A Wizard For Christmas

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls

A Wizard For Christmas by Dorothy McFalls Jump to the Beginning

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls

PUBLISHED BY: Dorothy McFalls on Smashwords A Wizard for Christmas Copyright (c) 2011 by Dorothy McFalls Cover design (c) 2011 by Dorothy McFalls Cover art by Jimmy Thomas www.RomanceNovelCovers.com All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Smashwords Edition License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

**** “She’s not ready.” Hadrian Graham continued to watch a young teacher herd a gaggle of kindergarteners from the schoolyard playground through a pair of high-powered binoculars from a city park across from the school. “I know.” Frank Stone sounded grim. “It’s going to be Christmas in a week.” Hadrian knew firsthand what it was like to be thrust into a world of the impossible. He’d been a few years past ready when the magic had happened to him and learning the truth still had been hell. “Can’t we wait until after the New Year at least? Give her one last chance to enjoy her normal life with her normal friends?” “No. It’s too late for that.” Frank trotted down the concrete steps that led to a sunken fountain. A sheen of ice covered the silent waters. “Forces are in play that have taken that luxury away from us.” Hadrian followed down the steps. “She’ll break,” he warned. The Protectors had been watching the young woman with that quick smile and ears with a slight elfin point for the past three years. Hadrian still couldn’t get over how fragile she looked. She was a slender woman with a

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls haunting pair of green eyes. “It’s too soon. We bring this to her, she’ll fall off the edge. She’ll drop straight into hell. And then what do we do? What good will she be to us then...to anyone?” Frank ran his finger lightly of the smooth surface of the ice. It crackled. “I’m counting on you to not let that happen.” **** “Burl Ives?” Priscilla’s eyes grew wide as her mouth fell open with wonderment. Holly Post nodded furiously. “It’s true. He was my mother’s uncle. My great-uncle. Holidays were wonderful. Magical. Like a homespun scene in a Normal Rockwell painting, the children would gather around as Uncle Burl sat beside the Christmas tree and played the guitar all evening. We’d all sing along. Even the adults.” She paused for a quick breath. “And we’d all drink lots and lots of eggnog. I love eggnog. Don’t you?” “Wow,” Priscilla whispered. “Burl Ives.” Holly felt a stab of pride. She closed her eyes and pictured the lovely scene. The soft snow falling in fat clumps in the hilly countryside while a fire blazed warm in the fireplace. The family, large and happy, gathered around and enjoyed the closeness of the season. Normal Rockwell truly would have been proud. “He’s gone now,” Holly said, in a soft, solemn voice. “Uncle Burl. But my cousin does a fair job carrying on the tradition. His voice isn’t quite as deep or rich, but he fills his songs with the same love.” “So that’s what you’re doing this Christmas?” Priscilla asked. “Spending it with your family?” “How could I not? It’s in the Catskills this year. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone. We live too far apart nowadays. Christmas is the only time we ever get together anymore.” “Your family must not be anything like the rest of the world’s.” Holly could hear the awe in Priscilla’s voice. “If my family got together like that, they’d probably have to call in the National Guard to break up the bickering.” Holly laughed. “My family is different, all right. Special.” “I’m glad you have someplace to go,” Priscilla gave Holly’s arm a squeeze. “I have to admit that I was worried about you. I’ve never heard you talk about this marvelous family of yours before today. I had gotten the impression that you wouldn’t have anywhere to. In fact, John and I were planning on inviting you to spend Christmas day with us and the kids.” “I wish I could spend Christmas day with you, but...” A warm glow spread through Holly’s chest when pulled her friend close and gave her a fierce hug. Friends were rare and heartfelt invitations gifts to be treasured. “I might not talk about my family, but they are never far from my mind.” Her young students were bouncing up and down, giddy to start the holiday break. She wished each one of them a Merry Christmas and placed a large candy cane in each child’s adorable little hand before the tiny boys and girls rushed off to meet their parents. As soon as the last child had been settled in her mother’s car, she packed up her belongings. Holly-jolly carols played softly in her head while images of the perfect Christmas day grew and took shape. The Catskills this year. She’d never been there. She’d never been anywhere. If only... Holly trudged home, bracing herself against the stiff cold wind that barreled down the

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls narrow Chicago alleyway, and wondered what she’d do with herself over the next two weeks. Most teachers relished the holiday break. Most of her friends were excited to have some time off to spend with their family. Holly hated feeling left out. That’s why, two years ago, she’d invented a family. A wonderful family that grew larger and happier with the passing of every year. Burl Ives was a new addition. It was silly, she knew. Crazy even. Who in her right mind would invent a family? But Holly didn’t want anyone to know the truth. No matter what, she couldn’t admit that she spent every Christmas alone in her tiny apartment, because she had no one. She’d never had anyone to spend Christmas with. Her friends, rich with family connections and love, would pity the lonely, strange girl who was found as a baby in a Chicago gutter and raised by a local orphanage. No one had wanted Holly. No one had loved her. The gray sky loomed heavy above her. She hoped for snow. The winter browns and rusts had been darkening her mood. Some sparkling snow would help and brighten the gloomy short days. Night fell so early this time of year. The streetlamps were already flickering on one by one as the clouds blotted out the last sign of the day. An unusually strong gust of wind caught her coat. Holly stumbled as that blasted wind tried to push her back toward the school. “Easy there.” Arms wrapped around her. Holly glanced up in surprise to find her rescuer, a handsome man with a strong, square jaw, studying her. His brows furrowed. He was taller than her by at least a foot. His hair was as dark as his midnight eyes. He pulled her up against his side to give her a chance to get her feet back under her. As a result, her face burrowed in the depths of his long wool coat as his spicy warmth seeped through her. “I-I’m okay.” She tried to push him away, though a part of her was only too happy to stay right where she was. In his arms. However, this wasn’t the safest neighborhood. Just two weeks ago, a woman who lived in Molly’s apartment building had been attacked as she made her way to the laundry mat. The last Holly had heard, the woman was still in the hospital and the hooded thug who’d put her there was still out on the streets. The man refused to loosen the grip he had around her waist. The wind blew harder. “A nasty storm’s brewing,” he said when her questioning gaze met his again. He wasn’t wearing a hood. Nor did he look like a thug who wanted to attack her. But that didn’t mean she was out of danger. She could feel the iron cords of strength in the arms holding her fast to his side. If he turned out to be the kind of guy who enjoyed hurting a woman, there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop him. Wouldn’t that just add insult to injury? No family. No Christmas plans. And now this? Attacked in a deserted alleyway and left for dead? The way her luck had been running she’d end up half-buried by snow before anyone found and rescued her. He must have read the building panic in her eyes. “The sidewalk’s icy through here,” he said, his voice so damnably calm and reasonable.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “If I let go of your arms right now, you’ll slip. Hold on.” True to his word, he released her as soon as her feet hit solid concrete. “Let me buy you a coffee.” He gestured over at a corner coffee shop. “I don’t know about you, but I’m frozen to the bone.” He smiled as he shivered. The expression softened his hardedged features. The curve to his lips made Holly’s heart thump in her chest. What was one coffee? Holly wanted to say yes. But he was a stranger. An unknown. And he’d made heart thumped in her chest just by smiling at her. Her heart shouldn’t be doing that...not for him...not for anybody. She’d learned the hard way that unknowns and strange men were dangerous. Very few people liked Holly. She’d been told more than once that she put out a vibe that made others...uncomfortable and sometimes downright mean. Even Priscilla had seemed to bristle at the thought of inviting Holly to spend Christmas with her family. “No, no thank you.” Holly hugged her arms to her chest and her thudding heart and hurried on down the street. “I’m going out of town for the holidays. I need to get home and pack.” She glanced back. The man hadn’t moved. He still was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, watching her. His overcoat rippled in the wind. There was something eerie about him. In the dim light, it looked almost as if he had a strange blue glow about him. He’d unsettled her in a way that made her both excited and anxious. That night, she tossed in her bed unable to tear her thoughts away from that handsome, mysterious man who’d protected her from the ice and wind...and the way he had made her feel. **** “I don’t understand.” Detective Newton shook his head as he stared down at the body of a young woman. Ice crystals had formed on her eyelashes. A light sprinkling of snow had covered her body. She reminded him of a storybook, fairytale princess cursed with a spell and waiting for a magical kiss to revive her. “Damn. Just before the holidays. No family should have to be faced with this.” She couldn’t have been much above twenty. She was dressed well, too. Looked healthy. Alive. But she wasn’t. “She was murdered,” Hadrian Graham said as he dipped under the crime scene tape to stand next to Newton. It was a calm declaration. Like saying there would be snow today. Or that Newton’s wife would burn yet another meal. “You have ice in your veins?” Newton ground out. “Damn it, look at her. She was in the prime of her life. She has a family who will grieve her. She matters! How can you be so cold about her death?” Hadrian shrugged. “I have to be.” Newton swiped his mouth with the back of his hand and took a deep breath. He should know better than to let an enigma like Hadrian push his buttons. None of the cops on the force understood Hadrian’s role with the city. Nor did they understand why he’d show up at certain crime scenes and not others. But Hadrian had the blessing of the mayor, so his presence was...tolerated. Captain’s orders. Personally, Newton thought there was something fishy about Hadrian. He didn’t like how the guy lurked around an official investigation, giving hints about a crime or murderer, but never any direct answers.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls Was he connected with the mob? No. He never showed up to mob hits. He only appeared at crime scenes where something just felt...off. The kind that made Newton think thousands of spiders were crawling up and down the back of his neck. Crime scenes just like this one. Sometimes Hadrian helped the police make an arrest. More often though, the case would be closed, labeled unsolved. What the hell was up with that? Why close an unsolved case, unless there was something else going on behind the scenes. It stank, and it made Newton edgy as hell to be in charge of yet another case where Hadrian was involved. “How can you be so sure it was murder?” Newton demanded. “There’s not a damned mark on her that we can see. This could be a drug overdose. Or even a freaking heart attack.” Hadrian tucked his hands into his coat pocket and dipped back under the bright yellow police line. “She’s the first,” he warned as he walked away. “Meaning what?” Newton shouted after the bastard. “That there will be others?” **** Holly greeted the next day with a grumpy mood and chilly toes. The only silver lining she could find was that it had snowed last night. Just a light sprinkling. The blasted furnace in the building was out. Again. Her refrigerator was empty. Because that encounter with the hunky man yesterday had scrambled her brains, she’d forgotten to stop at the grocery store. She shook the empty coffee tin over a filter, desperately hoping there’d be enough loose crumbs to brew one watery cup. There wasn’t. There wasn’t even enough coffee grounds in the bottom of the tin to turn the hot water brown. With a huff, she stuffed her arms into her coat and headed out into the cold. She needed her coffee. She needed it now! “Son-of-a—” The building’s self-locking front door clicked closed the moment she realized she’d left her keys at home. “Crud. Crud. Crud.” It was going to be one of those days. The Christmas decorations in the grocery store looked obscenely cheery to her caffeine-deprived mind. She felt an urge to rip the poster of a happy elf off the wall above the coffee display and tear it to bits after searching her purse for a wallet that wasn’t there. She’d taken it out of her purse last night when she’d ordered a Christmas bouquet for Sister Margaret’s grave. She cursed softly. It was six-thirty in the freaking morning. The building superintendent wouldn’t be available until nine. Which meant she’d be locked out and penniless and coffeedeprived for the next two and a half hours. “Not much of a morning person, huh?” the mystery man from the other day said dryly. She whirled around. He was dressed all in black and looked well rested and heartbreakingly handsome. Her traitorous heart started thudding against her chest again, which only made her angrier. He didn’t seem to notice. In fact, he smiled as if her bad temper amused her. “Will you let me buy you that coffee now?” Holly bit back a growl. His smile grew. He held up his hands like he was surrendering. “If you need references, Josie—the grocery store owner—” He gave the gray-haired grandmotherly-looking woman working the register a nod. The woman’s cheeks turned pink as she smiled warmly and waved back. “—She can vouch for me. She’s known me all my life. Nearly raised me.” Why he was acting so damned friendly? She wasn’t a stunning beauty. Holly knew that.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls Guys never approached her or asked her out without a prior introduction. And never, ever did a guy pursue her like this one was doing. What the hell did he want from her? She was still wearing her flannel pajamas under her heavy coat. Lack of sleep had left dark smudges under her eyes. She hadn’t run a comb through her hair. Instead, she’d finger combed it and pulled the long mousy brown strands back into a ponytail. There was nothing attractive about her this morning. And she was as grumpy as a bear. He should be running the other direction, not grinning and looking as if her cranky mood was charming his socks off. He held out his hand. “I’m Hadrian.” Dumbstruck, she stared at his hand. He took her hand and placed it in his. “Friendly little kitten, aren’t you?” He shook her hand. The comforting warmth she’d felt from him the night before seeped into her again, heating her from the inside out. “Hadrian,” she said. It was too early to come up with anything coherent to say. “An unusual name.” “The woman who named me was in love with Rome.” “Your mother didn’t name you?” she asked. “No. She didn’t have a chance.” He was still holding her hand. How did she let that happen? Holly snatched her arm away from him and rubbed her warm, tingling fingers against her chilly coat. “How about that coffee?” he said. “I know I sure could use a cup.” Her practical self told her to say no. Walk away. She didn’t need him in her life. She didn’t need the heartache. Her tongue was prepared to utter that simple little word. No. Her feet were ready to march out the store. She would have cursed her own bad luck with every sorry step, too. But Lord, she wanted a cup of coffee and didn’t have the means to get one on her own. Not until after nine—a lifetime away. So instead of doing the rational, safe thing—Holly nodded. Barely. “Great!” He hooked his arm through hers. “There’s a fascinating little café down the block. They make the perfect chocolate croissant. The pastry is sweet and buttery. And the coffee...” He groaned with delight. Before she knew what was happening he’d led her out of the store and back into the snow-coated city. “But back to the croissant. It melts in your mouth. And at the center is a chunk of the deepest, darkest chocolate you’ve ever tasted. It’s so rich and full of cocoa butter flavors. You’ll swoon.” Her mouth watered in anticipation. They went to a small, hole-in-the-wall café she’d never noticed before. It was close to her apartment building. She wasn’t a hermit. By all accounts she should have noticed the café. “Is this place new?” The sign over the door looked ancient. A bell tinkled as Hadrian pushed the door open. A half dozen people were inside the long, narrow shop. Several were reading the newspaper. An older couple was playing chess. They all greeted Hadrian warmly, and by name, like he was part of their family. “We’ve been in operation since 1903,” the man behind the counter said. He reminded Holly of a billygoat with his long, narrow face and white goatee. The threadbare sweatshirt the billygoat wore had the café name, The Oblique, printed across the chest. “The usual, Hadrian?”

