Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

“I can’t believe it.”

The sun was setting, but Justin had never seen Laetitia so awake. What seemed to be every living soul in the city had gathered outside of Celebration Hall, making the crowd from the other night look miniscule by comparison. Elves and reindeer either too old or too young to pull the sleigh were packed shoulder to shoulder in Aurora Square, their voices joining together as one to sing Christmas carols that Justin could hear even from the top of the hill.

“I’m really here,” he whispered, eyes wide with childlike wonder. “This is really happening!”

It was December twenty fourth. Christmas Eve. A level of excitement that even the Reindeer Games couldn’t match had hung heavy since the morning bell had rung. It had been a full day of celebration. Music playing on every corner, dancing in the streets. And the feasts! Lucas, Lena, and Willow, as well as Tanraak and Moryta, had dragged Justin to at least five of them over the course of the day—he was pretty sure there had been more, but he had lost count. Even when he’d said he was full, his friends had insisted that he keep eating, claiming he would need every ounce of energy he could get for tonight.

And so had begun the parade of food. Buttered rolls. Cranberry sauce. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Scalloped potatoes. Baked potatoes. Sweet potatoes. He had quickly learned that, when you couldn’t eat ham, turkey, and other traditional Christmas meats, you replaced them with literal mountains of potatoes.

Sooooo fulllllll, he thought, his stomach still feeling like he had eaten an elephant. I’ll be bleeding gravy instead of blood for a month!

And then had come the pies, the cakes, the cookies, the rivers of hot cocoa, apple cider, and eggnog. How the others had still managed to dance every time one of the predatory bands of musicians patrolling the streets had broken out into song, Justin had no idea. If he had taken even one step faster than a slow waddle, he…well, they would probably have dragged him back to the feasts they had just left.

And now, finally, the big moment was about to arrive.

The outside of Celebration Hall had transformed overnight. Now, rather than a path leading from the front door down to Aurora Square, a massive white platform had appeared. It stretched wider than the mansion itself, jutting horizontally out over the square below, before suddenly curving straight upwards just before it reached the tree.

And sitting right in front of the mansion…

Justin’s heart began to race with excitement, his breath lodging itself in his throat.

“That’s it,” he whispered, “isn’t it?”

“The one and only,” Lucas said, nodding.

“Three thousand years old,” Lena added with reverence in her voice, “and still as new as the day it was first made.”

The sleigh. Painted a deep, regal red, with gold trim, and two gleaming bronze runners beneath. It was bigger than Justin had expected, nearly fifteen feet wide and more than twice as long. At the moment it sat empty, but Justin could see the leather reins draped across to lay on the driver’s seat, and the huge compartment in the back where Santa’s bag of toys would sit as they flew across the world.

Almost in a trance, Justin reached a hand forward, but then hesitated. It would be like touching Excalibur or the holy grail—something so legendary, so ingrained in the imaginations of millions of people, would surely burn a sinful mortal like him to ash if he dared to lay a finger on it. But when his friends gave him encouraging nods, he hesitantly pressed his palm against it…

Immediately, an intense wave of joy washed over him. He smiled, happy tears leaking from his eyes, and withdrew his hand.

It wasn’t until later that he realized he didn’t remember anything else about it. Had it been made of wood? Metal? Some other magical material that didn’t exist on earth? Had it been warm or cold to the touch? He didn’t know. All he knew was that the instant his hand touched the sleigh, the world had grown brighter.

A trumpet blared, and Justin’s ears perked up.

“Time to get ready,” Lena told him, leading the group farther out onto the platform.

Excitement burned inside Justin so hot that he had to bite his tongue to keep from giggling like an idiot. The sun was nearing the horizon. Soon, Christmas Eve night would fall, and everything that Laetitia had been preparing for over the past twelve months would come to fruition. Reindeer were practically raining from the sky. Elves nimbly darted and dashed in every direction. Down below, the crowd sang the most beautiful rendition of Silent Night Justin had ever heard.

Following directions that hadn’t been shared with Justin, Lena led them to a spot about three quarters of the way across the platform. There were squares painted every few feet on the whitewashed wooden floor, lined up in neat, numbered rows.

