The Incident of the Christmas Elf: A Merlin's Grove Companion Story Read online

  Also by Mark C. Wade

  Stand in Need of Comfort

  Uniform Fantasies

  Granite Peak Holiday

  The Glyphaery:

  Prince Elashor (Book 1)

  Irish Dream Hunks:

  The Harp of Dunnbog (Book 1)

  The Kelpie of Glansagart (Book 2)

  The Staff of Dagda (Book 3)

  Box Set: Books 1-3

  Merlin’s Grove Series:

  The Overlook (Book 1)

  The Track Coach (Book 2)

  The Enchanted Triangle (Book 3)

  Box Set: Books 1-3

  Copyright © 2018 Mark C. Wade

  All rights reserved.

  No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Contact the Author

  Also by Mark C. Wade

  About the Author

  THE INCIDENT OF THE CHRISTMAS ELF

  MARK C. WADE

  Chapter 1

  The scent of nutmeg and cinnamon floated through the air. Dan settled into the plush couch by the fire and relaxed. He always said the crackles of twigs in the flames calmed his nerves.

  Alex walked up behind him and massaged his broad shoulders.

  Alex said, “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

  “If you’ll recall, the last time I was around magic, we all almost died.”

  Alex scoffed. “Hey, that wasn’t my fault. Rogue warlocks were involved. And anyway, it all worked out. I’ve been practicing a lot since then, and I’m much better now. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  Ben came out of the back area of the Knightcap with a wide tray of goodies. He maneuvered around the bar with the ease of an expert server and swooped the tray down to the table in front of the fireplace.

  Ben handed everyone their cups of cocoa and slices of gingerbread he’d promised the group at the start of the rehearsal.

  This was not the typical atmosphere for the Knightcap, but Ben had gone all out on redecoration for the season.

  The usually dark bar now had arches of tinsel and green and red lights streaming across the ceiling. It made all the exposed wooden beams along the ceiling look red.

  One wreath hung on the door and another on the opposite wall. He even changed the finger food menu to contain all the embarrassing clichés of the season, including the gingerbread he now handed to the crew.

  Of course, most of this had been made to serve in his other business: The Mug Shot Café.

  Alex took hold of the cocoa and let the steam wash over his face. The room was already hot from the fireplace, but Alex never felt warm in winter.

  He sipped at it and remembered just how good Ben was at this. Not only was he meticulous about his coffee preparation, but this rich chocolate drink went down like silk. This had to be authentic French-style hot chocolate with full cream and melted dark chocolate.

  Alex realized he’d probably only ever had the watery substitute that came from a powder.

  As they sat there in silence, Alex thought about how wild his life had become. Few people in the town knew its deepest secret—that Merlin’s Grove had three ancient magical artifacts from the Merlin, the one of Arthurian legend.

  This year those people had decided to start a new tradition. They were going to put on a Christmas puppet show. It would be the most realistic puppet show any viewer would ever see, because the puppets would have no strings or hands to guide them. They’d be controlled by magic.

  In theory, Alex’s ability to use magic should have worn off after the effects of the water from Avalon dissipated. But it never did.

  The Council didn’t mind, because it meant they had someone to help protect the town if any strange things happened due to the existence of the Enchanted Triangle: the magical zone produced between the three artifacts.

  Leading up to this final rehearsal, Alex practiced daily using the appropriate hovel to manipulate the puppets for the show.

  Alex, Hunter, Dan, and Ben spent the afternoon practicing, and all had gone according to plan. Alex controlled the fuzzy holiday creatures, and the other three men did the voice acting.

  It was a cute, simple retelling of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and the kids would love it.

  Dan sighed as he took a nibble of the gingerbread. There was nothing quite like it to set the mood for the season. It would soon be over, and he could stop fretting about it.

  Ben smiled. “It’s going to be fine. Which part has you most nervous?”

  Dan said, “The part where the whole town is there instead of doing it in here privately.”

  “Stage fright?”

  Dan laughed affably. “Not quite. More like David.”

  Ben groaned. “I see your point. How about we disinvite him?”

  Alex wished they could somehow really do it. That man somehow took over every town event, and there was no doubt he’d be criticizing and taking control of the puppets in one way or another despite never attending a rehearsal.

  Alex looked over at Dan in his corny holiday sweater, chomping down on his second gingerbread. Alex loved everything about him.

  A crumb of gingerbread fell into his lap, and Alex wished he could lick it up. But that would have been a bit inappropriate, even for a mostly empty gay bar.

  Their legs pressed into one another, and the way Dan’s mouth moved gave Alex a jolt of arousal.

  Alex stood up and said, “Well, I think we have to be going. You know how it is. Last minute shopping and stuff. The food and drink were delicious, as always, Ben.”