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “No, bring us two strong coffees and some of your chocolate croissants. I’ve been singing their praises all the way over.” The curious gazes of the other customers followed Holly to the small table Hadrian had picked out near the back of the shop. No one was talking anymore. They all were watching her. Some had even turned in their chairs to do so. It was creepy. And why had she never noticed this café before? “I-I-I—” There was something else, something familiar about this café. Something she needed to remember. The back of her neck prickled. She started to back away from the table, inching her way toward the door. “No, Holly. Stay.” There was a force—a compelling power—in Hadrian’s voice. Her feet felt rooted to the floor. She tried to lift a foot. It wouldn’t budge. “I can’t stay here,” she whispered. “I can’t.” She could feel the curious gazes burning into the back of her head. This was too much. She didn’t know what it was, but something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t...natural about this place. “Pleeasse,” she cried. Tears sprang to her eyes. “I-I can’t stay here.” “Very well.” Hadrian waved his hand in a broad arc. “Go.” Her feet seemed to leap off the floor. She darted out the door and kept running until her lungs burned and her legs ached and she didn’t have the strength to run any more. **** “She’s obviously not ready.” Kara left the chessboard and went over to put her hand on Hadrian’s shoulder. “I know,” Hadrian said. “But Stone says there isn’t time. We need her now.” “What do you think?” she asked. “It’s awake.” Kara drew back. A few of the others started talking in nervous whispers. Jake, the café manager, cursed. “It fed last night?” Hadrian nodded. “It killed a young woman.” Jake cursed again. “She’s not ready,” Kara said again. “You can’t expect her to—” “It doesn’t matter.” Hadrian pressed his lips together. “She won’t be able to handle the truth.” “It doesn’t matter,” he repeated. “You’ll destroy her,” Kara warned. “And maybe even yourself.” “It’s a risk I have to take.” **** Detective Newton cursed under his breath. Hadrian Graham had been right. Again. Damn it. Another morning. Another dead body. Just once, just one freaking time couldn’t the bastard be wrong? Christmas was only a few days away. This new mysterious death had just pushed Newton’s chances of taking some time off to spend with his family that much farther away. His wife was going to be furious. A man, about the same age as the woman they’d found yesterday morning, was lying dead in an alleyway. Like the woman, he looked healthy. Too healthy to be dead, damn it. What the hell was going on?

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “I thought you could use this?” Hadrian held out a Styrofoam cup. Newton was nearly grumpy enough to refuse. But his nose caught the rich scent of the brew. This was expensive coffee, not the watery junk they had down at the station. And it was bitterly cold out that morning. He’d be a fool to turn it down, even if it was a gift from that bastard Hadrian. With a grimace, he wrapped his icy fingers around the piping hot cup and took a long sip. “I don’t like this any more than you do,” Hadrian had the nerve to say. “It’s Christmas, for Heaven’s sake. Time for families to be together. To be going to church. To be celebrating life.” “I didn’t kill him,” Hadrian pointed out. “I didn’t say you did.” “If it makes you feel any better, the timing is inconvenient for me, too. Damned inconvenient.” Hadrian sounded miserable. “The lab hasn’t been able to pin down a cause of death for the woman yet. Are you willing to drop any hints? Help us catch this monster so we can celebrate the holidays without this hanging over our heads? Without having to ruin yet another family’s lives?” “I’m working on it.” Hadrian shook his head. “This poor guy, he won’t be the last.” **** Holly spent an hour searching the entire length of her street for The Oblique Café. It bugged her that she’d never noticed the café before. She wanted to know why. Besides, she couldn’t seem to get Hadrian out of her head. She’d thought if she could find the café and eat a chocolate croissant, she might be able to put the whole crazy thing behind her. After walking past every shop on her street for the fourth time and coming up emptyhanded, she knew the reason she couldn’t find the shop. It wasn’t there. That’s impossible, of course. A café doesn’t appear and disappear at will. Had he drugged her? Or used some form of hypnosis to get her to see something that wasn’t there? Yes, that must have been what had happened. There was no café. Only a dangerous man with a dangerous smile. Holly shook her head and started back toward her apartment. Like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, Holly spotted one of the women who’d been watching her so closely back at the café. The woman appeared to be filled to the brim with Christmas cheer as she carried several colorful shopping bags. Holly chased down the street after her. She’d nearly caught up to the woman when she collided with her neighbor Karen Sookle, who was also weighed down by shopping bags. “I heard from Priscilla that you’re going out of town this Christmas,” Karen said as juggled her bags. Shoot, Holly had forgotten that Karen and Priscilla were such close friends. In the past, she’d always hinted that her imaginary family was coming into town. This was the first year she’d created an out-of-state holiday tradition. And she’d only told that particular tale to Priscilla. Holly helped Karen with her bags, not sure what to say about her travel plans. “When are you leaving? I’ll be glad to watch the apartment. Water the plants,” Karen said. “Um...yes, about that...”

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “I’m so pleased to hear you’ll be having a big Christmas at home. I was telling Priscilla just the other day how I worry about you. You never seem to go anywhere. You deserve a break, you know.” “Do I?” Karen wrapped her arm around Holly’s shoulder. “Of course you do, you silly goose. I bet your family is humming with excitement, too. Priscilla told me how you’re related to Burl Ives. What wonderful childhood memories you must have!” “Um...yes.” She closed her eyes. The lovely Christmas scene she’d painted for Priscilla the other day sprang to life in her mind’s eye. It was something she wanted with all her heart and soul. And like Karen said, she deserved it. Didn’t she? “Yes,” she said and felt the glow of Christmas pleasures grow inside her. “Yes, it is going to be wonderful. Mom bakes up a storm, you know. Any kind of cookie you could imagine, she bakes it. And my aunt Mavis, she creates the most impressive gingerbread houses. One year, she made a replica of Kensington Palace, complete with candied glass windows.” “Wow,” Karen breathed. “All that? You’re so lucky. It’s just Mom and me. And she complains the whole time. I’m not as young as I used to be, she says. And wouldn’t you know her friend’s daughter recently married a doctor? The bitch. My mom spent all Thanksgiving telling me how it was my duty to marry and marry rich. Bragging rights. That’s all she cares about. Not my happiness. Not that I’m doing great in my career. She just wants to tell her friends that her daughter landed a doctor, too.” “Poor thing,” Holly said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t know what I’d do if my mother ever did anything like that to me. She keeps telling me to take my time, to wait for love.” “So, when are you leaving?” Holly knew she should have kept her mouth shut. But the fantasy had felt so good that she hadn’t been ready to let it go. She supposed she could splurge and get a hotel room for a few days. With no family waiting for her, she really had no place to go. Hopefully the hotels in the city weren’t all booked solid next week. “Monday,” she said. “I’ve been furiously packing.” Karen promised to water the plants. Holly was vague about when she’d return. She hoped a few days in a hotel would be a long enough time to make a believable vacation. There was no way she could afford to stay for much longer than that. As Karen took her packages back, she rushed off to continue her last-minute Christmas shopping. Holly smiled at her own folly. The lengths she went through to get her perfect Christmas. If only... Suddenly, Holly spotted the woman from The Oblique Café again. She tried to catch up to her. She needed to ask about Hadrian and where she could find the café, but the woman was nearly running now. All the color had drained from her face, and she looked terribly upset, like she might start to cry. **** “You’ve got to do something!” Kara shouted. Hadrian had just sat down with Frank Stone at the café to discuss the latest death when Kara burst through the door. While Hadrian surged out of his chair, Stone remained calmly seated. Stone was the leader of their magical enclave in Chicago. He also had an uncanny ability to sense the future.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls When he got nervous, you knew bad things were stirring in the wind. Stone’s calm demeanor reassured Hadrian. He sat back down and let Stone take over. “She-she-she said that she—!” Kara shouted. “Please.” Stone held up a hand. “Speak slowly and softly.” Kara struggled for a smooth breath. “She-she’s leaving.” “Who?” Stone asked, stiffly. “The New One.” Hadrian was afraid of that. “I overheard her saying that she’s going away for Christmas. She’s leaving on Monday.” Stone turned his hard glare on Hadrian. “Did you know this?” “She said something about it the other day.” Stone sighed deeply. “That is a problem.” Kara was still dancing from one foot to the other. “But we need her here. She needs time to understand and to help us. You can’t let her go.” “What do you suggest I do, Kara?” Hadrian demanded. “Kidnap her? She needs to trust us.” Stone pursed his lips and, frustratingly, didn’t offer a lick of help. “The poor dear.” Kara sank into Hadrian’s chair before he could sit back down in it. “She’s so young. I almost wish we could let her spend this one last Christmas with her family without knowing about this.” “Her family?” Hadrian felt as if he’d been slapped. He’d been watching her for three years. He should have known everything about her by now. How could he have missed something as important as a family? “That’s what she said.” “She’s like us,” Stone said. “How could you forget that?” “I assumed a family adopted her. Couldn’t it happen?” “It never has before,” Jake said from the front counter. “We’re the castoffs. The unwanted. The unloved.” “Thanks a lot, Jake,” Kara grumbled. “You make us sound like a miserable lot.” “We were...before Stone found us,” Jake pointed out. “Well, I heard her talking about her Christmas plans,” Kara said. “The New One didn’t sound the least bit miserable.” Hadrian raised a brow at that. He and Stone had thoroughly researched her background. They’d watched her for years. She was one of them. “There’s no family,” Stone said as he shifted uneasily in his chair. “Then what is she up to?” Hadrian wondered aloud. **** The third body in three days. The sight of the young woman in the city flower garden churned in Newton’s stomach. He’d attended some of the most gruesome crime scenes without flinching. No matter how torn up the body, he could handle it. But this...this was worse. “She looked asleep,” the beat cop who found her said. “Yep,” Newton agreed. Not even a hair out of place. It looked like she had laid down in the snow-powdered bed and died. Only, she didn’t look dead. Even her skin looked flush and healthy. It made his skin crawl.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls He looked around for Hadrian Graham. But there was no sign of the cursed man this morning. For once, Newton wanted the bastard to show up. He had some questions for him. And he wasn’t going to let Hadrian leave before he got some answers. “Does this look like a murder to you?” Newton asked the cop standing beside him. “No sir. Not at all, sir.” “It doesn’t to me, either.” But Hadrian had said it was murder—at least that’s what he said of the first two bodies they’d found. And so that’s how the department was treating the deaths, despite the coroner’s reports to the contrary. The heart stopped beating. The organs stopped functioning. Everything stopped. For no apparent reason, everything had simply stopped. Still, this morning there was no sign of Hadrian. “Perhaps this one is different,” Newton grumbled to himself. But he knew he was wrong. **** What a holly-jolly Christmas this was turning into. Holly slumped down, using her luggage as a stool and propped her head up with her hands as the people rushing by sent curious glances in her direction. Every single hotel was booked. No room in the inn. Anywhere. And no one was offering her a manger, which she would have gladly accepted since she’d rather sleep in the cold than return to her apartment and admit to her friends that she didn’t have anyone. That she’d never, ever had a “real” family Christmas. Sure, the orphanage would put up a tree and presents would arrive from unnamed donors. But it wasn’t the same as waking up on Christmas morning in a fluffy bed in a safe, loving home with the knowledge that she was wanted. And loved. Mary had Joseph. Charlie Brown had Linus. And Snoopy. God, why couldn’t she grow up and accept the truth? She didn’t have a family. But she did have friends. She could be at Priscilla’s enjoying the day with her three small kids. Or with Karen listening to her mother moan and complain about her ungrateful, unmarried daughter. It wasn’t exactly pride that kept her out in the cold, she realized. It was her refusal to admit that the fantasy wasn’t real. She wanted that life, that perfect image of Christmas so badly that she was willing to make herself miserable to get it. The sky was turning dark. The temperature dropping dramatically. And she had nowhere to go. She closed her eyes and pictured what her imaginary family would be doing right now. Decorating the tree? Sipping on hot apple cider? Or perhaps simply enjoying each other’s company. As long as they were together, it didn’t matter. What a wonderful vacation. She would have so many stories to share with her friends when she got back. “I’m sorry, Miss.” The doorman of the hotel she’d been sitting in front of tapped her on the shoulder. “You cannot stay here.” She pulled herself to her feet. Dragging her luggage behind her, she headed toward the train station. If she was lucky, she’d find an empty bench to sleep on there. **** It was hungry. So hungry. The meals weren’t satisfying anymore. The humans had

