Cupcakes for Christmas: a Julia Ivory story

The events of this story take place after CARRION and before WINTERSTRUCK.

Many thanks to Vickie for proofreading for me! Any errors are mine.

This story was inspired by the movie, Die Hard. How many Die Hard references can you find?

The phone rang. I rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand. Ten to midnight. I picked up my phone and answered it without bothering to look at the name and number. There were only a select few people who knew my number. It was either an emergency or a wrong number. 

"What."

"Ivory, I've got a job for you." I recognized the voice. Detective Randy Craddock. An agent like me, but he worked undercover for the Toronto Police. With his smooth voice and smoother good looks, Randy was the definition of 'Italian Stallion.' Except I was pretty sure he wasn't Italian.

"A job?  Now?"

"Did I interrupt your Christmas Eve plans?"

"Kind of." If sleeping as much as possible counted as plans. Julia Ivory. Home alone for Christmas.

"You volunteered to be on call, remember?"

Oh. "Right. Where am I going?" 

"Imotakan Plaza. New condo corp downtown."

I sat up and pushed the covers aside. "What am I hunting?" 

"Security guard described them as skeletal demons."

"Demons? Tonight?" When the world was mostly filled with joy, peace on earth and all that?

"Probably attracted to the place because of what happened with the construction on the top floor."

"I don't know of any fae attracted to construction."

"Two days ago, the construction company was found guilty in the accidental deaths of their workers. They fell off when installing windows. They weren't properly tied off and they hadn't been trained to work at heights. Yesterday, three of their guys threw themselves off the top floor. So they could be Nachzehrer fae. Watch yourself. Nachzehrer are lethal and there's a building-wide Christmas party on the thirtieth floor. Get there before the fae do."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Sorry. I got my hands full. Ruprechts are thieving their way through Markham. If kids are going to wake up to presents under the tree, I have to finish this. I have a few left to catch, then I'll come assist." 

Ruprechts were little scamps that liked to torture children at Christmas time. We'd been on high alert for them for the past few weeks.

Everyone else was at home nestled in their beds, spending time with their loved ones. 

I planned to keep it that way. It was my gift to them.

"The security guard on site is waiting for you. The demons reportedly ate his partner. So hurry. They've had a taste for flesh. Their apetites will be growing."

I hung up and dressed. I slept in my underwear and a sleeveless shirt, so I quickly yanked on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt and a pair of running shoes, grabbing whatever was nearby. I threw on my vegan leather jacket and checked my pockets. Gun in the right and a bottle of forgetting spray and my identification badge in the left. A few coins jingled under the bottle. Parking money. 

I snagged my keys from the kitchenette counter, my eyes sliding to the small wrapped gift sitting next to my unwashed dishes. It was from Luke. Simply looking at it made my heart speed up and stomach drop.

I gave my dark, dingy apartment one last survey and headed out. 

Stars sparkled in the dark sky. It was supposed to be a clear and freezing night. For once the forecast wasn't wrong. Pretty, but the cold air made my nose run. I hurried to my car. 

Thirty minutes later, and shivering thanks to my broken heater, I pulled up next to the curb a few buildings down from Imotakan Plaza. I got out and put some change into the parking meter. The remaining few coins I shoved into my jeans pocket.

The refreshing temperature woke me up and the time on the drive allowed me to recall everything I could about Nachzehrer fae. 

Fairies are not cute little things with wings. They never were. If humans saw the fae for what they were, they would definitely think 'demon' not Tinkerbell.

The little pixie image was a misdirection they created as the world's population grew and their existence came under threat. That was in the good old days, when they could pass between our world and theirs as they pleased. Then on May 5th, 2000, a planetary alignment was used to force all of fae kind out of their world, Faerie, and into ours. Permanently. 

That's when hiding them and protecting humans became a top priority. That's my job. I work black ops-- meaning no one knows about us but one General and one top director at CSIS, who will both deny we exist-- to protect humans from fae and keep the fae's existence secret to prevent widespread human panic. Being black ops also meant our budget had to be buried, which meant our expenses had to be small, leaving us reliant on government hand-me-downs like my M1911 handgun now riding on my passenger seat. It was big and heavy but I could count on it to work when I needed it.

For the most part, the fae keep to themselves. The ones who could glamour themselves to look like humans did so, and the ones who couldn't wanted nothing to do with humans anyway. Usually.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be less and less the case. The longer the fae lived in our world, the more they spiralled out of control. And humans were their victims. 

