Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard

by Painter, Kristen

  People would look at me to solve the problem that I must have caused.

  But I still hoped my father worked fast. For Birdie’s sake. I could handle the fallout if people wanted to blame me, but I could not handle something happening to a woman I considered a dear friend.

  The sound of the warehouse door opening was followed by Sinclair’s voice calling my name. “Jayne?”

  “In here,” I answered. “In the shop.”

  He came in through the door I’d left open. “Hey.”

  “Hey. That was fast.”

  “I’ve been gone half an hour.”

  I guessed I hadn’t realized how long I’d been standing in the shop moping. “Oh.”

  “You okay? You still look…not yourself.”

  “Does being a necromancer give you the ability to pick up on moods? You always seem to know how I’m feeling.”

  “Nah. You’re just easy to read. For me, anyway.” He pulled me close and kissed my head. “I know it’s easier said than done, but you have to stop letting this get to you.” Then he put some room between us so he could see my face. “Or did your dad tell you something new that’s got you bummed?”

  I needed a breath before I could answer. “The yetis’ plan is to sacrifice their chosen queen to bring them protection from the wendigo. Which is another really awful, but thankfully rare, North Pole creature.”

  His brows lifted. “Sacrifice?”

  “Yes.”

  “As in—”

  “Yes.”

  He grimaced. “That can’t happen.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “I don’t know yet. My dad’s calling his council together and they’re going to figure this out, then he’s going to let me know as soon as possible. Which reminds me that I’m supposed to be keeping a snow globe with me in case he’s trying to reach me. Since I won’t be in my office much, I might as well make that one my backup.” I started for my office.

  Sin walked with me.

  “How’s the doughnut shop? Everything okay?”

  “It’s fine. I picked up enough supplies to make a couple batches of doughnuts at your place, but then I realized you probably don’t have a fryer. Or do you?”

  “I don’t think so. But there might be one in the company apartment on the third floor. It’s a pretty well-stocked unit.” I opened my office door. “We’ll go up and look, because that reminds me that I do have a sort of temporary plan to keep the yetis occupied.”

  “And that is?”

  “Stock them up with sweets. They love sugar. More than I do.”

  He looked skeptical. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Shocking, I know. Once I get the go-ahead from my dad, I’m going to tell the sheriff we need to get power turned on fully to all the businesses in town capable of producing sweets. Your place, Delaney’s, Mummy’s, Howler’s—any place that can turn out some large quantities of goodies.”

  “Why not just dump a big pile of sugar next to the fortress?”

  “Believe it or not, those little blue buggers are pickier than that. I mean, they’d eat it, but they’d get bored fast. A variety of sweets and pastries and chocolates will keep them entertained and interested. We could even get some jars of jam from the Shop-n-Save, since they liked the ones from Myra’s basement so much.”

  “I can make all the doughnuts you want.” He cracked his knuckles. “I’d be happy to. I miss baking.”

  I gave him a look. “It’s been one day.”

  He laughed. “I love my job—hey! I just thought of something. Why don’t we serve them a batch of drugged goodies? Something to make them sleep? Then we can get Birdie out.”

  “That’s a really good idea.” I should have thought of that, but tainting sugary treats was a little against my general way of thinking. In this case, however, it was perfect. “But I need to run it past my dad first. I don’t know what would work on a yeti. And we don’t want to accidentally give them something that’s going to make them mad or speed them up, you know?”

  “Right. That would not be good.”

  “I’m going to send out a group message about the plan so that we can get things ready to go for when my dad says it’s okay.” I sat at my desk and pulled out my cell phone.

  Sin took a spot on the love seat and waited. “Anything I can do?”

  The snow in the globe on my desk started falling. My dad was on the line. “Yes, you can send that group text for me. My dad is calling.”

  “Done.” He got up and headed out to the warehouse to give me some privacy.

  I answered. “Dad, what did you find out?”

