by Tegan Maher
“Your wish is granted,” she whispers.
“I didn’t make a wish,” I say, confused.
“Your heart did,” she says.
Merlin walks up and sits before her, for all the world as if he wants to help. Mrs. Russo looks at him and nods, and then, very slowly, she fades, and the room descends into semi-darkness once again.
A Year Later
“And this really happened?” Imogen says.
I shrug and choose another chocolate from the tin. “Of course.”
I look up, and she’s giving me a suspicious look, while Christian is smiling, obviously thinking it’s a story.
“Do you remember it?” Imogen asks Arthur. “From inside the armour, I mean—did you see it happen?”
Arthur gives me a wry, amused look. “I’m sure if Gwen says it happened, then it happened.”
I feel a twinge of disappointment that he doesn’t remember. Then Merlin sits up and rests his head on my knee. I stroke his curly golden fur and look into his brown eyes. This year, I discovered that he’s the spirit of Arthur’s bard, Taliesin, and that he’s here to help lost spirits move on. Was he the one who finally helped old Mrs. Russo back into the light?
I look up, and Arthur’s staring at us both, his eyebrows raised and his mouth open. He can hear Merlin talk sometimes, and I guess the Labradoodle has just told him the truth.
“My Yule wish came true,” I say to him softly, because if Mrs. Russo was right, and my heart made a wish, this would have been what it wished for.
Arthur looks at me for a long moment, and I wonder whether maybe he’s thinking back to the sixth century, to the first time we met so long ago, when he kissed me and said, “When we are married, I will kiss you like that every day,” and I replied, “When we are married, I will let you.”
“Happy birthday,” I say to him.
His gaze drops to my mouth. Then he leans forward and presses his lips to mine.
Want to read more?
If you’d like to read more in the Avalon Café series, start with book 1, One Dark and Stormy Knight, here.
About Hermione
Hermione Moon writes cozy witch mysteries with a sprinkling of romance, set in Glastonbury, England. She also writes steamy contemporary romance as Serenity Woods, and is a USA Today bestselling author under that name. She currently lives with her husband in New Zealand.
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Lost Souls Paraagency and The Christmas Siren
K.M. Waller
Lost Souls Paraagency and the Christmas Siren
By K.M. Waller
Jordie Small is ready for a Christmas break from the Lost Souls ParaAgency, but one tiny favor means he’ll have to make a detour to a town enchanted with a little too much Christmas spirit. Can Jordie convince a lovesick siren to set things right before the teenager ends up on Santa’s naughty list?
The Assignment
Jordie Small switched out his basketball shorts for a pair of jeans that’d seen better days. Even though his benefactor and mentor, Lex Dimas, had more money than a Kardashian sister, once Jordie turned twenty-one and dropped out of college, the purse strings had drawn closed.
Lex had droned on and on about it being a good lesson for Jordie to make his own way, and Jordie begrudgingly agreed. He was no mooch. But, man, he’d liked the cool clothes that came along with Lex’s money. And the cars. He tugged on his tennis shoes. Maybe he could talk Lex’s girlfriend, Amira, into hinting to Lex about some big Christmas presents this year.
Lucky for him, being a full-time agent meant he could reside dorm-style in a wing of the Lost Souls ParaAgency. His roomie traveled so much it was like having his own space most of the time. Along with the roof over his head came a steady paycheck. Which meant he could at least buy a nice enough Christmas present for Ris. She didn’t care about fancy things, anyway.
He shrugged into a plain black t-shirt and glanced in the mirror. He’d shaved and gotten a haircut for the holidays. No reason he had to be a live version of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo all the time.
Other than a single shower running, the LSP’s locker room was eerily quiet for a Tuesday morning. And since the underground headquarters boasted one of the biggest assemblages of paranormals in Georgia, eerie was something he’d become used to pretty quickly. Some rumored a shift in the elders in charge of the Council on Crimes Against Humans meant the agents were busier than usual. Paranormal unrest, someone had called it.
Jordie hummed briefly before breaking out into song. “Jingle bells—”
“Jordie smells…” Gregor, a fellow junior agent, also human, came from the shower area.
“You’re just jealous of all this beauty.” Jordie interrupted Gregor’s version of the Christmas song. The two were tight friends who showed their affection by teasing the other mercilessly. They hadn’t seen each other since Jordie received his official status as agent.
He stood and scratched the area around the bright green amulet encased in silver. He put his hands on his hips and made sure the jewel caught the overhead lights.
“Yeah, man congrats. I heard you got your status and then immediately got whooped by a Care Bear.”
Jordie dropped his hands to his sides. “It was a drunk, lumberjack grizzly, and you couldn’t have handled him either. That dude had anger issues and two hundred and fifty pounds on his side.”
“The beating explains how you ended up on special sidekick duty for the Walker witch.”
“Excuse me? I am no one’s sidekick.” Jordie tapped the amulet, ignoring that Gregor had referred to Ris as the Walker witch. “This means I’m a bona fide agent, and I supervised a new agent’s mission while recovering from my injuries.”
