YULE

The Sabbats

Carolina Mac

Copyright © 2023 by Carolina Mac

YULE - 1st ed.

ISBN – 978-1-990882-27-2

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To: Misty fans everywhere.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter One

Wednesday, December 20th.

Franklin Street. Austin.

Misty sat Forest down on the carpet in the family room where he spent most of his time with his toys, and began explaining the meaning of Yule.

Choosing words, a four-year-old would relate to and remember was a difficult task and Misty decided she should have done prep work first and made some notes.

“Listen to Mommy, Forest.”

Forest put down the piece of Lego he was holding and said, “I’m listening, Mommy. Tell me about the winter solstice.”

Because she lived with the little savant every day, she sometimes forgot how intelligent her son was. His psychic powers were emerging and his magickal gifts seemed limitless. Whatever he tried, he seemed able to do effortlessly. For a child of four years, the control Forest possessed of his abilities was phenomenal.

Misty was in awe of her child, but never mentioned it to anyone but her husband, because she didn’t want Forest to realize he was one of a kind.

“First, we’ll talk about the date,” said Misty. “Remember how we marked it on your calendar on the number twenty-one?”

“I put a circle around it with my red marker,” said Forest.

“That’s right, but the actual solstice can vary between the twentieth and as late as the twenty-third some years.”

“So why did I put a circle on the twenty-first if that isn’t the right day, Mommy?”

“It’s going to be the right day this year, honey. The sun will be at its weakest point in the year and the night of the solstice will be the longest in the whole year.”

Forest’s attention wandered when his cat, Salem, jumped into the box holding the Lego pieces. “When is Paul coming, Mommy? I want to play Lego with him and Salem.”

“He’s coming later today with Rowanne and Ben and we’re going to start preparing for the Yule celebration and the holiday season.”

“Are we going to make decorations?”

“Yes. You and Paul can make decorations with Gramma Claire, and we’ll all go to the Christmas Tree farm in Elgin to chop down our tree.”

“Can I have my own axe, Mommy?”

“Umm… I’ll have to ask Daddy about that. I’m not sure you’re old enough to have your own axe.”

Blaine walked in at that moment and shook his head. “No axes for Forest. Ben will chop down the tree. He’s the woodsman in this family.”

“I know how to chop wood, Daddy,” said Forest. “I did it lots of times with Ben.”

“You did?” Blaine’s eyes widened.

“I asked Santa for my own axe for Christmas.”

“I didn’t know that,” said Misty. “It wasn’t in your letter to Santa—the one we mailed.”

Forest shrugged. “I thought of it afterwards and sent him a message from my mind.”

“Oh, a telepathic message,” said Misty. “I’m sure Santa got it.”

“He got it,” said Forest. “He already told me he’s bringing me an axe with a sharp blade and a red handle.”

“Santa sent a message back to you?” asked Blaine.

“Yes, Daddy. He’s smart and always answers his mail.”

Blaine shook his head as an emphatic no to the axe and Misty laughed.

“We were just discussing the details of the winter solstice, Beb. It’s time for Forest to learn the meaning of the Sabbats.”

“Right,” said Blaine. “Christmas time isn’t all about presents. Yule—the celebration of the solstice involved much more than Santa Claus and Christmas presents. Now it seems to be all jumbled together and it’s hard to identify the true meaning of Yule.”

Forest’s attention suddenly shifted. He jumped up and shouted, “Ben and Paul are here.” Salem’s fur stood on end. He arched his back, hissed and ran under the sofa to hide.

Forest ran out of the room, heading for the side door in the kitchen.

“I didn’t hear a car,” said Blaine. “I’m not sure Rowanne would be here this early. It’s a long drive from the bayou.”

“I didn’t hear it either,” said Misty. “I’ll go see if she’s really here.”

When she got to the kitchen the dogs were barking and Wixa, Rowanne’s dog, was running up the steps into the kitchen wagging her tail and bounding around with the other dogs.

Lexi and Hoodoo were always excited for company and another dog to play with.

A bedlam of noise filled the kitchen with Forest yelling at Paul to come and play Lego with him before he was even in the house.

Misty’s niece Rowanne struggled up the steps with her arms full of gifts, her long red hair flying around her in disarray.

Ben was behind her lugging their suitcases, his brown curls flopping over his cunning amber eyes. Because Ben was a shifter and his alter-ego was a red fox, he looked tired and often needed a nap during the day.

Ben’s nights were spent running through fields and forests hunting while the rest of his family slept.

“Come in, family.” Misty hugged them one by one. “We’re so glad y’all are here.”

The next couple of weeks were going to be fun and very entertaining.

Chapter Two

Thursday, December 21st.

The Winter Solstice. First day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

At breakfast Misty was jubilant. A sprig of holly tucked into her silvery hair, her green eyes sparkling with warmth and anticipation.

“Today our celebration begins. The first day of Yule and we give thanks for the rebirth of the sun. We celebrate the birth of the Sun King, and from this day forward the days will grow longer and the power of the sun will gradually increase.”

“This is the day I have circled on my calendar,” said Forest, “in red.”

Misty smiled at her son. “Today we’ll cut our tree and bring in evergreen boughs to decorate the house. The boughs are a symbol of immortality and our decorations of holly and ivy invite the Night Sprites to come inside and join our celebration.”

“Mommy, will I be able to see the Night Sprites?” asked Forest.

“If anyone is privileged to see them, Forest, it will be you,” shouted Grandad Josiah. “You are the gifted one—just like your mother.”

Forest glanced up at his grandfather’s ghost perched above them on the kitchen fan and he laughed. “Are you tricking me, Grandad?”

“Of course not, Forest. Would I do that?”

“Yes, you would,” said Claire. “Don’t fill Forest’s head with nonsense, Josiah. He won’t be able to see the Sprites. I communicate extremely well with magickal creatures of the forest, and I’ve never seen one.”

“And I’m saying he will.” During their long and loving marriage, Josiah loved to argue with his wife, and after he was murdered by an evil wizard, he didn’t let death get in his way.

“What do the Night Sprites look like, Mommy?”

“They are tiny and extremely quick, darting here and there like fireflies. When they come into your home, they always bring good fortune along with them.”

“When are we going to chop down our tree?” asked Paul. “Ben brought his axe.”

“After breakfast,” said Misty. “We’ll all dress warmly and Blaine will drive us to the tree farm. It’s going to be a very exciting day.”

“I wish I had my own axe,” said Forest.

“You’re still a little young for an axe, son,” said Blaine. “Axes are heavy and take a lot of strength to swing. You need to be big like Ben or Casey to chop down a tree.”

“I’ll be bigger soon,” said Forest.

“You’ll be bigger a lot faster if you eat the porridge Carmy made for you,” said Misty.

“Why can’t I get bigger eating cookies for breakfast?”

“Forest, listen to Mommy,” said Blaine. “We’re not leaving for the tree farm until your bowl is empty.”

“What about Paul?” argued Forest. “His bowl isn’t empty.”

“I’m eating and you’re not.” Paul was three years older than Forest and quick-witted. “Get going on your porridge, Forest. I want to get to the tree farm and have some fun.”

“Okay.” Forest picked up his spoon and made a face. “I’m eating as fast as I can.”

Elgin Tree Farm.

Blaine parked Misty’s Expedition in a crowded parking lot, and the whole family spilled out of the roomy SUV. Dozens of families were at the tree farm to cut down their chosen tree.

Misty held tightly to Forest’s little hand so he couldn’t run off on his own and get lost in the hundreds of acres of evergreens.

“You can let go of me, Mommy. I won’t get lost. I promise.”

“I’m not so sure of your promises, Forest. Remember when you ran off at the apple farm and fell into the ravine? You were in the hospital for two days after you did that.”

“That was because the apple people didn’t have their fence built yet,” said Forest. “Not my fault, Mommy.”

“You still ran away,” said Misty, “and that was your fault. If you hadn’t run off, your accident wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“You fell down the hill too, Mommy.”

Blaine stepped in with a stern voice. “Mommy only fell because you ran away. You have to take responsibility for your own actions, son.”

“Carmy said she wanted to sue the apple people,” pouted Forest.

“It wasn’t their fault you didn’t listen, Forest,” said Blaine. “I’m not suing anybody for something you could have avoided by doing what you were told.” Blaine pointed an accusing finger.

“I promise I won’t run away this time. I’ll stay with Paul and Ben.”

At the entrance gate, Blaine paid the money for the tree they were going to cut and the lady in the ticket booth asked if they needed an axe.

“No thanks,” said Blaine. “We brought our own.”

They all went through the gate and followed the path to the rows and rows of perfect trees.

“See that sign?” asked Casey. “The trees are grown in sections by variety. Spruce, pine, cedar, and several other species. What’s your pleasure, Misty?”

“I do love a spruce tree although they are a little harder to decorate with their sharp needles.”

“I like spruce the best too,” said Rowanne. “They fill the house with that special aroma you only get at Yule.”

“It’s unanimous,” said Casey. “Well… almost.”

“Let’s tramp through the spruce section,” said Blaine, “and find the perfect tree.”

“I’m ready.” A smaller version of Paul Bunion, Ben had his axe resting on his shoulder and both boys were right beside him.

Misty and Rowanne ran ahead on the quest for the perfect spruce tree. Blaine and Casey followed the girls, with Ben trudging along behind watching Paul and Forest.

“Did you hear that?” asked Forest.

“I didn’t hear anything,” said Paul.

In a split second, Forest ran off the path and disappeared into a maze of spruce trees.

“Come back, Forest,” shouted Paul. “You’ll get lost.” Paul ran in the same direction Forest had gone and Ben had no choice but to run after them.

Blaine turned to make sure the boys were behind him, and they were gone. No sign of them. Just gone. He stopped on the path and shouted, “Forest, Paul, where are you?”

Misty and Rowanne heard Blaine calling for the boys and came running back. “Where did they go?”

“I have no idea which way they went,” said Blaine. “I turned around and they were gone.”

“We have to find them quickly,” said Misty. “There are acres and acres of trees here, and hundreds of people. The boys could be hopelessly lost.”

“Ben must be with them,” said Casey. “If Ben is with them, they won’t be lost.”

“Split up,” said Blaine, “and keep in touch by phone. Casey and I will go this way, you and Rowanne go that way.”

Continually calling out for Forest and Paul, they tramped through the maze of trees for an hour before Rowanne happened to look up and see Paul on the top of the tallest spruce tree in the forest.

“I see Paul,” she said to Misty. “Call Blaine and tell him where we are.” Rowanne ran to the bottom of the tree and shouted up to her son. “Come down, Paul. Show me where Forest is.”

Paul came flying down when his mother called him. He shifted back into his human form and put his clothes on. “I was trying to see where you were, Mama. Forest found a baby and he’s sitting with her under the tree. He says it’s his baby sister.”

Misty’s green eyes teared up. “Lately he has been talking about finding his baby sister, but I thought it was a story he was making up.”

“Show me where, Paul,” said Rowanne.

Paul pointed to a mature spruce tree. “Under there, Mama.”

Rowanne dropped to her knees and stuck her head under the lowest bough of the tree to see Forest. There he was sitting against the trunk of the huge spruce holding a baby on his knee.

“My sister was scared, Rowanne. That’s why she was calling me.”

“She called Forest,” said Paul. “We didn’t run away. The baby was calling us, and we had to go.”

“My goodness,” said Rowanne, “That’s a small baby to be out here on her own. “She’s only about six months old.”

“Her name is Noel,” said Forest. “I want to take her home now.”

“We can’t take her home, sweetheart, if she belongs to someone else,” said Blaine. “The first thing we have do is find her parents. Come out from under there, Forest, and give the baby to Mommy.”

Forest scooted out from under the low-lying bough holding tight to the baby.

Down on her knees, Misty took the baby girl and stood up while Forest scrambled out from under the tree.

“She’s not dressed warmly enough for December. We need a blanket to wrap around her. There’s one in my truck.”

“Ben,” said Rowanne, “chop a tree down. We have to go to the office and see who lost a child.”

“Which tree, Rowanne?” Ben glanced at the hundreds surrounding them.

“This one.” Rowanne touched the closest bough. “This was Noel’s tree.”

With a few strokes of his sharp axe, Ben swiftly hacked down the tree. Lying horizontal on the snow it looked a lot bigger than it did standing up.

Ben and Casey each took an end and carried it to the parking lot where they tied it to the roof of the truck.

Blaine and Misty went to the office with the baby while Rowanne watched the boys.

The manager of the tree farm was working in his office with the door open. Blaine tapped on the door and flashed his badge. “Excuse me, sir. Can I speak to you for a minute?”

“Yes, sir. What can I do for you, Ranger Blackmore?”

“My family and I were picking out a tree when my son found a baby under one of the spruce trees. Has anyone reported losing a child?”

The manager scowled in disbelief at Blaine’s story. “No, of course not. If a child was lost or missing, we’d all be out looking.”

Blaine dropped one of his cards on the manager’s desk. “If anyone shows up asking about a child, have them call my number. My wife and I will care for her until the parents are found.”

“Perhaps we should call the police,” said the manager.

Blaine pointed at his card. “I am the police, sir. Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Of course, I will.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

“I’m not sure we should’ve brought her home with us, Misty,” said Blaine. “She must have parents out there who are searching for her and losing their minds.”

Misty held the child in her arms as she crossed the kitchen to where Carm and Claire were standing, their eyes wide in wonderment.

“I’m not feeling Noel’s parents at all, Beb. I think Forest is right. This child was left for him to find. He said she called to him, and I believe our son.”

Blaine wasn’t convinced and shook his head. “Misty, I realize you believe in things I can’t possibly fathom, but this is a human child who has to have parents who are also human.”

“One of her parents could possibly be human,” said Misty. “Noel may appear to be a human child but she could have been left in a natural environment by her shifter parent like Ben was. Remember, Ben had to grow up on his own until his fox persona was completely developed.”

Blaine shook his head again, his long black hair swishing around his shoulders. “I’m afraid I can’t buy into all of that, sweetheart. You believe it, but I’m not able to process it so easily.”

“Too bad,” said Misty. “I think that’s exactly what happened. Noel was left under that tree for Forest to find.”

“If your theory is true,” said Blaine, “and she is half human, what is her other half?”

“Her alternative persona may not reveal itself until she is a little older,” said Rowanne. “Paul was four years old before he shifted into a red-tailed hawk and that’s when his human father abandoned him.”