“Justin, row fifty seven,” Lena told them, “spot three hundred eighty four.”

Justin looked down to see that they were standing at row fifty seven. The squares in front of him were numbered three hundred eighty to three hundred eighty nine. Without a word, he went to stand on the square Lena had dictated.

“Lucas,” she went on, “row fifty seven, spot three hundred eighty three.”

“Getting to fly next to my best friend?” Lucas gasped sarcastically, joining Justin in the square next to his. “Someone up there must love me after all!”

“We’re close to the front lines,” Lena said with a snort. “Maybe they’re hoping whatever Krampus throws at us will hit you before anyone else.”

Willow laughed at that, making Lucas scowl at her again, but Lena’s words made Justin’s ears perk up.

“Wait,” he said with a frown, “what do you mean—”

“Willow, row fifty seven, spot three hundred eighty five,” Lena interrupted him. She eyed Justin. “Huh. All three of us, right next to each other. I’m almost tempted to agree with Lucas.”

“I doubt it’s love, though,” Willow said, taking her place on Justin’s other side. “If anything, Vixen probably still feels guilty, and thinks letting us fly together will make her feel a little better.”

“I hope it does,” Justin said before anyone else could say anything. “I don’t want anyone moping around, feeling guilty because of me.”

The change had been instantly noticeable. Just like word of him being lightless had spread through Laetitia in less than a night, Justin had awoken this morning to find that his new home suddenly felt much more like home. Where before there had been mistrustful glances and sneering whispers, now there were cheerful greetings and friendly waves. Not only wasn’t Justin the lightless one, he had also scored the deciding point in the Reindeer Games, and now it was like all of Val Luminara was trying to be as friendly as possible to make up for lost time.

Lena got to work affixing Justin’s saddle to him, as more and more reindeer arrived to take their places. Within minutes, the platform was packed almost as tightly as the square down below.

“Justin,” Lena said once she had tied the final knot, “I need to talk to you.”

Justin’s ears perked up. “Should we go somewhere, or…”

“No, here is fine. I just…” She blushed, looking away for a second. “I’m not good with speeches. But you need to know.”

“I’m listening.”

Lena took a deep breath. “You’ve changed a lot in the past month, Justin. More than I think even you realize. Not just physically, either. The growth you’ve shown me, both emotionally and in maturity, are nothing short of amazing. The human you were when you fell through the portal, and the reindeer you are now, are…well, if the two of you were standing side by side, I would never have guessed you were the same person.”

“I’m sure that has nothing to do with the fact that the new Justin has trees growing out of his head, right?” Lucas butted in.

Lena whipped out her staff and whacked Lucas on the shin, making the other reindeer yelp in pain, hopping on one foot.

“Tanraak!” he snapped. “Isn’t it your job to make sure she doesn’t do stuff like that?”

“Sorry,” the dark haired elf said with exaggerated innocence, “I wasn’t watching. Did something happen?”

“I’m proud of everything you’ve done, and the person you’ve become,” Lena went on. “But even so, you need to understand that what we’re doing tonight is…”

Justin knelt down, taking one of her hands in his. “I know. We’re fighting for the fate of the entire world.”

“No!” she paused, then shook her head. “Well, yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Yes, Krampus and his minions are going to be out there too, doing everything they can to spread misery and darkness, and it is our job to counter that with light and hope. But…”

“But?” Justin asked.

“But there’s more to it than even that. Justin, Christmas is…it’s not just a day when people give each other presents. It’s a tradition older than most civilizations. It’s a celebration of everything that’s good and bright in the world. It’s a…It’s a…”

“It’s a promise that, no matter how dark the world can be, there will always be a light,” Justin finished for her. “That as long as you hold onto the hope that it will be there, it will be there. And if Christmas can withstand the wars, and the plagues, and the famines…”

Justin, Lena, Lucas, and Willow all spoke at the same time, “...then so can you.”

Lena blinked in surprise. “O- Oh. I guess you do understand.”

Justin smiled at her. “I did a lot of growing up over the past couple days.”

