Chapter Ten
Oskar steered the sleigh into a narrow courtyard and parked next to his cottage. He and his brothers had their own homes in Glasdorf. Nicholas' place boasted a state of the art kitchen, Sven's had a wood-working studio in the back, Gregor's looked like a spread in Modern Home, and Wolfgang's was decorated with photos of his world-wide friends and family. Perched on top of a steep slope, Oskar's cottage offered an excellent snowboarding opportunity. He could jump out of bed, open the back door and snowboard down the hill. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the mood for boarding right now.
The fire had really shaken him up. The devastation was staggering. He and Boris needed to solve the crime quickly—
he didn't want to disappoint his father or the Council. The fact that they entrusted him with such a huge responsibility was humbling, but nerve-wracking as well. The Klaus Family took their commitment to the elves very seriously. An ancient pact between the elves and his ancestors ensured their survival and protection.
"Christ, Boris, I hope we can figure out what's going on. I don't like the idea that a rogue elf is terrorizing Glasdorf."
Boris jumped down from the sleigh. "Don't worry, Boss. I'll head over to Dag's and ask around. See if anyone's been acting funny lately. Or more pissed than usual." He stroked his beard and glanced at Oskar. "Do you think it was a 141
random act of violence, or someone's really irked with you?
Funny that the explosion started in your office."
Oskar rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. Elves are pissed at me all the freakin' time. We work it out and move on. I can't imagine anyone so peeved they'd fry the theater."
"Make up a list of every elf you've rumbled with in the last couple of months. Then I'll check them out, one at a time."
Boris leaned down to inspect the trunk door on the sleigh.
"Huh. That's funny. This door isn't latching properly. Let me get some tools." He kicked it once, but it fell open again.
"Hullo! Anyone home?" Oskar and Boris looked up as a trio of elves entered the courtyard.
"Ingo, that you?" Boris ambled over to the elf and clasped his arms. "Good to see you, friend. You too, Loki and Hie.
Quite a night, isn't it?"
Ingo nodded, his face creased with worry. "Oskar, I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind."
Oskar approached the elves and noticed Ingo's rigid stature. He looked nervous as hell. "Everything okay? What's wrong, Ingo?"
"Hie, Loki and I rode by the Plaza earlier today and saw something....sort of strange. Thought we'd better let you know."
"If you have a list of fire-starting suspects, we've got someone to put at the top!" Loki shouted as spittle flew from his mouth.
"Calm down, Loki. It's true, Oskar, we're worried about Wiebe Reiner. And his stepdaughter, Gabi," Hieronymus said.
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Oskar and Boris glanced at each other.
"How about Wiebe? Are you on his shit list, O?" Boris asked.
"Well, he was cheating on his time card and I busted him.
He got sent to the Council for a Tag der Rache. I think he got double shifts for a while as a punishment."
Ingo nodded. "Oh, he's pissed all right. I talked to him at Dag's on Silvester, and he was plenty angry, Oskar."
"We saw him earlier today at the theater. He was there with Gabi. They were leaving the Plaza. When we asked him what he was doing, he ignored us and took off with the girl."
Hie shot Oskar a pained expression. "She looked miserable.
Something's not right."
"Damn." Oskar blew out a breath and turned to Boris.
"Anything on your radar about Wiebe?"
Boris barked out a laugh. "Are you kidding? He's a surly son of a bitch. Complains about everything all the time, but I thought he was harmless. Haven't heard much about the stepdaughter. When Marta died, there were no other relatives, and so she stayed with him. He grumbled about it, but I thought it was his typical whining."
"That's not all!" shouted Loki. "We just saw Wiebe at the Plaza, watching the fire go out. When we confronted him about his suspicious activity this afternoon, he blew it off.
Said Gabi had run away and he didn't know where she was."
Ingo cleared his throat. "Look at this, Oskar." He lifted Loki's hand to show him the scorch mark. "This burn appeared on Loki's hand, and I could sense some Dark Magik at the time."
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"How did you sense it, Ingo? Are you a Bandiger?" Oskar inspected the burn.
"Yah. Don't use it much now, since I'm working the wood.
But there was no mistakin' it today. Something weird is going on."
Boris slapped Ingo on the back. "Thanks for letting us know, friend. Oskar and I will get to the bottom of this. First elf I'm questioning is Wiebe, the little weasel."
"Don't worry, I'll let my mom know about Gabi. She'll check in with her and make sure the Honigbienchen is all right." Oskar reached out to shake Ingo's hand. "I really appreciate you stopping by."