Nachzehrer fae were from German folklore; the old tales being our best source of information on the fae. These fae appeared after suicide or accidental death and devoured living bodies. They were ghoul-like in appearance and hard to kill, despite being not very bright, especially in the hours after spawning when they were looking to consume calories. 

But I couldn't remember their weaknesses or how to kill them.

(Give me a break, okay? Folklore around the world tells stories of hundreds of fairies. No one can remember them all. I've been told our agency will have a database in our future, but for now we had to rely on our memories.)

I had to stop these Nachzehrer fae before they reached the Christmas party and had themselves an all-you-can-eat buffet. 

I entered Imotakan Plaza, finding the blast of warm air uncomfortable. I spotted the security guard just inside the door. Middle age, black, nearly six feet tall and carrying an extra hundred pounds in weight, he had bright eyes and kind smile. 

"Hi. I'm here to handle your demon problem." I flashed my badge while keeping my other hand on the bottle of forgetting spray. 

"You?" The corner of his mouth turned up. 

Okay, so I'm average height or a tall petite build with a blond ponytail, but underestimating me was getting old. I worked out. I'd trained for this job. Geesh.

I smiled. It wasn't my happy smile. "Me. What's your name?"

"Al." 

"I'm Agent Ivory. Where are the demons?" I tucked my badge away.

"Top floor."

"They haven't moved?"

"Nope. You going after them yourself?"

"Yes."

"This I gotta see."

Yeah, right, pal. I hit his face with a peppermint-scented mist. 

"Now, listen," I said. "You're going to follow my instructions. And those demon creatures you saw were just movie actors rehearsing a scene."

"But I saw them-- my partner-- they shredded him--" His voice had lost all mirth and slowed with hesitation as his brain tried to fight to make sense of his fading memories being rewritten.

"He went home early. Wasn't feeling well. I'm here to help. Got it?" Tomorrow he could find out the 'official' report once our agents made up the story. Probably drug-related gang violence.

He nodded reluctantly. 

Al and I headed for the elevator, his pockets jingling like Santa's bells. I hit the button for the thirtieth floor. We got as far as the second floor when the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. 

 A woman entered the elevator. Middle aged, middle height, with wavy brown hair and creases around her eyes when she smiled.

"Hi Al," she said, smiling shyly at him. She turned to me. "I'm Eileen."

She wore a bright red sweater dress and carried a poinsettia plate of cupcakes in green paper wrappers topped with white icing and little sprinkles. Al eyed the cupcakes.

"Can you push thirty, please?" she asked. 

"No problem," I said, pushing the button to close the doors and get us moving again. "That's where we're going."

"Are you going to the party, too?"

Shit. Small talk. 

Push, push, push. The doors finally slid closed and the elevator lifted.

Al leaned closer to the cupcakes and sniffed. "Smells like Twinkies. Enriched flour, high fructose corn syrup and yellow dye number five. I love Twinkies."

"They're vanilla," Eileen said, smiling.

"Had to cut back." He patted his round belly. "But the party sounds nice."

"You could come--"

"Sorry. We're not going to the party. We're working." I flashed my eyes at Al.

"Shame," Eileen said. "The building throws great parties. You should come anyway. I'm sure they would love to see the security team at the party. The door's always open, everyone comes and goes."

"Thanks."

"What's a girl like you doing alone on Christmas Eve anyway?"

I smiled politely and glanced at the numbers slowly lighting up one by one. Fifteen... Sixteen...

Oh my god. Longest elevator ride ever.

"Must be single," Al said. 

"Hey," I objected. "Not that it's any of your business, I'm not single. He's just with his family right now. Skiing. I was supposed to go with them, but I'm working instead."

"You got scared," Eileen said. 

"Scared?" Lady, I killed creepy, homicidal fae for a living. 

"Of making a commitment. Vacation with his family is a big deal." She shrugged. "I'm also newly single. My boyfriend-- ex-boyfriend-- ducked out on meeting my family more than once. I should have recognized that red flag."

"We are working. She's helping me," Al said. "I'm having a bad night."

"Oh dear," Eileen exclaimed. "I hope your luck changes. Oh. I wish I could help you with that. These cupcakes? One of them has a coin inside and whoever finds it has good luck. Now if only I could remember which one..."

"Like a King's cake," Al said, nodding. 

"Exactly. Only, there's no building party for Epiphany, and putting a coin in the plum pudding was a long-standing tradition for my family, but no one likes plum pudding anymore, so I put a coin in cupcakes now."

