THE NORTH PEAK CHRONICLES™

 

The Last Lesson

 

Part Two — The Missing Flight

 

The northern flight team had vanished over Silverwind Ridge.

 

That was all anyone knew.

 

One moment, four young reindeer and their training guides had been completing an evening practice flight beneath clear skies.

 

The next—

 

nothing.

 

No bells.

 

No lantern signals.

 

No return call.

 

Only an empty stretch of darkness beyond the mountains.

 

North Peak moved quickly.

 

Stable doors opened.

 

Lanterns flared to life.

 

Elves hurried through the snow carrying ropes, blankets, signal flares, maps, and emergency cocoa.

 

Pebblemint carried three emergency cocoas.

 

All for himself.

 

“It helps me think,” he explained.

 

“You haven’t stopped talking long enough to think,” Twinkletips said.

 

“That is how fast I’m doing it.”

 

Inside the Reindeer Training Arena, Merryfin stood beside Tobias while Snowblossom fastened a warm blanket around Prance.

 

The young calf had awakened during the commotion and now watched everyone with wide, worried eyes.

 

“Which reindeer are missing?” Merryfin asked.

 

Tobias studied the flight chart spread across a wooden table.

 

“Bramble, Starstep, Juniper, and Frostfoot.”

 

Snowblossom’s expression fell.

 

“They’re barely old enough for ridge practice.”

 

“They were ready,” Tobias said.

 

His voice remained calm.

 

But Merryfin saw the tension in his shoulders.

 

The missing reindeer were not calves.

 

They had trained for months.

 

They knew basic formations, emergency landing procedures, and how to follow North Peak signal bells.

 

But Silverwind Ridge was unforgiving.

 

Its narrow passes twisted between steep cliffs.

 

Its winds changed direction without warning.

 

And after dark—

 

the snow could hide almost anything.

 

Twinkletips rushed to the table and unrolled three maps at once.

 

“Their planned route began here, curved around Frostcap Point, then returned over the lower valley.”

 

She tapped several marks rapidly.

 

“If they stayed on course, they should have returned nineteen minutes ago.”

 

Jollywhip examined the lantern signals listed beside the route.

 

“No distress flare?”

 

“None.”

 

“No broken harness alarm?”

 

“None.”

 

“No emergency bell?”

 

Twinkletips swallowed.

 

“Nothing.”

 

Merryfin looked toward the arena doors.

 

Outside, the wind had begun to rise.

 

Snow swept sideways across the village streets.

 

Tobias lifted his brass whistle.

 

“We’ll take the senior flight team.”

 

Merryfin immediately reached for his coat.

 

“I’m coming.”

 

Tobias shook his head.

 

“No.”

 

Merryfin stopped.

 

“But you said to gather my team.”

 

“To help prepare the rescue.”

 

“I can do more than prepare.”

 

“You have never flown Silverwind Ridge at night.”

 

“I’ve studied it.”

 

“Studying a storm and standing inside one are different things.”

 

Merryfin’s spark flickered sharply beneath his coat.

 

“Then how am I supposed to learn?”

 

The arena fell quiet.

 

Snowblossom glanced between them.

 

Twinkletips slowly lowered her map.

 

Pebblemint took a careful sip of cocoa.

 

Tobias studied Merryfin for a long moment.

 

Merryfin’s face flushed.

 

He had not meant to sound challenging.

 

Especially not toward Tobias.

 

But four young reindeer were lost.

 

And something inside him refused to remain safely behind.

 

“I’m sorry,” Merryfin said. “I didn’t mean—”

 

“You meant exactly what you said.”

 

Tobias folded the map.

 

“And you are right.”

 

Merryfin blinked.

 

Tobias handed him a flight harness.

 

“You’re coming.”

 

Pebblemint nearly spilled all three cocoas.

 

“I’m coming too.”

 

“No,” Tobias and Merryfin said together.

 

Pebblemint frowned.

 

“You two are becoming alarmingly similar.”

 

Tobias pointed toward the arena.

 

“You will help Jollywhip prepare the warming stalls.”

 

Pebblemint’s eyes widened.

 

“For injured reindeer?”

 

“For cold ones,” Snowblossom said gently.

 

Pebblemint straightened immediately.

 

“I will make them the warmest stalls in the history of warmth.”

 

“That is not measurable,” Twinkletips muttered.

 

“Not with that attitude.”

