An Elf’s Magic Santa’s Elves Book 4

by Lynn Crain

  “You’re very welcome.”

  Suddenly, the house erupted with the sound of little ones, and the door swung open to allow Cuinn’s older brother Jedrick and his wife, Tessa and their fraternal twins, Kate and Kin to come inside. Close on their heels were two more adults who Lacey hadn’t met. She could only suppose it was the sister she was waiting for, Aingeal and her husband Fearghus. They too had twins, but they were boys and she wasn’t sure what their names were.

  “Mom, is my old room ready. I really think the boys need to go down for a nap.” Aingeal held a child on each hip with their heads on her shoulder as she came into the room. With a tired smile she addressed Lacey. “You must be Lacey. Let me get the boys down and I will be back to talk to you. I have the feeling we need to have a good chat. And soon.”

  Janice came from the kitchen area and went to take one of the kids from Aingeal. “Yes, you’re room is ready. Want to go put them down first?”

  “I believe I already said that and yes, they need to stay asleep if we can make it happen.”

  Janice arched her eyebrow at her daughter.

  “Alright,” Aingeal conceded. “You and I both know I could make it happen but believe me it’s better if it’s natural.”

  “Sorry, guess I didn’t hear you before but I understand. Let’s take them up and see if they stay asleep. Merna, please watch dinner for me and I’ll be right back.” Merna nodded and headed to the kitchen.

  “I can help,” Lacey interjected.

  “Not this time,” Janice called after her. “Cuinn make sure she stays entertained until we get back.”

  “Sure, Mom,” he called after her. He turned back to her and waggled his eyebrows. “My mother gave me permission to entertain you. Want to see the room I had as a kid?”

  She laughed at his funny antics and playfully punched him. “What? You’re trying to get me sidetracked. As if I follow orders.”

  “You should follow my mother’s,” Maddox said. “She can be mean when she wants to be.”

  “I thought she was pretty reasonable. At least it seemed so to me.”

  Maddox rolled his eyes. “I swear, all you women stick together.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

  Over the next half an hour, the rest of the family plus Santa and his wife showed up. It was obvious to her it was a family affair plus some. Soon, they all sat around the table partaking a wonderful mea. The talk was almost deafening in its timbre but Lacey was fascinated with the whole dynamic. Before long the conversation came back to her and Cuinn and their rather unique situation.

  Aingeal leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. “Tell me again exactly what happened.”

  Lacey briefly looked at Cuinn before answering her. “I can only tell you what I felt. I remember nothing of the incident in question. Apparently, Giselle brought me with her to your wedding. I danced with Cuinn and he made me forget I was ever here.”

  Aingeal pursed her lips. “But you didn’t forget?”

  Lacey frowned. “I don’t know what you would call it. From my perspective it was as if there were a void in my life. I didn’t understand why and I never quite felt I was ever in the right place. Everything felt off. Doesn’t that sound strange?”

  Aingeal sighed deeply. “No it doesn’t sound strange. But I don’t have the skills to make it right. Fearghus, can you fix this?”

  The man in question shook his head. “Nay, I cannot. This would be something for the likes of Conall. I do think you’d need to be there as well since this is more of a complete realignment with the universe.”

  Cuinn scowled. “How can that be? I thought a readjustment couldn’t be accomplished easily. I can’t have thrown her that much out of position.”

  “Readjustments can’t. That’s why you two must come to Scotland and meet with the council. They’ll have to give you the final assessment. I could be wrong as I’m new with putting it all together for people.”

  She looked from one to another. “What are you two talking about?”

  Fearghus sighed and took Aingeal’s hand in his. “Everyone is aligned with the earth and their surroundings. Elves are normally perfectly attuned to it and can make sure no matter what they do, they don’t harm a human’s natural association with the world.”

  “So, you’re thinking because Cuinn was in nor’ahkeem, but didn’t know so, he caused my natural balance to be off?”

  Aingeal nodded. “I do believe that’s what happened here. I can’t think of any other explanation.”

  She frowned. “You don’t need to touch me or anything? Hold my hands?”

  Aingeal laughed. “No. I’m what they call an intuitive, specifically an earth-intuitive. I just know. I can feel certain factors about you and your situation.”

  “Oh. Sounds interesting and a little bit different from what Cuinn and I talked about. I thought you were an elemental.”

  “Elemental?” Aingeal frowned at first but eventually smiled. “I like the thought but elves can’t be true elementals. I can explain later. Still, it also helps that I’m attuned to every member of my family. I know when they are out of balance or if there is a problem. I remember asking my mother for months if something were wrong with Cuinn as I would feel odd about him.”

  “Really?” Lacey felt surprised as she tried to take in this bit of information.

  Aingeal nodded. “You can ask my mother. I think that’s why she took the trip to Boston.”

  “I feel so horrible about this whole thing.” Bevan sighed deeply. “I just wish I had known the damage it would do beforehand.”

  “You couldn’t know Cuinn started the process of nor’ahkeem, Dad.” Aingeal sent a consoling look his way.

  “I am ultimately responsible for this whole thing. Bevan knows how I feel about visitors and followed my orders.” Santa gave everyone a sad smile. “All I can do is apologize.”

