Hellebore’s Holiday Read online

  For her sake, Hells hoped that Raven was off delivering a baby somewhere. It had to be safer than confronting the male that seemed to be the warden of this entire debacle bubble.

  Chapter Five

  “What did you learn?” Irgano was washing glasses.

  He made a mean breakfast and Hellebore was halfway through it. “I learned that time is different for me and them. It is hours for me, days for them.”

  “Ouch. That is unpleasant. Are you going to continue this enquiry?”

  “Of course. I have no idea how I got here; it has to be figured out.”

  He set his glass aside and poured her a cup of coffee. “Who do you have working on it?”

  “Friends, family. The usual.” She didn’t want to tell him about the Nexus and her guard. She didn’t want anyone putting up a defence to finding her.

  “Is your mother worried?”

  She blinked. “No. I have not told her where I am. I don’t want her to worry.”

  She took the coffee and sipped. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great.

  “She needs to know, Hellebore. Amaryllis should be told that you are here.”

  Hellebore froze and didn’t sip at her coffee but brought it to her lips. “That is a very caring attitude.”

  “Well, your mother should know about your location. It is only right.”

  “Irgano, how long have you been here?” She kept her tone conversational and set her cup down.

  “Twenty-nine years.”

  “Wow. That is a long time.”

  “I am aware of that.”

  She smiled. “Well, I am going to take a tour around my new territory.”

  “Have fun.” He waved her off with a pleasant look.

  Hellebore got to her feet and slid off the barstool. She kept herself calm with the ease of long practice. Shifters could tell if your heart sped up, so she used a light humming under her breath to mask her reactions.

  When she had made it out of the inn, she crossed over to the general store and looked around. “If you are all men, why do you have girl stuff?”

  She lifted one of the hangars with the blouse on it in her size.

  Tino looked up from the book he was reading. “It appeared when you did.”

  “Does that happen a lot?”

  “Every time there is a new arrival, new clothing that will fit them appears.” He looked back at his book and smiled.

  She put the clothing back on the hangar and left the general store. She put her hands in her pockets and continued exploring until she arrived at the clinic.

  Hellebore entered the clinic and whistled sharply.

  Doc Larsen emerged from the back room, and he paused when he saw her. “Hellebore. What can I do for you?”

  “I need to know how much you know about Irgano.”

  He cocked his head. “Why do you want to know about him?”

  She shivered. “Because I am almost confident that he is the one who brought me here.”

  “How would he do that?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me. What do you know about him? Who did he replace?”

  Doc rubbed his forehead. “You know, I don’t remember.”

  “I thought you had been here for four hundred years.”

  “I have, but I don’t remember who preceded Irgano.”

  “Well, let’s start with the basics. What do you know about why he is here?”

  “He pursued a woman whose family was against the union. They had him sent here.”

  Hellebore winced. That didn’t make sense. If Earnor was here, then the mer-folk had their own space filled. Someone else must have sent him. Something about him made her positive that he had been after her mother. For one thing, she had never mentioned her mother’s name and he should not have been that concerned for the situation of a woman he did not know.

  “Did he mention what the woman was?”

  “No. He merely said that she was above his station.”

  Doc Larsen cocked his head. “Are you sure that he knows who your parents are?”

  “He knows who my mother is, and if he is an eagle shifter, that is highly unlikely. So far, I know this is going to be hard to believe, this is the only thing that stands out to me as unusual.”

  He laughed and leaned against the counter. “Why come to me about it?”

  Hellebore blushed. “I don’t know. I had to tell someone, and it was either you or Officer Neer.”

  Doc took a few steps toward her and gripped her arms. “So, I was the best option out of two?”

  She bit her lip and looked up into his dark gaze. “You were my first impulse.”

  “I am glad to hear it, but you should get your friends to look into all of us to see if our lives crossed yours at any point.”

  He kissed her lightly and smiled. “Write on that device of yours and we will get Neer to take you to the barrier again.”

  “Will you come along?”

  “Of course. If you chose me to confide in, I will honour your choice and watch your back. If Irgano is up to something, it will not cause you to come to harm.”

  She smiled in relief, but she knew her cheeks were on fire. The light brush of his kiss was enough to send her senses tumbling into confusion.

  He let her go and went to his desk, flicking a small button next to the phone.

  “Neer will show up after he finishes his rounds.”

  “Why does all of the technology keep up?”

  Doc smiled. “Because we do eventually leave this bubble. We need to keep up with the human world. We get modern magazines, books and samples of new technologies. Everything simply appears in the general store and we pick and choose.”

  “Nice. How about cell phones?”

  “No. None of us can manage your trick with the barrier. There would be no purpose unless we wanted to take selfies as we shifted.”

  She giggled at his knowledge of the word selfies.

  Hellebore worked out a message for Laura. If Irgano had anything to do with Hells’ mother, the Matriarch would know and Laura was the best one to ask the question.

  Neer arrived with a smile. “Your chariot awaits.”

  Doc Larsen got up and came around, gesturing for her to precede him.

  Under guard, she was driven back to the barrier.

