“Well, make yourself at home. I’m going to have a shower.” I wasn’t exactly comfortable showering with Vixen in my apartment, especially not when Tomi had taken a liking to her. Who knew how much mischief he’d cause without me there to monitor them. My clothes and hair smelled too much like beer though. So I ignored my worries and heeded the call of hot water that was beckoning to me from my bathroom.
I was barely out of the shower and dressed once more when I heard voices coming from the kitchen. I walked out, dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a tank top, wondering what was going on now.
Dash, Blitz, and Vixen were standing in the small space arguing with one another. They all fell silent as I walked into the room. I wanted to be annoyed that they were all coming and going from my home like it was a youth hostel, but the worried looks on their faces made me concerned there was a more serious problem.
“What is it?” I asked.
“There’s been another death,” Dash replied. “And the scent of Christmas elves was found at the scene. We need to go check it out.”
“Oh.” My stomach dropped at the news, and sadness flickered across my eyes. The victim so easily could have been me, and the thought had my curiosity flaring. Who was the victim? Did they have powers like mine? Was there a reason they had been targeted? I’d never met anyone like me before, and I knew that if the elves had singled me out then they could have targeted this being too. And if they had, I needed to know why. “Well, what are we waiting for?”
Dash shook his head at me, but it was Vixen who replied. “Nothing. We’re just trying to decide who’s staying here to babysit you.” It wasn’t hard to miss the annoyance in her voice.
“No one needs to stay and babysit me, I’ll come with you.”
“No,” Dash replied. “I won’t have you risking yourself when the elves are still out in the open.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You worry too much,” I said. “You were happy to use me as bait today, what’s changed?”
Dash frowned as he struggled to explain. I continued before he could answer.
“Look, I highly doubt they’re about to return to the scene of the crime. Besides, I’m sure we’d all be safer if we stuck together.”
“The claus has a point,” Blitz continued. “Why split the herd up if we can just bring her with us?”
“The claus has a name.” I glared at Blitz but quickly thought better of it as I didn’t want to offend the one reindeer in my corner. He caught my gaze and gave me a wink though before I could look away. Man, reindeers were incorrigible.
Dash shot Blitz a hard look. It was the kind of stare that would have caused most beings to reconsider what they’d said, but Blitz seemed unfazed by it.
“You know I’m right,” Blitz continued.
“Fine,” Dash replied. “We’ll bring Clio with us, but as soon as we spot the first sign of danger, you can be the one to bring her back here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Blitz replied with a playful grin.
“You can go in Vixen’s car. I’ll bring Clio in mine,” Dash continued, ignoring Blitz’s comment.
Vixen nodded and grabbed Blitz by the biceps, pulling him down the corridor and out of my apartment. “We’ll see you there,” she called before the door slammed shut.
“Where exactly is there?” I asked.
“Two towns over, a property just beyond Halton.”
“Right, well, I guess we’re going to Halton,” I said, starting toward the door. The news of another death had me rattled, and I was trying to remain calm. It was horrible to hear that the elves had struck again, but I was hoping that at least now we would get some answers.
Chapter Eight
Halton was a much larger town than Bramblewood. The place stretched for miles, and unlike Bramblewood, they had more than one grocery store. Pedestrians dotted the sidewalks, and there were small shops and houses lining the roads. It had the same English charm of the place I currently called home, but I found it too busy for my liking.
Dash didn’t make conversation as he drove, but I didn’t mind the silence. Silence was better than bickering in my books, and that’s all the two of us ever seemed to do. This car was far nicer than the beat-up old truck he’d had in the North Pole. It was a luxury sedan that had a smooth engine and plush interior. My hands ran across the soft leather of my seat as I stared out the window.
I’d never considered summoning up a car for myself before as it used far too much power. Dash’s car made the thought tempting though. My current mode of transport was the small hatchback my mom had driven. Sometimes, I swore I could still smell the soft scent of her magic when I drove it, so it was unlikely I’d ever truly consider getting an upgrade.
“Do you ever get lonely here in the Human Realm?” Dash asked, suddenly breaking the silence.
I tried not to scowl at him. Why did he have to go and ruin all our glorious peace and quiet with that question?
“I’m not alone,” I replied, still looking out the window. “I have Tomi and Alfie.”
“Fine, I’ll ask a different question then. Why do you avoid the Northern Realm?”
“Because they don’t have Fanta in the North Pole,” I said. “You know, you guys are really missing out up there.”
I glanced at Dash to find his lips had tightened into a flat line. “I know that’s not the reason,” he said.
“It could be.”
“But it’s not,” Dash said, sounding so certain. “The dark beings may be drawn to this world, but most light beings struggle with the isolation here. Pretty much every magical being I’ve encountered in the Human Realm is either running from something or hiding from something. And given your aversion to our home, I’d say you’re one of them.”
We stopped at a set of traffic lights, and Dash turned to face me. His eyes were searching mine as if he was hoping to uncover my deepest secrets. The look was intense, and I couldn’t stop myself from talking before I’d even considered what I would say.
