Snow Time for Love (2 page)

“So, they are being tagged like we are. Good.” Nova shifted her pack and smiled.

“They are getting the same treatment that the shifters get, but since they haven’t been here before, I have no idea how this is going to unfold.” Tony scowled.

“Is there a fey representative installed here?”

Teal grinned. “Teebie. She has been designated as the one to call on.”

“I didn’t ask. Where am I staying?”

“The Bright Soul Bed and Breakfast. It is just the Open Heart expanded, but Dira decided that it needed a new name.” Teal made a face. “Once she got out of her dragon form, that is. That was a month of fun, I can tell you.”

“Can I just head out there or do I need the tour.”

Tony rubbed the back of his neck. “A few things have changed, including the Meditation Centre.”

Nova looked around and blinked in surprise. She had been so fixated on her own purpose that she had neglected to look around when she arrived. “Holy smokes.”

Where the modest Zen-like interior had once been was now a series of landing sites like the one she had appeared in. Three spaces were now visible, and the centre of the roof was now open to the skies. The hallway surrounding the landing areas led to a series of doorways.

“Why is the roof open?”

Teal chuckled. “Saving on labour. It has been blown up enough in the last year to demand some self-preservation. If there is already a hole, it will save wear and tear.”

“It looks like you are setting up for wholesale matchmaking.”

“The fey use a different channel to arrive, or they will, when they get here. The portals have a different chime, so we know what we are greeting.”

“What is the third space?”

Tony was grim. “Emergency anchor. The fey hijacked the Crossroads once, and Dira will not let it happen again.”

Nova had never met the dragon that built the Crossroads, but Teebie had spoken of her in glowing terms. It seemed that once was all that it took for the dragon to put in a backup plan.

“Nova, head to the Bright Soul and settle in. With the fey coming in, there are whole new expansions to a lot of the businesses. We now have a nail salon, a hairstylist and a giant stock boost to the general store. Since you are here on the fey’s tab, you may as well enjoy yourself and do some shopping.” Teal winked.

Nova hiked her bag on her shoulder, and she inclined her head. “Yes, ma’am.”

She stepped out into late-afternoon sunlight and inhaled deeply. The wild scent of the Crossroads was all around her with a bristle of magic that woke her senses up.

The expansion was obvious, but the familiar sight of the Crossed Star Bar was comforting. Everything was where she had left it; there was just more of it.

The Bright Soul was far larger than the Open Heart had been, but the feeling of welcome was the same as it had been the first time Nova had visited.

“Nova!” Teebie grinned and ran toward her, opening her arms for a hug.

“Teebie! I hear there have been some changes around here.”

“Indeed. Let me just get that bag for you and we can have some coffee and I can catch you up.” Teebie flicked her fingers and the bag disappeared.

“You are using magic casually now?” That was a surprise. Tony and Teal had not been fans of fey magic, and aside from her housekeeping, Teebie had been discouraged from using it.

“With all this fey magic running around, I either have to use it or it will build up.”

Nova followed Teebie into the front room with the fireplace and the cozy conversational arrangements. A coffee tray with cookies glided into the room, and Teebie gave her the entire briefing over holiday cookies and a rich dark brew.

“What is the imported population like right now?”

Teebie sighed. “Slim. There is plenty of time for you to go around and meet folks you have missed.”

Nova sighed. “I think I would rather go for a run. Can I shift here?”

Teebie grinned. “No reason why not. I have no other guests until your suitors arrive.”

Nova blushed. “They aren’t just for me.”

“You don’t understand how desperate they are to get their population up. If they can mix with another magical species and increase their numbers, they will be a lot more stable.” Teebie set her cup down. “They aren’t just here for a mate, they are here for survival. Remember that.”

Nova blinked and she nodded cautiously. “Right. That has skipped my thought processes until now.”

“You will catch on after you meet one. The fey around here are very different from my folk, and I am different from any other fey I have met.”

“I thought you were a djinn.”

