Little Miss Santa Claws

11. Nicole

CHAPTER 11

Nicole

I stare across the street at my mother’s tan, one-story house, my arms wrapped tightly around my knees on the neighbor’s roof as Missy delivers the last present. The present that initially led her to me.

We’ve come full circle.

The drop from this roof to the ground below is not the only thing that frightens me. I’m afraid of what will happen when Missy returns. Throughout the last leg of the delivery route, Jack Frost’s words haunted me. She had said Missy would do something to me at the end of the night, something that would make me forget her. Now, a blanket of pink and orange is cresting the horizon; the night is nearly over.

Clearly, Jack isn’t someone who can be trusted, but she made it sound like a promise.

I can’t be the first person to ever meet Santa. Santa has been around for a long time, and the elves apparently have a term for us. Watchers . This has happened before, and yet, there is no evidence of it in the human world. I’ve never met or heard of anyone who has actually experienced something like this, so maybe there’s some truth to Jack’s warning.

I’ve been too afraid to ask Missy about it, too afraid it might cut our time together short.

The vent behind me begins pinging, and as I glance back, Missy walks out of the blue mist billowing around the chute. Her eyes land on me, and she raises her arms to the sky with a victorious grin. “The last present is officially delivered.”

I lean back on my palms and offer up a bittersweet smile “Don’t forgot about my mother’s ornaments.”

“Ah, yes,” she sighs dramatically, perching her hands upon her hips. “Your salary . Your doubt wounds me, Nicole. I’ll have you know, your mother’s ornaments were restored to the tree the moment we pulled out of the driveway last night.”

“Of course, they were,” I say with a chuckle. “I can’t believe that was only last night. So much has happened since then. It feels sort of like a dream.”

Missy scoffs as she sits on the roof beside me, close enough to prod her shoulder against mine. “The alarming terror of a malfunctioning sleigh and a Krampus Claus. Real sugarplum-dream material you got there.”

“Are you kidding? It was amazing.”

She gives me a disbelieving look. “Sure.”

“No, I mean it, Missy. I helped you deliver presents to thousands of kids. If it wasn’t for you, I would have spent the night alone. I’m grateful you delivered that present to the wrong house.”

She nods slowly and replies, “I’m grateful we met too. I don’t think tonight would have been the same without you.”

“Even though it was my fault you drank yourself sick?”

She nudges me with her shoulder again. “That was my fault. I’ve been running myself ragged getting ready for Christmas. It’s been a nightmare, and the panic of my brother leaving didn’t leave a lot of room for me to work through my feelings. I never imagined I would have to fill my father’s shoes.”

With a wry twist of her lips, she reaches forward and brushes her hand across the furry lapel of her father’s coat.

I catch her hand, and her eyes snap to mine. “I think if your father could see you now, he’d be kicking himself for not training you as his heir from the start. Santa was lucky to have you for a daughter.”

She threads her fingers with mine, her cheeks flushing. “I’m glad I didn’t have to do it alone this year.”

“I hate being alone lately too,” I mutter. “My head is too full when I’m alone. I keep reliving the same handful of rotten moments from my life, over and over. The morning my dad left my mom. That fight I had with my sister before she went to college. The night my ex came home and ended a decade of my life. It’s like I get trapped in that feeling, taken captive.” I clutch at my stomach, wishing I could rip the bottomless chasm out to show her exactly what I feel.

But when I glance up, she’s gazing at me with total and utter understanding. I don’t know how she manages to convey so much in one look.

I smile sadly and whisper, “You brought me out of it tonight.”

She squeezes my hand tightly. “You quiet my hurt too.” That small confession makes my heart soar.

“At least I can think of this moment now when I’m reminded of the others. Being here with you.”

Missy’s eyes turn a bit glassy.

I cover the top of her hand and cradle it to my chest, trying to hold on to the warmth fizzling through my veins. It’s slipping away too quickly. Before I lose my nerve, I lean forward and kiss her, sliding a hand into the hair at the nape of her neck. She welcomes me with parted lips, and I slide my tongue into her mouth.

Missy answers my desire with sudden vigor.

