Holiday Magic

by Tl Reeve

Normally at this time of year, she’d be home with her parents and sister. They’d watch movies together while waiting for her mom’s stew to finish cooking. In the wee hours of the morning, they’d bundle up and take their bowls of stew outside, pulling the Adirondack chairs close to the fire pit, and listen to their father recite old folk stories while they ate. At some point in the night, Delilah would find a way to sit in Aubrey’s chair with her, and eventually she’d fall asleep curled against Aubrey.

  Her chest ached with the memories. Of course, last year Delilah had argued she was too old for such stupid stories and had run off with her boyfriend to some party. Even if Aubrey were home with her parents, she wouldn’t have those memories recreated. They were fragments of the past anyway. Pieces put together until they formed one whole picture that looked so little like the whole from which they came. But that was sentiment for you.

  Riley brought Aubrey back to the here and now with a playful nudge of his shoulder before he led the way down the steps of the patio and toward a path leading into the woods. A single string of twinkle lights zigged and zagged overhead all the way down the dirt path. She kept craning her head up to stare at the soft yellow glow that didn’t really light the path, but did give some ambiance. Jerking her gaze back over her shoulder, she could see the glow of the barn through the increasing number of trees.

  A warm hand grabbed hers, and Aubrey snapped her attention back to the path, and the woman pulling her down it at an increasing pace. Aubrey laughed when Chuck skipped a few times. Her drink sloshed in her cup at the bounce.

  “Do you feel it, Aubrey? The longest night calls. It’s coming soon.”

  Riley whirled around, picking Chuck up in his arms. She dropped Aubrey’s hand as Riley spun Chuck in a circle. Chuck cried out about her beverage, but Riley didn’t put her down.

  “Rye!” Chuck squealed.

  “Charlotte!”

  “Down. Now!”

  Riley spun her around one more time and then set her gingerly on the ground. He tapped her nose with his forefinger and then turned his attention on Aubrey.

  “Oh, no,” she warned, holding her drink over her head.

  “Don’t you want to fly, Bree?”

  Her heart clenched. Only Walt had ever called her that. As if she’d been punched, she gasped, “Yes.”

  Chuck took her drink from her, and then Riley lifted Aubrey from the ground. She closed her eyes while he swung her around as if she were made of nothing more than paper. When her stomach lurched, she opened her eyes and laughed.

  “This is as close as you’ll ever get,” he told her as he spun around again.

  “No wings?” she asked.

  “No.” He slowed his spinning and then steadied her while her feet found the ground. “But I can teach you to breathe fire. And to heat lakes. And to scare the hell out of people.”

  “What are we?” Aubrey whispered as she clung to him. She wanted to understand. For the last year her life had slowly unraveled, her body becoming foreign to her as her health waned. The entire time she’d thought if she could just understand what was happening, she’d feel better, she’d regain some sense of self. And now that she had an explanation for why, she wanted to understand the how. She wanted to relearn herself, to know what she was.

  “Warriors, Bree. Magic and warriors.”

  “Like them?” Aubrey asked, jerking her head toward Chuck.

  Riley smiled, and with her face so near his own, she could see he was no longer the man she’d met on campus. He shone in the faint moonlight as the reflected sun caught his scales through his thin skin. Copper and gold. When he exhaled, smoke filtered out of his nose.

  “Not like them,” he said, slowly releasing her. His long thick nails scratched her skin, but didn’t break the surface. Gone were his green eyes, so like hers. Black stared down at her.

  “You’re beautiful,” she told him. And she meant it. He was still so human in shape. And she’d never have compared what she was looking at to a reptile. His scales were metallic and stunning, like ornate chain mail. They seemed to take the faint light of the moon and increase it tenfold until he glowed in the darkness. Heat rolled off him, but he didn’t seem bothered by it.

  “Isn’t he?” Chuck said softly from beside her. “Why would anyone want to kill something so beautiful?”

  Aubrey snapped out of her daze. “What?”

