by Mina Carter
Table of Contents
What the Sleigh
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
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About the Author
What the Sleigh
Paranormal Protection Agency Book 10
MINA CARTER
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
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Copyright
Copyright 2015 Mina Carter
Cover Art by Mina Carter
Edited by Avvril Sttepowski
Published by Blue Hedgehog Press: December 2015
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this bookk may be used or reproduced in any manner *crane whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Author's note: All characters depicted in this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.
Chapter One
“Why do they get all the fucking best jobs? We could’ve been sitting pretty in that upscale Bridgegate mall…instead, we’re hunting fucking blood suckers in shitty alleys. Fucking jumped up prissy Santa wannabes!”
Rudi sighed at her partner, Darrick’s, growl and ducked the wild swing of the vampire in front of her. “Darrick, I keep telling you, Cole and Rhod aren’t Santa wannabes. They are Santa. For one night a year, they’re the real deal. Just like the hundreds of other Santa’s in the bloodlines. It’s been two years, when are you gonna get over it?”
Darrick grumbled at her and she chuckled. She wasn’t under any impression he’d seriously been in love with Mia, one of the PPA’s Christmas elves, before she’d picked Cole Claus. Pixies were territorial, so it was more his male pride which had been injured.
Side-stepping, she twisted and slammed a fist up under the bloodsucker’s chin. His jaw snapped shut with a click, the force of her blow carrying him up into the air in a graceful comic-book style arc to land in an unconscious heap on the other side of the alley.
Darrick paused for a moment and cast a glance at the crumpled form. Surprise and admiration shone in the Pixie’s eyes. “Dayum, girl…you pack a punch. You sure you ain’t got no Valkyrie in you?”
She grinned. “None at all. Pure blooded shifter. Sorry.”
A dark figure rose behind him. A vampire with claws extended, mouth open and drool dripping from its fangs. She didn’t bother to raise the alarm. Darrick was a big boy, not to mention a trained operative. If he couldn’t take on a few revenants, then it was a poor showing on his part.
Without breaking eye contact, he lifted his arm and slammed the back of his fist into the vampire’s face. There was a sharp crack and the scent of blood in the air as its nose went from hooked and prominent to flat as a pancake.
“Pure shifter?” His eyes twinkling, he twisted and looped a strong arm around the stunned vampire’s neck. With a powerful twist of his torso and shoulders, he wrenched the creature's head clean from its neck. A fizzle and a pop later and the body dissolved into dust.
Rudi whistled. She’d worked with Darrick for a few years now, so she knew pixies were total badasses who learned to fight almost before they could walk, but the casual display of strength impressed even her.
“Yup, pure shifter.” She turned to survey the carnage in the alleyway.
They’d trailed the group of revenants across half a block, watching them track a group of human women dressed for a night on the town. Fortunately, they’d been able to head the creatures off into an alley, this alley, before the humans noticed. No great feat there, at times humans were the dumbest beings Rudi had ever encountered. Within minutes, she and Darrick had reduced the group to five piles of ash and one crumpled heap.
Her companion grumbled under his breath as he stepped over and stopped next to her to look down at the revenant. “Are you ever going to tell me what type of shifter you are?”
“Nope.” She slid him a sideways glance, keeping her smile to herself.
They’d been playing this game since they’d met. Everyone at the Paranormal Protection Agency knew she was a shifter, but no one knew what sort. At her request, Iliona had sealed Rudi’s personnel file, and she never, ever shifted. Didn’t even pop a tail…
She was a shifter, yeah. Shifter types were divided into two kinds; Predators and…not predators. The PPA had a lot of predator-type shifters. Their natural aggression and hardiness made them excellent operatives few wanted to take on in a fight. Jared Stone, for example, only had to stroll into the holding room back at base and half the ‘guests’ tried to crawl up their own asses to avoid him. The other half got busy praying to whatever gods they held dear.
They did the same when she walked in. Over the five years she’d been at the PPA, she’d developed a reputation as a mean bitch with balls of steel. But she wasn’t a predator-type shifter… her inner animal didn’t hunger for the chase and the kill. Instead, the creature inside her longed for the feeling of air through her fur and the pull of traces on her body as she pulled a load through the sky. Longed for the sound of sleigh-bells and a deep ‘ho-ho-ho’ from behind her.
Rudi wasn’t a predator. She was a were-reindeer, and the magic of Christmas ran through her veins.
Darrick sighed. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that, gorgeous?”
She gave him a one-fingered salute and turned away. “You love it, and you know it. Bag and tag him, would ya? Let’s get him back to processing.”
She didn’t wait for Darrick’s reply, instead striding out of the alley. As soon as she emerged from the darkness, the lights and seasonal music of the shops around hit her. Less than a month until Christmas and the retail outlets were in full marketing swing. She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Christmas.