“I’m on shaky ground, Mist,” said Blaine. “You’ll have to help me through this.”

“We’re keeping her and caring for her until we know more,” said Misty. “I believe Noel was left for Forest to find and until that is proven to be untrue, this baby is ours.”

Blaine sighed. “Okay, Mist, I’m not arguing about it anymore. Let’s go with that for now. She obviously needs someone to take care of her, and it might as well be us.”

“I understand your skepticism, Beb. Please try not to worry.”

“I’m going to check the latest missing persons reports.”

Misty smiled. “Noel won’t be on any report.”

“We’ll see.”

“Is Daddy mad because I found Noel?” asked Forest.

“He’s not mad at us, Forest. He’s angry at things he can’t understand. Let’s make a list of things we need for Noel.”

“Forest’s crib is still in the attic,” said Carmelita. “Perhaps Casey could bring it down to Forest’s room and set it up.”

Casey grinned. “Sure. Ben and I will go find it and bring it down to the second floor.”

“Call when you find it,” said Claire, “and we’ll come up and help you get it ready.”

“We need a shopping trip to Walmart,” said Rowanne. “Baby items and necessities. Sleepers and bottles and wipes.”

“I could conjure up a lot of those things,” said Misty. “We do need milk and baby food. Noel looks old enough not to need formula, but I didn’t keep any of Forest’s old bottles.”

“Paul and I will do the shopping,” said Rowanne. “He can help me find what Noel needs.”

Casey hollered down from upstairs when he and Ben had the crib set up in Forest’s room, and Misty ran up to help them.

“Push it over against the wall, Casey. Noel will have to squeeze in with Forest and Paul for now. We’re short on guest rooms.”

“This crib looks like new,” said Casey.

“Forest didn’t stay in his crib long,” said Misty. “He kept trying to climb out and after he fell over the side a couple of times, Blaine insisted on putting him in a regular bed lower to the floor.”

An hour later, Rowanne was back from Walmart with bottles, diapers and two bags of baby necessities. “This should be enough to get us over the next few days.”

The boys were tired from their big adventure at the tree farm, and as soon as Noel was asleep in the crib, both boys were sound asleep in Forest’s bed next to her.

The house quieted down with all the children sleeping, and Ben and Casey took the opportunity to get the stand on the tree and get it set up in the family room.

“What a wonderful day we had.”

“It was amazing,” said Rowanne. “Sometimes the plan the Fates have for us can be quite startling when they materialize.”

“And completely unexpected.”

Misty stood back and admired the perfectly even boughs of the towering spruce tree. The tip brushed the ten-foot ceiling in the family room and the evergreen aroma perfumed the air.

Misty inhaled a big breath. “I love the smell of Yule. Tomorrow we’ll begin the decorating.”

Ben said goodnight to Rowanne and went out the back door for a run in the moonlit night.

Chapter Three

Friday, December 22nd.

Second Day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

Misty opened her eyes when Forest touched her arm. “Get up, Mommy. Noel is sitting up in the crib and she’s crying. She wants out.”

“Did you give her a toy?”

“Yes, me and Paul gave her toys, but she’s still crying. What should we do?”

“Give me a minute to throw a robe on and I’ll come and see what I can do.”

Blaine sat on the side of the bed and yawned. “I forgot what it was like to have a small baby. We forfeited a lot of sleep when Forest was little.”

Misty laughed. “I didn’t forget.”

“And yet you’re ready and anxious to do it all over again, sweetheart?”

“I am, Beb. This baby girl was sent to us by the Fates. A surprise for our family, but not an unwelcome one. The Fates have spoken.”

“I’m not sure I agree with the Fates,” Blaine pushed his long hair out of his face. “Have they ever been known to make a serious error?”

“No. Never. People don’t always agree with their decisions, but in the end, the Fates are never wrong.”

“So, you’re saying, like or not, if the Fates decide something we are stuck with it.”

“Uh huh. That’s right.” Misty disappeared down the hall behind Forest, and Blaine figured he might as well get up. His time to sleep had been cut short by the Fates.

I can’t believe they’re never wrong.

Misty lifted Noel out of the crib and laid her on Forest’s bed to change her. “Hand Mommy a diaper out of the package, honey. She’s probably crying because she’s wet and hungry.”

“Can she eat cereal?” asked Forest.

“Pablum. That’s cereal for babies. Carmy will make her a bowl of pablum.”

“Can I feed her, Mommy?”

“You and Paul can take turns. Run downstairs and tell Carmy to heat up a bottle for Noel and to look and see if Rowanne bought Pablum when she went to Walmart.”

The boys thundered down the stairs with the three dogs on their heels, yelling for Carmelita. The dogs barked with excitement.

The entire household was awake.

While the baby feeding was going on in the kitchen, Blaine took a mug of coffee to his office.

Unconvinced that Noel had been calling to Forest from under a tree at the tree farm, he revved up his computer to check the search program he’d run overnight.

Using Noel’s approximate age, physical description and where she was found, Blaine had implemented one of the programs he had designed himself and searched state-wide for a missing child.

The program ran overnight and this morning, he examined the results, expecting to have a match, and there was nothing.

No results were found matching your criteria.

“Nothing. That can’t be possible.” Blaine pushed back in his chair and let out a breath.

Impossible that she hasn’t been reported missing.

“The only way for it to be possible, is if Noel is not a human baby at all, but a magickal creature sent to us by the Fates.”

Breakfast was a noisy affair with Noel sitting in Forest’s highchair banging her spoon, and Forest and Paul giving her Cheerios. The boys would give her a couple and she would throw them and laugh and that sent the boys into hysterics.

“Who’s picking up all the Cheerios?” asked Misty.

“Wixa,” said Paul. “Mama said she’s as good as a vacuum cleaner.”

Like a shiny new toy, Noel was the center of attention. Forest and Paul couldn’t take their eyes off her.

“She’s so cute,” said Casey. “We lucked out.”

“What makes you think we can keep her, Casey?” asked Blaine.

“Claire meditated and asked the goddess,” said Casey. “That baby is ours.”

Blaine nodded. Casey was a protégé of Misty’s and he had psychic powers developing. Everyone believed that Noel was sent to them by the Fates—everyone but Blaine.

“Tree decorating today, boys,” said Misty. “As soon as y’all are dressed, Casey and Ben will bring the boxes down from the attic and we can get started.”

“Are we going to make new decorations too, Gramma Claire?” asked Paul.

“Yes, later in the day we’re going to the woods to gather fallen logs and we’re going to make our own Yule logs.”

Blaine raised an eyebrow. “We’re going hiking in the wilderness area? Nobody mentioned that to me.”

“After lunch,” said Misty. “We’ll spend the morning decorating the tree first. Doesn’t it sound like a fun day, Beb?”

“Sure does.” Blaine took another piece of toast from the plate in the center of the table and slathered it with peach jam.

After breakfast, Ben, and Casey each lugged a box of decorations down from the attic and Misty, Rowanne and the boys started unpacking the boxes.

“Be careful unwrapping the tree decorations,” said Misty. “Some of them are old and fragile.”

“We’re being careful, Mommy,” said Forest.

Claire sat on the sofa holding Noel on her knee. “I wonder if she can crawl yet.”

“Put her down on the carpet and see what she does, Mother,” said Misty.

Claire put Noel down on the floor, and she crawled right over to Forest and sat next to him.

“Yes, she can crawl.” Claire laughed. “What a smart little girl.”

“She can talk,” said Forest. “Me and Paul heard her talking.”

“What did she say?” asked Casey. “Words or just baby talk?”

“Umm…I forget,” said Paul. “I think they were words.”

“Who did she say words to, you or Forest?”

“Umm…to Salem,” said Paul. “Yep. She was talking to Salem.”

“She spoke to Forest’s cat?” asked Casey. “What were her exact words, Paul? Come on. Try to remember.”

Paul shrugged. “Sorry, Casey. Can’t remember what she said.”

“I wish you could,” said Casey.

Blaine observed the family decorating and sipped a cup of coffee in silence. Noel’s arrival was going to cause a big upheaval in their lives, and he was the only one who was more worried than excited about it.

I don’t want to get attached to her if we can’t keep her. Misty and the boys are going to be devastated when her parents show up.

Barton Creek Wilderness Area. Austin.

After lunch, Casey drove Misty’s Expedition to the acres of wilderness at the west end of the city. They didn’t have a stroller for Noel yet, so Misty decided to pull her in Forest’s wagon.

She was bundled up warmly and packed into the little wagon with blankets around her.

“I want to pull her,” hollered Forest.

“Take a turn,” said Misty. “I think the wagon might be too hard for you to pull.”

Forest took the first shift and soon tired. “Your turn, Paul. Noel is heavy.”

Blaine chuckled. “She’s not heavy. The wagon is hard to pull through the weeds and long grass. Try to keep the wheels on the path and it will be easier.”

With his saw slung over his back, Ben ran ahead with Rowanne looking for fallen trees he could cut branches off of to make the Yule logs.

Paul soon tired of pulling the wagon and he handed off the task to Casey. “I’m going with Ben to cut the logs. You pull her, Casey.”

Casey laughed. “I wondered how long you would last.”

“Longer than Forest,” said Paul.

Ben found a fallen tree with a branch that was the perfect size and shape for Yule logs. He sawed off four pieces about sixteen inches in length and shoved them into a net sack he carried on his back.

“We’re all done,” said Misty. “Time to go home for hot chocolate and cookies.”

The boys hooted and hollered all the way back to the parking lot.

“This is a great place for them to burn off some of that energy,” said Blaine. “Maybe they’ll sleep when we get home.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

When they got home from the wilderness park, Carm had the kettle on, ready to make hot drinks.

After their snack and a bit of time to warm up, Forest and Paul went outside with Ben while he sawed one side of the logs off to make a flat surface. When the logs sat solidly on their flat side, he drilled three holes in each of the logs. Each hole big enough to hold a candle.

When he blew away all of the sawdust and brought the logs inside, Claire had her craft supplies on the table. They decorated the logs with greenery and added red, green, and gold ribbons before putting the candles in the holes.

“Look how pretty they are, Gramma Claire,” said Paul.

“A soon as it’s dark, we’ll light the candles,” said Claire. “You boys did a marvelous job. These Yule logs are beautiful.”

Chapter Four

Saturday, December 23rd.

Third Day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

With Forest and Paul helping them, Claire and Rowanne took over the decorating of the old Victorian mansion Blaine had renovated with Carmelita.

He had moved in with Carmelita and bought the house from her after the tragic death of Fabiana in Colombia.

Carmelita’s daughter, Fabiana, was Blaine’s true love and he intended to marry her, but the Fates intervened and broke his heart and her mother’s heart as well.

The house Fabiana had grown up in bonded them together in their grief and the house on Franklin Street had been his home ever since.

He could never live anywhere else and neither could Carmelita.

While the others decorated, Misty and Carmelita concentrated on Noel, trying to ease the baby into a comfortable routine.

Blaine worked in his office but didn’t accomplish much with all of the noise and activity going on around him.

Ben and Casey cut boughs from the trees in the yard and brought them inside to decorate the mantles on the fireplaces in the front parlor, the dining room and the recently added family room at the back of the house.

Holding Noel in her arms, Misty moved from room to room supervising and offering suggestions on the decorating. She moved a few candles to different spots and added shiny silver balls where needed.

Blaine became worried seeing how attached Misty was becoming to the child. What if Noel’s parents showed up out of the blue and snatched her away? How would Misty cope with that? She was so convinced that Noel had been sent to her by the Fates and was hers to keep, could she handle the disappointment?

Blaine dreaded finding out.

As soon as the decorating was complete and the house glowed with warmth and charm, it was time to change focus and begin the holiday baking.

Cookies and caraway cakes were traditional treats along with the decadent chocolate Yule log, but Claire and Carmelita had many other recipes that had become holiday favorites too.

While Paul and Forest were concentrating on rolling out sugar cookies, Rowanne and Misty sneaked off to do last minute Christmas shopping.

With everyone in the household otherwise occupied, Blaine, Casey and Ben were nominated to take care of Noel.

“I don’t remember how to take care of a baby,” said Blaine.

“It hasn’t been that long,” said Casey. “Forest is only four years old.”

“Why does it seem like such a long time ago he was in diapers and drinking from a bottle?” asked Blaine.

“Here, hold her.” Casey handed Noel off to Blaine. “I’ll go get us a couple of beers.”

“That’s something I can relate to,” said Blaine.

Noel sat on his knee reaching for everything she could grab from his desk and Blaine wondered how old she was. She was definitely able to sit up well on her own and she could crawl across the floor at warp speed. He figured she was at least seven or eight months old.

He looked down at her and asked, “Where have you been since you were born, little girl?”

“I wait for Forest.”

Blaine was so shocked when Noel answered his question, he almost dropped her. He tried another question. “Where did you come from?”

Before she had a chance to answer, Casey was back with the beer. “I heard you talking to her. Are you getting any answers?”

“Only one. She said she was waiting for Forest.”

Casey’s dark eyes widened. “She actually said that? Paul said she spoke to Salem, but I wasn’t sure I believed him.”

“She’s too young to say a complete sentence,” said Blaine, “and yet she did. I still can’t believe it. I’m a little shaky.”

Casey plopped down in the leather chair in front of Blaine’s desk. “I wonder what she’s going to shift into when she gets to that point in her development.”

“No idea,” said Blaine. “I guess it will be a surprise.”

“Here’s to a good surprise.” Casey tipped up his beer and chugged it down.

It was almost dinner time when Misty and Rowanne returned laden down with bags upon bags of Christmas shopping.

Blaine laughed when he saw them struggling up the steps from the side door. “Do y’all need help?”

“There’s more in Rowanne’s car,” said Misty. “It’s going to take us hours to wrap all of this.”

“Why did you buy so much?” asked Blaine.

Misty shrugged. “We were in a shopping mood and once we got started, we kind of went crazy.”

Blaine had to wonder if he’d left his Christmas shopping too late.

With everyone exhausted from all the activities of the day, dinner was a quiet affair and Blaine found it relaxing and restorative.

Noel sat in Forest’s highchair and opened her little mouth wide for the baby food Misty was feeding her.

“She’s hungry,” said Forest. “What did she eat while she was under the tree?”

“Good question, son,” said Blaine.