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls changed. They were missing something. Something important. The ancient spirit trudged down the road, rubbing at the ache in its belly, not at all sure what to do. But what was that? It sniffed the air and smelled the sweet, homey scent it craved. A young woman was struggling with a suitcase as it bounced down the uneven sidewalk. The sweet scent was coming from her. Interesting... It followed. **** Christmas music was being piped onto the streets. Deck the Halls and Fa, La, La, La, La....Holly was ready to deck something. Fa, La, La, La, that. Her suitcase toppled over again. And again she had to stop, put the suitcase back on its wheels before she could continue dragging her personal albatross down the street. Why had she packed so many clothes? This was insane. A few bouncy steps more the suitcase hit a deep rut and one of the wheels got stuck. Brilliant. It took some effort to pry the wheel from the crack in the walk. And she was getting colder by the minute. When she started pulling it again, she ran straight into an arm. A healthy male arm. “Need a hand?” Hadrian asked. He was leaning against the storefront and blocking her way. He smiled. It made her stomach do a little flip. “I-I’m okay,” she said, and tried to push him out of her path. She didn’t trust him. He was too interested in her, and she didn’t understand why. “Didn’t you say you were going out of town?” His brow kicked up as he eyed her suitcase. “I didn’t realize you were walking to your destination.” “I’m heading over to the train station.” “Really? That’s blocks from here. Let me drive you.” Her throbbing feet wanted to scream, “Yes!” She’d dragged her suitcase from one end of town to the next in search of a non-existent hotel room. Her feet didn’t want to take another step. Ever. “I’m okay,” she said much to her feet’s chagrin. But if he drove her to the train station, there would be a good chance he’d insist on staying with her until her train left. And she had no ticket because she had nowhere to go, and what was she doing telling complete strangers about her fantasy trip home in the first place? She pushed him out of the way and hauled herself forward. He caught the handle of her suitcase. “You’re limping,” he said. “I’m fine.” She tried to pry his hand loose. “You’re exhausted.” “I’m not.” His fingers wouldn’t budge. “You’re afraid of me.” Her gaze flashed up to his face. He looked harmless, but then so did many of the mass murderers caught in recent years. “I’m being reasonably cautious,” she said, tugging at the handle with all her weight. “Let go of my suitcase or I’ll scream.” He let go so fast she nearly smashed her face against the sidewalk. “You know me, Holly.” He sounded so darned reasonable. “Deep in your heart, you

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls know me. You know I’m not a threat to you.” “Perhaps. But maybe I’m not a very good judge of people. There is no Oblique Café. No one in my building has ever heard of it. I think you drugged me. Or hypnotized me.” “Hypnosis? Really? That’s the best your wildly imaginative mind could come up with?” “Goodbye Hadrian. Have a very merry Christmas.” She stuck her chin in the air and hoped she looked determined when she felt anything but. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. This was her chance, perhaps her one chance to spend Christmas with someone. Anyone. She stopped, but didn’t turn around. “What if I told you I didn’t have anywhere to go?” she asked the empty space in front of her. “I’d ask what happened to your apartment,” he answered. “It’s a long story.” “Hmmm...” “It’s a stupid, long story,” she amended. “There’s plenty of time to tell it, you know. There’s six days before Christmas.” She wanted to laugh. But if she did, she’d probably end up crying. So she bit her lower lip. “What should I do?” It was a desperate plea. A question framed more for herself than for anyone else. “Come to the café with me. Jake has a room upstairs. It’s not the Ritz, but it’s comfortable. And affordable.” His offer sounded like a blessing. “But there is no café.” “Not in this world. But, Holly, it does exist.” He held out his hand. “Believe me. It exists as a refuge for people like you...and me.” “A refuge?” That sounded wonderful. The rest didn’t make sense, but Holly was too tired to care. She closed her eyes but not before a tear seeped out. “Okay,” she whispered. **** “It wasn’t an accident or an act of charity,” the tall arctic blond man had admonished. Hadrian had introduced the man as Frank Stone. Stone seemed to be in charge. Everyone else listened whenever he spoke. “But I had nowhere to go. I would have ended up sleeping in the train station.” Holly gushed. Jake, The Oblique Café’s manager, had insisted she stay the week in the small apartment located above the café. It was a beautiful studio loft that was about twice the size of her apartment and about half the cost. She still couldn’t image why she couldn’t find the café the other day. It was less than a block from her apartment. She could see her apartment window from the café door. “You’re one of us, Holly,” Frank said. He sounded deadly serious. “It’s not charity when it’s what you deserve. It’s time that you understand. You’re one of us.” She glanced around the café. A little more than a dozen faces were all staring at her. Silent. Watching. “One of you? How?” she asked. A prickle of unease crawled up her scalp. “It’s difficult to explain,” Frank said. “We aren’t like the people you pass on the street. We’re different.” “Better,” someone in the café muttered.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “Different,” Frank corrected. “You were an orphan? You have no family?” “How do you know that? And why do you all know my name?” Her gaze bounced from face to face. Expressions that had looked friendly and inviting a moment ago, now appeared suspicious. Dangerous. “As soon as we realized you were one of us,” Frank said, “we started keeping watch to make sure the darkness didn’t consume—” “Ohhh-kay.” They’d been stalking her? She held up her hands to keep them all back while she gathered her thoughts. Piece by piece things started to slide together. Hadrian going out of his way to find her. Their friendliness to a stranger. But she wasn’t a stranger to them. They’d been stalking her. She gave a nervous laugh. “I knew that apartment was too good to be true. I’ve landed myself in a cult.” She edged toward the door. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I’m not really cult material. I like to eat meat. My mind wanders, so meditation is out. And, boy, don’t get me started about following the rules. I’m not very good at it.” Hadrian was following her to the door. “You look so normal, too.” She patted Hadrian’s strong chest. “A shame. But sorry. I’m more interested in sitting on a sofa and watching TV at night than attending weird cult meetings.” “You don’t have to stay here,” Hadrian said, quietly. “I only brought you to the café, because you had nowhere else to go.” “We’re not a cult, Holly,” Frank said. “I’m out of here.” Holly pushed Hadrian out of her way on her way to the door. “You can’t push her like that,” she heard Hadrian scold as she charged out onto the street. She’d abandoned her luggage that had already been put in the room upstairs and had missed out on getting to taste the chocolate croissants for a second time. “We don’t have time, damn it,” Stone’s low voice followed her as she ran. “Her life is already in grave danger.” **** Hadrian wanted to punch a wall. He’d lost Holly. This time he had no idea where she went. She’d left her warm coat, her suitcase, and her purse at the café. She was scared. Obviously overwhelmed. And, for some unfathomable reason, unwilling to go back to her apartment. He wished he’d demanded she tell him why. What was she up to? What kind of trouble had she gotten herself into? He’d followed her that morning, expecting go to the airport and expecting to have to pay whatever it took to get a ticket on whatever flight she was taking to wherever it was she was going. Instead of having to scramble at the airport, he’d watched her go from hotel to hotel all day. Thanks to his use of a little “witchery” each hotel had turned her away. Still, an ache had pulsed through his chest as he’d watched her. There was no family waiting for her. There was no one. She was like them. But then, he already knew that. Trouble was—she didn’t. “Hey!” someone called out to Hadrian as he wandered through the park. Footsteps pounded behind him on the sidewalk. “Hey, wait up!” He slipped his hands in his pockets and turned. Detective Newton caught up to him. “Another body was found this morning,” Newton said, breathing hard. “I know,” Hadrian said.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “Then where the hell were you?” Newton sounded as if he wanted to pound his fist against Hadrian’s face. Instead of hitting, he grabbed Hadrian’s arm and shook him. “I had a more important matter to attend to.” He had to follow Holly around town—for all the good that did him. He still couldn’t believe he’d lost her. “What’s killing these kids? Some kind of biological terrorism? An undetectable disease? I know you know.” Hadrian calmly peeled Newton’s hand from his sleeve. “Why the hell won’t you tell us what you do know?” What could Hadrian say? What did the detective really want from him? Newton was a good detective. And like all good detectives, he wanted things to be cut and dry. Easy. The shadowy world Hadrian inhabited was never easy. Even if he told Newton the full truth, the man wouldn’t believe it. “It’s hunting right now,” he told Newton something the detective could understand. “Come morning, you’ll have another body. So far, the media has ignored the deaths. I doubt that’ll continue much longer.” “Damn the media!” Newton shouted. “I don’t care about them! How do I stop him? Tell me that! That’s all I care about! How in the hell do I stop him?” “You don’t.” Hadrian used his voice to push his power. “What?” Newton blinked wildly, blocking all of Hadrian’s efforts to soothe him. Admitting defeat, Hadrian stepped back. “No matter what you do, you can’t make it stop.” He jammed his hands back into his pockets. “Right now”—without Holly—“no one can.” **** She couldn’t go home. Holly wanted to. Even if it meant telling her friends the truth, she wanted to go home and get warm. But those weirdoes from the cult had admitted to watching her, which meant they knew where she lived. After getting away, she’d run all the way into the heart of the downtown. She stopped at the giant Christmas tree set up in front of the local department store. It was as tall as her apartment building and lit up like a...well, like a Christmas tree. A gaudy, wonderful Christmas tree. Though she’d lived in the downtown for five years, this was the first time she’d come and seen the tree. Underneath its branches a fantastic alpine village—all kid sized—was set up. There was a cobbler shop, a candy shop, a slide, and a miniature train. A live brass band pumped out happy Christmas tunes. And everyone appeared so bubbly, so content as they smiled at each other and made pleasant conversations with strangers. It made her think of Priscilla. She found a payphone and dug around in her pockets for loose change. When she realized she didn’t have even two quarters to make the call, she dialed her friend from the elementary school anyhow. Priscilla would understand and would forgive the collect call. The phone on the other end rang several times before clicking over to the answering machine. The operator quickly disconnected before Holly could leave a message. No big deal, she told herself. It wasn’t as if she could give her friend a number where she could be reached. Since she wasn’t staying anywhere and had left her purse at the café, she didn’t have a phone number. Holly shivered. The cold air was seeping through her sweater. She wasn’t running anymore and winter seemed to be making a strong statement. She needed to learn to stop leaving things behind, especially her purse, when she dashed out of places. But it wasn’t as if she had a lot of experience running away from cults. She didn’t.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls People generally didn’t notice her. While she’d never been popular, she wasn’t a loner. Didn’t cults target loners? And freaks? Damn, she’d been stupid. How could she have believed Hadrian had been interested in her romantically? Sure, it had made her feel all warm and tingly inside. But really, no man had ever... Oh well, she supposed she should go to the police and report him. A shame, really. He seemed like such a nice guy. Like the village under the Christmas tree, the downtown police station was bustling with activity. Only here, no one was smiling or acting particularly polite. After telling her story to the police officer manning the front desk, she was told to take a seat and wait. And wait. Over the next hour she drummed her fingers on the plastic chair’s arm and watched people come and leave. She supposed her case wasn’t an emergency, which was probably the reason for her longer wait time. Finally, a man dressed in a plain blue suit came out. “Miss Post?” he called as his gaze searched the room. “Miss Holly Post?” Grateful to be free from the limbo of the police station waiting room, Holly leapt to her feet and warmly greeted the gentleman who introduced himself as Detective Leo Newton. He led her down a long hallway toward a small conference room. Newton didn’t bring a pad of paper, pen, or even a tape recorder with him, which she thought odd. Shouldn’t he record her statement? He directed her to sit in one of the hard wooden chairs. “The desk sergeant tells me you have a complaint against Hadrian Graham?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s been stalking me.” Newton raised a brow at that. “Are you sure?” “His friend told me that he and his buddies have been watching me for years.” It was still hard to believe. “His friend?” “Frank Stone. That’s what he’d said his name was. He could have been lying. He seemed like the type.” Suddenly the rest of the story spilled right out. She told him in great detail all about the strange café and how Hadrian had lured her to there not once but twice. The only detail she left out was her fantasy family trip. “Shouldn’t you be taking notes?” She tapped the table between them. It almost seemed as if the detective wasn’t listening. “He’s stalking me, and I’ve escaped from his clutches. Who knows what he might do the next time he finds me.” She huffed a breath. “I hate to admit it, detective, but I’m scared. I’m too scared to go home.” Newton propped his shoe on a chair and leaned his elbow on the table. “Miss Post, I’ve worked with Hadrian Graham for the past five years. He’s many things—like a pain in my ass— but I assure you, he is not a stalker. I doubt he’s even dangerous.” “Not dangerous!” She launched out of her seat. “How can you know that? He’s involved in some kind of crazy cult. They were telling me that I needed to become one of them. It was creepy. And I don’t have anywhere to go, at least not until I can get in touch with Priscilla or Karen. Don’t you people have safe houses for cases like these?” “Please, Miss Post, calm down.” Newton rose from his chair and swung open the door, indicating the interview was over. He took her arm and led her down the hall. “I understand your concern. But I assure you, it’s unfounded. I don’t know who Hadrian works for, but I can tell you it’s not a cult. My guess? He’s with the federal government. CIA, perhaps? If he’s trying to