 

Tobias looked toward Snowblossom.

 

“You’re coming with us.”

 

She nodded.

 

“Twinkletips?”

 

The young elf clutched her maps.

 

“Yes?”

 

“You’ll track the wind shifts from here. Send signal updates every five minutes.”

 

Twinkletips paled.

 

“From here?”

 

“You know the ridge calculations better than anyone.”

 

“But what if I calculate something wrong?”

 

Tobias rested one hand on the table.

 

“Then you correct it.”

 

Twinkletips looked down at the maps.

 

Tobias continued quietly.

 

“Being trusted does not mean you will never make a mistake.”

 

Her eyes lifted.

 

“It means someone believes you will keep trying after one.”

 

Twinkletips drew a slow breath.

 

Then nodded.

 

“I can do that.”

 

“I know.”

 

Tobias turned toward the open doors.

 

A senior reindeer team waited outside beneath falling snow.

 

Their antlers glowed pale gold in the darkness.

 

Merryfin fastened his harness.

 

His hands trembled slightly.

 

Snowblossom noticed.

 

“Nervous?” she asked.

 

“Not at all.”

 

His buckle slipped from his fingers.

 

Snowblossom caught it.

 

“Your hands disagree.”

 

Merryfin gave her a weak smile.

 

“I’m trying not to let my heart shout too loudly.”

 

Snowblossom fastened the buckle for him.

 

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be quiet.”

 

He looked at her.

 

“Just honest.”

 

Before Merryfin could answer, Tobias called from outside.

 

“Flight team ready!”

 

Snowblossom smiled softly.

 

“Come on.”

 

Merryfin followed her into the storm.

 

⸻

 

The senior reindeer lifted from North Peak in a rush of snow and golden light.

 

Tobias rode at the front.

 

Merryfin flew beside him.

 

Snowblossom followed behind with two rescue blankets strapped across her back.

 

Below them, North Peak grew smaller.

 

Its glowing rooftops faded beneath the snow.

 

Ahead—

 

Silverwind Ridge disappeared into a wall of darkness.

 

Merryfin held tightly to the reins.

 

The wind struck hard from the left.

 

The reindeer shifted beneath him.

 

“Lean with them!” Tobias called.

 

Merryfin adjusted too quickly.

 

His sleigh runner dipped.

 

Snow sprayed upward.

 

“Not against the wind,” Tobias shouted. “With the reindeer!”

 

Merryfin loosened his grip.

 

The team corrected itself.

 

The sleigh leveled.

 

His heart pounded.

 

“That felt wrong!”

 

“Most new things do!”

 

Another gust struck.

 

This time, Merryfin followed the reindeer’s movement instead of forcing his own.

 

The sleigh glided through it.

 

Tobias glanced toward him.

 

“Better.”

 

Merryfin smiled despite himself.

 

They entered the first mountain pass.

 

Cliffs rose on both sides.

 

Snow curled through the narrow opening like smoke.

 

The world beyond their lanterns disappeared completely.

 

Merryfin could barely see Tobias ahead.

 

A signal flare suddenly streaked across the sky behind them.

 

Green.

 

Twinkletips’s first update.

 

Tobias looked back.

 

“Wind turning north!”

 

Merryfin nodded.

 

They climbed higher.

 

Silverwind Ridge lived up to its name.

 

Wind screamed between the peaks.

 

It rattled the harness bells and pushed against the sleigh rails.

 

Snowblossom leaned forward beside her reindeer.

 

“They’re frightened,” she called.

 

“The senior team?” Merryfin asked.

 

“No.”

 

She closed her eyes briefly.

 

“The missing ones.”

 

Merryfin stared into the darkness.

 

“You can feel them?”

 

“Faintly.”

 

“Where?”

 

Snowblossom turned her face toward the western cliffs.

 

“That way.”

 

Tobias looked toward the route.

 

“Their planned path was east.”

 

“They aren’t east.”

 

Tobias studied the storm.

 

Then nodded.

 

“We follow Snowblossom.”

 

Merryfin turned with him.

 

They left the marked route.

 

The ridge became steeper.

 

Jagged rocks pushed through the snow.

 

The wind narrowed between the cliffs until it sounded almost like voices.

 

Merryfin strained to see beyond the lantern glow.

 

“Why would they come this far west?”

 

Tobias’s answer disappeared beneath a sudden roar.

 

A wall of snow swept down from the upper ridge.

