Curses and Candy Canes: A Paranormal Mystery Christmas Anthology

by Tegan Maher

  “My name is Lexi Balefire, and I’m here to retrieve a missing reindeer.” I held out my hands to show I wasn’t armed and hoped Evian had had time to hide.

  The bat lowered. “I’m Chloe LaRue. You’re animal control?” She squinted in the low light.

  “Something like that.”

  “And you’re telling me there’s a reindeer on my roof?” The hint of a smile in her tone eased some of my tension. “Let me guess, the guy in apartment three left the gate open on the freight elevator again.”

  “Probably. I’m not too sure on the details, I only know a couple of missing reindeer found their way up here, and it’s my mission to get them back where they belong. I do appreciate your cooperation.”

  While I tried to sound official, I glanced around for where the freight elevator might be. “Nothing to worry about, I’ll take it from here.”

  But Chloe was curious and rushed back inside for a coat. Can you blame her?

  Comet stood quietly to one side while I tromped through the snow toward the tree where the other reindeer still hid.

  “Uh, hey, big fella. I’m not here to hurt you, okay? Don’t bite me or anything.” The antlers quivered as Chloe came up beside me.

  “He seems frightened. Try this.” She handed me an apple she’d apparently grabbed on her way out. “I used to visit my grandmother in this crazy little town where she lived called Ponderosa Pines, and I remember the deer used to come eat her apples. This should help. Looks like he’s wearing a harness, so he’s probably a pet, right? Does he have a name?”

  I felt like a complete fool. “He does, but I’m not sure which one he is.” Going for broke, I started at the top of the list. “Dasher? Dancer?”

  Beside me, Chloe chuckled. “Even better.”

  “Prancer? Vixen?” When I got to Vixen, the antlers bounced up and down. “Come out now. No one will hurt you. I just want to help you get back where you belong.”

  He quivered again, but when Comet let out an impatient sound somewhere between a snort and a squeal, Vixen finally showed himself.

  “Can I pet him?” Entranced, Chloe didn’t wait for the answer and reached out to stroke her hand down Vixen’s neck. “Aren’t you a beauty,” she crooned as he danced in place.

  “I’ve been moving from place to place for so long, I’d forgotten how much I used to love going to Ponderosa Pines and living the simple life, you know?”

  Actually, I didn’t. “I’m a city girl right down to the bone. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if someone plopped me down in the middle of the countryside.”

  Under Chloe’s gentle hand, the wild fear slowly faded from Vixen’s eyes, until after a few moments, I noticed his feet leaving the ground.

  “Well, it feels like home to me, and I wish I could go back there and just settle down.”

  Vixen stilled and being sensitive to these things, I felt a sudden shift as if the world hitched for a moment, then settled back on its axis.

  It was time to get out of there.

  “Maybe you’ll get the chance. I hope you do, but for now, I’ll just say it was nice to meet you, Chloe, but I need to get going. There’s someone waiting anxiously for the safe return of his boys.”

  Comet got a taste of Chloe’s attention as she showed us to the freight elevator. If she noticed the lack of hoofprints in that area, she never said a word, and for that, I was grateful. In human form, Evian waited at the bottom.

  “That was inspired, by the way,” she said. “Saying you were animal control. Quick thinking.” She led us to the dark corner near the trash bins and changed forms. Vixen didn’t need any seeds, and I only think Comet took one because he enjoyed the extra rush. With me mounted on Comet, we took to the sky.

  Chapter Five

  Heading north and west again, the second trip seemed far less scary than the first. The light of a nearly-full moon turned snow-covered hills and valleys to a study in shades of blue. I could actually get to like this flying thing.

  “Do you think they know where they’re going?” Evian’s voice trilled from my right. I looked over to see her sitting nonchalantly on Vixen’s back. In response to the implied slur, he poured on the speed and executed a neat loop that dislodged the faerie.