  He looked tired. And mad. “We can’t close the portal. Not while Birdie is in danger. Closing the portal will most likely make the yetis panic. They could think they’re being attacked or threatened. It could cause them to escalate their plan for their queen.”

  “Yikes. That’s a big no, then.” I tugged on a loose strand of hair. “Does that mean yetis will continue to come in through Myra’s house, then?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. NP security has been notified, and they’re currently searching for the portal’s opening on this side. If—when we find it, we’re going to barricade that area off so that no more yetis get through. Until then, we won’t be able to stop them.”

  “Did you talk about my plan to overload the yetis already here with sweets to keep them happy?”

  “I did and the consensus is that’s a good idea. Go ahead with it.”

  “We will. Hang on a sec.” I stood up and leaned so I could see through my office door. “Sinclair, the sweets are a go.”

  “Got it,” he yelled back.

  I sat down and went back to my dad. “Okay, Sinclair is texting the Ellinghams about getting some dessert production underway. One more thing about that plan—what about loading a batch of sweets with a knock-out drug? Something to tranquilize them so we can get Birdie out.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Maybe. But I don’t know what you’d use yet. The yeti physiology is a strange thing. I’ll have to get some more research on that. Oh, and if you run out of sweets, you can always dump some fish out for them.”

  “I don’t know how the Ellinghams would feel about piles of dead fish in one of the town’s parks. Sure, the cold will keep it from smelling too much, but you’ve seen the way yetis eat.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Hmm, yes, scratch that. I’m sure the Ellinghams have enough to deal with. No need to add an explosion of fish scales, heads and guts to their list. Speaking of explosions, how are things on a personal level?”

  I put on a happy face. “All good.”

  “Jay, I’m your father. I know you better than that. I know you take things personally. And in a situation like this, how could you not? But really, honey, don’t internalize this. It would have happened whether you were in town or not. You’re not the reason Myra had a snow globe.”

  “I know. And about that, did you find out anything more about her?”

  “ER is still digging. They have some suspicions, but nothing concrete yet. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I’ll have a globe with me from now on, so call when you know anything new.”

  “You too.”

  We hung up. I walked out to see how Sin was getting on with his task. Due to the power situation, only every other overhead light in the warehouse was on, which provided plenty of light, but made for some slightly eerie shadows. I was glad he was here.

  He was on his phone, nodding. “Yes. Perfect. I’ll tell her. Thanks so much.”

  He took the phone from his ear, tapped the screen, then stored it in his back pocket. “It’s done. The Ellinghams are going to have extra power diverted to the shops that need it, and dessert production will be underway shortly.”

  “That’s great.”

  “It is.” He smiled at me. “Do you have anything you need to do here?”

  “Not with the shop being closed. I mean, there
’s always work to do, right? But I’m not going to make stuff up just to keep my employees busy. After Christmas, we can all use the time off.”

  “Good. Because I could use some help. And I just happen to have an apron in your size.”

  “You want me to help make doughnuts? I’m totally willing, but you know I’m not exactly an Iron Chef.”

  He laughed. “I’ll make sure you get a foolproof job. Like frosting. Or flipping.”

  “You flip doughnuts?”

  “Some of them, yes. You’ll see. You want to run up and check on the kids before we go?”

  The kids. He slayed me when he called our cats that. “Yes. Spider’s probably out of food by now.”

  We jogged up the steps and down the hall to the apartment. As I jostled for my keys, Juniper opened her door. Her apartment was across from mine.

  “Hey, Juni. How are you doing over there?”

  “Bored silly. Hi, Sinclair.”

  He nodded at her. “If you’re bored, you could always come with us and make doughnuts.”

  She straightened. “What? What’s going on?”

  I gave her the short version. “Yetis have invaded town and kidnapped Birdie. We’re making doughnuts to keep them occupied so they don’t turn her into a sacrificial offering. A bunch of other businesses are making sweets and desserts too.”

