Winter of Elves

by Joanne Vruno

  Also by Joanne Vruno

  Loon Child

  Summer of Elves

  Autumn of Elves

  Winter of Elves

  Book 3 in the Seasons of Elves series

  Joanne Vruno

  North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

  St. Cloud, Minnesota

  Copyright © 2015 Joanne Vruno

  Cover photo © Joanne Vruno

  “Gray Wolf” © Jeannie E. Roberts

  All rights reserved.

  Print ISBN: 978-0-87839-802-7

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-68201-015-0

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First edition: September 2015

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Published by:

  North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

  P.O. Box 451

  St. Cloud, MN 56302

  www.northstarpress.com

  Dedication

  Everyone needs some form of family around them to make them whole. I am blessed with a wonderful husband, children, and grandchildren who make my life full. I dedicate this book, about the importance of family, to my family.

  Table of Contents

  Gray Wolf

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Acknowledgements

  Gray Wolf

  by Jeannie E. Roberts

  Droplets stained December’s snow

  White-tailed deer drew him to the clearing;

  its scent had settled near barren maize.

  Limping back to the forest, he recalled

  his mate—shot on a harvest moon. He

  feared humans and their misguided ways.

  Canis lupus entered the thicket, tangle

  of alder and underbrush parted as he moved

  toward white pine. He watched the snow,

  noticed how each flake eased with gentle

  abandon; he thought of home and territory,

  how his pack had defined his days with

  kinship and purpose; he sensed the pulse

  of this place, the heart of his habitat beating,

  pleading for help; he felt the oneness of all life,

  until he resigned his being to the care and light

  of Mother Earth.

  Jeannie E. Roberts lives in an inspiring rural setting near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Her second book of poetry, Beyone Bulrush, was published by Lit Fest Press in 2015. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, her work appears in print and online literary journals and anthologies, including Blue Heron Review, Misty Mountain Review, and Quill and Parchment. Learn more about Jeannie at www.jrcreative.biz.

  Chapter 1

  The winter solstice brought our first Christmas snow. The flakes were large wet ones about an inch or more wide, the perfect snow for making snow forts, snowmen, and snowballs. Both Emily and I grabbed our jackets and boots and headed outside. Quickly we started rolling balls of snow until they formed into giant boulders, which we stacked one on top of another to make the perfect snowman. Each year the new snowman we made was taller and wider, and our finishing touches seemed to bring out a different personality for each one. No two snowmen we made were ever alike. This one definitely had a new look to it. The nose was carved rounded with no sharp angles, just like a tomte’s nose. We designed the eyes to be more elf-like, with an oval shape and an almost curled look on the outer edges, and we finished it off with a gnome-shaped cone hat.

  Emily and I stood back to examine our handiwork when Mom appeared in the front doorway. “Is that one of Santa’s kids?”

  Both Emily and I laughed at the comment. I suppose the combination did make it look like a Santa without a beard. In one of the books we read Santa was in the form of a tomte. So, maybe he wasn’t all fiction, either.

  Mom let Chica outside and went back in to stay warm. Our dog caught our attention as she leapt from one pile of snow to another, burying her face in each hill of snow and popping out, eating mouthfuls at a time. She definitely loved the snow.

  Emily and I took turns making snowballs for Chica to retrieve. It was kind of a mean thing to do because she never could retrieve a ball with them vanishing as they landed in a snow pile. She seemed so happy racing across the yard trying to get one before it landed. She was able to catch two in the air and they fell apart when she bit into them, covering her face in snow. But that didn’t bother her, and she kept returning to us for more.

  A faint howl in the air from the direction of Beck and Agda’s light elf village caused the three of us to stop and turn toward the sound. “Did you hear that?” I asked Emily.

  “Yeah, what was it? We don’t have wolves here, do we?” said Emily.

  Chica ran to the door to go in. Whatever made the howl seemed to have spooked her. I looked at Emily and we both decided to go in, also.

  “Done already?” asked Mom.

  “Yeah, we heard a strange howl. It seemed to be coming from the woods behind the playground. It was really eerie. There aren’t wolves ever in the cities, right?” I asked.

  “Not that I’ve ever heard of, but some places are reporting coyote sightings. Maybe it was just a bloodhound’s bay. They also howl at times,” said Mom.

  “It scared Chica and us a bit, even though we could tell it was a distance away,” said Emily.

  “Well, coyotes are more active in the evening hours than during the day. But I’d bet someone has a bloodhound in the area,” said Mom. “How about a cup of hot chocolate and one of the Christmas cookies we made yesterday?”

  “I’ll take a peanut butter blossom,” I said, then turned to my sister. “How about you, Emily?” I opened the container holding the peanut butter blossoms.

  “Definitely, I love those cookies,” replied Emily.