  Dan shot the boy a questioning look, but all that came back was a devious smirk. Alex hoped he caught on.

  Alex saw the bulge start to grow at Dan’s crotch as his dick came to life.

  Oh.

  They’d have to get out of there fast before Ben noticed. Alex looked back to Dan’s face, and the look of pure desire that came back could melt steel.

  Ben furrowed his brow and said, “See you at the performance. It’ll be great.”

  Dan took Alex’s hand, and they left the Knightcap a bit too hastily to not provoke some suspicion from the rest of the group.

  But they didn’t care. Dan trailed behind on purpose, to watch Alex’s tight butt. He seemed to get twinkier by the month, and it was all Dan could do not to ravish him in the middle of the grocery store sometimes.

  He loved the way Alex’s hips naturally swayed. It wasn’t quite feminine, but it showed off how his body could move flexibly with ease. This incited an image of Alex undulating on top of him. It was getting to be a bit too much.

  Alex hopped in the car, and Dan got in the driver’s side. It smelled like sex
inside, and Alex couldn’t tell if that was something permanent or from the precum leaking from both of their cocks at that moment.

  Dan said, “If you expect me to make it home safely thinking about what I’m going to do to you, you’re crazy.”

  Alex crawled on top of Dan and kissed him. His knee knocked against the gear stick, and Alex yelped.

  It didn’t stop him as he finagled his way to a straddle on Dan’s lap.

  Alex started to rock back and forth on, the thick shaft being pleasured through his pants by Alex’s butt cheeks.

  Dan moaned into Alex’s mouth. This lap dance was far more sensual than he would have thought possible.

  They barely fit in the tight area, and Alex rocked back a bit too far once and hit the car horn.

  A sharp blare echoed through the empty parking area. Alex stopped, and they both laughed.

  Alex said, “I can keep going. I’ll be more careful.”

  Alex reached his hand down and stroked Dan’s shaft through his pants. A shudder wracked his body, and he had to catch his breath before he could speak again.

  “We can’t do it here. You know how this town is. Someone is watching right now and informing the town selectmen or whatever they do.”

  Alex pouted but moved back over to the passenger seat. “I know. Plus, it’s too cold. Turn on the car already!”

  Dan smiled.

  Winter in Connecticut could be brutal, and it hadn’t been above freezing temperatures in a few days, though the snow had somehow held off.

  Dan looked out the frosty windshield as he cranked the engine. The clouds in the sky were dark, and he suspected a storm was coming. They’d have the snow soon enough, and then they’d all begin the endless hoping it would disappear.

  Holiday music came from the speakers, and Dan shifted through a few different stations with no luck.

  Alex said, “You’re such an old-timer. No one listens to the radio anymore, and this is why.”

  Alex popped a cord into his phone and started playing some of his weird music. Dan didn’t want to admit it, but now that it was gone, he kind of missed the holiday music. It would have suited the drive through Merlin’s Grove.

  They rounded the corner onto the main stretch, passing by the great Charter Oak and Town Hall where the puppet show would be the next day.

  The decorating committee had really outdone itself. Wreaths and lights turned the town into something that looked like it was the set of a movie. The colonial architecture mixed with the green and red sparkles set Dan’s heart aflame.

  He felt lucky and grateful to belong to this community of the quaint town.

  Chapter 2

  Alex paced about the Town Square. He’d suddenly become a bit more nervous about the puppet show.

  He realized he’d never really performed anything in front of an audience before, and that thought kept driving a chill through his chest.

  Alex tried to tell himself the main audience was a bunch of kids. They wouldn’t care if there were mistakes. They wouldn’t even notice mistakes.

  But this latent stage fright was hard to shake.

  Alex decided to indulge the town superstition and get support from the great Charter Oak in the middle of everything.

  He walked up to the massive tree and put his hand on the bark. Alex closed his eyes. He could practically feel the strength flow into him. Some would have said it was magic or the ghost of Merlin himself.

  But Alex knew better. He was one of the few people who understood how magic in the Enchanted Triangle worked.

  Alex looked up at the branches. They looked scraggly and thin without their leaves. The green and red lights suddenly popped on, and Alex spun around.

  Whoever had been on the decorating committee had gone all out. Silver tinsel outlined the border of the Town Square, and even the benches had lights on them.

  Though he wondered if it had really been approved for the lights to come on in the middle of the morning like this.

  A loud beeping noise came from somewhere in the distance. Alex squinted toward the horizon to try to see what it was.

  It sounded like a large truck backing up.

  Suddenly, David walked around the corner. He always had that grumpy look pasted on his face. He waddled slightly as he stepped, and Alex wrote the extra weight off as a temporary holiday lapse of too much candy and pie.

