Holiday Spirit for Hire

by Isabelle Saint-Michael

  There was a group of Dragons which had had an ancient artifact stolen earlier this year. They were unable to locate the artifact. It was important because it was linked to an ancient Yule tradition where they passed their Dragon fire on to villages so they would have heat and light through the long winter. This tradition represented the agreement between the Dragons and villages that the villagers could live in peace without fear.

  I dug through the “easy” cases, positive I had seen another assignment in that realm. Sure enough, there was a local artisan that had been recently injured and was unable to work. His business had suffered greatly and now he was worried about being able to provide for his family through the winter. I thought of my co-workers back in Portland who were now facing similar worries for their own families.

  I clipped the two cases together with the intention of resolving them at the same time. I would address them after lunch. I picked up another of the easy cases from the corner of my desk. This one had caught my eye because it involved my cousin Ian. He was trying to figure out how to convince the new girlfriend to come home with him for the holidays.

  It made me laugh because I knew just how intimidating our family functions could be. It was more distressing that the next Chieftain was afraid to bring his new girl home, though. I knew this would be a phone call. I looked at my clock and realized two things. The first was that it was lunch time. The second was that I had no clue what time zone I was in and so had no way to know what time it was in Asia.

  With a happy sigh I shoved myself back from my desk and set out on a mission to find the cafeteria. I looked pointedly as a Gnome who was sitting at her desk playing a game on her computer.

  “Where is the cafeteria?” I asked, plastering on my best new girl smile.

  She looked up at me in surprise. “Huh?”

  “Where is the cafeteria where I can get some food?” I motioned like I was eating something.

  “Oh!” she said and glanced down at the clock. “It’s lunchtime! Follow me and I’ll show you.” She hopped off her chair and walked by me quickly.

  I had to jog a few steps to catch up. I walked with her down a corridor and past a few turns. She pushed open two large red swinging doors that revealed a massive cafeteria. It looked like it belonged on the top floor of an expensive department store. Holiday decorations covered every corner, mixed with retro furniture made of bright colors and chrome.

  “So if you go get in line over there you can pick out what you want for lunch, then you pay over there.” My gaze followed her hand as she pointed out the key locations.

  Her smiling face was a welcome change from the few encounters I had experienced so far with the other Spirits. I realized she said pay and I froze. I didn’t have any money or credit cards with me.

  I cursed under my breath and she looked at me, startled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you,” I quickly apologized.

  She laughed, a full hearted chortle. “Oh, you didn’t. You just don’t hear people talk like that much up here. It caught me by surprise, that’s all. What’s up?”

  I rolled my eyes and smiled widely. “When they zapped me up here to start working I didn’t have a chance to grab my purse, credit cards or anything.”

  “I can see why that could be a problem. Why not use the all-purpose snow and pop home to get your belongings?” I stared at her in amazement. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

  “That’s brilliant!” I turned to go back to the office and grab the snow. Her next words stopped me. “Just don’t get caught.”

  I spun around to face her. “What do you mean?”

  “Just what I said. Don’t get caught. Spirits are forbidden from using their magic for personal gain.” The words from the contract suddenly rang a familiar tune.

  She looked left and right, then leaned close to me. “But everyone does it.”

  I considered her words for a moment. I had never really been a massive rule breaker, so the idea of breaking one now didn’t sit well with me. “Can I ask HR permission?”

  She thought about it a moment. “You could, but Helen’s on maternity leave until after first of the year. I believe that Justin is covering HR for her while she is out.”

  “Ah, I thought he was HR. What is his normal title?” I was really curious now. Maybe he had played up his newfound power.

  “Chief Operations Officer,” she replied matter-of-factly. “You’ll want to set up an appointment with his secretary to discuss it.”

  “Thanks… I just realized I don’t know your name?” I could feel myself blushing brightly.

  “Mary. And your name is Grace, right?” She reached out, taking my hand in a firm shake. “Well, I’m going to go grab a quick bite.” She turned and disappeared into the crowd.