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls recruit you, you might consider listening to what he’s got to say.” He crooked a finger in front of her nose. “Think of it as your patriotic duty, Miss Post.” **** Her patriotic duty? Pulh-leaze. Holly beat her hands against her frozen arms as she plodded down the street. She supposed she should go back to her apartment. It was the only logical thing to do since neither Priscilla nor Karen were home. She could put up a small tree and decorate it. She’d never done that before. It might be fun. On the way home, she passed the spot where The Oblique Café should have been. It wasn’t there. She wasn’t surprised. Could Hadrian be working for the CIA? Nah. Her life was boring. No one would be interested in recruiting a kindergarten teacher for anything...other than perhaps a cult or to make a charitable contribution. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? They might be working for a charity. But, then again, that didn’t explain the disappearing café. “Excuse me,” a raggedly dressed man tapped her on the shoulder. Holly jumped. “Oh! You startled me. I d-don’t have any money,” she said. “I lost my purse, you see. Otherwise, I’d...” He took a step closer. “I’m awfully hungry.” She tried to back away from him, but her feet seemed to be frozen in place. Terror coursed through her. “So very hungry.” His strange, low voice rumbled through her body. She tried to open her mouth. Tried to scream. Nothing happened. He kept moving closer. Closer. She could feel his belly touch hers. His grimy hands pressed against her cheeks. “So very, very hungry,” he whispered. Holly noticed several people passing by her on the street. No one bothered to look in her direction. They just rushed by as if she’d become invisible. “Hmmm...” A smile spread across his greasy lips. He flicked out his long, narrow tongue and licked her across her mouth. “You’ll fill me up quite nicely.” **** A near-blinding headache struck Hadrian. He covered his eyes with his hands and sucked in a deep breath. “What is it?” Kara demanded. After a long, unsuccessful search for Holly—Hadrian had even tried to create a psychic link—they had all gathered back at the café to discuss what to do next. “It’s close.” Hadrian tried to fight his way through the blinding pain. “And it’s feeding.” “You can feel it?” Jake asked. “Can’t you?” He couldn’t be the only one of them so closely connected to the soul eater. That wouldn’t make sense...or be fair. Not that he wanted his friends to be in pain. Not like this. But why should it be connected to him and him alone? “You have to block it out,” Stone warned. “Or else it will sense you. Hunt you.” “I can’t.” Cradling his head, Hadrian sank into a chair. “I can’t.” He vaguely heard Stone biting off a string of instructions to the others. Soon, a frosty dishcloth was pressed to his head. Another was laid across the back of his neck. “Concentrate,” Stone said. He placed three smooth stones in the palm of Hadrian’s hand

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls and closed his fist around them. “Squeeze.” The stones were fiery hot. Hadrian tried to drop them. They were searing into his skin. But Stone kept Hadrian’s fist trapped between his hands. “Concentrate,” Stone demanded. Steadily, the stabbing ache in his head was pushed away, replaced by the throbbing heat in his palm. And that’s when it happened. That’s when he understood. His psychic connection with Holly had worked after all. “It’s got her.” **** Everything was fading from gray to black. Holly felt light. Like she was floating. Floating away. She could barely see the man holding her captive anymore. And the city sounds all around her were muffled. Blurred. She didn’t mind. It was kind of peaceful that way. Everything would be okay as long as she didn’t fight the— “Stop.” The command cut through the warm, fuzzy haze. “No.” She didn’t want to go back to the cold. Hadrian stepped toward Holly through the fog, while the world all around him remained gray and unfocused, he seemed to glow with his hard edges. He pulled the homeless man’s hands away from her cheeks. “Be gone,” Hadrian’s voice boomed through the air. The ragged man hissed and slashed out at Holly as if his hands were a pair of claws, but Hadrian blocked him. “Be gone,” he boomed again. The raw power in his voice sent a shiver down Holly’s spine. The ragged man must have felt it too. Though he hissed again, he raised his arm over his face and backed away, disappearing into the night. “Can you hear me?” Hadrian wrapped his arms around her waist to support her wobbly legs. “Cold,” she whispered. “Can you hear me?” he asked again as calmly and as patiently as the first time. She nodded. Slowly. Carefully. “Good.” He shrugged out of his heavy overcoat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Its heat...his heat...enveloped her. The enticing scent and heat of his coat made her want to snuggle up against Hadrian. Before she knew it, she was doing just that. “We really need to get you off the street,” he said. “Do you think you can walk or do you need me to carry you?” She wasn’t sure. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if she was up to answering him with more than a nod, and since he hadn’t asked a yes or no question this time a nod wouldn’t do. She wiggled her toes. They seemed to be working. “Walk,” she whispered. Oh good, her voice was working. “You stopped him. Thank you.” He snarled and his eyes grew dark and dangerous. “I didn’t stop anything. I merely switched victims.” She didn’t understand what he meant and didn’t have the strength to ask. “Let’s get you inside,” he said. He helped her up the steps to her apartment building. The front door, which should have been locked, opened for him with a light touch. She was still gaping at how easily he’d opened the heavy door when he hurried her inside. With his hand steadying her, they made it up the three

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls flights of stairs to her floor where they met Karen, Holly’s neighbor, on the landing. There must have been a dozen shopping bags hanging from Karen’s arms. She looked as if she’d bought out half the city. “Holly!” She dropped the bags and rushed over. “What happened? My goodness, you were supposed to leave today. Are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?” Hadrian rudely pushed by her. “She’s okay,” he said. “I’m taking care of her.” “And who are you?” Karen demanded, her gaze narrowing. “I’ve never seen you around before. Who is he, Holly? Are you really okay? I think I need to call the police.” Hadrian sighed deeply and turned to face Karen. “Go about your own business as if we weren’t here.” Holly felt every word vibrate within her. Karen’s mouth dropped open. She stared at them both dumbly for a moment. Then, as if a light bulb had flickered off, she picked up her dropped shopping bags and walked over to her apartment door. Holly had never seen Karen back down so completely. It was scary. Unnatural. “What did you do to her?” she demanded. “Hypnosis?” Hadrian shook his head and led Holly unerringly to her apartment door. She shouldn’t have been surprised. If he’d been stalking her, chances were he’d know her address. Much like with the front door, he opened her locked apartment door with barely a touch. “How did you do that?” It burned her throat to talk, but she had too many questions to stay silent. “You didn’t have a key.” Hadrian’s hold tightened. He whisked her off her feet and carried her into her apartment. The door swung closed behind him completely on its own. “Who are you?” she asked as he sat her down on her sofa. “I’m Hadrian Graham,” he said. He fussed with an afghan blanket she’d left slung over the back of a chair, spreading it out on top of her and tucking in the edges around her. “Remember? You just saw me a couple of hours ago? Tore out of the café as if demons were chasing you?” “Yes, yes, I remember all that.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “Who are you?” she asked again. “Oh,” he said, understanding dawning, “you mean the bigger ‘who.’” She nodded. “I’m a wizard...of sorts.” He disappeared into the kitchen. The moment she started to get up and follow him, he called out, “Don’t you dare move, not until you regain some more of your strength.” A few minutes later he returned carrying two cups of tea. “A wizard?” “Of sorts. So are you.” He handed her a warm cup. “Sip it slowly.” The tea tasted sweet and lemony and exotic. It hadn’t come from her cabinet. She took another sip. It soothed her raw throat. “You carry your own tea?” “Only when I think I’ll need it.” She wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she took another sip of the tea. It was really very tasty. She’d have to find out where to buy it. Later, of course. After the important stuff was out of the way, like who the hell he was and what he and that other man wanted with her...a rather plain kindergarten schoolteacher!