  Her escort spoke in soft tones while she whistled the tiny pinhole open again. Her message zinged out, and she received a multitude of communications. Reading email on her phone was not her favourite pastime. She had to open each of the documents while the pinhole was open and multi-tasking was awkward when she couldn’t look down.

  When she had all the data that had been sent, she closed the hole.

  Her battery was down, so she whistled a charge into it before sitting where she had stood and flicking through the information.

  “What was that?” Neer rubbed at his ears.

  “Sorry. I was charging my phone. I always lose the cords, so I learned how to charge it with sound.”

  Raven’s visit with Santa had born fruit. Hellebore would be released after her stint on Christmas Eve. It was the only night that the barrier would open large enough for anyone to leave.

  She sighed in relief and read the other notes. Santa had not been expecting her arrival and the search was on for the person who had twisted her transport in order to send her through the barrier to lock her in. To Hellebore’s surprise, the Matriarch was stepping in to find her. It was almost enough to bring a tear to her eye.

  Hellebore asked Doc, “When is Christmas Eve?”

  “Tomorrow night. Why?”

  “Because I have my pardon, and tomorrow, I return to my world and my family.”

  Doc paused and nodded. “That is as it should be.”

  She felt the air on her cheek a moment before there was a landing.

  “You are staying here, Hellebore. Your mother will come for you, and I will prove that she made an error when she c
hose your father over me.”

  Hellebore looked over at Irgano and his naked form. His feathers were still bristling over his skin in waves, showing his lack of control.

  “Irgano, stand away. You know that we are not allowed conflict.” Officer Neer stepped toward him, and the eagle shifter stepped back.

  “She is the key to getting Amaryllis here.” Irgano spread his feet and crossed his arms. It was an image that Hellebore didn’t need.

  Hellebore got to her feet. “No, I am not. My first dictate was that no one tells my mother what was going on. I have sent her updates and told her that my phone doesn’t get coverage.”

  He smirked, “Then, it is a good thing that I have my own people keeping her updated. They have not gotten back to me, but I am sure that she knows by now.”

  While staring at him, Hellebore composed a text by touch alone. She whistled a piercing glissando that knocked Irgano on his butt. She turned and opened the barrier, sending her message through.

  It was simple. Mom, I am safe, I am protected. Stay home. Please stay home.

  Just sending the message made her feel better.

  A spear of agony ran through her, and she dropped her phone.

  Irgano laughed. “The price of violence here inside the barrier. Too bad you lost your toy.”

  He shifted back into an eagle and headed for the settlement.

  Doc Larsen was at her side in an instant. “I will gather the pieces. Rown will be able to fix it. I am sure.”

  “Whether he does or doesn’t, we are getting out of here tomorrow night.” She smiled weakly.

  Doc hugged her with one arm, her shattered phone cradled in his palm. “Yes, we are. I hope your friends are ready.”

  Chapter Six

  Neer and Larsen kept her calm. They played cards in the garage while Rown worked on the phone. He managed to replicate all the pieces, but Larsen had to help him put them in the case. It took a very fine touch, but he managed to put everything where it needed to be.

  “Try it out. See if you can retrieve any of your data.” Rown wiped his hands and smiled.

  She breathed in and turned the phone on. To her shock, a three-dimensional projection came up and it formed an interface. “Oh, my. This is wonderful.”

  She poked and prodded at her data, grinning wildly. “This is amazing. Thank you, Rown. Thanks, Larsen.”

  Doc Larsen sighed, “My name is Fetu Larsen. My mother named me after the god of night, and I am afraid it went to my head.”

  “Fetu?”

  He nodded. “If you are leaving tomorrow, I suppose you can know why I am here.”

  She blinked and drank from the water bottle Neer had brought from the general store. “I suppose I can, but it is your story. Tell it if you wish.”

  He smiled and took her hand. “Four hundred years ago, I was hunting near the volcanoes devoted to my mother. I met a woman, a human woman named Alai. She and I became lovers, and two years later, my parents came to me, telling me that they had arranged a match for me. I refused, of course.”

  Hellebore nodded. “Of course.”

  “Five years of negotiation and my continued refusal later, they said if I was willing to wed my human, they would drop the idea of the arrangement. I panicked at the idea of tying myself to a woman who would age and die far before my own life was close to over. During my indecision, my lover took her own life. This was my punishment, and I took to it gladly.”

  Rown patted him on the shoulder. “You have taken far more than most would have borne and have treated our ills over the centuries. At least you did not have children with your human. That was my crime, to ignore my children and dishonour their mothers by my rejection.”

  Neer whistled. “I am a saint compared to you two. I merely tried to court my Alpha’s daughter.”

  They chuckled and Hellebore added, “I never realised that it was a competition.”

  Fetu shook his head. “It isn’t. We just rarely speak honestly about why we are here. We have shame attached to our being here. I am beginning to think that Irgano has taken aspects of our stories to cover his own.”

  She nodded. “It makes a certain sense.”

  Hellebore started to shiver. She was cold and the garage wasn’t heated. The men around her had thick muscle to insulate them; she was on her own.