“I have no idea,” said Misty. “Perhaps she was being watched by one of her magickal parents.”

Blaine nodded. “If she has parents, why would we be allowed to keep her?”

“The Fates have decided we will be her parents, Beb. The decision was made, and we have no choice but to do our best to raise her properly.”

Blaine tried his best to digest what Misty believed, but he found it difficult. He was mundane with limited knowledge of the magickal world.

After Paul, Forest and Noel were tucked in their beds and were fast asleep, Misty, Claire and Rowanne wrapped gifts and tucked them under the beautifully decorated spruce tree.

The day had been long and productive and when the wrapping was done, the adults each carried a glass of warm mulled cider outside to the bonfire Ben had built.

A starry December night, crisp and clear. Blaine shivered when a wind from the west swept through the yard and swirled around his wife.

Misty raised her glass and toasted the Oak King.

“We drink to the Oak King and the growth of the forest. May the sun gain in strength from the solstice forward and nurture the trees that give us protection.”

Chapter Five

Sunday, December 24th.

Fourth Day of Yule. Christmas Eve.

Franklin Street. Austin.

“Is it time to hang up our stockings, Mommy? Does Noel have a stocking?”

“Yes, she has one. Gramma Claire made it for her. See, it’s a little bunny with a Santa hat on.”

Forest smiled. “How will Santa know what to bring Noel when she didn’t send him a letter?”

“Babies can’t write letters, so Santa brings toys he thinks babies will like.”

“What time is he coming? I don’t want to miss him.”

“You won’t miss him, sweetheart. He always stops long enough to give toys and treats to all the little children who are waiting for him.”

“Are you sure, Mommy?”

“Oh, yes. I’m sure. But he won’t come until you’re asleep in your bed. That’s one of Santa’s rules.”

“But I want to stay up to see him, Mommy.”

“He never lets the little children see him on Christmas Eve,” said Misty. “That’s when he’s working hard and he’s moving so fast through the sky, he’s almost invisible.”

“Wow.” Forest’s black eyes were as big as saucers listening to Misty.

Blaine smiled listening to the conversation between his wife and his son.

Forest wore a concerned look as he opened the door of the refrigerator.

“What are you looking for, honey?” asked Misty.

“I’m not sure if I should leave a carrot for Rudolph or an apple.”

“Why don’t you leave him a carrot and half an apple?” asked Blaine. “That way you’re covering all your bases.”

“Good one, Daddy. Sometimes you have a good idea that I haven’t thought of.”

“Thanks, son. I guess I have a good one now and then. Happy to help when I can.”

“I’ll help with Rudolph’s treats,” said Misty. She took a carrot and an apple out of the fridge, washed them under the tap and dried them with a kitchen towel.

“There,” said Blaine. “Ready for Rudolph.”

 “Do you want to eat the other half of Rudolph’s apple before you go to bed, Forest?”

“I’ll eat it,” said Paul. “Rudolph won’t be here long enough to eat a bunch of food. He’s gonna be pressed for time.”

Forest frowned. “How pressed will he be, Daddy? How many bites will he have time to take?”

“He’ll eat half of the apple,” said Misty, “then he’ll probably take the carrot to go.”

Blaine nodded. “Yep, I agree with Mommy.”

“Then we should put the carrot in a sandwich baggie,” said Forest, “to keep it clean for later.”

“Yep. Fantastic idea,” said Blaine. His cell rang in his pocket, and he shook his head. “Not on Christmas Eve. Can’t people refrain from killing each other for one day of the year?”

Blaine strolled down the hall to his office to take the call from Chief Calhoun. “What can possibly be happening on Christmas Eve, Chief?”

“I was hoping nothing would happen over the holidays, but I’ve got a dead Santa in the alleyway behind Macy’s.”

“Oh, no. That is so depressing. The media will blow it up out of all proportion because of the Santa suit.”

“Headline,” said the Chief. “Santa is murdered on Christmas eve. Parents will stampede to the nearest hospital with traumatized kids.”

Blaine chuckled. “The kids will be in bed. They won’t be watching the eleven o’clock news. Who has the scene?”

“Austin PD.”

“I can be there in twenty minutes.”

Without a smile on her beautiful face, Misty stood in the office doorway. “What is it, Beb?”

“There’s a Santa down behind Macy’s.”

“Oh, no. I was worried about that. Just a couple of flashes, but I feared it was coming.”

Blaine raised a black eyebrow. “You saw a dead Santa in a vision?”

“Bearded man in a red outfit lying in an alley with a metal icicle sticking out of his throat. I didn’t want to presume too much.”

“No. Who would?” Blaine tilted his head to the side. “Icicle?”

“One of the twisty metal ones.”

Blaine made a face. “Jeeze. I’ll round up Casey and get to the mall.”

“Rowanne and I will come with you. The kids are almost settled for the night. They’re hurrying to bed so Santa will come quicker.”

“Sure, I want you to come with me. The faster we solve this, the more time I’ll get to spend at home over the holidays.”

Casey and Ben were watching a game in the family room when Blaine disturbed them. He whispered to Casey about the dead Santa in case any little people were listening on the stairs. Forest had been caught doing that a couple of times when he and Misty thought he was in bed asleep.

Casey jumped up and headed for the closet to get his coat. December had been cold in Texas. No snow, but dark threatening clouds in the sky most days.

Macy’s Mall. Austin.

The medical examiner had been called but hadn’t arrived yet. All of the city services were working with a skeleton staff over the holidays. People looked forward all year to the time off with their families.

Murder didn’t take a holiday.

Casey set up a Klieg light in the alleyway that the trucks used to get to the loading docks behind each of the larger stores.

He shooed away a couple of homeless dogs that were sniffing around the dumpsters. Best to get rid of them before Misty spied them and took them home.

Amongst clutter and garbage in the alleyway, Santa was lying on the filthy asphalt with the twisted metal icicle clearly visible. It was sticking out of his jugular, just as Misty had described.

Santa’s red suit blended in with the pool of blood he was lying in. His wire-rimmed glasses were broken beside him. One glove on and one glove a few feet away.

Two uniformed officers were holding the scene until Blaine got there. Standing in an alley next to a stinking dumpster probably wasn’t what they had planned for the evening.

“You guys go on home and enjoy your Christmas Eve. I don’t plan on being here too long myself.”

“Thanks, Ranger B. Merry Christmas.”

“Joyous Yule,” said Misty, and gave them a wave.

Many people of various beliefs celebrated at this time of year and there was no greeting that truly covered all of the celebrations.

Misty’s beliefs in magick and the occult offended many, but true to her mantra, she bore others no ill will.

“You go first, sweetheart,” said Blaine. “Take all the time you need with the body.”

“Thanks, Beb.” Misty squatted down next to Santa and held the ungloved hand in hers. She closed her eyes and sat that way for a few seconds.

She stood up and Blaine cast her a questioning look. “Someone dressed in green was with him when he expired.”

“Green,” said Blaine. “Was it another person in costume?”

“I’m thinking…an elf,” said Misty. “Not a magickal elf, but a pretender of sorts.”

“Maybe another of the employees working at Macy’s over the holiday season.”

“Possibly,” said Misty. “You are very inciteful, Beb.”

Wearing a pair of latex gloves, Casey rolled the victim onto his side and fished a billfold out of Santa’s back pocket. He read the name aloud, then put the wallet back for the medical examiner to find it.

“Nicholas North. He has an address in Rosedale.”

“Did you notice his age, Casey?” asked Misty. “He appears to be an older gentleman.”

“Sorry, no. I just took a quick look at his name and address. Want me to take another look?”

“No. The ME will be here any minute and we’re supposed to leave the body to him.”

“I hope Forest doesn’t have any visions about this,” said Casey. “It will be hard to explain that Santa is still alive if he happens to catch a glimpse of this one being dead.”

Misty winced. “Horrible scenario, Casey, but one that’s entirely possible. I hope he’s sound asleep and no disturbing visions come his way during the night. If one does enter his mind, he will be full of questions in the morning.”

Doctor Simon arrived with his assistant, Tim. Together they examined the body and pronounced Nicholas North as officially dead.

“Any estimate on the time of death?” asked Blaine.

“Did the store close at six?” asked the doctor.

“It wouldn’t be open late tonight,” said Blaine. “The stores usually close early on Christmas Eve.”

“If so,” said Doctor Simon, “then that’s where I’ll put the time of death. Mister North has been dead about three hours.”

“The store won’t be open again until Boxing Day,” said Blaine, “but we’re going to need the name of the company who provided the Santas for Macy’s and for other stores in the mall. Just because he’s behind Macy’s at the moment, we don’t know for sure that this Santa worked at Macy’s.”

“Right,” said Casey. “Just because his body is here, doesn’t mean he worked in this particular store. He could’ve wandered down the alley on his break to smoke with a friend.”

“Perhaps a friend hired as an elf,” said Blaine. He strolled down the alley and then back again. “No drag marks and the debris hasn’t been scattered. I think he was killed right here.”

“The techs will be able to tell for sure,” said Casey. “They won’t like working on Christmas Eve any more than we do.”

Misty headed for the truck while Nicholas North was rolled into a body bag and taken to the ME’s van.

“Definitely a Christmas downer,” said Casey.

“Especially for Mrs. Claus,” said Misty. “Blaine will have the unhappy task of telling her that her Santa is dead on Christmas Eve. What could be worse?”

“Not much,” said Casey. “I’m anxious to get home and eat our midnight feast.”

“We won’t start without y’all,” said Misty.

Casey grinned. “My mouth is watering for a piece of that Yule log Carmy made.”

North Residence. Rosedale. Austin.

Notifications were difficult, and doing one on Christmas Eve seemed even more heart-wrenching. It was supposed to be a joyous time of the year—at least for a lot of people.

Blaine rang the bell and held up his badge.

A pretty lady with long auburn hair opened the door and stared at the badge in Blaine’s hand. “Police? Oh, no. Where is Nicholas? Was he in a car accident? He hasn’t come home from work yet.”

“Could we come in for a minute, Mrs. North? We’d like to talk to you about your husband.”

“Of course. I’m keeping you out in the cold. How rude of me. I was expecting my husband and I think you caught me a little off guard with your badge, Ranger Blackmore.”

She escorted them to a cozy living room just off the foyer. A small fire crackled in the hearth and the wood smelled like cherry.

Evergreen boughs sprinkled with candles and shiny silver icicles lined the chunky wooden mantle. A beautiful tree decorated in blue and silver dominated an entire corner of the room.

“Lovely tree,” said Casey.

“Thank you. I try to get into the spirit of things for Nicholas. This is his favorite time of the year. Please sit down and tell me what happened to my husband.”

“Your husband’s body was found behind Macy’s, Mrs. North. I’m afraid he’s deceased.”

Mrs. North reached for a tissue. “A heart attack on Christmas Eve? How ironic.”

“Your husband didn’t die of a heart attack, Mrs. North. I’m afraid he was murdered.”

“Murdered? That’s impossible. Who in the world would want to kill Nicholas? He was completely harmless and empathetic to everyone he met. That’s why he enjoyed being a Santa every year. He looked forward to it so much.”

“So, your husband had no enemies?” asked Blaine.

“Not one.”

“While he worked at Macy’s, did he have problems with other Santas at work?”

“No. He never mentioned any problems. Nicholas thought of his job as fun, not work.”

“Does your husband have financial problems?”

“No. He gets a good pension from the army. He retired as a general, and we have no trouble living on what Uncle Sam provides for us.”

Blaine explained to her about the various phone numbers on the card he gave her. “You can call the morgue to see when Mister North’s body will be released when you’re ready to make funeral arrangements for him.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you have a family member you can call to come and stay with you?”

“Yes, I’ll call my daughter right away and she’ll come over. She lives in Elgin.”

The Blackmore Agency. Austin.

Blaine and Casey arrived home just as the midnight feast was being spread out on the dining room table by Misty, Rowanne and Carmelita.

Xavier had arrived unexpectedly, and Misty was thrilled to see her stepfather. He was unable to get a commercial flight because of the upsurge in holiday travel, so Claire improvised. She transported back to Canberra, got her husband, and transported him to Austin.

Because Xavier was mundane, he had been a little wary of the process, but with Claire being a witch of some renown, his worries were baseless—and what a timesaver transporting could be.

Claire had come earlier in the month so she would be present for the actual solstice. She always celebrated the Sabbats with her daughter.

“Everyone, please have a seat at the table,” said Misty. She remained standing, raised her arms, and shouted upwards. “We drink a toast to our family being all together for Yuletide.”

She raised her glass of wassail.

“The first toast is to Odin.”

As the ground beneath us grows stiff with frost

The winds gain strength

Trees blow and toss

Rain turns to snow

As the North wind blows

The sun grows stronger

As the days grow longer

Fires in the hearth keep us warm

In the wake of a winter storm

Everyone clinked their glasses and drank down the delectable blend of cider and cranberries that Carmelita had brewed outdoors in a cauldron over an open fire.

Things cooked outside in Nature always seemed to have more flavor.

Chapter Six

Monday, December 25th.

Fifth Day of Yule. Christmas Day.

The Blackmore Agency. Austin.

Forest woke Paul up at first light and the two of them whispering in Forest’s room woke Noel too.

“Don’t cry, Noel. Wait here and we’ll be right back.”

Using the side of the crib, Noel pulled herself up to her feet.

The boys ran out of the room and down the stairs in their pajamas to see what Santa brought them and Noel wailed.

Blaine woke as soon as he heard Noel. He slipped out of bed, crossed the hall, and lifted her out of the crib. “Where did those boys go, little girl?”

She pointed at the door.

“They ran out the door and didn’t take you with them.” Blaine hugged her and carried her into the master bedroom to Misty.

Being a creature of the night, Ben was just coming in the back door when the boys ran into the family room. They looked under the tree to see what Santa brought them and check their stockings.

“Are y’all up already?” Ben chuckled. He was comfortable with the boys and played with them constantly. Ben rarely spoke to any of the adults in his family except for Rowanne and Misty.

He had grown up alone in the Louisiana forest with no contact with humans until Rowanne found him when she was lost in the woods. Both teenagers, they grew close and Rowanne had named him Ben.

They had bonded during that lonely period of their lives and become an inseparable couple, and later when they found Paul abandoned in a state park, they adopted him and became a family.

Ben had no idea how old he was. Late teens, probably, but he had no recollection of having parents or how he got to the forest in the first place.

