by penny watson
Dag banged his hand against the tattered calendar hanging on the wall. “It’s January thirteenth, you idiot. The spell’s been over for two days and you’re still moping around like a little lost puppy. It’s damned pathetic.”
Oskar shook his head, trying to clear it from the alcohol-induced fog. “But that’s impossible. I guess I lost track of the date. If it’s after the eleventh, then the spell should be over.”
Dag raised an eyebrow. “Yah? And…”
Oskar buried his face in his hands. “It’s not freakin’ working! I still miss her. I can’t stop thinking about her… how she felt, her sweet skin, and her smile, the way she smelled…”
“I’ll bet she smelled a hell of a lot better than you do, that’s for sure.” Dag slapped a rag down on the bar counter. “Pull yourself together, man!”
I don’t get it. The spell’s over. Why do I still feel like my heart has been crushed into a million pieces?
He peered at himself in the mirror over the bar and grimaced. Dag was right. He looked like hell. And he felt like hell, too.
The front door to the bar burst open and a large group hustled in. Oskar ignored the other patrons and rubbed his throbbing forehead.
“You boys need to find some other way to deal with a broken heart. This is pathetic.”
“See what I mean. He’s worse than Nicholas when Lucy left.”
“Did I really look that bad?”
“Yep. We were really worried about you.”
“Well, Nicholas didn’t look quite that bad. At least his hair wasn’t dyed… what is that color anyway? It looks like turquoise or something?”
“Aquamarine,” Oskar whispered without bothering to turn around. He knew his brothers and dad were behind him and he wasn’t in the mood.
“Huh?”
“He said aquamarine.”
“Fan-see. I like it better than the neon green. That was getting old.”
Oskar spun around on the stool and glared at his family. They faced him with their arms folded across their chests.
“Aquamarine. Her eyes are aquamarine. That’s why I changed my hair color. To remind me… you know.” Oskar finished his sentence with a long, drawn-out sigh.
Sven raised a brow. “Dude, you know what day it is?”
Oskar nodded his head. “Yeah, Dag just told me it’s January thirteenth. I don’t understand it.”
Nicholas sat down on a vacant stool next to Oskar. “You shouldn’t be so depressed. The spell is over, and here you are… still trying to drink away your troubles with Dag’s brew-of-the-day.”
Wolfie put a comforting hand on Oskar’s shoulder. “We figured we’d give you some space until the eleventh, since it would all be over then.” He paused, looking at his brothers. “But obviously this spell isn’t working right, because you aren’t cheering up.”
His father scratched his beard. “You look awful, O. This is no way to deal with your problems. I hate to say this… I know you’re hurting because Kiana left, but we need you back on the job. The elves are neglecting their duties. They won’t listen to anyone else but you.”
Sven nodded. “It’s true. I tried to step in and they told me they don’t listen to blond-haired hippie boys, only green-haired punks.” He cracked a smile at Oskar.
“Since the battle with Wiebe, you’ve turned into a real hero in Glasdorf. Not that you would have noticed since you’ve been buried under a pile of beer steins,” Wolfie said, eyeballing the bar top littered with empty glasses.
Santa patted Oskar’s back. “Listen to me, son. Your job is critical. If the elves aren’t in order, then Glasdorf comes to a stand-still. Things are falling apart without you.”
Oskar rubbed his forehead and barked out a laugh. “The irony here is astounding. I’ve been feeling like the family slacker for a while.” He looked at his brothers who were frowning in confusion. “You guys are all so talented. My job seemed ridiculous. But I guess it’s more important than I thought.”
“What sort of stupid-ass thing is that to say?” Sven asked. “Of course your job is important. None of us could handle it. The elves respect you like no one else. You have the perfect balance of authority and easy-going attitude to do it.”
“I’m thankful every minute of the day that you’re here in Glasdorf taking care of business. I’m free to work in Manhattan because you’ve stepped up to care for the elves. You earned all of our respect a long time ago, little brother. Didn’t you know that?” Gregor asked.
Oskar was humbled by his brother’s faith in him. “Thanks, guys.” He turned a sheepish look to his dad. “I promise I’ll be back on the job first thing tomorrow. Sorry I’ve left you in the lurch.” He glanced at Gregor who was nodding encouragingly. “You been back to Manhattan lately?”
