Their town. She didn't know when she'd started to think of Holiday has her town, but she liked the idea of it. Already she felt more at home in the small Montana town than she ever had at the North Pole. She felt needed, wanted. Peppermint sticks, she didn't want to leave.
Jack was out of control, yet no one at the North Pole would take her calls. She couldn’t call Santa directly, but she’d at least tried to call the elves surrounding him. But, she'd been shunned. She looked at her hands and tried not to cry. Yes, she might have always felt out of place, but she wouldn’t have thought they’d turned their backs on her so completely. She shouldn’t have run away and broken the rules the way she had, but she hadn't expected they'd ignore her. People were getting hurt, and Jack was a danger. Yet, because of her mistake and the others’ ignorance, she couldn't do anything about it.
Maybe after Christmas she could. It was her only hope, and the town’s only hope to escape Jack.
She looked at the clock and sighed. Justin should be coming home soon.
Home.
She liked the thought of this place being her and Justin's home. Since the first time she'd seen it, she'd known that it needed a woman's touch, and now, if things worked out, she would be the one filling his place with warmth.
She loved him.
Slightly bored, Rina stared out the window as the snow started to come down a little bit harder. She hoped Justin made it home soon before the roads got really bad. She stared at the glass and frowned.
Why did it look like it was frosting on the inside rather than on the outside where the snow was?
She stood up and walked toward the window, unease sliding through her. Something was wrong. She held out her hand, touched the glass, and gasped. The ice was on the inside, not the outside. Maybe there was just a draft.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the chill increased, sending goose bumps down her arm. She pulled down her long sleeves and shivered.
“You really shouldn't have tried to contact the other elves,” Jack said as he walked down the stairs toward her.
Rina lifted her hands and tried to get a good look at the door from the corner of her eye. Jack stood between her and the only exit, and she inwardly cursed. She lifted her chin but didn't say anything. There was no use in antagonizing him when he had the upper hand.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to make sure that the elves in my control are the ones to answer your calls? It takes too much of my time having to deal with schedule shifts and other mundane tasks. Luckily, some of my more energetic elves, shall we say, took matters into their own hands.”
Jack grinned, and another shiver went down Rina’s spine that had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with the sadistic glee in his eyes.
“Now that nobody knows that you have issues down here, no one will even care when you're gone.”
“You’re wrong; people will care,” she said before she bit her tongue. She hadn't meant to antagonize him, but she couldn't help herself.
“You are nothing. You're just a little elf with a big mouth. You should have stayed down in the basement where you belonged.”
“Why did you put me there in the first place?” If she was going to die, she might as well know exactly why.
Jack flicked his fingers, and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. She gripped her arms and held herself, trying to keep the warmth. She knew it wouldn't be of much use soon.
“Why were you in the basement? Because I could place you there. You shouldn't have laughed at me. He shouldn't have said no when I asked you to be mine. Now that I can’t have you, no one else gets to have you either. You're a whore for spreading your legs for that peasant. But, no worries. I'll take care of the both of you, and then no one will even remember your name or what you tried to spew about me.”
Jack took a step closer, and she shivered again. She could see her breath and see the ice sliding up the walls and doors. Soon it would look like an ice cavern, not the home that Justin had spent so long to build.
“You’re doing all of this because I wouldn’t go on a date with you?” Fury filled her, warming her somewhat. “You could have killed all of those children because you felt like I hurt your feelings? What kind of monster are you?”
Jack’s arm shot out so fast she didn’t comprehend what was happening until she flew back into the wall, her cheek stinging from the icy slap.
“Shut up, you little whore. I can do whatever the hell I want. I’m Santa’s second-in-command, remember? I can do no wrong. So, don’t even think to mess with me. I’m going to enjoy watching you freeze, and then I’m going to kill your little executive the same way. Though not until he sees your frozen corpse.”
Rina held her cheek, even as tears spilled onto her face. No, not Justin. There had to be something she could do. She tried to stand up again, but Jack spread ice around her, cementing her to the floor. Her skin prickled where the ice stung and bit in. Her body shivered as the last of its heat did its best to hold on.