Lexi, Hoodoo and Wixa heard the children talking and laughing and scrambled for the back door, barking and whining to be let out. Once the dogs were up, so was the entire family.

Blaine started a pot of coffee, and while it brewed, he sat in the family room supervising the opening of the stockings.

“Hold on a little bit longer until Mommy brings Noel down. She wants to open her stocking at the same time y’all do.”

“What’s taking Mommy so long?” asked Forest.

“She’s changing Noel’s diaper and dressing her in something dry.”

Casey was the next one up and joined Blaine on the sofa. “Don’t you guys rip open any presents until everyone gets here or Josiah will put a hex on y’all.”

“You’re telling a tall tale, right Casey?” asked Forest. “Grandad Josiah wouldn’t do that to us on Christmas.”

“Oh, no? You know what a trickster he is, Forest. I bet he’s hiding somewhere in the house waiting to scare you and Paul and make y’all pee your pants. Then he’s going to fly up to the ceiling and laugh at both of y’all.”

Forest laughed, thinking it was a big joke, as he continued to pull things out of his stocking. “Look what Santa put in my stocking, Daddy.”

“What is it, son?”

“It’s a catnip toy for Salem. He always wanted one of these.”

“How do you know that?” Paul made a face at Forest. “Cats can’t talk.”

“Salem talks to me in his meow language, and I know everything he’s saying,” said Forest. He pointed a small finger at Paul. “You know what the other hawks are saying, don’t you?”

“Course, I do, Forest. That’s because I’m a hawk.”

“I could be a cat shifter when I get bigger, right Daddy?”

“That would be a question for your mother, son. She knows a lot more about things like that than I do.”

“What about Noel? What’s she going to shift into when she gets bigger?” asked Forest.

“Another question for Mommy,” said Blaine.

Grandad Josiah materialized on the top of the tree and the angel that was there before him took a header onto the carpet. She landed right next to Forest’s leg.

Grandad shouted a loud, “Ho, ho, ho.’”

Both boys jumped up, hollered out loud and ran to the kitchen. They sneaked back into the room to see if Grandad was still up there, and he was gone.

“He got y’all that time.” Casey chuckled. “Y’all better watch out for that prankster.”

Forest picked up the fallen angel. “This angel looks like Mommy. Can you put her back on the top of the tree, Daddy?”

“Sure, I can. I’d better get it done before Gramma Claire finds out that Grandad is throwing decorations. That might get him into a heap of trouble.”

Forest laughed. “I’m going to tattle-tale to Gramma Claire and then Grandad will be in big trouble.”

Misty floated into the family room holding Noel dressed in a red sleeper for Christmas morning. “Are we ready to open our stockings?”

“We’re ready, Mommy,” said Forest. “I might have taken a couple of things out already, but then I waited for my sister.”

“How thoughtful of you, Forest,” said Misty. “Now that you have a sister, you have to consider her feelings.”

“I will, Mommy.”

“But yet, you ran downstairs to see your gifts and left her crying in the crib. Was that considerate?”

“Sorry, Noel.” Forest went over and gave Noel a hug. “I should’ve waited for you.”

“That’s right,” said Misty, “You’ll do better next time.”

“I will, Mommy. I’ll wait for my sister.”

 “Let’s see what Santa put in those stockings.”

Christmas breakfast was always special. Carmelita made several dishes saved only for special occasions. One of them was apple muffin cake. A delicious buttery cake filled with pieces of fresh apple and topped with a crunchy oatmeal and brown sugar crumble. Wonderful with a bowl of fresh fruit and a cup of coffee.

Forest and Paul raced through their breakfast so they could move on to opening their presents.

“Finish every bite of your apple cake, Forest. Your presents will be waiting for you one minute from now.”

“I’m eating it, Mommy.”

“Finish your juice too.”

Forest cleaned up every scrap on his plate and then fidgeted in his booster seat while he tried to make Paul hurry so they could leave the table.

“Eat faster, Paul. I’m all done.”

“I’m almost done, Forest,” said Paul. “I love this cake. We never get to have cake for breakfast, and I want to enjoy it.”

“Well said, Paul,” said Gramma Claire.

“Now we’re only waiting for Noel to finish her baby cereal,” said Forest. “How long is that going to take, Mommy?”

“She only has a few spoonsful left. She’s hungry this morning.”

Noel opened her mouth for another bite.

After the gifts were open and the kids were playing with their new toys on the carpet with Ben, Blaine sneaked away into his office for an hour to work.

He called Chet Kamps, an internet whiz who worked for him, and started Chet working on finding out who supplied the Santas to that particular mall where the murder occurred, and which store Nick North was assigned to.

Xavier brought a cup of coffee into the office and sat down in one of the club chairs in front of Blaine’s desk.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you, son.”

“Not at all. I hate to be doing this on Christmas Day, but there’s been a murder committed and I’ve got to put the wheels in motion.”

“An interesting case,” said Xavier. “I heard Claire say that the victim was a general with an illustrious military career. Being a Santa at Christmas was one of his hobbies after retirement.”

“Any theories?” asked Blaine. “I’d love to hear them. At the moment, I have no direction.”

Xavier smiled. “It’s always amusing to try to figure out the workings of the criminal mind. I’ve read all of your publications, Blaine, and your observations are startling.”

Blaine smiled. “There are patterns, and then there are those cases that deviate from the normal patterns. Those are the hardest to solve.”

“Do you believe this case is one of those?”

“Possibly. On the surface, it looks like one of the seasonal Santas was killed behind the department store where he worked.”

“But?” Xavier’s brown eyes were wide with anticipation. “You have a theory that you haven’t shared?”

“No theory yet. I haven’t gotten that far. So far, it’s a gut instinct that’s telling me I’m only seeing what the killer wants me to see.”

“Seeing as how the victim was a former military man,” said Xavier, “perhaps there is espionage involved. I’d love a look inside the files the Pentagon has on the deceased general.”

“Do you think this case is connected to the DoD?”

Xavier chuckled. “No idea, but it’s fun to speculate, isn’t it?”

Blaine’s cell rang and it was Chet Kamps. “Kamps? You get something already?” Blaine put the call on speaker so Xavier could listen in.

“The victim didn’t work at any of the stores in the Macy’s mall. Several of the larger stores did employ Santas, but I hacked into all of their employee rosters and the name Nicholas North isn’t on one of them.”

“Huh,” said Blaine. “His wife said he worked at Macy’s every year, and he looked forward to the Christmas season.”

“Go back and talk to her again, boss. Old lying Santa was stringing Mrs. Claus a line. He must have talked about the people he worked with—even if it wasn’t at the mall. He had to give Mrs. Santa a story to cover his ass. He was going someplace every day.”

“Maybe she knew what he was doing.”

“If the wife knew Santa was faking it,” said Kamps, “then she’s part of whatever was going on and she’s lying to you now.”

“If she knew he wasn’t working at Macy’s, then for sure, she is covering for him. But I have to say, she was a damned good liar. I believed her. I’ll go and talk to her again tomorrow. Thanks. Enjoy your Christmas dinner.”

“We will. Thanks to Annie, Roy ain’t a bad cook. He has a turkey in the oven, and he bought such a huge one, the two of us will be eating turkey sandwiches until next year.”

Blaine could picture Roy cooking and he was smiling as he ended the call.

“Amazing information,” said Xavier. “Nicholas North didn’t work at any of the stores in the mall. What do you make of it, Blaine?”

“Let’s give it some thought while we enjoy the day with our family.”

“You’re right. We should join the others. Claire will be looking for me.”

“Misty hates it when I work on the Sabbats,” said Blaine. “I try not to do it because I like to keep the peace and keep Misty happy.”

As they left the office, Blaine and Xavier were drawn into the dining room by the tantalizing aroma of bayberry and cedar incense burning on the mantle.

“It smells gorgeous in here, Claire.” Xavier pulled his wife into a hug and kissed her.

“Where were you? I almost sent out the bloodhounds to find you.”

“Blaine and I were having an exhilarating conversation in his office.”

“In other words, Blaine was working, and you were aiding and abetting him.” Claire scowled. “Not allowed today.” She winked at him. “Keep your nose clean, Browne, or I’ll put a spell on you.”

Xavier laughed. “I’ve been under your spell since the day I met you, my love.”

“Oh, come on,” Josiah flew up to the ceiling and made all the prisms on the chandelier tinkle. “No more of that newlywed mushy-gushy talk. I want to enjoy Christmas day.”

Claire giggled but Xavier couldn’t hear Josiah, so he didn’t know why she was laughing.

“Is Grandad up there?” Forest looked up and squinted his eyes. “I can’t see him.”

“You’re staring directly into the light, sweetheart,” said Claire. “Trust me. He’s up there spying on me, and up to no good.”

“Do you want me to make him come down, Gramma Claire?” Forest pulled his wand out of his pocket. “I can do it with just a couple of magick words I learned from Mommy.”

“Leave him right where he is, thank you.”

Misty swished into the dining room wearing a long red dress, big silver hoops in her ears and a Santa hat on her head. “Everyone take their places at the table. We are about to begin.”

“I thought perhaps we were waiting for more guests to arrive,” said Claire.

“I believe we’re all here,” said Misty. “Shall we sit down?”

“I want to sit beside Paul,” said Forest, “and I want to sit next to Noel too.”

“Noel has to sit at the end of the table where there’s more room for the highchair,” said Misty. She picked up Forest’s booster seat and moved around the long table.

“You can change places with Ben.” Misty pointed at the chair she was putting the booster seat on. “Don’t make a fuss, Forest, this is our traditional Yule dinner and I want to enjoy it with no interruptions. A couple of days past the solstice, but it will suffice.”

“Everything smells so delicious,” said Xavier. “What are the traditional foods of Yule? I’m sure Claire has schooled me time and again on this subject, but I’m quick to forget. Refresh my memory, dear Mystere.”

“Cookies, fruits and nuts, turkey, pork and ginger tea, spiced cider and wassail. Roasted apples and caraway cakes soaked in cider. Did I forget anything, Mother?”

“Oh, sorry dear, I wasn’t listening. I have a tendency to tune Xavier out when he’s on one of his learning quests. As far as I’m concerned, he knows too much already—too much for his own good.”

“You are so funny, Mother.”

“Your mother can be extremely amusing, Mystere. I rarely take her seriously.”

Claire threw up her hands. “See what I mean?”

“Raise your glasses to a Yule blessing before we eat.” Misty stood up and held her glass high.

A blessing for the Yule season

To our family gathered around the hearth

We are all brothers and we drink to health

We offer hospitality to all in the name of the season.

Everyone clinked their glasses and drank the Yule toast.

Misty and Claire both got up and helped Carmelita and Rowanne carry the steaming bowls of vegetables and serving trays of meats to the table.

The food was so deliciously prepared there wasn’t much conversation during dinner except praise for the cooks.

Even Forest ate everything on his plate without being prodded or coaxed.

“Are we having a bonfire after dinner?” asked Ben. “I have the wood ready in case we are.”

“Of course, we are, Ben,” said Misty. “We should let a fire burn high to salute the strengthening of the sun. The longest night of the year passed several days ago, and from this moment on, we are headed towards Imbolc. The rebirth of the earth. Something we can’t readily see, but a process of nature that has never let us down in the millions of years it has been taking place.”

“The Green Man is warming the earth deep down to receive and nurture the seeds of spring when they are planted,” said Rowanne. “A process we cannot see, but one we should be aware of. One of the miracles of Nature.”

“I’ll drink to that,” said Xavier. “And here’s to the expanding of knowledge and our horizons.”

Another round of toasting and it was time for dessert.

The selection of desserts was second to none and Carmelita was showered with praise. Leftover slices of the Yule log were devoured by Paul and Forest who loved chocolate.

Misty put a small piece of the log on Noel’s tray, and she shoved the dark chocolate cake into her mouth and smeared the icing all over her face, to the delight of Forest and Paul.

“Noel, look at your chocolate face.” Forest laughed hysterically and Paul joined him.

The December air was brisk, and the children were bundled up warmly. Noel wore a new snowsuit Santa had brought for her, and on her head a warm hat with kitten ears.

Everyone moved outside to stand around the fire pit and enjoy the roaring fire Ben had delighted in building.

Part of Ben being a fox, innately he was afraid of fire as many animals are. It had taken him a considerable while and a lot of encouragement from Rowanne to get over the fear. Once the fear had dissipated, Ben had learned to control the element of fire and keep it safely within bounds.

Darkness fell early as the days were short near the time of the solstice. Little by little, the days were lengthening a few minutes at a time in every twenty-four-hour cycle.

Carmelita and Misty served hot mulled cider to everyone to keep them toasty warm and keep their spirits up as they toasted the return of the sun’s rays.

“Who’s there?” called Forest. “I saw someone behind the carriage house. Come out.”

“I think you’re seeing things, Forest. There’s nobody behind the carriage house.”

“It’s only me,” said Angelique. “I’m not very smooth at transporting yet. I tend to come out at tres odd places.”

With a squeal, Misty ran to her friend and protégé and gave her a huge hug. “I’m so happy to see you. How wonderful you could come and join us.”

“Angelique, lovely to see you,” said Claire. “Let me get you a cup of cider to warm you up.”

“Joyous Yule to all,” called Angelique. “Greetings from the bayou.”

She moved towards the fire and two young men behind her appeared out of the shadows.

“Did you bring Luc and Marc with you?” asked Blaine.

“Non, cher. I bring Clovis and Felix cause dey got nowhere to go for Yule and dey got no mama no more. Dat mean bitch, Babette Prejean, is dead.”

“I heard about that,” said Misty. She ran over and hugged Clovis and Felix Prejean. Brothers who looked a lot alike. Black hair and coppery skin. Raised by a mean witch on the bayou near Thibodeau and now they only had each other.

“Welcome to our Yule celebration, boys,” said Misty. “Come inside and let me fix you plates of food. We have plenty left from dinner.”

“Where are these new guests going to sleep?” Blaine whispered to Misty as they went inside.

“Umm… How about in the guest house in the corner of the yard?”

Blaine chuckled. “Good one, Mist. We don’t have a guesthouse in the corner of the yard.”

“Look again, Beb. I had to do some emergency magick.”

Blaine stood on the back porch and couldn’t believe he was looking at a small cottage next to the property line, an outdoor light blinking merrily in welcome.