“Yeah, I have.”
Oskar cleared his throat. “By any chance…”
“Yes, I saw her. And unfortunately, she looks just as badly as you do. Well, not as scruffy, just devastated. Trish is really worried about her.”
The door banged open again and Sven murmured, “Thank God, they’re here.” Oskar looked up to see Master Eugen and Ingo enter the bar. He could barely contain his anger.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he barked at Sven. “He is the last person… elf… whatever… I want to see. Thanks to Ingo my life is ruined.”
“Something’s going on, O, and we need to figure it out,” Gregor said. “You’re going out of your mind, Kiana looks like she’s about to fall apart, and it’s past January eleventh. We’re hoping Eugen and Ingo can help us find a solution to this problem before you have a nervous breakdown.”
Ingo shuffled over to the brothers, obviously reluctant to speak with Oskar. Geez, he looks worse than I do. Oskar noticed his rumpled clothes, his liquor-scented coat, and his haggard face. Dark circles framed his eyes. I refuse to feel sorry for him. He brought this on himself.
“Well, it certainly appears that something is amiss with the Zottig Herz. Your brothers informed me that termination of the spell did not take place on the full moon this month.” Eugen stroked his beard and gestured toward Oskar. “Is this true?”
Oskar rubbed his eyes. “Does it look like it’s true?” He turned to Ingo. “You lied! You said I would forget her, and my feelings about her. What a crock. Whatever you did to me, it still feels like my chest has been ripped apart. And Gregor said Kiana is still suffering too.” He glared at Ingo. “I swear, I could kill you for that. Hurting her.”
Ingo raised his troubled eyes to Oskar. “That’s not how it’s supposed to work,” he answered hoarsely. “I’m so sorry, I’m not sure what I did wrong.”
“Ingo, are you okay?” Wolfie asked. “You don’t look so good.”
Eugen pursed his lips. “He is consumed by guilt. This entire situation has gotten way out of hand. Oskar and Kiana are suffering, and Ingo has holed himself up in his cottage and is soused half the time. He refuses to see Lys or his friends. The little Bändiger Gabi is quiet as a mouse. All her newfound joy was sucked right out of her.”
Oskar’s head snapped up. “Gabi? What’s wrong?”
Eugen shook his head. “The poor girl has been through a horrible ordeal since her mother died. Hiding her true abilities, abused by her stepfather, running away from home. She thought, incorrectly, that she’d found a new family.” He raised a brow at Oskar. “She is absolutely crushed. Your mother isn’t sure what to do.”
His father nodded. “It’s true. Alena is at her wit’s end. Gabi’s lost her sparkle.”
“Well, thanks to Mr. Hertz, we’re all in a big world of hurt. Good going, buddy,” Oskar said angrily.
“Hey, O, cut Ingo some slack,” Sven said. “He feels like crap. It was an honest misunderstanding that got twisted around because of Wiebe’s interference.”
Ingo walked forward and gazed into Oskar’s face. “I have gone over the spell a thousand times. It doesn’t make any sense to me why it’s not working correctly.” He rubbed his beard thoughtfully.
“At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve you were supposed to fall for a woman who would break your heart. On the first full moon after, the spell should dissolve.” He turned to Eugen. “I don’t understand.”
Master Eugen’s eyes narrowed. “Oskar, please tell me what happened on Silvester. How did you meet Kiana?”
Oskar closed his eyes. He could still picture her in the ugly gray outfit, with the fake glasses and bun in her hair. He smiled to himself. “I met her at Gregor’s party. She was freaked out by my appearance when we first met. But then we talked for a while and had a nice conversation.” He took a ragged breath and continued. “We were together for the countdown, too. We kissed. It was off-the-charts. The greatest kiss of my life.”
“Did you two meet prior to midnight on December thirty first?” Eugen asked, his voice raised.
Oskar looked up. “Uh, yeah, probably a couple of hours before twelve o’clock.”
“Good God, that’s it…” Ingo mumbled. “I don’t believe it.”
“It’s the only explanation,” Eugen replied.
“Why didn’t I think of that earlier?” Ingo said. “I’ve been an idiot.”
“What’s it? What are you two talking about?” Oskar asked with irritation.
