Chapter 5

ChapterFive

Jesse sat alone on the house’s front steps, gazing at the stars in the open sky. Lily’s boyfriend, Nolan, came to pick her up to deal with a plumbing problem that suddenly sprung up at one of the cabins. He seemed like a nice guy from the two seconds they had to talk. Yet, Jesse couldn’t help looking up at the three-quarter moon to make sure he wasn’t going to turn into a monster like they did in the movies.

The fresh mountain air had a chill, but she didn’t care. As much as Jesse loved seeing her sister, she needed a moment to breathe and think.

“May I join you?” Mal appeared next to her.

Jesse’s breath caught in surprise. She’d been so deep into her own thoughts that she hadn’t heard him come outside. She turned to look up at him. Lights coming through the windows illuminated his face.

Jesse moved over to allow him to sit next to her.

“Lily seems nice,” he said. “I haven’t had many chances to talk to her before tonight.”

“She’s different,” Jesse answered.

“How so?”

“She’s…” Jesse looked around the beautiful landscape. “Relaxed. Happy.”

“That’s a good thing.”

Mal sat close enough that she could feel his warmth radiating from him. She naturally leaned closer.

“I’m selfish.” She sighed, unsure why she admitted as much. “I wanted her to be unhappy here. I wanted her to come back to Spokane.”

He nodded, just listening.

“I wanted to be able to point out how crazy this place was, how wrong.” Jesse stared at the sky. The shadowy line of the distant mountains cut off the stars. Insects hummed and buzzed to break the silence. “The world feels empty here. In the city, I’m always trying to block other people. Especially lately. They all seem to want something from me, normally an ear to listen to whatever weirdness is on their mind and then for me to tell them what to do about it.”

Jesse turned to study him.

“What?” His lips curled a little at the side, drawing her attention.

“Why aren’t you telling me about your daddy issues or something?”

He shrugged. “Don’t have any. My dad is cool.”

“The bully from the third grade?”

“Barnes? We’re friends now.”

“The waitress who dropped a slice of pizza on your leg and then ran away as the sauce burned your thigh?”

“That’s oddly specific.” He laughed.

“I like that I feel the silence in you,” she said. “Does nothing bother you?”

“Sure, but I don’t let those things control me. I fix what I can and settle with the rest.” His fingers wrapped hers. She’d been so focused on his smile that she hadn’t realized their hands were touching. “You’re chilled.”

She shook her head in denial. Jesse didn’t feel cold. She felt his warmth moving up her arm.

“I have to ask,” she whispered.

“Then ask.”

“What do elves do?”

He chuckled. “Elf things.”

“What are elf things?”

“What are human things? What are witch things?”

“Point taken.” Jesse started to pull back.

His grip on her hand tightened. “There are many myths out there, depending on the elfin heritage, but most of it comes from the Medieval period. Some elf communities are said to harm. Others are said to help. But it’s like humans. Some human tribes were bad. Some were decent. It comes down to the individual.”

“You’re good,” Jesse said, certain of her assessment.

“I try to be,” he said.

“What about magic?”

“We have some,” he said. “Nothing like the Crawford and Goode witches, though. Mine tends to help me get through paperwork quickly. And I’ve got a good memory.”

“What about…?”

“About?” he prompted.

“Compatibility.” Jesse glanced at his mouth and then back up into his eyes. As soon as she asked, it felt like a very human thing to say. If Lily made it work with a werewolf, surely a human and elf would match. Right?

“I found us to be very compatible when talking on the phone,” he said.

“I meant…”

“I know what you meant.” Mal leaned forward to kiss her.

Their lips met, and the tingling sensation she had felt when she touched the house’s doorframes returned. It worked its way into her mouth. For a moment, they held still as if waiting for the other to pull back or proceed. Slowly, their lips began to move, and the kiss deepened. The tingling magic ran down her neck into her shoulders before dissipating down her body.

She held transfixed in the moment. All worrying thoughts left her.

Mal’s hand ran up her arm to cup her face. His thumb slid close to their mouths as he caressed her cheek.

Slowly, she pulled away to look at him.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I’d say we’re compatible.”

She started to resume the kiss when he suddenly turned his face to the side, stopping her.

“What?” She leaned back in surprise.

“Listen.”

Jesse looked over the yard. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. The bugs have stopped chirping.” Mal took her hand and slowly stood, prompting her to do the same. He kept his eyes on the yard as he stepped backward on the stairs. “Get inside.”

“Why?” Jesse searched the shadowy driveway. “I don’t see anything.”

A chattering noise came from behind the car.

“What is that? A bird?” She started to step forward to take a look.

Mal pulled on her hand, stopping her. He didn’t answer.

A second chattering joined the first. A loud pop sounded as a tire blew on the car. A corner of the vehicle dropped toward the ground.

Jesse gasped in fright and jumped back. Her heel hit the ledge of the step, and she cried out in pain. A second pop followed the first. The chattering turned to strange laughter as the back of the rental car rested lower than before on flat tires. The sound of breaking glass preceded the vehicle rocking back and forth.

“What is that? Ghosts? I don’t see anything.” Jesse couldn’t take her eyes off the car.

“Worse.” Mal tugged her back on the steps toward the front door. “Gremlins.”

“What?” Jesse frowned, limping.

“They’re related to goblins,” he said.

The car hood flew open, and three small creatures converged on the engine. Their dark bodies made it difficult to see the details, but she detected pointy ears and claws. They began tearing at the wires and tubes, destroying everything they could manage to rip from inside. A battery flew at them, knocking into the porch rail.

Jesse screamed. Mal pulled her into the house and slammed the door shut, bolting it.

“What’s the ruckus?” Polly asked, not appearing too concerned.

