“What are you talking about?”
Ali rushed to the kitchen where the oven was engulfed in flames. Smoke billowed through the room, and Ali stumbled back, choking. She turned to flee down the hall and ran directly into someone—her father. The light was gone from his eyes and he looked livid.
“What’s this!” boomed her father, holding a stack of envelopes. “You were supposed to mail the invitations weeks ago!”
“I—” She looked around and realized they were alone. Everyone had vanished.
“Haven’t you learned anything?” scoffed her mother. “All these years and you can’t host a simple Solstice party!?!”
She turned on her heel and stalked away.
“I’m trying!”
Ali reached for her hand but it was terribly cold. She blinked and the scene shifted. In her hands was a shimmering bouquet of purple Fae mourning lilies. Glancing around she realized she was no longer in her parent’s house, but in a graveyard blanketed in snow. Before Ali were her parents’ graves looking terribly neglected. Through the tangled, dead vines wrapped around the marble markers, she could hardly make out the names of the deceased.
Erin knelt between them, sobbing. “How could you let this happen! How could you disgrace them like this?”
“I didn’t know! I—”
Erin’s eyes grew wide as a figure cloaked in black appeared behind her. There was a glint of silver in its hand—a knife.
“No one can stop the inevitable,” the hooded figure hissed.
“NO!” Ali shrieked and lunged.
It was too late. It drew the blade across Erin’s pale, exposed throat before vanishing. Erin reached for her throat, gurgling as she choked on her own blood. She collapsed, her blood staining the snow around her crimson.
Ali fell to her knees. She cradled her sister in her arms screaming—pleading for someone to help her, but they were alone in the frozen landscape.
Like mist, two more figures materialized, standing on the graves. Her mother and father’s Ghosts watched her in disgust.
“You promised to keep her safe!” shrieked her mother.
Erin’s Ghost appeared between them. “I trusted you!”
“I’m sorry!” Ali sobbed.
Around her, more Ghosts appeared—the Wraith, the little girl, and hundreds of others until she was surrounded by the Ghosts of everyone she’d ever known.
“You promised. You promised. You promised,” they chanted, their voices swirling around her in the cold winter air.
They closed in on her until they were smothering her in snow and ice. She cried out for help as cold dead hands broke through the snow, pulling her down into the frozen earth. She screamed, but there was no one to hear her cries.
Part 5 - The Surprise
“Erin!” Ali screamed, bolting upright. Her heart pounded as she looked around her room. It had only been a dream. She was here, in Midgard. Erin was probably downstairs playing videogames or practicing magic. Her sister was safe.
After she recovered from the shock of the nightmare, Ali pulled a satin robe on over her pajamas and wondered where Mato was. She hadn’t heard him get up. The house was oddly silent as she descended the stairs. Where was everyone?
“Meow!”
Ali jumped as Mr. Whiskers leapt up onto the back of the sofa.
“By the Morrigan,” she muttered shaking her head at the Bogie-cat. “Good morning to you too. It’s a shame you can’t tell me where everyone went.”
Mr. Whiskers watched her with his large green eyes. She reached to scratch his ears, but he swatted at her hand and scurried off down the hall.
Stepping into the kitchen Ali checked the clock on the oven and swore. It was already eleven o’clock! How come no one had woken her up? She searched the rest of the house, but oddly enough, she was alone.
Flopping down on the sofa, Ali sighed. It didn’t matter anyway. There was no way she’d be able to pull off the party at this point. She might as well start sending the cancellation messages.
The sound of a key in the front door made her sit up. Lyn pushed the door open as Mato and his best friend Henrik carried a massive pine tree through the door.
“Good morning Ali!” called Henrik cheerfully through the boughs.
Behind them came Frej and Jerrik carrying several bags of groceries each.
“What’s all this?” Ali didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.
Lyn shut the door, grinning. “What’s it look like? We’re getting ready for the party! We even pulled Jerrik in to help!”
