The 12 tales of Christmas: Target: Christmas
Welcome everyone to story four of the 12 tales of Christmas challenge. For the fourth tale of Christmas Top Dogg asked of me…for four and reindeer. My friend from Discord Top Dogg chose the number four and Reindeer for this story. And boy oh boy do I have a doozy.
For this one we return to the universe of Christmas Legacy. Ray Carlton’s life is about to change again. This tine he’ll uncover a conspiracy that threatens the Christmas season. For the nephew of Santa Claus his life is about to get even crazier than before. Target: Christmas is coming up next.
Ray Carlton walked down the streets of the vast metropolis that was Christmas City. Hidden away from anyone and everyone by the powerful magic of the elves. The city was a bustle of activities and merry light. Various shopkeepers and elves went about their daily tasks. There were even some humans in Christmas City.
All had at one point, or another come here with some member of Ray's family.
But right then he was heading for a large piece of property on Jingle Street.
It was a large runway with a cozy stable. He crossed the street and walked on to the property. “Hey Ray,” called a voice from nearby.
Ray turned to see a small elf in police attire stop by. The Carlton male recognized him as Officer twinkletoes. One of the elves who enforced the laws of Christmas City. Every city needed some organization so things didn’t fall into chaos. The mechanic waved to the elf.
“Hey Officer Twinkletoes, how’s the motor of your sleigh bike running?”
The elf patted his vehicle and smirked. “She’s purring like a kitten thanks to you. That shop of yours has been a real big help around here.”
“Glad to be of service. Please bring your vehicles by if you need them looked at.”
The elf nodded before Ray turned and headed towards the stable. The 51-year-old mechanic and Cringle family member rubbed his still deep brown hair. A year ago, I never dreamed anything like this would be possible. Me of all people the nephew of Santa Claus, I'm still awed by that and this place. He thought to himself.
And then he reached the large stable. From within he heard an animal moaning. “That doesn’t sound good.” Ray noted.
He entered the stable and saw a reindeer with their head down and looking a little worse for wear. With it was a woman with caramel cream skin. Her light brown hair flowed down her back in long curls. The woman wore the attire of someone who worked in the stable. Ray blushed at the sight of the woman.
This was Natalie Reeves, the head of the reindeer stable. She’d called him earlier that day saying she needed some help with a vehicle she had.
Ray cleared his throat, and the 32-year-old woman looked up. He couldn't help but notice the work attire while very loose didn’t do much to hide her good figure. Snap out of it, Carlton, he chided himself.
“Hello Natalie,” he greeted.
She flashed a relieved smile at him. “Oh Ray, thank God you’ve come.”
“What’s going on?” he asked.
The stable head turned to the reindeer and said in an assuring tone, “I’ll be back I promise.”
She then walked out to him and said, “Follow me.”
The mechanic followed the woman into a nearby garage. She pointed to a large vehicle and said, “The snowplow for the runway is spewing smoke.”
"That…doesn’t sound good,” he observed.
“Yeah, as it stands, I’m afraid to have anyone take it out and do anything with the runway. We’re okay for now but I’m worried about what might happen if a big storm hits us. The elves shielding can only do so much.”
“You want me to have a look at it?” Ray asked.
She flashed a warm smile. “Please.”
“I’ll see if I can find what’s wrong. And if I find anything I’ll give you an estimate on what it’ll cost to fix it.”
Natalie nodded and said, “That’ll be fine.”
Then he ventured, “Um…do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Sure, go right ahead,” She answered.
“What’s going on with that reindeer?”
She looked back towards the stable. “You mean poor Dancer?"
She then turned to him. "Yeah, she, Comet, Cupid, and Blitzen have been feeling under the weather as of late.”
The mechanic's face furrowed. “How do you mean feeling under the weather?”
“Well, I haven’t been able to check on it yet. But it’s as if their stomachs are feeling queasy. And it’s not as if I don’t feed them quality feed.”
Ray’s face furrowed. “Hmm, another problem?” he ventured.
"What do you mean another problem?” Natalie asked sounding puzzled.
"Well, my cousin Chris and Reggie noted that some of the machines in the toy making factory have been botching up. Thet is they've been breaking down for no clear reason. And it’s not as if they don’t keep things in good condition.”
Her face furrowed as she said, “Yeah that is weird.”
Ray then went over to the snowplow. “Meanwhile let’s have a look at this little vehicle.”
He opened a panel for the engine. He pulled out his flashlight and poked his head in. He looked around and that’s when he noted the slight glow. He pointed his light at it and saw a strange crystal black with sickly yellow light. The crystal was impaled in the engine.