  My stomach rumbled angrily. I left the cafeteria and headed back to the office. Lunch was nearly over anyway. Maybe I would get lucky and the Dragons would feed me. Dad always said they were pretty hospitable.

  I dressed and poofed across realms just as the other Spirits were returning from their lunches. I managed to catch a few more stares from them, as they looked over my less-than-traditional uniform. I suppose it could have been worse. It could have been red.

  The biting cold wind hit me full force as I materialized in the realm of Dragons. It whipped my dress around me and threatened to blow the ugly wreath off my head. For a split second I wished it would, until I remembered they would charge me if I didn’t return it. Clamping a hand on it tightly, I took a moment to look around.

  There was nobody in sight. There was no village, no Dragons and no heat source to be seen. I was about to reach for my all-purpose snow when I heard laughter above me. I looked up just in time to see two large Dragons swoop down and disappear into the side of the cliff.

  “Hey!” I yelled loudly up the face of the cliff. “Down here!” I waved my arms frantically. Maybe I should dye the dress red after all. A white dress in a snow storm does nothing to help me.

  I heard the crunch of snow behind me and whirled to see who was there. To my horror and surprise a large Dragon with golden eyes stretched to his full height. Spreading his wings wide he let out a loud screech. I did what any woman in the face of such a danger would do. I screamed and turn to run away.

  “Dad, you’re such a liar. Friendly and hospitable my ass,” I cursed as I crunched through the snow. I only made it a few steps when two taloned claws wrapped around my arms and lifted me from the ground.

  As I prepared to scream again I was set down on the floor of a cave up the side of the cliff’s face. Before me stood two naked men. I turned in time to watch the dragon who had carried me up morph into his Human form as well. The only signs that indicated they were Dragons were their eyes and a slight shimmering scale pattern to their skin.

  “Ummmm, hi.” I was meeting Dragons for the first time and that’s all I could come up with.

  The shortest of the three stepped forward with a boyish smile. “Sorry about scaring you but you seemed like you wanted to get our attention.”

  He held out his hand. “Hello, I’m Lord Geren and these are the Lords Hudraer and Vallen.” I looked from the golden man to the dark haired one and nodded.

  “I’m Grace, your Holiday Spirit. I’ve come to assist you with the missing artifact. I want to help you locate it.” I smiled brightly and took the hand that was offered.

  The three exchanged glances before looking back at me. “Grace, how exactly do you know about the artifact that’s missing?” asked Lord Vallen.

  “Well it’s in my case file, so I guess someone at the OAC knows about it.” I stopped and worked through what I was saying. “They knew when I lost my job almost before I did. That’s how they roped me into this gig.”

  The three of them were dressing quickly around me, speaking a language I wasn’t familiar with. Finally Geren spoke up. “So you’re with the OAC?”

  “No, I’m part of Holiday operations. I guess that’s a sub-department of the OAC. I’m afraid I’m not t
he best at this. I’m really new.” I shrugged and stepped closer to a torch, hoping its warmth would penetrate the icy chill that was running through me.

  “New? Like, less than one hundred years?” Geren asked tentatively.

  “New, like this week,” I answered with a nod.

  Vallen cut in. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but we can’t figure it out and we’re Dragons who have been hunting treasure our entire lives. Forgive us if we don’t really understand why we need you.”

  I fisted my hands tight and bit back the little bit of anger. “Obviously, the OAC believes you need my help or they wouldn’t have given me your case file. I’ll have you know I prevented a war yesterday afternoon in the realm of the Four Kingdoms.” I crossed my arms over my chest to signal I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Aren’t you cold?” Lord Hudraer finally asked.

  “Absolutely frozen,” I responded in a flat tone.

  “You could catch your death out there dressed like that. It doesn’t show good sense at all,” said Vallen. He then stepped forward, lifted his cloak from the ground nearby, and swept it around my shoulders.

