Babes in Toyland II

by Aspen Mountain Press Authors

  His bark was so cold and she felt the tremors course through him every time a gust of wind caught his ice-laden branches.

  My strong love. When my tree dies, so will I. But do not blame yourself. I beg you to not blame yourself.

  "No, damn it. Quit being so fucking accepting and fight!"

  The demand had barely left her lips when wind surged through the clearing again, forcing her to close her eyes. Ilex's tree bent further in the gust and a huge quake ran through it, then a horrendous crack sounded, so loud her ears rang with it.

  "Nooo.... “She screamed, her protest lost in the screech of the storm and the thundering of Ilex's tree, torn off near the base, hitting the ground.

  Chapter Seven

  The horrible pain faded and Ilex gasped. Was he still alive? The ice and wind created so much pressure on his trunk he'd thought it was truly his death and told Kayleigh goodbye before the pain enveloped him. Was he dead?

  His eyes shot open from pure instinct only to realize he was in his human form. The freezing rain sheeted over his face but he could no longer feel the cold of it. He wore no clothes but it didn't seem to matter.

  The last clear thing he remembered was Kayleigh pouring energy into him and refusing to let him give up. She begged him to fight his fate. She ordered him to live. An enormous quantity of power had funneled from the earth, through her and into him. Shaped by her enormous will, it must have done something to him at the point where the pain struck

  Sobbing from behind him made his heart lurch. He spun in place to see Kayleigh sprawled out on top of his fallen tree. Snapped off at the root, the entire tree appeared encased in ice. There was no saving it—or him.

  * * * *

  Kayleigh sobbed and embraced Ilex's fallen tree. Was he still there? Could she somehow save him? Bare hands were numb with cold as they stroked the smooth bark and felt for any spark of life, any sign he still lived.

  Nothing.

  She fought the hands that pulled her away. Struck out at whomever was trying to comfort her. She didn't want to be comforted, dammit. She'd just lost the man she loved.

  "Kayleigh, stop."

  She froze in place. Ilex? Was that Ilex's voice? Allowing herself to be pulled off the tree, she pushed herself to her feet and spun around. For a moment she stood staring, mouth open in shock.

  He was just standing there, not quite solid but mostly so. Was he a ghost?

  Her legs quivered with weakness. She'd given him almost everything she had, holding nothing back. It hadn't been enough.

  "Are you ... dead?” She didn't want to hear the answer she expected, but a tiny bit of hope remained. Enough that she needed to make sure before she gave in to the despair that darkened her future.

  "I don't know. My tree is dead but I was somehow pushed out of it. I don't seem alive but I do not think I am dead.” He shook his head. “I just don't know."

  She stepped toward him and reached up to touch his face. She could feel him. He couldn't be dead if she could feel him, could he? But he was naked and seemed unaffected by the icy and freezing rain. If he was alive, wouldn't that mean he'd be at least shivering and cold?

  The rain suddenly ceased and a feeling of overwhelming awe filled Kayleigh. A female voice spoke from behind her, beautiful and frightening at the same time. “What have you done, my priestess?"

  Kayleigh turned around again, only to see the small figure of a woman dressed in elaborate robes of blue and silver. White hair sparkled with thousands of stars and deep cobalt eyes seemed to see into Kayleigh's very being. Even the air around the figure sparkled and moved as if alive.

  Ilex moved forward to stand next to her. “Goddess,” he whispered.

  Kayleigh's eyes dropped in awe. The Goddess rarely appeared in anything other than dreams and visions. Why had She chosen to do so now? Even in the presence of the Goddess she'd served for years, she worried for Ilex. Was the Goddess here to take him from her?

  "Look at me, my priestess."

  Kayleigh couldn't resist the command. When her eyes met those of the Goddess, she felt as if her entire spirit was being examined in minute detail. Every thought, every memory, every emotion. It all flashed by so quickly she could only gasp. A minute may have passed, or an hour, she didn't know.

  The Goddess’ eyes moved to Ilex for a few minutes without a word being spoken.

  She sighed. “Ilex, you have served me for almost a century. Yet now you cannot serve me any longer, through no fault of your own. Your tree is gone and you are a shade—neither alive nor dead but trapped in the Land Between."

  Kayleigh felt a shiver of guilt. She had done this to him.

  "Priestess, you did this from love. Feel no guilt over it. The deed is done, now it remains to determine how to go forward with the paths still open to you."