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “Why do I feel so terrible?” she asked. “What did that man do to me?” Hadrian set down the tea he’d been drinking and started to pace. “This is going to be hard for you to believe,” he said. Not a good way to start. But she waited. He seemed to be putting his thoughts together. “To be blunt, you nearly died.” “Yeah, that’s blunt.” She swallowed some more tea. “How?” “That thing that attacked you wasn’t a man. It’s a soul eater. And it was feeding off you or rather your soul.” She remembered the ragged man saying something about her being tasty. “It was literally tearing your soul from your body and devouring it. You feel battered and sore because it had nearly succeeded. Your soul will heal from this, but it will take time. And your body will hurt like hell until it does.” He gestured toward the tea she was sipping. “It’ll help.” “Supposing I believe you, which I’m not saying I do, what would have happened if it had gotten hold of my soul?” “You’d be dead,” he answered a little too quickly. “And my soul? What would have happened to it?” Hadrian started to say something but hesitated. “I want to know,” Holly assured him. “Very well. If it had eaten your soul, it would have killed your spirit. The essence that lives on after our body dies would be gone. Obliterated.” “A fate worse than death?” “Exactly,” he agreed. “What could do something like that?” “An ancient creature. Something that is as old as time. A kind of demon. It’s called a soul eater. The creature had been vanquished from this world over two millennia ago. Sent to a limbo world where it slept. But times have changed. The world is a noisy place. Wars and corruption have clamored for too long. The anger and hatred in the world has awakened the creature and guided it back to this place and time.” “And he’s hungry. I remember him saying how very hungry he was. I thought he was a homeless man. He looked weak. Shaky.” “Really? Weak? It’s fed for the past three days. It should be near full strength.” Holly shook her head. “No, he was desperate. Starving.” “Hmmm...” “What does it mean?” “I don’t know,” he said. Despite the questions and confusion pouring through her head, Holly closed her eyes for just a moment. She was so tired. So needed to rest...for just a moment. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she woke up. Hadrian was shaking her shoulder. “I’ve got to leave.” He looked worried. She rolled over on the sofa. “Will you be coming back?” she asked with a wide, jawcracking yawn. Her heavy eyelids were sliding closed again. “No,” he said. “And I’m not leaving you behind.” He barely gave her enough time to brush her teeth, comb her hair, and check the dark bruises on her cheeks and temples before rushing her out the door. He drove her to a small apartment complex not far from her apartment building. Though the sun wasn’t yet up, the complex was softly lit with an array of landscape lighting. It was an upscale place. The line of police cars in the parking lot with their red and blue lights flashing

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls looked sorely out of place. “Stick by me,” Hadrian said as he helped her out the car. She was still drowsy and stiff and felt as if she could sleep for a week. He led her to the center of the activity near the fenced-off hot tubs. Hadrian didn’t pay attention to the yellow tape. He crossed it and passed the policemen as if he—and Holly— belonged there. No one stopped him. A tarp covered what could only be a body sprawled out in the bushes. She felt Hadrian close down as he stared down at the covered form. A muscle in his jaw ticked. “I expected you earlier.” She recognized Detective Newton right away. “You were right, of course. Another body. And the press are on their way.” “Don’t tell them anything.” Hadrian knelt down and pulled back the tarp. Holly gasped. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. She recognized the dead man. He’d been in the café the other day. “Justin Davies,” Hadrian said. He glanced up at Newton. “He’s one of ours.” “His soul?” Holly whispered the question. “Did the same thing that had attacked me get to him?” Newton snapped to attention like a birddog. “You saw the monster who’s been doing this? You actually saw him?” He grabbed Holly’s arm, took a good look at her, and frowned. “Why do I know you?” “We spoke last night about”—she flashed a guilty glance at Hadrian—“about him.” “Right,” Newton said. “You reported that he was stalking you.” Hadrian raised a brow at that. “Miss Post, you’ll have to come back to the station with me. I need to take your statement. Get a description of this bastard. He’s been plaguing the streets for nearly a week now.” “Take a good look at her, Newton. Her face is bruised. Someone beat the hell out of her. None of the other victims have even a mark. It’s not the same man.” The detective cursed. “But perhaps she could—” “I’m taking care of the situation.” Holly felt a wave of power rolling off Hadrian. “Davies was one of ours. Call off your team. We’ll take over from here.” Several men and women emerged from the shadows. Though a most of them were strangers, Holly recognized Jake’s long face and a few others from the café. They moved silently. “Now see here,” Newton protested. “This is a crime scene. I can’t just let you carry the body off.” “We’re handling this one,” Hadrian said. The team from the café carefully wrapped their friend in a silvery cloth and then lifted him from the ground. “But—but—” Newton sputtered. “Don’t file a report. Don’t do anything. The mayor will back me up on this.” The power rolling off Hadrian intensified to the point that Holly was even nodding in agreement and Hadrian wasn’t even speaking to her. Newton’s shoulders fell. “I understand. But what about Miss Post? If she was attacked last night, perhaps she can help us stop the bas—” “This will end,” Hadrian said, grimly. “One way or the other it will end.” ****

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls Despite Hadrian’s concern that Holly might try and bolt again, he decided to bring her back to The Oblique Café. If the creature was targeting the group, it would be safer for them to stick together. Besides, he’d told her that she was a wizard and she didn’t scream or try to run away. Perhaps her powers were finally starting to wake up. Frank Stone had called a meeting at the café. Hadrian could see through the glassed café door that the inside of the café was packed. “The café is exactly where I expected it to be,” Holly was saying as Hadrian put his hand on the front door. “It’s exactly where it is every time you bring me here and exactly where it isn’t every time I go looking for it. Why is that?” “Because you’re not ready to find it on your own.” She tilted her head and considered that a moment. “And am I ready now?” “Did you see the café before I touched the door?” The thought about it for a moment and then frowned. “No, I didn’t. What does that mean?” “It means you’re not ready.” He wished she was, but she wasn’t. And if she still wasn’t ready for the magic to flare to life, he doubted she’d handle returning to the café now any better than the first two times that she’d run away as if demons from hell were chasing her. Still, letting her go back to her apartment was too dangerous. The creature had tasted her. It had formed a connection with her. If he had to, he would use his powers against her. He’d hold her against her will. He would keep her safe from the soul eater, even if it meant forcing her to face a life that her mind wasn’t ready to face. Better to have a broken mind than no soul. Hadrian ran a hand over his face as he fought an urge to turn her head to his and kiss away those fears that were darkening her pretty eyes. Damn it, he’d started to have feelings for Holly Post. Strong feelings. Feelings that could prove fatal for the both of them. Frank Stone had said several times that they needed Holly to defeat the soul eater. But how could a New One who didn’t have enough magic inside her to find the doorway to the café defeat one of the oldest creatures on Earth? Hell, the soul eater had nearly chewed her up and spit her out without a second thought. And it had defeated Justin, who had been a scary wizard with some amazing powers. So why did Stone want Holly? Why had he insisted that Hadrian force her to accept that she was a wizard before she was ready? Hadrian didn’t like it. And he didn’t like the way his chest tightened when he thought about sending Holly back out to face the soul eater again. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise. I’ll protect you from anything that might want to harm you.” He’d even stand against the powerful Frank Stone if necessary. “Thank you.” Holly rose up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. She might not have any magical powers, but that kiss... The heat of it nearly knocked Hadrian onto his backside. His head was still spinning as he pushed open the café door and led Holly down the rabbit hole. As anticipated, the café was crowded. Hushed conversations were taking place in every corner. Kara was the first to notice him. She gave him a weak smile until she noticed Holly at his side. Her expression hardened, and she glared at the two of them before turning away. Hell, there was going to be trouble on that front. Justin Davies wasn’t just powerful. He

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls was popular. If Hadrian wasn’t careful, Holly could find herself with a bunch of enemies she didn’t deserve. It had been Hadrian’s decision to save her, even if he knew the price. “How much does she know?” Stone came right up to the two of them and asked. “Not nearly enough,” Holly answered for herself. Stone prodded Holly’s bruises. “It looks as if you got to her in the nick of time.” Kara must have overheard them. “Goodie for us,” Hadrian clearly heard her say. Holly flinched. “It’s grown stronger,” Stone said. Hadrian could feel the beast’s strength beating like fiery wings against the veils of this world. “Holly said it was starving. That it came to her weak and desperate.” “Is that so?” Frank asked. Holly nodded vigorously. “But it had fed at least three times. I would have thought it would have been close to half strength by now,” Frank said. “Whatever attacked me is the same thing—the soul eater—that killed Justin Davies?” Holly asked, which impressed Hadrian. She’d not run...yet. “It hunts every night,” Stone said. “According to the stories handed down through the centuries, it can only feed on one soul a night. It takes an incredible amount of energy to tear a soul from a living body.” “Then why doesn’t it go after the souls of the dead? Like ghosts?” Stone chuckled. “There’s no such thing.” “No ghosts, but you expect me to believe in demons?” Holly scoffed. “And trans-dimensional shifts,” Stone said. Holly rubbed her bruised temples. “Let’s stick to demons for now. Hadrian, if it was the same creature, then why did you tell Detective Newton it wasn’t?” “Newton can’t help us, so there’s no need to get tangled up with his investigation. As it is, we’re already running short of time.” “Okay...so, why am I bruised when the others don’t have a mark?” “You bare the marks of survival. If it had taken your soul, you wouldn’t have bruised, either. You have to understand the nature of the beast.” While both he and Stone explained to Holly what they knew about the soul eater, which wasn’t a lot, Hadrian noticed a growing number of discontented looks coming Holly’s way. She’d been beaten halfway to hell and was exhausted. She didn’t need to battle her own kind, too. Though he hoped she didn’t notice the building tension in the café, he knew she wasn’t stupid. She had to have noticed the scowls and heard the angry whispers. “You said last night that you didn’t stop the creature, you only traded victims,” she said quietly. “At the time, I didn’t understand what you meant by that. Did you know it would attack Justin Davies?” “I had a feeling that once it had tasted one of our kind it would seek out another.” “He traded Justin’s life for hers,” Kara shouted from the other side of the room. The woman had eagle sharp hearing. “How does that help us, Stone? How can she do anything for us? She doesn’t even know what she is. She hasn’t been trained. She has no magic that we know of. Justin was powerful and smart. Why trade him for someone who can’t even defend herself?” There were grumblings of agreement. “Hadrian knew what would happen. He knew the consequences of saving her. I call for Hadrian to be brought up in front of the council to answer for this crime,” Kara said.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls Holly looked as if she was wanted to crawl under a table. But she didn’t. Instead she grabbed Hadrian arm and pulled him behind her as if she was preparing to go to battle for him. Stone held up his hands. Silence descended. “I ordered Hadrian to do everything in his power to protect this particular New One. He broke no laws.” “He killed Justin!” someone shouted. Hadrian couldn’t see who. “We’re all targets now,” Stone said. “Regardless of what happened last night, we cannot change the danger we are facing today. Like it or not, we need Holly. She’s the key to stopping the beast.” “Key, my ass,” Kara scoffed. “Key?” Holly paled several shades. “I-I don’t understand any of this. Kara is right about one thing. I can’t stop that thing. Even if I wanted to I wouldn’t know what to do. You have to be mistaken. And what a grave mistake, too. I’m not the one you’re looking for.” She weaved on her feet. Hadrian caught her as her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed. **** “The beast has weakened her,” Holly heard someone say in a hushed voice. She peeled open her eyes. The room was dark. The shades had been pulled, and she’d been undressed and put in a comfortable bed. It took a while to figure out where she was. Her suitcase was propped up against the wall. That’s what had finally clued her in. Someone had brought her to the apartment above the café. “Feel her aura. She’s so weak. Has she been drinking the tea?” “Yes, but I’ll have some more brought up as soon as she wakes.” Hadrian wasn’t whispering, so his voice wasn’t as hard to recognize as the man speaking in a hushed tone. “Frank was right to bring her in.” The man sucked in a long breath through his nose. “She smells like an old one. That’s why the soul eater wants her. She’s a rarity. Her powers, if they ever emerge, will tap into the elementals of the universe. We could do so many wonderful things with her, but the timing is bad. I wish we had more time, but the soul eater won’t wait.” “How are we going to train her?” Hadrian asked “It takes years to master some of the most rudimentary skills, and you’re talking about sending her into battle as soon as she’s strong enough?” “We don’t train her,” the man said. “Then we’re sending her to die.” Holly didn’t like how that sounded. “Would it matter that much if she was sacrificed to save the rest of us? She’s not even a member of our community.” “Not yet,” Hadrian pointed out. “But she is one of us.” “A New One. We don’t know if she would ever fit in.” “She would. Stone and I have been watching her. And she’s strong. She didn’t break right away. Even with all that negative energy flooding toward her downstairs, she didn’t break.” “You have feelings for her,” the man said. Holly held her breath waiting to hear Hadrian’s answer. None came. “You can’t let your feelings blind you.” If he hadn’t been talking about her life—or rather, death—she probably would have thought it funny that the man with a hushed voice sounded like a bad actor in a corny sci-fi movie. “Her soul’s been too badly damaged. It may never heal. Let her go. There will be others for you to save.” **** Holly spent hours staring at the ceiling in that apartment above the café while replaying the conversation she was beginning to wish she hadn’t overheard. Every couple of hours Jake

