I knelt down beside her and wasn't expecting her to lunge forward and wrap her arms around my neck. But when she did it was one of the most incredible feelings I'd ever experienced. I returned the hug and felt the heat of her skin against mine. She smelled of soap and disinfectant.
She felt like…love.
"Amelia?" Sarah said as she rubbed Amelia's back. "Jack needs to breathe."
"Oh," she pulled back and faced me, wiping the tears from her eyes. "So your name's Jack. I used to joke with Jason that if he was named Jack he'd be Jack Frost."
I kept my expression as pleasant as I could. "You like Jack Frost?"
"Yes. He's one of my favorite characters for Christmas. Along with Frosty the Snowman."
I smiled. "Rankin Bass?"
"Maybe. Those specials are for kids though. I think of Jack Frost as someone much older." She blushed. "And cuter. But not someone that likes me."
"Why wouldn't Jack Frost like you, Amelia?" I glanced up up Sarah. Even her eyes were a little red rimmed. The other kids still crowded around Crow who'd pulled himself and the group away from us to give a little privacy. Crow was good like that.
"Because I've asked to see snow since I can remember it. To see frost on the windows. See it fall outside. I wanted it to fall on me. But," she looked down. "Every time it did snow I was too sick to see. When I woke up, it was all melted."
The sorrow in her voice touched something inside my chest. I put a hand on hers. "I don't think Jack Frost dislikes you, Amelia. I think he just had bad timing." I could see why my brother was drawn to her, and if he'd heard the same story, I was pretty confident he felt responsible.
She smiled at me and my heart soared. "That's exactly what Jason said. And he was just as sincere as you." Her cheeks turned red. "You're cute."
Now I blushed.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Meeeeeery Christmas!" boomed a voice behind me.
I turned in time to see the classic image of Santa Claus come through the door. There were no elves or reindeer with this one, just some hospital schmuck in a rental. Crow and I were there to play the helper parts. With a glance at each other, Crow and I stood and joined Santa as he stepped further into the room and the kids cheered.
The whole thing took maybe an hour by the time we'd passed out all the presents. I gave Amelia hers—a beautiful midnight blue hat with sparkling snowflakes and mitts to match. I could see the happiness in her eyes, but it was mixed with a little sorrow as she told me, "They're beautiful, but there's no where to wear them. It's too hot to snow. It's not even cold outside."
I put my hand against her fevered cheek and smiled. "Don't give up, Amelia. Hope is what makes everything work."
I had no idea where that came from. I'd never said it before in my life.
Amelia's eyes widened to the size of goose eggs. "That's—that's what Jason always said."
"Hey Jack," Sarah came up behind me and touched my hand. "You did a good job."
"Have you seen Donna Blankenship?"
"No…but you're right to ask. She's the one that arranged this for the kids. She should be here."
"I told you she came to my place saying she'd seen someone in her house…and I didn't really believe her." I searched her face. "What if she was telling the truth and went back there?"
"Call it in." She put a hand to my cheek. "You okay? You seem kinda sad."
"It's Amelia," As I retrieved my phone from my pocket I glanced back at Amelia, but her attention was focused on another of the smaller girls who couldn't get her doll out of the packaging. Amelia was doing it for her. "I can't get her out of my head."
"I checked her chart. The cancer's inoperable and the last chemo didn't…" she paused. "It didn't work. So she's asked if she can discontinue the treatments."
"What do her parents say?"
"She doesn't have any. She's basically on her own."
"Who pays her bills?"
"Good samaritans." She pointed to my phone. "Go into the hall and check on Blankenship. She kissed my cheek and joined the group of kids.
I strode into the hall and down a ways to an empty room. I didn't want to disturb anyone. I called the precinct first to see if they sent a car. They had so I filled them in on Miss Blankenship's no show. They told me they'd call the officer assigned to do a sweep and let me know.
"Detective Frost?" Someone touched my back.
