a mall Santa. He didn’t know who you were or where you were from. All he saw were seven people who didn’t have a roof to put over their heads, and that’s all he needed to want to help you. If he heard you saying how sorry you were that you let him help you…it would break his heart!”

“Joyce…”

Joyce pulled away from him, and Justin blinked in surprise when she stood up straighter, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“And he…he wouldn’t want me to stand here crying all day, would he?” she whispered. “He would want me to think back to all the good times we had together, and then smile. He would want me to remember that he died because he thought my life was worth saving. He would want me to move on, and live my life to its fullest!”

Lucas hesitated, but then nodded. “I think you’re right. And I think I’m the luckiest buck in the world to have gotten to meet you, Joyce.”

She’s not mad at us, Justin realized with shock. She’s heartbroken about her grandfather, but she doesn’t blame us for what happened. And she’s not even bitter that we can’t take her with us!

That, alone, said more about Joyce Dawson than words ever could. Like her grandpa, she held a spirit that even the elves and reindeer of Val Luminara couldn’t have matched. The kindness and love in her heart blazed like a bonfire that would have driven Krampus into hiding if he’d spotted it from a hundred miles away. She could have done amazing things in Laetitia, but he held no doubt that she was going to do just as amazing things here on Earth.

Joyce looked at Lucas again, stepping closer to him. “If you’re leaving, then…then could I say goodbye to the real you?”

Lucas hesitated, looking around to make sure there were no passersby to see, and then tapped his badge. Red and green magic swirled around him, revealing his true form. Again, Joyce reached out and ran her hand across the side of his face, stroking his fur with her thumb. His ear twitched at her touch, and she giggled a little—a real, genuine giggle.

“Will I ever get to see you again?” she asked.

“I’ll come visit you every year on Christmas Eve,” Lucas said without hesitation. “I promise.”

“Can he do that?” Justin whispered to Vixen.

“Yes,” she said, just as determinedly as Lucas had. “I’ll personally make sure of it.”

Joyce took Lucas’ hands in hers. “I’ll never forget you.”

“I wouldn’t let you even if you tried,” Lucas said with a little smile.

Joyce smiled back at him, but that smile slid off her face at what she had to say next.

“Lucas, I…” She paused and took a deep breath. “I love you!”

“I love you too,” Lucas whispered back to her.

Willow squeezed Justin’s hand.

The two of them stood there for a second, and then Joyce, acting like she was trying to do something before she lost her nerve, leaned in and gave Lucas a kiss on the mouth. It was a quick kiss, and awkward, since her human mouth and his reindeer snout clearly weren’t supposed to fit together that way, but when she pulled back her face was still flushed with embarrassment and…something else.

“I…That was…” Lucas stammered, his eyes wide. “I’m…trying to think of a joke, but for once in my life, none are coming to me.”

“A Christmas miracle,” Lena muttered.

“Maybe, just this once,” Joyce said, a wider smile stretching across her face, “we shouldn’t make jokes?”

“Lucas,” Vixen interrupted them. The buck turned to look at her. “It’s time to go.”

Lucas turned back to Joyce. “You’re right. No jokes. I love you, Joyce. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I’m going to think about you every day until I get to see you again on Christmas Eve—and then I’ll think about you again every day until next Christmas!”

“Only once a day? I was going to think about you at least three times a day!”

“I thought we weren’t making jokes.”

“Who says I was joking?”

Lucas grinned at her, then glanced at the others. Sighing, he forced himself to let go of her hands and make his way back over.

“Let’s go,” Vixen said softly. “There’s a copse of trees over at the edge of the cemetery that we can use to take off from.”

Lucas looked back at Joyce, his ears drooping, then nodded and tapped his badge. Taking Vixen’s wheelchair, he began to push her in that direction. The others followed, and Justin took a step to go with them—but then he hesitated.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked. “Are you going to keep working at your grandpa’s store?”

Joyce shook her head. “I thought about it, but I don’t think I can stand to be there if Grandpa Charlie isn’t there with me.”

“So what are you going to do for money?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll start applying for jobs online.”

Justin’s ears perked up, and he gave her a smile.

“I used to use a little website called No Hobo. You should give it a look.”