Christmas in Vampire Valley (2 page)

He paused for half-a-second. With a quick move, he slipped
off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The warm material swallowed my
shorter five-and-a-half foot frame.

My mouth dropped open, but he didn’t see my reaction. He
turned and raced across the wide field at vampire speed, returning to the
smoking building.

I blinked and he was gone.

The next day, I yanked a brush through my hair, a thick mass
that swirled nearly to my waist. The silky, red stuff crackled with static
electricity. I didn’t notice. I was too busy trying to make a fast escape.

I hastily pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a worn hunter green
t-shirt. The forest color reminded me of Brandon's eyes. The dark color also
complemented my pale green eyes and ivory skin. I snorted at my vanity. My
appearance didn’t matter, not tonight. Tonight I was going to my grandma's
house. If I'd been going to school, where Brandon might see me, I would've
cared. I didn't need to worry about school, not until the first week of January
when Christmas break was over.

Adults never used a bit of common sense, none whatsoever.
Can you believe Principal Tinklebunn blamed me for the explosion?

It was all Narlene's fault. The arrogant girl told the
guardians she saw me in the dressing area of the auditorium before the
explosion.

The principal expelled me for a full week. She had totally
no evidence indicating I created the explosion, but in her words, she wanted me
out of the way while the guardians investigated the explosion. To say Tinklebunn's
decision created a major inter-valley incident was putting it mildly. The
aftermath of the explosion and the single student expelled was on all the TV
networks.

My parents blew a gasket. As the official ambassadors from
Atlantis Valley, they hated bad publicity, much less what appeared to be a
racially motivated accusation against fairies.

When the reporters swarmed our house, mom threatened to put
a wart hex on anyone that shoved a microphone or camera into our face.

Vampires never listen. Perhaps they will now.

Margaret Chittybum ignored mom's warning and took a picture
of me in the back yard. I'm sure every reporter in Clan Valley will pay more
attention to a ticked-off fairy in the future. By the time Margaret could throw
a coat over her head, she had hairy warts all over her face and hands.

I was angrier than mom and dad combined. It wasn't that I
loved school or anything, but I needed to give Brandon his jacket back. For the
first time ever, I actually had a legitimate excuse for talking to him and the
stupid principal messed everything up. If I were a bit more forward, I’d go to
his house.

Yeah, right, sure I would.

A light flush colored my cheeks. I groaned and admitted, at
least to myself, that I was afraid he would say something like ‘Oh, I wondered
what happened to my jacket’. A reaction like that would just crush me.

Anyway, in addition to that lost opportunity, the pit of my
stomach began rolling the moment I woke-up. The horrid feeling pulled me out of
an incredible dream, a perfect dream where Brandon asked me on a date.

I rolled my eyes in the mirror, ridiculing my own silly
thoughts. I had a higher chance of winning the Leprechaun Pot of Gold Lottery
than having one of the Andrews’ boys ask me out on a date, especially Brandon.

Forget the fact I’d had a major crush on him for nearly a year.
He had never hinted he liked me, at least not that way. Oh, he was always nice,
distantly polite. He'd smile and say hello, but much to my frustration it never
went any farther.

I groaned, knowing it was partly my own fault by never
encouraging him. Every time he smiled, my thoughts turned to mush and I ended
up flustered, not knowing what to say.

Anyway, when I woke-up with my stomach twisted into knots I
thought it was nerves. I planned a trip to Atlantis Valley that afternoon. It
was my first solo trip without my parents.

It didn’t take me very long to realize I was wrong.

I had a touch of foresight from my dad’s side of the family
and the dancing jig my stomach performed did not have anything to do with
nerves. I was learning to pay attention to my gut feeling. There was no way I
was waiting around the house another three hours. Something bad was about to
happen and whatever it was I didn’t want anything to do with it.

The phone rang.

I groaned, wishing I could fling a spell at the wretched
device and make it disconnect. Yeah, right. That would never happen. Growing
things, I could manipulate. Unlike a few of my cousins, technology stopped me
cold. Knowing my luck, I’d make the silly thing explode and mom would ground
me.

“Megan,” my mom called from downstairs. “It’s Kendrick.”