Ali glanced at the Dark Elf who had deep circles under his eyes. She wondered if he’d come straight from work.
“Hey, can we get a hand with this?” called Mato as he and Henrik wrestled with the tree, attempting to stand the behemoth up in the living room.
Frej waved his hand and the tree floated into the air, gently setting itself down on the stand.
“Thanks!” called Mato as he wandered over to Ali and snaked an arm around her waist. “We wanted to help you with everything, especially since it means so much to you.”
She gave him a half-smile and leaned into him. “Thank you. I just don’t know what I’m going to do about the rest of the decorations.”
“I’ve got an idea,” said Henrik as he joined them.
He was pale and slender with snow-white hair and frosty blue eyes. He looked human but was actually a Mörkö, some sort of ice creature that was native to Earth. He lifted his hands and a flurry of ice floated up into the air. Icicles materialized on the shelves and the banisters while snow drifts appeared above the entertainment center. Snow dusted the tree while magical flurries drifted above their heads. It reminded Ali of the delicate snowflakes her mother used to decorate with.
She hugged the Mörkö. “Thank you!”
He smiled and shrugged before joining the others in the kitchen. Frej was flipping through a recipe book while the others unloaded groceries.
“Where’s Erin? Wasn’t she with you?” Ali glanced around.
“She was in the garage when we left.” Frej nodded towards the door.
Ali opened the door to the garage—the one place she hadn’t thought to check. Back in her little practice room, Erin had a table set up and appeared to be dissecting the decorations.
“What are you doing?” Ali asked glancing at parts of garlands and fabric.
Erin looked up nervously. “I thought I might be able to salvage some of them, but there were only bits and pieces left. I found one box unscathed…”
She stood and placed a box on the table. It was filled with paper-wrapped bundles. As Ali unwrapped one of them realized what they were.
“Mother’s snowflakes!” cried Ali, cradling it in her hands.
“The enchantments either wore off or don’t work here in Midgard, but they still look pretty. I figured we could tie string around them and hang them on the tree as ornaments.” Erin frowned and picked up another box. “I also made these.”
Erin pulled out a round piece of paper. It was a photo of Erin, Laila, and Ali as they prepared for a night out. There was a little bow from one of the garlands glued to it with a loop to hang it by. Ali picked up another one; this time it was a photo of Lyn surfing. There were also pictures from the Halloween party and their girl’s nights. There were even photos of the guys hanging out and goofing around. These ornaments were a little rough and obviously hand-made, but that made Ali love them all the more.
“Where did these photos come from?” Ali asked amazed.
“I took them. I wanted to make sure I could save these memories, just in case something happens. I know we don’t have many photos of mom and dad, but I did manage to make these.”
She passed Ali a couple of photos that had been taken from old family portraits.
“I didn’t want them to feel left out,” she
explained with a half-smile.
Ali hugged her sister, tears brimming in her eyes. “They’re perfect! I love them!”
Erin relaxed, hugging her back. “I’m sorry I destroyed mom’s decorations. I didn’t mean to, honestly. I just got too close.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I yelled at you back at the concert. I forget that you’re growing up sometimes.”
Erin laughed and gave her a devilish look. “You know, I’m almost as tall as you now.”
“No you’re not!” Ali poked her in the ribs.
“I totally am!” She gave her sister a smug look. “Come on, let’s go put these up.”
Erin grabbed the box of homemade ornaments and Ali took the glass snowflakes. They returned to the kitchen to find everyone else had started preparing the food. Frej claimed the role of chef and was overseeing the rest of his cooks with diligence. He had Mato on chopping duty while Henrik mixed together the ingredients for some kind of dessert. Lyn was stuffing a turkey—which was one job Ali was certainly glad she didn’t have—and Jerrik must’ve gone home to get some sleep before the party this evening because Ali didn’t see him.