“He grew up so much he decided he believed in Santa again!” Lucas laughed, then flinched when Lena reached for her staff. “DON’T!”

The trumpets rang out again, this time blasting a short, happy tune across Aurora Square. A resounding cheer rose up from the square as eight figures descended from the sky to hover above their units. The Council of Eight had cast off their billowing red robes, and were now wearing long overcoats that reached to their knees, each in their own unit’s colors, their emblems proudly emblazoned on the back.

“I won’t bore you with a long speech,” Vixen called down to them, somehow magnifying her own voice so that everyone in her unit could hear her, while also keeping them from hearing the other seven as they made similar speeches to their own units. “The world depends on the Light! The Light depends on Santa Claus! And tonight, Santa Claus depends on us! I won’t lie to you. The sleigh will be heavy. The journey will be long. But we have a duty to spread hope and joy to the children of the world, so that they can push back the darkness and live in a world of light for another year! Will you fly fast?”

“YES!” came the ground shaking roar.

“Will you fight hard?”

“YES!” Justin joined in.

“Will you let Santa down?”

Justin balled his fists and shouted at the top of his lungs, “NO!”

“Then ready yourselves, and let’s show Krampus that the Light won’t be extinguished without a fight!”

“YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The reindeer began to stomp their hooves, their collected strength causing the entire platform to shake beneath them.

“Krampus better watch out,” Lucas yelled with an insane laugh. “We’re gonna make him cry! Because Santa Claus is coming to town!”

“You skipped a couple lines,” Willow noted.

“I don’t care! I wanted to get to the part where we kick his butt!”

The sun finally touched the horizon…

And Aurora Square exploded into light!

“He’s here!” Justin gasped, spinning around to see Santa emerge from Celebration Hall. A cheer even louder than before rang out, and the reindeer thundered their hooves so hard that Justin would have thought the platform would fall to pieces if he hadn’t known that Santa would never allow that to happen.

Santa stood as tall and proud as he had that first time Justin had seen him. When the roar of adoration reached him, he spread his arms as if he wanted to hug all of Val Luminara at once, and let out the loudest, most joyful laugh that Justin had ever heard.

“HO HO HO HOOOOO!” his voice boomed forth, drowning out every other voice in Laetitia, but somehow didn’t hurt Justin’s ears. “MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL!”

“Merry Christmas!” Justin yelled back, his voice lost in the sea of Merry Christmases that accompanied it.

Santa was carrying a sack over one shoulder, stuffed full to bursting. It was nearly five times as big as he was, and magic was clearly being used to keep it from touching the ground. Santa tossed it into the air so that it landed in the back of the sleigh.

“I take it we’ll be making more than one trip, then?” Justin asked as the Council of Eight flew to the sleight to talk to Santa.

Willow looked at him, eyebrow raised. “No. Why would we?”

Justin pointed at the bag. “That thing’s huge, but there’s no way he could fit all the presents for every child in the world in it!”

“It’s made out of wibbly-wobbly Christmasy-Whristmasy stuff,” Lucas said with a laugh.

Justin, Lena, and Willow stared at him in confusion.

“It’s bigger on the inside!” Lucas snapped. “I swear, I’m the only one here who has any culture.”

“Fliers in position!” Vixen shouted, zipping back toward the front of the crowd.

All the reindeer spun to face forward, shuffling to make sure they were standing firmly on their squares. Vixen touched down in front of her unit, as did the other seven.

“Riders, take your mounts!” Vixen yelled.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lena leaped up onto Justin’s back.

“How do you feel?” she whispered into his ear.

Justin thought for a moment, then whispered back, “Bright.”

Lena smiled.

“Reindeer, shift!” Vixen shouted.

Justin summoned his magic, falling forward onto four legs as his hands hardened into hooves. He shook his new, but increasingly familiar, body as shivers of excitement ran up and down his spine.

Behind them, Santa picked up his reins and gave them a crack. The dark strips of leather lit up, suddenly becoming over a hundred times longer than they were before. Two reigns became four, became eight, and more, and more, until there was a pair for each reindeer. Justin could feel as they attached themselves to each side of his face, harnessing him to the sleigh.