  Without asking her, Fetu pulled her onto his lap and a warm cascade of air surrounded her.

  She looked up at him, and he grinned, “My mother is a fire elf, my father is ice. With both of their talents in me, I can generate any environment.”

  She sighed and relaxed against him. His shoulder was comfortable and she had used a lot of her voice today. She felt safe, so she allowed herself to rest. He could move her if he didn’t want her to sleep on him.

  * * * *

  Fetu looked down at the flame-haired woman in his arms. “I cannot believe she fell asleep that easily.”

  Rown nodded. “I knew a siren once. Sure, she could call on any man she wished with her voice, but she had to restrain them when she slept if she wanted to keep them. Her voice poured magic through her lungs, modified by her vocal chords. It was a stressful proposition, and she needed a lot of sleep when she was singing.”

  Fetu stroked her hair. “She’s human.”

  Neer smiled, “Yes, she is. Does that mean she hasn’t knocked you on your ass, so to speak?”

  Fetu looked at his friend and narrowed his eyes. “No, it merely means that I am now in love with a mortal woman once again, but I will not make the same mistake twice. If she will have me, I am hers.”

  Rown laughed. “I wonder if she will get a visitor’s pass or if you will get work release. It will be interesting to see.”

  Fetu stroked her hair again, feeling the waves of the ocean against his palm. Her hair looked like blood and fire but felt like water.

  “Well, gentlemen, tomorrow is the night. We find out if we have earned a place in the world once again.” Neer raised his water bottle to them both.

  Fetu and Rown raised their bottles and toasted the possibility of freedom. It was a tradition that they enacted every eve of their annual transformation. The others were in the inn with Irgano, but they had been briefed as to what was going on. It had been agreed that they should keep an eye on the eagle shifter in case he wanted to try mischief with Hellebore.

  Fetu held her in his arms and brought her to the cot that Rown had set up for him. He cuddled her against him and pressed his lips to her forehead, using the small contact of skin to skin in order to control the heat that surrounded her.

  It wasn’t the worst night he had ever spent in his life.

  * * * *

  Hellebore woke in a warm and comfortable cocoon of air and magic. She looked down at her mattress and blushed at the idea that she had spent the entire night lying on top of Fetu Larsen.

  She eased to one side and hands caught her before she could slip to the floor. He grunted and sat up. “Did you sleep well?”

  Hellebore had to admit that she felt fresh and relaxed. “Very well. Thank you for your efforts on my behalf.”

  Rown brought in some pre-packaged poppy seed cake, and he started his coffee maker. “Oh, good. You are both awake. I was beginning to worry.”

  Fetu asked, “How late is it?”

  “We have four hours before we need to line up. I brought you some breakfast. Irgano is laying low, so I think the day will be uneventful.”

  Hellebore went after a slice of the cake. “I hope so. I will make one more pilgrimage to the barrier. Is Neer around?”

  Rown grinned. “Why don’t you take your own car?”

  She blinked. “It’s fixed?”

  “Of course. It kept me occupied for a few hours, and for that, I truly thank you.”

  He tossed her the keys, and she put the cake in her mouth to catch them. She gave him a thumbs-up and took the coffee he handed her.

  “Oh my. That smells wonderful.”
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br />   Rown smiled. “Thank you. I have been working on my coffeemaker design for close to a decade.”

  She sipped at it and nearly swooned. “Is there any way to smuggle one of them out of here in the back of my car?”

  “I only have the prototype, but if I am ever released, I will send you one.” He grinned.

  “From what you have told me, you only need to acknowledge your children and honour the women who birthed them. Why can’t you do that?”

  Rown wrinkled his nose. “Because I have not yet decided on a plan of attack.”

  “That is easy. Start with admitting that you were an ass. Learn your children’s names and birthdays. Get to know them. Offer them everything that you have. You can always start from nothing and rebuild your life, but you have to give them the best start that you can.”

  He raised his brows. “You feel very strongly about this.”

  “I do. I have seen far too many supernaturals leaving their offspring to fend for themselves and then swooping in when those children become exceptional adults. By that time, it is too late to earn their trust and respect, and if you think you don’t need it, the respect and honour from your children can elevate you in the eyes of just about every species.”

  Rown smiled. “Succinctly put.”

  “Well, the Matriarch disowned my grandmother and thereby her entire line. Now, I am the only siren who has the full complement of magic. I don’t owe the Matriarch a damned thing.”

  Fetu asked, “What if she has you freed?”

  “My friends have already arranged it. All she can do is add her voice to the multitude.”

  Fetu cocked his head. “You have not named your friends.”

  “No, I have not. Two of the women were brides at weddings that I sang at. Another one is a midwife. One male was a groom at one of the weddings, and the last friend is a vampire, sort of.” Hellebore never knew how to describe Max without using the word Abomination.

  “So, a fairly wide spectrum of associates. Which one got in touch with Santa?” Rown was acting casual.

  “The midwife. Her handler is a transporter elf. He has a pretty good handle on who is who.”