North Pole City Tales 02 - The Heart of Frost (11 page)

“N
O
! P
LEASE
!”

Rudy poked his head out from behind the hangar, his heart pounding wildly in his chest at the sight of Jack standing several feet away in the middle of the open field, his hand held out as his pale fingers slowly closed. By the choking noises Fig was making, Jack was ordering the arctic wind to tighten its grip around the elf’s neck as he hovered before Jack.

“I never meant to hurt him, Frost, I swear! I didn’t know how powerful a spell it was. I thought it would just scare him. That’s all.”

“Whatever you believed and whatever the outcome is immaterial. You dared to defy the Prince of Frost?” Jack’s voice was a fierce growl and void of the warmth Rudy had grown to cherish. He had to do something before Jack lost his patience and rid himself of Fig. No doubt in his state, Jack was forgetting he was no longer above their kingdom’s laws as he once had been. The kingdom would demand justice be served, and the Frost King would be forced to punish his only son. Rudy had sent word out to the Frost King, the only one with enough power to stop Jack, but no one had seen the king since his encounter with his son in the garden.

“How did you get the button?” Jack hissed, his grip twisting and forcing the elf to cry out.

“Why isn’t he talking?”

Tim’s soft voice gave Rudy a start, and he turned to reprimand the small elf for ignoring his request to stay put with the rest of their friends, except the rest of their friends had decided to ignore his request as well.

“What are you all doing here?” Rudy asked quietly. Four pairs of wide eyes stared at him.

“You didn’t really think we were going to sit in front of your cozy fireplace while Prince Pouts-a-lot turned you into a frozen tasty treat, did you?” Vixen replied. He looked over his shoulder at Vale, whose cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “You’re breathing down my neck, handsome.”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.” Vale started to shuffle back but Vixen grabbed his arm, a less than wholesome expression coming onto his face.

“I didn’t say move.”

“Oh. Right.” The red in Vale’s face intensified and Rudy rolled his eyes. They were in immortal peril, and yet Vixen still managed to find the time to flirt.

“Can we please concentrate on the problem at hand?” Rudy insisted.

“Yeah, Frosty over there looks like he’s about to blow a gasket,” Noel grumbled, nodding toward Jack, who was indeed looking exceptionally livid.

“Tell me!”

“Jack, leave him be. It was my doing. Fig was only doing as I asked.”

Everyone’s gasps would have been comical had matters not taken a turn for the worse.

“Hollis….” Vale started toward his brother, who was now walking across the field toward Jack, but Vixen blocked his path.

“Are you mad? You can’t go out there. Who knows what Frost will do to you?”

“So I’m to stand by and watch as he does whatever it is to my brother? I’d rather die.”

“Blast it, you toy soldiers are so infuriatingly dramatic,” Vixen huffed, turning to Rudy. “Well, Captain? Do something?”

Rudy couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Don’t do something. Do something. I wish you would make up your mind.” Actually, now would be the perfect time for him to approach. Jack seemed to be in a state of shock, his gaze on his cousin, who was approaching with extreme caution. Rudy was also feeling confused and shocked by Hollis’ betrayal, but he didn’t have the time to dwell on it.

“Jack, put him down. Let’s discuss this,” Hollis pleaded.

“You did this?” Jack’s expression was one of confusion, but Rudy knew it wouldn’t last long.

“I’m so sorry, Jack.” Hollis put his hand to his heart as he pleaded his case. “It wasn’t meant to go this far. Like Fig said, I only wanted to scare Rudy, get him to leave you be. I was afraid you would leave us, afraid the rumors were true. Talking to you didn’t help, so I thought… I thought if I could get Rudy to put some distance between you two, you might come to your senses. I used the scuffle that morning in the cell to remove the button. The whole thing at the White Hart had been planned, to allow me the chance I needed to slip the button to Fig without placing suspicion on either of us. I paid him to pour the black magic into Rudy’s fuel tank, along with the button.” He lowered his head in shame. “I believed that once you found the button, you would be too blinded by your anger to see past the Mouse King’s guilt. I know it was impulsive and naïve, but I truly believed everything would go back to the way it used to be.”

Jack dropped Fig harshly to the snowy ground, and the elf wasted no time in scrambling away, making tracks across the snowy field. “Where did you get the spell?”

“From someone who knows someone who knows… a Dockalfar.”

