“A Hinter with a human… Is that even possible?” The hope in Ded’s voice had my body locking up, it was tensed so tight.
“If I’m right and she’s here, I think the answer is obvious enough,” Bels put in mildly. Turning, circling the sex bench his idiot helper thought had something to do with taking a shit, his toe began to tap, sending the jingling bell at the end of the pointed tip tinkling. “I don’t think that stool is necessarily for strict pooping purposes,” Bels said with a funny sound in his voice.
Ded sighed heavily, like Bels was a trial to be around. “What else would it be for, then?”
Bels said nothing, to which I was eternally grateful for considering the furry’s penchant for popping one at a moment’s notice. I had no intention of being the one he tried the bench out with.
“Bels?” Ded mumbled quizzically.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Bels said suddenly, and then he was moving, lighter steps crunching through the snow. “We should really be going now. Time’s-a-wasting.”
Ded grunted. “Won’t be long now and the veil will thicken again as daylight takes over.”
“Best be off, then.” Jingle shoes were once more in my field of vision. So intent on trying to focus on the conversation, while my heart still pounded wildly, I was feeling more in my head than I had since they’d drugged me. “Are you to come willingly, Lumi-maiden, or are we to… persuade you to come along… quietly?”
I didn’t need to think about this, whatever these two crazy creeps were up to, whatever they were intending my part to be, if I had any chance of getting out of this, I was better off alert and present.
“I’ll- I’ll come willingly,” I managed to croak out. My voice was hoarse, a soft whisper.
“Oo- I’ll carry her!” Ded called jovially, like that was a jolly good idea, to my and Bels’ jointly barked, “No.”
Ded grumbled something under his breath as a beat passed, filled with unanswered, awkward silence.
“Gather some winter things, dressings for the trek, and rope if you can find it,” Bels called after Ded as he dutifully rushed off to do the Elf’s bidding.
This was the weirdest fucking successful kidnapping I’d ever heard of. If I lived to talk about it, I’d be writing my next novel based on this stupid nightmare adventure.
To try and help assure myself I’d be left unmolested, because someone had to dress me and the idea of Ded’s further offered assistance made my skin crawl, “I’ll do whatever you want, Elf boy, just keep Rudy away from me.”
There was a jingle, and Bels dipped to stare at me, Gumby-ing his form to stare at me upside down, bent nearly perfectly in half. With a steely-eyed stare, silver swirling unnaturally in his eyes, he gave a sharp nod. “That can be done.” Studying my face from his odd position, he ventured casually, a single ginger brow arching, “Your reticence-”
“There’s something wrong with your friend. He’s not right in the head. I don’t like the way he looks at me,” I admitted on a whisper. They were both certifiable with all that Hinter and X-mas destiny crap or however it went. And they were running around dressed like loonies from a Christmas special… Strange as it was to admit it, there were moments I almost bought into their weirdness, right before common sense descended upon me once more.
Just what the fuck was in that dust?
Straightening, taking the troubled look that overcame his pointy features with him, I heard him mumble under his breath, “Beginning to think the same thing myself…”
Balls.
Chapter 9
It was beyond cold. I was shivering with it as we walked farther and farther into the wilds of this winter wonderland. And I meant that literally after we passed the weird trees with white and red candy cane stripes along them. I was in a Candy Land landscape on crack. All those Christmas themed miniatures, gingerbread houses, cotton candy puff filled candy cane stripe trunked trees, rivers of hot cocoa, I was in some dust snort induced alternate reality of Santa’s Village proportions. The rocks we just passed were the normal greys and red, with the odd green one mixed in, and not in a moss covered kind of thing but translucent like a gelatin mold or gum drop, jiggle when you touch it, type of deal.
I’d assume I’d died but then that would mean this was Hell—I could feel things and knew I was very much still alive. I’d love more than anything to plead dust snort hallucinogenic trip, but there was nothing psychotropic, psychedelic, or otherwise to give it any kind of credence. I very much felt in my own head, worry over what was going to happen to me aside.
My hands wiggled experimentally in the ropes tying them but it was no use. The Elf was smart, and even though he left enough give on my leash, he was the best knot maker I’d ever witnessed. Both males had taken an end of my leash to keep me tethered between them. There was nowhere to run, should I get loose, and if I could these ties weren’t coming loose anytime soon. Beyond that, the stamina of these two, and the fact they almost looked like they were giving off steam as they moved, yet here my ass was huffing and puffing, feeling half frozen solid. My skin pricked, numb in spots and stinging with needle pricks in others.
Glancing over at me as I trailed just a short ways behind the Elkfen, as he was babbling his ‘kind’ called themselves like I really flipping cared, Bels at my rear to prod me into continuing on with a bony fingered, clawed fingernails poke at my shoulder that made me want to stab the Elf man in the face, Ded paused and cocked his head. A slow, eerie smile twisted lips as strangely colored as the fur surrounding his mouth. Ded’s oddly flared nostrils twitched. “Her eyes, Bels,” the tall male murmured, gesturing at my face.
“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Good god, what now?! They stung a little and I was sure I had a bit of crust gathering about the lashes, getting dust thrown in your face could do that to you, but otherwise all seemed fine as far as these eyeballs were concerned.
Coming around me as I slowed to a stop, my hands going to my eyes worriedly, Bels got one look at me and the scowl on his face turned to shocked surprise.
“Well I’ll be gingerbreaded,” Bels murmured, his gingery eyebrows threatening to kiss his hairline.
“What?” I blurted, my tied hands fluttering about my face. “What’s wrong with me?”
Bels blinked, dragging his gaze from my eyes to take note of the panicked look on my face. “They’re blue,” he said finally, then glanced away and trudged back behind me to resume his post prodding the human cattle.
“They’re beautiful,” Ded said suddenly, causing me to jolt. He was so close I could smell the fresh oatmeal cookie scent that seemed to linger on his person.
After all this walking and dragging me around, the thought of anything sweet in this moment made me want to gag. With oatmeal cookie Elkfen at the front and cinnamon roll stinkin’ Elf at my back, I was one deep sniff away from tossing my cake and chicken dinner from last night.
Leaning away from Ded as the male leaned in closer, his chest doing that weird rattling thing that made me cringe, he went to reach out towards my face. His hand paused as I went to jerk back.
The hopeful look on his face fell and he pulled back to turn and continue walking. Ded’s face was looking funny, not quite pale but not the same rich colored browns lining his features as there had been before. Were they changing from this place too?