I thumped my head against the doorframe. Just ten minutes
and I would’ve been out the door and on my way to Atlantis. Why me?

“Coming,” I answered with all the enthusiasm of someone
headed to her funeral. I might as well be going to my funeral. Having my boss
call at four o’clock on a Friday afternoon was not a pleasant thought.

I picked up the phone, hesitating before I answered in a
dull tone. “Hello.”

“Megan, why aren’t you at work?” Kendrick asked huffily, a
normal emotion for the stuck-up vampire. Who, by the way, was George and
Narlene’s uncle.

“I’m off this weekend,” I said firmly, attempting to put as
much strength behind my words as possible.

“I made it clear at the meeting, no one has tonight off,”
Kendrick said haughtily. I could imagine his pointy nose stuck-up in the air.
If he wasn't careful, he might drown one of these days.

“Two months ago, I asked for today and tomorrow off, and you
said okay.” I tried to stop the frustration from filling my voice, but I
couldn’t help it. Normally, I enjoyed working at Martin’s Candy Shop. I really
did. I worked after school on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. I had
made friends with most of my co-workers, but the store manager was a nightmare.
“It’s on the schedule.”

“George! Don’t put that barrel of fairy snowflakes next to
the gremlin jumping hot peppers!” Kendrick screamed at his nephew. “You idiot,
do you want to melt the entire barrel of snowflakes?”

I jerked the receiver away from my ear, glaring at the
helpless phone.

"This is all your fault, Kendrick!" Shirley, my
boss's know-it-all girlfriend screeched in the background. "You didn't
listen to me and insisted on hiring your bungling nephew!"

I ignored their shouting match. I didn’t doubt my boss had
pre-planned the whole thing. Next, he’d be insisting I wear a witch’s costume
to The Palace.

My stomach twisted and a flash of foresight flickered behind
my eyeballs. Dancing and laughter, twirling people on a dance floor, hundreds
of people dressed-up for the Christmas masquerade ball. An uneasy feeling
wormed its way around the vision, making me shiver.

I groaned, knowing what was in store for me, hours of
handing out samples and playing Martin's mascot. Being the center of attention wasn't
a pleasant thought, but I was the only fairy on Kendrick's payroll. The
honor
of that position made me a marketable oddity.

“You’re working the five o’clock shift at The Palace,”
Kendrick said nastily, referring to my flash of foresight. The Palace was one
of Clan Valley’s largest attractions; the castle and surrounding area changed
with every season. Christmas meant singing carols, a living nativity scene, Santa,
and a weekend masquerade ball. Three hundred acres in the middle of nowhere
filled with dozens of rides including a hay ride and boat ride, a carnival, a
village with a dance hall, a real castle, and of course Martin’s Candy Store;
the largest chain of candy stores in all of the Sídhí valleys. “Be there and
dress in the costume I provided or don’t come to work next Thursday.”

He hung up, before I had time to argue.

Fuming, I clicked the phone off.

It rang.

I answered without thinking, still too keyed-up.
"Yes!"

"Megan?" Brandon hesitantly asked.

Oh, crap!

"Um, yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to snap." Words
rattled out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Can I start over?"

"Sure." He laughed and the sound stirred something
deep inside me. "Did I call at a bad time?"

"No, of course not," I said quickly. I sighed,
trying to pull my head out of the mud. "I just got off the phone with my
boss, who's a prime jerk."

"Yeah, everyone in the MuskLeke family has a twisted sense
of honor." He snorted without humor. "What did he do to you?"

"I was supposed to be off work, but he called and
insisted I go to work anyway." Curiosity ate at me. "What are you up
to?"

"I heard you started a book club. I was wondering if I
could join."

"Sure!" I answered excitedly. Finally, I might get
a chance to get to know him. Then I groaned. "You might not like our
currently choice."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. What are you reading?"

"
Twilight
by Stephanie Meyers, but it was
Hannah's suggestion." I tried to explain, even though the series was one
of my all-time favorites.

"
Twilight
it is then. When are you meeting
next?" he asked eagerly.