Rudy cringed about the same time Hollis did, while Jack gaped at his cousin. What in Kringle’s name had that silly toy soldier been thinking? If Rudy lived through this, he was going to give Hollis a good kicking.

“A dark elf? Hollis, are you mad? You know they can’t be trusted!”

“I didn’t ask for something to kill Rudy! I just asked for something to scare him, something you wouldn’t be able to break. I never thought it would lead to this. You know I love you.”

“Lies!”

The fury that blustered from Jack knocked Rudy and his friends off their feet. He fell onto the snow, the vicious gales of ice and snow nearly blinding. It was now or never.

“You all stay here.”

Tim threw his arms around Rudy, holding on tight. “You can’t go out there. He’ll kill you!”

“He won’t,” Rudy promised, though he wished he were more certain. He kissed the top of Tim’s head before pushing him toward Noel, who looked equally panicked.

Noel shook his head as he spoke. “He might not remember you.”

Rudy swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. “Then I’ll make him remember.” Fighting against the harsh winds, Rudy used the thick pine trees to conceal himself until he was behind Jack, who now had Hollis in his icy grip.

“I know you’re there,” Jack said calmly. “You Christmas elves are an insolent bunch, foolish and rash, leaving everything up to your silly little feelings.”

“Jack, put him down,” Rudy said, coming around to Jack’s side where they could see each other. His lover’s scornful gaze cut deep, but he couldn’t allow Jack to continue this path. He appeared as if he were carved from ice, which normally wouldn’t have startled Rudy, except the heart encased within was just as frozen as the rest of him.

“Jack, I know you believe he betrayed you, and what he did was wrong, but he doesn’t deserve to lose his life over it. It was my life he endangered, so shouldn’t I have a say in his punishment?”

Jack let out a scoff. “You? Don’t be absurd. You’re weak. What’s more, you make me weak.” The emptiness Rudy saw in Jack’s eyes was almost too much to bear, but he wouldn’t give up on Jack, not without a fight.

“Put him down,” Rudy ordered.

Jack narrowed his gaze, a sinister smile creeping onto his handsome face, a face that had once expressed such love and admiration. Those sneering lips had once smiled at him with such joy, had parted in ecstasy, had kissed Rudy until his knees felt weak. Rudy wasn’t about to lose that.

“Or what?” Jack asked.

He’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t terrified, but he had to do whatever was in his power to get Jack back, no matter the cost. Kringle said he had it in him, that he was the only one with the power to melt Jack’s heart. By Holly, he sure wished Kringle had told him how he was supposed to do it. Taking a deep breath, he broke off into a run, charging Jack, who readied himself, a cruel smile revealing his pleasure at being challenged. He swiped an arm to one side, the force of his gesture throwing Hollis onto the snow several feet away.

Jack summoned a barrier of ice, and Rudy threw an arm up to shield his face, bracing himself for the harsh impact of his body colliding with the solid mass, but instead, Rudy crashed straight through it, the wind knocked out of him when his body rammed into Jack’s, sending him reeling back. Rudy lay dazed in the snow for a moment before he quickly rolled onto his side, his gaze on Jack’s stunned expression.

It lasted but a few seconds before Jack let out a cry and charged him, his arms wrapping around Rudy’s waist to lift him and slam him down onto the now solid ground. In the seconds it had taken Jack to lift Rudy off the ground, he had frozen the snow for the purpose of causing more damage. Rudy’s body hit the sleek surface with such force, cracks splintered the ice, and he stifled a cry as the pain rippled through his body. Jack wasted no time, straddling Rudy and pulling back a fist to hit him across the jaw.

“Do you really think you’re a match for me?” Jack pulled back and struck Rudy again, each blow feeling as if he were running face-first into a glacier.

“Jack, stop,” Rudy pleaded, struggling to move Jack’s much heavier frame off him. It was impossible. Jack was putting his strength into his weight, pinning Rudy beneath him. There was none of the Jack he loved before him, only winter’s true elemental form, harsh and cruel. Whatever Jack intended, he wasn’t about to back away. In fact, he was taking things to the next level. “Are you going to kill me, Jack? Is that what you want?”