She didn’t want to die like this.
Powerless.
Useless.
She was an elf, not a human. Why couldn’t she use her magic? Oh, yeah, because she was only a funnel of an executive’s magic, not magical in her own right.
“Why did you come to Holiday?” she asked, her breath rasping at the stark coldness.
Jack crouched down to her eye level and traced an icy finger along her bruising cheekbone. She flinched, and he slapped her again. Pain shocked her, and her body shook.
“I’m here because your little man is in my way.”
“What?” She coughed.
“You don’t think this is all about you, do you? No, I’ve been working for years trying to get to the top. Santa is an old man, and it’s time for him to step down. I’m going to lead, and I’m going to have the power, but in order to do that, I need to get rid of the one man who could ruin it all for me.”
“What?” she said, her teeth chattering.
“Justin holds too much power. Why do you think I was going to let him slide through the cracks?”
“It was you? You were the one who changed his file and didn’t let him know about his role?”
“Of course, and everything was going fine until you came along and fucked it up.”
He traced his finger over her lips, and she shuddered in revulsion.
Her body shook violently, the ice surrounding her growing jagged, painful as it pricked her skin. She looked around and let out a moan. Ice covered every inch of the house, making it look like an iced castle, dangerous in its beauty.
“You can’t take over the North Pole; the others won’t let you.”
“Don’t worry about my plans. I’ll make do. I always do. You, on the other hand, should be worrying about yourself.”
Her eyelids grew heavy, and her body was growing too cold, not sustaining enough energy to keep her awake.
No, she had to stay awake. For Justin.
“I’m sorry you had to die this way, but you got in my way,” Jack whispered. At least she thought he did. Everything seemed so far away.
She closed her eyes, her body cold, iced. A shout and a crash shook her awake. She willed herself to pry open her eyes, expending the last of her energy.
“You bastard!” Justin called as he slammed his fist into Jack’s face.
Yes, he was here. He’d take care of Jack and save her people, their town.
Jack moved forward, spitting out blood from Justin’s punch. “You’re too late. You’re little whore is dead, and you’re nothing compared to me. I’m going to enjoy watching you freeze from the outside in. The blood in your veins will turn to slush while your eyes bulge. Yes, I can’t wait.”
No, Justin was stronger; Jack had said so. Justin just needed to use his magic and try. Rina lifted her head and opened her mouth to speak, but her body was too heavy, too cold.
She couldn’t be weak. Justin needed her. Maybe if she acted like his funnel again, she could help him. Though they weren’t touching, she knew their connection might be strong enough for it to work. She focused inward, looking for that thread of magic that connected her to the love of her life.
There. She felt a pulsating link to Justin, weak, cold, but there.
“Justin,” she croaked. “You're stronger than he is. Use that.”
Justin pulled a punch from Jack’s face and, turned to her, relief and surprise on his face. Oh, God, he'd thought she was dead. She could be soon though. Jack scowled and tried to reach for Justin’s neck, but Justin ducked, hitting Jack square in the stomach. Jack groaned and let out a breath of surprise before Justin ran the other man into the wall.
Justin nodded and released his magic. Though he could do it daily, she knew he was using his reserves to help her. It flooded her system, warming her to the core. Energized, she tunneled out his magic and focused on Jack. Jack snarled and threw his magic back at the two of them.
Ice met warmth.
Justin staggered back and took the few steps to be by her side. She knew that they could make their magic work when they weren’t touching, even though it wouldn’t be as strong, but connected, they could beat Jack. They had to. Justin gripped her hand, her body still frozen and stuck to the floor.
When their fingers touched, magic poured from both of them, and Jack screamed. Though other people liked the warmth and magic she and Justin gave, Jack wouldn’t. His body was made of ice, cold and deadly. Their magic warmed him and brought with it Jack’s own magic that caused a rippling and tearing throughout his body. She turned and looked into Justin's deep blue eyes and focused all her energy, breaking Jack's icy connection.