  She looked shocked for a second, then shook her head. “Whatever, I’m in. I bet you Kip and Buttercup would come too.”

  Buttercup stuck her head out of her apartment, which was next to Juniper’s. “I heard my name. Not that I was listening at the door.”

  I gave her the same quick explanation I’d given Juni.

  She nodded. “I’m in.” Then she squinted. “What about Holly? And Rowley and his wife?”

  Juniper glanced toward the third floor. “Holly’s got a cold. And I’m sure Dorothea would love to help, but Rowley told me this morning that this cold is affecting her arthritis more than she wants to let on. That’s part of why they came to Nocturne Falls. Warmer weather.”

  Poor woman. Her years of baking in the North Pole kitchens had earned her a break. “Rowley probably won’t want to leave her alone with all that’s going on.”

  “I agree. He’s very protective of her.”

  “Which is sweet. And it’ll be nice to have them here keeping an eye on the building and such. Especially with Holly under the weather.” I tipped my head. “Juni, would you mind running up and telling them we’re all going over to Sinclair’s? I don’t want them to find us all gone and worry.”

  “Sure! I’ll be down and ready to go as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks. We’re going to feed the cats, then we’ll be ready as well.”

  Sure enough, Sugar’s and Spider’s bowls were empty. We filled them, then headed back down to the SUV. The rest of the crew were along within minutes.

  “It’s so nice of you guys to come help make doughnuts.”

  “Make?” Kip said. “I thought you needed help eating doughnuts.”

  Sin laughed. “You’ll have all you can eat, I promise.”

  “Yes.” Buttercup rocked her fist in the air.

  I clucked my tongue at Sin. “You have no idea what you just did.”

  He playfully slapped his hand to his forehead. “Unleashing winter elves in my shop is probably a horrible idea. I hope you all take pity on me.”

  We laughed and bantered the whole way to Zombie Donuts, except for when I was explaining what had happened to Birdie. That took the humor out of the air pretty quick, but they were winter elves, same as me. They deserved to know what was going on.

  The desire to save Birdie and make things right in town again energized them. When we got to the shop, Sinclair gave us a crash course in doughnut making. He was a good teacher. We learned all about hoppers and extruders and proofing boxes. But it wasn’t too hard, especially with him doing the hard part of mixing the dough, and we fell right into our jobs. It was fun with all of us there. Plus, we had a purpose.

  Three hours later, we’d turned out more glazed doughnuts than any of us could count. We’d eaten more than our share, too, but we decided to call that lunch. We packed the back of Sin’s SUV with boxes of doughnuts until it wouldn’t hold any more.

  He shut the vehicle’s doors. “Great job, you guys. Too bad I like Jayne so much or I’d try to hire you all away from her.”

  Kip, Buttercup, and Juniper beamed.

  “Hey,” I said. “Don’t get any ideas.”

  “It was really fun,” Juniper said. “Your doughnuts are so good. It’s really cool to know how they’re made.”

  “Yeah.” Kip patted his stomach. “Today was a good day. Are you going to drop those off at the park?”

  “Why?” I asked. “You want to see the yetis?”

  The three of them nodded. I got it. Yeti sightings were rare, and being that they were such a big part of our childhood, the curiosity about them was ingrained in us.

  “All right. Let me just text the sheriff that we’re on our way with the first batch.” Sinclair pulled out his phone and started tapping away at the screen. “After we drop them off, we can head back to the apartments.”

  We loaded into his SUV and went to Balfour Park. The whole block was partitioned off with yellow sawhorses marked Nocturne Falls Sheriff Department, except for one entrance on the south side, which was where Sin parked.

  Deputy Blythe stood at that entrance, keeping lookie-loos out. The valkyrie was a good choice for a gate guard. She did imposing well.

  Sin loaded us each up with boxes. “Good thing you guys came or I would have been making a lot of trips.”

  We trudged through the snow with our sweet cargo. Deputy Blythe gave us a nod as we came past.