“I’m going to teach you your place. If you’re too weak to survive, it only proves your insignificance.” Jack’s hands clutched at the sides of Rudy’s head, the pain excruciating as the cold penetrated his skin. He cried out and clawed at Jack’s hands, trying to dislodge him. If he didn’t do something, Jack was going to finish him. Rudy shut his eyes tight and searched deep inside him. There had to be something in there, something he could call upon. Memories of him and Jack flashed through his mind, of their nights in bed together laughing and making love, of Jack’s smile and the little creases that formed at the corners of his eyes. He loved Jack with all his heart, would never stop loving him.

Jack’s cry of pain startled Rudy and his eyes flew open, a gasp escaping him at the red glow coming from…. Holy Holly, it was coming from
him.
Rudy didn’t stop to question what was happening. He swiftly took advantage of the moment.

Finding he could shift Jack’s weight, he wrapped his legs around Jack’s waist and twisted, throwing Jack onto his side before Rudy rolled over him, pinning Jack beneath him. He didn’t give Jack time to make a move before thrusting both hands against his lover’s chest, over his heart. Calling upon whatever force was aiding him, he tried his best to ignore Jack’s cries of agony as a searing heat flashed through Rudy’s body, causing him to glow red from head to toe. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading his brow, and he watched as the ice façade that made up Jack’s body began to retreat, starting from the tip of his hair. It withdrew from Jack’s body until nothing but the spot over his heart remained frozen.

Jack threw his head back, his back arching violently off the ground, and a heartbreaking cry escaped his lips as Rudy pushed harder against his chest, until the ice beneath his hands melted and some unknown force threw Rudy off. He hit the ground on his back, his chest falling and rising rapidly as he attempted to catch his breath. Shakily, he lifted a hand in front of him, his eyes widening when he realized the red glow was really the subtle lapping of flames.

Fire. His body was on fire. Well, sort of. He felt warm inside, but there was no pain. Where had it come from, and how had he summoned it? He remembered Jack and quickly sat up, groaning at the ache in his body. Ignoring that for the time being, he scrambled over to Jack, who was lying on the snowy ground, his eyes closed. The color was returning to his skin, making him look like the Jack Rudy had fallen in love with so long ago.
Please, let it be him.

Chapter Twelve

“J
ACK
?” R
UDY
tapped his lover’s cheek gently, hoping it was indeed his lover in there. Jack didn’t stir. “Jack!” Rudy called, slapping him across the cheek.

There was a grumbled “ouch” and Rudy couldn’t help but laugh, even as tears filled his eyes. Jack’s lids fluttered open, a deep pout coming onto his face.

“You slapped me.”

“I did,” Rudy said with a sniff, helping Jack sit up. Hesitantly, he reached to put a hand to Jack’s cheek, only to have his lover eye him warily.

“You’re not going to slap me again are you?”

“No,” Rudy replied, biting his bottom lip to keep himself from blubbering like some elfling. His smile faded, and his thumb stroked Jack’s cheek. “Is it really you in there?”

“Who else would it be?” Jack got to his feet, pulling Rudy along with him. He looked around them, frowning. “How the blasted Ivy did I get out here?”

“You don’t remember?”

Jack shook his head, his worried gaze falling on their friends huddled together several feet away. “I remember being in the White Hart… and then… there was a heart carved into one of the wooden beams. I can’t remember why I was there, or where I had been before that. I can’t remember a great deal in regard to the past few days. It all seems somewhat hazy.”

“You remember the heart with our initials?” Rudy asked, his own heart feeling as if it had doubled in size. “Do you remember how it got there?”

Jack nodded, drawing Rudy into his arms, his black eyes intense and filled once again with love. “Of course. It was the first time you took me there.”

“You had confessed your love, and I was so happy… yet at the same time, so heavyhearted I couldn’t tell my Rein Dear brothers.” Rudy wrapped his arms around Jack’s waist, letting his head rest against his sweetheart’s chest, his eyes closing at the lulling beat of Jack’s heart. “I went to the little elf’s room, and when I came back, there was a heart with the letters “J+R” carved in the center. I didn’t think I could have loved you any more than I did at that moment. Little did I know you would continue to prove me wrong, each and every day.”

Jack lifted Rudy’s face toward him and kissed him deeply. Their kiss seemed to go on for an eternity, and a shiver went up Rudy’s spine, one that had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with the overwhelming warmth he could feel emanating from his prince, all for him. His Jack was once again whole and in Rudy’s arms where he belonged.