Page 19 of Caught By Her Guardian
They met up with the other Guardians and checked in with the security office.
“Santa wants to see us,” Winter said.“For a debrief in the main conference room.”
“You too, Pixie,” Hunter said.
“Yeah?”
“Of course,” Winter said.“You kicked ass.Plus, you closed the Portal and kept more followers from getting through.”
Hunter took her hand, and they followed the group into the building, where they met with Santa in a large conference room.She and Hunter took a seat with the Guardians.
Santa’s expression was grave.“First, I want to say how thankful I am that Hunter and Pixie saw the Portal open.Your quick thinking and call to the security office stopped what could have been a serious breach.”
Pixie raised her hand.“Do you know what was wrong with the female who opened the Portal?She looked weird.”
Santa nodded.“She’d been infected with enchanted coal dust.It hypnotized her and allowed Frost to force her to open a portal here.Then they used something akin to your shadow magic to obscure their evil nature from the Portal, basically coming in on the female’s good magic coattails, so to speak.She’s with the healers, who are trying to detox her from it, and Sebastian’s mate Emberlin is using her healing magic.Hopefully we’ll be able to save her.”
“Will the Portal stay closed?”Gabriel asked.
“Yes, until after Christmas Day,” Santa said.“Previously I put out word that the Portal was closed until after the holidays except for emergencies, but now, with what Frost did, I’ll close it, and no one will be able to use it.”Before she could ask about her own portal, Santa explained that hers wasn’t included in the closure, and she could come and go as needed since it was protected.
She listened to the group of Guardians and elf security team members discuss the situation with Santa.Things were tense, and she suspected it was like this every year the closer it got to Christmas Day.
Santa was most vulnerable when he came back into Northernmost at the end of his sleigh run delivering toys, when his magic was nearly depleted.It wasn’t until he got to the Well of Magic to replenish it that he wouldn’t be vulnerable any longer.Something Frost knew.
“I saw something with Azure,” she said when there was a lull as everyone contemplated what might happen next in Frost’s bid to take over the Well.
Santa’s brows rose.“Azure?He came into Northernmost?”
She shook her head.“No, he didn’t.He stayed wherever the Portal had opened.He just…stood watching.He could have come in, he could have hurt any of us, but he didn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t he come in?”Maverick, one of the snow leopards, asked.
Santa hummed.“I don’t know.”
Hunter cleared his throat, his fingers drumming on the tabletop.“I think it’s just a distraction.”
“Which part?”Santa asked.
“Frost used his magic on Solstice to freeze the Portal.It was a mess and a pain in the ass, but it didn’t really do anything.The Portal wasn’t damaged and we were able to use the fairies to fix it.And then this thing with his followers.It was almost like they were cannon fodder.Azure didn’t take any with him when he fled and who knows how many of them made it back to Frost’s lair after we pushed them out of the perimeter.”
“Remember when he abducted all those witches and warlocks?”Heath, one of the elves, asked.
“What about it?”Santa asked.“He’s always abducting so he can steal power.”
“Yeah, but it was more than usual.What if he abducted so he could amass an army to come after us, but for no other reason than to just screw with us?”
“Damn, that makes sense,” Santa said.“He wouldn’t keep a huge number of followers around because they’d just deplete his magic, and we know he’s not loyal to them.He’s only loyal to himself.”Resting his hands on the table, he blew out a breath.“Thoughts?”
Everyone looked around, the room quiet as they all considered what had just happened.
There was a knock on the door, and Emberlin, the phoenix witch, walked in.
“I have some news about the witch.”She moved to her mate and rested her hand on his shoulder.“I was able to remove the enchanted coal dust from her skin thanks to the help of the healers and some crystals in the rooftop garden.When she woke, she told us her name is Anna, and she’s from a coven in Australia.She was working outside in her night-blooming garden when a male approached and threw something at her.She didn’t remember anything until she woke up in the infirmary.”
“She’s okay?”Pixie asked.
Emberlin nodded.“Now that she’s out from under the coal, yes.She’s going to stay here until Christmas Day, and then we’ll have someone take her home through the Portal.”