“I’ve already told you. My mother moved us here when I was younger,” I said. “Neither of us were running or hiding though,” I quickly added. “At least, I wasn’t until you stormed into my life.”
“And where’s your mother now?”
“Gone.” The word lodged in my throat like it was stuck there. This was exactly why I hated talking about my past. “She died two Christmases ago.”
“I’m sorry, Clio, I can’t imagine how hard that must be for you.”
I shrugged. “I’m coping.”
The sad look in his eyes made me feel like he wasn’t convinced. “And what about your father?”
“Never knew him. He died when I was only a baby.” If Dash’s eyes had looked sad before, they now look devastated. I couldn’t handle the pity I saw in them, so I let out a breath and nodded toward the road. “Light’s green.”
His gaze lingered on me a second longer before he focused back on the road and started driving again. His sympathy had gotten under my skin though. I could feel it crawling there, like an infestation of bugs. I shouldn’t have told him about my mother, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I’d divulged so much information to him.
I blamed his penetrating eyes. I would have been convinced they had some kind of seduction magic in them, but I knew perfectly well no such magic existed.
The town of Halton disappeared behind us as the road entered the English countryside once more. Large hills of greenery rolled toward the horizon with low stone fences dividing properties from the road. Clouds gathered overhead, sapping the land of any vibrancy, and I chewed on my lower lip as we drove, wondering what I could expect when we finally arrived at our destination.
It wasn’t long until Dash turned off the road and onto a dirt driveway. There was a small sign across the open gate to the property that read: “Welcome to Pineview.” The lettering was faded, like it had been years since anyone had bothered to pay it any heed.
The driveway stretched about a mile and wa
s bordered by gorgeous old trees. A small stream could be seen just beyond the trees, and rows of lavender grew along the edge of the dirt road. When we reached the end of the drive, a small thatch-roofed cottage surrounded by huge bushes of bright pink and blue hydrangeas appeared before us. The place was so quaint and pretty like something out of a fairy tale. It was hard to believe anything as horrible as murder could have happened here.
Dash pulled up next to Vixen’s car, which was already parked in front of the cottage. She was waiting there with Blitz who was leaning on the hood of her car. Their heads both turned, and Blitz straightened to stand tall as we arrived.
“Where’s Coop?” I asked as Dash put the car into park.
“Already with the deceased,” he replied. “He came straight here when we got the call about the tree nymph.”
“It was a tree nymph that died?”
Dash nodded in confirmation.
“I thought they only lived in the Northern Realm.”
“I did too, but apparently we were both wrong.” He got out of the car, effectively ending our conversation. I scrambled to get free of my seat belt and follow him. He was already starting toward Vixen and Blitz, and I didn’t want to miss anything.
I followed the three reindeer into the house. It was warm inside, and the décor was like something out of the sixties with yellow wallpaper on the walls and orange carpet covering the floor. The place smelled like mothballs with a hint of magic—a combination of two average scents if you asked me.
Dash led us into a front living area where there was a claus sitting on the couch blubbering into her cup of tea. The squat, older woman was dressed in a floral skirt and a knitted sweater that was the same shade of orange as the floor. Her gray-streaked hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun.
I glanced at the others to gauge their reactions to the crying claus. Blitz looked distinctly uncomfortable, like he wanted to take off at the sight of tears. Vixen’s face was as hard as ever. She looked like she thought the woman’s emotion was merely an inconvenience. Dash appeared the most concerned of the three of them as he eyed the fragile woman before us.
“I thought you said we were dealing with a dead tree nymph,” I murmured to Dash.
“We are,” he replied. “This is the claus who found the body and called us. They were friends.”
“Oh,” I replied, as I studied the woman again. I knew how hard it was to find someone you love dead. I’d come home to discover my own mother’s body, and I still had nightmares about that day.
“Joy?” Dash asked, taking a step toward her. “I’m Dash, Coop should have told you I was coming.”
The woman nodded, slowly lifting her tear-stained cheeks to look at Dash. “I’m sorry,” she said with a slight stutter between tears. “I’m such a mess.”
Her hand was shaking so much as she attempted to put her teacup down that she nearly dropped it. Dash quickly moved forward and took the cup from her hand, placing it carefully on the table.
“Thank you,” she said.
He crouched down at her side. “Can you tell us what happened?”
Joy nodded, though her eyes swelled with tears again, and I knew she was going to find it hard. “I went to the supermarket last night,” she started, her words barely louder than a whisper. “I rarely use my magic these days, and I needed some milk for my tea. I was only gone for ten minutes, but when I came home, I felt this strange sense of dread. All of my life I’ve known the prickly, sweet scent of Thistle’s magic, but when I got out of my car, I couldn’t smell it at all.”
She drew in a ragged breath as she went to continue. “I rushed to the back of the house, but I was too late. Thistle…she was already dead…” She erupted into a series of heavy sobs.
Dash looked at me with helpless eyes. He wanted my help, but I had no idea what I could do to ease the woman’s pain. I let out a breath before I joined Dash at Joy’s side. I reached out and took hold of her hand.