It was on the air already. The expectation, the anticipation, driven by a world full of children waiting to hear those same sleigh-bells in the air. For a moment, she was back there, waiting for the go from her Santa on the sleigh behind her. Anticipating the sharpness of the Christmas night air as she threw her weight against her harness and led her team out. Led them all out.
Because Rudi wasn’t just any reindeer. She was the granddaughter of the original Rudolph and a deer of her bloodline always led the first sleigh out.
But not her. Not anymore.
She opened her eyes and the sparkling lights and music around her were dimmed by the sadness welling up from her soul. She’d had it all. The ‘princess’ of her people, she’d been honored by all reindeer kind and her Santa… Nick Claus.
Like her, he was the grandson of the original. They’d played in their cribs together, grown up together, fought and made up…fallen in love. Everyone had expected the
m to get married, have kids. It was fate. Expected. The perfect love story. A match made of Christmas, at Christmas, and in the magic of the North Pole.
Until they’d had a huge argument one night and she’d stormed off for a run. When she’d come back, she’d found him with Ginger Snaps, a Christmas elf, in their bed.
A sharp pain sliced through her at the memory and she sucked in a breath. She’d left the Pole that night, with nothing but the clothes on her back, and she never planned on going back. Ever.
As far as she was concerned Christmas was canceled.
Permanently.
***
An hour later, Rudi leaned against the counter as Darrick filled in the paperwork to process their revenant. The creature itself had been taken down to the lower cells, to keep it out of the sunlight until it could be questioned.
Revenants were the lowest of the low in vampire-kind and were never loners. There was a nest somewhere and they needed to find it fast, or they’d be overrun with the bastard things before New Year’s Eve. No point in either her or Darrick questioning it, they were strictly muscle. The PPA had other creatures on staff who could pick the thing’s mind apart to get the information they needed. Like that half-Pixie guy, Rat.
Rudi suppressed a shiver. There was just something about him which gave her the creeps. It wasn’t like she was a speciest or anything. She worked with Darrick after all, and even though he’d grown his buzz cut out and had shoulder-length hair, it was still a shade of blue which marked him as a Pixie.
“What’s up with you?” Catching her movement, Darrick looked up from his paperwork. “You’ve been like a cat on a hot tin roof for weeks. Wanna clue me in on what’s going on?”
She shrugged one shoulder, wincing as the TV in the corner played a Christmas jingle. The muscle at the corner of her eye twitched. Shit, she should’ve asked for the month off to hibernate in her apartment.
One problem. Reindeer didn’t hibernate.
“All done, thanks Cynthia.” Darrick handed the completed forms over and turned. Shoving a hand under Rudi’s arm, he marched her toward the door and out into the walkway between the back compounds. The sounds of training drifted to them on the air, but they were concealed from prying eyes.
He spun her around, corralling her against the wall with his hands braced either side of her head. She froze, looking up at him.
“Okay, sweetheart. Out with it,” he rumbled, the expression in his blue eyes serious. “Every Christmas you’re a fucking bitch and I wanna know why. Plus, you know way more than most about those bastard Claus elves. What gives?”
She sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face. No matter what she did, her hair always escaped from the tight braid she kept it in, and curled around her face.
“Come on, I know you ain’t an elf…so why protect them?”
She barked out a laugh. “Believe me, I am the last person to ever protect a fucking Claus elf.”
“Come on, sweetheart.” He lifted a hand as if to stroke the loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her hand snapped out to grab his wrist in an iron hold, stopping his movement. His eyes widened.
“Let’s just say once bitten, twice shy shall we? I trusted one once and got my heart broken in return.”
Understanding filled his eyes, followed swiftly by anger. Pixies were flighty as fuck at times.
“Which one? One of ours? Cole?” He growled. “I’ll break his fucking kneecaps.”
She didn’t let go of his wrist even when he tried to pull away. Her shifter blood made her a lot stronger than her human form would suggest.
“Hold your horses, cowboy. It was none of the ones we have here.”
The last thing she wanted was Cole and Rhod getting involved. They recognized her of course, but the unwritten code of silence between those who’d left the Pole for whatever reason stood firm. They wouldn’t give her away. Besides, she wasn’t giving Darrick any excuse to go postal on Cole.
“Hmmm… fuck it, Rudi!” He snatched his hand away and backed off a step. Pure frustration glimmered in his eyes. “Just let me pound on one of them, for a little bit? Please?”
Within a heartbeat he went from worryingly direct and lethally dangerous to a guy she quite liked as a person. She socked him in the upper arm.
“Moron. Come on, let’s go grab a coffee before we get another call.”
They re-entered the building into the central processing area to find everyone watching the TV in the corner.
