Christmas Goose

by Zenina Masters

  She slipped up to the bar and smiled shyly. “Hello.”

  “Good afternoon. What can I get for you?”

  Tyla named one of her sister’s favourites. “Screwdriver please.”

  He put together a slug of vodka with orange juice. She took it with a smile. “Thank you.”

  “You are exceptionally polite.”

  She blushed and looked away from his serpentine eyes. “I don’t get out much.”

  He let out a sharp hiss and a woman rose from the shadows.

  “Coming, Chuck.” The woman spoke in a singsong.

  The woman swayed slightly as she came forward, but Tyla recognized an avian when she saw one.

  Chuck smiled. “This is my mate, Ivy. She can help you get into the swing of things.”

  Ivy stuck out her hand with a bright smile. “Pleased to meet you. Teal has told me all about you or, at least, what she knows.”

  Tyla shook the hand of the other feathered swimmer. Swan. She was pretty sure that Ivy was a swan.

  “Thank you for your warm greeting.” Tyla inclined her head.

  “Enough formalities. Let’s go for a swim.” Ivy grinned.

  Tyla nearly burst into tears. “Yes. Please.”

  Ivy used her grip on Tyla’s hand and hauled her out into the afternoon sun.

  “I haven’t been swimming in a while.” Tyla was so nervous she was shaking. This part of her life had been what she missed most.

  “It must be difficult for you to be out after all this time.” Ivy’s voice was calm and there was only understanding colouring it.

  “It is taking some getting used to. I am hoping that by this evening I will be able to try dancing.” She had danced with family before, but she was hoping that she would feel sparks with one of the men at the Crossroads. Getting within touching distance seemed like a good first step.

  “I am sure that you will take to it like a goose to water.” Ivy smiled brightly.

  Tyla laughed and followed her companion through the paths and switchbacks until they stumbled out of the green and a wide pond gleaming with tiny waves was in front of them.

  She was at the edge of the pool in an instant, removing her shoes, peeling out of her dress and skimming off her underwear. In a moment, she was in the water, dove deep and came up in her goose feathers.

  Tyla honked in delight and paddled her feet happily, flapping her wings to raise her off the water’s surface. Perhaps in a day or two she could even fly.

  A swan broke the surface of the water next to her, and they swam in circles, playing tag and diving for pebbles. The light took on a reddish tinge before the swan herded her back to the edge of the pond. Chuck was standing there with towels. He winked at them and put the fabric on a rock before he left them to exit the water.

  Shivering, Tyla left her wings and feathers, stumbling on legs that were suddenly far too long. The towel was welcome. Her body had used a lot of energy changing to and fro. She needed to replenish some of the lost calories.

  “Chuck and I are having dinner at the Meditation Centre. His brother is in the Crossroads for work, but since he isn’t looking for a mate, he has to remain under lock and key. Do you want to join us?” Ivy was scrubbing her hair with the towel, heedless of her nudity.

  “I am fairly sure that I would be in the way. I am supposed to be meeting eligible men. There is no way to do that if I am hanging around couples and ineligible men.”

  Tyla wrapped her hair in the towel and tried to pretend that she wasn’t embarrassed as she pulled on her underwear. Once the fabric bits were in place, she wriggled her dress back into position and wrestled her shoes on in the fading light. Working shoes by touch was tricky but she managed.

  Ivy laughed. “Consider this a practice run. If you can meet Ark without stuttering, you will be able to go dancing after dinner.”

  Tyla sighed. “Why do you want me there?”

  Ivy snorted. “Because Ark is being a complete ass about the kind of women who come to the Crossroads, and I want to prove that not all the women are gold diggers. You are definitely not a gold digger. You have no reason to be nice to him. I think that will be good for him.”

  “I am culture shock for him by having him help me get over the same.”

  “Precisely.”

  “Fine, what should I wear?”

  “What you are wearing is fine.”

  “My hair is a mess.”

