by penny watson
Sven smiled. “That’s my girl. Torch every vine you see. If the plant touches you, it will burn. Like frostbite. We have a lot of flamethrowers stockpiled in the car. Just keep frying the plants. Eventually, they’ll shrivel up and disintegrate. You ready?”
A loud crack blasted the windshield. One long tendril snaked across the glass, tapping, searching, hissing.
“Holy Christ. I’ve never seen a plant like that before. Sort of makes me glad I never took up gardening as a hobby.” Andi trembled slightly, but held the torch up in ready mode. Sven was impressed.
“I’m going to open the doors. Just start blasting. Fry everything you see, everything that moves. Don’t stop.”
She nodded.
The doors slid open and all hell broke loose.
She never turned off the torch.
A long blue flame was all that stood between her and the vines. They crept off the ground, they reached from the walls, they dropped from the ceiling. She watched buds burst open and grow into silvery, glistening leaves. In a matter of seconds. She’d never seen anything grow so fast. The vines screamed when the flame engulfed them.
Actually screamed.
Andi had the very bad feeling that she would be hearing those screams in her nightmares.
Sven had warned her about the frostbite. But not the slashing. The leaves were like knives, and even a casual brush of foliage sliced her skin. She was dripping with sweat and blood and melting ice.
She wondered if she was still asleep and having a nightmare. She wondered if she was hallucinating. She wondered how this could be real, when her brain was telling her, No! This cannot be real. And then a vine jumped from the ground and grabbed her wrist. Grabbed it! And she swore—even though she knew it couldn’t possibly be real—that the plant cackled as it slashed her skin.
That pain was real. The fear…real. She tossed the torch to her left-hand (thank goodness for ambidexterity) and shot a narrow blue flame at the plant.
It blackened and fell off her body.
Who’s cackling now, motherfucker?
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Sven torching the tracks, trying to free them up so they could escape. Sweat dripped down the side of his face and into his beard. She was acutely aware of his strength, the thick muscles in his arms and shoulders, the power in his stance. And thankful that he had her back.
Andi incinerated the sides and top of the train. All the while new vines were forming on the walls. At one point she realized she had tears in her eyes.
I’m going to die.
As a vine wrapped around her ankle, twisting, turning, cutting through her pants, she kept thinking I’m going to die.
I’ll never see Hannah and the twins again. I’ll never see Mom and Dad and Dominic. I’ll never finish my book of poetry.
I’ll never fall in love.
Sven was suddenly there. He reached down with a bare hand and ripped the vine from her leg. “Andi, don’t stop!” He shook her. Shook her out of her daze, out of her fear.
Sven Klaus had her back. I can do this.
She nodded and swung around as another vine shot out of the wall.
She torched the tendril until it screeched and turned to black dust.
Was it her imagination, or were the plants starting to slow down? Wishful thinking, or reality? She turned to ask Sven, and was paralyzed by the sight in front of her. A piece of vine, as thick as a python, had wrapped itself around Sven’s neck. His face was red, his bloody hands clasping the plant in desperation. His lips were moving, trying to speak, but nothing emerged.
Andi leapt over the tracks and shoved her torch into the plant snaking up his body. It punctured the vine with a pop. “No! Get off him!”
She pressed the trigger, and a blaze exploded along the coiled vine, racing through its length. Andi looked on, horrified, as the fire spread to Sven’s skin. She slapped the flames dancing over his torso, brushing away the dead plant and charred bits of his jacket.
“Andi,” he croaked.
“Are you okay?” She reached up to his face, needing reassurance.
“Yes. Thanks to you.” He cupped the back of her head. His eyes were filled with gratitude and urgency. “We’re not done yet. Don’t stop. We’re almost there.” He pressed his mouth against her forehead and was gone in an instant.
She didn’t have time to reflect on the near-miss. She just kept going, as clouds of smoke and ash engulfed them. They went through the pile of flamethrowers, one after another. Andi had no idea how much time had passed. All she knew was suddenly Sven was behind her, pulling her into the car, slamming the doors shut, gunning the speeder car. The two of them leaned over the front console as the train gained momentum. A few straggler plants flung themselves at the trolley but were brushed away by the wind.
As Andi caught her breath, she turned to look at Sven. He was covered with blood, ash, and blistering burns. His eyes were filled with a savage light, his face taut with suppressed emotion. His long blond hair was brushed to one side.
She touched his arm, and his gaze swung to her face.
“I thought you were easy. A hippie. With your tie-dyed T-shirt and Birkies and goofy smile. I thought I would steamroll right over you and get my story.” She stepped closer to him and covered his hand with hers. She tightened her fingers around his fist.
“You’re not a laid-back hippie, are you?”
Chest heaving, he reached over to Andi and gently stroked his fingers down her cheek.
“No. Not anymore.”
She leaned against him and closed her eyes. Just for a moment.
Just one moment of rest.
Andi fell asleep standing up.
Sven lifted her in his arms, placed her onto the passenger seat, and reclined it. He took a blanket and draped it over her exhausted body.
He would not feel guilty about this. It was not his fault Andi was here. She had tricked him, tracked him down, followed him, sneaked into a private plane, and stalked him for months. He hadn’t counted on the storm.