  “Look everyone, as long as this can be fixed, we’ll be fine. I’m confident in that fact.” Lacey squeezed Cuinn’s hand, knowing their path to a wonderful future was finally secure.

  Chapter 10

  Lacey snuggled closer to Cuinn as the sleigh climbed higher in the sky. It had been about a month since Aingeal’s visit and their trip. She put off traveling to Scotland more than once because she wanted to get more comfortable with the job at the clinic. Once she accomplished her objective, she allowed Cuinn to convince her a trip to Scotland would be wonderful. “Is this the way all elves travel?”

  He leaned in closer to her, his breath warm on her ear. “Sometimes. If you hadn’t ever been overseas before my mother would have insisted we travel the traditional way. She wants everyone to have the experience and I’d say I have to agree with her. I remember how mad Aingeal was when mother made Fearghus take her on a plane.”

  She nodded. “I can understand. How long will it take in the sleigh?”

  He frowned. “A while. The sleigh can go around the whole word during the night. What they don’t realize is every place Santa visits he does so around the midnight to three in the morning time frame. He’s always chasing a specific star or the moon. Depends upon the year.”

  “Oh. I would have thought the sleigh was faster.”

  “It is faster than a jet plane but not like teleportation or something. The sleigh just can’t pop into places.”

  “I get it. So, we have time for a good, long nap?”

  He smiled at her. “Are you sure all you want is a nap?”

  “What did you have in mind, Mr. Locklin?” she asked, coyly.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never tried anything in the sleigh.”

  She laughed again. “I’m not sure I had that in mind. But kissing would be good.” She moved closer to him and put her mouth on his. While she had been the instigator of making love a few times, she was never the one to start the kissing.

  It amazed her the sleigh was in some sort of protective bubble as it flew through the air. On short trips she had always been cold but she didn’t th
ink the bubble was in place then. Still, this almost made her hot. Then again maybe it was what she felt for the man next to her as she traced the outline of his lips with her tongue, savoring the taste.

  It was obvious he allowed her ministrations because his hands moved up and down on her arms, acting like if he didn’t move he would crush her against him. She knew it was a slow torture for him to give her the freedom to try anything she wanted. But this was her own little experiment as she wasn’t sure how far she could push him and not have him respond in kind to her overt caresses. She had never teased a man in her life but this felt fun in a strange sort of way.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Why do you ask?” he questioned between clenched teeth.

  “Because. You’re acting tense. This is supposed to make you feel good” She smiled at him and tried to soothe his brow.

  “I don’t know why but this time, it seems different. I’ve been told there are different levels of nor’ahkeem and lovers must go through each of those levels.”

  She stopped her caresses, sat back and looked at him. “Different levels? What do you mean?”

  He gazed at her intensely. “I’m not sure telling you here in the sleigh will help me. I don’t know that talking about it won’t make me want to do some of them immediately.”

  “Why? I want to know.”

  He sighed and watched her for a moment. “It’s basically an elves form of the stages of intimacy. You know about those, right? First you hold hands, then you do things together, making you start the bonding process and finally, you have to make love quite a few times to seal the bond. However, our stages can be more intense than humans.”

  She could tell talking about this hurt him somehow. “This bond is for forever. Correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happens if the human falls out of love and decides to leave?”

  He looked at her startled. “Are you planning to leave me?”

  She smiled. “No silly but I could see us treating elves at the hospital if something like that happened. Then again, I also would like to know what happens when a spouse dies.”

  “I’ve only heard of one elf who had a human spouse which left a loinnir. It didn’t end well. It was when we were younger and my parents tried to keep it from us.”

  “No details?”

  “Other than the elf in question died, none. I would imagine the hall of the elders wasn’t happy though. The elven world has strict rules on death by one’s own hand.”

  “So do humans. I didn’t know until I was in nursing school that attempted suicide was a crime. That’s why so many people are placed under arrest in the outside world and committed to a mental institution because the authorities don’t want it to happen again.”

  “Makes sense though when you think about it.”

  She frowned. “I’m not going to get into to an argument with you regarding the mental health system. From what I’ve seen of the elves though, your health care is so much different than ours. I find it a better way than the outside world. Let’s just leave it there for now.”

  “Alright, I get your drift. When a spouse dies, the elf is released to look for a new mate if they would like. Most actually mourn their mate for quite a few years before they decide to seek another. The problem is elves live quite a bit longer than their human counterparts. It is one of the reasons the council doesn’t encourage elf-human bonding. The elf will be left alone when their mate dies. It can cause a lot of problems. When elf marries elf, they are assured of being together a long, long time.”

  “Wow. I can see where that can be a problem. Does anyone know the longevity of a hybrid like yourself?”

  “I’m sure the council knows but I haven’t really thought about it at all. We don’t have much time as we’re almost to our destination.”

  She looked at him startled. “You’re kidding. We haven’t been travelling long enough, have we?”

  He chuckled. “Obviously longer than you think.” He squeezed her hand. “You should watch the scenery. Scotland is one of the most beautiful places in the world even in winter.”

