A Touch of Frost

by S. E. Smith

  “How in the hell did you get here? And, what the hell happened to Little Bit?” He growled, wiping his face on the sheet of his bed.

  Jonah grinned as he wrapped his arm, well as far as it would go, around Little Bit and leaned tiredly against her. She wagged her tail. Frost cursed when her tail made a resounding thumping noise. The entire building could probably hear it.

  “Joseph and I decided one of us better stay in case you and Aunt Lacey needed help. Joseph is faster on the bike than I am, so I stayed. When I saw those mean men kill Ginger and hurt Aunt Lacey when she wasn’t lookin’, I knew you might need some help. Joseph and I are good at changin’ into mice. We do it all the time ‘cause it’s easier to get out of the house. I jumped into the car when they was loadin’ you,” Jonah said with a grin. “They never even saw me. I even hid in the bad guy’s jacket pocket when he got out and got on the fancy plane.”

  Dread reared its ugly head again as the translation sunk in. He, Lacey, and now Jonah could be far away from anyone who might come to find Lacey. Now, he had not only Lacey that could be held over his head, but the small boy.

  “Jonah, you need to escape,” Frost said, kneeling on the floor in front of the boy and grabbing his thin shoulders. “You need to get out of here and somehow let Theo or Lacey’s family know where she is.”

  Jonah shook his head. “They already know,” he said. “I told you, Joseph went to get re-enforcements.”

  “Yes, but they will not know where you are,” Frost growl in frustration. “You are in danger here. These humans, they will hurt you.”

  Jonah laughed and shook his head again. “Mom and dad always know where Joseph and I are. Dad gave mom a tracking bracelet for each of us last Christmas. Besides, Joseph and I are always talking to each other in our heads and we can find each other no matter what.”

  Frost felt a ray of hope, but he still worried about the boy’s safety. “They could still hurt you,” he insisted.

  “Wrong again,” Jonah said, lifting his hat and pointing to the tuft of white wiry hair. “I’m half werewolf. You can’t hardly hurt a werewolf. Dad would rip them apart if they tried.”

  “Werewolf?” Frost asked, confused. “What is your other half?”

  Jonah grinned again. This time, two long fangs slid down from where his canines were and two rose. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

  “Mom’s a vamp,” he said happily. “We get the magic from my grandma.”

  “I’m not sure I understand all of this,” Frost admitted reluctantly. “Lacey said that the humans of Magic were not like the others. Are you saying that the humans here are not like you and Lacey?”

  “Nah! They’re a bunch of wimps,” Jonah said with a shrug. “They’d pee their pants if they knew that we was real and all.”

  “What about…,” Frost paused, a wave of guilt washed over him that he was feeling jealous of Lacey’s deceased husband. “What was Sean?”

  “Sean?” Jonah repeated in surprise. “You mean when he wasn’t a ghost?” Frost nodded sharply. “He was a troll, I think. He looked like one.”

  “Oh,” Frost replied, not knowing what else to say.

  He had no idea what a troll looked like or what they could do. He felt ashamed that he had asked Jonah instead of Lacey. He would, if they made it out of this.

  He watched as Jonah tilted his head to the side as if he was listening to something. A large smile lit up his face and he turned his bright, brown eyes back to Frost. The boy suddenly reached out and threw his arms around Frost’s neck, giggling.

  “What is it?” Frost asked puzzled.

  “Reinforcements are here!” Jonah crowed happily. “Boy, are these guys going to get their asses kicked. Joseph said that Theo is breathing fire! I guess the bad guys tried to kill him. That was a really stupid thing to do.”

  “Why do you say that?” Frost asked, thinking of the local sheriff.

  “‘Cause Theo discovered he’s a dragon!” Jonah replied with glee.

  “A dragon?” Frost muttered in confusion.

  “Yeah. This is going to be fun,” Jonah said, tilting his head back and letting loose a loud howl.

