Christmas Curse (Christmas Magic Book 3)

by Alexandra Moody

  In a blur of magic, I disappeared, destined for the Dead Lands, where the evil god Belsnickel awaited.

  Chapter Twenty

  The small patch of flowers I’d created had grown while I’d been gone. They had flourished and now spread beyond the edge of the ruins toward the swamplands, bringing brightness and life to a dead world. My heart swelled to see them thriving, but they weren’t the only difference I noticed to the landscape.

  I stood in the new sleigh point I’d created, my mouth dropping open as I looked around at what had once been the outskirts of the palace ruins. The mist that had once swirled across the land was gone, and smooth new paving stones extended into the distance. The ruins of the palace had been brought back to life, and a city made of gleaming white stone stood before me.

  I felt frozen to the spot as I took it all in. I knew I was facing a powerful god, but the strength of his magic left me stunned. Belsnickel had repaired the broken ruins and recreated the entire city, and I couldn’t begin to fathom the amount of magic the feat must have required. My pathetic part claus—part god—powers couldn’t compete, and the stake I had in my backpack suddenly seemed like a pathetic tool to face him with.

  “You can do this,” a soft voice sounded in my head.

  I spun around and was shocked to find Adara standing behind me. Her gleaming white mane flowed gently in the breeze as the mari lwyd bowed her skeletal head in greeting.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked her.

  “I knew you would come, and I waited for your return,” she replied.

  I walked over and brushed a hand against her cool bone jaw. “You shouldn’t be here. What if you get caught up in Belsnickel’s persuasion?” I asked.

  “He does not affect me,” she replied. “We are not creations of gods but were brought into existence by the mother.”

  “Are you saying Sage was your mother too?”

  “Yes. The gods were not her only creation.”

  My heart clenched painfully as I thought of the beautiful tree nymph in her last moments. Sage was now gone, and though she had already been dying when I found her, I felt like I had something to do with it.

  “Do not worry, young one,” Adara replied. “Our mother is not gone.”

  It certainly didn’t feel that way, but I nodded in deference to the ancient being before me.

  “I need to get to Belsnickel,” I told her.

  “He dwells in the palace,” she replied. “I will take you there.”

  She lowered her body to the ground, and I climbed onto her back. I hadn’t quite realized just how terrified and alone I was upon arriving in the Dead Lands until Adara had appeared. I was so grateful she was with me so I didn’t have to journey to the palace on my own.

  She started down the paved road, heading past the brand-new buildings that lined the street. The structures were all identical, and although they were freshly rebuilt, they looked like they had been designed in a time long forgotten with flat roofs and oval doors and windows. Even though I had only seen them in ruin, many of the buildings felt familiar to me as though Belsnickel had simply returned them to their former glory. I suspected he had recreated the city exactly as it stood before it was destroyed.

  There were no magical beings in the streets, and no sound came from within any of the buildings. The place was empty of life, but I still felt on edge. I couldn’t be sure how long it would remain so quiet.

  The sky overhead grew darker as we traveled deeper into the city, and the shadows that stretched across the street now enveloped me entirely. It wouldn’t be long until night descended, and it was so quiet I could hear my heart beating in my chest.

  Nerves coursed through me, causing my hands to sweat as I gripped Adara’s back. I didn’t feel ready to face Belsnickel. I wasn’t a warrior, and I wasn’t an expert at magic. I was only just learning to use my creation powers, and yet I was somehow supposed to defeat a god.

  “You have the heart of our mother,” Adara said. “That is all the power you need.”

  Her words were meant to reassure me, but I didn’t think anything could make me feel better right now. I somehow had to stake Belsnickel with the weapon I carried, and to do that, I needed to get close to him. How I was supposed to do that, I wasn’t sure.

  It didn’t help my nerves that I kept thinking of Dash and the others who were currently deep in battle. Dash had said there were thousands of dark beings amassed on the meadow, and I desperately hoped they were all okay. I felt in my heart that Dash was still alive, but I knew I couldn’t be certain.

  It was dark by the time we reached the wall that surrounded the palace, and the worry and apprehension swirling in my gut intensified at the sight. The wall had been such a crumbling ruin the last time I’d seen it we had just walked through one of the gaping holes in the stone to enter the palace. Now though, it was as pristine and new as the city that surrounded me. It looked indomitable.

  “How am I supposed to get past that?” I muttered.

  “There are gates we may pass through,” Adara said. “I will take you to them.”

  She made her way along the bottom of the wall until we found the entrance she spoke of. The gates were huge, almost half as high as the wall, and they stood open, allowing the moonlight to filter in to the palace grounds. A cold breeze wafted against my skin as I looked through the gates, and I pushed down a shiver that was born from more than the cool air. The way ahead looked too open and too inviting. Could I really just enter the palace through the front gateway?

  “He cannot see we are coming,” Adara said, reading my thoughts. “He relies too firmly on his powers of prophecy and does not believe he is in any danger.”

  I nodded, though I still felt on edge as we started through the gates and entered the palace grounds. Though it was dark, the moon lit the palace brightly. It was far more impressive than I ever could have imagined from the ruins I’d seen before with gorgeous manicured gardens and water features dotted throughout them. The palace itself stood grandly in the center of it all, rising up several floors in height and spread wide across the impressive grounds.