  She was silent for a moment, appearing to consider the both of them.

  Ilex moved closer to Kayleigh and put an arm around her shoulder to draw her up close to his side. Even more nervous now, she snuggled against him. It still seemed very odd that he was naked, only partially solid and immune to the cold. Even so, the gesture eased the knot in her chest and she took what comfort she could from his presence and concern.

  "Ilex, the time was approaching when I would release you from your vow to me anyway. You have served long and faithfully and another stands ready to take your place. You are now released and Blessed Be."

  Kayleigh's breath caught and she pressed herself even closer to Ilex's form. Would he disappear? Was this the end?

  "For your service, I will grant you a boon. If you wish it, I will make you a true human and you can join this priestess. But understand that you will then have the lifespan of a human as well as sharing all their strengths and frailties. Your other options are to remain in the Land Between as a shade for all time or to die now and await rebirth."

  What if Ilex didn't want to be human? Kayleigh wanted to beg him to make the choice she wanted. To choose to remain with her as a human. But any choice she forced would not be the true free will of the man she loved.

  "Goddess, I wish to become human. I love this woman and want to be with her. I accept the consequences of my choice and thank you for the chance to choose.” His voice was clear, strong and sure.

  "So mote it be.” The Goddess turned her attention to the other two holly trees next to Ilex's ripped and torn stump. The ice melted off the larger of the two and a shadowy, naked male figure emerged from it to bow before the Goddess.

  "I will serve you.” The man's voice was a rich baritone. “I will be the Holly King."

  The blue and white clothed figure turned toward them again. “You will have human documents in your name, to start your life. Consider it a handfasting present. As are these clothes. I don't want you to freeze or become ill on your human birthday."

  A rush of power thrummed over Kayleigh and when it passed she found her cheek pressed up against the black down parka Ilex now wore. A glance showed him clothed in a set of warm winter outerwear similar to her own.

  "Blessed Be.” The Goddess's voice faded even as her body and that of the ethereal man did as well.

  "Thank you, Goddess.” Kayleigh couldn't believe it. Ilex was here to stay, permanently. He'd chosen to stay with her. She wanted to pinch herself to see if she woke from this amazing dream.

  Instead Ilex proved how real it was when he grasped her head with both gloved hands, tilted her head and kissed her until they both gasped for breath. “I love you, my Kayleigh."

  "I love you too, Ilex."

  "Can we please go back to the house? I want to make love to you and it's really, really cold out here.” His lighthearted request broke the solemn mood.

  She burst into laughter and they carefully made their way back to the bungalow through the rain that resumed falling.

  Epilogue

  She never stopped delighting in the sight of her new home as she drove up the long driveway. Her insurance award on top of the sale of her condo had allowed her to buy
it when the prior owners decided to sell. She'd hated the thought of moving out when her lease expired but it had never become necessary.

  Blessed. I am so blessed.

  Every day she spent a few moments considering how lucky she was and how she never wanted to take any day for granted.

  She parked the car and got out to gather the groceries she'd picked up on her way home. The meeting with a new web design client had gone very well but she was always eager to get home to Ilex. Just knowing he was nearby gave her a sense of peace and completion she thrived on.

  The past eight months were a haze of love, chaos, and reassessment. She'd moved from her corporate job to free-lance web design out of her own home. It had taken months for Ilex to really get a feel for his new life and then to find ways to embrace it. But each night had been filled with laughter, lovemaking and delight.

  After their initial misgivings, Kayleigh's family had accepted Ilex and now considered him a true member of the family. He'd survived months of being quizzed and regarded with suspicion and even made it through the plans for the huge handfasting they'd had in the backyard of the bungalow. Miraculously enough, he'd not even been upset by the threats her brothers had made to mutilate various parts of his body, should he hurt their baby sister.

  As if summoned by her thoughts, Ilex emerged from the door of the craftsman style shop building they'd had designed to match the bungalow. Soon after he'd become human, her husband discovered he had an incredible talent for woodworking and after a few pieces of furniture had been sold to popular decorators, he now had a waiting list for his hand-made creations.

  Ilex waved at her and shut the door carefully behind him. He'd been working on some secret project and made her swear not to peek. The fact she'd not tried to see what he was doing had to be a sign of love.

  He was so gorgeous. Snug jeans hugged his powerful legs and the sleeves of his flannel shirt were folded back to reveal his muscular forearms. Woodworking had added bulk to his already delicious body and she loved it.

