Chapter 6 Rose Thief and Succulent Destroyer #2
I edged toward the sound, heart hammering. As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, two massive shapes materialized near a group of planters.
Two enormous, antlered shapes.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
The larger of the two reindeer lifted its head, a half-eaten rose dangling from its mouth like some bizarre floral cigar. Its impossibly intelligent eyes fixed on mine with an almost human expression of guilt.
The second reindeer, slightly smaller but no less imposing, continued systematically destroying an entire row of carefully cultivated succulents.
“Okay.” I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes. “Okay, so I’m hallucinating reindeer again. No big deal. Probably just stress-induced psychosis.”
I dropped my hands and glared at the animals. “Do you have any idea how many medications I’m going to be prescribed when I tell my future therapist about you?”
The larger reindeer had the audacity to snort, like I’d told the world’s lamest joke.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Is my mental breakdown inconveniencing you?” I gestured wildly at the half-destroyed garden. “You’re probably eating someone’s award-winning roses! I bet she’s eighty-three and talks about these flowers like they’re her grandchildren!”
The smaller reindeer, though ‘smaller’ was relative when discussing animals the size of compact cars, stopped mid-chew. He tilted his head, antlers swaying gently with the movement, and I swear he looked amused.
“This isn’t happening.” I paced, running my hands through my hair. “First the ice, then those men, now reindeer in Palm Springs and Los Angeles. Reindeer don’t even live in California!”
The succulent destroyer took a step toward me, his movements fluid and graceful despite his massive size.
I pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Stay right there, Rudolph. I’ve had enough magical Christmas bullshit for one lifetime.”
He stopped, but something about his relaxed and patient posture suggested he was humoring me rather than being intimidated by me.
“I don’t know what’s happening.” My voice cracked, exhaustion and confusion finally breaking through my thin veneer of sarcasm. “People are following me, telling me I have magic. Mirrors are freezing over when I get upset. And now there are reindeer eating plants on a rooftop.”
The rose thief lowered his massive head to nudge his companion, a gesture so human it sent a chill down my spine.
“You know what the worst part is?” I continued, fully committed to my rooftop therapy session with two large herbivores. “Part of me isn’t even surprised. Like somewhere deep down, I’ve been waiting for everything to fall apart like this.”
I sank onto a nearby bench, too exhausted to stand. “My whole life I’ve felt... wrong. Like I’m playing a part in someone else’s story. And now all this weird stuff is happening, and instead of being terrified, there’s this voice in my head saying, finally.”
The rose thief approached cautiously until he stood directly in front of me. Up close, his eyes were hazel, almost human in their expressiveness. He lowered his enormous head until we were nearly at eye level.
“If you’re about to start talking telepathically to me, I will throw myself off this roof.”
He blinked once, slowly, then huffed a warm breath against my face that smelled faintly of roses and something sweet I couldn’t identify.
I locked eyes with the reindeer in front of me, comforted in a way that had no business making sense. A movement to my right broke our staring contest.
The second reindeer had abandoned the decimated succulents and moved onto what looked like someone’s vegetable garden. His massive head lowered toward a small plot of zucchini plants, those ridiculous antlers nearly taking out a string of fairy lights.
“Oh no, absolutely not!” I jumped to my feet. “The roses were bad enough, but those zucchinis are probably someone’s mental health project. Do you know how long those take to grow in this kind of environment?”
The reindeer continued his approach to the vegetables, completely ignoring my objection.
“I said no!” I lunged forward, pressing both hands against his massive shoulder to physically push him away from the garden bed.
The moment my skin made contact with his fur, electricity shot up my arms, across my chest, and straight into my brain.
My vision whited out as an image flashed behind my eyes—a snowy field, my much smaller hands reaching out to pat tiny reindeer calves that pranced around me in circles, my childish giggles echoing in the crisp air.
The sensation of pure joy, of belonging, washed through me before disappearing just as quickly.
I stumbled backward, gasping. “What the hell was that?”
The air around the reindeer began to shimmer and distort, like heat rising off asphalt in summer. His massive form blurred, contracting and reshaping until a very naked man stood where the reindeer had been.
A very naked, very attractive man with warm amber eyes and perfectly tousled dark brown hair.
My jaw dropped so fast I nearly dislocated it.
“Sorry about the zucchini,” he said with an easy smile. “I’ve always had a weakness for garden vegetables.” He made a gesture with his hand, and a pair of shorts and a tank top appeared out of thin air.
I blinked rapidly, my brain short-circuiting as it tried to process what had just happened. “You... you were...”
“A reindeer? Naked?” He stretched casually, all muscle and medium tan skin. “Sorry about flashing you. It’s more comfortable to shift without clothes on.”
The air behind me changed, and I spun around to find a second naked man standing where the rose thief had been. This one was taller, broader, with light beige skin, sandy blond hair, and a more serious expression.
“Dane,” the second man chastised, his hazel eyes flicking to his companion as he magicked his own clothes. “We agreed to ease into this.”
“She touched me!” Dane protested, gesturing wildly.
I backed away from both of them until my legs hit the bench. “Who are you people? What just happened? Why were you—” My voice cut off as connections exploded in my brain like firecrackers. “There are nine of you.”
The second one nodded. “I’m Dash. That’s Dane. And yes, there are nine of us.”
“And you turn into reindeer.” My voice was barely a whisper. “Nine reindeer.”
Dane’s expression brightened. “She’s figuring it out!”
“My dad...” The words I wanted to say felt right but wrong, like something was stopping me from saying them.
Dash shook his head, his expression guarded. “We can’t tell you directly. You have to remember on your own.”
“Remember what?” Frost began forming beneath my feet, spreading outward.
“Your joy.” Dane’s playful demeanor softened into something gentler. “You need to find your joy again so you can return home.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. “Home?”
“We can take you as far north as the magic allows. Only you can unlock the part of you that is required to go to…” He stopped for a moment, as if he couldn’t find the correct word. “Jingle.”
Jingle. It wasn’t the first time one of them had said something about where my parents worked.
“We’ll help you get to where you belong,” Dane added softly.
I stared at the crystalline frost pattern expanding beneath me, feeling both terrified and oddly relieved. “And if I don’t want to go?”
Dash and Dane exchanged glances.
Dane rubbed the back of his neck. “Then the damage might be permanent.”