"Gosh, I sure would love a cupcake right now..." Al said. 

"Maybe if you take one, you'll get the lucky cupcake..."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. The sounds of Run DMC belting out "Christmas in Hollis."

"Eileen!" someone shouted from the hallway. "You made it!"

Two partygoers swooped into the elevator, looped arms with Eileen and proceeded to sweep her off to the fun. 

"Be sure you stop by the party," Eileen called over her shoulder. 

Al and I stepped into the hallway and waited until the partyers headed back to the music and ruckus. 

I turned to Al. "Do you have a cell phone?" 

"My personal phone. We're not supposed to use it while on duty." He fished it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I punched in Randy's number. "You're going to stay here and if you see any actors pretending to be demon-like things, call this number and tell him I need back up immediately. Then get the partygoers to safety."

If he saw anything demon-like then it meant I'd failed and was dead and likely he would be soon enough. 

"Safety from actors...?" He blinked rapidly as he tried to work it out. 

"They might be drug addicts. They might get violent."

He nodded. "Got it." 

I headed for the stairwell.  

*

My shoes squeaked the entire way up the stairs. This was not going to do.

I had to establish how many of these creatures I was dealing with, and that was going to require some sneaking about. 

Through the window that lead to the thirty-first floor, I couldn't see anything past a newly erected wall still waiting for drywall compound to hide the seams. 

I had to go in.

I ditched my shoes. And then my jacket. Vegan leather was great and fit my budget, but indoors, it was too hot and bulky. Besides, it tended to creak.

Quietly, I pulled off my jacket and lowered it to the floor. I opened the door, stepped inside, and used my jacket to block the door from fully closing. 

I held my breath, listening for signs my entry was noticed. Snorting and chuffing sounds came from deeper in the construction zone. No sound of anyone approaching. 

I exhaled and proceeded, padding softly down the length of the freshly constructed wall. When the wall ended, I cautiously peered around it. 

The rest of the room was a mostly open construction zone. A palett of drywall waited to be hung. Steel beams held up the roof. Cables in various colours dangled from the ceilings. Abandoned tools lay about, including chop saws and large drills. Where there should have been windows, sheets of plastic flapped in the wind. A strong, cold draught blew the scent of sawdust and death. 

There, in the middle of the open space, a bunch of skeletal demonic things hovered over a dark and bloody pile on the floor. 

I counted twelve skeletal demons. They were white, but where a human skeleton stood straight with long arms and legs, these things were bent, crumpled, and short limbed. Their skin shone like polished bone or silky, wet cartilage. Their heads were round like balloons with slits for eyes, dots for nostrils, and wide toothy mouths. Their bent arms and legs ended with claws. Bright red blood dribbled down their chins. Two of them fought over a stretch of what looked like human intestines, yanking back and forth like children trying to pull apart a Christmas cracker. 

Ugh. 

One of the demons lifted its head, nostrils flaring. Eye slits blinking. It shoved the creature next to it, nodding its chin towards my location. Busted.

Shit. 

I dashed back to the door, light on my feet and slipped into the stairwell, gently closing the door behind me. My heart pounded. I could not let them come after me as a group. I would be dead. With everyone at the party dead shortly after me. 

Cool. So kill this scout without anyone hearing and all would be well. 

Just one problem. I couldn't remember how to kill it. Not totally. I recalled having to cut off the head, but there was a step before that I was sure of it. 

Next problem: I only had my gun. Which was great, but not for chopping off heads.

I remembered passing one of those "in case of emergency" boxes in the wall down a few flights of stairs. It had an axe inside. 

This was most definitely an emergency. 

The door burst open. I reached out and snatched hold of the creature, yanking him into the stairwell before he could alert the others. He tried to break free. I smashed him in the side of the head, hoping to knock him out. He dropped his entire body weight, pulling me down to the floor with him. He kicked out and back-pedalled with his legs and we went tumbling down the stairs. 

We hit the landing and I swung us over the next set of stairs. Down we rolled again. My head swam, but the bright red box on the plain white walls called out to me, swaying across my blurred vision. 

I rolled to my feet and stumbled to the wall. The creature slammed into me, claws digging into my arms, snarling with rage. Apparently pissed off about our fall down the stairs. 

I wasn't exactly happy about it either, buddy. 

The creature dug in and held on to my shoulders. I threw myself at the box, my fingers scrambling for the little latch. I missed. The demon yanked me to my knees. 