“What the…?” he said.
He sensed something off about the strange crystal shard. There was a sinister aura about it that the mechanic didn’t like at all. “My Cringle senses are tingling.” He noted in a tone of trepidation.
He pulled back as he heard footsteps walking over to him. “You found something?” The woman asked.
The nephew of Santa Claus nodded. “I sure did. Did you request a strange black and sickly yellow crystal get stuck into the engine?” he asked.
The woman’s face furrowed at this question. “No, why do you ask?”
Ray waved her to the open panel and said, "Come and have a look.”
The woman stuck her head inside the engine. “What is that?” she asked.
He poked his head in behind her. “I thought you might know that. Whatever it is, it’s giving me the creeps.”
“Me too,” she added.
They pulled out of the engine and closed the lid. “This is something I didn’t expect. This seems more something of magical nature than anything else.”
“Weird,” Natalie noted.,
They headed back to the stable and that’s when he smelled something. “What an awful smell,” Ray said as he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Natalie’s own face wrinkled in disgust. “Yeah, that almost smells like…” she began.
And then the black woman’s face paled as a horrible thought came to her. “Spoiled feed!” she noted.
They ran over to Dancer’s feed stall. And what they saw made them gape in horror. Before them the feed was deteriorating into a moldy disgusting mess. “What the…?” The mechanic sputtered.
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” She added.
Natalie looked around and said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
The two ran over to the storage closet for the feed. They opened it and got assailed by more of the same foul smell. “This is not a good sign,” he observed.
"You got that right.” The stable head added.
Ray walked back towards the entrance. He pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number. “Captain Martin StarGlimmer here,” a diminutive voice said on the other side of the line.
“Hey Martin,” Ray greeted.
"Hey Ray, good to hear from you. Is this a social call?”
“Nope, we have something for you and your elf bloodhounds to investigate. We’ve had some sabotage here at the reindeer stable. Also, the feed for the reindeer is spoiling right before our eyes.”
“Sabotage and feed spoiling before your eyes? That tears it, now I know something's going on! Me and the boys will be right down.”
A few minutes later several motor sleighs pulled up outside the stable. Several elves dressed in police attire got off and walked into the stable. “Let’s see about this…” said one elf dressed in the attire of a police captain.
A moment later his face paled, and he jumped backwards as he yelped, “Holy jumping Chalupas!”
The other elves sniffed the air, and their own faces wrinkled. “Oh yeah, there’s no doubt Captain. We got a rot spell on our hands!”
“Rot spell?” Ray ventured.
The captain approached. “Sorry about that outburst, I knew this was going to be serious but oh wow!”
Natalie came over and said, Captain StarGlimmer, boy am I glad to see you.”
“It’s safe to say you’ve found what’s responsible for Dancer, Dasher, Comet and Cupid’s little health issues?”
The human woman nodded and said, “I'm very confident this is what’s been upsetting their stomachs. And the elves magic protects them from any normal poisons or traps.”
"If this can circumvent elf magic then this must be serious.” Ray noted.
The captain in the Christmas City police nodded his agreement. “You got that right Ray! Wendell, Bagsley do a once over of the place. And see if there’s any feed that might’ve gotten missed.”
The two police elves saluted and set about their tasks. “Now what’s all this about something stuck in the snowplow?” The captain asked.
"I’d better show you,” Santa Claus’ nephew said.
Ray led him to the garage and helped the small elf look in the engine. “Holy Balls of Holly!” The elf yelped.
“You did the right thing in calling me in, wowsers!”
"What is that creepy thing?” Ray asked.
“It’s a shatter crystal. The magic causes severe deterioration and destruction of any device it comes across. It’s a piece of dark elf magic.”
“Dark elves?” Ray asked.
The two got out of the engine before the captain answered his question. “They’re my kind’s taller and nastier cousins.”
The elf shivered as he said, “And yikes, are they mean!”
“Can we remove this evil crystal from this vehicle?”
The captain nodded and said, “We can but it’s going to take some special magical equipment from back at the station.”
He then gave Ray a matter-of-fact look. “Did you touch that crystal?”
The mechanic shook his head. “After everything you elves told me about how magic works, no way!”
The elf nodded his approval. “Good for you. Those crystals can bring out the nastier side of humans if they’re touched."
Santa's nephew put the pieces of the puzzle together. “The only way this could happen is…” he began
Then his face went very pale. “Uh-oh we have a saboteur in our midst!”