“Don’t worry,” Lena said into his ear. “Santa is going to be driving the reindeer as a whole, but I’ll still be right here guiding you myself!”

Justin wouldn’t have admitted it, but he was relieved to hear that. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Santa, but he had spent so long with Lena on his back now that flying under anyone else’s guidance felt wrong.

Beside him, Lucas snorted and danced with anticipation.

“Down, Lucas!” Tanraak said. “Bad reindeer!”

Lucas gave him a dirty look over his shoulder.

Santa’s voice rang through the air again.

“Now, Dasher!”

Dasher’s unit, situated in the very center of the platform, stomped their hooves twice and lowered their heads.

“Now, Dancer!”

They did the same.

“Now, Prancer and Vixen!”

Fire lit up Justin’s veins as he stomped his hooves and took up the readied position.

“On, Comet!”

This is it!

“On, Cupid!”

I’m really a part of this!

“On, Donner and Blitzen!”

I’m going to make Santa proud of me tonight!”

“To bring joy to the world, and to Lights big and small!”

Justin took a deep breath.

“Now, dash away! Dash away! Dash away, all!”

The reins snapped, and Justin flung himself forward with all the other reindeer. The sound of thousands of hooves beating on the wooden platform filled his ears like thunder. A weight greater than any he could have ever imagined held him back. His cynicism told Justin that they would never be able to move it. Santa could gather a million reindeer, and it would still be like trying to move a mountain. It was hopeless…

As long as there is Christmas, he told himself forcefully, nothing will ever be hopeless!

And with that, the sleigh began to move. Justin charged forward, unable to see anything but the reindeer in front of him’s backside, but trusting Lena—and Santa—to keep him going in the right direction.

They went slowly at first, but with every step they built up speed until they were sprinting down the platform at a breakneck pace.

“You’re doing great!” he heard Lena shout to him. “Keep going!”

The ground beneath his hooves suddenly arched upwards, and Justin found himself galloping at a sheer ninety degree angle to the ground! And yet, his hooves stuck to the platform as if it were the ground. What looked like a wave surged toward him from the front of the team, antlers and furry bodies leaping into the air row by row.

This is it! he thought again.

Lena suddenly jerked upwards on his antlers, and Justin jumped! The platform disappeared from beneath him, leaving nothing beneath him but the great tree itself. Justin seized his magic, taking flight, and propelled himself forward. The boughs of the great tree continued to zip past below him as the reindeer rocketed straight upwards toward the night sky.

And the portal.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Santa shouted again as his sleigh took to the air. “TO ONE AND ALLLLLLL!”

Up they went, higher and higher. Justin couldn’t turn around to see Val Luminara shrinking beneath them, but he could see the portal closing in on them from the front. Part of him felt like he should be panicking. It hadn’t even been two days since he had last gone through there. He could still remember the savage chill that had turned him into a living popsicle before pulling him down into a world of darkness and danger. He should have been afraid. No, he should have been terrified!

But he wasn’t. He had Lena on his back, Lucas on his left, and Willow on his right. More importantly, he had Santa at the reins. He doubted there was any place on earth or Val Luminara where he could possibly have been safer.

Sure enough, as they passed through the swirling vortex of light, Justin felt a surge of power shoot through him. Suddenly, his fur glowed with colors just as vibrant as the portal’s. He felt the cold slam into him, just like it had before, only this time it didn’t seem to be able to touch him. Like rain landing on, and then sliding off, a car speeding down the highway, the cold found nothing on Justin that it could latch onto, and so it was forced to leave him as warm and comfortable as if he were sitting in front of a roaring fireplace.

And then, just like that, the lights vanished and they were flying straight down toward the icy wasteland that was the North Pole. Justin felt Santa pull on the reins, just as Lena pulled back on his antlers, and all the reindeer swooped upwards until they were flying parallel with the ground far beneath them.

Justin bellowed with exhilaration, a sound that Lucas, then Willow, and then several of the other deer echoed. They had made it!

And now it was time for the real work to begin.