  *.*.*

  Lacey stood up as she felt the flow of magic energy swirling in the air. A moment later, a loud howl resonated through the building. She tilted her head and concentrated. She would recognize that howl anywhere! She had been there when Joseph and Jonah had been born. Jonah’s was lower and pulsed more than Joseph’s howl.

  “Jonah, you wonderful, wonderful Werevamp!” Lacey laughed. “Oh.” Lacey fell back a step as two figures formed on the other side of the bars.

  “Since when do you allow a measly set of steel bars keep you in?” Sam asked dryly.

  “Never,” Lacey said with a grin and a snap of her fingers.

  She stepped through the now blank wall. Joanna smiled and leaned forward to hug her. Lacey held on tightly to her little sister.

  “Are you ready to show these assholes who they made the mistake of messing with?” Sam asked as Lacey let go of Joanna.

  “Who else is here?” Lacey asked as she stepped back.

  “I think it would be easier to name the ones who aren’t,” Sam said with a toss of her head. “Oh, just so you know, the whole town knows about your alien.”

  “Oh,” Lacey said.

  “And that he spent the night in your bed,” Joanna added under her breath.

  “How?” Lacey asked faintly, looking back and forth between her sisters.

  “Dusty,” Sam laughed. “Damn pig never could keep a secret.”

  “Hold it right there!” A loud voice demanded further down the corridor.

  All three women turned to stare at the four guards standing at the end of the corridor, their weapons drawn and aimed at them. Lacey stepped forward and snapped her fingers. Her clothes shifted, changing until she was dressed all in black. Tight, black pleather pants covered her long legs. A matching pleather vest emphasized her rounded breasts while drawing attention to her narrow waist. Thigh-high black pleather boots lined with live, growling minks made her look taller than she was. Her hair flowed upward and twisted, forming a black witch’s hat. The last thing that appeared was her trusted broom. The whole outfit was a bit cliché, but if you wanted to scare the humans it worked wonders.

  Sam and Joanna snapped their fingers. Soon they were each dressed in their own distinctive outfits. Joanna in a long, form-fitting black number while Sam went for the short miniskirt. Lacey raised her eyebrow at the amount of cleavage Sam was showing.

  “Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it, I always say,” Sam said with a shrug.

  “Just don’t let dad see you in that getup,” Joanna warned her. “I don’t care how old we are, he still thinks we need pigtails and bat wings.”

  “Mm, I like the sound of that,” Lacey said as she pointed her finger at the guard in front. “Pigtails it is.”

  The hallway suddenly filled with the sound of terrified pigs squealing. Four black and white pigs skittered in a circle trying to escape. Lacey ignored them as they cowered in the corner as she walked toward them. With a wave of her hand, the doors unlocked and flew open. She had an alien to find.

  Chapter 19

  “What is going on?” Alice demanded as she stepped out of her office.

  “There’s been a breach,” the guard replied.

  “Who, damn it?” She snapped, pushing the guard to the side so she could see the video camera. “What the….?”

  Disbelief and excitement filled her. A large dragon was swirling in a circle blowing fire at the guard towers. She watched as he curled his long tail around one of the Hummer’s parked next to a building and tossed it through the air. The top half of the guard tower exploded in a raging inferno as the dragon breathed fire on the vehicle as it struck.

  “Get everyone available out there,” Alice ordered. “I want that dragon!”

  The guard paled, but nodded his head. Alice ignor
ed him as he spoke into the phone. She looked around as the building shook. She needed to get to the command center that was four stories below. She pulled out her phone and impatiently tapped out the code. Once she had access, she punched the four on her speed dial.

  “Meet me down in the command center,” she snapped into it, swiping her key and stepping into the elevator. “And make sure that the woman and alien are secure. Nothing gets to them,” she added. “Nothing!”

  She hung up, only to hit another number. “I need assistance,” she said coldly. “Level 5. Now, damn it. This is what you are paid for, you’ll provide support. And make damn sure you bring enough power. Yes, I’m serious. This is not a drill. The complex is under attack.” She looked up as the lights flashed on and off in the elevator and it slowed before returning to normal. “Hurry.”