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls would check on her. He always brought the same special tea Hadrian had made for her right after the attack. Sometimes he had a snack or meal with him, too. Hadrian had been right; the chocolate croissants were really very good. Jake tried to be friendly. He stayed with her while she ate, doing his best to keep her company. But still, there was a grim mood hanging in the room. She had a feeling that if she tried to leave, she’d be stopped. Two days passed with no sign of Hadrian. She was beginning to think he’d taken the other man’s advice and given up on her. On the morning of Christmas Eve, she was still locked in the one-room apartment. What a banner Christmas Eve day this one was turning into. She was the sacrificial lamb being prepared for the chopping block. The beautiful breakfast Jake had brought made her wonder if they weren’t fattening her up so she’d be more appetizing for that blasted soul eater. “Stone is going to come and talk to you this morning,” Jake told her as he put the tray of food on the apartment’s dining room table. Holly eased herself out of the bed. Her muscles still ached, but she was getting stronger. “And Hadrian?” She hoped she didn’t sound too hopeful. Jake frowned at the floor and shook his head. For the past several days, she’d asked about Hadrian. She’d gotten the same empty response every time. “He is okay, isn’t he? I mean, the soul eater didn’t get anyone last night?” Jake shook his head again. “We were lucky. It hasn’t killed since Justin.” Why wouldn’t Hadrian visit her? Had he really given up on her? “There have been several close calls, though,” Jake was saying. “And several of us are experiencing headaches. I think it’s using all its energy to search us out. Something has to happen soon, or else I fear the worst.” She didn’t want to but felt compelled to ask, “The worst?” “It will go on a killing rampage.” “I thought Frank said it could only make one kill a night.” “For some reason, the rules have changed from the last time this creature was in this world. It isn’t killing humans. It wants us. And it’s suffering because we’re hiding from it. Something is going to snap...and soon.” Jake left her with that chilling thought. She was still chewing on it and wondering if she wouldn’t be better off venturing out into the city on her own. They seemed to be planning to let the beast eat her soul. She wasn’t sure how that would stop anything. If anything, it would make the creature stronger. And more dangerous. There had to be another way... She closed her eyes and her perfect fantasy family came into view. No. Holly opened her eyes and shook her head. She needed to stay focused on the very real dangers facing her right now. But oh, if only she could be with her family. They felt more real to her than any of this craziness. Wizards. Soul eaters. Insanity. If she were with her family, she could join them as they prepared for the Christmas Eve festivities. Holly closed her eyes and inhaled the clean, piney scent of Christmas greenery as she escaped her prison and let the fantasy envelop her. There would be midnight church services. Her mother would dress in a dark green velvet gown. Dinner would be served early. And the little nieces and nephews would be anxious, bordering on naughty...as their grandfather would warn. They’d be looking at their watches and wondering, once again, why Holly wasn’t there. “I should be at Priscilla’s with her family. Or with Karen and her mother.” She got up,

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls put on her best dress, and ran a comb through her hair before packing her bag. “One thing is certain, I have no business here. I still don’t even know who these people are. Wizards? Of sorts? What did that mean?” Never mind. She really didn’t want to know. Dragging her heavy suitcase behind her, Holly climbed out a small window that opened onto a ledge. She edged her way halfway around the building before dropping down onto the building’s metal fire escape. She tossed her suitcase to the ground and then climbed down the rusty ladder that moaned and groaned with her every step. She’d never been comfortable with heights. Her muscles quivered like a nervous bird. The wind had picked up. Snow swirled in the air. It was going to be another frigid day. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure this out,” Hadrian said. He was holding her suitcase and wearing a wonderfully welcome smile. “It took me this long to give up on you.” “Ah...the damsel in distress awaiting her white knight to rescue her?” She felt her cheeks heat. “Something like that.” “But you never needed rescuing, did you?” “I heard,” she told him. “I heard what you said and what the other man said. You intend to sacrifice me to that...that thing!” “Knowing all that, it still took you this long to rescue yourself?” He shook his head. “I’m disappointed.” “It’s Christmas Eve,” she said, hotly. “Give me my suitcase. I intend to find my perfect holiday. I probably won’t get the chance to live another one! I can’t pass up any more opportunities.” He kept a tight grip on her luggage. “I’m coming with you. The soul eater is searching for you.” “Fine!” Let Hadrian follow her through the snowy streets. As long as he didn’t try and stop her, she didn’t care. It wasn’t as if she was that upset over his abandonment anyhow. She’d only cried about it for a few nights. “Why didn’t you?” she demanded. “Why didn’t I, what?” he asked. “Rescue me?” “Oh.” “Well?” Tears sprang to her eyes. A piece of her had wanted him to like her. Had wanted him to care. “You were...and still are...weaker than a kitten. Up in that apartment was the safest place for you.” That wasn’t good enough. He’d made her worry and fret and feel like a worthless piece of— “I wouldn’t have let them feed you to the dragon.” “You could have visited me.” “I wasn’t allowed. The man you heard me talking to, his name is Beckley. He’s the head of the council in the United States. Very powerful. He kept me away.” “The wizard council?” she asked. “Something like that,” he replied. “And Frank Stone?” “I’m not sure what he’s thinking. I’m acting on my own. Have been since the day they locked you up in that apartment.”

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls He followed her down the block. Holly wasn’t sure how she felt about him or even if she trusted him. Unfortunately, she didn’t have many options. And deep down, she wanted to trust Hadrian. She truly did. “So,” he said. They were standing at the corner of the street, waiting for the light to change. “What do you do now?” “In case you’ve forgotten, it’s December 24th. I don’t know about you—I intend to celebrate Christmas.” **** She was adorable. Hadrian knew he shouldn’t be thinking that, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He enjoyed watching her scrunch up her nose when she was angry. And Lord help him, he wanted to kiss her when she was scolding him for not rescuing her. What a joy, a blessed joy, she was. And most likely doomed. He shouldn’t become attached. He’d told himself that time and again, yet it didn’t seem to stick. Whether he wanted to or not, he liked Holly Post. She was the first woman in his life to charm him and melt the ice that had surrounded his heart for as long as he could remember. “What makes a perfect Christmas celebration?” he asked her. “Family,” she said and kicked at a bit of snow. “But I don’t have any to speak of.” Hadrian slipped his hand in hers. “I don’t either. Not a biological family. None of us at The Oblique Café do. Like you, we’re all orphans.” “Is that what makes me one of you?” “No.” He didn’t want to tell her the truth. It would ruin her perfect day. But he needed to tell her something. “We weren’t born of this world, Holly. We’re not like the others.” “I see,” she kept walking as if she hadn’t heard him. “You don’t want me to explain how I’m a wizard with the power to...” He held his hands out and concentrated. A bright ball of energy formed within the nest of his palms. It pulsed with the heartbeat of the universe. It was a pretty damn impressive trick. “What? Were you saying something?” She tilted her head and smiled innocently up at him. It was as if she couldn’t see the energy sphere he’d conjured or hear the truth. She wasn’t ready to hear the truth. She wasn’t ready to see the magic. “Did you know that Burl Ives was my uncle? My parents are going to hate that I’m missing this year’s celebration,” she said still looking beyond him as if peering into a distant window. Her fantasy family. They were more real to her than he was. “I can see them now,” she whispered. “They’re gathering around a long table filled with home baked dishes.” “Can I buy you lunch?” Hadrian asked. He took her hand, trying to break the spell she’d woven around herself. “I have a friend who’s a hostess at the Towers Hotel. No matter how booked they are, she’ll be able to get us a table.” Holly nodded absently. “Yes, I’d like that.” They were nearly through the lavish meal when Holly set down her fork and asked quite plainly, “Am I human?” He finished chewing his steak. “Um....” “I mean, what does it mean when you say that I’m like you and like everyone else at The Oblique Café? From what I’ve overheard, it sounds to me as if you and your friends consider yourselves to be not quite human.” “We’re not.”