“I know how hard it is to lose someone you love,” I told her. “The pain is unbearable, and there’s no escaping it. You’ve been so brave by telling us what happened last night. Can you be brave for me just a little bit longer? We have a few more questions, and we need to know as much as possible if we’re going to catch her killer.”
Tears were rushing down Joy’s cheeks, but she nodded through them, a flicker of determination entering her eyes. “What else do you need to know?” she asked, calming her sobs enough so that she could speak.
Dash gave me an appreciative smile. “Can you tell me any details about last night that were strange to you?”
Joy shook her head. “It’s all so fuzzy. I can remember getting the milk from the shops as clear as day. I remember seeing her body, but everything else is a mess.”
“Do you recall seeing a weapon? Did you smell any strange magic?”
Joy’s eyes widened, and her lower lip quivered as she shook her head. “I-I don’t know.”
“Can you tell us any reason Thistle might have been targeted by someone?”
“Targeted?” Her face paled with shock. “No, no, not targeted. Thistle didn’t have any enemies.”
Joy clearly wanted to help us as much as possible, but she just seemed to be getting more upset as she struggled to remember the traumatic events clearly. Dash was going about this the wrong way.
“Can you tell us a little about what made the two of you decide to live here?” I asked. “What brought you to the Human Realm?”
Joy settled her gaze on me, seeming to relax a little as she answered my question. “Thistle and I have lived in the Human Realm for many years,” she said. “We’ve been best friends since before I could walk. The two of us never really fit in back in the North Pole though. I wasn’t a fighter, so I didn’t get along with other clauses. And she was about as different as you could get from the other nymphs. All she ever wanted was to explore. So, we left.”
“I didn’t know tree nymphs could be away from their tree,” Dash said.
“They can’t,” Joy replied. “Which is why we brought her tree with us. She was only a young sapling at the time. Her roots hadn’t grown too deeply, so it was possible.”
“And you’ve lived in this house all that time?” I asked.
Joy nodded. “We traveled the human world for a few years, bringing her sapling with us wherever we went. But eventually we could see that it was making her sick. Her tree needed nourishment it could only get from being in the earth. Thistle’s tree is planted out back. When we moved here, we knew it was for life.”
“It’s sounds like you were both inseparable.”
“We were,” Joy replied, barely louder than a whisper.
“Thank you for answering our questions,” Dash said. “Do you mind if we take a look out back?”
Joy nodded and gestured toward the corridor that led from the room. “Please, take a look. If you need anything else, let me know. I need justice for my friend.” She slouched back in her seat, like our short conversation had taken everything out of her.
“I’m going to call in some protectors to keep an eye on you and make sure whoever did this doesn’t return.” Dash handed her a card. “My number’s on here. If you think of anything else, give me a call.”
He stood up, and I followed him and the others from the room. I glanced over my shoulder at Joy as I reached the doorway that led through to the rest of the house. She was staring at Dash’s card with desolate eyes. My stomach tightened at the sight. I remembered how I’d felt those first few days after losing my mother, and I didn’t envy the pain Joy was going through now.
Things would get better for her, but they would never be the same. I sighed, wishing it didn’t have to be this way for Joy. A flicker of guilt flashed through me. If only I’d still been training when those elves attacked me, maybe I would have been able to stop them and this death wouldn’t have happened. I couldn’t help but feel partially responsible.
I lingered a moment longer, another question rising
in my mind. “Joy?” I asked from the doorway.
She looked up at me, nodding for me to continue.
“Was there anything unusual about Thistle’s magic?”
“What do you mean?” Her question came out a croak.
“Like, was she unusually powerful compared to other nymphs?”
Joy frowned at the question. “No, her powers weren’t anything special…” Her voice trailed off, and she paused for a moment. “Well, there was one time when she did something incredible for me, but I don’t know if it had anything to do with her magic.”
“What was it?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“I got into some trouble, and she rescued me,” Joy began, her eyes drifting away from mine as she recalled the memory.
“I was on my way back from London when I fell asleep at the wheel and crashed my car into a ditch. It was the dead of night. I was injured and stranded in the middle of nowhere. I couldn’t use my magic because it was out of season, but somehow, Thistle knew I needed her, and she came to find me. We must have been at least a hundred kilometers from her tree…”
“Could she usually go far from her tree?” I tried to keep the awe from my voice. I’d never heard anything like it before. Tree nymphs were known for being unable to venture more than a hundred meters from their tree, let alone a hundred kilometers.
Joy frowned. “No, that was the only time she was ever parted from her tree, and going that far nearly killed her. It took her days to recover. Why? Do you think that has something to do with her murder?”
“No.” I quickly shook my head, hoping it wasn’t obvious that I was worried. “I just thought I should check.”
I turned my back on her and left, feeling more concerned than ever. Thistle might have only ventured far from her tree once, but that was an unbelievable feat. It sounded like she was different, just like me, and my attack was looking more targeted than ever. I silently trailed through Joy’s house until I reached the door to her backyard.
I came to a stop in the doorway, shock and sadness washing through me. A huge pine tree as large and majestic as the ones back in the North Pole stood in the center of Joy’s beautiful garden. The tree was lifeless though. The needles had all turned brown, and the trunk had turned a pale blackish-gray color.
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