  It was all cast in darkness though, and I didn’t know where to begin to find Belsnickel. Not a single torch lit the palace from within. After so many years in the darkness of the prison, I thought that maybe the god preferred the shadows to the light.

  I climbed off Adara now we were in the palace grounds and pulled my bag from my back, taking the pine stake from within it. The wood tingled painfully against my skin, and I gritted my teeth as I gripped onto it. I wanted to put it away, but I knew I needed to keep it close now I had reached my destination.

  “Thank you for getting me this far,” I told Adara. “But I must leave you now. I don’t want you getting hurt, and this is something I must do alone.”

  I expected her to protest, but Adara bowed her large head down in acquiescence. “Be safe, young one,” she said.

  I nodded and turned to face the palace once more. Had I been here for any other reason I might have marveled at the beauty of the grand structure. I would have stared in wonder as I took in the way the moonlight danced over the scenic ponds and lit up the sprinkling water of the fountains. The place looked magical even in the darkness. But, right now, my heart was hard and my eyes were wary, and I couldn’t appreciate the beauty that surrounded me.

  I started down a long pathway that cut through the garden toward the huge pillars marking the entrance to the palace. The pillars had all been crumbling or completely collapsed the last time I’d seen them, but now, they stood tall and impressively high. I silently walked up the stairs, my skin growing increasingly chilled with fear as I stepped closer to the entrance.

  I was trying to be brave and to ignore the terror that gripped my heart, but both felt impossible to do. I gripped the stake tightly in my hand despite the way my skin protested against it. I could smell magic in the air all around me, and the fragrance was growing more pungent with every step I took.

  When
I reached the top of the staircase, I froze. Standing in the center of the courtyard beyond, basked in moonlight, was Belsnickel. He was staring up at the sky with his back to me, but I could see his dark green magic lethargically swirling around one of his fists.

  I swallowed and started to creep forward, passing the tall pillars on either side of me as I entered the courtyard. My heart was beating so quickly, and it took everything in me not to light my fingertips with magic for protection. I still had the element of surprise, and I couldn’t risk him sensing my magic. My body was tense, and icy fear rippled across my skin as I continued toward the god.

  I was halfway across the courtyard when he suddenly started to speak.

  “I have to admit, I’m surprised you managed to get this far without alerting me to your presence, young one,” he said before he spun around and focused his cruel eyes on me. I stilled under his cutting gaze, and a dark smile lit the corner of his lips. The green magic flowing around his hands grew darker in color and began to extend from his hands and up his arms. His eyes then dropped to my hand, and his expression became more troubled.

  “Though that is one twist I didn’t expect. You shouldn’t have that,” he said, nodding at the stake in my hand. “My mother’s tree was dead. But it is of no matter. I can easily deal with her heart.”

  He lifted his arms, and magic shot from his hands, streaking through the air toward me in a blur of dark glittering green. I slammed my free hand out in front of me through, forming a golden barrier between us with my magic. I stared at it with shock. My power had formed a glittering bubble of protection around me. It had formed out of pure instinct, and I was surprised by how quickly my creation powers had rushed to my aid.

  The barrier grew brighter as I continued to feed my powers into it, and I realized that other colors were beginning to mix with my own golden magic. The various light and dark colors of Sage’s magic swirled through the barrier alongside mine, strengthening it into something entirely impenetrable. The stake I held in my other hand definitely wasn’t any regular kind of pine, and it seemed like the wood was magnify my powers, making them stronger and more potent than I’d ever experienced before.

  Belsnickel’s powers swirled around me, continuing to slam into the barrier I’d created with unfathomable force. I gritted my teeth as I strained against his magical assault. My barrier held strong, but every blow shook me to my core, and it felt like I was being pummeled by a battering ram. He was so powerful and so strong, and I knew beyond doubt that my powers alone would be no match for him.

  As he funneled more magic into his attack, I dropped to my knees. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold up under the constant pressure of his attack. His magic was weighing down on me like an impossibly heavy load, and I wasn’t sure that I was strong enough to bear it.

  My barrier held strong, but it was growing harder for me to keep it up. I kept pushing more magic into it, but my body felt battered and bruised like Belsnickel’s magic had been beating against my very skin rather than the shield that protected it.

  As I grunted out in pain, thoughts of my father flickered through my mind. He had given up so much to contain his brother, and right now, I felt like I was failing him. He believed in me, and if I wanted to beat Belsnickel, I had to start believing in myself too. At the moment, I was on the defensive, and there was no way I would win if I continued to let the evil god wear me down.

  I opened my eyes, and despite my body’s protests, I started to climb back off my knees. I groaned from the effort of pushing upward against the forces that bore down on me, but I finally made it to my feet.

  Once I was standing again, I dug deep inside myself, gathering my power and the magic from the stake together before I flung it outward. Power rushed out of me, and the barrier exploded, forcing all the magic it had contained in Belsnickel’s direction. The surge of colorful magic streaked across the courtyard in one massive wave, forcing the god’s magic out of the way and slamming into him.