“All djinn are fey but not all fey are djinn. More or less. We aren’t precisely fey but we are close cousins. We use the same energy for our magic.”

Nova nodded and she blinked. “I think I am going to have that run and sort things out.”

“Up the stairs, third door on the right. I will open the door for you when you get downstairs.”

Nova smiled and ran up the stairs; she found her room, stripped, opened the door and shifted into her beast. She loved the feel of the wood under the pads of her feet, the waves of white-striped fur coming over her and the sharpening of her vision.

She could smell Teebie in the house, and the new magic was in everything around her. The entire Bright Soul was laced with fey magic. Nova turned and pulled her door shut with a careful paw. She padded down the stairs and past her host with a lazy look.

“Ring the bell when you come back.”

Nova nodded and trotted through the Crossroads, taking a tour before turning toward the forest and beginning to run. Running through the woods wrapped in magic was her favourite place to be. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was snowing. She did so love snow.

* * * *

Jack Wilson waited for the transporter to arrive and was distracting himself with business matters. He set the designs to one side and tried to focus on the new building he was working on. The knock on his door brought him out of the number-induced haze.

A small man was standing there, and the taste of transporter magic was heavy in the air.

“Mr. Wilson?” The man looked exceptionally uneasy.

“Yes. Transporter Richards?”

“Yes.” The transporter sat across from him and smiled. “So, you are wishing to travel to the Crossroads?”

“According to the seers, my chances are pretty good, so yes.”

Richards swallowed. “Payment is set at a week’s worth of magic, as well as any financial compensation for goods or services rendered at the Crossroads.”

“Accepted. When would I leave?”

“When would you like to go?”

Jack looked at him with his eyes flat. “Tonight.”

“Um, I have some time open in three days.”

“Tonight.” Jack began to pull the heat out of the room.

“I can’t...there is no channel to the Crossroads until Friday.”

“Then transport me to an area where I can get a portal to the Crossroads tonight. The fee is not an issue. If there is a woman who can be my mate, I do not want to be the last one to meet her.”

Richards nodded. “May I make a call?”

“Please.”

Jack Wilson steepled his fingers and waited for Richards to finish his calls to his guild master and get authorization to transport him where he could catch a portal to the Crossroads. With every passing moment, the sense of urgency in him grew. He needed to get there as quickly as he could.

“Just tell me where the transporter is who can get me there. I can take care of that on my own.”

Richards was shivering. “Right, of course.”

Jack warmed up the room. “Apologies. This is new to all of us. We will get it sorted.”

Richards nodded and scribbled some notes. “Right. Thank you, Guild Master. Good night.”

Richards handed him the paper. “This is the nearest transporter to the portal tonight. You will have until midnight pacific to get there.”

“So, I should contact them and get myself to their offices?”

“Yes. I will send her the information for your transport and you will sign the contract when you hand over the fee.”

Jack got to his feet and brought out his phone. He punched the number, made the arrangements with the transporter named Ecker and got a description of the location.

After he hung up he said, “Thank you, Transporter Richards.”

“Uh, thank you, Mr. Wilson.”

The dazed smile explained something Jack hadn’t counted on. Fey flare or fey fantasy was an effect where humans fell under an elf’s spell. Jack wasn’t trying to cast a spell; he just wanted a chance at a mate.

“You are dismissed.” Jack was stern, but it seemed to work. Richards left and Jack whisked himself across the continent in a flash of wind and frost.

Transporter Ecker was much more practical and far less whimsical. The woman took his payment, smiled that it took the form of a snowflake paperweight and settled him on the portal glyph on her floor.

“I hope you find what you seek.” Transporter Ecker waved her hands and a column of light surrounded him.

Jack held his breath as he was surrounded by human magic and transported in a capsule of power to the one place he was looking forward to. The Crossroads.

Nova enjoyed rolling in the moonlit grass and scrubbing it against her fur. When she had once again marked a dozen trees with her teeth and claws, she trotted back through town.