  “When people don’t understand something, they try to destroy it. Fear takes over,” Riley said. “Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.”

  “Frank Herbert,” Aubrey said, recognizing the quote.

  “Hey, listen, I got in touch with the trainer I know. Zane. He lives in California, so it’s a bit of a trek, but if you’re interested in learning about controlling your power, he’s the best,” Riley said.

  “Zane?”

  “Yeah, he’s devoted his life to collecting all things dragon, cataloging it, preserving traditions and stuff. There was a growing concern that our culture would be lost. We’re so spread out, and there’s so few of us. Anyway, he has all these old texts and knows all kinds of stuff that usually only the elders would know.”

  That sounded amazing to Aubrey. Here was a man who had all the answers for her questions. Unfortunately, he was in California.

  “I don’t suppose we can arrange a video call for lessons?”

  “No. Not for what you’re wanting to learn. But he said that he thought a day or two of intensive study would be enough to get you started, and then you could work out something longer term.”

  “I could probably swing a day or two. If it were this weekend. Is that too soon?” Aubrey could put the flight on a credit card and pay it off later. Driving to California would require more vacation time than she had in the bank at work.

  “Let’s call him in the morning and find out.”

  Aubrey nodded in response and grinned. She might actually get to learn something that made her feel normal again. Well, probably not normal, but at least in control of her own body. Riley turned to start walking again, and his hand reached back. Finding hers, he pulled Aubrey forward, deeper into the night, into the trees, away from the path.

  14

  Nate had tried to call Aubrey, but her phone went straight to voice mail. He’d gone by the university and found her office empty. She hadn’t been home either. He was starting to get worried when he ran into Charlotte Reynolds on campus with her cousin, Ian Finley.

  “Hey, man, you made it back from the city. I heard you closed out Mansfield,” Finley said as they stopped walking to talk to Nate.

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “I bet it feels good to have that one done. It sounded messy.”

  “It will be nice to move on to other things. Speaking of which, have you heard from Aubrey while I was gone?”

  “Dalton’s niece? No.” Finley raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

  “Oh, she’s in California,” Chuck said.

  “California?”

  “Yep. She’s meeting up with Zane for a few days. Hopefully, they can sort out how to make it work with the long distance.”

  What the fuck was she talking about? He stared at the college student for a minute, just long enough to rein in his anger. Aubrey was seeing someone?

  “Zane?” he asked.

  “Yeah, you know,” she lowered her voice. “The dragon.”

  Nate nodded as if he knew exactly who this fucker was. “Right, Zane the dragon. And she’s trying to work out a long distance thing, huh?”

  “Yeah, I mean a few days is better than nothing, but really they both want more than that. And it’s not the same via Skype, you know?”

  “So she’ll be back in a few days?”

  “That’s what Riley said. He dropped her off at the airport this morning. It was super last minute, but Aubrey needs this, you know. She really needed this. Zane is so sweet to make time for her. His schedule is slammed, but he cleared it for her. He knew it was important.”

  Nate nodd
ed again. Some other man had cleared his schedule to spend the weekend with Aubrey. Nate hadn’t been able to give her five minutes over two days. And now she was rushing to another state to see someone else.

  “So they’ve known each other for awhile?” Why was he asking? Because he wanted to be tortured? Because he wanted to know his chances?

  “No. Riley introduced them and then set up everything so they could meet. But Zane is a great guy. Riley talked him up to Aubrey, and they hit it off instantly when they talked over the phone. She’s in good hands,” Chuck said reassuringly. Finley said something about them being late to a movie and then Nate was left standing on the icy sidewalk alone.

  He pulled out his phone and stared at his last text from Aubrey.

  Aubrey: When you have a minute, give me a call.

  Nate’s thumb hovered over the keyboard. He wasn’t sure where to start.

  Nate: Heard you’re in California. How’s the weather?

  He hit send and then stared at the black letters. Jesus, that’s lame.

  Nate: I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you the other night.