I disconnected and turned to see Santa Claus behind me. Saying I was surprised would be an understatement. I actually gave short "Shit!" before I put a hand on my chest. "Sorry—you surprised me. I wasn't expecting to see you." His eyes had a sort of sparkle to them and his skin was paler than mine. I noticed the ruddy blush of his cheeks and nose. The guy really looked like the classic depiction of Santa.
"Everything all right?" He gestured to my phone as I slipped it back into the pocket of my shorts.
"Yeah—no. I'm not sure. Just police business." That's about the time I noticed he was standing really close to me. "Uh…Santa? Is there something you need? Shouldn't you be back in there with the kids?"
"Shouldn't you be taking over where your brother finished?"
Wh-what?
I narrowed my eyes and took a step back. We were in the empty room, my back to the window. Santa blocked my path to the door. Every hair on my body stood on end in alarm. I knew this feeling, the one creeping up my back. It was fear. Apprehension. The same cloak of dread I used to get when Christmas came and went, back when mom had me convinced that Santa (Satan) ate the bad kids, folded over my shoulders. Was I going to survive because I didn't tell mom when I did something naughty?
Which—didn't make sense. I'd just handed out presents with this guy.
When he didn't answer I took a step to my right.
He blocked me.
I tried the left.
He blocked me again.
"Mister—I don't know if you're aware of this but I'm a cop. And if you keep toying with me like I'm going to have you arrested."
He laughed.
I mean he gave me that old familiar belly laugh I'd heard mocked and copied so many times throughout my life. Black gloved hands on his belly.
My fear and apprehension turned quickly to anger and frustration. I tried again to move around him, and again he blocked my path. I reached out to push him out of my way—
And he grabbed my right wrist. I didn't see his hand move. I feinted to the left a second before I brought the left hand up to deliver a left cross. But he grabbed my free wrist in a matter of seconds. Before I could bring my knee up he yanked me into his round belly and twisted my arms until my elbows bent and my forearms formed a V at my back. I was nose to nose with him and his insane smile.
"Your father wants to see you." His smile never faded.
"My father? What're you—"
But I never finished my question because he pushed his face into my mine and silenced me with a kiss. His lips sealed my own. I tried screaming as something dark and cold was brought down over my eyes. I was bound, silenced and blinded with only one thought echoing in the darkness.
Santa really was Satan.
-9-
One minute I fought in darkness so black I couldn't see Santa in front of me, the next I was blinded by snow so white the glare hurt my eyes. I put up my eyes to protect them and realized Santa no longer held me. I turned to look behind me, to the left and then the right.
I wasn't in the hospital anymore. I was in a snow covered forest. It crunched beneath my feet, glistened under a monochromatic sky. It fell in small flakes but never gathered on my skin.
All this snow—and I wasn't freezing.
I could see my breath—but I felt as warm as I would on a breezy summer's day.
"Hi son. This…isn't the way I wanted to see you again. But given the circumstances, it was the quickest way."
Son?
I whirled around and looked back where I started. I could've sworn it was empty a second ago—just another group of trees drooping with snow. But not now. Now
the space was occupied by a tall man with no shirt and furry pants.
Wait—
I took a hesitant, crunchy step forward into the snow to get a closer look. Those weren't pants. Those were…legs.
He shifted and I saw the legs in action. They bent backward at the knees, like a goat's legs. The feet weren't feet, but very large hooves.
"Jackson? Are you all right?"
"You…your feet…"
"Oh. Whups."
His legs and feet blurred for an instant. I blinked, thinking it was my own vision going against another attack of heat exhaustion. But the legs were covered in jeans. Boots covered the feet.
Had I just imagined it?
"Jack—" he snapped his fingers at me. "Son, I need you to pay attention. We don't have a lot of time."
"S-son?" He winced at him. "Who—who are you?"
"I thought that was obvious the way Jovita described me." He took a step forward but I wasn't ready for this. When I moved back, hands up in fists, he backstepped to where he was. "Did Nik do something to you when he brought you here?"