Ingo swallowed and shook Oskar's hand. "Glad to help." He hesitated, then asked, "Uh, how was the party in New York?
Did you meet any nice models?"
Oskar laughed. "You elves love your gossip, don't you?
Nope, the supermodels were a bust."
Ingo looked greatly relieved, for some strange reason. Hie and Loki patted him on the back.
"Hmm," Boris murmured with a raised brow. "Then, who's the girl...?"
"Not a supermodel," Oskar answered, wondering what Kiana was up to right now. I wish I hadn't left her so abruptly. Damn it. This whole arson problem is going to put a big crimp in my social life...
He noticed Ingo, Loki and Hie all looking at each other with funny expressions. Ingo in particular seemed pale. Geez, those elves need to mind their own business...
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"Come on, Ingo. We'd better go. Oskar and Boris have a lot of work to do," said Hie, tugging on his friend's sleeve.
Ingo nodded. "Oskar, if there's anything we can do to help, please let us know."
"Yah! And tell your mother, if she needs help finding Gabi, we'd like to volunteer," Loki added.
"I will. Thanks a lot." Oskar slumped down in the front seat of the sleigh as Boris led his friends out of the courtyard. He rubbed a weary hand over his face and sighed. He wanted this problem solved as fast as possible, so he could get back to Manhattan and see Kiana again. Funny, his plans to go to Mammoth were now permanently sidetracked by a prickly, conflicted librarian.
Too bad she isn't here right now. It would be great to hash things out with her. After their date at Cafe Pho, he knew she was easy to talk to, and genuinely concerned and thoughtful about his viewpoint. He didn't care that she was still struggling with her attraction to him. One moment she was pushing him away, the next kissing him with wild abandon.
Oskar had every confidence he could earn her trust eventually.
He'd never had a woman to his place in Glasdorf for obvious reasons, but he thought Kiana would fit right in. She would love his book collection for sure, and would probably be charmed by the village of Glasdorf. He could imagine teaching her to snowboard in the backyard, then warming up in front of the fire afterward. Maybe if he was really lucky, he'd finally get to explore that sexy little mermaid tattoo....
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A rustling sound in the back of the garage caught Oskar's attention. Probably one of Dad's dogs. Then he heard some whispering and decided to investigate. He slid out of the sleigh and quietly worked his way to the back of the garage, weaving in and out of stacks of snowboards and skis. The whispering grew louder. His curiosity was piqued. Who the hell was hiding out in his cottage?
Behind a snowboard rack tilted on the back wall came the telltale murmurs, one high pitched and child-like, the other husky and low, but definitely feminine. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck.
He knew that voice.
Oskar flipped down the rack, startling his visitors. A little elfin girl squeaked and jumped into the woman's lap.
Dumbfounded, he gawked at his guests.
"Let me guess. You just happened to be in the neighborhood."
Kiana rubbed Gabi's back, attempting to soothe the frightened girl. "That wasn't very nice, Oskar. You scared her!"
" Excuse me? I'd like an explanation. How the hell did you get here? I know you didn't take a cab." Oskar shook his head in disbelief.
"You'd like an explanation? Ha! That's a good one. I'd like an explanation, too, if you don't mind. According to my little friend, we're in the North Pole, where Santa lives. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Oskar grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet. Gabi scurried behind her. "Let's try this again. How did you get 146
here? " He cocked his head and tried to sneak a peek at Gabi.
"And who's your little friend?"
Kiana took a deep breath. "I heard you talking about going up on the roof when you got the emergency phone call. I thought that was strange, so I decided to go up and have a look around." She reached back and gave Gabi's hand a reassuring squeeze. The girl refused to budge.
Oskar crossed his arms. "You were spying on me?"
"What!? Of course not. You just took off very abruptly. One minute we were....well, you know, and then....the next minute.....you were running down the hallway...." her voice trailed off.
Oskar shot her a look. "Oh, I remember what we were doing. You were telling me you weren't interested while we made out in front of your door."
She gasped. "Ha! You're the one sending mixed signals, not me. Begging for a date, then taking off with no explanation."
Oskar's jaw dropped and he stalked over to her. "Mixed signals? You are the queen of mixed signals, Miss Fake Eyeglass-Wearing, Bun-Sporting, Ugly-Ass Outfit, French Kissing Master of Disguise. And, you are not answering my question. How did you get here?" He grabbed her upper arms and glared into her face.
Her eyes narrowed and she yanked away from his grasp.
