"He'll get in soon, we need to arm ourselves."
"I don't have any weapons!"
"I do!” And as she turned around to face the man she'd just made love to with all the heart and soul she possessed, a spear was already in her hand. “Here, this is for you."
"What about you?” He wrapped his right hand around it.
"I've got more where that came from. Put some clothes on so he doesn't burn you with his spit.” As she called the instruction, Natala was already kneeling down and had the red dress in her hand. She stuck a hand into each sleeve and buttoned up all the way this time. Her gaze cut to Noel who was already pulling his pants over his hips and had pulled a different shirt over his head.
He held the spear so tight in his hand his knuckles were white.
Natala took a deep breath, offered a deep prayer to the gods above and below, and prepared for battle. No surrender. Whatever it took to bring this monster down, she would do. Now that she'd lost the innocence of never being truly loved, Natala would have an edge on Carabia she didn't have before.
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Chapter Nine
Time slowed down when the door of his bedroom exploded into tiny pieces of painted wood. He grabbed a hold of Natala's arm to drag her behind the other side of the bed, before any of the splinters had a chance to embed themselves into her skin.
He shifted around so his spine pressed against the side of the bed.
The wood flew overhead but didn't reach them. He turned to look at Natala. Her eyes were closed, lips moving to a silent chant. There seemed to be some sort of barrier between them and what was left of the door, and she was responsible for it.
When the wooden rain stopped, so did her concentration. She looked deep into his eyes. Noel read the fear. Her hands shook at her sides, even while she pressed them against the floor.
"I won't be able to shield when I'm fighting,” she said to him in a whisper.
"It's okay."
"No, you don't understand, Noel. He knows you're the one that ruined me for him. He also knows how we feel about each other, and he'll take the first chance he can to kill you.” Her dark eyes were shiny with unshed tears. “I can't let him do that, okay? I've never felt this way about anyone my whole life. You managed to make me forget about everything bad that's ever happened in my life with just a kiss. That's a miracle in itself. Now please, tell me you'll stay out of this and let me deal with him."
"But I can't, I need to—"
"Noel, please..."
The thunderous steps headed toward them. He nodded quickly as the bed and bedside table shook from the impact.
"Good.” Natala leaned over and kissed his lips before she stood up. She faced the demon that had invaded his home.
As much as he wanted to keep his promise to her, there was no way he could stay completely out of this. Nick told him to conjure him when needed, to shackle this beast. That's exactly what he was going to do. But the old man also mentioned that it had to be at the right time, just as the demon looked desperate enough to strike his last blow. What he didn't appreciate about that was the person who'd be the recipient of this last strike would be Natala.
His heart and soul cried out. The very thought of that bastard even touching a hair on her head infuriated him. As the thought crossed his mind, Natala was thrown across the room and smacked against the wall only steps away from him. The warmth she'd wrapped around him wavered, and then melted away as quickly as her body slid down the wall.
"Natala!” He took a step toward her but was stopped when the demon grabbed hold of his collar.
* * * *
"No!” she whimpered when she saw Carabia approach Noel.
"Is this the human that has ruined the plan I orchestrated so many years ago?” the demon asked with his double-hummed voice. “An insignificant little human who thought himself grander than a Lord from Hell, is that right?"
Natala had to focus, fight the darkness that wanted to claim her in order to rest and repair. She'd done enough of that already, had spent an agonizing long time in a dark slumber and allowed the human who released her to spoil her with food, rest, a bath and lovemaking. It was time she thanked him for his wonderful hospitality and for the strength it took to offer her his heart even though it had been broken for so long.
She pushed off the wall and used her hands to press against the floor, to rise to her feet. Natala knew how hard it was for people to lose those they cared about the most. She had suffered something similar when her kind were slaughtered and imprisoned by the filth of demonic ambition.
Her shoulder hurt but she sucked in the pain to concentrate as deeply as she could on the weapon she needed. The large curved axe was in her right hand within seconds. She transferred it to her left—right to conjure, left to execute. That was how her powers worked. There were limits to what she could conjure up, but since being in hell she'd found many rooms in the dungeons stacked with weapons. Once she knew the location, her other-self could travel there and bring the weapon back to her within seconds. It worked the same when she conjured up her crystal to draw wards.
"Natala, run!” Noel yelled.
Carabia had him by the arm. He lifted Noel high into the air and she thought she heard a snap.
Noel screamed.