“Huh. I’ve got no words.”

Chapter Seven

Tuesday, December 26th.

Sixth Day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

Angelique’s dark eyes blinked in disbelief when she saw Misty carrying a baby into the kitchen. “Whose child is dat, Mystere? Are you keeping a secret from me?”

Misty smiled at her long-time assistant. “Noel is a Yule gift given to our family by the Fates. Forest found her at the tree farm waiting for us under a spruce tree.”

“Amazing,” said Angelique. A witch from the bayou and a healer in her own right, Angelique accepted everything Misty, her mentor, said without question. “A sister for Forest. How wonderful. A gift from the Goddess.”

Rowanne was happy to see her neighbor, Angelique, from the bayou west of Houma. They pitched in with Carmelita and the three of them made a special breakfast for everyone.

Spicy Cajun omelets with sausage, tomatoes and bell peppers. Homemade biscuits from the oven. Delicious.

“Dis da best breakfast me and Felix ever had,” said Clovis. “Our mama couldn’t cook nothing widout burning it black as a snake.”

Felix nodded his head. “Worst cook in da bayou, dat’s what Daddy said. Daddy beat Mama senseless and dat didn’t do no good. She don’t learn nothing. Still couldn’t cook.”

“Everybody in da bayou hear dem stories about your mean and testy mama,” said Angelique. “Y’all are better off on your own.”  

After breakfast, Misty turned Felix and Clovis over to Blaine. The boys from the bayou were at loose ends in the city of Austin, and Misty didn’t know how to entertain them.

Although Misty had spoken of them often, Blaine had never met the Prejean boys and didn’t know what to make of them. Communication was difficult. The brothers spoke in a Cajun dialect sprinkled generously with French words and local jargon. Most people thought they spoke a foreign language.

Xavier, being from Australia, had no idea what the boys were saying and required a translator.

Forest and Paul, on the other hand, had no trouble at all understanding them perfectly.

Misty explained to Blaine, “Felix and Clovis are deputy sheriffs in Thibodeau, Louisiana. They were trained by Gillette and from what I understand, they are quite competent and skilled in self-defense.”

“You’re both police officers,” Blaine said to them and gave them a big encouraging smile.

“Me and Felix hated cops cause mama said dat us Prejeans were cop haters, and our brother Eddie hated cops so fuckin bad cause our old man got killed by a cop.”

“But y’all changed your minds and became deputy sheriffs?” asked Blaine. “What made you do that?”

“Clover done it. We had no place to go no more after the Godin’s tried to kill us, so Clover took us to her house in Elgin. Dat’s in Texas.”

Blaine nodded.

“Clover is our mentor—dat’s what you call her. She teaches us about guns and stuff and she makes me and Felix into cops.”

“Clover? Is what y’all call Ranger Gillette Hart?’

“Yep. Gillette ain’t her real name and we helped her wid some rough shit,” said Felix, “and after dat, we find out dat being cops ain’t dat bad, and den Clover gets us guns and she teaches me and Clovis how to shoot and trow dat boline like she do, and we ready to go on da force.”

“We ready,” said Clovis.

Blaine had no clue what these boys from the bayou were capable of, and no immediate way of testing them. He was taking them at their word. Gillette Hart was a skilled Texas Ranger, and she might have taught these boys basic skills.

“I’m working on a tough case right now and maybe you boys can help me.”

“Sure can,” said Felix. “What you got figured out so far, boss?”

“Let’s see. What have I got so far?” Blaine picked up his yellow pad to read from his notes. “I’ve got a retired army general dressed in a Santa suit dead in an alley. A metal icicle stabbed through his jugular. No clues and no witnesses.”

“Me and Felix got powers from our mama,” said Clovis. “Clover be teaching us to use our minds to solve cases.”

“Amazing. I wish y’all would use your minds and solve this one for me.”

“Will do, boss. Happy to help.”

Blaine didn’t put too much stock in the abilities of the Prejean brothers from the bayou, but they were guests in his house, and he wanted to make them feel welcome.

“Misty and I are going to the morgue to visit the victim if y’all would like to come along,” said Blaine. “Won’t take long and y’all will get to see a big city morgue.”

Clovis turned to Felix. “Wanna do dat, Felix?”

“Sure do. I wanna see how many drawers dey got for dead people in da big city.”

“Bet you five bucks dey got more den we got in Thibodaux,” said Clovis.

State Morgue. Austin.

Misty wasn’t happy about leaving Noel and all of her guests at home while she went to the morgue to visit a dead body, but Blaine badly needed her help with Nicholas North’s murder.

Blaine wasn’t particularly thrilled to have the Prejean brothers injected into his investigation. Having to explain his methods was a complication, but he took it in stride and tried to come to grips with it as he drove to the morgue.

The brothers were enthused to see a big city morgue and count the number of drawers. Being in close proximity to dead bodies didn’t seem to deter them at all.

They claim to have magickal powers. I’ll have to ask Misty about that. She’ll know.

Misty’s favorite pathologist, Doctor Simon, had taken time off over the Christmas holidays and another pathologist, Doctor Alexander, was working in the morgue in his place.

Blaine introduced himself and Misty, and she politely asked Doctor Alexander if they would be allowed to see the body of Nicholas North for a few minutes.

“I don’t see what harm it would do.” Doctor Alexander consulted the list on the wall and pulled open drawer number two in the bottom row.

“Convenient,” said Misty. She rolled a stool over and sat down next to Nicholas North’s corpse.

The Prejean boys moved in closer to see what Misty was going to do with the dead body and they didn’t take their eyes off her.

Misty placed her right hand on North’s arm and closed her eyes. Without moving, she stayed in that position for several minutes, then got up and pointed at Clovis. “Your turn.”

That answered Blaine’s question—Misty believed the boys had powers or she wouldn’t be encouraging them to touch the corpse.

Clovis grinned as he sat down and repeated exactly what Misty had done.

Blaine watched in silence and hoped for the best. Misty usually came up with something he could use, but he wasn’t sure about the Prejeans. Their law enforcement skills hadn’t been demonstrated or validated up to this point.

After Clovis was finished, Felix had his turn. Misty thanked the doctor, and they left the morgue.

In the truck on the way home, Misty and the two boys talked about what North had told them.

“What exactly did he say?” asked Blaine. “I’m anxious to hear.”

“Not much,” said Misty. “Nick was confused about why he was targeted for elimination.”

“Eliminated from what?” asked Blaine. “What was he doing?”

“John Smith was one o’dem government traitors,” said Clovis.

“The victim talked about a traitor?” asked Blaine.

“Double fuckin agent,” mumbled Felix. “Killed Nick.”

“This John Smith, who was a double fucking agent, killed Nicholas North in the alley behind Macy’s?” asked Blaine. “That’s amazing information.”

“Ain’t it?” asked Clovis. “Me and Felix are super cops.”

Blaine turned to Misty, “Did you get the feeling Nicholas North was a spy?”

“Definitely CIA,” said Misty. “The agency probably recruited him when he retired from the army.”

“I guess they must have, if this information is accurate,” said Blaine.

“Why wouldn’t it be, Beb? And lucky for you, the Agency can get rid of this case right now and turn it over to the FBI. It belongs to them.”

“I’ll see what Xavier thinks.”

“Yes,” said Misty. “He does travel in international circles, and he may know his share of spies.”

“Good work, boys,” said Blaine. “When we get home, I’ll try to find out who this John Smith is.”

“Alias,” said Misty.

“Obviously,” said Blaine. “I wonder if Mrs. North knows a John Smith.”

“Let’s try her before we go home,” said Misty. “It will save you going out again, and we have guests at home who need your attention, and a baby who needs mine.”

“Good idea. We’ll stop in on the way.”

“Y’all think Nick’s wife’s gonna be a spy too?” asked Felix.

“Strong possibility,” said Blaine. “The thought crossed my mind.”

Felix chuckled. “You and me got da same idea. Must be fuckin true.”

North Residence. Rosedale.

Blaine called ahead and Mrs. North agreed to speak with him for the second time. Her husband’s funeral was to be held the following day and she was anxious because the funeral home was unable to get the body released.

As they entered the foyer, Blaine introduced Clovis and Felix as deputies helping with the case.

“Please come in,” said Mrs. North. We’ll sit in here.”

Blaine and Misty, Felix and Clovis, sat down in the living room of the North house and the entire place had been stripped of every vestige of Christmas.

All of the decorations had been removed overnight. The gorgeous tree that had held a prominent place in the corner of the room was gone. There was not one reminder of the holiday season in the North house.

Perhaps Mrs. North couldn’t bear any reminders of Nick’s love of the holiday season. Perhaps the purging had been done for an entirely different reason.

Mrs. North sat down in an armchair opposite them and fidgeted with her hands in her lap. “What did you want to ask me about Nicholas, Ranger Blackmore?”

“When your husband was serving in the army, Mrs. North, was he involved in the intelligence sector at all?”

Mrs. North pursed her lips and scowled. “Are you asking me if Nick was a spy?”

“That’s what I would like to know. Yes. And if that were the case, is Nicholas North an alias?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t answer those questions, Ranger Blackmore. I’ve only known my husband as Nicholas North, and we’ve been married for many years. No other name has ever been mentioned.”

“And what about you, Mrs. North?” asked Misty. “Have you ever used another name? Perhaps one like Larissa Gardener?”

No surprise showed in Mrs. North’s face. “I’m sorry. I don’t recognize that name.”

Misty smiled.

“How long have you and your husband lived in Austin?” asked Blaine.

“A very long time. Nine or ten years.”

“And before y’all moved to Austin, where did you and Nick live? I can easily find out, so you might as well tell me.”

“We lived in Virginia. Not far from Langley.”

“I have to believe that you and your husband are or were both working for the CIA and that connection is directly related to your husband’s murder.”

“Form any theories you wish, Ranger Blackmore. My husband and I are exactly what we appear to be. Two retired people living in Austin. Nothing else.”

“Thank you for your time, Mrs. North.”

On the way home, Blaine said, “I managed to slip a tag into the living room of the North residence. It will be interesting to hear who Mrs. North calls. That may help us more than anything we have so far.”

“If Mrs. North was former CIA,” said Misty. “That tag has already been swept, Beb. You aren’t going to hear anything.”

“Damn it,” said Blaine.

“If Mrs. North had a former identity, then her husband Nicholas did too,” said Misty.

“That name you came up with, Misty, Larissa Gardener, might turn something up for us. Thank you for that.”

“My pleasure,” said Misty. “I’m happy to help when I can.”

“What about witness protection?” asked Blaine. “Do you think the Norths were in danger and they were placed in Austin by design? In that case they would have a US Marshal handling their case, and monitoring their safety.”

“You should call your grandfather and ask him a few probing questions,” said Misty. “It might save days of time and aggravation.”

“I intend to do just that.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

As soon as Blaine got home, he took a cup of coffee into his office and called his grandfather in Georgetown. The Director of the NSA would not be at his office today.

“Blaine, is that you, son? Merry Christmas or Holiday Greetings or whatever is correct these days.”

“Same to you, Grandad. Misty would say  Blessed Yule, so that’s what I’m saying.”

Blaine Senior chuckled. “I’ve given up trying to be correct. No matter what you say these days, somebody is insulted.”

“I should’ve called just to wish you a Happy New Year, Grandad, but I’m working on a puzzling case, and I was wondering if you would come to Austin for the remainder of the holidays and we could work on it together.”

“Something I’d be interested in, Blaine?”

“I believe so.”

“Let me arrange a flight and call you back. It will be wonderful to be with my great-grandson, Forest over the holidays. What shall I bring him?”

“He doesn’t need a gift, Grandad. He has far too much already. Just come yourself and enjoy some of the holiday food Misty and her family have made.”

“I’d be delighted to see Carmelita again. She is such an amazing woman.”

“Yes, she is. Call me when your arrangements are in place.”

“I’ll work on that right this minute, son. I’ll call when I have everything in place. This is going to be a happy holiday for me after all.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

After a busy day, Carmelita and Claire served turkey pot pies they had made with the help of the children.

“Me and Paul made the dinner, Daddy. We baked these little pies in the oven.”

“Nice job, Forest and Paul,” said Blaine. “I love turkey pie.”

“I’m sure they are going to be delicious,” said Xavier. “I’m a big fan of turkey pie too.”

Noel sat in her highchair and jabbered away in baby talk. Forest answered her and interpreted for the rest of the family.

“She can say words,” said Paul. “In our room, she talks to me and Forest, but when we’re not in our room, she doesn’t talk like that.”

“Interesting,” said Casey. “Any explanation for that, Paul?”

“Umm…maybe she’s got nothing to say to adults,” said Paul. “Sometimes I don’t either.”

“Don’t talk crazy, Paul,” said Rowanne. “You rarely stop talking.”

Rowanne served the dessert she had made for the occasion. One of Ben’s favorites. Raspberry mousse with whipped cream topping.

“Are we going to make a craft after dinner, Gramma Claire?” asked Paul.

“Yes,” said Claire. “I have one ready. Tonight, we’re making Kris Kringle dolls. A wonderful craft and one that lasts from childhood to adulthood. The finished dolls can be saved and hung on the tree year after year.”

Misty put a little bit of mousse and whipped cream into a small bowl and spooned it into Noel’s mouth. She opened her mouth for more.

“She loves that, Mommy,” said Forest. “Give her some more.”

“I don’t want to make her sick, Forest. She’s only a baby.”

“I never got sick eating dessert,” said Forest. “Did you, Paul?”

“Never.”

“See, Mommy?”

“You’re excused from the table, Forest. Go play with your toys.”

Blaine chuckled as his son ran into the great room to play. Forest liked to have the last word and he could be frustrating.

As soon as the table was cleared and the dishwasher loaded, Rowanne brought out the box of craft supplies and Claire set a big basket of little wooden dolls, naked and without faces, in the middle of the table.

“They look cold with no clothes,” said Forest.

“Your job is to paint their faces and make them some clothes, Forest,” said Gramma Claire. “Let’s see what y’all can do with these naked dollies.” She handed one to everyone seated around the long table.

“What does Kris Kringle look like?” asked Paul. “Do you have a model or a picture of him for us to look at, Gramma Claire?”

“Smart boy, Paul. I do have a finished Kris Kringle that I made this morning.” She stood her doll up in the center of the table. “This is the one I made, but you can dress yours any way you want to. Be free with your art and your imagination. Let your creativity flow as free as a mountain stream.”