“Police have confirmed three dead at the Kingsbridge Plaza in a third armed robbery this week. Similar to previous attacks, the armed gang targeted the Santa’s Grotto in the center of the mall. Some of the animals used in the Grotto were killed in the attack…”
The scene switched from images of uniformed cops rushing around to the bloodstained grotto and the slumped forms of reindeer. She gasped, hand over her mouth as she realized the animals who had been killed were her kind. Well, full reindeer, not weres. They’d been gunned down while they stood helpless.
“Shit…” Darrick slid her a sideways glance, aware of her distress. Realization colored his face. “We’ll get the fuckers, Rudi. I promise.”
Before she could reply, Cynthia looked up from the counter, phone in her hand. “Rudi, Darrick…Boss wants you both in her office. Yesterday.”
Exchanging looks, they turned and headed toward the offices. Even though it was late at night, the building was filled with staff. From small beginnings, the business had boomed until they were a 24-7 operation.
Pausing to knock on their boss’s door, Rudi caught the mulish expression on her partner’s face as a voice within called out for them to enter. She sighed. Most Pixies had issues with authority, and Darrick was no exception.
“What did you do now?” she hissed over her shoulder as she pushed the door open.
Apparently overhearing the comment, Iliona laughed, the sound light and musical. “For once, nothing. Although I’m sure if I dug around, I could find something. Isn’t that right, Darrick?”
“Dunno what you mean, boss lady.” The Pixie shrugged, giving the small human woman his best innocent look. Pixies didn’t do innocent well, so he looked like a cross between a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar and a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen. “It’s because I’m a pixie, isn’t it? You always blame us. It’s discrimination, outright discrimination.”
Rudi leveled a side eye at him and resisted the urge to sidle out of the blast zone. Iliona might be human, but no one spoke to her that way. Not if they wanted to live. The woman was not only their boss but she was also mated—or married, Rudi could never work out their arrangement—to two of the most badass gargoyles she’d ever met.
If Cal or Gran even suspected someone had been unpleasant to their little mate, then words would be had. Since neither of the gargoyles was particularly garrulous, then those words were usually the other party’s. And often pain-filled.
“Bullshit,” Iliona laughed. “Don’t you try and pull that crap here, Darrick, just to avoid the issue. I’m onto you.”
The Pixie grinned, his attitude disappearing like smoke, and spread his hands. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“You are. Trying, very trying.” Iliona indicated the chairs in front of her desk and both operatives lowered themselves into them. Rudi caught Darrick’s eye. This wasn’t a bollocking then…something bigger was going on.
Sure enough, Iliona’s next words confirmed it. “You’ve both seen the news reports about the Grotto Gang?”
Rudi’s eyebrow winged up toward her hairline. “Seriously? They’re calling them that?”
Iliona chuckled. “That’s the Police Department for you. They can’t seem to avoid alliteration.”
Darrick’s eyes gleamed, so Rudi kicked him. “Seems not. So what’s the deal?”
Iliona leaned back in her chair and considered the two of them. “The Police Department can’t crack this one. None of their usual sources can dig up anything on these asshole
s, which leads them to think there’s a paranormal involvement.”
At her words, both operatives straightened up in their seats. The human police department admitting it couldn’t handle something was huge. Most of them hated paranormals with a passion, and the PPA even more so, even though the Agency could deal with shit they couldn’t.
“Okay…” Rudi prompted, wanting to know where this was going. She and Darrick weren’t the… most delicate of teams. They were bulldogs, sent in when brute force and chaos were required.
“Okay.” Iliona sighed. “I wouldn’t do this if it weren't necessary, but I need to put you two undercover.”
Rudi and Darrick shared a confused look. “Undercover? We’ve been undercover before.”
Iliona looked directly at Rudi, and her expression sent a thread of unease down the reindeer’s spine. “Really undercover. I need to put you into the grotto as part of the act.”
Rudi’s blood ran cold. Undercover in a grotto. Which meant one thing…
“Woohoo! Rudi gets to be a sexy elf!” Darrick caroled.
Iliona frowned. “He doesn’t know?”
“No.” Rudi sighed. So much for her fucking secret. But those assholes were shooting deer, not to mention humans. She wanted them and bad. Turning to Darrick, she reached out and cuffed him around the head to stop his chuckles. “Shaddup, idiot. She doesn’t want me to dress up as a sexy elf.”
He pouted, rubbing the back of his head, even though she hadn’t hit him hard. “Well, I’m sure as fuck not dressing up as a sexy elf.”
“No one is.”
“Then what are we going undercover as?” Darrick looked from one woman to the other. “I mean, it’s obvious I’ll be Santa, right?”
“No, you won’t be,” replied Iliona. “We have Claus elves who can pull enough magic this close to Christmas to fool anyone, even if they can’t pull a full change just yet. And I’m hoping Rudi will—”
“I’m the reindeer.”