Gregor opened a locker on the opposite side of the room. “That’s not how I heard it.”
“You heard wrong.” Jordie played with the agency amulet hanging at an angle near his collar bone. “I supervised.”
Gregor tugged on his boxer shorts, then paused to give Jordie a look. “But you got involved, and she handled the actual assignment while you provided back up.”
“I guess.” Jordie tapped his midsection. “You have to remember that my ribs were still healing. And it was her job to take the lead.”
“That still makes you the sidekick, my man.” Gregor sauntered over and punched his shoulder. “Do you really want to be a witch’s sidekick?”
“Shut up, dude.” There were worse things to do than hang out with Ris during an assignment. In fact, after her training, he hoped they’d be assigned as LSP partners.
“The sidekick story is better than the lovesick puppy story, though.” Gregor had lowered his voice and cut his eyes from side-to-side as if expecting someone to walk in on their conversation.
“There better not be a ‘lovesick puppy’ story.” Jordie let out a huff. He liked Ris, and they were still defining their relationship, but that didn’t mean he fit the definition of a fool for love. “I dare someone to say that to my face.”
Gregor’s eyes widened as if he realized Jordie didn’t take his comments as joking around. “Hey, you know we’re buds. I don’t care if you follow the witch around like she has you on a leash. I’ve always got your back.”
Jordie pursed his lips. He didn’t like being the topic of gossip in the agency.
“Hello, gentlemen.” Tippie, siren and mother hen to a lot of the agents, stood by a row of lockers. “I need to speak with Jordie. Privately.”
Gregor yanked on a pair of basketball shorts and then tugged on his shirt as he walked through
the exit. He gave Jordie a wink that all but said they weren’t done with the lovesick conversation.
“Is this about the secret Santa gift?” Jordie hoped his expression conveyed sincerity. “I honestly didn’t know Millie would be offended I had her shifter cat form made into a Dracula cat portrait. They’re so popular on Etsy, and the artist nailed her shiny black fur.”
He’d known Millie would hate it, but he loved teasing her like an older sibling.
“That’s not what this is about.” Her soothing voice wrapped around him like a soft blanket. She sat on the bench and patted the space beside her inviting him to sit. She wore a bright purple pantsuit romper-thing with stiff fabric that made a soft crinkle sound when she crossed her feet at her ankles.
“How are your injuries healing from the grizzly shifter assignment?” she asked.
He tapped his midsection as he’d done for Gregor. “Pain is pretty much gone. Just in time for Christmas vacation.”
He’d been planning to spend both Christmas Eve and Day in Burberry with Lex and the Walker women. His choice, of course. Not because Ris had him on some retractable leash.
“That’s good to hear.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I’m in need of a favor.”
Oh, man. Her voice had come through clear, without the added snuggles, which meant she wasn’t manipulating him into saying yes. This must be serious.
“And…” she continued, glancing around as if to make sure they were alone. “I’d like to keep this between us.”
“You mean, don’t tell Sparsh?” The agency’s head guy, who also happened to be Tippie’s husband and a powerful warlock, wouldn’t appreciate being left out of the loop. A knot formed in his stomach. He didn’t keep secrets well.
“That’s exactly what I mean. You can say no.” Her gaze drifted to her hands, which she’d clasped tightly in her lap.
Tippie was good to him, and if she needed his help, he’d always at least try to come through. He turned toward her and tilted his head. “I can help. What do you need?”
She reached into her pocket and removed a photograph. A young man stood next to a surfboard and frowned deeply at the person on the other side of the camera. “This is my eighteen-year-old nephew, Neri. Unlike me, he’s full siren. My sister, bless her, has lost track of him. He’s taking a gap year before deciding what to do with his life after high school. She last heard from him three weeks ago.”
Jordie took the picture from her and examined the eighteen-year-old. Losing track of a paranormal who could control people with his voice was a problem. “Do you think he’s in trouble?”
“I asked one of my seer friends to take a peek in the cosmos, and it appears he’s causing a stir in a little town in Alabama. I need you to bring him home. Quietly.”
Jordie flicked the picture. “He looks harmless enough.”
“He’s more siren than I am, and that means he can convince anyone to do anything with a simple whisper. Usually, it’s petty things like convincing a shop owner to give him a new surfboard or free food from a diner. But in this case, the seer says he’s affecting an entire town.”
Jordie swallowed hard. How could one paranormal control an entire town? “How?”
“We won’t know until you get there. But I need you to bring him back here.” She unclasped the necklace she wore and passed it to him. “This will make you immune to his powers of persuasion. Please don’t tell anyone. Not Lex or even the Walker girls. You’ll be on your own.”
“Is he dangerous?”
“No. Of course not. Just wily, so be prepared.”
“Why me?”
“I trust you. And you don’t have any big assignments going on right now. I checked the roster.”
“Why aren’t you telling Sparsh about this?”
“Let’s just say that we disagree about how to handle family issues. He believes in a firm hand, while I prefer a softer touch.”