  “So . . . am I invited to this sweet treat time, too?” asked Dad as he entered the kitchen and grabbed a couple cookies. “Now, what did I hear from the living room? Werewolves howling in St. Paul?”

  “No, likely a bloodhound, Jim. Likely. You’ll give the girls nightmares of werewolves,” said Mom, shaking her head at Dad.

  “All right, no werewolves. We all know they’re fictional anyway,” said Dad.

  Maybe not, Emily telepathically said in my head.

  I smiled at her across the table. Doubtful, though, I replied silently back to her.

  It was fun now that Emily’s power of telepathically speaking had arrived. We could talk about anything without our parents or others hearing us. Grandma was the only other human we knew with this power.

  “The snow is really coming down strong now,” said Dad, looking o
ut. “I think I’ll wait until after supper to shovel. Anyone want to help with the shoveling? We can listen for more howls.”

  “I guess I could use some exercise,” I said. “Emily, how about it?”

  “I think I’ll keep Mom company in the nice warm house,” smiled Emily sheepishly.

  Emily was always more of the indoor child while I always enjoyed the outdoors.

  Dad walked over to the front picture window and looked at the newly made snowman, “So, what are you naming this one? Santa Baby?”

  Mom started to giggle at that name as she looked at Dad and started signing, “Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me. Been an awful good girl, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.”

  “Definitely not Santa Baby!” I said, shaking my head at my parents.”That’s just too . . . I don’t know what. Emily and I will come up with something from this century for a name.”

  Mom and Dad cracked up laughing. Emily and I just rolled our eyes at them.

  After dinner Dad and I headed outside while Emily and Mom took care of cleaning up the kitchen.

  The snow had stopped. The streetlights glowing down on the new white snow gave me a feeling that magic was in the air. Everything looked and felt peaceful around the block as I started shoveling. Dad and I both started at the garage and moved down the driveway. The snow stuck to the shovels, which made us use more force emptying each load. We were close to the end of the driveway when another howl floated on the evening air to us. I quickly looked at Dad as if to say, “See?”

  “I have to admit, it does sound like a wolf, though I’ve never heard one in person, just on television,” said Dad.

  “So . . . do you think it’s a wolf or a bloodhound?”

  “I’d guess bloodhound since we’re in the city, but it does sound wolfish,” said Dad. “It’s probably someone’s dog that’s gotten cold and wants to be let in.”

  “I guess,” I answered as we finished the driveway. Something didn’t sit right with me after I heard that second howl. It sounded so lonely.

  I kept looking in the direction of the howl as we walked to the garage to put away the shovels. Dad must have noticed me doing that. He put his arm around my shoulder and said, “It’ll be all right. The dog’ll be let in soon. No owner can keep it outside all night. It’d keep everyone awake.”

  I smiled at Dad as we entered the house.

  My smile quickly disappeared as I saw Elsa, one of our house tomtes, motion me to follow her to my room. By the look on Elsa’s face I knew something was up. Elsa and her twin brother, Enar, guarded our house, and for her to summon me meant there was trouble around here, at grandma’s, or at one of the two light elf villages. Our tomtes protected our home but were also the ones contacted by other creatures in the area if they needed the help of a guardian, which I had become this past autumn.

  I reacted quickly and followed Elsa with my boots and jacket still on. As I entered my bedroom I saw the twin tomtes had already summoned Emily. She was sitting on the floor by Enar. I quickly shut the door. Enar said, “Alf just came and told me there’s a lone wolf outside roaming near Agda and Beck’s light elf village. An elf bird sentry was sent to inform you they need your assistance.”

  “I knew it was a wolf! I’m not sure what I can do about it, but I’ll leave now,” I said. I was the guardian for Agda and Beck’s village while my grandma was the guardian for Silver and Dolph’s light elf village. Whenever they sent one of their bird sentries to talk to our gnome Alf, I knew it was an urgent situation. “Emily, you need to distract Mom and Dad for a while. I’ll try to return at the same time I left. I almost have time transporting down to perfection. It’s so much easier to just poof to one place but coming back at the same time you left . . . you’ll see when you get this power.”

  “I’m on it, Aly. Good luck, and please be careful!”

  “I will,” I replied as I poofed.

  Suddenly, I was standing among the trees in a snow-covered elf village. The light elf homes and buildings were nearly invisible under the blanket of snow. Only little snow tunnel entrances were visible. I was afraid to move at first. I didn’t want to step on any elf’s house. When Agda and Beck appeared out of a well-traveled tunnel, I finally got my bearings. The two lead elves looked very distressed. Beck asked, “Have you heard the howling? It’s very near to the village. The bird sentries have been keeping us posted on where the wolf is. As far as we can tell it’s injured and having a hard time traveling. One of its hind legs looks like it’s been shot with a human gun. We’re wondering if you or your grandmother can heal it. Maybe then it could move on to where it came from. A wounded wolf can really be dangerous for all in the area.”

