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‘I’d like that,’ he said. ‘I’d like that very much.’

He didn’t want to leave her, but she had her pupils to attend to. He had something he needed to do, too.

He went over to the theatre, where James’s car sat outside. He remembered walking past it before, feeling a little overawed by something that was light years more advanced than his simple bicycle. This time, he gave it a wide berth, heading for the same back entrance to the theatre that he had used before. Making his way through the corridors, he heard a distant rumbling coming from the theatre itself. Wondering whether there was a performance in progress, he climbed to an upper gallery and opened one of the heavy soundproof doors a crack. Inside, the gallery was dark, the seats empty, but flashing lights were coming from the stage. He crept inside, closing the door, then sneaked down to the edge of the balcony and peered over.

James was down below, standing in the middle of the stage, hands aloft. A number of assistants, some in ghoulish costumes more fitting for Halloween than Christmas, stood nearby, awaiting direction.

‘Let’s bring it on,’ James said. ‘At this point the helicopter will be circling, ready to drop the blanket.’ He waved a hand, and from the back of the stage came a cheap mock-up of a Christmas sleigh, pulled by a couple of men wearing harnesses, reindeer horns on their heads signifying their roles. Another assistant held redundant reins as the two men pulled the sleigh forward.

‘Here,’ James said, lifting a hand. ‘The mirror net comes up here.’ He lifted a hand, and two assistants pulled on ropes, lifting something that literally made the sleigh vanish. Jacob blinked, unsure what he was seeing. All he could see was an empty stage.

‘Good, good,’ James said. ‘The reindeer will be alarmed, so Michael here will run in and secure their reins, turn them back around, lead the sleigh away. The helicopter will lower the blanket, completely obscuring the scene, all the while my entrance music will drown out the sound of the blades. When the blanket goes back up, Father Christmas and his sleigh will be nowhere to be seen.’

James marched to the far side of the stage. Two attendants ran to him, dropping black sheets over him that turned him into little more than a shadow. From somewhere his amplified voice continued, ‘And when the darkness dawns, and the light has fled … I will arise!’

There was a dramatic puff of smoke and the pop of crackers. As the smoke cleared, Jacob covered his mouth to suppress a gasp. Where James had stood was now a terrifying hunchbacked demon, face a barely describable monstrosity of angles and wrinkles and warts. Horns protruded from a straggle of hair, a thick, crocodilian tail slapped back and forth, and hooked, slimy claws had appeared where hands had been.

The demon swung its head back and forth. ‘At this point, the rest of you run in,’ came James’s voice out of the demon’s mouth. ‘You toss those crickets everywhere. Steal every Christmas hat you can, and don’t forget to laugh.’

A cackle of demonic laughter rose from the assembled ghouls. James lifted twisted, prosthetic arms. ‘You are banished, my brother!’ he screamed, in a hideous witch-like voice. ‘Christmas belongs to me, now. Lord Krampus of the dark!’

Lights began to flash and crackers to pop. Smoke rose, and James, laughing, turned and disappeared backstage. The assistants made a few circles of the stage, then ran off.

‘Perfect,’ came James’s voice, normal again. ‘We exit stage right, and vanish into the trees, leaving them to ponder the meaning of their very existence. Good job, everyone. Sandwiches in the back room, then we take it again after lunch.’

Jacob crept back out of the gallery, slipping through the door. He left the theatre, heading back across the park, but now the stage was deserted, everyone having gone home for lunch. So, his suspicions about James had been true. His brother did have something in mind: he planned to disrupt the Christmas festival. Jacob stared at the stage, wondering what he could do.

He had to do something; otherwise his brother would ruin Christmas.