  A quick kiss disarmed her and he stole the grocery bags away, laughing at her mock protest.

  "Your present is ready, Kay.” He winked and blithely walked off with the bags, leaving her gaping at the sudden announcement. What present? The thing he'd been working on?

  "Wait, Ilex. What present? Where is it?” She grabbed her purse out of the front seat of the car and trotted after him, hearing him chuckle as he opened the front door and disappeared inside.

  Nothing looked like it might be a present in the living room, not that she knew what she was looking for. Searching as she went, she found her husband in the kitchen, humming innocently as he put away the groceries.

  "What present, Ilex? I've been really good and not peeked in your shop but it's killing me. Will you please give it to me? Or at least tell me what it is?” Batting her eyes only seemed to make him laugh again.

  Closing the refrigerator, he leaned against it and grinned. “What's in it for me, wife?"

  "I don't know. What do you want?” Kayleigh lowered her voice and added a seductive huskiness. “I bet we could think of something."

  Ilex's glorious green eyes narrowed. “Come with me."

  Almost pulling her off her feet, he tugged her down the hall to their bedroom.

  Well, she might be willing to wait for her gift if he was this eager to make love. He drove her crazy in bed and she still couldn't get enough, even if their months together had eased the stark desperation that marked their first time together.

  At the bedroom door, he stopped and positioned her in front of him, facing the door.

  What was he up to? The hard cock pressed against her ass made it clear he wanted her. She wriggled her butt experimentally and grinned at his long moan.

  "Woman, if you want your gift, you need to stop that for now."

  Ooh. Her present was in the bedroom.

  He swung the door open and she gasped at the glorious new bed that filled their room. Their nice but ordinary sleigh bed had been replaced by a huge mission style bed in a glorious pale wood that gleamed almost white in the afternoon sunlight. It was beautifully made in shades of chocolate, cream and mocha and piled high with pillows but the bed itself was incredible.

  Kayleigh stepped toward it, amazed yet again at Ilex's work. The mix of styles that made his work unique was demonstrated yet again in the holly leaves and berries carved in high relief on the normally stark slats of the headboard and footboard.

  "Do you like it?” He sounded surprisingly nervous.

  "I love it. Oh, Ilex.” She burst into tears. He'd done all this work for her. Because he wanted to. Because he loved her.

  "Your mother helped me pick out the bedding. I wanted to make it as special as possible. A perfect place for use to make love, cuddle, sleep and wake next to each other for the rest of our lives."

  He ran a calloused hand along the footboard, tenderly caressing the carved leaves. “The wood is from my tree. I couldn't think of a better use than this and I didn't want to let it rot."

  Her heart melting, Kayleigh threw herself into his arms. “I can't believe you did this. I love you so much."

  "I love you, too, Kayleigh. Can we initiate the bed now?"

  Author Notes

  Festival of Lights

  by Melissa Glisan

  Many things mentioned in this story have been lost to the mists of time. However, there are a few things of which we are certain.

  The Scythians lived throughout what is now the Middle East and in small enclaves in modern-day Crimea. They were a fierce nomadic warrior people who fought on horseback from 1,000 B.C.E until they disappeared. They were greatly feared and admired but their stories were confused by the Greeks (Herodotus) and intermingled with the fear of the Huns until they finally scared the fledgling Christian tribes into the creation of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

  How does this fit in with a story on the first Hanukkah? Very simple, Hanukkah is another holiday whose precise story is lost to the mists of time. The most popular is the account of the Maccabees overthrowing the Seleucid Empire attended by the Miracle of the Oil. To this day, Hanukkah is still considered a “new” Jewish holiday, despite its ancient origins.

  Now, how are the two really related? One of the oldest bloodlines of the Jews, those originating from the ancestral lands of Judah, is the Ashkenazi. By their name, they are a blend of the Ashken or Ishkuzi race, namely the Scythians, who joined by religious conversion or marriage with the Hebrew. Again, definitive proof has been lost. Some dispute the notion, stating Ashken relates only to the Diaspora and the Hebrew word for Germany. It is solely the whimsy of this writer that sets a definitive date and time for her romantic notion.

  Thank you for purchasing this copy of Babes in Toyland II. Please visit www.AspenMountainPress.com for other fine collections of stories including Babes in Toyland, our first holiday release.

  * * *

  Visit www.aspenmountainpress.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.