Jordie put Tippie’s necklace on and tucked the delicate jewel beneath his shirt. A teen who could convince people to give him anything he wanted, and he chose to go to podunk Alabama? Why not Vegas or New York City or somewhere a million more times exciting?
He used his cell phone to take a picture of Neri, and Tippie handed him a sticky note with the name of the town in Alabama.
“Can I ask for something?”
“You can’t take Ris along.”
Did everyone think he had to be attached to Ris’ side? “No. She’s busy with training, anyway. But, I would like to be able to get her, and her sisters, something really nice for Christmas.”
Her lips turned up into a knowing smile. One that said she knew that the want of giving a special gift had to do with Ris and Ris alone. “I can offer you a bonus, but that will also have to stay between us. And only if you get Neri back here by Christmas Eve.”
Not how he thought he’d spend the last few days before Christmas, but at least he’d earn enough money to give Ris the sort of present she deserved. Something that said he wasn’t a lovesick puppy, but instead a casually interested friend who also happened to be a guy that had strong feelings for her.
1
Wurst Grove, Alabama. Population of a sparse ninety-four occupants according to Jordie’s internet search. Well, plus one paranormal visitor. He enlarged the Google map on his phone and switched it to satellite view. The town’s businesses consisted of a convenience store, a diner, a gun shop, a primary school, a First Baptist Church, and a sausage farm. Interesting combination. Huntsville was the nearest large city at less than an hour away.
He’d pulled into the parking lot of the Wurst Grove Food Town convenience store to gain his bearings. An antique celluloid plastic Santa greeted him from the front door with a frozen wave and creepy smile. The houses he’d passed on the main road were red brick with large back yards. Everyone had strings of Christmas lights hung in layers on their roofs, and Nativity scenes were tucked near their boxwood bushes. He’d seen a few mobile homes scattered around too.
Jordie rubbed both hands over his face. Why would Neri come to this town, of all places, two days before Christmas? There was literally nothing there. Unless he had a weird craving for fresh sausage. On the way into town, he’d seen a sign that boasted the “World’s Best Sausage Biscuit.”
On Jordie’s last assignment where he’d supervised Ris, a teen had traveled across the country to a small town in Florida to meet up with his online girlfriend.
And look what happened to him.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the agency seers could see something a little more specific when they predicted a paranormal disturbance in the force? While the visions were vague, they were never wrong. If seers predicted something sinister on the horizon, then without a doubt, something would go down within the next day or so.
Jordie yawned and checked the time on the dash. Seven hours of driving and he didn’t even have a motel to set up a base of operations. If needed, he could camp in the back of his white utility van, but small towns meant that a sheriff’s deputy would come sniffing around to determine his business.
“If I were a mischievous siren, where would I be?” he asked his reflection in the rearview mirror.
A quick knock sounded from outside the passenger’s window. An elderly woman waved to him, her pale skin set off by rosy cheeks. She’d covered most of her gray hair with a red beanie that had a white pom-pom on top. The pom bounced when she waved to him again.
He let down the window and held up his phone. “I think I’m lost. Just checking my map.”
“You’re in the right place, silly,” she said, punctuating her words with a giggle. “We expected you two hours ago.”
“You did?” He’d yet to apply a magnetic sign to the side of his van that would serve as his cover story. He had a variety of signs on tap for almost any situation. Plumbing, repair service, electrician, and even an environmental services sign, although if pushed, he wouldn’t be able to complete any of the services advertised.
She wagged a gl
oved finger at him. “Come inside and grab a cup of hot cocoa, and then we’ll get you in your suit. The kiddie crowd won’t wait for long.”
Crowd of kiddies, did she say? Jordie shrugged out of his seatbelt and exited the van. He’d play along until he could get the perky woman to fill in the details. Mistaken identity could be used to his advantage and would allow him to get a read on any weirdness happening in town. And Jordie did look good in a suit, if it came down to him having to wear one.
“I’m Myrtle, real estate agent, the town event coordinator, and today, your assistant Christmas elf. We’re so lucky to find a replacement on such short notice.”
Jordie continued to follow her to the side of the convenience store. “Why am I putting on the suit here?”
“The kids have to see you coming in the front door already dressed as Santa.”
“I’m sorry. Did you say Santa?” Jordie stopped and crossed his arms. Why would Myrtle think that he’d come to town to play Santa Claus?
A white van, similar to Jordie’s, pulled into the parking lot and the driver hit the horn three times. A man with a long white, flowing beard exited and waddled toward them. “Sorry, I’m late.”
“I think that is your Santa,” Jordie said.
“Oh, my. Of course he is.” She gave Jordie a once over and narrowed her eyes. “That does make more sense. You aren’t plump enough to play a realistic Santa.”
Jordie chuckled. “I didn’t mean to mislead you.”
She broke into a wide grin. “No worries. Easy mistake. I’m sure you’re here for the Christmas town event at the school. As soon as I get Santa suited up, you can follow us over there.”
“You have a Christmas festival going on today?”