The captain in the Christmas City police nodded his agreement. “And whoever they are they’ve been a busy so and so.”
“Damn, how do we catch this clown.” The elf thought out loud.
The Carlton male thought for a moment and then it came to him. “Hmm, I have an idea.”
He got down to the elf’s level and whispered in an ear. Martin nodded as Ray laid out what he had in mind. "Ooh that’s a great idea!”
“After everything Uncle Chris and his family have done for me it’s only fair, I start paying them back. They helped me turn my life around.”
The elf smirked and said, “Mister Cringle did the right thing bringing you here Ray.”
Quiet settled over the stables as the reindeer slept in peace in their pens. Hidden in a corner Ray crouched. Okay we found some feed our saboteur didn’t get to. We’ve replaced the spoiled feed, and the reindeer are feeling better thanks to Natalie. But there’s still the matter of our saboteur.
He looked behind him and saw Captain StarGlimmer right beside him. If I’m right this guy will have gotten word that the reindeer are feeling better and the bad feed replaced. So, I’m betting they’ll be back to try again tonight.
They didn’t have to wait long as they heard footsteps around ten. Ray poked his head from the stable he and Martin had hid in. They saw an elf sneaking in but there was something off. The elf’s shadow was far bigger than his actual size. Why am I getting the same creepy feeling from that elf that I got from that crystal?
The elf looked around before they started to approach the storage cupboard for the feed. Right as they reached it Ray and Martin got to their feet. The mechanic snapped his fingers, and a ball of light appeared above him. The elf turned with a start at this. “Worchester?” Martin squawked in recognition.
“You know this elf?” Ray asked.,
"Yeah, he’s one of the newer ones. He kind of keeps to himself and never revealed much about his past”
The two other elf police officers appeared in a puff of sparkles. “Okay buddy what were you thinking of doing and why do we smell dark magic on you?” The captain snapped.
“And what’s the big idea making the reindeer sick?” Natalie snapped in outrage as she got out from where she’d hid.
The elf looked around and smirked before he snapped, “Well looks like the jig is up.”
And that’s when everyone got a surprise. The blonde elf transformed before their eyes. He became much taller, and his hair was black as midnight. His skin became as pale as the snow and his eyes were violet red. There was a lean look to the nasty looking elf.
He launched a kick at the elves. Ray and the others leapt back. The elves pulled out what looked like candy canes. “Put those hands in the air!” StarGlimmer shouted. “Get on the ground now!”
Instead, the human-sized elf swung his hands and streams of magic shot forth. Ray ducked but the elves got caught by the blasts. Natalie for her part was also smart enough to duck. The nasty looking elf lunged for her. “You’re my ticket out of here lady!” he spat.
But Ray was faster as he tackled him before he grabbed the woman. To Ray's surprise the elf was strong. But he somehow overpowered the elf and soon had him on his stomach. “Nice job Ray,” Martin chimed.
“Okay mister what’s your real name? I can tell you were the one who put that crystal in the snowplow and caused the reindeer’s feed to rot. Who are you and why are you doing this?”
“Figure it out yourself Ray Carlton,” the elf spat.
“Oh boy,” Captain StarGlimmer said in trepidation. “This Ray is a dark elf.”
Santa’s nephew turned back to the elf he sat on. “So, you’re one of the elves’ meaner cousins huh?”
“Don’t mention that ever. It makes me sick thinking we're related!” the dark elf growled.
“All right boys cuff him,” the captain said.
But the dark elf flashed a nasty smile. “You’ll not get me that easy goody two-shoes cousins!”
Before anyone could say anything, the dark e;f vanished. His phantom voice stated, “You’ve won this round Ray Carlton but this war isn’t over. We and our leader will destroy Christmas once and for all!!”
Ray got to his feet and flashed a sheepish smile. “Um, sorry Martin I…”
The captain waved it off. “Not your fault Ray. Whoever sent this creep doesn’t want him talking so they saved his sorry butt.”
Natalie said, “I’m more worried about what he said. It means there’s someone else out there who wants Christmas destroyed. But who is it and why?”
The elves and two humans looked up at the starry sky. “Hmm, terrific question. I'm betting we'll soon find out," Ray put in.
Thanks for checking out this story good readers. Hold on because there’s more short stories to come. Day 5 is coming up next and this will be a very special story. I hope you’ll join me for it. Meanwhile if you enjoyed this story like and share this across social media.
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Next: Story #5 - The Christmas Pudding Crisis
Previous: Story #3 - A race for mercy