Her hand snakes between us and cradles my jaw. She coaxes my mouth wider as her tongue chases mine, wet and bold as it flicks across my lips and plunges between my teeth. This kiss might have started with me, but it’s hers now. She’s the one in control.

Krampus Claus has me wrapped around her dainty little finger.

She leans back until she’s lying flat on the roof and drags me on top of her without breaking our kiss. Her legs shift beneath me until she’s pressing a thigh between my legs.

I grasp her hip, sighing into her mouth, and her lips curl blissfully under mine before she kisses me again. My fingers roam over her. I can’t get enough. The shingles scrape my knuckles as I slide my hands under her back and neck, but I don’t care. I pull her closer, and my fingertips graze the hem of her shirt.

Her skin is so warm.

Missy’s arms tighten around my neck as she bites my lower lip, and I moan as she nibbles on the seam of my mouth. Then, her hand slides into my hair, and she breaks the kiss to bury her teeth into the side of my neck.

My hips roll against her as she sucks on my skin, my center throbbing. I want her naked, and I want it now.

I trail a hand down and under the hem of her shirt.

She pushes me back and blinks at me, smiling as she traces the slope of my cheek with her fingertips. “Just let me look at you for a minute.”

I remove my hands from her back and brace them on the roof to either side of her, hovering as I attempt to catch my breath. “What do I do now? How do I go home after a night like we’ve had, to what I had before?”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “Maybe you don’t.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to go home right away,” she whispers. “You could come with me.”

“To the North Pole?”

Missy nods. “Yes, but I should warn you—it can only be for the rest of Christmas Day. If you stay any longer, you’ll be stuck in the North Pole until the next Christmas Eve. Next year.”

My brows pinch. “Really? Why?”

Her fingertips continue to memorize the lines on my face. “The North Pole isn’t on Earth. Our stars just happen to align with Earth’s on Christmas Eve. Elves can travel back and forth freely throughout the year if we have the means, but humans don’t have that ability. You can only travel back and forth while our stars are aligned with yours.”

I nod slowly, absorbing all of that. “But as long as I return to Earth by the end of Christmas Day, I’ll be fine?”

“Yes, before midnight.”

Well, isn’t that the most Cinderella-esque deal I’ve ever been offered? I thought they were only fairytales.

I push myself up. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Her face brightens with a smile, her eyes twinkling. “You really want to come?”

“Duh,” I laugh. “It’s the North Pole!”

Missy leaps upright with a squeal, tugging me into a brief hug before she spins around and drags me toward the sleigh. “I have so much to show you.”

We settle into the sleigh, and as she pulls the reins off the hook, I lean forward and wrap an arm around her waist. She falls back onto my lap, and I squeeze her tightly so she knows I want her to sit right here.

“I want to see everything,” I tell her. “As much as possible so I don’t forget it.”

She glances at me over her shoulder, and I don’t miss the sadness flickering like a candle in her eyes. If there’s something she needs to tell me, she chooses not to.

All she says before snapping the reins is, “You got it, precious.”

When we emerge from the tunnel of galaxies this time, we drop into a bone-chilling climate.

I start shivering instantly, even with the Santa coat on. Missy must be freezing . She doesn’t show it, though. She glances back at me with a wild grin, her eyes glittering like stars. That’s when I realize her gaze is actually reflecting a massive shield erected in the sky ahead of us.

We’re flying towards a ginormous cylinder, and it looks like it’s made of millions of rapidly falling stars. Their tails leave sparkling trails behind them, outlining the otherwise invisible barrier. Luminous orbs gather in the clouds above it, the cylinder’s source. They hurtle down like angels from the heavens.

It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, aside from the elf beaming over her shoulder at me. She’s the most beautiful thing in the universe, I’m sure of it.

My eyes burn in the cold air, but I fight the urge to blink. I don’t want to miss a single second of this. The sleigh flies around the cylinder in wide circles, drawing closer and closer with each revolution. I see glimpses of a bright little city on the ground in its center. It’s there. The North Pole.

Missy snaps the reins. “Zuüsten!”