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls She closed her eyes. Her fingers tightened into a fist. After a long silence she asked, “Then, what am I?” “A foundling. We’re all foundlings. No parents to speak of. Jake is convinced we popped out of a cabbage patch. Kara believes we’re fairies.” Holly peeled open one eye. “And what’s the truth?” “No one knows, exactly. We’re different. That much is true. And we all have powers that allow us to move through the dimensions, among other things. Old fables called us wizards. We have the ability to harness the powers of this universe and the dimensions surrounding it. We can use those powers to fight the shadows that threaten the humans.” Holly didn’t say anything as she stared at him. Her silence made him nervous. “We’re not alone,” he said. “There are groups of us living all over the world. Have been since the beginning of time.” Still, she was silent. “Some in our group call ourselves The Protectors because we take care of the human race. But I’m pretty certain that we’re a race of wizards.” She didn’t even blink. Hadrian waved a hand in front of her face. “You’re kidding me,” she finally said. **** It smelled her. She was different from the others, a blend of the ancients and the new human. It had felt the power of her soul. Freedom. That’s what it craved now. No more long stretches of hunger. No more hiding in the shadows afraid that the ancients might banish it again. No more. Never again. It would have her. She looked weak. Wide-eyed. Too stunned to be aware of the dangers the soul eater posed. It knew. And it was ready. Tonight. **** “Tell me you were kidding,” she said for the fourth time. Holly knew she sounded like a broken record, but she couldn’t seem to get out of that endless loop. Her mind kept circling the idea, unwilling to touch it. “I’m not kidding,” he said as patiently as he had the first time. “It’s the truth. We’re wizards. Frank likes to call us The Protectors.” After paying for lunch, Hadrian had suggested they go ice-skating at the outdoor rink in the park. He said it was a common human tradition to go ice-skating on Christmas Eve and that they should go. He was trying to give her a perfect Christmas. It was sweet. She swiped at an errant tear with the back of her hand. There was no reason to cry. None at all. Not human... There were worst things in life, right? “You-you were found, like me, in a city gutter?” she asked and held her breath while waiting for an answer. He nodded. “I was raised by foster families. I left my tenth family when I graduated from high school. It was a rough childhood. Christmases were especially hard.” “They still are,” she agreed. “They don’t have to be.” His eyes grew dark with desire. The steady look made her heart thud in her chest. She touched her tongue to her lips...and ended up biting it. She couldn’t fall for Hadrian. Not yet. Not until she convinced herself that this wasn’t just one big scam.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls It’s not a scam. Still, she needed time to...adjust. “If you’re a wizard, can you do magic?” He flashed her a playful smile. “Nothing up my sleeves,” he said as he skated by her. He spun in a wide circle on the ice and raised his hands to the gray sky. A bright glowing ball formed in his hands. He spun again and sent the ball of light to the top of the large Christmas tree in the nearby square where it twinkled and sparkled before fading away. The people around him clapped. Hadrian seemed startled that so many people had noticed his light display. “Aren’t you afraid that they’ll find out that you’re magical and, I don’t know, storm the castle doors with pitchforks and torches?” Holly whispered. “There’s nothing to see here,” he said. Holly felt a wave push out in all directions around her. There’s nothing to see here. There’s nothing to see here. “I did a little mind push,” he said. “The other skaters won’t remember seeing anything other than a man skating on the ice with a beautiful woman.” “You can do that?” “With some training, you’ll be able to do it, too.” Holly shivered. “I’m not sure that I like that you can control other people’s minds. It scares me.” “I can’t seem to control your mind,” Hadrian said. “That’s supposed to make me feel better?” It did. A little. And she did like the beautiful ball of light he’d created. She thrust her hand in the air. “Do you think I could call the powers of the storm to my hand?” He was on her in a flash and lowered her arm as if frightened she just might cause a blaze of lightning to rip down from the sky. “Let’s not try that yet.” She looked at her gloved hand. Her fingers tingled. And little sparkles of light danced on the tip of her thumb. Hadrian rubbed her hand between his until it felt normal again. “Try not to pull the heavens down around our heads tonight,” he said as he skated off. “It’s harder to get people to forget something like that happening.” “Am I still allowed to go to church?” she asked. “I mean, I’m not endangering anyone by being there, am I?” She swallowed hard and rushed on, not sure she wanted Hadrian to answer any of her questions. “God’s not going to strike me down for entering into his domain...will he?” Hadrian skated past her. “Has he before?” She shook her head. And then laughed. “Okay, okay, I get it. Still, I’m falling off the deep end a little.” “Personally, I have nothing against going to church,” he said and then skated a full-circle around her. “I’ll go with you to the midnight service tonight. I like looking at all the candles.” “Are we demons?” she whispered the question, afraid someone might overhear. “Not that I know about,” he said as he skated by her again. He seemed so at peace with the knowledge that he wasn’t even the same species as everyone around them. They were different. Sprang from the earth, perhaps. Found under a cabbage patch. Fell from the sky. Who knew? Holly certainly didn’t. “Are you sure you’ve skated before?” Hadrian asked the next time he glided by her. “Of course, I have,” she answered quickly enough and then suddenly got nervous that her non-humanness was showing. “Why?”

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls “Oh, no reason. Most skaters I know usually move around the rink, though.” He twirled around and skated backwards, smiling at her. “How can you act so normal?” His grin turned wry. “How else am I supposed to act?” Good question. She used her toe pick to push off and glided across the ice. Nothing had changed in her life. Not really. So, she wasn’t human. Several of the guys she had the misfortune of dating over the years weren’t human either...they couldn’t have been. Hadrian, on the other hand— No, she probably shouldn’t get all gushy over him until she understood how things worked in this non-human world of his first. “We should definitely get a tree,” he said. He hooked his arm with hers, and they skated side by side. Holly felt like a quaint character in a Victorian winter painting. “Which do you prefer, tinsel or garland?” **** The afternoon whirled by. After putting up the most wonderful, gaudy tree imaginable— using both tinsel and garland and flashing lights—in the middle of her apartment, Hadrian insisted they make hot chocolate to take over to Karen. After hearing about the ordeal Karen’s mother put her through, he said it was their duty to make sure Karen was holding her own. “We are protectors, after all,” he said before playfully kissing Holly on the tip of her nose. She nearly swooned. “Do that again,” she said. “Do what?” His smile turned devilish. He crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly waiting for her to make the next move. “Newton had it right, you are a pain in the—” He moved faster than her eyes could see and kissed her. Lip to lip. The heat swirling between them was deep and sparkling. It spread through her body. “Wow,” she said when he peeled away from her. “Yeah—wow.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “We better not continue that or else we won’t make it to Karen’s. Hell, we won’t make it out of this apartment until after the new year.” “No kidding,” Holly agreed. **** Holly’s body was still humming from spark that had been ignited by that kiss. She’d secretly hoped Hadrian would lead her back to her apartment and to her bedroom after they’d visited with Karen and her mother. Karen’s mother, a kindly older woman with a full head of gray hair tinted pink, was the very definition of grace and civility. Except when she spoke to her daughter. The woman’s features would then wrinkle up, and she’d scowl before uttering the most outrageous complaints. Karen hadn’t been exaggerating. Her mother truly had nothing positive to say to her. The tense situation left Holly twisting her napkin to pieces. Hadrian, on the other hand, appeared to enjoy the impromptu visit. He leaned back on Karen’s sofa and charmed the stockings off Karen and her mother. “Dear, now this is the type of man you should be dating,” Karen’s mother had said during a lull in the conversation. It was the nicest thing she’d said to Karen since they’d arrived. “You dress like a slut. Men of this caliber aren’t looking for sluts.”

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls Karen blazed red. Holly wanted to crawl under the coffee table. But Hadrian only smiled. “Dear, dear Mrs. Hardgrove,” he said, smoothly. “But I like all sorts of women.” He put his hand on hers and stroked it lightly. A bit of the tension eased from the room. He told a short, meaningless story about a scruffy dog he owned as a child. Karen’s mother beamed with delight. He then turned to Karen and asked, “Did you have any pets growing up?” Karen seemed surprised by the question. “Why yes,” she said. “Mom and I used to raise poodles. Remember Sofie, Mom? She earned her champion before she even turned one. Her fur was the perfect shade of silver and she knew how to turn on the charm at the shows. Mom trained her. I showed her.” “Ah, yes.” Karen’s mom closed her eyes and smiled. “You deserve a lot of the credit for Sofie’s wins. My Karen was one of the best handlers. She was truly a natural. I’ve never seen anyone instinctively recognized a dog’s strengths and make sure the judges saw those strengths with same flare Karen would do that. We should do that again, honey.” Holly held her breath, waiting for Karen’s mother to tack on a biting criticism about her daughter. Holly was about to turn blue from waiting when Hadrian took her hand. “I think it’s time to go,” he said. When they rose from their seats, Karen and her mother were absorbed in their reminiscences of past dog shows. They’d found a common ground and were running on it. Hadrian had worked a miracle. “Just doing what we do best,” he said. “We help the humans.” “Are you reading my mind?” she asked, hoping that he hadn’t. Otherwise, just a little while ago he would have gotten quite an explicit show of what she’d imagined doing with him once she got him alone. She felt her cheeks burn. “Please tell me you can’t read my mind.” “I can’t,” he assured her and gave her a quick kiss. He then whispered, “You should know, though, you show your thoughts clearly on your face.” Holly playfully buried her face in her hand. “Great...just, great. Now you’ll think I’m a slut, too.” “But, Miss Post,” he said, his tone wreathed in innocence, “I like all sorts of women.” **** The bedroom romp never did happen. Hadrian assured himself that it was for the best. He shouldn’t be enjoying himself this much...not with Holly...not knowing what was going to happen tonight. To her. Actually, exactly what happened would be up to her. He hadn’t lied about not letting her be unwittingly fed to the soul eater. But if she decided to fight the beast, he wouldn’t stop her. According to Frank, facing the soul eater was, after all, her destiny. She sparkled in the night like the crystals of ice dangling from the storefront awnings. She’d put on a beautiful beaded silver gown. But it wasn’t the dress that made her glow. It was the joy dancing in her eyes. She was happy, so very happy it made his heart ache. “Dinner was lovely,” she said. He’d broken his budget and taken her out to a posh uptown restaurant that had elevated haut cuisine into an art form. “My taste buds are still singing.” “So are mine,” he agreed. If this was going to be her last day, she deserved the best and the hell with the cost. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look?” “Yes,” she smiled up at him. “But I like hearing it.” She hooked her arm with his and

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls stole a kiss that warmed him to his toes. “Thank you. Today was amazing.” “It was amazing for me as well,” he admitted, his heart breaking. He didn’t want to lose her. **** Hadrian had escorted Holly to the midnight Christmas service at St. Agnes’s. It was a grand cathedral with a ceiling that seemed to reach into the heavens. Holly hadn’t attended a service here since her days at the orphanage. Years had passed since she’d even visited this part of town. These were the places she was trying to forget. The memories here were of holidays that looked nothing like the images read about in books or saw in paintings. Seeing the old neighborhood again threatened to chase away the image of her fantasy family. The loving mother and father who were still waiting for her to come home and sit down with her extended family at their oversized table to eat their oversized turkey. She almost made Hadrian take her home. “There’s power in the past,” he promised her. “Don’t be afraid.” It wasn’t much of an assurance. She’d felt his tension grow with each passing minute and knew he was worried about something. His gaze kept traveling around the church pews, even after the service started. The congregation was singing the first carol when he whispered in her ear, “It’s here.” Before she could react, a great wind howled outside that sent the heavy doors swinging open. With a thundering crash, the lights and candles went dark. “I’m hungry,” it cried. It no longer looked like a man but moved like a shadow, like a ghostly demon down the center aisle toward her. And this time she knew exactly what it wanted. It wanted her. Hadrian kept a tight hold on her hand. “I’m with you. We can fight it.” “The humans have changed,” the beast said moved closer toward her. “Their souls are sealed against me. What has happened? What has changed them?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hadrian said. “Liar!” Holly could feel the beast reaching out to her. Its darkness shivered through her. “Look,” it said and lifted its arms. As one, the congregation sighed and collapsed. A ghastly glow spread throughout the church. “I can’t tap into their power. It’s not mine to take. What has changed them?” “Do something, Hadrian! The soul eater is killing them! It’s killing all of them!” Holly shouted as she tried to help the woman who’d fallen beside her. “It’s not supposed to be able to take more than one soul a night!” “I-I don’t know what to do. It’s too powerful,” Hadrian said, even though he had lifted his hands had conjured an orb of light filled with crackling lightning. “Can’t you feel it? The soul eater is using their deaths to pull us into another dimension. One where it’s even stronger. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what Frank thought either of could do. I suppose I could.” He tossed the orb of light at the soul eater’s dark figure. But it opened its mouth and let out a horrible wail that shattered the orb. “No,” Hadrian cried. Holly watched in horror as Hadrian was lifted off his feet by an unseen power and tossed across the room. His head splintered against the marble altar. Her brave protector reached out for her and mouthed, “I love you, Holly,” as he sank to the floor. “No!” She ran to him, but she felt it even before she’d reached him. He was dead. Like