 

“DOWN!” Tobias shouted.

 

The reindeer dropped sharply.

 

Merryfin’s stomach rose into his throat.

 

Snow rushed over them.

 

For one terrifying second, he could see nothing.

 

His hands tightened.

 

The sleigh tilted.

 

The reins pulled hard.

 

Panic surged through him.

 

Then he remembered Prancer.

 

Not the fear.

 

The lesson.

 

Merryfin closed his eyes for half a heartbeat.

 

He stopped fighting.

 

He felt the reindeer beneath him.

 

Their movement.

 

Their worry.

 

Their instinct.

 

“Easy,” he whispered. “I’m with you.”

 

The team steadied.

 

The sleigh broke through the snow cloud.

 

Merryfin opened his eyes.

 

Tobias was still ahead.

 

Snowblossom emerged behind them.

 

Everyone was safe.

 

Merryfin exhaled shakily.

 

Tobias looked over.

 

“You listened.”

 

Merryfin nodded.

 

“To them.”

 

Tobias’s eyes warmed.

 

“Good.”

 

A second flare streaked across the sky.

 

Yellow.

 

Twinkletips’s warning signal.

 

Merryfin looked toward Tobias.

 

“What does yellow mean?”

 

“Wind pressure rising.”

 

“How much?”

 

A third flare followed immediately.

 

Another yellow.

 

Then another.

 

Tobias’s expression changed.

 

“Too much.”

 

The wind struck from beneath them.

 

The sleighs lifted violently.

 

Snowblossom cried out.

 

One of her rescue blankets tore loose and vanished into the darkness.

 

The reindeer struggled to maintain formation.

 

Tobias raised his whistle and blew two sharp notes.

 

The team pulled closer together.

 

“Three Bell Formation!” he shouted.

 

Merryfin’s eyes widened.

 

He knew the formation.

 

Everyone did.

 

Three sleigh teams flew close enough for their magic to overlap, creating a shared shield against extreme wind.

 

But Merryfin had never performed it outside the arena.

 

“Take the left point!” Tobias called.

 

Merryfin guided his team outward.

 

Snowblossom moved right.

 

Tobias remained at the front.

 

Their harness bells began to ring in sequence.

 

One.

 

Two.

 

Three.

 

Golden light stretched between them.

 

The wind slammed into the formation.

 

The shield flickered.

 

Merryfin’s arms shook.

 

“Hold!”

 

The reindeer pulled together.

 

The golden light strengthened.

 

For several seconds, they pushed through the storm.

 

Then Tobias’s left runner struck a hidden shelf of ice.

 

CRACK.

 

The sleigh lurched.

 

One of the harness lines snapped.

 

Tobias was thrown sideways.

 

“Master Tobias!” Merryfin shouted.

 

Tobias caught the railing with one hand.

 

His reindeer scattered out of formation.

 

The shared shield collapsed instantly.

 

Wind tore through them.

 

Snowblossom’s sleigh spun toward the cliff.

 

Merryfin did not think.

 

He moved.

 

“Snowblossom, climb!”

 

She pulled upward.

 

Her reindeer rose just before striking the rocks.

 

Merryfin turned toward Tobias.

 

The broken sleigh dropped beneath him.

 

Tobias struggled to hold on.

 

“Release the rear line!” Merryfin shouted.

 

Tobias looked up.

 

“What?”

 

“Release it!”

 

“The sleigh will swing!”

 

“That’s the point!”

 

Tobias reached for the rear hook and released it.

 

The damaged sleigh swung beneath the lead harness.

 

Merryfin guided his own team beside it.

 

“Now pull right!”

 

Tobias shifted his weight.

 

The two sleighs moved together.

 

Merryfin’s outer runner caught beneath Tobias’s damaged frame.

 

For one breathless moment, they flew connected.

 

Unsteady.

 

Dangerous.

 

But upright.

 

Snowblossom moved back into position.

 

“Reform!” Merryfin shouted.

 

Tobias looked at him.

 

Merryfin raised his whistle.

 

Three notes rang through the storm.

 

One.

 

Two.

 

Three.

 

The teams closed together.

 

Golden light returned between them.

 

This time, Merryfin flew at the front.

 

Tobias’s damaged sleigh held the right side.

 

Snowblossom took the left.

 

The wind struck.

 

The shield bent.

 

But it did not break.

 

They pushed forward.

 

Tobias watched Merryfin from behind.