I’ll never get sick of hearing her speak elvish.

She’s not looking at me anymore. Her entire focus has shifted to the reindeer. Rudolph’s nose flares at the head of the team as we turn to face the cylinder directly.

As we near the barrier, I see the stars are burning with white fire, and fear spears through me. We have to pass through them somehow. The shields of the sleigh seem to soften the wind well enough, but anything more physical will certainly pass through, the same way Missy did.

“Uh…” I shift on the bench, my voice filled with apprehension. “Missy?”

“Hold on to something, sweet girl,” she shouts over her shoulder. “This flight is about to get a little rocky.” Then, she laughs wildly, manically, as the sleigh suddenly dips and we dive right through.

I clutch the back of the bench, a squeal tearing out of me as the reindeer weave between the blinding orbs. The barrier is thicker than it initially seemed. A vicious heat washes over me, and I can’t breathe as I gape at the world of light that wraps around us. The stars can definitely pass through the shields. I know because they start bouncing off the outer edges of the cab. I scream when a star slams into the curved side to my left, and I scramble away. The stars don’t damage the wood, to my surprise. Instead, the collision points glow a soft blue after they’re hit.

Some kind of magic prevents the wood from catching fire.

Each hit rocks the sleigh from side to side, though, and I’m glad Missy told me to hold on, because I can barely keep my body from flying off the bench. The reindeer veer sharply, adjusting our trajectory as we navigate the sparkling shower. I can tell they’ve been highly trained for this precise purpose. Through their guidance alone, the center of the sleigh remains untouched by the burgeoning star fall.

Then, almost as quickly as we dove in, the sleigh shoots upwards, and we leave the barrier of stars behind.

The warmth of the stars is replaced with more of that brisk winter chill. Snow flutters around us. My breath puffs white in front of me as I exhale shakily and slowly loosen my death grip on the bench. I peer over the side of the sleigh as we fly in a wide arc along the mystical barrier, descending towards the city below. The North Pole is a conglomeration of quaint wooden buildings, their roofs caked with snow. All the narrow cobblestone streets between the buildings, on the other hand, are freshly plowed, and they glow with that same gentle blue hue I’m realizing is the tell-tale mark of Christmas magic.

We fly into a circular plaza with a massive clock tower and shimmering confetti scattered across the cobblestone. The barren streets fill me with apprehension.

Where is everyone? Where are the elves?

The sleigh slides to a graceful stop next to the clock tower, and I’m relieved when I see several short, slender figures run out of the buildings up ahead. I think they are the stables. The elves approaching must be reindeer handlers, wearing the loveliest velvet green suits and plush winter gear. Their furry earmuffs are larger than human ones, oblong to stretch over the very tips of their ears. They wave cheerily at Missy before unhitching the reindeer and leading them away.

I follow Missy as she climbs out of the sleigh and heads toward the clock tower.

A female elf stands there with crossed arms and a smirk. She’s older than the others, though the signs are subtle; the pinkness in her cheeks is softer, there are fine lines around her eyes, and there’s a dullness to her silver hair. The door at the base of the clock tower is wide open, and there’s a desk beyond the threshold with radio equipment set up on it.

“Well done, my dear,” she says as Missy approaches her.

Missy doesn’t say a word. She simply embraces the woman like a child would a beloved relative, and the woman melts, squeezing her tightly in return.

After a long moment, the woman grips her arms and peels her away. “I mean it. You did beautifully, all things considered. Now, it is time to rest.” Her eyes slide to me. “And I see you’ve brought the watcher back with you. I assume I do not have to warn you about what you are up against.”

“No, Auntie Mags,” Missy sighs. “I told her.”

Auntie . So she is family, in one form or another. Mags skirts around Missy to reach me and grabs my hand, holding it gently as she says, “Thank you for what you have done for Christmas, Nicole. The fates blessed us this evening by bringing you two together, and we will not soon forget it.”

She smiles weakly, and my stomach sinks. I don’t like the way she said that.