  Before she could turn Vixen into a gnat or worse, Comet dropped lower as the lights of a small town came into view. At least half a dozen windmills dotted the landscape, their blades turning slowly and making shadow patterns on the snow. We made a slow, looping pass over the village before coming to a stop. I took my cue, pulled out the whistle, and blew three times. Across the still night air, the sound traveled hit the mountainside and echoed back to us as we hovered and waited.

  “Maybe we’re off by a town or two,” I suggested. Up until that moment, I didn’t know reindeer could growl or bark. Okay, maybe they don’t actually bark, but it sort of sounds that way.

  Across the calm night air came a faint sound that I thought was an echo, but it sent Comet arrowing downward fast enough I had to lean back. When he landed, I jumped off and came around to look him in the eye. “If you do that again, I’m going to let Evian turn you into a block of ice. Do you understand?”

  The reindeer gave me his equivalent of a shrug and then nodded his head toward his back to indicate that I should remount. Four legs were faster than two, and we’d landed a fair distance from the populated area. Probably to keep from being seen again.

  Lit by the moon, I read the name on the sign as we passed the town line. Ponderosa Pines.

  “Hey, isn’t that the town Chloe mentioned?”

  Naturally, the reindeer didn’t answer, but neither did Evian because she was too busy practicing her trick riding techniques by doing a handstand on Vixen’s back.

  Just short of the center of town, Comet stopped and twitched his head at me to get off and walk. Fine by me; without a saddle, he wasn’t the most comfortable ride anyway, and in the morning, my pancakes better come with a side of Terra’s tonic.

  The sound of hooves and feet crunching on the snow-covered road warned of our arrival, but it wasn’t just another reindeer who waited for us in front of what looked like a cottage built of stone.

  Tall and rangy, bundled up in a checkered coat of red and black wool, the woman called out as we came down the drive. “If you’re looking for your missing reindeer, he’s down behind the shed.”

  “Thanks,” I split off from the rest of the pack, made my way over to her while Comet and Vixen trotted in the direction she’d indicated and disappeared from sight.

  “I’m Lexi Balefire. As you can see, there’s been a little mishap.”

  Brushing back her hair with a mitten-covered hand, she said, “So I see. EV Torrence, by the way.” Her hand closed around mine for a firm shake. “Are you staying here in town?”

  “No, just passing through.” The quicker, the better.

  A smile split EV’s face. “On your way to the North Pole?”

  “Something like that.” I couldn’t help but grin back. “Looks like a nice place, though.”

  “Oh, Ponderosa Pines has its charms if you like the quiet life. Nothing bad ever happens here.”

  A series of snorts and grunts echoed out from behind the shed. To cover for whatever was going on back there, I asked, “Was the town named for the trees?”

  EV threw her head back and laughed. “I guess you’re a city girl. Maine doesn’t run to that type of pine.”

  “Oh, I had no idea.”

  “You’re probably too young to remember, but one of the founders of this town had a crush on a young actor named Micheal Landon from a TV show named Bonanza.”

  The name meant nothing to me, and I guess my expression showed that because EV laughed again. “Well, she lobbied hard for Ponderosa because it was the name of the ranch on Bonanza, but the other town founder wanted to call it Whispering Pines. There was an argument—more of a stand-off really—and in the end, they split the difference and went with Ponderosa Pines.”

  A head popp
ed around the corner of the shed. “That’s quite a story. I’ll try to come back sometime when I’m not chasing after errant animals, and maybe you can tell me more about it. Sorry about the disturbance.” The rest of the reindeer came into view, his teammates following behind.

  Grinning, EV waved away my apology. “Having a reindeer drop by is the most exciting thing that’s happened here all year. Sometimes I wish this town wasn’t quite so sleepy.”

  Between one step and another, the newest reindeer stilled, and again, I felt that sense of a shifting world. It lasted barely longer than a heartbeat.

  “Come along now. Let’s get you back where you belong.” I followed the reindeer down the road, looked back once to see EV still standing on her steps to watch until we rounded the bend.

  Evian, in her human guise, met us once we passed out of EV’s sight. “Which one is that?”

  “I don’t know yet. Dasher? Dancer? Prancer?” At Donner, he nodded. “Good to meet you, Donner, but we have to fly.”