The sound of claws scratched the wood and rattled the door.

“Gremlins,” Mal answered.

“Who woke them up?” Polly asked. “I thought they were sleeping in an undisclosed mine.”

“So did I.” Mal went to pull a couch in front of the door to block the entrance.

“Oh, pish.” Polly waved her hand. The couch slid away from Mal’s grip and returned to its place in the living room. Winston rushed into the room and stared at the wall. “They won’t get in. They’ll just make a lot of noise. Don’t worry. The gnomes will distract them. We can weather this gremlin storm.”

Several screeches were followed by loud thuds as the creatures thumped against the siding. Ahh-thud. Ahh-thud. Ahh-thud-thud.

Jesse gave a small jump of surprise each time one of them made contact. A gremlin hit a window, causing the glass to reverberate. The outline of its body showed through the drapes, bordered by a green glow as it slid down the glass.

“See, protected,” Polly said, gesturing at the green with a yawn. She disappeared into the dining room. “Come on, Herman. Say goodnight to your friends. They need to go outside and take care of the noisy riffraff.”

The thuds continued.

Winston leaped up onto the couch and gave a small bark as a shadow passed the window. He stood on the cushion, his entire backside wiggling instead of his tail.

“Yes. Of course, it’s her fault, but we can’t very well go blaming her for bringing them with her. How was she to know her neglect would wake them up?” Polly said in the other room.

Ahh-thud-thud.

Jesse grabbed hold of Mal’s arm for comfort. “This is my fault?”

“No.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“But I did this by not coming to check the box sooner?” she insisted.

Thud-rattle-thud.

He didn’t answer, but that was answer enough.

“Pumpkin doodle and doodle-dee, you can sleep upstairs, second floor.” Polly walked past, holding Herman against her shoulder like a burping baby. “Bedroom with the green door is free. Purple door smells like a flower garden lost a battle against the weeds. But the storage room is available. I don’t recommend inside the trunk. That’s Bartholomew’s play area.”

More thuds sounded from the back of the house.

Jesse glanced into the dining room. All of the gnomes were gone.

“There’s nothing we can do tonight,” Mal said. “The car is destroyed even if we wanted to try to outrun them. They should tire by morning.”

Mal kept hold of her hand as they walked upstairs. The pain in her ankle lessened enough that she could ignore it. The thuds remained around the first story as if they couldn’t launch their little bodies high enough to hit the second floor.

They found a bathroom door open to reveal a clawfoot tub. Next to it were closed purple and green doors. The smell of dead flowers wafted from one. Mal ignored it and opened the green door. He flipped on the light switch.

“I’ll…” He glanced at the purple door. “I’ll find a place to sleep. Yell if you need me.”

The thuds continued.

Jesse pulled him into the room. “Please don’t take this as an advance, but would you mind staying in here tonight? Or at least until—”

Thud.

“Until they stop?” she finished.

Nothing about her life right now was normal. She wasn’t some prude, but she also didn’t invite guys home on the first date. But did this really compare to a first date? They’d traveled through several states at magical speeds to stay with her witch relatives, and now the house was under attack by gremlins.

“If I’m alone, I’ll just listen to that thudding all night, worrying about them getting inside.” Jesse rubbed her arms. She lowered to the floor to look under the bed. It was empty. The gremlins were horrible-looking things, little gnarled creatures full of claws and fangs, and she didn’t want to imagine them underneath her all night.

Mal quietly closed the door behind him. “I can stay up if you want to try to fall asleep.”

Jesse sat on the edge of the bed. “There is enough room on here for both of us.”

He didn’t move to join her.

Jesse stood and pulled the blankets down. She grabbed a few of the decorative pillows and made a wall down the middle. “I promise not to get handsy.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” he admitted.

“Oh?”

“The elf part of me can easily become attached when I like someone. If this what’s happening between us isn’t leading to that, then being in here with you is a bad idea for me.”

Jesse saw the sincerity in his expression. “I don’t normally share what I’m feeling with people, and honestly, I’m not always good at it when I try. My instincts say I can trust you. I like you. I kind of feel like under a goblin attack isn’t the best time to make romantic commitments, but I do like you. That’s not a promise, but it’s the truth.”

“Gremlin,” he stated.

She swung around to check the room but saw nothing. She gave a small laugh. “That wasn’t funny.”

“You said goblin. These are gremlins. They’re related, but they’re technically two different creatures,” Mal corrected. “You need to be careful. Beings tend to get insulted if you misidentify them.”

“Noted,” she said.

Mal walked around to the far side of the bed and sat down.

Jesse put her back to him and pulled off her tennis shoes and socks. “I don’t suppose you want to run outside and grab my phone and wallet out of the car before they find them, do you?”

The bed shifted as he stood.

Jesse turned, reaching out toward him. “No, I was kidding. Don’t. It’s just stuff.”

Mal smiled. “Want me to get the light?”

Jesse nodded. She lay down and curled her back against the pillow wall.

He turned off the light, casting the room into shadows. Moonlight trailed through the window, but it took her eyes a moment to adjust. The bed shifted under his weight.

“Thank you for staying with me,” she said. “I owe you one.”

“Come with me to claim the lockbox tomorrow, and we’ll call it even. If that thing is waking up gremlins, I would hate to think what it’ll do when it really gets started.”

Jesse took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. I’ll get the box. My feelings about keeping the inheritance have not changed, but we can get the box.”

His hand found her arm in the darkness, and he squeezed it lightly. “Thank you, Jesse.”

“Good night, Mal.” She didn’t pull away, and neither did he. The pressure on her arm felt as if it kept her steady and safe. The thudding continued but sounded farther away as they hid in the room.

“Night, Jesse.”