Before I can work up the courage to address it, she lets go of my hand and spins to face Missy. “I’ve prepared some cocoa for you and your watcher. It’s in the workshop. Before you go, though, you should know.” Mags’ gaze flicks briefly to me before she nods up at the clock tower. “TWAT secured Jack Frost, and they’re waiting for your judgment. When you get a free moment.”

I might have laughed at the acronym again if it wasn’t for the mention of Jack.

Missy visibly recoils from the information, and a furrow digs into the flesh between her eyes. I find myself wondering when she saw Jack last. Did she still have feelings for her? Or was it just the old hurt Missy was feeling right now, revived by our current circumstances?

She sighs, gazing up at the clock tower with obvious reluctance. “I should go now and relieve the team. It’s getting late.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me. You would have made your father proud tonight, Santa.” Mags steps forward with a smile and pats Missy’s cheek with her fingertips. “I’ll see you again when the stars burst, my dear.”

Missy nods, tears swimming in her eyes, and we watch in silence as Mags departs from the plaza, her form disappearing down a path leading away from town, where the pine trees crowd in to replace the buildings.

Missy’s blue eyes cloud a bit as they shift to me. Her mind is far away.

“You wait here,” she says weakly, inching toward the opening of the tower. “I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

I surge forward and grab her arm, stopping her. “No way! I’m coming with you.”

She shakes her head but allows me to hold her captive on the threshold…as if she doesn’t really want me to let go. In my heart, I know she doesn’t want to be alone, but she’s still avoiding my stare. “You don’t have to do that, Nicole. This is my mess, and I have to clean it up.”

“I don’t like the idea of you going up there by yourself,” I insist, pulling her close. “We conquered the rest of this night together. I’m not abandoning you now.”

Her gaze softens, and, in that moment, I feel completely and wholly seen. She reaches forward and cradles my face in her hands. A heart-wrenching smile dances across her lips. It makes me feel like I’m soaking up sunshine and vodka. “Okay.”

Then she turns and leads me by the hand into the tower.

We leave the small communications room behind and ascend the staircase built along the circumference of the tower, up a seemingly endless spiral.

After a long few minutes of climbing, the steps end, and a dim room opens up. I realize with a start that we’re surrounded by the inner workings of the clock tower, with all its gears and cogs and oiled metal. What little light there is comes from the yellow glass of the clock face across the room. The glass must be enchanted somehow, because I can’t see the source of that golden light, only the soft glow it creates—and the silhouettes of three elves waiting for us.

I recognize the female in the center almost immediately. It’s Jack Frost, her wrists bound in a glittering braid of flaxen rope.

I’m quickly distracted by the elves to either side of her. These elves are locked into their Krampus forms, different from Missy’s, but with similar features. They each have horns and those dark, sunken eyes. One has slightly bluer toned skin, the other a dark mauve. They’re dressed in tight black clothing, with thick leather straps wrapped around their arms and legs that hold a variety of feathered darts. I’m guessing that’s how they secured Jack, with darts dipped in some kind of poison or paralytic.

Jack does look unsteady on her feet at the moment, swaying from side to side as we cross the dark room.

She grins like a demented doll when she sees us coming, leaning forward enough to make the TWAT team seize her upper arms and pull her back. “Hello, Missy,” she drawls. “It’s been too long. Bad time? You look like you’ve had a rough night.”

My upper lip curls in disgust, and I snap back before I can stop myself. “And you look like a treacherous, desperate has-been, but I’m thinking that’s nothing new.”

“Ooo, the human has some bite.” She says it with a humorous air, but I can sense the anger behind her words, the sharp edge of her pride. “If you’re so brave, come a little closer and feel my teeth.”

Missy steps forward, pushing me behind her. “You won’t lay a finger on her.”

Jack chuckles softly. She likes the way Missy is reacting to her. “That’s the fun part. I don’t need to use my hands.”

I gasp as a wave of ice-cold air blasts me in the face, staggering backward as my eyes sting and the chill nips at my nose. Missy’s hand slips out of mine. Another gasp echoes across the room, and the blast of freezing cold suddenly dissipates. I blink a few times, trying to see through a wave of wind-triggered tears, and I balk when I see Missy with one Krampus hand wrapped around Jack’s throat. Jack’s smile deepens, but then Missy’s claws dig into the sides of her neck, and it disappears.