Sweat dripped from Justin's brow, and she shivered again because she was still so cold. The ice around them melted to a pool of water, drenching everything in its wake. They tangled their fingers together, their magic flowing through them, connected, and right. Jack fell to his knees, the ice around him melting into a pool. Water dripped from the walls, spreading onto the floor. The house shook under the force of all the moving energy, but she didn't let go of Justin's hand. She couldn't.
Justin squeezed her hand harder and pushed more magic through her, his body straining, hers shaking. Jack fell to his back, his body convulsing. He shot off his magic and it reversed back toward him. Ice covered his body in a slow crawl until he was completely immobile.
Rina let out a deep breath and looked down at herself. When Jack had frozen his magic, the ice surrounding her had melted away. Justin pulled her into his arms, and she kissed him, hard.
“Oh, God, Rina, I thought I’d lost you.” He kissed her again then ran his hands up and down her body looking for broken bones. When he traced his fingers over her cheek, he winced. “He hurt you.”
“I'm fine, thanks to you.”
“No, thanks to you.” He kissed her again, and she sank into him.
“Damn, we were too late,” a familiar voice said from the doorway, and she turned toward it. Justin placed himself in front of her, blocking her from the intruder.
“Isaac?” she asked the elf who stood there. No, the elves had shunned her and couldn’t be here.
“Rina?” Isaac asked. “Damn, I'm so sorry we’re so late.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Who are you?” Justin asked, annoyance in his tone.
The male elf took off his hat, his pointy ears prevalent. “My apologies. I’m Isaac, and I worked with Rina.”
Justin stood on shaky legs and glared. “Well, your piece-of-shit boss is right over there underneath his own ice. I would go take care of him if I were you. Where the hell were you when Rina needed you before?"
“Justin, it’s okay.” She stood behind him and leaned on his back.
He turned quickly and pulled her into his arms. “No, it's not okay.”
Isaac gestured to the other elves behind him, and they took Jack into custody and carried his frozen body out of the house. Even though Jack could manipulate ice, she didn't think he'd be okay being surrounded by it like he was. She didn't know what they were going to do with him, but she was glad it wasn't her problem anymore.
“Justin, they were just doing their job. They didn’t know about Jack.”
“I don’t fucking care. You could have died because they let this man run around like he was a god.”
Isaac cleared his throat. “I’m truly sorry. We’ve been keeping an eye on him in the North Pole for a while now, but we had no idea he was this bad. Honest. It wasn’t until the elves under his control started to attack our own elves that we knew there was a bigger problem.” The elf wiped his brow and shifted from foot to foot. “We’ve been so busy with the Christmas preparations that we almost let a whole town and one of our own be destroyed by a monster. I’m truly sorry.”
Tears filled Rina’s eyes, and she nodded, too choked up to speak. Justin hugged her tighter, and she nuzzled into his chest.
“Take care of her, Justin,” Isaac said as he walked out of the house. “Your magic will be able to repair the damage to your belongings. I just hope that you can find it in yourselves to forgive us. Christmas is in two days, so you know we’ll be busy, but when it’s over, I know Santa will be around to talk to you.”
She stiffened at the harsh reminder of her stupidity for taking things into her own hands and coming to Holiday.
“Thank you,” Justin gritted between clenched teeth. “Take your iced man and leave, please.”
The other elf nodded and closed the door behind him. Justin held her close, his warmth seeping into her, keeping her steady.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you here with me,” he whispered.
She nodded, unable to speak. If only his words would be enough.
Chapter 11
Rina stood on Justin’s porch, welcoming the cold, knowing it wasn’t from Jack. Once the elves had left yesterday, Justin had held her hand and quickly warmed up his house, driving away all evidence of Jack's presence. He hadn't even had to ask how to do it. Jack had been right. Justin was stronger than any other executive she'd ever heard of. Pride filled her at the thought of Justin being so talented, but at the same time, she still felt a little weak. Yes, the fact that she could handle all his magic proved that she was stronger also, and she had given herself some credit for it, but she still hadn’t been able to fight Jack on her own.