  David wore a green and red checkered shirt and elf hat. As the emcee for the town weekend Holiday Bash, he had definitely dressed for the part. Now, if only he could get into the proper mood. No one wanted to deal with a grumpy elf citing town infractions at them.

  Alex walked toward David to see what was going on, and David motioned something from around the corner.

  Just then, a huge truck tried to make a turn into the Town Center. The gigantic vehicle wasn’t even close to making the wide angle. It slammed on the breaks with a loud squeal, and the driver angrily honked at David for not giving proper warning.

  Alex shouted, “What the hell is that?”

  “Get back! It’s the Yule log.”

  Alex was confused. The “log” trailing behind the truck was longer than any tree he’d ever seen.

  Merlin’s Grove had a long tradition of publicly lighting a Yule log the weekend of the Bash.

  Alex asked, “Why’s it so big?”

  David scoffed in that way he always did when he expected you to know something.

  “Don’t you read any of the town messages?”

  In truth, Alex had a filter on his email that had all town messages go straight to the trash. David abused the mailing list, and Alex had had enough when he got three in the same day about the new stop sign that had gone up on one of the corners in town.

  The sign was clearly visible; they didn’t need email reminders that it existed.

  David gave up waiting for an answer to the rhetorical question and said, “We voted on it, and we’re trying to break the world record for having the longest Yule log.”

  Alex rolled his eyes. That sounded like just the type of terrible idea that David would come up with and force through. Alex didn’t think there’d ever been a real “vote” on anything. If David wanted it, the town board went along with it to not get on his bad side.

  Alex looked at his watch.

  Shit.

  He was going to be late for the puppet show. He left the ridiculous scene of David trying to guide a too-long truck through the middle of a small town with narrow roads. That was a recipe for disaster, and he didn’t want to be around for it.

  Alex jogged up the steps of the Town Hall. The large white pillars had been left untouched, and Alex thought it brought a bit of class to the otherwise excessive decorations.

  He paused. Something had changed. Alex sensed it in some archaic part of his body. Then he looked out on the square.

  A gentle, white snow had begun to fall. The flakes were large and fluffy and twirled around in a delightful dance. The lights strung about the Charter Oak flickered, casting a warm glow on the cloudy gloom.

  It was the perfect start to the Holiday Bash.

  The scene set Alex at ease, and he walked in to do the show.

  Dan was trying to wear a hole into the marble of the foyer. He looked up at the hollow sound of the giant door shutting, and relief washed over his face.

  Dan asked, “Where have you been? I turned around for five seconds, and then you were gone.”

  “I was just thinking outside. Let’s go.”

  They took a few steps toward the performance room, and the loud beeps of the truck sounded again.

  Dan asked, “What on Earth is that? It’s going to be a big distraction.”

  “You don’t want to know. Trust me.”

  Alex laughed to himself. Apparently, Dan didn’t pay attention to the town mailing list either.

  Chapter 3

  Alex focused all his attention on the starting bit of magic. They were in the Enchanted Triangle, so opening a hovel to one of the many magical realms was
possible.

  In ancient times, the link between the worlds could be done anywhere. Now, all that was left was the Enchanted Triangle.

  Alex had the ability to open a hovel using magic alone. These doorways could also be created with the Chrysalis Dagger, as Hunter had done the previous year.

  This opening of the hovel was the main dangerous part, but he’d done it so many times, it was all quick and second nature now.

  The fabric of space-time tore, producing the doorway, a bizarrely disorienting sight that Alex never quite got used to. He saw the blobs of magic floating about the other realm. He concentrated a bit harder until he could identify which one he needed.

  His mind brushed over one and then another. Each had a distinct aura associated with it. Finally, he perceived the correct one.

  He grabbed at the small bit of magic and guided it onto the puppets.

  Alex almost sealed the hovel shut, but he figured he might need to quickly grab more of the magic source later on as it dissipated.

  He figured he’d be right by it the whole time, and he closed it most of the way so nothing would accidentally float out.

  The first puppet came to life at Alex’s will: the snowman narrator.

  It would look like the puppets were moving of their own free will, but in reality, Alex controlled them with magic exactly like a puppeteer. He had a connection to the magic source and moved it around as it latched onto the various parts of the puppets.

  Alex enjoyed it. In the first rehearsal, it had been too difficult, because he’d tried to do too much at once. He soon realized that the best strategy was to just control one at a time.

  Alex took a deep breath and looked out at the audience.

  The room was filled with kids and their parents. Alex looked at his watch and nodded to Dan.

  Dan started the music, and Alex moved the talking snowman across the little stage they’d set up at the front of the room. Hunter shook a device over the stage that let fake snow fall.