Eugen nodded and smiled at Oskar. “There is only one way this spell could have failed once it was kast. And that’s if you were falling for this young lady prior to midnight. You were already developing feelings for her, an attraction so to speak, and so the enchantment was nullified. The seeds of your love were sown before the stroke of midnight.”
Oskar shook his head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Ingo smiled at Oskar’s confused expression. “In spite of your differences, there was some spark… something there between the two of you. Is this true?”
Oskar nodded. “Yeah. I was intrigued by her… she was dressed like a librarian, but I could tell she was gorgeous.” He closed his eyes, remembering. “And interesting. And different, not what I was expecting at all.” He opened his eyes and blinked at Ingo. “What are you saying, man?”
Ingo clasped Oskar’s forearm. “Your love is real, Oskar. The spell didn’t work.”
“But the dreams we had, the flower petals and the smell of coconut oil. I could hear ukulele music…” Oskar murmured, trying to make sense of the conversation.
“Once I kast the spell, it tried to find an anchor. Your dreams and all of the symbols of your lives were the spell attempting to find a foothold to root itself. But it couldn’t finish the job because the two of you were already falling in love.”
“It’s real,” Oskar whispered. He started to laugh. “I knew it. I freakin’ knew it.”
Eugen patted Oskar on the back. He turned a serious eye to Ingo. “Well, I guess this was a good lesson for all us, yah? No more playing around with these spells. Nothing but trouble can come from them.”
Ingo nodded emphatically. “No need to tell me twice. The Council has me sweeping out the Bibliothek for three months. They were livid.”
Sven slapped Oskar on the back. “All right then. So what’s the plan, Stan? You’ve got a woman pining for you in Manhattan. What are you going to do about it?”
“She’s really heartbroken, O. She needs you,” Gregor added.
“I’m not one to give romantic advice, but Lucy and I went through this at Christmas time, and it was a nightmare. You need to be honest with each other about your feelings.” Nicholas shrugged. “Do I sound like Dr. Phil? Somebody shoot me.”
Wolfie laughed. “Maybe you can start your own talk show, Nicholas.”
“How about Nick Takes A Lickin’ And Keeps On Tickin’?” Sven asked deadpan.
Oskar glanced at his father. “I have some ideas… some plans I’d like to pursue with Kiana, but the Überholen is coming up and we still haven’t decided who’s going to take over for you at the end of the year.”
Santa put an arm around Oskar’s shoulders. “The Überholen will work itself out when the time is right. First things first. You need to fix things with Kiana. We’ll figure the rest out later. I have every confidence in you and your brothers. I know that even after my retirement Christmas will continue on in grand fashion all over the world. You boys would never shun that responsibility.”
Wolfie nodded. “Don’t worry about that right now, O. We’ll deal with it later.” All of his brothers agreed.
Oskar shook his head. “I never thought I’d be ready to settle down with one woman. It happened so fast. But I can’t imagine my life without Kiana. She’s the one, my soul mate.” He glanced up at Nicholas. “Now I know how you feel about Lucy. Why you were willing to do anything for her, make sure she was safe.”
Nicholas slapped him on the back. “Welcome to the club. It’s a rollercoaster, but in a good way.”
His other brothers congratulated him and gave him high-fives and fist-bumps, even his dad. Wolfie had a bittersweet look on his face when he wished him well.
“Don’t worry, Wolf. You’re going to find the girl of your dreams, too. She’s out there. You’ll find her soon,” Oskar said encouragingly.
Wolf nodded his head and shot him a small smile.
Gregor shook his hand. “Congrats, bro. Kiana’s a great girl.” He looked at Ingo over his shoulder. The elf still looked dejected. “Oskar, I think it’s time to bury the hatchet. Ingo saved all of us from Wiebe, and he feels horrible about what happened.” He gestured to Ingo and raised a brow at Oskar.
Oskar turned to the Magik Tamer. The elf did look pretty miserable. “All right, let’s call a truce, Mr. Hertz. I’m sorry I flubbed up about Per doing the Mother Bond design. Hope you’re not still holding that against me.”
“Of course not. I realized the next day I made a horrible mistake and that you didn’t deserve the Zottig Herz.” He stared down at his shoes. “I hope you can forgive me for interfering with your love life.”