While the others focused on the food, Erin and Ali finished decorating the tree. The snow Mato conjured was truly magical, and left no trace of moisture that would ruin the photos. As Ali reached for the last few ornaments in the box, she realized Erin had disappeared. She finished hanging the last couple of photos and snowflakes when her sister reappeared with a bundle of gold and silver in her arms.
“It needs a bow,” she explained as she climbed up a ladder and fashioned the large bow to the top. Erin had assembled it from layers of gold and silver ribbon she’d salvaged from the old decorations.
Erin joined her sister and looked around the room. “Not bad for improvisation.”
“Not bad at all!” Ali smiled.
Erin leaned in closer. “You might want to go put some real clothes on now unless you want to greet our guests in your pajamas.”
Ali made a face at her sister. “Seriously? You’re interrupting our moment of sisterly bonding to talk about my clothing choice?”
Erin shrugged. “Well, it’ll take you two hours to get ready—”
“Haha, very funny.” Ali rolled her eyes.
“Go, I’ll time you!” Erin gave her a mischievous look.
Ali was turning towards the stairs when a shimmering white light appeared in the living room. It faded, revealing two women standing in the middle of the space. Arduinna—Goddess of the Blackforest—had a gold glowing aura about her, and wore a long tunic dress as usual. Laila had long auburn hair, jeans, and a brown sweater. Both were dripping wet.
“You made it!” Ali called as she hugged Laila then Arduinna—not caring if they were drenched.
The others were staring, particularly the ones that didn’t know Arduinna. As common as Supernaturals were these days, Gods and Goddesses were rarely seen. Ali had known Arduinna for years and had become used to her teleporting in and out of the house, but her friends in the kitchen were staring in awe and surprise. Frej quickly called his prep team back to work, drawing their attention away from the newcomers.
Laila gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry we’re late. I thought I could attempt to teleport us myself.”
Arduinna rolled her eyes. “I tried to tell her long-distance teleportation is more complicated, but she insisted on trying. We ended up taking a swim in the Atlantic Ocean.”
Laila barked an embarrassed laugh. “It’s a good thing Arduinna was there to bring us the rest of the way, or I’d still be swimming with the fish.”
Even though they joked about it, teleportation was something few mortals had ever accomplished. It was incredibly impressive, but also a sign of how different Laila’s magic had become from other Elves. She wondered if Laila had discovered anything new about the unnamed Goddess that seemed to be controlling these changes. Ali found it odd that her identity remained hidden, even from other Gods and Goddesses like Arduinna.
Ali waved them towards the stairs. “Come on, let’s get you out of those wet clothes. Arduinna, I should have something that fits you.”
Sure, Laila could use magic to dry them off, but after their unexpected swim, even a Goddess wouldn’t say no to a nice hot shower.
Part 6 - The Party
Ali scanned her list one more time. “I can’t believe that we actually pulled this off!”
Lyn was icing the last few gingerbread cookies while Henrik did a “quality control check” to ensure they were edible. The only problem was that he was on his third cookie and eyeing a fourth.
Lyn swatted his hand away. “Don’t make me place a ward around the plate!”
Ali coughed to hide her laughter and walked over to the kitchen to check on Frej. Ali had asked everyone to prepare his or her favorite holiday dish. Ali had stayed well away since her only talent in the kitchen was burning food to a crisp, but Frej was more than making up for her lack of culinary skills.
Ali had wanted a roast goose like her family always made, but since those weren’t common in Los Angeles grocery stores, they’d settled for a turkey. Erin managed to recreate their grandmother’s plum pudding recipe with Fae liquor. Frej had helped her of course, and he’d also made a type of dense apple cake that was traditional in his kingdom. There was also a large pot of mulled wine. Ali was already eyeing it, but Frej insisted it needed more time for the spices to develop.