"I found your beater sleigh on the roof top. And your....little, cigar-smoking friend. I panicked and crawled into the trunk. I guess I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I found myself here." She gestured with outspread arms. "My 147
companion insists we are in the North Pole, which I find very hard to believe. I'm also a little confused about the...uh....elf-like people here. Are they wearing costumes? Just what is going on, Oskar?"
Oskar blanched. He stepped forward and ran his hands over her sides. "Jesus, Kiana. You could have fallen out of the damned sleigh while we were flying back to Glasdorf. That trunk door doesn't latch properly. Are you sure you're all right? No bumps or bruises?" He shook his head. "You crawled into the trunk? Are you crazy?"
She released a hysterical shrill of laughter. "Flying? We were flying? Yes, I think I may be crazy. I'm surrounded by elves, and there's some other bizarre stuff happening, like flashing lights whizzing around me that sound like they're giggling."
"Sternschnuppen. They're nothing to worry about," Oskar replied. "Is this a bruise?" He held up her hand for inspection.
"God, don't ever scare me like that again." He pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Really, I'm okay, Oskar. Just a little bit sore," she answered. She closed her eyes for just a moment, relishing the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her. Gabi whimpered.
Kiana reluctantly pulled out of his arms and turned to console the little girl. "Don't worry, sweet pea. Everything is going to be fine." She brushed a loose strand of white-blonde hair behind the girl's ear.
"Kiana, who is this?" Oskar's face registered shock when he finally got a look at her. "Gabi, is that you?"
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Gabi nodded shyly.
"Oh, thank God." Oskar knelt on the ground next to Gabi.
She shuffled over to him and threw herself into his arms.
Oskar peered at Kiana over the top of Gabi's head as he hugged her fiercely. "We've been really worried about you, Honigbienchen. No one knew where you were."
Gabi sobbed into Oskar's neck. "Please don't send me back. Please don't send me back." Her entire body shook with distress.
Kiana rubbed the back of her head reassuringly. "Don't worry, Gabi. You are not going back with that....that....." She caught her breath and turned to Oskar for support. "I found her hiding from her stepfather." Kiana pointed to her own face and whispered bruise.
Oskar pulled back to examine Gabi's cheek. His eyes narrowed. "Wiebe? Are you talking about Wiebe? Did he do this? How do you know this, Kiana?" he demanded, not bothering to keep the anger out of his voice.
"She told me, in so many words. She was hiding out at the Weihn...uh....."
"Weihnachtsmann's house. That's my dad's place." Oskar continued to shush Gabi, whose tears were drying up.
"Your father? Your father is Santa Claus?" A nervous giggle escaped her as she uttered the ridiculous statement. She waited, hoping that Oskar would laugh at her absurd comment, but he just continued to rub Gabi's back.
"Yeah, that's right. The Big Guy himself, St. Nicholas."
"You do realize that Santa Claus is just a myth, right?"
Kiana asked.
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Oskar barked out a laugh. "Well, someone forgot to tell my dad. He's been busting his hump for years, delivering gifts all over the world. Guess he better find another gig."
Gabi gasped. "No! Don't say that, Oskar."
"I'm just kidding, little honeybee. Kiana's a Suddie, so she's not used to all the stuff going on in Glasdorf. We'll get her caught up in no time. Why don't we go into my cottage and get some yummy hot chocolate from Klaus Kuche?"
Gabi smiled tremulously at Oskar. "Ohh.....I love your brother's hot chocolate. It is soooo good."
Oskar stood and held the girl still clutching onto his shoulders. "Let's go, Moon Goddess. We still have a lot to talk about, and I don't want anyone seeing you."
"Why don't you want anyone to see me?"
Oskar turned to her and sighed. "I don't want anyone to see you because I could get into big trouble harboring a Suddie in my place without permission of the Council. I'm sort of on probation."
Gabi giggled.
Kiana shook her head. "Why?"
Gabi tugged on Oskar's ear. "He's naughty."
Kiana rolled her eyes. "Why does that not surprise me in the least?"
"Let's get into my house and talk. There's a lot going on right now, and I want to make sure both you and Gabi are safe." He wrapped one arm around Gabi and held out his other hand to Kiana. "Come on."
She stared at his hand for a moment and then reached for him. In spite of the nagging fear at the back of her mind—the 150
one that insisted she was suffering from some sort of mental breakdown—she welcomed the touch of his strong, rough hand. It felt very real and safe.
If all of this was just a dream, then she was glad Oskar had a starring role.
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