"Nik?"
"St. Nikolas. Santa. He can travel with a touch of his nose." He leaned forward. "Or not? What did he do?"
I didn't see anything wrong with answering him. "He kissed me."
The stranger returned my wince. "Oh. Sorry. I told him not to do that. I'm pretty sure he did it on a bet. Don't take it personal. But I'll make sure he gets you back without the invasion of personal space."
"Back?" I put my hands to my head and then held them out as if directing traffic, signaling for a car to stop. "Wait…wait just a fucking minute. What the hell is going on?"
"I wish I could give you a much longer explanation, Jack. But I can't. Maybe if I'd found you sooner, but you didn't start manifesting your power until yesterday. Given the rate magic travels, Nature's going to know you're alive if she doesn't already."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What?"
He tried stepping closer and this time I didn't assume the defensive posture. I just somehow knew he wasn't intent on hurting me. "Jack, you're going to have to listen to me and do exactly what I tell you. Promise?"
"No. I don't know who the hell you are or where I am—"
"You're in North Dakota. Fargo to be exact. I like it here. And it's a lot cooler than Georgia right now."
"Yeah…you noticed the heat?" I lowered my arms. "So you're saying Santa brought me here."
"Yes. Now listen. For all intents and purposes, I'm your father. I don't expect hugs or adulation or any kind of emotion. Frankly—I don't know you either. And that's okay. We can deal with that later. For the time being just call me Winter because it's easier. Right now you got about forty-eight hours to survive if you want to avoid Jason's fate."
"Jason's fate?" I decided I'd listen. I mean, why not? I was in Fargo, North Dakota for crying out loud. And I didn't have any reason to believe he was lying—there was no where in that hospital they could set this kind of stage up. "You mean his death or his being Jack Frost."
"Both." Winter shifted on his feet as I they were uncomfortable. "Most of what your mother told you was true. She and I had a fling. I was drunk. She was adventurous and one night of debauchery and she was pregnant."
"And you were human at that point."
"Yes. Mostly. Not important. What is important is that I didn't know until after the two of you were born until Jack Frost met an untimely—" He pursed his lips. "—an unfortunate accident. And when a deity dies another has to take its place. We draw from humans for many of the positions. Nature learned I'd fathered two children and sent me to get you. When I discovered all the hell she'd had to go through—I decided to leave you with her. Choosing one of you wasn't a favoritism thing—it's just that Jason found me in the forest first."
I nodded. What else was I going to say?
"Jason took over as Jack Frost with a bit of training by another lad who was equally eager to be Jack Frost. His name was Lee."
"So why didn't you make him Jack Frost?"
"Because he wasn't—he didn't have the natural talent. And he's a barbegazi."
"A what?"
"Ever heard of Santa's elves?"
"Well yeah."
"Those are barbegazi which aren't really elves but a kind of winter dwarf. Lee fancies himself a candidate for a better job but he doesn't stand a chance—not with scion readily available. Jason was born to it because he was scion, same as you. You're half deity by birth. Which again—my mistake. Not something we're supposed to do."
"So, you getting mom pregnant was a bad thing?"
"Not bad, just frowned on. Back then I only half listened to Nature about the dangers of humans and deities and power. We try to stop the half breeds because of wild magic." Winter's shoulders lowered. "Nature wasn't happy I only brought one of you back. That whole half breed thing again. She didn't want you in the world, carrying around the power of a deity. But I knew Jovita needed you to keep her sane. So I made sure to seal your power one night as you slept and then told Nature you didn't survive."
A wolf howled somewhere and I blinked. "You…you sealed my power?"
"Yes. Unfortunately when Jason died the Natural Order took over and the spell was dissolved. Thus your hair," he pointed at my head. "That annoying ability to make frost at a touch? Are you making a room cold now?"
I nodded slowly, a little panicked. "Yeah…"
"Ever heard the saying nature abhors a vacuum?"
"Yes."