 

He said nothing.

 

He didn’t need to.

 

⸻

 

Far below, Twinkletips stared at the wind gauges inside the arena.

 

Every needle shook violently.

 

Parchment maps covered the walls.

 

Strings stretched between route markers.

 

Tiny bells rang whenever the rescue team crossed a signal point.

 

Jollywhip rushed between the gauges tightening screws.

 

Pebblemint carried heated stones into the warming stalls.

 

“Signal?” he called.

 

“Nothing yet.”

 

“Wind?”

 

“Bad.”

 

“How bad?”

 

Twinkletips adjusted her glasses.

 

“Scientifically?”

 

“No.”

 

“Extremely.”

 

Pebblemint hurried faster.

 

Jollywhip examined a brass tracking dial.

 

“The flight magic just shifted west.”

 

Twinkletips froze.

 

“They left the route.”

 

“Snowblossom must have sensed something.”

 

Twinkletips rushed to the western map.

 

She traced the valleys.

 

“If the missing team was pushed west, they may have crossed Hollowglass Pass.”

 

Jollywhip looked up sharply.

 

“That pass ends at a cliff.”

 

“Not completely.”

 

Twinkletips pulled another map free.

 

“There’s a maintenance shelf beneath it.”

 

“How wide?”

 

She measured quickly.

 

“Wide enough for reindeer.”

 

“And a sleigh?”

 

Twinkletips hesitated.

 

“No.”

 

Pebblemint stopped moving.

 

“What happens to the sleigh?”

 

Nobody answered.

 

Twinkletips grabbed a red flare.

 

She rushed outside and fired it toward the mountains.

 

The flare climbed high above North Peak.

 

Red light burst across the storm.

 

⸻

 

Merryfin saw the red flare through the snow.

 

“Danger signal!”

 

Tobias looked toward the western cliffs.

 

“Hollowglass Pass.”

 

Snowblossom’s face tightened.

 

“I can feel them more clearly now.”

 

“Are they alive?” Merryfin asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

She hesitated.

 

“But one is hurt.”

 

They pushed deeper into the ridge.

 

The cliffs narrowed.

 

Wind funneled between them with enough force to shake the reindeer.

 

Merryfin’s formation held.

 

Barely.

 

At last, the pass opened.

 

A broken training sleigh hung from a rocky ledge.

 

One runner had snapped completely.

 

The guide ropes had become tangled around an ice pillar.

 

Three young reindeer huddled beneath the cliff.

 

A fourth lay several feet away.

 

Starstep.

 

Her front leg was trapped beneath a fallen harness beam.

 

The two young elf guides waved frantically.

 

“Here!”

 

“We’re here!”

 

Snowblossom landed first.

 

She rushed toward Starstep.

 

Tobias and Merryfin brought the senior teams down beside the ledge.

 

The moment Merryfin’s boots touched the snow, one of the guides grabbed his coat.

 

“The wind pushed us off course. We tried to land, but the sleigh broke apart.”

 

“You did the right thing,” Merryfin said.

 

The young guide shook his head.

 

“We lost the signal lantern.”

 

“You kept the reindeer together.”

 

“But—”

 

“You kept them together,” Merryfin repeated.

 

The guide’s breathing slowed.

 

Tobias heard the exchange.

 

Again, he said nothing.

 

Jollywhip was not there to fix the beam.

 

Twinkletips was not there to calculate the safest angle.

 

Pebblemint was not there to accidentally make everyone laugh.

 

It was only them.

 

Tobias crouched beside the fallen harness.

 

“The beam is frozen into the snow.”

 

Snowblossom stroked Starstep’s neck.

 

“She’s frightened, but I don’t think the leg is broken.”

 

Merryfin examined the beam.

 

“We can lift it together.”

 

Tobias shook his head.

 

“If the wind shifts while we lift, the entire harness could slide toward the cliff.”

 

Merryfin looked around.

 

The remaining sleigh runners.

 

The spare ropes.

 

The ice pillar.

 

He remembered the damaged sleigh above.

 

An idea formed.

 

“We don’t lift it.”

 

Tobias looked toward him.

 

“We pull it sideways.”

 

“With what?”

 

Merryfin pointed toward the senior reindeer.

 

“We make a ground formation.”

 

Tobias studied the slope.

 

“The Three Bell Formation is designed for flight.”

 

“The reindeer don’t know that.”

