Page 11 of Run, Run Rudolph
“Cut the unicorn-crap, Estelle.”
I sighed. Fine. “Tamara, my client, hit Rudolph with her car.”
“How? Where? With what?”
“Um. What do you mean?” I’d been expecting some sort of concerned panic from the head fairy, with it practically being Christmas Eve and all. But she seemed more befuddled than anything.
“Well, first of all, how did she see him? He’d be at the North Pole. So, are you sure it’s Rudolph? And if it is, how would your human get through the shroud?”
“I don’t know.” It was a special time of year where some types of magic were stronger. But so, too, were the protection spells, such as the ones around Santa’s reindeer, so children and others couldn’t see or harm them while they made their deliveries on Christmas Eve. Come to think of it, it was a bit odd that Tamara had not only seen Rudolph, but managed to hit him with her car.
I knew that when someone believed, they could see us. If we wanted them to. But why would Rudolph want to be seen by a human?
The head fairy sat back in her chair, her pink painted nails against her lips. “Tamara believes.”
“Yes.” She’d been in our offices and seen all of us. That was ironclad evidence.
“I think there’s something more at play.”
I quirked my head to the side. “Like what?”
The head fairy sat forward, her brow creased. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I think we’d better check on a few things.”
“Okay.” I nodded, eager to learn something new and special or odd. Something that fairies like Trish might not get to see or learn in their first year.
“When did this happen?” Gram-Gram asked, her expression growing more concerned, as though the news was finally sinking in past the disbelief that an accident of this type was not only possible, but had actually happened so close to Christmas.
“Just now. More or less.”
The head fairy stood up, face pale. She wavered slightly, as if she was standing in a gale force wind. It wasn’t until then that I realized that my client might have a major magical world problem.
Chapter 4
~ Tamara ~
I parked in front of my red barn with the white trim, letting the car’s heater blast me for a few more seconds before getting out. It was so cold, it felt as if my entire face was going to break off. Even with the heat cranked, and me, driving hunched over my steering wheel with all the vents angled at my fingers and face, I was frozen. My jaw chattered so hard, I feared I might shatter my teeth. Driving with the roof down in a Canadian blizzard was not something I’d ever recommend.
My joints creaking, and the fabric of my winter coat crackling in the cold, I got out of the car. The snow that had swirled into the cab and coated my shoulders and lap dropped to the ground like a sudden avalanche. I held the big wing of a door open for Rudolph and looked to the sky for the other reindeer. I hadn’t seen them while driving, and feared I’d lost them. What was I going to do with Rudolph if they weren’t here to guide me?
Moments later, I relaxed as they silently landed in the snow, careful not to knock over my lit-up reindeer lawn ornament, which was significantly less beefy than they were. There was something off in the way they moved. Their movements were slightly uncoordinated, and they walked with a fluid grace that made me more and more convinced that they were tipsy, if not flat-out drunk.
The boys surrounded Rudolph and the car, and I stepped back to shoot off a quick text to the GAL PAL text group, cringing as I hit Send.
ME
Benjamin met Rudolph tonight. Advice? Have him at barn. Char called Estelle. Haven’t heard back. SOS!
I knew Samantha and Gabby wouldn’t be helpful since they didn’t believe in the magical world, or at least, they hadn’t last summer. Josie was in the chat thread, though, and she was our resident expert, seemingly understanding way more than Char and I did despite her lack of forthcomingness whenever we ran into an issue.
I opened the barn door, the doorway strung with multi-coloured Christmas lights, and turned to find the herd of reindeer coaxing Rudolph along. He was limping, collapsing down into his hips when he walked, which didn’t look very promising in regards to a speedy recovery. His nose was blinking slowly, and I swore his eyes spun with pain.
We maneuvered Rudolph through the doorway, and I went to close the door behind us. One of the herd was rubbing noses with the reindeer ornament, which was a white, wire-frame deal with white lights. I left the door open for the straggler and helped Rudolph into an empty stall near the back of my four-stall barn.
Once Rudolph was situated, I returned to close the door, so what little heat trapped in the uninsulated building didn’t escape. I checked my phone with half-frozen fingers while hunching further into my parka. I pulled my toque further down over my ears and eyebrows, trying to fight the intense wave of shivers taking over my core.