  “It looks delightfully tousled.”

  Tyla laughed. “You can’t see it, it is under a towel.”

  “I am sure it is lovely.” Ivy was determined.

  There was no stopping her. Ivy wanted her to come for dinner, so Tyla whipped the towel off her hair and prepared to go for dinner.

  Tyla sat across from a man that had more tattoos than Chuck did. Ivy said he was a crane, but Tyla wasn’t sure. He had a more severe feel to him. With all of her research into other species behind her, Tyla was willing to guess that Arkenon Talifor was a stork.

  “So, Tyla, you are here to snag a husband to take you away from a life of boredom and manicures?”

  Even knowing that he was going to mention it, she still flinched.

  Ivy tensed.

  Tyla blinked. “No, Arkenon. I want a man who will let me be myself and not keep me in a gilded cage. I want a life, a family, all the things that I would be denied if I remained with my people.” She chuckled. “You don’t want a woman to tie you down; I don’t want a man to do the same. I want to soar, and I want him beside me, not waiting for me to lead.”

  His hands clenched around his knife and fork. “I stand corrected.”

  She archly put a slice of tomato in her mouth and mumbled. “You are sitting.”

  Chuck laughed, but it turned into a hiss when he jerked suddenly.

  Tyla was having fun. Teal had been a little worried when she arrived with Ivy and Chuck, but aside from the occasional cautious look, Tyla was left on her own. Despite her arguing with every topic that Arkenon brought up, she was truly enjoying herself. There was a freedom to the evening that she had never experienced.

  She decided to go on the attack. “Why do people get tattoos?”

  Chuck sat back and sipped at his wine.

  Arkenon jerked his head at Chuck. “Ask him.”

  “I know why he has them. I am asking you why people come to you to get their tattoos.”

  Arkenon sat back. “Most of them want to immortalize things that mean something to them. Dates, people, events, milestones. They want them written on their skin. Then, there are those who want to personalize themselves. I try to send those to other artists. You are you. How more personal can you get?”

  She chuckled. “That is a very comprehensive answer.”

  “Thank you. As for me specifically, I have a knack for getting the ink to stay in shifter skin. It takes a certain amount of practice and ink that costs more than most people make in a week.”

  “Where do you get the ink?”

  His clear-cut lips quirked and his amber eyes twinkled. “I have a private enchanter that creates the inks for me. His product is very good.”

  Ivy nodded. “The colours on Chuck stand up to shift after shift. The ones I have are just as bright as the day I got them.”

  Chuck nodded. “They really are. I am bragging but Ark’s work is second to none.”

  “So, that is why you are at the Crossroads? You are working?”

  Arkenon nodded, “Well, that and I am here to invite Chuck and Ivy to Christmas dinner. My father is putting on a spread now that Chuck has finally settled down.”

  Ivy smiled. “I am looking forward to it. Chuck and I finished our first space opera and are roughing out the second book. The publisher has the first in the submissions pile, and we are waiting on pins and needles for a response.”

  Tyla smiled kindly. “I am sure that you will do well. Your book will be a hit.”

  Ivy blinked and an expression of understanding came right before remorse. “I swear that wasn’t why I sh
ook your hand.”

  Arkenon got a confused expression on his face and Chuck slapped his palm to his forehead.

  “Right. Seriously, Tyla. Ivy didn’t mean to…uh…rub you the wrong way.” Chuck’s features showed his careful choosing of the terms that wouldn’t give her away to Arkenon.

  Ark asked, “Are you in publishing?”

  Tyla blotted her lips with a napkin. “No, I dabble in investments. They were referring to some of my connections in the business world.”

  She put her hand on Ivy’s wrist. “Don’t worry. I didn’t think that you were out for what you could get.”

  Ivy exhaled in relief. “To tell you the truth, it had completely slipped my mind.”

  Arkenon smiled and changed the topic. “So, Tyla, if you got a tattoo, what would it be?”