Crap. 

I smashed my fist into the glass door. The glass broke away in pieces. I tore the axe free of its holster and swivelled in the monster's grip. 

The demon-thing was too close for comfort, but I swung anyway. The axe dug into the creature's neck. It flew back and howled. I swung again. The axe went into half its neck, cutting off its cry. Quickly, I axed it again and again. The head rolled free. 

I collapsed against the wall. 

One down. Only another eleven to go. 

I'd taken no more than three breaths when the creature's head started to roll. All by itself. Straight toward its fallen body. 

No. 

Horror flooded through me. I'd missed a step. But what was it? 

My eye caught on something shiny on the floor. A quarter. It must have fallen out of my pocket when we rolled down the stairs. 

Wait. That was it. I remembered! To kill a Nachzehrer fae, I had to shove a coin into its mouth before removing its head.

I threw myself on the floor and snagged the coin just as the monster put itself together. I slid over and pulled it's head onto my lap. I kept hold of axe, pressing it against its forehead as I used my fist to press down on its jaw. I released the coin from my fist, dropping it into its open mouth. I clamped its jaw shut and brought the axe down on its neck, severing it in one blow. 

The creature vaporized into a pile of white dust. 

I collapsed on the floor. Everything hurt. My back most of all. The axe was fucking heavy. 

Yeah. No problem. Eleven more to go. Piece of cake. 

Wait. 

I had an idea. You might say I had an epiphany.

*

I left the axe with my sweatshirt and socks in the stairwell and strolled down the hallway toward the party in my bare feet, smeared head to toe in Nachzehrer fae blood and dust. Bright red dots of my own blood trailed behind me. I'd taken my t-shirt and wrapped it around my hand to slow the bleeding. Still throbbed in pain, though.

There wasn't time to make myself pretty. 

I went to the end of the hallway and told Al that if he called that number he was to tell my friend 'Eleven.'

"Eleven? Is that code?" He raised an eyebrow at my new outfit. 

"He'll know." I shoved my hand into my pocket and came up with three dimes. "You got any change?"

Al pulled a palmful of coins from his pocket. I grabbed up nearly all of them. 

"Thanks," I said.

The condo was enormous and warm from all the body heat. I could see windows from two sides. Somewhere a DJ played a thumping hip-hop version of "Ode to Joy." Chesterfields and chairs seemed to be everywhere, all full with people milling about all over the place. I squeezed further into the room, sniffing my way toward the food tables, at last finding them near the kitchen part of the open floor plan.

I went straight to the dessert table. Fruit cake... Cookies... Doughnuts... Where were they?

Ah. There. The cupcakes. All twelve of them nestled in their little green wrappers on the poinsettia plate. 

I snatched up Eileen's platter and headed for the door. 

"Hey! What are you doing? You can't take those!" A man stepped up and blocked my path to the door, clearly letting me know that bare feet and sleeveless shirts did not meet the dress code.

The woman next to him put her hand on his arm and said, "She has white powder on her face. She might be on drugs. Maybe you should let her have the cupcakes."

I rolled my eyes. I so did not have time for this.

"It's okay," Eileen said. "She works with Al."

I scanned for Eileen in the crowd. Locked eyes with her.  

"Sorry, Eileen. Al needs these." 

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Boy, his luck must have run out," she said. 

"Let's hope not." I turned and strolled out. 

*

I ran up the stairs with cupcakes in one hand and the axe in the other, my feet freezing on the icy tiles. Cold air shivered across my bare arms. I threw open the door and rushed to the blood-splattered mess in the middle of the room. Eleven monsters stared back at me. 

"Who wants a cupcake?" I put the platter down on the remains of the security guard. 

The Nachzehrer fae didn't know what to do. Warm body or sweet cakes? Tough choice.

One of them sniffed the air. It reached out and swiped a finger through the icing. It liked what it tasted and snatched a cupcake. The rest quickly grabbed a cake and shoved it into their mouths. Wrapper and all.

Perfect.

I fired up the quick-cut saw and made eleven heads roll across the floor. 

A few minutes later I walked out of there with Eileen's plate. I picked up my jacket, shoes, socks, and sweatshirt, as I made my way back to the party, leaving behind a pile of white dust that was slowly drifting out into the night.

"Yipeekaiyay, mother fuckers."

Down the hall, I met Al and handed him what was left of his change.

"Did you get them?" he asked. 