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls all the others. Holly could feel the emptiness clawing at her. His soul had been ripped from his body. She wanted to shout at Hadrian, to beat her fists against his chest. He’d left her alone and defenseless. He’d promised to stay with her, to protect her. He’d promised to help her. She was alone. It was Christmas, and she was alone. Don’t leave me. “I love you Hadrian. I love you.” She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her tear-soaked cheek to his. She’d thought things would be different. She’d thought she’d finally found someone who could love her...who would share her life. And this...this...thing killed him. The soul eater grabbed her shoulder and dragged Holly to her feet. As it did so, its body shifted into another man’s body...into Hadrian’s body. “No!” He wasn’t Hadrian. The soul eater’s fingers tore into her cheeks as if trying to burrow itself deep inside her. “You’re different from the others. You taste almost...like the humans that used to feed me.” His spindly hands wrapped around her arms. His tongue flicked out of his mouth like a snake’s. “You will help me unlock the humans’ souls. You will give me the freedom I crave.” “Stop! Stop!” she shouted, twisting and turning and kicking at the soul eater. “No. You won’t win. I won’t let you win.” Holly remembered the wizard council member back at the café had said that her powers were different from the other wizards. He thought she had what it took to fight the soul eater. But they hadn’t taught her. Why hadn’t they taught her what she needed to do? Because they didn’t know how? Were her powers really that different from theirs? Why hadn’t Hadrian tried to teach her how to defend herself? “Keep away from me!” She threw her arms up and twisted out of the soul eater’s deadly embrace. “Don’t fight...you are alone. And powerless.” For most of her life, she’d felt that way. She’d thought if only she had a family, things would be different. Her life would be better. But today Hadrian had showed her that she could live and feel loved even though she didn’t have a picture-perfect family and didn’t live in a picture-perfect world. “I’ve gone through hell trying to get the perfect Christmas!” And blessed be she’d never come so close to actually enjoying a holiday. “I’ve pretended to have a family.” She tossed her beaded purse at the beast’s head. It bounced harmlessly off him. “Contemplated sleeping on a bench in the train station.” She grabbed a hymnal from the pew and threw that at him too. “You took everything from me! Not only did you steal Christmas. You robbed me of the man I love. You are the one who should be trembling, not me, because I no longer have anything to lose.” No matter what, she had to stop the beast. But how? You’ve not lost everything, Holly heard someone whisper in her mind. Who was that? The voice sounded warm and soothing. It was the voice of her mother. The mother she’d created in her imagination. She wasn’t alone. Not really. She still had her family. They weren’t real, but thinking of them always made her feel strong. Her family. When she closed her eyes she could see still the shadows of them. And Uncle

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls Burl...he was singing. They sounded so happy. And so real. She turned and stared at the soul eater. His face had changed again. He no longer looked like Hadrian. “You are me,” she said. The beast now looked exactly like her. “You are me,” it echoed. The monster had attacked her soul twice now. She could feel pieces of her soul fluttering inside the soul eater. Because of that, her fantasy family no longer called out only to her. She wasn’t the only one now yearning to rush home. The soul eater now wanted that, too. This was its trap. Hadrian had said that wizards could tap into the powers of the universe, that they could move time and space with a trans-dimensional shift. She had no idea how, but she needed to get the soul eater to follow her into her fantasy family’s house. She stared at the empty space in front of her, picturing the cozy house. The lights in the windows. The fire burning in the hearth. Log by log the mountain house started to form in the center of the cathedral. Holly took a tentative step toward the house. The soul eater, hungry for her soul, followed. “What are you doing?” the soul eater growled. The ground shook as she opened the front door to the cozy cabin. “I’m sending you home.” Then, from deep in her distant memories, she heard it. A song. Her family. They were singing. She joined in grossly off-key. She never could carry a tune. But it didn’t matter. Tears ran down her cheeks. But that didn’t matter either. She could run through that door, slam the door closed behind her and escape the world she’d been born into, escape the soul eater. She’d be with her family (a family of her own imagination), but she’d be with them. She wouldn’t have to face the grief of losing Hadrian. She wouldn’t have to face the knowing that she’d ever loved him...because he wouldn’t exist in her new world. A perfect world she’d spent a lifetime creating. And this imperfect, painful world...? It would still have the soul eater to contend with. She looked at the soul eater. It gazed into the open door with the same look of longing as Holly felt. This was its trap. With a cry of frustration and grief Holly pushed the soul eater through the open door. “No...!” the soul eater shouted as it was sucked through the door. The house, her fantasy family, and the soul eater all exploded in a brilliant flash of white light. They were gone. Forever gone. Slowly, the colors inside the church returned. Holly held her breath. The stark silence frightened her. In the midst of so many good people, she was the only one left alive. It didn’t feel right. It wasn’t right. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Don’t let this be the ending. Don’t let me lose Hadrian.” Like she had when conjuring her fantasy family, she imagined the people in the church breathing and healthy again. But it was one thing to breathe life into a fantasy. The people in the church were real. Their souls were real. Even so, she had to try. “Give me the power to save Hadrian and everyone else here and let me find my home.” A tingling tickled the tips of her fingers and then spread up her arms. This was it. The magic. It was awake and alive inside her! Holly waved her hand, sending the power out through

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls her fingers and into the church. A dim light in the back flickered. A lone candle sputtered, its flame returning. One by one the candles surrounding that single candle took a flame, giving the interior a warm golden glow. A child who had collapsed in the middle of the aisle stretched his arm. His mother yawned. One by one, people started to move. And then Hadrian started to sit up. Holly gasped a disbelieving breath and rushed to his side. “My God, Hadrian!” She helped him to his feet. “You did it.” He broke into a wide smile and pulled her into his arms. “It’s gone. You’ve locked it away.” “But I don’t understand . . .” She stared up at him confused, unable to grasp what happened. She touched his cheeks, feeling their warmth, his eyes, his lips. “You came back to me.” “Your love brought me back. Can’t you feel it?” He kissed her hard on the lips. “Oh lord, you’re powerful. So powerful, you almost scare me. Your love, your power is surging through me like molten metal.” He held her so tightly that she knew she’d never feel alone again. “I love you, Holly. I love you.” “What...what do we do now?” she asked on a shaking breath. “We go home.” Together they helped the stunned congregation return to the pews. The priest, his legs a little wobbly, shook his head as he made his way back to the podium. He then opened the prayer book and started to read the closing prayer. “They won’t remember what happened here tonight,” Hadrian said. He held Holly’s hand as they walked out of the church. Holly nodded. “I think it’s for the best. I want everyone to feel a warm glow when they remember this Christmas. My first truly happy Christmas.” **** The Christmas bells chimed throughout the city, heralding the coming of a crisp new day. Hadrian put his arm around Holly. “Imagine,” he said as they walked past the manger scene in front of St. Agnes’s where a tiny, seemingly helpless, baby took center stage. “Over two millennia ago the soul eater walked the earth, and the humans were vulnerable to him. Their souls were open for his taking. But now they are protected. Sealed against the darkness. People have changed. They’ve grown. The beast could kill them...and us...but it couldn’t destroy their souls. They’re evolving. We all are.” “Amazing.” Holly leaned her head on Hadrian’s shoulder. She liked the warmth he gave her. It was over. Christmas had come and the world was safe again. A bright star twinkled in the silent sky above them. She closed her eyes and pictured Priscilla kissing her husband under a sprig of mistletoe while their three little ones slept in a delightful heap on the sofa. And Karen, still dressed in her new Christmas dress, was toasting the new morning with her mother—a temporary truce being made. A familiar ache stabbed through her. Even happy Christmases can feel bittersweet. Holly had always been on the outside, apart. Although she had Hadrian, she was still on the outside when it came to Christmas because the Christmas spirit needed families to fuel it. And a family was something she’d never had. Even her fantasy family was forever lost to her. She’d sacrificed them to defeat the soul eater. When she closed her eyes, she could no longer see them.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls But then Hadrian led her into the café. There was music and laughing. A playful brawl was underway in the center of the room. And she knew. She had Hadrian. And this was her place. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t even beautiful. But it was where she belonged. Finally, she belonged.

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls

About the Author For Regency and mystery author, Dorothy McFalls happily-ever-after is more than just a fictional ending, having enjoyed every day of marriage to her sexy sculptor husband. Formerly an environmental urban planner, she now writes full time. For information about Dorothy's upcoming books, visit her website at http://www.dorothymcfalls.com/

About the Author For Regency and suspense author, Dorothy McFalls happily-ever-after is more than just a fictional ending, having enjoyed every day of marriage to her sexy sculptor husband. Formerly an environmental urban planner, she now writes full time. For information about Dorothy's upcoming books, visit her website at http://www.dorothymcfalls.com/ Also available on Nook: Neptune’s Lair (Book 2 in The Protectors series - Contemporary Paranormal Romance) In this novella, Spunky Dallas St. John wants the perfect life and to get it she needs the perfect job. So what is she doing kissing a complete stranger in an alleyway when she's late for her interview for that once-in-a-life-time opportunity? She must be losing it, but oh what a delicious way to go down. A fortune teller has warned her that falling in love would be dangerous. The woman didn't know the half of it. Not only has getting involved with this hunky sex god thrown her career goals off-track, it's thrown her world upside down. She's having sexual escapades in her sleep. Her new lover is taking control of her in the bedroom. And an unworldly force is threatening to devour her soul. What's a girl to do, but enjoy the ride! The Nude (Regency Romance, originally published by Five Star/Gale, May 2009) Upon my honor! If not for that shocking painting... It has ruined everything, simply everything. A handsome marquess promises to repair my tattered reputation. But how can I trust him or his clever kisses when he's clearly hiding a deep, dark secret of his own? The Marriage List (originally published by Signet Regency, May 2005) Compelled by his family to marry, Viscount Radford Evers makes a list of his requirements for a wife. Humble tenant May Sheffers meets none of these, so why does his heart beat madly at the sight of her?

A Wizard for Christmas/Dorothy McFalls

Lady Iona’s Rebellion (Regency Romance) When obedient Lady Iona is pressured into accepting a husband of her father's choosing, she seeks out notorious rake, Lord Nathan Wynter, for lessons in rebellion. The more Nathan tries to protect Lady Iona from running head-long into disgrace, the more she resists. Instead of returning Iona to the glittering ballrooms where she belongs, he sparks her blossoming passions. Such a move will surely lead them both to ruin. But for love he is willing to risk everything. Lady Sophie’s Midnight Seduction (Sensual short Regency Romance) In this SHORT STORY, Lady Sophie, a self-avowed spinster, has been happy with her independence for many years...that is until Lord Benton-Black enters her world. Now she finds her nights haunted by this man who is determined to seduce her and make her his wife. The Huntress (Contemporary Romantic Suspense) It’s nothing personal... Blond, beautiful bounty hunter Vega Brookes is on the hunt for her latest skip trace. Her prey, ex-special forces officer Grayson Walker, is accused of brutally murdering his business partner and killing the last bounty hunter to come looking for him. He’s ruthless, a killer. She shouldn’t feel attracted to him. Even so, the closer she gets to finding Grayson, the louder her instincts shout that things are not what they seem. It’s only murder... Grayson Walker is dangerous and determined. Someone is killing those closest to him, and he’s desperate to find out why. When a firecracker of a bounty hunter comes close to capturing him, he fights back and ends up shooting her. Yet not even a gunshot wound can cool the sparks that fly between them whenever they’re together. Soon, his life turns into a deadly race to earn Vega’s trust, track down a killer, and avoid falling in love. Flowerbed of State by Dorothy St. James (Cozy Mystery published by Berkley Prime Crime) Cassandra Casey" Calhoun's passion for gardening has carried her to President's Park on which sits the White House. But when she finds a dead body in a trash can, Casey has to root out a killer before she ends up planted herself.