The Snowmaiden, A Bride for Krampus - Jeanette Lynn Page 0,16

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