Page 84 of North Bound

‘I wish it were that simple. First, you need to find someone willing to take over your contract. Santa isn’t too hard a sell. Krampus is. The fact I look as I do, won’t help me persuade anyone to take over. And second, Krampus has too strong a hold on me. I can’t separate myself. It will take years of ignoring his pull for my human appearance to return. Until then, I am what I am.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘The blame is with me and me alone. And my situation is improving. A few centuries ago I had cloven hooves. My legs are human now. Hopefully, over time, I will earn my human appearance. I’d especially like to lose the tail next. I can’t tell you how uncomfortable it is to sit with it. I have had to cut holes in everything I sit on.’

He smiles and Scarlett can’t help but laugh. ‘You’re absolutely not what I expected.’

‘And that’s a very welcome compliment.’

‘I wish there was something I could do to help you.’

He stands up and stretches. ‘If you could persuade your boyfriend not to kill me when we next meet, that would be appreciated. I’ll check on our food. We need to be ready to leave as soon as I feel Nick’s magic.’

‘Talen?’

He stops and looks over his shoulder at her.

‘Do you want to be part of the team again?’

He turns to face her as he thinks about that one. She can imagine Nick and Talen fighting side by side with little difficulty. He may come across as gentle, but in some ways so does Nick, and that couldn’t be further from the truth when he’s pushed too far.

‘If I am being honest, yes. I would like that very much, but Nick is no fool. He won’t welcome me back with open arms, and I wouldn’t expect him to. Realistically, the best I can hope for is to be left alone.’

He smiles and goes back to the kitchen, leaving her staring after him. How many more people like Talen are out in the world, stuck in contracts they are unable to escape from? How many of these people are being targeted by Nick and his team? How many would be different, less of a threat, if they could control whatever legends they are linked to?

She closes the book and stares into the fire. After reading what she has, and spending the few hours with Talen, what Nick and his team do is becoming less clear cut. Are they fighting against people like Talen? People who are misunderstood and have no chance to make up for past mistakes.

Nick storms throughthe stables, ignoring the reindeer he uses to pull his sleigh. Like him, they need rest, need to recover after the run, so he leaves them to their sleep, only slightly envious they can still rest. But he can’t rest right now. Scarlett needs him, and this situation calls for someone with a little more attitude than his less-than-regular reindeer.

He stops at the final stable and faces the massive reindeer. Atlas only comes out on special occasions, just like this one. Bringing a sleigh into a battle tended to be cumbersome, which is where this brute comes into play. ‘You ready to fight?’

Nick opens the stall and rubs the black reindeer on the neck. Unlike the other reindeer, his relationship with Atlas is good. The two just saw eye-to-eye from the first moment. He quickly saddles the reindeer, leading him out of the stall, back towards the workshop and the rest of the team.

‘Shit! You’re bringing out the big guns, huh?’ Cobh says when Nick appears with Atlas by his side.

‘I’m fucking pissed, so yeah. I’m going in with both barrels. We all ready to go?’

‘We’re ready, Boss.’

‘Where’s Damon.’

‘He’s on the way,’ Flint says, climbing onto his own horse.

Nick pulls himself into the saddle, steadying himself against Atlas’ neck when his head spins.

‘You okay?’ Reve asks from beside him.

‘Just tired. I’ll be fine once we get out there.’

Eve and Damon arrive with Kane, the latter kitted up with every weapon imaginable. Kane thrives in a battle situation. He usually doesn’t let him join them on missions, leaving him looking after the workshop while he’s gone.

The Nutcracker is tasked with protecting him, and it’s a job he takes fucking seriously. But it’s impossible to fight with his bodyguard getting in the way to protect him.

He reaches down, taking his sword from Eve, and slipping it into its sheath. ‘We good?’

She nods, stepping back when Damon joins them. His friend nods at him so he takes the reins in his hands. ‘You all know the plan. Scarlett is the priority. You hear me Kane?’

‘I got it.’

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