 

For the briefest moment, Tobias smiled.

 

They tied three ropes to the beam.

 

One team faced north.

 

One east.

 

One west.

 

Merryfin positioned himself in the center.

 

Tobias took the north line.

 

Snowblossom remained beside Starstep.

 

“The pull has to happen at exactly the same time,” Tobias warned.

 

Merryfin nodded.

 

He raised the whistle.

 

The young reindeer shifted nervously.

 

Merryfin could feel their fear.

 

Starstep’s.

 

The guides’.

 

His own.

 

He lowered the whistle.

 

“Wait.”

 

Tobias frowned.

 

“The wind is rising.”

 

“I know.”

 

Merryfin walked to each reindeer team.

 

He touched their harnesses gently.

 

Looked into their eyes.

 

Spoke quietly.

 

“We’re not pulling against each other.”

 

The reindeer watched him.

 

“We’re helping Starstep.”

 

Their breathing slowed.

 

Merryfin returned to the center.

 

Tobias looked at him.

 

“Ready?”

 

Merryfin listened.

 

Not to the wind.

 

Not to the creaking beam.

 

To the living hearts around him.

 

“Yes.”

 

He lifted the whistle.

 

One clear note rang across Hollowglass Pass.

 

The reindeer pulled.

 

The ropes tightened.

 

For one second, nothing happened.

 

Then the beam shifted.

 

Snow cracked beneath it.

 

“Hold!” Merryfin shouted.

 

The teams pulled together.

 

The beam slid sideways.

 

Starstep dragged her leg free.

 

Snowblossom pulled her back just as the harness crashed toward the cliff.

 

The beam disappeared into the darkness below.

 

Everyone stood frozen.

 

Then Starstep rose shakily.

 

She placed weight on the injured leg.

 

Snowblossom smiled.

 

“She can walk.”

 

The young guides cheered.

 

Merryfin lowered the whistle.

 

His hands were shaking again.

 

Tobias walked toward him.

 

“You changed the formation.”

 

Merryfin swallowed.

 

“It worked.”

 

“It did.”

 

“Was that wrong?”

 

Tobias glanced at Starstep.

 

The young reindeer pressed her nose against Merryfin’s shoulder.

 

“No.”

 

Tobias smiled.

 

“That was leadership.”

 

⸻

 

The return flight was slower.

 

Starstep rode inside Tobias’s repaired rescue sleigh.

 

The remaining young reindeer flew within the senior formation.

 

Merryfin remained at the front.

 

No one asked him to.

 

The others simply followed.

 

The wind had weakened slightly, but snow still covered the mountains.

 

North Peak remained hidden beyond the ridge.

 

Merryfin checked each team repeatedly.

 

“Bramble?”

 

A bell answered.

 

“Juniper?”

 

Another bell.

 

“Frostfoot?”

 

A third.

 

“Starstep?”

 

From inside Tobias’s sleigh came a soft snort.

 

Merryfin smiled.

 

“All together.”

 

The teams tightened formation.

 

Behind him, Tobias watched.

 

Merryfin’s flight was not flawless.

 

He turned too widely around Frostcap Point.

 

He nearly missed Twinkletips’s green flare through the snow.

 

And during their descent, one runner clipped the top of a pine tree and carried three branches all the way back to North Peak.

 

But they returned.

 

Every one of them.

 

The village erupted into cheers as the flight teams descended over the arena.

 

Pebblemint ran alongside the landing sleighs waving both arms.

 

“You found them!”

 

Then he tripped over a feed bucket.

 

The bucket flew into the air.

 

Landed over his head.

 

And continued shouting:

 

“You found them!”

 

Mrs. Claus rushed toward Starstep with blankets and peppermint salve.

 

Snowblossom helped the young reindeer into the warming stall.

 

Jollywhip immediately began examining the damaged sleigh.

 

Twinkletips hurried toward Merryfin holding seven pages of calculations.

 

“You left the official route.”

 

“We did.”

 

“You flew directly through a pressure shift.”

 

“We did.”

 

“You changed the Three Bell Formation.”

 

“We did.”

 

Twinkletips stared at him.

 

“That was either brilliant or mathematically upsetting.”

 

“Can it be both?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She smiled.

 

“It usually is.”

 

Santa stepped into the arena.

 

The gathered elves quieted.

 

He looked first toward Tobias.

 

Then toward Merryfin.

 

“I hear the missing flight team has returned.”