“I ain’t never made a doll,” said Clovis. “Don’t know how and I don’t think I got none of that creativity.”

“Me neither,” said Felix. “Never painted a doll face and never wanted to.”

Blaine chuckled. The Prejean boys could be amusing.

Rowanne smiled. “Angelique and I will help you boys. It’s going to be fun.”

“Dis gonna be fun, Clovis?” asked Felix.

Clovis shook his head. “Can’t see dat happening, Felix.”

“I want sharp scissors,” shouted Forest. “These plastic ones are for babies, and I can’t cut the cloth.”

“Daddy will help you cut, Forest,” said Misty. “You won’t need sharp scissors for this craft.”

“Show me what you want cut,” said Blaine, “and I’m right here to cut it for you.”

Forest shook his head. “I want to cut my own cloth, Daddy. I don’t need help.”

Blaine looked to Misty for help, and she shook her head. This was a problem for Blaine to solve on his own. He was wondering how he was going to talk Forest out of sharp scissors when Rowanne jumped in to help him.

“I’ll cut out the cloaks for you and for Paul,” said Rowanne. “What color do you want, Forest? Pick red or green.”

“Red, I want Kris Kringle to have a red coat.”

“Good choice,” said Rowanne. “Watch me cut the cloak around the line on the pattern. See the cutting line?”

“I see where you’re cutting, Rowanne.”

“Good. You can cut by yourself next time or help your sister.”

Forest seemed to be satisfied with Rowanne cutting the cloth for him and he stopped arguing for sharp scissors.

“Who’s helping you make your dolly, Noel?” Forest hollered down to the end of the table.

“Mama,” she said as plain as day, and everyone stopped and stared.

“You were right, Paul,” said Xavier. “Noel can talk.”

When the dolls were finished and greatly admired by everyone, they were hung on the tree in the great room.

“I’m hanging mine on the tallest tree outside,” said Paul.

“It’s dark out, Paul,” said Rowanne. “Ben, go with him.”

Everyone ran out onto the back deck to watch Paul. Running across the back lawn in the pitch dark, he shifted into hawk mode and left his human clothes behind.

He flew to the top of the tallest evergreen in the yard. That’s where he hung Kris Kringle.

Chapter Eight

Wednesday, December 27th.

Seventh Day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

While the ladies were busy in the kitchen making breakfast for the huge crowd of guests, Angelique brought Misty and Rowanne up to date on all the news from the bayou.

“Your granddaughter must be getting big, ma chere,” said Misty.

“Oui,” said Angelique. “She is beautiful, just like Tarana, and Marc—he can’t take his eyes off her. She rides everywhere wid him in da boat.”

“What about her powers?” asked Misty. “Has she shown any signs of having magickal abilities?”

Angelique laughed and the beads and jewels plaited into her long hair tinkled as her head moved. “Tarana takes her into da swamp and teach her da names of da plants and da roots dey need to gather for the healing salves and da potions she make for her customers.”

“Wonderful,” said Misty. “Forest doesn’t seem to be interested in healing medicine yet, but he’s very keen to learn control of his abilities, and he practices every day. Up in the attic with Josiah, Forest has learned an amazing amount of magick in his four years. Paul has helped him a lot and so has Casey.”

Breakfast was winding down when loud knocking on the front door revealed a man and a woman both wearing dark suits and overcoats.

Casey opened the door and glanced at the badges the suits were holding at eye level.

“FBI. We need to speak with Ranger Blackmore.”

“I’m Ranger Blackmore, but probably not the one you want to speak to. Come in and I’ll show you into the office.”

As they stepped into the foyer, the West Wind caught the door and angrily slammed it shut behind them.

Uh-oh. Misty knows they’re here.

Casey put the agents in the office, then went to the dining room to summon Blaine. “FBI, bro. I put them in your office.”

“I don’t want to talk to them. This is my vacay time and I’m not working.”

Casey shrugged and then said, “They’re here and they’re not leaving until they talk to you, bro. Might as well get it over with.”

Blaine signed. “Misty will be so angry about this intrusion into her celebration. No good will come of it. Trust me.”

“We’ll smooth her over later,” said Casey.

“Letting outsiders into our home during the Yule celebration, may not be possible.”

“Mind if I sit in, son? It might be interesting to get their view on the case.”

“I don’t mind at all,” said Blaine. “It’s always better to let cooler heads prevail. Let’s find out why the feds are here.”

He and Xavier strode down the hall to his office where the federal agents were waiting none too patiently.

Annoyed to see any law enforcement people inside his home during the holidays, Blaine did his best to hold it together.

“I’m Special Agent Sergio Driscoll, and this is my partner, Special Agent Janine Hooke.”

“Hooke with an ‘e’,” said the woman. Short and unattractive. Dark hair pulled tightly into a bun. Her tone of voice was arrogant with a big helping of pushy.

After the introductions, Blaine politely offered them coffee. They declined and got down to business.

The woman started off. “Ranger Blackmore, we’d like you to step away from the Nicholas North case.”

“Reason?” asked Blaine. “I don’t give up a case often. In fact, I can’t remember giving one up for any reason.”

“You’ve been requested to stand down from this case by the Assistant Director,” said Driscoll, “and it would be best if you complied with his request.”

“Best for whom?” asked Blaine. “Best for you and your partner if I did what I was told? I’m sorry, but I don’t work for the FBI, and I don’t take orders from messengers from the FBI.”

“We are special agents, Ranger Blackmore,” said Hooke, “not messengers. Please turn over all reports and all evidence the North case has generated up to this point.”

“No.”

“No?” Hooke’s eyes flashed angry.

“Not until I’ve spoken with Blaine Dunnett. He’s arriving this afternoon from Washington. Once he has had the opportunity to read through my reports, a decision will be made by the two of us.”

“Mister Dunnett is involved in this case?” asked Hooke.

“He has expressed an interest and I’m sure that you and your partner and the FBI will no longer be required,” said Blaine.

“You’re indicating that this case is a matter of national security?” asked Driscoll.

“I’m afraid it is,” said Blaine. “Director Dunnett will have the final say on how we proceed.”

A look on his face like he’d been ass-whipped in the woodshed, Agent Driscoll dropped his card on Blaine’s desk as he stood up to leave.

“Casey will see y’all to the door.”

“Thank you for your time, Ranger Blackmore,” said Agent Hooke.

As soon as the agents were out the door, Blaine called the lab to see what Sue Jacobson and her squad of technicians had come up with.

Only a skeleton staff would be working in the lab during the holidays. Pending results from many cases were sure to be backed up.

Blaine left a message for Sue to call him as soon as she returned to work, and that was the best he could do. He’d have to wait along with everybody else.

“I’m glad you got rid of them, bro,” said Casey. What a freaking nightmare it would be to have them messing in our case. It’s complicated enough already.”

“North’s murder is putting people on edge,” said Blaine. “The Assistant Director is aware of its importance, and he’s trying to get background reports.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” asked Casey.

Through the entire FBI interview, Xavier had been sitting in the lounge area of the office listening and observing.

“There seems to be keen interest in your case, Blaine. It would be revealing to know why. If we knew why the FBI is on alert, it would help you along in your investigation.”

“True,” said Blaine. “In many cases, once you know the motive, it’s much easier to find the killer. The motive for the crime narrows the field of possible suspects substantially.”

Misty stormed into the office and Blaine felt a definite wind blowing. He glanced to make sure none of the windows were open.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“Forest told me Paw Paw is coming today, and I don’t have a room ready for him. Why didn’t you tell me, Beb?”

“Umm…I guess I’ve been so engrossed in the case, I forgot. I’m so sorry.”

“What time is he arriving?”

Blaine checked the Cartier on his wrist. “In about three hours. After lunch, we’ll go to Executive Airport and pick him up.”

Misty visibly flew out of the room. “I’ve got to hurry. An unexpected guest to prepare for, and one of importance. I can’t shove Paw Paw into an attic room on a folding cot.”

“Just do your best, sweetheart,” Blaine called.

Casey grinned. “You’re in the doghouse.”

Blaine chuckled. “Not the first time.”

Executive Airport. Austin.

Being at the airport filled Forest with so much excitement, he couldn’t sit still while they waited for Blaine’s grandfather to arrive. He bounced around the arrivals lounge touching everything and talking to strangers who had no interest in conversing with a four-year-old.

Misty crossed the room, took his hand and led him back to where she and Blaine were sitting. “Forest, sit on Daddy’s knee, and read your book.”

“I read it three times already, Mommy. I know all the words.”

Blaine pulled his son onto his lap and held onto him. He sighed and checked his watch. “Shouldn’t be much longer.”

Forest wriggled free and jumped off Blaine’s knee moments later. He started running towards the double doors even before they opened. Two men in dark suits came through the door first, then Blaine Dunnett, and then two more suits.

On the run, Forest tackled his great grandfather around his legs and almost knocked him off balance. “Disabeulo,” he shouted. “I missed you so much.”

Grandad leaned down and hugged Forest. “I’m happy to see you too, Forest. I should have come to see you long before this.”

Misty hugged Blaine Dunnett senior. “Paw Paw, welcome.”

“Thank you, my dear Misty. I have no excuse for being so delinquent in my family obligations. It will not happen again.”

Blaine shook his grandfather’s hand. “Welcome to Austin, Grandad. It’s been too long since we’ve spent time together.”

“I’m feeling the guilt of it, son. We have to make up for it if we can.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

Claire and Carmelita had a wonderful snack buffet laid out on the dining room table when Blaine and Misty returned from the airport with Blaine’s grandfather.

Red and green candles, the colors of Yule, burned all around the room casting a warm glow on the sparkling decorations.

Evergreen boughs and gold pillar candles decorated the original mantle over the hearth in the dining room.

Thanks to Ben, a small fire crackled in each of the fireplaces throughout the old Victorian.

Mistletoe hung in the doorway of the dining room, and a huge basket of clove-studded fruit was awarded a place of honor on the sideboard.

Blaine placed his grandfather’s luggage at the bottom of the stairs and hung his overcoat in the closet in the foyer. “What can I get you to drink, Grandad?”

“Rum is my vice of choice, son. I’m partial to dark rum. Any brand.”

Blaine introduced his grandfather to family members and guests he hadn’t met. “These are Misty’s parents from Australia, Claire and Xavier Browne. Xavier is recently retired from the diplomatic service.”

Blaine Senior shook Xavier’s hand. “Wonderful to meet you, sir. I’ve been to your capitol a couple of times. Canberra is home to a lot of fine dining.”

Xavier smiled. “Claire and I have several favorite restaurants that we frequent regularly.”

 Blaine carried on with the introductions. “Angelique Lafontaine from the Louisiana bayou west of Houma. Felix and Clovis Prejean—also from Louisiana—their roots lie closer to Thibodaux, and I think you’ve met everyone else at one time or another.”

“Wonderful to meet everyone.”

Blaine Senior sat down in one of the armchairs in the family room while Blaine busied himself getting drinks for all the guests.

When Carm entered the room, Blaine Senior was on his feet wearing a wide smile.

“Carmelita, my dear, it’s wonderful to see you again.” He saluted her with his glass of rum. “I wish you’d find the time to come to Washington. I’d be delighted to show you around the city and show you the sights.”

“Thank you, Blaine,” Carmelita said shyly.

“I’m thrilled you could join us for our Yule celebration, Paw Paw,” said Misty. “Your stress level is through the roof and I’m going to make you a special tea to help you relax and enjoy the festivities.”

He smiled. “Such a wonderful and caring granddaughter-in-law. I’m a lucky man.”

In the interim before dinner, Blaine, Xavier, Casey and Blaine Senior retired to Blaine’s office to discuss the case that had piqued the interest of the director of the NSA.

Blaine recapped what they knew so far, and Blaine Senior added intriguing details he had discovered in classified files in Washington.

“There is no Nicholas North working for the CIA and there never has been, but there was an agent named Oswald Grimshaw who went missing from the agency several years ago. About the same time that the Norths appeared in Austin.”

“Where does Larissa Gardener fit in?” asked Casey.

“I haven’t found anything conclusive on her yet,” said Blaine Senior. “Only that during Grimshaw’s time at Langley, a woman named Larissa Gardener worked in the secretarial pool.”

Casey’s eyes widened. “That’s something to connect the two of them. They must have known each other.”

“Yes, they probably did,” said Blaine Senior. “And it seems that Miss Gardener resigned her position and left the agency at almost the same time Oswald Grimshaw did.”

“The thing we need to find out,” said Blaine, “is what Oswald and Larissa—posing as Mister and Mrs. North—did in the ten years since they mysteriously left the CIA.”

“Exactly,” said Blaine Senior. “What have they been up to in Austin that resulted in Oswald Grimshaw’s death?”

A call to dinner interrupted their meeting, but it was worth the interruption. Carmelita had prepared her spicy pork roast, baked in the oven with apples, potatoes and pears.

Before they began eating, Misty stood, raised her glass and offered a few words to the Yule season.

The longest night of the year has passed

New life for the sun with this spell I cast

Ash burns brightly upon the hearth

Assures us the sun will warm the earth

Apples and oranges represent the sun

The sun will rest when day is done

All toast a joyous Yule season

Misty raised her glass of spiced cider, and everyone toasted the rebirth of the sun and the lengthening of the days.

After a scrumptious meal followed by Christmas cookies and ice cream, it was time for another of Claire’s crafts.

“What are we making tonight, Gramma Claire?” asked Paul.

“Tonight, we are going to make a Yule gift for the birds, squirrels and chipmunks.” She giggled. “It will be slightly messy, but a craft I’m sure you and Forest will enjoy making.”

“How messy will it be?” Forest couldn’t wait to dig into it. “Can Noel make one too?”

“Umm…I’m not sure if this is the right craft for Noel. Mommy would have to help her.”

Claire produced a large basket of supplies and placed it in the middle of the table. “We’re going to start with these small round pinecones—not the long ones we’ve used before.”

“Why are we using little ones?” asked Forest.

“This time we need the cones to be small and round because we’re going to roll them first in peanut butter and then in a dish of birdseed. The birds are going to thank us for these treats.”

“Are we going to throw the balls into the trees, Gramma Claire?” asked Forest.

“No. The first thing we’re going to do—before we roll them in the peanut butter—is attach a generous loop of string, like this.”