  Belsnickel staggered backward as my magic struck him, and his powers extinguished. It was the first time I’d seen him without dark magic in his hands since I’d entered the courtyard. I caught a glimpse of shock in his eyes as he looked across the distance between us.

  I glanced down at the magic still swirling around my hands, surprise making my eyes go wide. The usual gold color of my magic was now combined with the mother’s magic, and a thousand other colors glittered brightly as they mingled with my own.

  I could still feel a deep well of power within me, and I knew it was Sage’s magic that was making me feel so invincible. From the way Belsnickel was looking at me, he was realizing the same thing too. He was unbelievably powerful, but the magic from the mother’s heart was far more potent.

  “Don’t make me kill you, Clio,” the god said. His voice was slippery and smooth, making my skin crawl. “Give me my mother’s heart, and I will spare your life. You are nothing but a child and no match for a god. I can see the future, and if you do not accept my offer, I assure you that you and your friends shall all perish.”

  I shook my head at him, knowing perfectly well he was lying. Even if he could see my future, there was no way I would be handing over the one weapon that could kill him.

  “No, you are the one who needs to surrender. Give up this war and return to Incarceror. Let me imprison you once more, and I will spare your life.” I wasn’t even sure that was possible, but I wanted to give him a chance to change his mind. I couldn’t just destroy him.

  “I have waited a thousand years for my freedom. I will not surrender!” He threw both his hands forward, slamming his magic into me once more. I managed to get my barrier up just in time to stop his second assault, but I could feel he was throwing everything he had at me, and I groaned under the pressure. I didn’t relent though, and I didn’t fall to my knees.

  This time, I reacted far quicker. I gathered my powers again and flung a hand out toward Belsnickel, sending another surge of magic beyond my barrier. Bright, glittering threads of power lit up the night as my power slammed into his beams of dark green magic and drove it away.

  His magic winked out of existence once again, and I didn’t hesitate as I started toward him, power sizzling at my fingertips as I waited for his next attack. He was visibly shrinking back from me now, and his body was slumping. I couldn’t tell if he was struggling after using so much power or weakened by my own magic, but either way, he was on the defensive.

  He summoned more magic to his hands, and at first, a deep green cloud of power answered his call, but the closer I got to him, the smaller the sparks became. My father had said that gods were weakened in their mother’s presence, and I held a part of her in my hand. Belsnickel’s eyes grew wide when he saw the pathetic magic that spluttered in his palms, and his gaze darted to the stake in my hand.

  Without warning, he started to run, but I hurled my magic out in front of him, creating a wall of golden power to stop him. I quickly funneled more magic from my hands and sent it through the air, encircling him in power and rendering him trapped. He slammed his fists against the magical walls that held him prisoner, and weak threads of green magic swirled all around his makeshift cell. His powers were growing weaker by the second, and as I came to stand before him, his magic disappeared entirely.

  I cradled the stake in my hand as I watched him. My gut and heart were wrenching at the thought of killing someone—even if he was an evil god. It was exactly what I had come to do though. It was my destiny, and I knew it was the only way I could keep peace in our world.

  “I tried to give you a way out,” I said, as I came to a stop before him. The pine stake still burned against my skin, and I could feel the power of it throbbing from within.

  Tears wet my eyes as I prepared for what I had to do. Killing Belsnickel was the only way to free all beings from his dark desires once and for all. I lifted the stake up above my head, my hand shaking at the reality of what I was doing. I wasn’t a killer, but I felt like I had no cho
ice. My hand hovered for several long moments before I shut my eyes and started to bring it down upon the god. My hand froze in place though, and as I reopened my eyes, I knew I couldn’t do it.

  I couldn’t go through with the task I’d been destined to undertake. I was meant to destroy the evil god, but looking at how pitiful he was now, I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take his life.

  My heart started beating frantically as the realization hit me. “There has to be another way,” I muttered, my hand still frozen in place.

  The stake held powers of creation and life, not death and destruction. Surely, that wasn’t what Sage sacrificed herself for. As I thought about it, an idea began to form. I wasn’t sure if it were even possible, but perhaps, I could use the power of the stake, and my own magic, to create a new life rather than take an old one.

  Belsnickel still raged against my cage, but I knew I had to try to help him rather than hurt him. So I reached my hand through the barrier and placed the stake against his chest. He tried to fight it off, but as soon as the wood touched his body, he froze in shock. I focused on the magic within the weapon and allowed it to flow freely from the wood that contained it.

  Slowly, the multi-colored magic started to leak out of the stake. It swirled around Belsnickel, surrounding him, and I felt the light and bright feeling of creation taking place within me. The magic began to seep into his skin, and I watched as he became immersed in it.

  My own powers mixed with the dazzling powers of the mother, and slowly, the god before me began to change. His body turned as bright as the magic that enveloped him, and I watched as he started to morph into something new. A burst of blinding white light erupted as a powerful surge of magic rushed out of me, and I had to look away as the brightness became too much to bear.

  When darkness returned, a small Christmas tree sapling stood where Belsnickel had been. It was growing through a crack in the courtyard pavement, and bright and colorful magic still whirled around it.