  I wanted to be mad at him. His directness stung at my pride a little. “It’s my uniform. I evidentially made the mistake of walking into the uniform department with the wrong person and was assigned this get-up as a cruel joke. I get to wear it every day for the next three weeks,” I finished with a sarcastic tone.

  Lord Vallen smiled and even chuckled. “I’m sorry to make light of it when it so obviously bothers you.” When he smiled, he was just as handsome as the other two. I had heard many a story of men and women falling for Dragons because of their striking otherworldly beauty. I now understood why.

  I shook my head as if to rattle the marbles back in place. “I swear I can be of help if you let me.” I held up three fingers giving the Girl Scout promise and realized they had no clue what I was doing.

  “Wait right here,” said Geren. He and the others stepped away and talked for a moment before returning. “Ok, follow us, but stay close.”

  I did as I was told and was led down into the heart of their lair to a large main room. There were many Dragons of all ages around. Lord Hudraer stepped forward and quieted the questions.

  “This is Grace. She is a Holiday Spirit assigned by the OAC to help us with the missing artifact. If she asks you for any help please be respectful and do your best to assist her.” He then turned to two young boys playing nearby. “Go get our guest a hot drink and some food.” The boys ran off immediately to fulfill his request.

  Soon I was seated at the table, warm and munching on sweetbreads as I got all the details. After I heard the whole story I contemplated it carefully. “Don’t Dragons have vaults and stuff to keep their treasure safe?”

  “Of course we do,” responded Lord Geren.

  “Then is it safe to say the only people who could get in without you noticing would be another Dragon?” I took a sip of the hot mulled wine they had been kind enough to provide me with.

  The exchanged glances told me they had already considered this possibility. “Do you have any suspects?”

  “None,” answered Lord Vallen. “No one here would steal from the clans. The artifact is important to us all. We’ve spoken with all the men and women and no one knows anything.”

  I considered his words. “What about the kids?”

  “The children? They wouldn’t know anything about it.” He seemed so sure but I, having actually been a child within the last hundred years, remembered just how much I always knew.

  “I’m not saying they’re at fault, but often children have seen something and no one thinks to ask them.” I leaned back in my chair and pulled the cloak tighter around my shoulders.

  Lord Vallen stood and called all the boys and girls over. I watched quietly as the three Lords stood over them, prodding for information. I bit back my criticism and wasn’t at all surprised when I found that the children shied away from them. After they finished and the children scattered in fear I let them explain to me how the kids had nothing to add.

  “Would you mind if I spoke with them?”

  Vallen shrugged and Geren gave me the go ahead. I separated from the group of adults and one or two at a time spoke with each child. I came to a little boy and girl that looked like they were no more than seven or eight. Each had rust colored hair with matching green eyes.

  “Are you two brother and sister?” I asked as I sat down on the floor beside them.

  The boy eyed me suspiciously and stepped protectively in front of the girl. “We’re twins,” he barked gruffly.

  “Oh, are you a good protector? Do you take care of your sister?” I asked.

  “Yes, because I’m a Dragon warrior,” he growled, holding up his hands like claws.

  I fought the urge to laugh. “My brothers did an excellent job protecting me when I was little too,” I smiled.

  “But you’re not a Dragon,” he said. “Dragons are fierce guardians.”

  I nodded my head in agreement. “You’re right. Dragons are fierce guardians. I’m a Werewolf. Wolves are fierce protectors too.” I growled back at him. He giggled.

  The little girl stepped around him. “I’m Emma, I’m a fierce Dragon too,” she smiled. “This is my brother Evan. What’s your name?” she asked.

  “My name is Gracie. Do you and your brother help take care of all the grown-ups here?” They both vigorously agreed. “Can you help me?” I asked.

  Evan pounded his fist against his chest. “We are Dragons of honor. Of course we would help a friend of the clan.”

  I smiled widely. “Oh thank you so much, Lord Evan and Lady Emma of the Dragons.” Both their little chests puffed with pride.