She showed the boys how to do it.

“Then, when the seed balls are finished, Paul can fly up and hang them in the branches of all the trees growing in the backyard.”

Eyes glued on his beautiful wife; Xavier clapped his hands. “Bravo, my love. What a wonderful idea.”

“After we finish the craft, are we having a bonfire?” asked Ben.

“Yes, please,” said Misty, holding Noel on her knee. “Would you lay a fire in the pit for us, Ben? Rowanne can light it when we all come outside.”

A wide grin spread across Ben’s face. “I’ll get it ready now.” He ran outside with the dogs and the craft making got under way.

Misty gave Noel a small cone to hold in her hand, but she didn’t let her near the peanut butter.

Paul and Forest rolled their cones in the peanut butter with enthusiasm and their little hands were covered.

Claire was prepared with baby wipes to clean their hands off before they rolled the cone balls in the birdseed.

“Everybody got clean hands?”

Forest and Paul held up their hands for inspection.

“Okay, go ahead and roll the treats in the birdseed and try to coat the balls evenly.”

“Mine’s more even than yours is, Forest,” said Paul. “You’ve got a clump of seeds on there.”

Forest smoothed his out and held it up by the string.

Noel reached over and grabbed it out of Forest’s hand and shoved it into her mouth.

Forest yelled and Misty reacted quickly.

“You can’t eat that, little girl. That’s for the birds and the squirrels.”

“Maybe she will be a squirrel when she gets bigger, Mommy,” said Forest.

Misty smiled. “We’ll have to wait and see. When that day comes, it will be a surprise for all of us.”

When the bird treats were finished and the peanut butter had been washed off little hands and faces, Misty, Blaine, and all of their guests took tall glasses of warm spiced cider with them into the yard to watch Paul hang the seed treats in the trees.

With one of her magick fireballs, Rowanne lit the bonfire Ben had prepared. The fire blazed brightly and cast a glow that lit Paul’s way as he flew from tree to tree with the string in his beak hanging one ball at a time.

Every time Paul hung up a ball, everyone clapped for him. A joyous Yule evening.

Chapter Nine

Thursday, December 28th.

Eighth Day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

Blaine Senior seemed to be having a wonderful time away from the rigors of his Washington duties. He spent time playing games with Forest and Paul, took vigorous walks around the neighborhood with Carmelita—his security following discretely behind—and engaged in long conversations with Blaine, Xavier and Casey about the puzzling case they were working on.

Breakfast on the eighth day was an event with Carmelita and Angelique making Belgian waffles topped with the fruits of Yule—strawberries, raspberries and blueberries—and a generous dollop of whipped cream.

“I’ve never eaten so much for breakfast in my life,” said Blaine Senior. He pushed back in his chair and chuckled. “I’ll have to go for an extra long walk today, to work off those calories.”

Blaine’s cell rang, and noticing it was a call from the state morgue, he excused himself from the table and took the call in his office. Casey followed him and waited until Blaine was finished talking.

Blaine set his phone on the desk and turned to Casey. “Nicholas North’s body has been stolen from our morgue.”

“What? During the night?”

“No idea. We’ve got to get over there and check the security cams. I’ve got to tell Grandad.”

Blaine Senior was walking through the door with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Tell me what, son?”

“The body of Nicholas North—Oswald Grimshaw—was stolen from the morgue overnight.”

“Surely there are security measures in place to prevent an occurrence like that. Bodies don’t go missing from the morgue unless their presence will unveil something incriminating.”

“Someone didn’t want North’s body to be autopsied,” said Casey. “Whoever it was couldn’t take the chance.”

“This is becoming intriguing,” said Blaine Senior. “I definitely have to find out who is behind this murder.”

“Of course,” said Blaine. “We’ll go there now and find out what went wrong.”

“I’ll get our coats,” said Casey.

State Morgue. Austin.

Blaine and Casey checked the footage that had already been double-checked by building security and the results were the same. During the time the body of Nicholas North—a.k.a. Oswald Grimshaw—was removed from drawer number two in the morgue, the cameras were not operating.

“This was a professional job,” said Blaine. “A lot of planning and several people taking part.”

“I agree,” said Dan Whitcomb, head of security. “It would have been impossible for one person to have pulled it off.

“How did they get in and out without any of your men seeing them?” asked Casey. “They were carrying a goddamned body on their way out and somebody should’ve noticed them.”

“Hard to miss,” said Blaine.

From many visits in and out of the morgue, Blaine knew Dan Whitcomb and believed him when he said that none of his men on the night shift had seen the body snatchers.

“Bob Raine and Charlie Perkins were on duty, and I questioned both of them,” said Dan. “They said it was a quiet night and there was nothing unusual.”

“Then how did they do it?” asked Casey.

“No idea,” said Blaine. “But it’s obvious the body was removed by a team of experts. I’m thinking CIA operatives. They do their best work in the dark.”

“Yeah, it had to be pros,” said Casey. “Let’s go talk to Mrs. North and see what she knows about it.”

Blaine nodded. “We absolutely have to question her again.”

North Residence. Rosedale. Austin.

The mystery deepened when they arrived at the house in Rosedale where the North’s resided. After Mister North’s death, Mrs. North was living alone and planning her husband’s funeral—as far as they knew.

“Look at the sign on the lawn,” said Casey. “Overnight, this house is for sale. Can you believe that?”

“Nope. Hard to believe.” Blaine parked in the driveway and he and Casey hopped out and went to the front door.

“Lock box.” Casey pointed.

“Not much use knocking,” said Blaine. “She’s gone.”

Casey tramped across a flower bed and peered through the wide picture window.

“What do you see?” asked Blaine.

“Empty room. No curtains. No furniture. No rugs. She’s a goner.”

“Damn it,” said Blaine. “Get the address and phone number off that sign. We’re going to talk to that agent.”

“Somebody put this sign here,” said Casey, “and they must have talked to Mrs. North at one point.”

“What’s the name of the agent on the sign?” asked Blaine.

“Susan Shaw. Central Austin ReMax.”

“Damn it,” said Blaine. “This is pissing me off big time. Grandad is going to freak out that his only lead, Larissa Gardener is in the wind.”

“Yep, she’s our connection to CIA and our connection to this murder,” said Casey.

“Let’s go see what the listing agent knows,” said Blaine. “Susan Shaw had to talk to somebody.”

“Yeah, she did,” said Casey. “The house didn’t list itself.”

Central Austin ReMax.

At the real estate office, Blaine paused at the reception desk and asked for Susan Shaw.

“Mrs. Shaw is in her office, sir. I’ll show you where she is.”

“Thanks,” said Blaine. He and Casey followed the receptionist down the hall, and she showed them into Shaw’s office.

Blaine held up his badge. “Miss Shaw, the house you recently listed in Rosedale, who gave you the listing?”

“What address are you referring to? I have several listings in Rosedale at the moment.”

Blaine gave her the street address and she typed a few strokes on her keyboard. When she found it, she looked up and smiled. “The listing came in online and that’s very unusual, although it has happened on occasion.”

“Doesn’t the owner have to sign the listing?” asked Casey.

“Yes. Mrs. North signed online.”

“Are you saying you never met Mrs. North?”

“That’s right. I never met her. When I put the sign on the lawn last night, the house was empty like she said it would be.”

“And you inspected the premises?” asked Blaine.

“Of course. I had to make sure it was ready to show to prospective buyers.”

“How did you get the key, Miss Shaw?”

“A man dropped it off to Denise at reception. The key was in an envelope with the Rosedale address on it.”

“Where is that envelope now?”

“In my trash basket,” said Shaw. She picked up the container from under her desk and handed it to Casey.

“You didn’t see Mrs. North or the moving truck?” asked Casey. “There must have been a truck in the driveway for hours to empty an entire house of furniture.”

“I didn’t see it,” said Susan. “When I arrived to put up the sign, the property was vacant. Perhaps the neighbors saw the movers earlier in the day. You could ask them.”

“We will,” said Blaine.

“We’ll need to have a forensic team enter the house and run it,” said Casey. “It’s the residence of a murder victim.”

“Oh my. I had no idea anyone was murdered.” Susan screwed her face up. “Was the person murdered in that very house?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss the details of the investigation,” said Blaine. “Just give me the code for the lockbox so the techs from the lab can access the premises.”

“You’ll have to show me a court order, Ranger Blackmore.” Shaw folded her arms across her chest and stubbornly stuck her chin out. “Up until the time I see that piece of paper, I believe I’m free to show that house as many times as I wish. As a matter of fact, I have a showing booked for two o’clock.”

Blaine took a stance in front of Susan Shaw’s desk and demonstrated he could be just as mulish as she was being. “Let me explain something to you, Miss Shaw. That house is a crime scene. Mrs. North was abducted from her home, and I have every right to seal that place until my investigation is complete. Don’t bother giving me the code for the lockbox. I don’t need the key. I’ll kick the front door in and bill the expense of a new door to you. You can count on it.”

“No. Please don’t damage the door. I have an extra key.” She spun around on her swivel chair. “Here, I’ll give it to you.”

She jumped up and ran to a key rack on the wall and selected a key with a tag hanging from it. “Here, this is for the North house.”

“Thank you,” said Blaine.

Casey searched through the trash in Susan Shaw’s container and came up with a torn envelope with the Norths’ address on it. He slipped it into an evidence bag and he and Blaine went back to reception.

“Denise,” said Blaine, “I understand a man dropped off the key to the North residence?”

“Yes, he did. It was in an envelope for Susan, and I gave it to her.”

“What did the man look like?” asked Blaine.

“He was tall with longish blond hair and his eyes…his eyes were very blue.”

“Anything else you remember about him?” Blaine tried his best to be patient.

Denise shook her head. “Tall blonde guy with an envelope in his hand. That’s all I remember. Sorry.”

“Thanks,” said Casey.

Blaine had already left the building and Casey ran to catch up.

Blaine pulled into the street fuming. “We’ll pick up Misty and Claire and take them to the empty house. They may pick up vibes and give us a lead.”

“While they’re doing that,” said Casey, “I’ll question the neighbors. One of them must have seen the moving truck. At least we can get a company name from the truck.” He held up the evidence bag containing the envelope. “I doubt if there are prints on this envelope, but Misty may get something useful from touching it.”

“I hope she does,” said Blaine.

“If the CIA did this,” said Casey. “Their tracks will be covered, and we won’t get much of anything. Misty is our best hope.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

After checking out the empty North house and interviewing the listing agent, Casey and Blaine returned home with nothing to go on other than the feeling that the CIA was behind the whole thing. Blaine also had the nagging inkling that they were being made fools of and that was something he wouldn’t tolerate.

Xavier and Blaine Senior were keen to hear details of what Casey and Blaine had discovered and followed Blaine into his office. After listening intently to the bizarre story, they were baffled by the facts.

“Vanished in the night,” said Xavier. “Sounds like a Hollywood spy movie.”

“Hmmm…” said Blaine Senior, but he offered no suggestions.

“Anything, Grandad?” asked Blaine. “Anything at all?”

“I have no idea what this means,” said Blaine Senior. “Probably an undercover operative who dropped off the key at the real estate office.”

“I’m going to ask Misty and Claire to go with me to the empty house to see if they can pick up vibes and discern what went on during the night.”

“With this having all the earmarks of a covert operation,” said Blaine senior, “chances of finding clues are slim. The house will be wiped clean. The men who did this are professionals.”

Claire stuck her head in the office door, “Lunch is ready, gentlemen. There will be plenty of time for work after we eat.”

Xavier was the first to get to his feet. “We’re coming, my darling.”

Misty rang a bell to call everyone, and all the guests filed into the dining room.

As they made their way to the dining room to join the others, Casey explained to Blaine, Xavier, and Blaine Senior. “Bells at Yuletide are ceremonial to expel evil spirits from the room before the feast.”

“I’m amazed by all these traditions I was completely unaware of,” said Blaine Senior. “Fascinating.”

The delicious turkey soup made from leftovers was accompanied by warm crescent rolls fresh from the oven and an elaborate tray of cheese and crackers.

After the soup, mince pies were served for dessert. Not everyone was fond of the mince filling—traditional pies of the season—especially the children—and for those who preferred something else, Carmelita provided an alternate—apple crumble with ice cream.

At the conclusion of the meal, Misty and Claire agreed to go to the vacated North residence to help Blaine if they could.

It became a family adventure when the Prejean brothers, Blaine Senior and Xavier expressed an interest in tagging along.

“I’m coming with Mommy,” hollered Forest.

North Residence. Rosedale.

Blaine held the key to the house that Susan Shaw had given him, and he unlocked the front door to let everyone in. “The house is completely empty, so take your time and search carefully to see if there’s anything the movers might have missed that’s of use to us.”

“I’ll go talk to the neighbors,” said Casey. “Someone had to notice the moving truck.” Before he left, Casey handed the evidence bag to Misty and explained about the envelope inside.

“I’ll have to touch the envelope without wearing gloves,” said Misty. “That’s the only way I can feel the energy. But my prints are on file at the lab from other similar occurrences and Sue Jacobson will know how to deal with it.”

“Go ahead, Misty,” said Blaine. “You’re our best chance of finding the guy who took the key to the real estate office.”

“I’ll work on the envelope after our tour of the house. I’ll need alone time to meditate on it.”

At a leisurely pace, Misty and Claire moved through the house quietly while Forest ran from room to room shouting and listening to his own voice echo back to him.

“Stop running, Forest,” said Misty. “You’re disturbing the air and I’m trying to feel Mrs. North’s energy.”

Forest stopped long enough to say, “Mrs. Santa Claus didn’t want to go, Mommy. She wanted to stay here for Santa’s funeral, but the man said she had to get into the car and go with him.”

“Did you see the car Mrs. Santa got into, Forest?” asked Blaine.

“Yes. It was black and I couldn’t see in the windows.”

“What did the man look like?” asked Blaine.

Forest laughed. “He looked different without his Elf costume and his funny hat, Daddy. His hair was like Farrell’s but when he took Mrs. Santa, he wasn’t wearing his green costume, and he had a grumpy face.”

Blaine turned to his grandfather, “At the crime scene, Misty said someone dressed in green was with Nicholas North when he died.”

“Now we’re making connections,” said Blaine Senior, “thanks to Forest. How do you explain him knowing these things?”

“I can’t explain it,” said Blaine. “A psychic gift inherited from his mother is the only explanation I have.”

