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Chapter Twelve
Sitting in the driver’s seat of the sleigh, I surveyed the sparse woods, studying shadows for any movement. I reached over to the glove compartment with a shaky hand and clicked it open to find a crowded mess. Good to know even Santa shoved everything in this section of his vehicle. I pulled out bundles of receipts and a log book, setting them on the floor, along with a lighter and Swiss army knife, which I held on to just in case. “Yes.” Finally, a real weapon, even if small.
There was a silver thermos inside the compartment. The metal was cool to the touch. I unscrewed the lid, and a strong whiff of citrus schnapps teased my nostrils. Alcohol. Fuck, yes! I took a mouthful, and enjoyed the heat running down my throat. It did the trick to heat me up, and I tucked that into my coat pocket.
The next bundle I pulled out were more papers and a magazine titledFutanari Feline Femmeswith a buxom redhead on the front wearing cat ears and a tail, along with a skimpy skirt. I dropped it to the ground because I didn’t need to see that ever! What Santa did in his spare time or when he was on a journey in his sleigh had zilch to do with me.
Just no.
I pawed deeper into the compartment and came back with several small plastic pouches, most empty except one with blue glitter and the wordSleephandwritten on the outside. Based on the thought that anything sparkly in this sleigh did wondrous things, I figured it might come in handy and took that as well. Underneath the seat, I found another blanket, hay, and empty chocolate wrappers. Okay. I also pulled out a plastic toy bucket, probably from one of the deliveries, so I dumped my goods in there.
Having searched the entire sleigh, I found no other weapons, but I remembered the birch branches tied up in the back. Leven had said the stuff would weaken Krampus when used against him, but what was I supposed to do with them? I glanced over into the back at the branches as long as my arms. I reached over and snatched a few of the small twigs and stuffed them into the pail, then got out of the sled.
My boots sunk into the powdery snow, and I held on to my green bucket, feeling silly, gripping the two layers of blankets wrapped around my shoulders for extra warmth. I followed the footprints in the snow.
After a fifteen-minute trek, I reached the perimeter of the woods, and I stood in the shadow of a massive pine. I looked out at a sheer rockface. It was the same one I’d seen from the sled, which meant the cave was near. I turned to where open land spanned outward but remained within the confines of the forest until I found a gaping entrance in the rockface. Shadows danced across the entrance, but when a moose trotted out of the woods and toward the cave, I jumped back behind a tree.God, please don’t let it have seen me.
The moose casually walked into the cave and vanished.Bingo!
Setting the pail down near my feet, I remained still for a long while, watching, but no one else came or left. The wind swirled past, chilling me, and I pulled the blankets tighter around my chest. I needed a plan. If that was where Krampus held my sister, my men, and Santa, and those viscous moose were in there, then I’d bet the beavers were too. The wounds on my legs still stung from their damn sharp teeth. They better not have carried any tetanus.
Strolling in there was a death sentence, so I had to draw them out before I entered. I stared down at my bucket with the lighter and the few tiny twigs. I could collect more timber, but the birch ones in the sleigh were near the heater, drying off. An idea slipped into my thoughts that might help me deal with the animals and even Krampus. Whirling around, I rushed back the way I’d come and darted to the sleigh.
By the time I returned with birch branches under my arms and some papers to help create a fire, I gasped for air and my thighs stung. I waited a while, but no one stirred near the cave, so I crept closer with my belongings. A quick check of the open area showed it all clear. I darted across the path and headed to a gaping hole in the wall, standing at least two feet from the main cave’s entrance.
I tucked myself in there, my breaths shaky, sweat dripping down my back. I scanned the woods, and part of me had expected a deluge of crazed animals to chase me. But nothing happened, and everything seemed too quiet. Too simple. My skin crawled, but what other options did I have? Sit in the sleigh and wait for Krampus to come and take me out? Whatever happened, I was doing it my way.
So no wasting time. I bundled up the branches I’d snapped in half back at the sled and together with the bucket, I hurried to the side of the entrance and pressed my back the stone. Heart pounding in my chest, I peered inside to find a light glow from a tunnel that ran deeper inside. I couldn’t see anyone, so I ducked inside the cave, the wind whistling at my back. I set up half the sticks into a crisscrossed pattern, then pulled the scrunched-up paper from my pocket. I lit a corner with the lighter. Fire sparked up at once, spreading fast, so I dropped it on the pile of wood. But the wind blustered inside, tossing the paper off the wood, and the flames extinguished at once.
Shit!
With the last paper I had, I placed it beneath some of the wood pieces to hold it in place. With my back to the entrance, I lit the bundle and gently blew over the fire as I’d seen on a survival show once. The flame flickered, and it caught on one of the pieces of wood, which was all I asked. Animals ran from smoke, so this had to work. As the fire rose, I bathed in its warmth for a few seconds, then collected the rest of my belongings and darted outside. I kicked the snow away from cave opening, needing to reach the ground, thankful it wasn’t snowing now.
Over the earth, I lay several twigs in a circular pattern a foot away from the door and coated them in a good splash of the schnapps, creating a connected circle. Screwing open the lid back on the thermos, I took one last glance at the fire that roared, sparking and spitting embers. A thin thread of smoke wafted upward, driven deeper into the tunnel by the wind. Perfect.
I sprinted to my little hiding hole and waited, having no clue if I’d done it right. If animals ran out, surely Krampus would investigate. Meaning I’d catch him too.
I’d seen my grandma cast a circle to keep evil spirits at bay she’d say, and found my dad doing it once as well, but neither of them had used tree branches. They’d only poured whiskey or rum on the ground.
At first, nothing happened. I stilled, my pulse racing, struggling against the urge to check if the fire was still burning. I fiddled with the snow at my feet as I remained crouched, forming a ball, compressing it tighter and tighter, figuring it might make for a weapon. I put it into the bucket and made two more but had to stop as my gloved fingers were numb from the cold. I took the thermos and swung back another long drink, needing anything to warm me as the chill dug into my bones.
A thundering grunt erupted nearby, and I flinched, the flask slipping from my grasp and into the pail. Booze spilled over everything, including the snowballs. Oh, shit. I hurried to pull it out and tossed the empty thermos aside.
First, a moose thundered out of the cave, a trail of smoke filtering after it. Then a river of beavers swarmed out. Where exactly had Krampus gotten all those critters, as he clearly controlled them somehow? God, I prayed this was all linked to Krampus and not some random other psycho in the woods who mind-controlled animals. Since arriving in Austria, so much strange shit had happened.
Animal after animal ran outside. My stomach twisted as I gripped the bucket in one hand and the lighter in the other.
Come on, come on. My chest constricted with panic. I hoped Krampus didn’t control the animals from another vantage point and was waiting for his chance to strike me?
Please be inside Krampus.
The animals had all vanished into the woods, and I prayed they didn’t come back. Maybe I’d been mistaken to assume Krampus was in there because he didn’t make an appearance for the longest moment.
I crawled out of my spot, my nose and ears icy, but on the inside, I burned up with trepidation. Creeping closer, I couldn’t stop trembling. The snow squeaked under my boots and the sky seemed to darken. I turned the corner into the cave, skirting around the fire, caught in a cloud of smoke. I coughed when a huge shadow rushed out, an arm flaying toward me.
He collided into me, throwing me backward, causing me to bite my tongue. I jump out of the fire’s way as the most excruciating ache shuddered across my tongue. Salty blood coated my tongue.
The shadow fell over me.