  For a second, fear crept into Alice’s mind before she pushed it back. She had spent the last thirty years trying to prove that other life existed in the universe. She knew that there really were things that went bump in the night. She had seen one when she was a child, just briefly. Her father had been in the military and shown her the remains of an alien.

  Ever since then, she had devoted her life to her research. She gave up the man she loved and the hope of ever having children for her cause. She had stolen proof from her father’s office before he retired and used that proof to garner funding from different governments and wealthy individuals to keep her program going.

  Over the years, she had to make up things or stretch the truth to keep the funding coming. As long as she gave them hope and an appetizer every once in a while they gave her more money and left her alone. She had built this research facility in the desert of California with the money.

  Located in the middle of nowhere, the only way to get in or out was either by using an all-terrain vehicle or by helicopter. Her benefactors were beginning to question the costs of maintaining the facility. She was on the verge of losing everything until Redman. The greedy bastard would have sucked all of the money from her supporters that she had built up over the years if she had let him. That was why he had to die.

  They had given her until the end of the month to show more substantial proof that extraterrestrial life existed. Now, when she showed them what she had in her possession, she would never have to worry about begging them for money again.

  “No, it is all in the name of science,” she whispered as the elevator slowed. “My research will continue.”

  *.*.*

  “Oh, well, yes. Mm, Little Bit, I think I need to work with you on your magic,” Topper said as she tried to squeeze around the compact-car-size puppy. She jumped over the wagging tail, hopping back and forth several times as if she was jumping rope before she managed to get far enough to the side. “Hello, Frost.”

  Frost stared at the older woman who had first appeared outside of the jail cell what seemed like a lifetime ago. That thought brought another urgent one to his mind. How long had he been gone?

  “Where is Lacey?” He demanded. “And, what day is it?”

  “It’s Thursday,” Topper replied with a frown. “Lacey is with her sisters.”

  Frost breathed a sigh of relief. He still had almost twenty-four hours give or take, to get back to his transport. Lacey was safe. The knowledge washed through him, allowing the floodgate of rage to open.

  “Stand aside,” he growled.

  Topper blinked, but stepped aside. She pulled Jonah with her as she did. She grinned at the look of fury and determination on Frost’s face. Whoever said hell hath no fury like a woman scorned had never met a pissed off alien male separated from the love of his life.

  Frost ignored everything. He did not have the ability to erase the memories of the people here so he was going with plan B, elimination. He was going to start with the crazy bitch who thought she could use Lacey.

  His hands rose and a burst of ice shot out. The force of the impact ripped the door off the hinges where it skidded several feet before embedding into the wall. Striding forward, he stepped out into the bright hallway. Three guards ran around the corner, their guns drawn. He continued walking. A flick of his wrist sent dozens of small, deadly spears of ice toward them. They dropped, dead as the tiny missiles pierce their body.

  He turned when he heard Topper’s grunt of approval. “Miserable bastards, the lot of them. Lacey is one floor up,” Topper said, rubbing her dark purple hair.

  “Get Jonah and… Little Bit…” Frost’s voice died as the puppy squeezed through the entrance. “You’d better get them both out of here. Jonah shouldn’t see this and Little Bit… I think she is still growing,” he stated.

  Topper leaned her head back and gazed at the underside of the puppy’s chin. She looked down at Jonah, who had transformed into his werewolf form. His tongue hung out to the side as he gazed back at Frost with hero worship in his eyes.

  “The boy was born a law man,” Topper observed. “You go after Lacey. I’ll get these two to safety.”

  “Thank you,” Frost said quietly, bowing his head before he turned and disappeared around the corner.

  “Aw, Topper,” Jonah complained. “I wanted to scare some of the bad guys.”

  Topper rested her hand on Jonah’s hairy shoulder. “You’ll get your chance one day, Jonah. There are still a lot of bad guys in the world. Besides, we need you and Joseph’s help with the spirits. Sheriff B. has just arrived with the posse.”