  Tyla released Ivy and sat back, thinking. “I have never considered it.”

  “Consider it now. I am not saying that you need one, but if you got something to symbolize you, what would it be?”

  She was left to ponder that while Ivy grabbed a book with page protectors covering images of elaborate ink and fantastical creatures that were acceptable to wear in the human world as long as the image was on skin, not hide, feathers or scales.

  It was a strange impulse that drove her to mull it over, but when they finished dessert and coffee, she knew the answer. She got up, hugged Ivy, shocked Chuck with his own hug and inclined her head to Arkenon. “A golden feather in hard metallic.”

  His eyes went wide, and she left the Meditation Centre with a light step and a determined set to her shoulders. Ivy and Chuck would have an amazing book and it would carry on into the series. Wealth followed in Tyla’s wake, and the lightest touch from her hand could rocket someone from obscurity into success.

  No one at the Crossroads needed her sort of help, but it was nice to make their dips into the human world a little more comfortable. It was the least she could do.

  Chapter Four

  Dancing was awkward when it was with a stranger, but Tyla gradually got used to being held at a polite distance and swaying around the dance floor.

  Four men had lined up to dance with her, and when she finished her final dance, she took refuge at the bar. A man named Jim was standing at Chuck’s station. He grinned. “What can I get you?”

  “Orange juice?”

  He laughed. “Do you want that straight up?”

  “On the rocks.”

  He slid the tall glass over to her with a wedge of orange perched on the rim.

  A familiar voice sounded beside her. “Hitting the hard stuff, huh?”

  She blinked and turned to see Arkenon next to her. “I thought you weren’t allowed out without escort.”

  “Oh, that was before I wanted to try my hand at putting aside some preconceptions and finding a mate. Care to dance?”

  She scowled. “In a moment. I am really thirsty.”

  Tyla latched on to the straw in the glass, and she slurped until the orange juice was a thing of the past.

  He smiled. “Now?”

  Tyla laughed. “Sure.”

  As they walked to the dance floor, she noted the envious looks of a few of the ladies. Tyla looked up at Arkenon and had to admit he was handsome. She hadn’t noticed before. He had been strictly off limits.

  “So, you have been here one day and already you have created a new recruit to the Crossroads.”

  She laughed. “That was my true purpose. Luring you in.”

  He chuckled and held her close but not beyond propriety. She felt the heat of his body against hers, and as they moved, she shifted incrementally closer.

  “So, a golden feather depicted in metallics; that is a very specific request for someone who has never thought of having a tattoo.” He smiled down at her.

  She watched the curve of his lips and blinked before she answered. “You said that people get things that represent them. That was what sprang to mind.”

  “What kind of feather?” He dipped her and she clutched at him; they were in full contact when he righted her.

  “Um, a goose feather, but the kind used as pens by clerks, so I guess a goose quill pen would be the better description.”

  He nodded, and she could see him running through designs in his head.

  “If you did get it, Tyla, where would you put it?”

  “On my calf. My family once threatened to brand me, so when you mentioned tattoos, I thought that I might just want to do it myself.”

  He paused. “Brand you?”

  She winced. “Oh, I guess that is too heavy. Sorry.”

  He shook his head. “No, it is fine. Would you like to go somewhere and talk?”

  “Can we do that?”

  “I don’t see why not.” He shrugged. “I don’t know the rules either.”

  * * * *

  Chuck and Ivy cuddled together in the dark shadows of the booth.

  Chuck smiled, “I think my brother is making headway.”

  “Thank goodness. None of the other guys here is a good match for her. Even Teal agrees with me on that. Ark might be a bit bossy, but he won’t care about the money.”

  “I know. They would be a good match, I think, but they are going to have to hash it out. It is a good thing that the Talifor boys have a chivalrous streak a mile wide.” He lifted his wife’s hand to his lips, and he kissed her knuckles.