He hadn’t counted on her. On her being so devoted to family. On her being fearless and headstrong. On her being so captivating. In an oversized jacket and soaked pants speckled with blood and frost flower ash.
She’d saved his life. Without a moment’s hesitation. He’d been filled with desperation as the plant choked out his last breath. Knowing he was about to leave her alone, to face the threat alone. But she’d suddenly appeared by his side, ready to fight. Totally undaunted. Looking like the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, covered with cuts and bruises and burns. More beautiful than the woman who’d captured his attention at the gala.
She shivered under the blanket.
Damn it. He had to get her out of the wet clothes.
“Andi. Honey. Wake up.”
“What? Are they back? Those plants?”
Sven hated to hear the fear in her voice.
“No. They’re gone. We’re past the halfway mark. We won’t see them again.”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I’m worried you’re going to get hypothermia with those wet clothes. I have an extra Carhartt coverall in here. Let’s get you changed, okay?”
She grabbed onto his arm. “In just one minute. You owe me an explanation.” She became instantly alert. “None of this makes sense. None of this is even possible. If my body weren’t throbbing with pain, I would seriously doubt my own sanity.”
“You have no reason to doubt your sanity.”
“Really? Really? I thought Little Shop of Horrors was fiction! Those plants were trying to kill us, and I might not have gotten honors in biology, but even I know that plants can’t be composed entirely of ice and produce maniacal laughter when they’re about to kill you!”
Andi De Luca was seriously pissed off. That was a good thing. At least she wasn’t in shock.
He sat down next to her on the seat. “I do owe you an explanation.”
“No kidding, Klaus. Let�
��s hear it.” Andi pulled the blanket tightly around her shoulders and shot him a sullen look.
“You know how there is a speck of truth in every urban legend? Even the ones that seem completely ridiculous?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“For example, Bigfoot doesn’t really exist. But a camper probably saw an over-sized lumbering hairy hermit traipsing around the woods one day, and the story took root and grew. That sort of thing.”
“I guess that’s possible. Sure.”
Sven took one of her hands and brought it to his mouth. Kissed the bruised knuckles. “Do you remember the story you heard about the Klaus family in Bavaria? With the elves?”
“I remember.”
He said nothing. Just waited. And watched her expression. It started out confused, and then became wary. And then he could see the anger bubbling up inside of her like a volcano.
“The story with the elves in the Bavarian Alps, and the Klaus family delivering gifts on Christmas Eve, and then they all just disappeared, and no one ever knew what happened to them? That story. That ridiculous story?”
Sven remained silent. It would be better if she came to her own conclusions, instead of him feeding her information. She had all the clues. She just had to string them together.
“Elves…aren’t real.” She scrambled upright and launched herself onto Sven’s lap. Andi grabbed his face in her hands. “You tell me. You tell me right now. Elves aren’t real.”
He kissed her. Just a gentle brush of lips. He could feel her trembling against him. Maybe this was too much for her to deal with right now.
“Don’t you dare try to distract me, Klaus!” She leaned into him and kissed him back. A tentative touch, softly pressing her mouth against his. Sven thought he would pass out from the pleasure.
“Elves aren’t real. Right?” She rubbed her face against his beard. Sven’s entire body went rigid with need.
“What do you think, Andi? Do you think elves might be real?” His hands stroked her back, up and down, over the blanket, trying to reassure her as she processed the truth.
She punched him on the shoulder. “Oh no. We’re not getting into this psychological mumbo-jumbo, ‘What do you think, Andi?’ bullshit! I want a straight answer out of you.” She glared at him, then pressed her face against his neck. “Why do you smell like fresh cedar? You’re killing me, Klaus.”
He hesitated. Time to push her over the edge of the abyss. Into the truth.
“They’re real.”
She whimpered.
“They live near the North Pole. In a secret town called Glasdorf. With my family.”
She pulled back a few inches and stared into his face.
“We protect the elves. They were being persecuted, and their lives were in danger. So now they live in peace, with us. And they make toys. For delivery on Christmas Eve.”
He saw the transformation on her face. It took place in an instant. Confused, distracted Andi was gone. Journalist Andi was back. She grabbed onto his shirt.
“Why the safeguards and the tunnel?”
“To protect Glasdorf and our secret.”
“What if a child got into the tunnel?” She shivered in his arms.
“The magik would recognize a child. He would be…expelled from the tunnel before any harm occurred. In fact, no Sudlander has ever breached the tunnel.”
“Sudlander?”
“Southerner. It’s a term for everyone who lives south of the North Pole. Outsiders.”
“How is it possible that no one has ever found this village?”
“It’s cloaked with magik. No Suddies will ever see it or find it.”
“Is it really located on the true North Pole?”
Sven shook his head. “In the Arctic Circle. You don’t need to know the exact coordinates.”
Andi’s teeth started to chatter. “I’m cold, Sven.”
He pulled her body flush against him and wrapped the blanket tightly around both of them. “I’ll warm you up. I promise.”
“Sven.”
“Yes.”
“I hate to ask you this. I really do.”