  “I was sent here from the North Pole because a very important Dragon artifact went missing. Your grown-ups are really worried about it. Did either of you see it recently?”

  Emma played with her hands nervously. “Well...”

  Evan cut her off. “Shh, Emma you can’t tell.”

  Emma turned angrily on her brother. “Dragons are honorable and we don’t tell lies.” She sighed heavily. “Promise you won’t be mad?”

  “I promise.” I shook her hand for a good measure.

  “Well, we were just playing.” She stopped and bit her lip. “It was an accident but we were playing hide and seek and maybe broke it.”

  Evan's eyes welled up with tears. “I’m sorry, be mad at me. Don’t punish my sister.”

  I reached forward and wiped away his tears. “Nobody is going to punish you. I won’t let them.”

  The boy wrapped his hands around my neck and hugged me. “But the elders are really scary. Won’t you be scared? What if they eat you?”

  I glanced around the room. Everyone seemed to be ignoring us. “I told you I was a Werewolf, right?” They both nodded. “Dragons can’t eat Werewolves, we’ll give them tummy aches. Besides, I have Holiday magic.” I held up my wrist to show them.

  “Can you show me where the relic is?”

  I started to stand but Evan wouldn’t let go - he was too worried. I picked him up, balancing him on a hip and hoping my dress stayed up. Emma took my other hand and led me through a series of rooms and tunnels. When we arrived she closed the door quickly behind us.

  “It’s in here!” She raced over to a set of shelves and pointed.

  Hidden behind the shelves was a pile of broken glass, gold and jewels. I knelt, setting Evan on the floor. “Ok. Don’t touch anything, I don’t want you to get hurt.” Grabbing the hem of my dress I gathered all the bits and pieces into it. “Is that all of it?”

  Emma and Evan looked carefully and nodded. “What are you going to do now?” asked the boy.

  “I’m going to fix it.” Pinching a bit of the all-purpose snow I tossed it on what looked like a broken lantern. “Restore this artifact to its original form.” Nothing happened. I tried again. “That’s weird. Well, I guess I’ll just have to find someone to fix it. Come with me.”

&nbs
p; I started to turn and walk towards the door. “Wait!” screamed Emma. “You can’t show it to them broken. They’ll eat us.”

  “I promise I won’t let them eat you.” I pulled the door open and hoped I could remember my way out. I took a few wrong turns that the twins were nice enough to point out. When we made it back to the main hall, they both hid behind me, tightly pressed against my thighs.

  I walked to the main table where the three Lords sat talking and emptied the contents of my dress. “Is this the missing lantern?”

  Lord Vallen looked pale. Lord Geren started to rise, anger rushing to his face. Lord Hudraer sat motionless, watching. “My Lords, calm down. There was an accident with the children. Nobody was hurt, but the artifact was damaged.”

  “This is unacceptable,” raged Lord Geren. “That artifact has been a sacred piece of our history for two thousand years. There must be a punishment for such actions.”

  I straightened myself to my full height, which was still a head shorter than he was. “You will do no such thing!”

  “You dare question me?!?” His handsome boyish face was now absolutely red.

  “I do dare, and if you don’t watch your tone and calm down I’ll make you eat a fistful of all-purpose snow AND this stupid wreath I’m wearing.”

  Lord Hudraer bit off a snicker. Geren turned and glared at him before turning his wrath on me. A waft of smoke actually puffed out his nose. “I am an Elder in this clan. A Human may not understand what that means but-”

  I cut him off. I allowed my inner nature to flare and felt my eyes shift. “I, as a member of clan McGregor, understand all too well. I also know that Dragons, while fierce guardians, are honorable. An honorable Dragon would never take his anger out on a child. Would he?” I heard Vallen suck in a deep breath.

  My words seemed to do the trick. Lord Geren peered at the twins pressed tightly at my sides with their faces buried and instantly began to return to his normal color. “You’re right. I let my temper get the better of me. Evan and Emma, you have nothing to fear. I swear it.” Two little faces popped out to step beside me.