  “From the pictures I’ve seen, I agree with you.”

  Lacey repositioned her back closer to Cuinn and watched the landscape below. Even though there was snow on the ground, she could tell just how beautiful it would be when springtime arrived. There were patches of green where the conifer trees stood and they brightened the landscape. Soon they were dipping down toward a large Victorian type house on the edge of what appeared to be a large forest filled with all sorts of trees.

  “Where are we?”

  “We’re at the Scottish ancestral loinnir.”

  “Does it have a name?”

  “I believe the forest is called the Black Wood of Rannoch. I’m not sure if the loinnir has a specific name. I’ve not ever heard my family refer to it by a name.”

  “It will be interesting to study the history of this place. How will we be disguised? I mean, won’t other people notice a sleigh flying and landing on the driveway?”

  “No, Santa’s sleigh has a glamour on it which makes humans ignore its comings and goings, but every elf within a fifty mile distance will know we arrived. And I’m sure some of them are making their way to the village within the loinnir to greet us.”

  “Maybe I’m missing something here. There’s a village within the loinnir?”

  “Yes, but it’s more ancient than the North Pole.”

  “So the house is outside of the loinnir?”

  “Yes. It’s the human façade to our lifestyle. Humans don’t know about us by and large. Most elves will do their very best to not come into contact with humans at all. My parents are one of the few human-elven couples to get the council’s blessing as all pure elf and human pairings need it for their children to be accepted into the community.”

  “While I might on some level comprehend their reasoning, why would they do that? I mean we’re all people and want the same things.”

  “I wish that were true. A lot of humans would exploit us while others would do their best to eradicate elves because they think we have an advantage.”

  “I can understand they might think you have an advantage. I mean, in a way, you do. I know it isn’t in any of you to do something so wrong as taking on an unknowing human. I suppose there are rules you all must conform to?”

  “There are a lot of them. We’ve gotten around quite a few of them because we’re half-human. We’re even allowed to marry whomever we want for one. I mean it’s hard to deny both sides of our nature. I swear my mother must have had some elven in her because all of us are powerful elves. It came as no surprise Aingeal is one of the strongest earth-intuitives ever in existence.”

  “Wow. You all came from some powerful genes.”

  Cuinn chuckled. “You could say so.” They both felt a slight bump as the runners of the sleigh touched down. “It looks as if we have arrived. Are you bundled up? It will be cold. After all, we’re in the highlands.”

  Lacey pulled her coat tighter around her and looked at the sight around her. The snow on the ground made the house even more beautiful in her eyes. The old Victorian mansion was some place she knew she would want to visit even if it wasn’t in Scotland. These type of buildings intrigued her.

  She felt the runners slide along the lane and smiled again at Cuinn. “Do we have to wait or can we get out right away?”

  “Pretty much right away. Like I said before, this isn’t an airline or anything.”

  “You know, I expected it to be a lot longer based upon what you said. Will there be anyone here to greet us? Or are they all in the village?”

  “I’m sure Alma will be here. She is the keeper of the estate. She’s been here a long time and makes sure all the guests are happy.”

  She looked at him surprised. “Guests? You mean there are guests here?”

  “Sometimes. Most are people who know about elves and the loinnir system of the world. Other times, the elves rent it out as a bed a
nd breakfast, something for which it is well suited. It’s also been rented out many, many times for weddings, parties and banquets.”

  She nodded. “I think I can understand why. I know it’s hard to see what it really looks like under all the snow.”

  “Well, we need to get inside before we both get too cold. I’m sure Ardan won’t want me to bring you home ill after our first trip.”

  She laughed. “Okay, I’m ready.” She placed her feet on the snowy, gravel lane standing for a moment to get her bearings on the slippery surface. The cold surprised her outside the protective bubble as she didn’t think it would be close to what she was used to in the North Pole. Shivering slightly, she reached in and grabbed her bag. She hoped she had brought enough warm clothes for the few days they were expected to stay. Racing toward the stairs, she was careful not to fall.

  Lacey was happy when the door opened automatically for her when she got to the top step. Once inside, she saw a woman in the hall.

  “Hello, you must be Lacey. And I suppose Cuinn is right behind you. He thinks he was born in a barn. I swear always leavin’ the door open.” She made a swipe of her hand and the air in the hall immediately became warmer. “I’m sure he’s talkin’ to the reindeer before they go on their way. He was always one to make sure they were alright before their return trip. I’m Alma by the way. I’ve prepared a room for you. The council would like it if you two got some rest and became used to the time difference before you go into the loinnir.”

  “Okay. There’s not a problem is there?” Lacey questioned. She hoped things weren’t out of order forcing them to return at some later time to finish the process. With Angie expecting the babies within the next six weeks, she needed to get back before then.

  “There’s always a problem somewhere in the elven world. But it’s nothin’ you have to worry about. Aingeal is off doing something else for the day, and she thought it would be fine for you all to relax a little. Not a problem on your end is it?”

  Lacey didn’t know how to answer and was saved by Cuinn coming in the door. “Alma says Aingeal is busy today and we’re supposed to take it easy.”