He smiled. “Go ahead, honey. It’s the last step.”
“Your father. Is…your father Santa Claus?”
He kissed her again. A deep, drugging kiss this time.
“Yes, Andi, my father is Santa Claus.”
Twenty-four hours ago, if Sven Klaus had told her that Santa Claus was real and that he lived near the North Pole, with elves and magik, in a secret castle, she probably would have beaned him over the head with a cast iron skillet. But now, after discovering an underground tunnel in Alaska filled with man-eating flowers made from ice, she wasn’t so shocked. In fact, it made a lot of sense. In a strange, disturbing sort of way. The whole Alice-in-Wonderland-Falling-Down-The-Rabbit-Hole concept was feeling entirely too appropriate for the situation.
She was shivering with cold, with desire, with shock. Too many conflicting emotions to analyze. But the one thing that stood out, above all the rest, was the feeling of immense trust coursing through her body as Sven Klaus clutched her to his chest. She had never experienced anything like it in her life. And even though she knew in her heart that it couldn’t last, she wished for just one moment… Please don’t let go. Don’t ever let go.
Something sparkled in the air in front of her. Like flashing fireflies. And then they just disappeared. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her.
“No more questions? I figured you would be bombarding me right now.” Sven chuckled and continued to softly stroke her hair.
Andi answered with her teeth chattering. “Too…too….c-c-cold.”
“Damn it!” Sven grabbed blankets from a trunk in the back of the car and began to layer them on top of her. He crawled under the pile and unzipped her jacket. “We have to get you out of these wet clothes. After I get you warmed up, we have back-up uniforms. Thermal underwear, sweaters, a Carhartt coverall. You’ll be good as new.”
Andi’s fingers and toes tingled alarmingly.
“I’m gonna die, aren’t I?”
“No, baby, you’re not gonna die. No way in hell.”
Sven peeled her out of her pants and she wasn’t even embarrassed. She was too damned cold to be embarrassed.
“We’re all gonna die.”
“No. We’re all gonna live.”
“Those frost flowers will come back and get us.”
“No more frost flowers. We just have a few more items to deal with before we get to the gate. We should be there within a few hours.”
She was vaguely aware of Sven shucking his clothes. And the feel of rough hairy skin abrading her body.
“What gate?”
“The gate. The gate to Glasdorf. Once we make it to the gate, we’re home free. Just one more safeguard to deal with. I’m still hoping Ulrich will receive my text and it won’t be an issue.”
Andi felt some extremely interesting male body parts rubbing against her.
Sven moaned. “Try not to move, honey. Um. Yeah. Just stay still and absorb my body heat.”
As her brain function returned, Andi’s worry grew. “What’s the last safeguard? Please tell me it’s not as bad as the freakin’ frost flowers. Please. Tell me.”
Sven exhaled a ragged breath. “I could tell you that, but I’d be lying. The final safeguard is—”
“No! Never mind. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. We’ll deal with it when we get there.”
Her toes were warming up. Her nose was warming up. And a whole bunch of other parts were warming up. Andi’s back arched.
“Oh, sweet Jesus. What are you doing?” Sven’s face was buried in her neck, and she could hear him panting.
“Just in case…you know…we’re all gonna die… I think we should go out with a bang.” She turned her head just a fraction and bit Sven’s earlobe.
He growled.
“Stop that. I mean it, Andi. Stop—”
She bit his earlobe again. Then she licke
d it. Then she sucked it.
His whole body flinched. He released a long, low hiss and turned to her. “Listen to me. You’re in shock, you’re hypothermic, and I would be a really big asshole to take advantage of you right now.”
“Actually, an asshole is a guy who gets a lady all worked up and then leaves her hanging. Especially when she’s about to die and this is her last chance for a really stupendous orgasm.” She caressed his lower lip. And then nibbled it. Gently.
Sven’s eyes widened, and suddenly she felt like she was looking at a deceptively lazy lion, complete with a shaggy blond mane and slumberous eyes.
A hungry lion.
He took a piece of her hair and slowly wrapped it around his fist. One time around, two times around. And then he held her in place and lowered his lips to hers.
“Are you taunting me, Ms. De Luca?”
She bucked her pelvis and his nostrils flared.
“I think you’re taunting me.”
“I’m not taunting you. I’m trying to seduce you. But obviously I’m doing a lousy job because you’re—”
His mouth crashed down on hers.
Yes!
His mouth ravaged her. Beard and lips and tongue and even teeth scraping along her chin. The lion was having a tasty midday snack. And finally Andi got to kiss him back. She was ready this time, prepared for the onslaught. She explored him with her tongue, teasing and tasting. He was delicious, like a forbidden Christmas treat. Like cinnamon and heat.
She moaned out loud as the kiss grew hotter. Sven pulled back and they both gasped for breath.
“We are not going to die. But I do need to regulate your body temperature. And I can’t think of a better way than a stupendous orgasm.”
“Or two.”
“Uh-huh.”
He dragged his mouth down her neck. Then lower. And lower. And then the ridiculously incredible sensation of Sven’s prickly beard and wet lips were heating up her breasts.