  Donner hung his head.

  Great. No joy for Donner.

  I reached for the bag of lantern seeds and offered one. He bit down to break the outer shell, but after one taste of the seed, spit it out.

  “You don’t like them” I don’t know why I asked since the coughing sound he made sounded distinctly like he said bleck, and that’s not the sound someone makes when they like something. Donner shook his head emphatically.

  Now what?

  Vixen sidled up next to me. Absently, I reached out to pet his neck. He leaned into the caress, and as he did, his feet lifted off the ground.

  Okay, I thought, each reindeer finds joy in a different way. You’re probably thinking I’m not very bright at this point because that’s how it works for people, too. I don’t disagree.

  The key, then, was to figure out Donner’s bliss. He wasn’t a fan of the lantern seeds, so I tried petting him like I had Vixen. He stood still under my attentions but didn’t seem to derive the same pleasure.

  “What do you like, big fella? Give me some idea.” I took his head in my hands, looked into his eyes, but he wasn’t talking.

  I’ll just gloss over the next ten minutes of the story. Suffice it to say, I spent that time acting like a damn fool in front of Donner, hoping to get a rise out of him…literally. I danced, I told jokes, I pretended I was Santa.

  Refusing to demean herself, Evian merely watched and then lost interest. There’s nothing more dangerous than a bored faerie because, in the absence of anything else, they will create their own amusement. Thankfully, I’d brought Evian and not Soleil. Her method of amusing herself invariably involved setting something on fire.

  Evian, however, being surrounded by the frozen form of her water element, decided to make snow angels. Not the kind that involved flopping down on her back and waving her arms around. Think snowman to the nth degree.

  She called a whirling cloud of snowflakes to glitter like magic dust under the moonlight. Inch by inch, she built the figure from sandal-clad feet up through billowing robes, hands holding a harp, to an exquisitely sculpted face. It was so lovely to watch, I forgot why I was standing in the middle of a deserted road. I sighed.

  Behind me, Donner echoed the sound. When I turned, his feet had left the ground. Donner liked art. Good to know.

  “That did it.”

  Gratified she’d done something to help, Evian smiled—which was an art form all its own. “I’m glad you liked it. Here,” she held out her hand, blew across her palm. The moisture and the magic from her breath formed a small, but intricate snowflake of clear, crystalline ice with a loop on top. Next, she plucked a few of her own hairs, threaded them through the loop, and tied the snowflake to Donner’s antler so it hung where he could see.

  “There, now it will never melt.”

  Pleased with the gift, Donner bent his front legs to perform a low bow of gratitude.

  It was a lovely moment soon broken by Comet pawing at the ground. We needed to get on with our search.

  Three reindeer down, five to go.

  Chapter Six

  The next hop took us nearly back to Port Harbor.

  “I guess this is one way to tour the state,” I pulled out the whistle while Comet hovered low over the curved end of a long lake with a cute town nestled against its shore. The last whistle note barely faded when a flock of geese tried to knock us out of the sky. Maybe I blew too hard, or maybe they were scared, it was hard to tell. All I knew was that one second, we were listening for the reindeer to respond, and the next wings were slapping me in the face.

  The sudden shock must have sobered Comet from his partially inebriated state because when I could see again, the ground was far too close.

  I barely had time to suck in a breath before he plowed into a giant snowdrift, and I did an almost lazy somersault over his head.

  “Lexi, are you all right?” Evian’s tiny form landed on my chest.

  “Oof,” I said. “You’re not as light as you look.”

  Tiny hands landed on tiny hips. “Is that the thanks I get for cushioning the blow?”

  But she stepped off me and took her larger form to help me up.

  “Where’s Comet?” No longer stunned by the impact, I checked for the reindeer.

  “He’s fine.” Evian cast a look in his direction, and then she grinned. “But I’m only rating you a five for that dismount. You didn’t quite stick the landing.”

  I wrinkled my nose at her, climbed out of the drift, and began to brush the snow off my clothes. With a flick of a finger, Evian banished every flake.