  My mind raced on what I should do. I needed to have a plan before I attempted to heal a wolf. I also needed to get it to Grandma’s house like I did Alvit, the injured swan maiden. Grandma was the experienced guardian and my instructor. For the past six months, she had been teaching me the duties of being a light elf guardian. Working together, we had the power to heal every injured creature we came across. Her yard was the perfect place to heal and nurse wounded creatures back to health. She did not get very many human visitors and with our magical amulets we could hide anything from others vision with a cloaking spell. I just had to figure out how I was going to transport an injured wolf.

  The two lead light elves looked at me for an answer. I grabbed the guardian amulet in my hand as if it would let me know how to handle this situation and suddenly it did—the sleeping spell. I smiled at the two elves and asked, “Can you take me to the wolf?”

  They both smiled and gave a sigh of relief. Two bird sentry elves were summoned to show me the way. I nodded and smiled at each elf sitting on the back of their birds high up in a nearby tree and slowly followed their lead as I headed out through the woods.

  We moved deeper and deeper into the woodland where very few humans ever traveled. I lost the bird sentries only once as I climbed through a thicket of branches. A bird call then directed me to where I needed to go. Soon after, I caught up with them. A bird sentry swooped down in front of me as he indicated some trees about twenty feet away. I found myself looking straight into the silver-gray eyes of a very large but beautiful white, silver, and brown wolf. My eyes stayed glued to his as I slowly pulled out the amulet from under my coat. A growl started rumbling and he showed his teeth at my movement. I quickly held up the amulet and faced it toward the wolf. Just as the wolf started to move toward me, I said, “Slumber now.”

  The amulet flashed when I said the words and the wolf collapsed into a deep sleep only a few feet from me. I caught my breath, knowing how close the wolf had come to me. I looked up at the bird sentries, who were looking down in shock. I smiled. They realized I had the wolf under control then. I let out a sigh at the size of the wolf, so grateful Grandma had taught me that spell and that I’d done it correctly!

  I waved to the bird sentries, then I chanted three times, “Send the wolf and me to Grandmother’s house. Send the wolf and me to Grandmother’s house. Send the wolf and me to Grandmother’s house.”

  Poof! We were in grandmother’s backyard. I quickly held up my amulet to set the cloaking spell so no human or creature who happened to be nearby could see us in the yard. Then I ran into the house to get my grandmother. When Grandma and I walked outside, Lunt, Grandma’s gnome, was already examining the sleeping wolf.

  “Where did you find him?” asked Lunt, examining the wolf from all directions. Lunt was the oldest and wisest of all the creatures I had been introduced to during the past six months.

  “He was by Agda and Beck’s village. They had been watching him and noticed his injury. They sent for me, and I gave him a sleeping spell so I could transport him here.”

  Lunt looked up. “Alice and Aly, this is no ordinary wolf. Check out his paws. They have extra fur and extra long claws. He’s from up
north. I want to know the color of his eyes. Do you remember them?” asked Lunt, looking into my face.

  “Silver-gray. Why?” I asked.

  “He has the eyes of Fenrir, as I thought he would,” said Lunt, rubbing his beard in thought.

  “Lunt, do you think he’s Fenrir’s offspring?” asked Grandma. “Fenrir, the most vicious wolf ever known, the one the tales say might have killed Odin in the Battle of the Giants?”

  “Yes, that’s the one. The story goes he had offspring that Odin,”—the Nordic god, I knew from other tales—“wanted to destroy after the Norse gods trapped Fenrir. The gods thought all his offspring would be evil as he was. Queen Elin, King Klas’s sister, took pity on the pups and rescued them from Odin. The pups and Queen Elin, along with her kingdom, disappeared that night and were never seen or heard of again. Some thought Odin had cast them away to another land, while others thought he eliminated all of them. Odin was not a god to be challenged. I never knew what to believe. King Klas never again spoke of his sister. Seeing this wolf, I now think the wolf pups survived. His size is way larger that a normal wolf! Fenrir was known for his distinct look and the silver-gray eyes. So I do believe this wolf is related to him. I am, though, curious why such a wolf would venture into the city. I’d think it’d stay far away from any mankind.”

  “So does that mean he could be extremely dangerous?” asked Grandma, staring at the sleeping wolf. “If so, that leaves one question. Should we wake him or not?”

  “Being he had such a ferocious ancestor, I’d keep him asleep while you heal him,” Lunt advised. “We’ll then have to decide how to work with him in the morning. He has to eat at some point. I’ll go talk to Dolph. He’s had the most training and experience working with animals, and has been known to even communicate with them.” Lunt took off towards the woods.