I blinked, pretty shocked that a macho vampire would agree
to a romance. "Tuesday after school we're going to meet at my house."
I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

"I'll be there," he said, adding a brief goodbye,
he hung-up.

I hurried to my room, snatching up my cell phone and sent
Hannah and Brittany a quick text.
"Guess who joined the book club?
Brandon!"

"Ha! I was right. I said he liked you."
Brittany sent back.

"What about Ryan?"
Hannah questioned.

I chuckled. The girl was crazy for Ryan, writing his name on
every available surface.
"Not yet. Got to run, working at the Palace
tonight."

"Dang vampire made you work? I'll see you about
midnight."
I received Hannah's text and smiled. At least the night
wouldn't be a total loss.

An hour later, I was in Martin's huge storage room at The
Palace dutifully dressing in an awful witch's costume.

Black ruffles layered the calf-length skirt. I twirled in
place, surprised that I actually liked the frilly thing. The red blouse was
something else. The skimpy piece of cloth was more like a brilliant red corset
pushing my boobs up. The lacy cage felt like a skintight medieval torture
device, exposing more skin than it covered. I grinned, wishing Brandon could
see me in it.

The top part of the velvet sleeves puffed up. Black lace
covered my forearms from elbow to wrist, a beautiful black lace that matched
the skirt.

The one thing I absolutely hated was the tall, pointed witch
hat with contrasting red velvet ribbon along the base. A matching ribbon held a
clunky piece of costume jewelry around my slender neck.

At least, I wouldn't stick-out like a sore thumb in such a
silly costume. On my way to work, I'd seen hundreds of people dressed in every
kind of outfit imaginable, everything from zombies to belly dancers.

I swore that after tonight I’d turn in my resignation and
find another job. If I didn’t need a reference, I would quit on the spot, but
vampires were rather funny when it came to certain things. If I just up and
quit, no one in the vampire community would hire me.

I had a mega-huge trust fund so I didn’t need the money, but
grandma promised me a new car for graduation. To get the car, I had to meet one
condition: I had to work my entire senior year. She said work built character.

Yeah, whatever.

Every year, she offered my cousins the same challenge. For
me, it wasn't about winning the car (I could afford to buy a hundred cars). It
was about not losing.

All my cousins worked through their senior year. I wasn't
about to be the only cousin who didn't receive a car for graduation.

I'd even been car shopping on the web. I wanted a Smart Car
or a Honda Civic. If I got the Smart Car, I wanted a wrap that looked like
fighting dragon. Would it not be so cool to drive around a vampire town in a
car painted like a roaring dragon?

On the other hand, Grandma (who was a Royal, on the High
Fairy Council, and richer than Bill Gates) insisted on a Ferrari. We were still
discussing the details.

"Hurry up!" George pounded on the locked door. "Uncle
Kendrick wanted you on the dance floor twenty minutes ago."

That's how I found myself in the castle's massive ballroom.
The masquerade ball was in full swing. A live band played Jingle Bell Rock
enhancing the Christmas theme with the foot-tapping jingle.

I circled the outer edge of the dance floor, passing out flavored
snowflakes, the hottest new Christmas candy on the market. In the same way I
could change someone's hair color, the sweet tooth fairies changed the
molecular structure of a snowflake. Snowflakes kept their shape and stayed ice
cold until eaten.

"You, Witch Girl, stop right there." Narlene stomped
up, towering over me. "Ugh, if I had bright red hair, I'd dye it
blue!" Not stopping to take a breath, she demanded, "What flavors do
you have?"

I gritted my teeth and slapped on a happy smile. "I
have mint, cherry, chocolate, and orange flavors. Each flavor is reflected by
the color of sparkles on the flake."

"I want a raspberry." She sniffed arrogantly,
reminding me of her uncle. "Go get me one."

Fuming inside, I parroted Martin's golden rule. "At
Martin's the customer is always the boss."

She flounced away. Her pink princess gown four inches too short
for her massive height. She had to have amazon blood in her veins.

I smiled at her retreating form. I didn't actually tell her
when I'd go find her a raspberry snowflake. Chuckling, I headed toward a side
room. The small, brass sign on the swinging door simply said Costumes.