One moment the sleigh was slipping silently over a dark, treeless landscape, then the next it seemed they were plummeting from the sky.

“Hold on, Joe!” his grandfather said.

“Really?” Joe said, grasping the edge of the sleigh as tight as he could. “That never occurred to me. Hold on, brilliant. My mother is gonna be mad if you get us killed.”

Just as the sleigh seemed ready to crash, the reindeer pulled up and landed. Levi David turned to face the rear. “Thank you for flying Santa airways, please remember to take all carryon items with you.” Then let out a laugh.

“The whole world is full of wise guys,” Joe said, jumping from the sleigh. His grandfather climbed down after him.

“Did I miss anything good,” he asked. “I slept most of the way.”

“Slept?”

“Yeah, I’m a big fan of naps,” his grandfather said, stretching.

Joe shook his head. “Where are we?”

“Exactly where you asked to be,” Wyatt James said. “Welcome to Nowhere. Now what?”

“Now we go looking for the nowhere man,” Joe said, turning around, trying to get oriented. When he turned back, his heart skipped a beat. The look in his eyes gave his shock at the sight away.

“What’s the matter, Joe? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” his grandfather said.

Joe was unable to speak for a moment, then said. “Your ears, grandfather, they’re…ah… they’re…”

“Pointed?” his grandfather said, smiling.

“Yeah, pointed. And you have a beard! What’s that all about?”

“Yeah, I probably should have warned you,” his grandfather said. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them.”

“I guess, it’s just, well why?” Joe said.

“Part of our heritage, my boy. You’ll find the ears quite comfortable and a great improvement in your sensitivity to sounds.”

“Why would I…” then Joe reached up to his ears. “Points! My ears have points! What’s happening?”

“You didn’t tell him, did you,” Levi David said, walking over. “Did you think he wouldn’t notice?”

“No, well, I just forgot,” Joe’s grandfather said. “I’m used to them.”

“Now you are,” Wyatt James said. “But I seem to recall you trying to yank them off when this first happened to you during that time when the toy supplies were taken.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that too.”

“Joe,” Levi David said, “what your clueless grandfather here should have done was tell you about your heritage. You are what we elves like to call a blend. You are a human boy with elfin blood. There aren’t many of you, but you play an important role protecting Christmas.

“Whenever you are involved in something for Santa, and everything involving Santa has elves, your hidden elf comes to the surface. I know this is a bit of a shock, but you will come to accept it.”

Joe kept rubbing his ears. “Yeah, but what if somebody sees me?”

Levi reached over and pulled Joe’s hands away from his ears. “Here’s a little advice from experience, don’t keep rubbing your ears, they’ll get red and irritated and it is not a pleasant feeling.

“And don’t worry about others finding out, at least the non-magical. Almost no one will know about you. But remember this: all magical creatures recognize one another, and they are not all friendly.”

Joe started to reach for his ears again, then pulled his hand back. “Ah, anything else I should know, grandfather?”

The two elves and Joe stared at the now embarrassed old man. “Nope, that’s it. The occasional pointy ears. Sorry, pal, I should’ve told you.”

“Okay,” Joe said, “you’re forgiven. Now let’s go find the nowhere man.”

Making their way through the snow, without the slightest hint of any trail or signs of other creatures, the troop trudged along.

“Any idea where we are going?” Joe’s grandfather asked.

“Not really,” Joe answered, “I just remember reading something about letting the terrain lead you. I hope I remembered that right.”

They marched on for what seemed like hours before Joe stopped them.

“Listen,” he said.

The group stood in silence, straining to hear.

“Hear it?” Joe said.

Joe’s grandfather leaned toward him. “Told you those ears would be useful.”

“Shh,” Joe said. “Listen!”

Faint at first, then becoming more distinct, they could hear someone, or something, humming.

“Where’s it coming from?” Levi David asked.

“Over that ridge,” Joe said, pointing. “Let’s go but be quiet.”

Making their way to the top of the ridge, they stayed low to the ground trying to spot the source of the sound. A sudden wind swirled snow all around masking their view. But occasionally, they could make out movement.

“There,” Joe pointed. “It’s right there and it’s moving this way. We better…” But before he finished his sentence, he was blinded by sudden flash of light and painfully loud noise. 

Then nothing by silence.

Joe felt around, pushing himself to sit, trying to clear his mind. Light and shadows danced in his eyes. He felt the heat of a fire and the flame soon came into focus. Finding himself in an overstuffed chair in front of a huge stone fireplace, he tried to make sense of the confusing scene.

“Comfortable?” a voice said, raspy, almost grating on the ears, coming from his left.

“Where am I?” Joe said.

“Exactly where you wanted to be, nowhere,” the voice said.

“Where is everyone else?” Joe said, looking around, trying to see the shadowy figure in the next chair.

“They’re fine, back in Christmas town by now. Of course, by now the memory is gone.”

“They left me?” Joe said. “I don’t believe that.” He tried to rise but couldn’t move off the chair. He saw nothing holding him but still couldn’t stand. “And what do you mean, the memory is gone?”

“If you agree to behave, I will release the bonds that hold you,” the creature said. “And explain.”

“Okay, fine. But you better not have harmed them,” Joe said.

“I’ve never harmed anyone in my entire life.”

Tomorrow: The Test