Reindeer James

Chapter 13

When James arrived at the stables the next day, Ruby's stall was empty. The hay inside didn't even have a dent in it from her sleeping there the night before.

"I think she's still with her grandpa," Gabe said. He ran a hand through his beard. "I don't normally let newer folks go near him, but I think it would be best if you went in there to talk to her. She's taking her score really hard."

"I brought her a present," James said as Gabe led him deep inside the stables.

"Your mom's peppers, right?"

"How did you know?"

Gabe tapped his nose. "You learn to recognize that smell when you work with the elite team. You'd better keep those hidden until we find Ruby. Blitzen got ahold of some a few years back, and it took months to fix all the holes in the roof."

"Blitzen? Wait, we're going to see them, too?" Those legendary reindeer had pulled the very first Santa's sleigh, back when his family's mission of spreading Christmas cheer had been far more secretive and sliding down chimneys had been a necessity rather than a rare publicity stunt. James patted down his pockets, but he didn't have anything handy for them to autograph. Maybe if he was lucky one of them would mark his sweater with their hoof.

"Yup, all the elite teams get their own private quarters once they retire and, as you can imagine, this one in particular doesn't go out in public much. Too many crazy fans." Gabe gave him a knowing smirk. "We all get a little excited around them, but try to keep it cool, okay?"

The hustle and bustle of the stables faded as Gabe led James to the massive door he'd shown him on his first day. The snowman-shaped device on the door stared at them with coal-black eyes. "Look away," Gabe said. "You're not ready to know the code yet."

James peeked out of the corner of his eye as Gabe twisted and pulled the carrot-shaped knob. After he entered the combination, Santa's voice came through a speaker on the device. "Access granted. Stay jolly!"

The door opened with a deafening creak. Eight heads turned to look at them from inside spacious, holly-lined stalls that each bore a gilded nameplate.

"Do I smell peppers?" Donner's nostrils flared as he sniffed the air.

"You always smell peppers," said his neighbor. Cupid's heart-shaped birthmark twitched as he stamped his hooves. "And you never share."

James hung onto their every word. These legendary reindeer had flown decades of Christmases, surviving everything from unspeakably harsh blizzards to world wars. And he was in the same room as them!

The thinnest of the bunch, an almost entirely white buck, looked up from nuzzling his mate and cleared his throat. "Enough chitchat," he said. "Gabe never comes here without a reason, and he obviously doesn't have any food. Let him talk before that kid explodes from excitement."

"Thank you, Dancer," Gabe said. "Have any of you seen Ruby this morning?"

"She's with her grandpa." Dasher sighed. "Nobody ever visits us. It's always about him and that nose of his."

"That's my boy!" Donner said, stamping his hooves.

"We know." Prancer snorted. "As if you'd ever let us forget."

"Thank you," Gabe said. "I'll bring you all some nice, fresh apples later. For now, you'll have to settle for my company while James checks on her."