  “You’d better try the whistle again. With all the honking and whatnot,” she plucked a feather out of my hair, “I didn’t hear any response.”

  “You do it. Those geese might still be around.” I ignored her smirk and went to hand the whistle over, but it was gone. “Oh, no. It must have fallen when I was trying to keep the geese from pecking out my eyes.”

  “I’ll find it. You go check with Comet. See if he heard anything. If he did, go ahead and handle it, I’ll find you when I’m done.”

  Vixen and Donner had managed to land without crashing, and from what I could tell without speaking reindeer, were teasing Comet. He wasn’t taking it well.

  “Enough. Comet didn’t do anything wrong.” I broke up the budding fight before it could go past them rising up on hind legs to paw at each other with their front hooves. “We have a job to do, and there’s no time for bruised egos. Did anyone hear anything before the goose-fest began?”

  Donner’s head bounced up and down. “Show us.”

  It had only been dark for an hour or so, which in the winter in Maine meant we had barely gone past dinner time, so there were still plenty of people out and about. I can tell you that walking down the road with three reindeer is something of an attention-getter. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try it yourself sometime.

  We passed the grocery store and nearly caused an accident in the parking lot.

  With Donner prancing along in the lead, we stopped in front of a tiny, yellow house. “Madame Zephyr?” I read the sign mounted next to the door. “You want me to talk to a medium?”

  Did you know reindeer roll their eyes in disgust, too? Donner lifted his chin and gave three short, upward nods. My gaze tracked up until it landed on the reindeer I hadn’t noticed lying on the roof.

  Running through the list, I determined we had found Prancer, and Prancer wasn’t coming down until he got his flying mojo back. Worse, he wasn’t interested in mood-altering seeds, or art, and when I offered to come up and pet him, he cringed.

  “Come on. Someone give me a hint because I’m all out of ideas here.”

  The answer came in a series of rhythmic grunts. Clear as mud.

  “I'm not getting it.”

  Comet snorted through his nose and started again, this time nodding his head along to the beat. It took me a minute.

  “That’s Jingle Bells. He likes music?” The grunting stopped.


  “Okay. Um, well then, here goes.”

  Now, I don’t sing in public or anything, but if I have to, I can carry a tune. Still, Jingle Bells was never my favorite song, so I went with Let it Snow. I kept the volume fairly low, but when I hit the chorus, the front door opened, to frame a woman closer to my age than I had expected someone named Madame Zephyr to be.

  She wore her dark hair pulled back from her face, and though she smiled in my direction, her gaze went right past me. I thought that was odd, but when Prancer glided off the roof, and she didn’t look, I realized the woman was blind.

  When the song ended, she clapped. “That was lovely. Could you do another?”

  “Sure. My name is Lexi, by the way.”

  “I’m Kat. Do you know Silent Night? It’s my favorite.”

  “I do.” I did the best I could with it while she listened raptly.

  “Thank you, Lexi. Are you alone? Carolers usually come in packs.”

  I looked at the reindeer and gave her the white lie. “It’s just me,” and a truth, “I didn’t realize anyone would hear.”

  Kat laughed. “My hearing is quite keen, and now I’ve embarrassed you. I’m sorry for that.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “It’s times like these when I wish I could see, but I do thank you for the song.”

  For the third time that evening, the world hushed and hesitated.

  “You’re welcome.” I wasn’t sure what else to say, “I’ll be going now. You have a Merry Christmas.”

  “Same to you.”

  She closed the door, and I led the reindeer back toward the corner. Evian hadn’t returned with the whistle, so unless the reindeer knew where to go, we were out of luck.

  At the end of the street, Prancer bulled his way past the rest of the group. We made quite the picture now that it was four of them and little old me. When Comet went left, Prancer barked at him and turned right. Vixen followed Comet, Donner went with Prancer, and that left me to cast the deciding vote.

  Reindeer politics. Ugh.

  “Prancer, are we close?” He pawed the ground twice. “You’re sure?” He repeated.