“That must be it,” said Blaine Senior.
“We need to find the tall, blond-haired agent who was present when Oswald Grimshaw was murdered.”

Blaine turned back to his son, “Do you know where they took Mrs. Santa?”

“They took her to jail, and she didn’t want to go.”

“Jail? That’s weird if she was working with them. Anything else, Forest?”

“Mrs. Santa was yelling at the man in the suit when he put handcuffs on her.”

“Do you remember what she was yelling, son?”

“It was a funny name, Daddy, and what’s why I remembered it. Igor Krakow.”

“You did amazingly well, Forest,” said Blaine. “You helped Daddy a lot.”

“Hmm…” said Xavier, “that name sounds Russian.”

“Certainly does,” said Blaine. “I’ll research Igor Krakow as soon as I get home to my office.”

Misty and Claire continued their search upstairs, and in one of the bedroom closets they found a journal tucked up high on one of the shelves. When they came downstairs, Misty showed it to Blaine.

“Wonderful. That’s a find. It could be filled with valuable information.”

“Fantastic.” Blaine Senior took the little leather book from Misty’s hand. “This is a book I definitely need to read right away.”

From his canvas of the neighbors, Casey came back with the name of the moving company. Southern Texas Moving and Storage.

“Nice job, Casey,” said Blaine. “Another solid lead. We might actually solve this murder after all.”

Chapter Ten

Friday, December 29th.

Ninth Day of Yule.

Franklin Street. Austin.

Before the others were up, Blaine and Casey talked in the office about the pending trip to the storage warehouse.

“Do you think we’ll find anything useful there?” asked Casey. “Household goods and furniture, what’s that stuff going to tell us?”

“I’m more interested in the people working at the warehouse than what’s stored there. We might get lucky and pick up a thread that leads us somewhere.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Casey. “The case seems to be disappearing before our eyes. Empty house. Widow gone overnight. Russian agents messing with the CIA.”

“It shouldn’t be our case anyway,” said Blaine. “It’s crawling with espionage overtones and CIA agents sneaking around in the dark.”

“Do you think your grandfather knows more than he’s saying?”

“No. I don’t think he would hold back. I invited him into the case, and I think he would share what he knew, even if it was classified.”

“I’m not so sure,” said Casey. “But at this point, we have to trust him.”

 “All we can do is follow the case to a logical conclusion and let go of it if it’s headed out of the country. We’ll hand it off to Grandad when he leaves here and let the suits in Washington handle it.”

Casey nodded his head. “That’s about all we can do.”

Misty called them for breakfast, and they had to put their discussion on hold for the time being.

At breakfast, Xavier announced that he was being recalled by the diplomatic service and he had to go home to Australia.

Claire already knew her husband was leaving, and she was taking it well. Unruffled by upheavals caused by her husband’s career, she decided to stay a bit longer, right to the end of Misty’s Yule celebration.

“I cannot bear to leave my new granddaughter,” Claire said with a tear in her eye, “so I’ve decided to stay a few more days.”

“Wonderful, Mother,” said Misty.

“Xavier will be in meetings when he gets home, and he won’t have time to miss me.”

Xavier smiled. “I’ll have time to miss you, my darling, and so will the cats.”

“What time is your flight, Xavier?” asked Blaine.

“Eleven this morning. Flying the mundane way will take much longer than when my beautiful witch wife transported us to Texas in a millisecond.” He laughed. “One of the most frightening milliseconds of my life.”

Misty giggled. “You should be used to Mother by now, Xavier.”

“Every day I learn something new from her, but Claire does take some getting used to.”

“Before you leave, Xavier, perhaps you’ll have time to join Casey, me, and Grandad at the moving and storage company. I’m looking forward to picking up at least a small clue from that warehouse.”

“I’d be delighted to join you there, son. I hate missing out on the wrap-up of this intriguing case. With all the international overtones, I feel somewhat responsible for solving it.” He laughed.

Noel was getting used to being part of the family and she happily sat in her highchair jabbering the odd word to Forest or Paul.

Angelique fed her pablum and after Noel had eaten all of her cereal, Misty gave her a small dish of peaches from a jar of baby food.

“Can I try those peaches?” asked Forest.

“Sure,” said Misty. “It’s just peaches mushed up so a baby can digest them.” She put some on a spoon and Forest opened his mouth.

He swallowed the orange mush and made a face, and everybody laughed. Paul found it hilarious that his cousin was eating baby food.

After the men left for the moving company warehouse, Misty moved into the front parlor with Claire to meditate and work on the energy being held in the envelope that the agent with the blond hair had touched.

Blaine Senior had confiscated the journal, so Misty was unable to work her magick on the book she’d found in the North residence.

Claire held the envelope first, closed her eyes and meditated. When she could get nothing more, she handed it to Misty and let her try.

After a long discussion of the fragmented pieces, they’d received from the agent’s lingering energy, Claire decided that the man had taken Mrs. North—a.k.a. Larissa Gardener—to Executive Airport to board a charter flight to Russia. From there, she would be headed to a Russian prison.

“I have to agree, Mother. At first, I thought perhaps Mrs. North was working with those men, but now I think otherwise. I feel her fear.”

“She may have been a Russian agent when she wormed her way into the secretarial pool at the CIA,” said Claire, “but things changed when she met Oswald and that’s when they went into hiding and changed their names.”

Southern Texas Moving and Storage.

The warehouse was loosely guarded over the holidays, and as soon as Blaine introduced himself and spoke to the senior citizen on duty, he figured they had struck out.

“If there was anything here worth protecting, the facility would be more heavily guarded,” said Blaine. “I don’t think there’s anything here.”

Not giving up as easily, Casey said to the old fellow in the baggy blue uniform, “We’ll take one quick walk through your warehouse and we’ll be gone.”

Lighting up his pipe, the old guy gave Casey the go-ahead. “Nothing to see but furniture and boxes. Knock yourselves out.”

“Thanks.” Strolling along slowly, Casey began systematically searching for anything unusual. Up one row and down the next.

Forest and Paul were playing a lively game of tag between the rows of furniture and shelves of stacked boxes. Running and hollering until Forest suddenly stopped running and stood in front of a colorful carton of Lego.

The box was on a lower shelf, about eye level for a four-year-old. He called to his great-grandfather in Spanish, “Bisabuelo, this is the box with the secret in it.”

Blaine Senior rushed to catch up to his energetic great-grandson. “What’s he saying, Blaine? I’m afraid my Spanish isn’t very good.”

“When he’s very excited he often speaks in Spanish. He’s telling you he found the box with the secret in it that you’re looking for.”

“There’s a secret in that box, Forest?”

“Yes, Bisabuelo. Mrs. Santa put it in there when she heard the men coming into her house. She was afraid and she had to hide it.”

“I’ll tell the guard we’re seizing the one box,” said Casey.

“Give him a receipt for it,” said Blaine. He checked his watch and said, “We have to leave now to get Xavier to his plane on time.”

To Felix: “Carry the box of evidence to the truck and put it in the hatch.”

“Copy, boss.” Felix took the box off the shelf and headed towards the front exit.

“What you think is in dis here box, Felix?” asked his brother.

“Dunno. Hope it ain’t a bomb, ‘cause I’m carrying da fucker to da truck.”

Blaine followed the boys to the Navigator after thanking the old guard for his trouble. He was sliding behind the wheel when his cell rang. He glanced at the screen and saw it was Misty.

“Hi, sweetheart. We’re just leaving the warehouse to take Xavier to the airport.”

“Good. Y’all are going in the right direction. Hurry to the airport, Beb. Mrs. North is tied up and the double agents are waiting to leave on a flight to Mother Russia.”

“Wow, thanks. We’re on our way there now.” He turned to Casey, “Call Executive Airport and have them ground any flight leaving for Russia.”

“Is that where they are?” asked Casey. “At the airport?

“Misty says so,” said Blaine.

Casey scrolled through his contact numbers and connected with the manager of the airport. He put the call on speaker so everyone could hear.

“On who’s authority am I holding the plane, Ranger Blackmore?”

“The Director of the NSA, sir. Director Dunnett will be at your facility in person in five minutes. Please secure the plane bound for Russia.”

“Yes, sir. I’m securing it now.”

Executive Airport. Austin.

As they drove past the airport office, it was easy to see which plane the Russians were on. A dozen armed airport security guards surrounded the nearly new Gulfstream. 

“Wait here with Forest, Grandad,” said Blaine. “Casey and I will board the plane with Felix and Clovis. Come on, boys, y’all are backup. Get your cuffs ready to make arrests.”

“Copy, boss,” said Clovis.

Breathing heavily, Blaine climbed the rolling steps and entered the cabin of the jet with Casey right behind him, his Beretta in his hand.

The blond agent, another dark-haired man—possibly Igor Krakow—and Mrs. North were all buckled into their seats ready for takeoff.

Pointing his gun at the Russians, Casey gave them direction in his cop voice. “Put your hands on your heads. Y’all are under arrest.”

Clovis and Felix took action and cuffed the prisoners while Blaine and Casey covered them with their Berettas. A crisis situation well-handled without any violence.

“Unbuckle them, Clovis. I’ve called for a squad to take them to the lockup at Ranger Headquarters.”

Two squad cars rolled in with sirens wailing and parked near the bottom of the portable stairs. The Rangers in uniform stood at the ready.

Felix, Clovis and Casey each took charge of a prisoner and marched them down the steps to the waiting squad cars.

Xavier grinned. “I’m glad I was privileged to see the arrests being made before my flight took off for Australia. Goodbye everyone. I had a glorious time. Joyous Yule to all.”

As they got into Blaine’s Navigator to head home, Blaine Senior said, “Now the work really begins. I’ll take the Lego box and the journal back to Washington and try to unravel this mess the CIA is in the middle of.”

“I guess that means our part is done,” said Blaine.

“You did well, son,” said Grandad, “but there are repercussions involved that will extend far beyond the borders of Texas.”

“Moscow is a long way from here,” said Blaine, “and I have no intentions of going to Russia.”

Franklin Street. Austin.

Felix and Clovis were in the spotlight at dinner recounting how they had boarded the plane and put handcuffs on the prisoners.

Paul and Forest were in awe of the Prejean brothers and asked them all kinds of questions.

Forest turned to his great-grandfather with another pressing question. “Bisabuelo, can I have the Lego in the box that isn’t part of the secret?”

Blaine Senior smiled. “I promise you, Forest. When the box has been sorted out and analyzed, you will receive the miscellaneous Lego pieces by FedEx.”

“Thank you.” Forest smiled.

“You can never have enough Lego.” Blaine chuckled.

When dinner was over and the dining table had been cleared, Claire cleansed the area.

As part of the Yule celebration, Misty wanted to cast a circle to thank the Goddess for the gift of Noel.

Everyone with magickal powers was invited to participate and that excluded only Carmelita, Blaine, and Blaine Senior.

“Do we have enough chairs?” asked Claire. She counted who would be sitting in the circle. Herself and Misty, Angelique, Rowanne, Ben and Paul, Forest, Casey, Clovis and Felix. “Have I forgotten anyone?”

“Noel,” said Misty. “Noel makes eleven. Not the perfect thirteen, but the circle will work with eleven. We’ve done it before.”

“It’s time the children learned to participate in the magick rituals,” said Rowanne. “If they don’t take part in their formative years, the magick isn’t ingrained into their being the way it should be. Luke’s gran always said that.”

Misty nodded in agreement with her niece. “Yes, she did.” Misty wiped a stray tear away.

“My Daddy denied that I had inherited powers from Mama, and he refused to acknowledge that I had gifts. He never let me practice developing my powers. That was the reason I had to run away from home.”

Misty smiled. “If you hadn’t run away, you never would’ve come to live with me and Luke.” Misty hugged her niece.

With everyone settled in their seats, Misty cast a circle in a lovely aqua color. Glowing with energy, the light enclosed the long dining table and offered the swirling magick a protective working space.

Three black candles burned brightly on the alter cloth to dispel any negative energy in the room.

“Mother, would you call the corners for us?”

“I’d be delighted, dear.” Claire stood up and raised her arms towards the ten-foot ceiling. She called out to the elements in a loud voice, “Hail to the Guardians of the East and the elements of air, I do summon and call ye forth this night to aid in our workings and to guard our circle. Hail and welcome.”

Claire continued with all the directions ending with the North and the element of earth.

“Thank you, Mother. Well done.” Misty turned to Rowanne, “Would you summon the deities?”

Rowanne stood up and shouted, “Hail to the Lord and Lady. I ask you to join us this night and to aid in our working. We are honored by your presence. Hail and welcome.”

When they were ready to begin the working, Misty offered up a thank you to the Goddess for the gift of Noel.

Goddess of the Moon and Stars

Take these gifts and make them yours

Grant us peace and give us rest

We are grateful for Noel, your bequest

Make her strong

Bestow her powers

While we watch her grow

Through days and hours

So mote it be.

Misty lowered her hands and sat down as a translucent white cloud descended from above the chandelier.

As the cloud gently came to rest on the surface of the table, the opalescence lifted and the Goddess stood before them dressed in a filmy white gown, a halo of stars around her head.

The deity extended an arm towards Noel, and she crawled out of her highchair onto the table and paused at the feet of the Goddess.

The Goddess of the stars reached down and touched Noel’s blonde curls with her wand.

Noel’s clothes fell away, and she shifted for the first time into a black panther cub.

Amazement filled the hearts and minds of everyone in the circle and they stared in wonderment as a small growl came out of Noel’s mouth.

The Goddess smiled and then she was gone.

A Yule celebration to remember.

Author Notes from Carolina:

I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading Yule, the fourth novella in the Sabbat series. These novellas of the pagan holidays are directly connected to the Misty Mayhem Series co-authored by my daughter, Auburn Tempest and myself.

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Carolina Mac is the author of over a hundred and eighty-five books in fourteen different series. The Regulators, Quantrall PI, The Blackmore Agency, The Night Vipers, The Creed, The Agency: Young Guns, Paradise Park, Broken Spur, The Moonbeam Chronicles, and the new Taming the Stallion series.

Also, four Novella series: Heaven’s Gate, Midlife Magic, Suddenly Magic, and The Sabbats.

She’s the co-author with her daughter JL Madore/Auburn Tempest of Misty’s Magick and Mayhem series. Being translated into German. The first seven books available now.