  “Well, she is both a damsel in distress and a maiden in a tower. Once he realises that, it will create the link that is needed to get things rolling. Her family is making noises already. She doesn’t have much time.”

  Chuck hugged Ivy close. He could feel her tension, and he gave her another squeeze before pulling her on his lap. She was worried for this woman that she had known for only a few hours, and it made Chuck love her just a little bit more. Ivy’s temper masked a soft heart and knowing that he had a place in it made every day brighter.

  * * * *

  Seated in the drawing room of the Open Heart, Tyla faced Arkenon on the couch. “So, where do we start?”

  He grinned. “Where did you grow up?”

  “Big city, big house. You?”

  “My parents had a place in the country, and we were allowed to shift as much as we liked, roaming free whenever we could.”

  She bit her lip. “Heron, right?”

  He gawked at her. “How did you know? My father was a crane and everyone just assumes…”

  “You have a different attitude than a crane would. You look at things, really look, and it shows.” She smiled shyly.

  “What are you?” He held up his hand. “Let me guess. Goose?”

  She chuckled. “Good guess.”

  “So, why would a goose of good family be at the Crossroads? You have a fairly extensive matchmaking setup within your ranks.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Not for me. I was unable to seek out a mate among my own kind.”

  “Was it not allowed or couldn’t you find someone you liked?”

  “The former.”

  He laughed, “Why, were you the goose that laid the golden eggs?”

  She stared at him, implacable. Without breaking eye contact, she removed her bracelet. Once he had stared for a full minute, she slipped the leather and charm back into place.

  “Oh. I see.”

  She nodded. “Yes, you did see. I am trapped by my family, stuck making more and more money so that they can live out every vapid fantasy that crosses their minds. I am so very tired, and I want nothing more than to have a child of my own.”

  “Your own?”

  “My niece is two, and she is showing signs of becoming like me. A golden goose. If she does, they won’t let her get away. I need to have a family of my own so that I can give her a place to run to if she wants it and a place to hide her until she is an adult.”

  “You can do that?”

  “I can if I have to. As the golden goose, I am the current matriarch of my family. They have forgotten that, but the avian guilds have not. If I put up a claim, th
ey will honour it.”

  “So, any man getting involved with you would have to consider being an instant family. What do your niece’s parents think of this?”

  “They leave her with me twenty-four seven when my sister is in town. The only time I get off is after I have collapsed after the close of the Asian stock markets. My life is tiring and I want to try normal. I can always find something to do if I have to.”

  He nodded and rubbed his chin. “This is a lot of information.”

  “I know. I am sorry. I come with baggage according to the latest vernacular.”

  Arkenon leaned forward. “Here is a secret. We all do. You just have a few more pieces than the rest of us.”

  She sighed and put her head on the back of the couch. “Luggage. Travel. I have always wanted to travel.”

  “Where was the last place you went?”

  “Here.”

  He snorted. “Before here.”

  She looked into the distance. “I used to sneak out to the park and back again. If I got caught, I was punished. My family likes to live among humans of the upper crust. My hair was a giveaway as to my nature. They told me I had to stay inside.”

  He sighed, and before she could say anything, he lifted her onto his lap and he leaned in for a kiss.

  “What are you doing?” She was bemused at being in such an undignified position.

  “Checking to see if I would like kissing you for the rest of my life. I am thinking I would, but I need to test the theory.” There was an impish gleam to his eyes.

  “Isn’t this a little sudden?” She leaned away as he leaned in.

  “Of course it is. That is what you want, right? A man to sweep you off your feet.”

  Tyla screwed up her features, and when he leaned toward her, she put her hand between them and pushed him back, her palm against his face.

  “That isn’t what I want.” She squirmed out of his grip and pushed herself to her feet. Tears were threatening.

  She turned and ran for the stairs. He followed her, and his footfalls stopped before they followed her up to her room. Tyla felt a prickle of magic and knew that Teebie had interceded.