She stopped to greet Chuck and Ivy, was introduced to Spike and investigated the hair and nail salons. If she were here for a while this time, she would utilize both of them.

A light caught her attention, and a beam shot out of the Meditation Centre. She trotted toward the magic, and as it shut off, she used her nose to determine that she was about to meet her first fey.

She stepped into the centre and tried to hide in the shadows. It was ridiculous given her colouring, but the guardians didn’t seem to mind her skulking around.

Teal and Tony were stabilizing the new arrival. He was tall, but he was in the shadows and Nova couldn’t make him out.

She crept further into the doorway and noticed that the new open roof left exposed beams. If she had her human face on she would have grinned, but she lashed her tail and climbed the nearest post, using the open framework to get closer to the first elf she had seen close up.

Sure, she saw the fey on the news with presidents and the heads of industry, but to see one in person was different. Nova could feel the power crackling around him, but he was wearing it.

She stared at him, watching the waves of his magic caress him. He looked human enough, if taller and more graceful, but that was wrong, too.

She lowered herself to the beam and watched Teal and Tony give him the wristband and the breakdown of how things worked at the Crossroads.

Tony sighed. “I would offer to give you a tour and show you to where you will be staying, but since Nova has been eavesdropping on this conversation, it is only right that she be the one to give you the tour.”

Without looking up, Teal smiled. “Nova, third door from the left of the front. Grab a dress.”

Busted.

Nova jumped from the rafter, landed in the raked sand and stalked into the room mentioned by Teal. She shifted and slipped a dress over her head, the pale fabric matched her hair. She would have been categorized albino if not for her blue eyes. They were her most startling feature, and she was never sure how folk would react to her when they met her face to face.

Nova grinned as she looked down. The gown nearly fit. It was about three inches too short for her, but that wasn’t too bad given her above-average height.

She was barefoot, but that didn’t matter. She often ran around without shoes, no matter the weather.

Nova exited the room cautiously, unsure of the response of the new arrival. It was always ironic to her that she was confident in her beast but her human form was timid. The beasts accepted her for the predator she was, the humans took one look at her and ran the other way.

The new arrival was staring at her, and she stiffed her shoulders and walked forward. “Hello. My name is Nova Spalding.”

“Jack Wilson.”

Nova’s lips twitched. “Like hell.”

He paused and a smile crossed his features. “Reygaer Frostwind.”

His features rippled, white hair cascaded down his back and his skin was exposed as a pearly blue. His eyes were black, dark coals in the blue features.

He had dropped his glamour.

Teal and Tony were staring, fascinated.

“So, have you signed the contract that indicates you would abide by the laws of the Crossroads? Is he clear to travel?” she asked Teal.

“He is all yours. You know the drill.”

Nova smiled and she waved for Reygaer to come with her.

He offered her his arm, and she took it, trying not to show how the touch affected her.

The small contact was like being wrapped in the forest, running through icy wind and being wrapped in a blanket of snow. All her favourite things were combined in that one small touch.

He was surprised. “You feel...”

She cleared her throat. “I am guessing that it is one of the fallacies that we have been fed since we were young. I was always told that our magic would not be compatible. Apparently, it just needs a little coaxing.”

She took a deep breath and started her tour-guide patter. She showed him the restaurant, the café, the Crossed Star and the row of bed and breakfasts as well as the staff homes.

That got his attention. “They live here?”

“Of course. There are many folk who have part of their beast stuck all the time. Chuck at the Crossed Star has his eyes and his fangs stuck. He always looks serpentine, even while human.”

“That must be horrible. What a lonely life.”

She looked at him and realized that he thought Chuck was shunned. “His wife doesn’t mind, nor does his adopted family and all his friends. An attractive package is just part of it. Our beasts look for another beast that resonates with them.”

“What if there is no resonance?”

“We move on to the next person and look again. We usually know within minutes of direct contact, so dancing is very popular here.”