"The quarterback is toast," I said triumphantly. 

"What?"

"Never mind." I pulled my bottle of forgetting spray out of my jacket pocket and sprayed his face. "Hey, Al. You did great work tonight. It was a quiet night, no disturbances."

His face broke into a dreamy smile. 

"You can go home tonight and have a happy Christmas with your family."

"Nah. Wife got the kids for Christmas in the divorce. I see them on Boxing Day."

I nodded. "Give those kids an extra hug on Boxing Day, then. Why don't you join the party and have some fun before your shift ends?"

He nodded. "Okay. I'll just check in with the boss and let him know everything is quiet."

I strode through the party to the kitchen sink, ignoring the stares from the partygoers, washed the plate, found a tea towel and dried the plate, and then walked over to Eileen and handed it to her. 

"Thanks," I said. "You really saved the day."

She looked over her empty plate. "I guess Al got all the luck."

"More than you know." I glanced at the doorway.

Al filled the doorframe, hesitating, glancing around at the crowd. I pointed Eileen in his direction. 

"Welcome to the party, Al," Eileen said. A big smile lit up her face. 

I left. Behind me, the DJ played a rap version of "Let It Snow."

*

Outside on the street, a cop car screeched to a halt just as I stepped out of the building. Randy jumped out of the car. We met on the salt-crusted sidewalk.

"You got 'em?" he asked. 

"Naczehrer fae. Just like you thought. Twelve of them."

"Bodies?"

"Nope. They dissolved into a pile of dust."

Tiny flakes of snow showered down. It was supposed to be a clear night. I glanced up.

High above us, dust flitted out from the unfinished windows on the top floor, glittering down over the city.

Ew. Worst snow storm ever.

"You got the Ruprechts?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Good." I headed for my car.

"Hey, Ivory. Merry Christmas."

"You too," I called over my shoulder. 

We'd managed to save Christmas for a lot of people. I should have been delighted. I was anything but.

All I wanted was a hot bath. 

And Luke.

*

For the entire drive home, I couldn't stop thinking about the families of the construction workers and how they were spending Christmas without their special someones. And how I could have been spending Christmas with mine but got scared. 

Okay. So Eileen was right about that. 

I trudged up the stairs to my room above the auto shop.

Someone was in my apartment.

I opened the door and sensed their presence more than saw or heard them in the dark room. Maybe it was the sense of a warm body in an otherwise cold apartment with a broken radiator. Maybe it was the whiff of aftershave that smelled of evergreens and soap. 

Movement on the chesterfield caught my eye. 

"Julia?" a groggy voice said from beneath the pile of blankets. 

"Luke?"

He threw off the blankets and sat up. 

"I want a million dollars," I said. 

"What?"

"Nothing." It was worth a try. 

"I tried calling but you didn't answer."

"Emergency job." 

"Someone's having a shitty night." 

He had no idea. 

Like the rest of the world, Luke thought I worked for an insurance company. This 'emergency job' would have consisted of my evaluating a claim for a commercial business, which meant he thought I went to accident sites, assessed fire damages, etc. It helped explain why I sometimes came home covered in ick, goo, blood, and dust. 

I pulled my jacket tighter around me. 

"Aren't you supposed to be skiing?"

"I cancelled." 

"On your parents?"

"I've spent enough Christmases with them. This Christmas, I only want to be with you."

It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. 

"Open your gift," he said softly.

My heart pounded. The floor fell away. "Ah--"

Eileen was right, but not for the reasons she thought. It wasn't commitment I feared. I would love to marry Luke and spend the rest of my life with him. I mean, who wouldn't? He was perfect in every way. 

The problem was my job. Having to lie all the time about where I was and what I was doing. Not to mention, my boss frowned on personal relationships for this reason. 

Committing meant committing to keep up the lies. And that just seemed like a bad plan. Who would want to be in a relationship built on lies? 

"Please."

On the other hand... I had this gorgeous human being asking me to open his gift. After the horrors of tonight, how could I refuse him a moment of happiness?

I swallowed. "Okay."

Fingers trembling, I tore away the paper and slid the lid off the small box. I held my breath. Nestled inside was a key. 

A key. Not a ring. Just a key. 

He circled his arms around me. "Your apartment is great and all, but--"

"It's a shitty apartment." I blinked back tears. "All I got you was a pair of gloves."

"And they're a perfect fit."

Like us.

He pressed his lips to my ear. "Move in with me?"

I answered him with a kiss. 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.