  “YES!” Jonah howled.

  Chapter 20

  Frost rolled to the side as two guards opened fire on him. He shot out waves of ice. Thick bands froze the guns to their hands. He jumped to his feet and sprinted down the hallway. Both men’s eyes widened as they saw him coming. They frantically fought to knock the frozen blocks from their hands.

  He sliced through one man’s throat before turning to the other who had sunk to his knees in terror. The man covered his face with his arm and shrank back against the wall, crying. Frost ignored the man’s tears and roughly yanked him to his feet.

  “Where is the woman?” He demanded.

  “Which… which one?” The man stuttered.

  Frost shook the man like a rag doll. “The scientist.”

  “Doc... Doc Barker... is in... the control room,” the guard gasped. “Fourth floor. It’s on the fourth floor... down.”

  “How do I get there?” Frost growled.

  “I can take you,” a soft voice said.

  His head turned, locking on the face of the woman who was his world. He slammed the man he was holding against the wall and dropped the body. His eyes swept over Lacey. She was dressed... he swallowed. His eyes darkened with desire. She looked magnificent. It took a moment for him to realize she wasn’t alone, that two other women were standing slightly behind her.

  “He is totally smitten,” Sam said in amusement.

  “Oh, Lacey, he doesn’t have eyes for anyone but you,” Joanna sighed.

  “Topper was right,” Sam added. “He is a looker.”

  Lacey’s head snapped around and she scowled at her older sister. “He’s taken,” she muttered.

  “Hey, I can look,” Sam said innocently. “I thought Sean was cute too. I loved him too... as a brother.”

  “We both loved the way he looked at you as well,” Joanna added.

  “Can we not talk about this right now?” Frost snapped, pulling Lacey into his arms and burying his face in her neck. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes, and you?” She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on to him.

  “I... was worried,” he admitted gruffly. “She threatened to harm you if I tried to escape or not do what she said. I wanted to kill her.”

  Lacey pulled back so she could stare up into his eyes. Her eyes gleamed with amusement before they darkened at the fear in his eyes. She ran her fingers down along his cheek before she rose up to meet his lips as he bent forward.

  “Oh, wow!” Sam muttered, rolling her eyes. �
��And he thought talking needed to wait.”

  “Sam,” Joanna murmured in reproach. “Give them a moment.”

  Sam looked at the two lovers passionately kissing as if there was no tomorrow. She loved that Lacey had found someone else to fill the void in her life. Sighing, she pointed at the man that Frost had slammed against the wall. His eyes were open and he was staring at her in fear and awe.

  “You can join your other friends,” she drawled, snapping her fingers.

  The pale tan pig squealed in terror and scrambled to his feet. It stumbled and bounced off the wall as it tried to get its hooves under it. She watched as it slipped down the hall as fast it could.

  The squeal pulled Frost and Lacey back to their present situation. Frost was watching the pig in astonishment while Lacey looked dazed and flustered. Sam smiled as Lacey grinned at her.

  “Let’s go find the mad scientist,” Lacey said, straightening her hat. “I think it is time to show her what happens with science meets magic.”

  *.*.*

  “What do you mean there is nothing you can do?” Alice demanded, turning away from the wall of video cameras. She glared at the huge male standing stiffly behind her. “I pay you to do things.”

  “You pay me to keep you safe from humans,” the man stated before he jerked his head at the screen. “Not mythical creatures who live in fairytales. We don’t have the weapons to destroy such a creature.”

  “I don’t want him destroyed, you fool! I want him captured,” Alice retorted, turning back to look at the massive dragon as he circled the complex. “I have re-enforcements coming.”

  “I canceled it,” the man replied in a low voice.

  “You did what?” Alice shrieked, losing her calm. “On whose authority?”

  “Mine,” the man answered coldly. “It isn’t just the dragon. You’ve been focused on him. Look at what else is coming. It would have been suicide to bring any others into the mix.”