"It's true. So the minute Jason died, the role fell on you."
Mom's words came back to me. "So you really are going to turn me into Jack Frost."
He held up his hand. "No. No I'm not. I promised your mother I wouldn't do that. And right now I'm playing dumb about your existence. But you keep using your power and she'll zero in on where you are. Jack—if you want to stay human and lead a normal life you're going to have to stop freezing things."
I'm not sure when I rolled over from disbelief to wow this is real, but it didn't matter. What did matter was preventing anything from taking me away from Sarah and our baby and the life I'd carved out for myself. "But I can't stop. I'm not even controlling when it happens. It just does."
"That's the problem with wild magic and why it's frowned on." Winter rubbed at his chin. His white hair twinkled under the gray sky.
"Can't you just make that spell again? Seal it up?"
"'Fraid not. I could when you were eight because you didn't believe in it. But now that you're older—it just won't work. And you've already manifested it—which as I said—is obvious from your hair. And let me be frank here," he leaned forward. "Nature hates hybrids. Wild magic users."
"Why?"
"Because of what happened to Jason," His expression shifted and I saw genuine sadness reflected in his eyes. "Hybrids—like you—or as your friend Crow calls Nunnehi—breeds with it the innate desire for love and companionship. Being born with both worlds—mortal and immortal—things get a little fuzzy."
"I'm not following."
"If Nature chooses a human to become an incarnation—not sure what else to call us—then it's done after death. Doing it that way is much easier because most of the time the chosen doesn't have a problem accepting it and never desires to go back to their former life. But hybrids—eh—you don't really die. And if you do die, like Jason, it's pretty much a given Nature can't chose them again. Why? No one knows." He looked up at the sky. "Not much time left so you have to listen very carefully. Lee really wants the job, but the job apparently wants you. The time limit on this is usually about seventy-two hours and you have forty-eight left. If you want to stay human you're going to have to not use the power. If she finds you, physically, she'll try to convince you to take the position."
"She can't make me do this."
"No. She can't physically make you—but Nature's shrewd. You know that. She'll basically fuck with what's most important to you."
I shifted in the snow. "Look—if Lee wants the j
ob just give it to him. He worked with Jason right? So—" I shrugged. I was frustrated and a bit overwhelmed.
No. I take that back.
I was really overwhelmed.
"Lee doesn't deserve the job, Jackson. And Nature will do everything in her power to prevent him from getting it."
"Why?"
The snow around us increased in thickness as the wind picked up. "Because he's the one that convinced your mother to kill your brother."
-10-
The wintery wonderland of Fargo vanished and I found myself back in the empty room. Santa wasn't around (thank God!) and I could still hear the sounds of the kids in the rec room. I checked my watch, but since I hadn't looked at it before I visited dear old dad it didn't mean a lot to me. I couldn't figure out if I'd been gone at all.
But believe it or not, Winter's words echoed in my head. Stop using it.
How does one stop using a power that can't be controlled? Nuts.
Winter's words came back to me about Lee. I didn't know who this Lee was but they were responsible for my mother going off the deep end. I was pretty sure mom was our perp, but I wanted to wait on the forensic evidence first. I also wanted more info on Lee, but no amount of shouting for Winter or dad brought the vision back. And I sure as hell wasn't going to hunt down Santa just so I could lay another one on him and teleport back to Winter.
Either way, I had a doozy of a story for Crow later and shoved my hands into my pockets as I walked back into the room.
Amelia saw me and smiled wide as she waved. I was drawn to her and knelt next to her.
"I was afraid you'd left," she said in a quiet voice.
"No. Just had to talk to Santa for a bit."
She looked to her left then her right. "You know that's not really Santa don't you?" she said in a low voice.
Laughter bubbled up inside and when it spilled out, Amelia joined me. But we weren't laughing about the same things. "Amelia, never believe you know more than you think you know. But I have a question to ask you."
"Yes?"
"Did Jason ever mention where he lived?"
Frost Page 6
