other two were still there. We must’ve interrupted the thief. My siblings would’ve stayed, but I told them to go. I was afraid whoever took my pelt would be back. And maybe they could go for help.” His voice broke, and his shoulders shook, this time with emotion rather than cold.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” I put an arm around him, and he tilted into me, crying. My other arm wrapped around him, and I held him until he was cried out, like my mom did for me when I was little.
There wasn’t much else I could do, though. I was furious that someone would do something so awful. Stealing a selkie’s pelt was on the list of lowest things a person could possibly do. In fairy tales, fisherman did it to force selkies to be their wives, which was definitely not cool.
Owen sniffled and sat up, wiping away his tears. “They’re not coming back, are they?”
I had a mother who disappeared and never came back. I was not the one to ask about family loyalty.
“How about we get you safe and warm, get some food in your stomach? Then maybe we can try to figure out who took your pelt and where your family is.”
He nodded, and we helped each other to our feet.
“I guess if they come back, they can find your house, right?” His eyes were so hopeful, begging for reassurance.
I gave him steady, firm look. “Owen, everybody finds me, eventually. Don’t you worry.”
As we turned away from the water to make our way back home, two things happened at once.
Ahead of us, twigs snapped and trees shook, as if something very large and very angry were tearing through the woods toward us. Behind us, frantic voices shouted Owen’s name.
We both halted in mid-step. Owen spun around, my coat flapping like a cape. He glanced over his shoulder at whatever terror lurked just out of sight in the forest, then tore back to the water. A naked girl and a naked boy, both a little younger than Owen, stood grinning in the waves, water splashing around their knees.
The terrible thing in the woods crashed from the tree line, growling and snorting. I took two steps back before I realized it was Iris.
Iris dangling a short, stocky man in the air by one foot.
I turned toward the kids and gave them a signal I hoped they’d understand to mean they were safe to come up from the water. Without waiting to see if they’d follow, I picked my way up the path to inspect what Iris had caught for me.
The man twisted in Iris’s grip, but he didn’t struggle much. The dark suit was good quality, and the one shoe the guy still wore looked expensive. Blood had rushed to his chubby face, flooding it with pink—a terrible look for someone with such orange hair.
A gold shamrock pinned to his lapel twinkled in the twilight.
I groaned. “I thought I got rid of all you guys a few months ago.”
A mob of leprechauns had rolled into town and tried to set up a protection racket in Sausalito. Several people were hurt or killed when they refused to pay. After collecting all their lucky shamrocks, I’d booted them out of town and told them not to come back. This guy showing up in my backyard was not a good sign. Maybe I wasn’t as scary as I’d hoped.
The man blinked at me from his inverted position, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Fin. Fin Jones, at your service, madam.” He pulled a business card from his inside coat pocket and held it out to me.
Iris chuffed and gave me an incredulous look. I shrugged and took the card.
Finnegan Jones
Acquisitions and Treasure Hunting
If you want it, I’ll find it.
I made a sour face and tucked the card in my blouse. “Mr. Jones, give me a reason not to let my friend snap you like a twig. The Leprechaun Mafia is not welcome on my property. Your people have been warned.”
His salesman smile didn’t waver. “Madam, there’s no such thing as this ‘Leprechaun Mafia’ you speak of. And if you’re referring to that small incident with the Sacramento Brotherhood, those events occurred in Sausalito. I’m an independent contractor, unassociated with the Brotherhood.” He had the audacity to wink at me. “And this isn’t Sausalito, either.”
I bent low to look him in the eye, and I spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re in my woods, and a selkie pelt has gone missing. Theft is not a business model. Hand it over or I let Iris beat it out of you.”
Iris shook the leprechaun for emphasis. I nearly ruined the effect by smiling at Iris. Having backup was awesome.
Fin held his hands out. “Please, no. The suit is expensive and I’ve already lost a loafer. If you’ll have the gentleman put me down, I’ll hand over the pelt. I don’t want trouble.”
I nodded and Iris dropped Fin. On his head.