 

Tobias nodded.

 

“Every reindeer. Every guide.”

 

Santa’s eyes moved to Merryfin.

 

“And who led them home?”

 

Merryfin glanced toward Tobias.

 

Tobias did not speak.

 

Merryfin looked toward Snowblossom, the senior teams, and the young guides.

 

“We all did.”

 

Santa smiled.

 

“Of course you did.”

 

Merryfin’s spark glowed softly beneath his coat.

 

The village bells rang in celebration.

 

⸻

 

Later that night, the arena had grown quiet again.

 

Starstep slept beneath three enchanted blankets.

 

Prance slept in the stall beside her.

 

Pebblemint had fallen asleep sitting upright between them while holding an empty cocoa mug.

 

Twinkletips remained at the map table, correcting wind records.

 

Jollywhip repaired the damaged sleigh beneath a hanging lantern.

 

Snowblossom sat beside Starstep, gently brushing snow from her fur.

 

Merryfin stood alone near the open arena doors.

 

The storm had passed.

 

Stars glimmered above North Peak.

 

Tobias approached quietly.

 

Merryfin looked toward him.

 

“I thought you were going to tell Santa you led the rescue.”

 

“I didn’t.”

 

“Why?”

 

Tobias leaned against the doorway.

 

“Because I didn’t.”

 

Merryfin frowned.

 

“You were there.”

 

“So were you.”

 

“You knew the ridge.”

 

“You knew the reindeer.”

 

“You saved my sleigh.”

 

“You saved the formation.”

 

Merryfin looked down.

 

“I didn’t know if any of it would work.”

 

Tobias nodded.

 

“Neither did I.”

 

Merryfin laughed softly.

 

“You keep saying things like that.”

 

“Because you keep expecting experience to feel like certainty.”

 

Tobias looked out across the village.

 

“It doesn’t.”

 

The distant lights of North Peak reflected in the snow.

 

Merryfin’s expression became thoughtful.

 

“When your sleigh broke…”

 

He hesitated.

 

“I was afraid.”

 

“So was I.”

 

“But I moved anyway.”

 

Tobias looked at him.

 

“That is courage.”

 

Merryfin watched Snowblossom through the stable window as she adjusted Starstep’s blankets.

 

“The reindeer trusted me.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The others did too.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Merryfin swallowed.

 

“What happens if someday they trust me and I choose wrong?”

 

Tobias’s face softened.

 

“You will.”

 

Merryfin stared at him.

 

“That was not comforting.”

 

“No leader chooses correctly every time.”

 

Tobias straightened.

 

“The question is not whether you will make mistakes.”

 

He nodded toward the arena behind them.

 

“The question is whether your heart remains open enough to hear when someone else knows better.”

 

Merryfin thought of Snowblossom sensing the lost reindeer.

 

Twinkletips finding Hollowglass Pass.

 

The young guides keeping the team together.

 

The reindeer pulling in formation.

 

Everyone had carried part of the rescue.

 

No one had carried all of it.

 

Merryfin smiled slightly.

 

“Christmas works because everyone plays their role.”

 

Tobias looked at him.

 

The words hung quietly between them.

 

Merryfin blinked.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

But Tobias’s expression had changed.

 

Not sadness.

 

Not quite.

 

Something softer.

 

Something proud.

 

He placed one hand on Merryfin’s shoulder.

 

“You did well tonight.”

 

“Thank you, Master Tobias.”

 

Tobias looked toward the brass whistle hanging against his coat.

 

Then back toward Merryfin.

 

For one moment, it seemed as though he might say something more.

 

Instead, a loud metallic crash echoed from the far side of North Peak.

 

The arena windows rattled.

 

Jollywhip’s head snapped up.

 

Twinkletips dropped her pen.

 

Pebblemint woke inside the stable.

 

“I DIDN’T TOUCH ANYTHING!”

 

A plume of black smoke rose above the village rooftops.

 

Then came the unmistakable sound of Mrs. Claus shouting:

 

“THE OVEN!”

 

Jollywhip’s face went pale.

 

“The Great Bakery Oven.”

 

Another crash shook the village.

 

Orange light flared behind the bakery windows.

 

Tobias turned toward the door.

 

Merryfin reached for his coat.

 

But Jollywhip was already running.

 

For once—

 

the quietest elf in North Peak did not wait for anyone to tell him what to do.

 

End of Part Two