  “Anything new?” I asked.

  “Nothing yet.”

  “I guess that’s good.”

  She shrugged. “I suppose. You need help? I can call Cruz.”

  “We’ve got it,” Sin answered. He stopped and lifted the lid on the top box. “Want one?”

  She smiled and took a doughnut. “Thanks.”

  Despite the snow coming down, the rest of the walk was easier due to the path that had been worn from the street to the ice fortress. I guessed that Birdie’s family, and Jack, had kept her company for quite a while.

  “Wow,” Juniper whispered as we got closer. “That thing is crazy.”

  “I’ll say.” Kip whistled low and shook his head.

  One by one, Sin took the boxes from us and dumped the contents into a big pile on the ground. It was a little sad, seeing all those yummy doughnuts being sacrificed like that. But better the doughnuts than Birdie.

  Buttercup sidled up to me, smiling. “That fortress is really something, huh?”

  “I’ll say.” She looked oddly excited. Like she was on the verge of sharing a secret. “What is it?”

  She hemmed and hawed a second more before she answered. “I really want to go inside.”

  My eyes widened. I knew Buttercup was pretty adventurous, but this seemed like a stretch even for her. “I don’t think you mean that.”

  Her smile turned into a smirk. “Come on, it’s a very impressive structure. Aren’t you curious what the inside looks like?”

  I hadn’t thought about it much. “Yeah, I guess.”

  She nudged me. “Think how much fun the kids in town would have playing in there. After the yetis are cleared out. Obviously.”

  “Obviously. Except there’s no way in. I don’t think the parents would look kindly on their children having to scale the walls with ice hammers and snow cleats.”

  Buttercup stared at the edifice and shrugged. “So we’ll put a door in. We’ve got the skills. This thing is epic. We can’t just let it go to waste.”

  I stared at it with her and thought about that. She had a point. If I looked past the stench and the yetis and Birdie being kidnapped, the fortress the little monsters had built for their queen was very impressive.

  Turning it into someth
ing fun for the kids in town might be a way to get some decent PR out of this whole mess. A way to balance the bad the yetis had brought. “I’ll think about it.”

  A car pulled up. I turned to see Sheriff Merrow getting out of his patrol car. He walked over to us. “I see Operation Sweet Tooth has begun.”

  “Is that the official name for what we’re doing?”

  He nodded, but his attention was focused upward. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Aunt Birdie, check in.”

  Sin finished emptying the doughnuts out and joined us. We all craned our heads back to look for her.

  No sign.

  The sheriff tried again. “Aunt Birdie, it’s Hank. Are you okay?”

  Finally, a glimpse of blue that wasn’t a yeti. She peeked over the parapets. “I’m here.”

  I sucked in a breath. Her voice was weak and her skin was pale.

  Everyone else noticed it, too. I could tell by the looks on their faces. Concern. Worry. And from Sheriff Merrow, anger.

  “Aunt Birdie, what’s going on? You don’t look so hot.”

  She laughed, a thin wobble of a sound. “Hot I’m not.”

  Of course she wasn’t. I understood exactly what was going on. “It’s the cold,” I said. “She’s not built for it the way a winter elf is. And that fortress is like the ultimate deep freeze. We have to get her out of there.”

  The sheriff’s gaze stayed fixed on his aunt, but the muscles in his jaw twitched. “I’m about to take a pick ax to this thing myself.”

  “Maybe…” An idea came to me. A crazy, risky, brilliant idea. “Maybe I could offer myself as a substitute.”

  That got his attention. “You mean like a hostage swap?”

  “Exactly.”

  He grunted. “As much as I appreciate that, we need you here to communicate with your father.”

  “I could do it from inside.”

  “And what reaction do you think the yetis will have when they see your snow globe?”

  I frowned.

  He continued. “And what if the yetis don’t accept you? You might make them angry. And if they take that anger out on Birdie—”

  “I’ll do it,” Buttercup chimed in.