The small man took a moment to shake sand from his hair and brush the wrinkles from his clothes. He reached into his pocket for a flat box, about the size of a woman’s wallet, then pinched it open. A pile of fur sprang out, as if it had been under pressure. The pelt was far larger than the box, but since I owned a magical purse with similar properties, I didn’t question how it fit.
“My pelt!” Owen ran past me in a naked streak, scooping the pelt into his arms and rubbing it against his face.
Brynn and Rhys appeared on either side of me, their pelts draped around them like blankets.
Brynn grinned at me, and her dark eyes lit her face. “We went for help.”
I frowned. “How did you talk to Iris from the water?
Rhys puffed out his chest. “We found a sea serpent. She said she knows you and would take care of it.”
“Frannie.” I smiled. “I haven’t seen her since she and her baby rescued me from sharks after I fell overboard from a dinner cruise.”
That sounded ridiculous, even to myself. And I’d lived it. The kids didn’t even blink.
How a sea serpent had gotten word to a skunk-ape I had no idea, but I knew the two were friends. It made a weird sort of sense, given the context of my currently wacky life.
“Can I go now?” Fin stood to the side watching us, his arms folded across his chest.
I squinted at the sky. Full dark was nearly here, and I had to get back home before I couldn’t see my way through the trees. Maurice would be worried soon.
“Here’s the deal, Fin.” I gave him the full-on force of my most serious stink-eye. “You get the hell out of this town. You do not operate your business anywhere in the Bay Area. If I hear anything about you, even a whisper, I will find you. Iris is not the only scary friend I have, and I will not hesitate to send some of these terrifying people after you.” I intensified my stink-eye. “You understand?”
The leprechaun nodded. “I understand.”
“Leave.”
He backed away from us and disappeared into the woods. Iris grunted a question at me.
“I agree. Follow him out to make sure.” I patted Iris on the arm. “Thank you.”
Iris took off into the trees, silent despite his size. When he wanted me to hear him, the trees rocked and crashed. If he didn’t want to be heard, like now, he could walk right next to me and I wouldn’t hear a whisper.
When I turned to the kids, they were already wiggling into their sealskins. Owen paused and gave me a soft smile. “We need to swim now. Thank you for keeping me company.”
I shrugged. “I couldn’t let you sit there all by yourself.” I glanced up the hill in the direction of my house. “If you ever need anything…”
“We know where to find you!” Brynn’s chubby cheeks sprouted whiskers, and her tanned face grew darker with fur. Before my eyes, all three melted into their seal forms, then flopped across the beach into the water.
I heard splashes, but the light was too dim for me to see. The selkies were gone, and I was alone in the dark with a hike through the woods to get home. I picked up my discarded coat, brushed the sand from it, and slipped it on.
Maurice was probably having a heart attack with worry.
I picked my way up the path, then stepped into the dark woods. To my surprise, the trees came alive with dancing lights al
ong the path home. As I walked, fairies from behind flittered past me, lighting the way ahead.
Somebody was always looking out for me.
A few minutes later, I was back in my own yard. The house itself lit my way from there, though I noticed Molly’s mushroom sat in darkness. Cheery music floated toward me and drew me toward the warmth of my house. From that far away, I still couldn’t make out the words or the tune being played.
It didn’t matter how much of a mess the living room was. If Maurice wanted to have a big, gaudy Christmas, then I would share it with him. I’d been selfish earlier. Maurice was family now. Maybe it was time for some new traditions.
And we’d figure out how to make Iris’s ginormous tree work, as soon as he finished chasing off the leprechaun.
From the porch, the music was much louder, but still nothing I recognized. I took a deep breath with my hand on the knob, then opened the door to step inside.
In the few hours I’d been gone, the room had transformed into something entirely new and utterly lovely.
Somehow, Iris had managed to get the tree there before the leprechaun/selkie fiasco. Apparently, getting it through the door hadn’t been the problem I’d imagined and, while it did take up a lot of real estate, the tree didn’t overwhelm the room.
The tree stood in elegance, adorned with colored lights, red-velvet ribbons, gold and silver ornaments, and a shimmering star on top that was lit from within by a warm, golden light. The star didn’t even touch the ceiling. The fit was perfect.
Twinkling white lights lined the mantel, windows, and