  Sent, the black letters still seemed insufficient.

  Nate: I miss you.

  His thumb hovered over the send button, and then he deleted the message.

  Nate: Call me when you have a minute.

  That sounded lame too. He scrolled back up through his texts, and then he saw it. The text he’d sent his sister. Except he’d sent it to Aubrey instead. She won’t back off. Advice for how to handle her without being an ass would be appreciated.

  He and Lauren had talked later that night after their parents went to bed, and he’d assumed she’d seen that text. They’d talked for an hour about their mom’s growing insistence that both her children find love.

  Aubrey hadn’t responded. The text was so random that if she’d seen it, he knew she would have sent back a wisecrack of some sort. Clearly, it wasn’t meant for her. But she’d said nothing.

  “Hey, what are you doing out here?”

  He lifted his head and found Summer walking toward him with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand.

  “Looking for Aubrey. You?”

  “Heading over to the morgue for a hot lunch date,” Summer replied with a grin. Nate chuckled and looked back down at his phone.

  “Quick question for you,” he said hesitantly. He really shouldn’t put Summer in the middle of whatever was happening with Aubrey. And yet, he really wanted another perspective on this text message mix up.

  “Shoot.”

  Nate handed his phone to Summer. “If you got this text from me, what would you think?”

  “Any context I need to know?”

  “Nothing. It was a totally random text.”

  “I’d wonder what the hell you’re talking about and say that,” Summer replied while scrolling through the messages. “Unless, I mean, unless you hadn’t called her back like she asked you to, in which case, well, I might be hurt.”

  “Hurt?” He took his phone back and looked at the messages. He didn’t see how Summer was getting hurt.

  “Well, like, if I’d sent you these messages, and hadn’t heard from you, and then you sent this text that wasn’t meant for me, I’d think it was about me.”

  “About you?”

  “Yeah, because you’re complaining about someone not backing off after I sent you a barrage of what could be needy texts.” Summer shrugged.

  Nate stared at the messages. He reread the chain three times and was going to read them a fourth time when Summer cleared her throat.

  “What?”

  “So what happened?”

  “Nothing. Aubrey was trying to get in touch with me, but I was busy at work. She called while I was on my way to Denver and I told her it wasn’t a good time. I crashed with my parents that night and my mom kept talking about the solstice and finding a good mate, and how anyone would do, really. She’s on a grandkid kick,” he explained.

  “Okay, so?”

  “So I texted my sister for advice on how to deal with the crazy.”

  “But after you’d talked to Aubrey again?”

  “No.” Nate frowned. He still hadn’t talked to her.

  “Okay, but it doesn’t look like you two have texted since then. So when did you talk to her?”

  “I haven’t.”

  The look on Summer’s face confirmed that he’d fucked up big time. The lack of response from Aubrey was intentional.

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  “Well, yes. Good job, Romeo.”

  “And now Chuck tells me she’s in California with this dragon guy.”

  Summer nodded and smiled. “She was super excited about that.”

  “Then I guess I should be happy for her. She’s off with her own kind, and that’s for the best, right?” he said bitterly.

  “For the best? Ugh, you’re impossible.” Summer took a sip of her drink and then licked her lips. “You’re just giving up like that? You’re totally okay with the idea of her getting boned by some dragon.”

  “Summer,” Nate grumbled. He didn’t need that mental image.

  “I’m serious. You know Gavin and I have been friends for years, and over those years, I watched him date other people. At first, it didn’t bother me at all. And then I realized I couldn’t stand the thought of him even kissing another woman. That’s when I knew we weren’t friends anymore. So, you’re okay with the idea of Aubrey out there with another man?”

  “No, I’m not. But if that’s what she wants, I’m not going to stop her.”

  “Why not?” Summer asked before raising her cup to her lips and taking a long slow drink while staring at him.

  “I want her to be happy,” he said lamely.

  “More than you want to fuck her?” Summer’s crassness shouldn’t have been startling after knowing her for two years, and yet it was.