The cakes that Laila and Arduinna planned to bring were floating somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, but there was more than enough food to make up for the loss. Arduinna was currently giving a lecture to Laila as they sat on a sofa. Ali assumed it had to do with Laila’s long-distance teleportation mishap. They were both warm and dry in leggings and cozy sweaters.
Mato declared himself D.J. and was flipping through music databases to program the best mix of holiday music. He was dressed in an ugly Christmas sweater that had moose on it. He’d tried to talk Ali into buying a similar one, but she’d declined. Instead, she wore a lavender sweater with black leggings and a cute pair of grey boots.
Erin was attempting to tie a bow to Mr. Whiskers’ collar, but the Bogey-cat was more interested in playing with the ribbon. His ears perked forward and his tail swished back and forth. With a wiggle of his furry butt, he pounced on the ribbon gnawing on it as Erin attempted to wrestle it away from him. Mr. Whiskers snatched it away from Erin and trotted down the hall triumphantly.
“Fine! Have it your way!” Erin called after him, shaking her head.
“Wait, aren’t these faerie lights?” asked Laila as she examined one of the snowflakes on the tree.
Ali joined her by the tree. “Oh, yeah, but I think the spell wore off years ago—”
The snowflake in Laila’s hand started to glow, the light pale and slivery. Then the rest of the snowflakes flickered to life.
“They just needed someone to reactivate the spell,” explained Laila. It was then that she noticed the photos on the tree. “Aw! I love these! What a great idea!”
“Thanks!” called Erin from the other side of the room.
Laila took her time looking at the photos, and Ali saw Frej watching the Elf from the kitchen. Just before Laila left for training she discovered that Frej had not only been involved in a scandalous affair with his queen but still harbored feelings for her. The discovery hit Laila pretty hard since she and Frej had grown quite close.
Ali lowered her voice. “How are things going with Frej?”
“Well...” Ali caught the wistful look in her eyes.
“Things still complicated?”
Laila nodded.
“Did you have a chance to talk to him yet?”
Laila sighed. “I probably should. I just don’t know what to say.”
Ali squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to talk about your relationship. I think he just wants
to know you’re alright.”
She nodded.
They’d been through a lot, and last Ali heard they were trying to work things out. She watched as Laila joined Frej in the kitchen. Ali imagined Laila would have had time to think about her relationship in-depth, but whether that was good or not, Ali couldn’t tell.
Gradually, people started showing up. They’d invited friends from the agency like Jenn from the investigative team, and their Tech Wiz Donald, who developed enchanted equipment for their office. Orin was there from the Club La Fae, and even Darien’s Sire Talon made an appearance. Jerrik returned with a big plate of cookies, and he and Frej were hanging out in the kitchen.
Ali found it odd how chummy they’d become after the drama back in October when they were competing for Laila’s affections. Not even Laila had figured out what brought the two together, but Ali supposed it was better than having them bicker all the time.
“Hey!” Darien stepped through the door and passed Ali a bottle of Champagne. “I would have baked some traditional Italian cookies, but considering I haven’t eaten ordinary food in a couple hundred years… it’s probably not the best idea.” He shrugged.
“No worries!” Ali placed the bottle with the other two that Talon had brought. “There’s bottled blood in the fridge. Help yourself!”
Everyone laughed, drank, and partied. After the majority of the crowd was several drinks in, Erin pulled out a karaoke machine—much to Ali’s mortification. Both of the Elves had beautiful voices, and to Ali’s surprise, Mato could carry a tune. The same couldn’t be said for many of their friends though, and Ali eventually found an excuse to hide the microphone. Her ears would start to bleed if she had to sit through another drunk round of Christmas carols.
As the night wound down, Ali found herself standing in the corner of the kitchen with Laila.
The Elf reached in her pocket and pulled out a little packet. “I didn’t have much time for shopping, but I did manage to find you this. One of the centaurs on Arduinna’s land made it. It’s a miracle I didn’t lose it in the ocean.”
Haunted by the Holidays Page 4