Oskar slapped his shoulder. “Yeah, I can forgive you. If you can help me out.”
Ingo raised a brow. “You want my help? Anything. What can I do?”
Oskar turned to his brothers. “I have an idea about how to win Kiana back. But I’m gonna need all of your help. What do you guys think?”
There were murmurs of agreement as the group congregated around Oskar.
“What’s the plan?” Sven asked.
Oskar rubbed a hand over his stubbly chin and smiled. “I’m thinking about a surf party.”
“I’m telling you, Mr. Brockman, she’s been like this for days.” Kiana could hear Trish whispering to the bookseller in the hallway outside her room.
“Uh huh. And she told you she would feel better after January eleventh?” Mr. B answered.
“That’s what she said. With no explanation whatsoever. But it’s been two days since the eleventh and she’s still just as depressed as ever.” Trish pushed the door open a bit and peeked in. Kiana ignored her.
“She hasn’t gone back to work at the library. She stopped volunteering at your shop, which is her favorite thing ever. She cries herself to sleep. And the only thing she told me is that Oskar Klaus broke her heart. I swear… I’d like to kick his green-haired butt all the way to…” Trish mumbled.
“All right, all right. Let’s have a little chat with Miss Grant and figure out what’s going on. This seems somewhat confusing to me,” Mr. Brockman responded.
Kiana heard the door to her room creak open and she hid her head under her pillow. The last thing she wanted to do was have an emotional conversation with Trish and Mr. Brockman.
“No use trying to hide from us, Kiana. We’re not leaving until we have a discussion about your short vacation,” Mr. Brockman announced.
“Not in the mood,” she said from under her pillow. It was yanked off her head by Trish, who glared at her from the side of her bed.
“Time to get out of bed, girlfriend!” She grabbed Kiana by the arm and pulled her upright.
Mr. Brockman looked down at her with a sympathetic smile. “T
rish tells me you’re nursing a broken heart. But the last time I saw you with Oskar your auras were beautiful together. Glowing and quite powerful.”
Kiana’s eyes filled with tears. “It was all a lie, Mr. Brockman. We weren’t meant to be together after all,” she whispered.
He sat down on the edge of her bed. “I don’t believe that for a minute. I saw your aura before you met him and after. It was real, believe me.” He raised a brow. “Did you go to the North Pole?”
Kiana gasped.
Trish rolled her eyes. “Uh, Mr. Brockman, what the heck are you talking about?”Trish asked.
“You know?” Kiana asked. “How can you know about that?”
Trish’s head snapped back and forth, looking at Kiana, then the bookseller. “Uh, could you two please let me in on your conversation. What’s going on?”
Mr. B smiled at Trish. “You can tell her, Kiana. It’s all right. She is a trusty-worthy young woman, and she deserves to know what’s going on.”
“How do you know what’s going on, Mr. Brockman? Suddies aren’t supposed to know about Glasdorf.”
“Suddies? Glasdorf? What language are you guys speaking?” Trish huffed with impatience.
Mr. Brockman gestured for Trish to sit on the bed, which she did. “I knew Alena Klaus when she was a young woman. I was courting her at the same time that big bear of a man took a shining to her.” He shook his head. “Too bad, really. I think she would have been happy with me, but she chose Nicholas Klaus, Sr. instead. I knew all about the North Pole and the magik. Of course, my family hails from Bavaria, Germany so we’re well acquainted with the legend of the Klaus family and the elves, etcetera.” He paused and reached for Kiana’s hand, squeezing it gently. “In fact, my family is well versed in Light Magik. The elves taught my ancestors about their gifts many, many years ago. It’s more or less a lost art-form these days, but I still dabble in it a bit.”
Trish barked out a laugh. “I think the two of you might need a little shock therapy.”
Kiana turned to her best friend. “I know it sounds crazy, but Oskar Klaus, and Gregor, Sven, Nicholas and Wolfgang are actually Santa’s sons. They live in the North Pole and help their parents run Klaus Enterprises, which is a huge business. Not only do they make toys for delivery on Christmas Eve, but they also do philanthropic projects all year long.” She laughed at Trish’s incredulous expression. “And there are elves up there, too. I know this sounds nuts, but I was there, and I saw it with my own two eyes.”