  “It’s not about wanting to fuck her, Summer. I like being with Aubrey, and she’s become important to me. I want to take her out, get to know her, and see where things lead. But I want her to be happy. And if being with someone else is what she wants, then I have to be okay with that.”

  “Seems like quite the sentiment from a man who hasn’t even taken her out on a date. I think you’re full of shit. I think this is an easy excuse for you to let her walk away without having to tell her any of this and risk having her tell you that she doesn’t want the same thing.” Summer pointed to his cell. “And texting isn’t going to fix this if she thinks that text was about her. So figure out what you want, and then figure out how to tell Aubrey.”

  Nate watched Summer walk off, his mouth open for a response he didn’t have. Because Summer was right. And that stunned him. He knew what he wanted. That part was easy. The hard part was figuring out how to get Aubrey to talk to him so he could tell her.

  Zane was not at all what Aubrey had pictured. Here she was in southern California to meet a man who was collecting and archiving all things dragon. And his name was Zane. She’d pictured a man with dreads in flowing patchouli-saturated clothes. What she got was a man about a decade older than her driving a Tesla, wearing a linen suit and smelling like worn leather and every fantasy she’d ever had about rich men. His “modest” house was a 1930’s Spanish-style triplex on Ocean Avenue. From her guestroom, she could see and hear the waves.

  “What is happening in my life?” Aubrey whispered to herself as she climbed the stairs to the studio where Zane was going to train her. For the next day and a half, Zane taught her to recognize her power and to draw upon it, pushing it out into the world around her, and drawing it back in. In some forms, this looked like she was breathing fire. In other forms, it came out in pops of electricity.

  Sunday afternoon, with four hours until her flight, Aubrey changed into the bathing suit Zane had instructed her to bring when she’d talked to him about tickets to Long Beach. She threw a terrycloth robe he’d left on her bed on over the top of the suit and headed for the sauna that was tucked in the corne
r of his studio.

  She spent the next hour sitting in the sauna listening to him talk about the history of their people. An hour in a sauna should have been very bad for her health. Instead, she felt cooler for the first time in months, her head a little clearer.

  “Your brother informed me that you used your powers to heal a witch.” They’d not talked about this since she’d arrived.

  “Not intentionally, but yes. He’d been shot while trying to help me,” she explained.

  “And you’d never used your powers before?” Zane asked. Aubrey was trying hard not to see him, despite the fact the steam had dissipated significantly and she could see him very clearly. Over the course of the hour, his scales had brightened and his skin thinned, just as she’d seen with Riley. Now he sat across from her in a very small pair of swimming trunks, his whole body transformed. When he talked, the scales on his neck shifted just so and appeared to sparkle.

  “No.” She looked down to her hands. Her nails were now long talons coming from hands that looked as though they were made of brilliant silver metal. Zane’s scales were a combination of dark and light, but hers weren’t varied like that.

  “It’s possible that he tricked you.”

  Her eyes snapped up and met his. “No, Nate wouldn’t do that.”

  “So you’ve talked to him, and he’s on board with this, what we’re doing?”

  “He’s been busy with work.” Aubrey sighed. She didn’t want to tell Zane that Nate was ready to be rid of her. He’d be excited to know she could take her power back. Then he could get back to his life and not have to deal with her at all. “We haven’t talked in a few days.”

  “Maybe he’s hoping to bind you to him.”

  “No. What? No.” She wasn’t even sure what that meant, but it sounded bad.

  “I’m not saying this guy is a bad guy, just that maybe now that he has your power, he wants to keep it. Maybe he likes the way it feels.”

  “It does feel pretty amazing,” she admitted. “Him having my power, I mean. Not—I can’t feel my own power except for what’s in him.”

  “Right, of course. But you can feel it in him.” Zane looked off thoughtfully. “You know, Aubrey, there’s an attraction to being with someone different. But only a dragon will know what it’s like to be you.”