Page 73 of Mytho Investigations: Side Stories

Jordan closed the book, a traditional human story about Santa Claus, apparently. It had always struck Edra as odd that humans celebrated a Tarikian god known for passing judgement, but as usual, they had only gotten part of the story, and over centuries, it had become warped. And while he still considered it a strange celebration, it was different now that they’d brought the hatchlings home from the rookery. This was their first Christmas, and Jordan had been so excited to share it with them, it was easy for Edra to become caught up, even though he had celebrated Christmas with Jordan many times, swapping gifts and feasting with their friends.

But seeing Sky and Snow so excited because their friends, mytho and human, at the local daycare were excited and talking about Christmas, made his heart feel about three times too big.

The feast was not at their house tomorrow. Instead, they were going to Katie and Lekso’s place—which had also been hatchling-proofed. Most of their friends had taken precautions against the flying menaces that were his children.

“And Santa comes tonight?” Snow asked.

“And his flying deer?” Sky sat up as if not the least bit tired.

Edra had taken them flying, in an effort to make sure they would actually go to bed and stay in bed. But he also liked flying with them. It gave him the chance to warn them of the dangers of tram lines and overhead power cables. Sometimes the greater dragons joined them. The first time that had happened, both hatchlings had tried to grab onto him. Which had not worked out very well for any of them. Suffice to say, he had managed to land, and the only damage done was some loss of skin to his arm and shoulder. That had been another lesson.

They were all lessons he’d forgotten receiving.

They were a part of an online group that was raising their own hatchlings, and it was a relief that they were not the only ones experiencing these troubles. He also enjoyed the occasional smug pleasure of feeling more successful at raising hatchlings.

“Yes, but he only visits children who are asleep. That is part of the magic of Christmas,” Jordan said with a smile.

Jordan was trying to give the hatchlings the kind of Christmas he’d never had growing up. Edra was pretty sure he didn’t need to try so hard because Sky and Snow were probably not going to remember and they would be perfectly happy with a large block of chocolate, a bag of Sinner’s kibble, and another pair of shoes that they could take off and leave in some random location he wouldn’t find until they had grown out of them.

While they were getting chocolate in their stockings and also some shoes as part of a special outfit for tomorrow, they were also getting other toys, which he was kind of interested in exploring with them. There were things he couldn’t have imagined as a child, like plastic building blocks that stuck together, little cars, puzzles, and games.

Three days ago, they’d been at Pan’s temple for the solstice, and it had been their first introduction to seeing magic, so it was no longer an abstract concept to them.

“You’d better lie down, close your eyes and fall asleep, and when you wake up in the morning…” Jordan kissed Snow on the forehead.

“I will have missed the magic,” Snow grumbled even as he let himself be tucked in.

Jordan glanced at him for support. Jordan didn’t realize what a great job he was doing with the hatchlings. They weren’t his biologically, but he didn’t seem to care, and he was definitely calmer under stress than Edra was. He guessed that it was the years in the police force dealing with all kinds of situations, both human and mytho, where he was often dealing with people on the worst day of their lives.

Edra had dealt with a lot of shit over his decades as a knight of the city, but it was different because they were his hatchlings, or that was the excuse he made. He didn’t want to mess up because he had chosen to take on the responsibility. They could have left the hatchlings at the rookery instead of bringing them home.

In the online group, there were some people who were regretting the decision because it was a lot, and they didn’t have the support that he had both in Jordan and from their friends. Jordan’s sister was happy to babysit so they could have a night off. Sean and Troy had helped out when the house needed hatchling proofing. Even Vlash managed to smile and have fun with them, Mason had been a good influence on the stern ex-head archer.

Sinner stretched and jumped off the bed. “I’m going to grab something to eat and prowl around the house.”

Edra tucked Sky into bed. “The magic only happens when you’re asleep. Magic is one of those things that you can’t control.”

“Strega can… Can we ask her to make us stay awake so we can see?”

“Not this year. It’s dark outside and getting late, and lots of other children are already in bed asleep.” Edra said.

“So we could watch their houses?” Sky asked.

“No, because then Santa wouldn’t visit them either,” Jordan said, and Edra almost believed him.

“Not all magic is meant to be seen,” Edra added. Was every family with small children having the same conversation?

“In the morning, there will be presents?” Snow asked, trying to wriggle out of the blanket that Jordan was keeping around him.

“Only if you go to sleep. You’ll know the magic worked because the cookies will be gone and there will be presents.” Jordan kissed his forehead again. “And it’s way past your bedtime.”

“You don’t want to find a lump of coal in your stockings,” Edra warned.

Jordan frowned and gave a slight shake of his head. Truthfully, if Santa were going to pass judgement on children, Edra suspected that a lot of them would end up with a lump of coal at best.

Both hatchlings gasped.

“We have been good,” Sky said, closing her eyes as though she was already asleep.