Missy manages to keep her Krampus contained to that one hand as she snarls, “You hurt her in any way, and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting attached to that thing, Missy.” When she doesn’t respond, Jack gives her a caustic look, her perfect lower lip pouting. “My stars… I almost pity you, just for that.”

“I don’t care what you think of me. Not anymore.” Missy releases Jack’s neck before slowly backing away. She pauses a few feet back, her voice quieting to a dull murmur. “In fact, I think I’d prefer it if you never thought of me again.”

Then, she turns on her heel and walks right up to me.

My eye catches on Jack as she begins to fight the TWAT, but they simply tighten their grip on her and force her to her knees. “Missy, don’t you even think about it,” she growls.

“It’s too late, Jack. You made me do this after all the trouble you caused tonight. You’re a threat to our planet.” Missy’s expression is indecipherable when she reaches me. Her gaze lifts to mine, and she takes my hands in her own as her cool demeanor melts.

She gives me a gentle smile, letting me know that what she feels for me is unchanged.

“You can’t ,” Jack shouts behind her as she fights the hands on her to no avail. “My family will find a way to retaliate, mark my words.”

“Someone shut her up, please,” Missy tosses over her shoulder.

The TWAT elves burst into motion. One of them shifts to stand behind Jack, taking control of both her arms as the other pulls a bundle of fabric out of their pocket and stuffs it into Jack’s mouth.

Missy turns my face away from Jack with a single finger, guiding my attention down to her. She caresses my cheek with gentle admiration. Then, she slides her hand across my jaw and into my hair, pulling me into a slow but deliberate kiss. Just a few moments of warmth before she breaks away.

She leans into me, holding me, pressing her lips to my ear. “Close your eyes, precious. And keep them closed until I tell you otherwise.”

“Why?” I gasp, breathless.

“Try to trust me. Okay?”

When I nod and let my eyes slide shut, she hums her approval, kissing the skin beneath my ear. Her hand slips into the pocket of her father’s jacket. She’s searching for something. “Whatever you do,” she warns as her hand pulls away, “don’t peek.”

I try not to. I really do.

But by the time I hear her footsteps pad to the other side of the room, I’m peering through squinted eyes. I can’t see much in this lighting, but I see enough. Jack is jerking and writhing in her constraints. Missy holds up a device between them, then leans in to say something only Jack can hear. Jack doesn’t seem pleased by it. Then, her features start to empty…like she’s no longer fully here. A soft ticking echoes toward me, emanating from that device in Missy’s hand, and a foreboding tingle crawls its way up my spine. My stomach churns.

I’m not brave enough to keep watching. I let my eyes snap shut again.

There’s a flash of light.

Missy’s voice breaks the following silence. “You two have done excellent work tonight. Now, go home to your families.”

The shuffle of leather soles against wood fills the room as the elves cross the room toward me. Then, I feel Missy’s hands touching my face. “You can open your eyes now, precious.”

When I do, I see the two TWAT members skirting around Missy and me to reach the staircase. Jack is nowhere to be found.

“What happened to her?” I dare to ask.

Missy’s brow furrows. “Does it matter?”

Maybe. Because I have this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that what just happened to Jack might happen to me. But maybe that’s simply my bruised heart talking. “I don’t know,” I reply honestly.

She hesitates, lips pursing in thought. But then she says, “I made her forget I ever loved her.”

My scalp prickles. “Why?”

“Because she’s a threat to my world and to you .” She traces my lower lip with her thumb, smiling faintly. “And I need to protect you both. I can’t help it.”

I have no response to that.

I want to press her for more information about that device and where the rest of this night is going, but how can I pry after she said something so…sweet? Instead, I lean forward and kiss her, and she embraces me tightly, kissing me a second and third and fourth time.

I’m dizzy by the time she pulls away.

Missy smiles and takes my hand, tugging me toward the staircase. “Come on. Now that all that unpleasantness is over, I’ll show you around town.”