Her heart raced as she lifted her left hand. She used all her strength to send the axe flying toward the demon. It cut through the air between them. If she kept the concentration intact, her other-self would ensure it met its target.
A second later, the arm that held Noel was sliced off in one clean swoop. Yellow blood splashed on Noel as he tumbled to the floor with another scream, the demon's arm still attached to him. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.
Decarabia's blood did the same as his spit.
The demon hissed at the loss of his arm, turning his dark-skinned humanoid-looking face to meet her gaze. “You bitch! Haven't you done enough to ruin my plans already?"
"I won't stop until you're dead and buried.” She tried to keep his real image alive inside her head. His real guise was not the one he portrayed now of a dark-skinned man with long black hair and glittering amber eyes. No, he was a hideous monster as dark as night itself, with glistening skin that felt harsh and spiked when touched.
"That's never going to happen,” he said through his sharp teeth. His eyes glowed yellow and made her shiver with fear. She fought the shakes with all her might, keeping the terror locked up in a tiny place inside her mind. She had to stay strong. There was too much at stake—her life, Noel's, her trapped cousins and other fellow imps. If she set this example now, others might do the same and fight back against their captors too.
"It will, right now."
"Do you have any idea what you've cost me, you little shit?” He'd cut through the room in a blur. His still-intact hand wrapped around her neck. He pushed her up against the wall, his putrid stench rolling off his tall body.
She managed to spit the words out between gritted teeth, “I'd do it again. A thousand times ... if I had to.” The murmur of Noel's frantic thoughts raced through her mind.
The strength of the demon's fingers was only matched by the claws he'd embedded into the flesh on the side of her neck. She closed her eyes to bite away the pain, but it hurt like hell. Lucky for her, his claws didn't contain poison like some of the other demonic beings. Otherwise she'd be as good as dead.
"You were going to be my ticket to power, enough to finally overpower the old man!” Carabia continued.
"I don't know ... what you're ... talking about.” Her breath struggled to rise up into her nasal passage. Her vision curled at the edges. His face took on a surreal quality that made her nervous.
Don't hyperventilate now.
She separated her other-self, but it was no use. Pounding fists against his back wasn't going to get her anywhere.
Natala lifted her foot upward and connected with his groin. His grip loosened but not enough to get away. She sucked in as much oxygen
as she could before he regained control of himself.
"If I can't take your power anymore, I might as well just consume your flesh! I'm ravenous."
There was nothing she could do to avoid the long, sharp teeth from devouring the flesh at the side of her neck. With one hard rip, the skin split. Carabia consumed her flesh with audible gulps.
"St. Nicholas!” Noel screamed at the top of his lungs.
She couldn't see past the pain as the demon hungrily tore further into her flesh. A bright light appeared inside the bedroom and Carabia stopped in mid-bite with a groan.
A new voice called from behind him, but she couldn't see anyone but the demon. He blocked her vision from everything but the lust in his eyes. Blood dripped down the side of his mouth. “Decarabia, put her down. This has nothing to do with her. It was always between you and me. Why must you always involve the innocent?"
A small smile spread across Decarabia's blood-stained mouth as he dropped her like a sack of potatoes. He turned around to face whoever Noel had conjured up.
Her head lolled to the side. The pain was so intense she couldn't move her left arm. Without the use of both arms she was virtually helpless. Her other-self fell back into her body with an impact that stung her. It helped numb the pain a little, but not enough.
"Natala.” Noel kneeled on the floor beside her. He wrapped his arms around her body and cradled her against him. “Please don't die on me now..."
I don't want to, she tried to say. But words refused to find a sound.
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Chapter Ten
Noel held her tight. His very soul ached.
Her left shoulder looked dislocated and a large chunk of flesh was missing from the side of her neck. The blood she'd lost mixed with the color of the dress.
He kissed the top of her head. “Natala, stay with me."
"Noel,” she whispered. Her eyes were unfocused, as if trying to find him even though their faces were only inches apart.
He lowered his ear to her mouth.
Her voice was little more than a strangled whisper. “I didn't know love until you."
"Then don't leave me yet,” he pleaded. “Stay."
"This is very romantic.” The demon was above them, glaring down with his hands on his hips. His majestic body was even more intimidating from this angle. “It's breaking my heart so much I need to kill the both of you now!"
"Oh, no, you don't."
Noel looked past the demon to find Nick right behind him. The old man's back still had a slight curve. He looked like a withered old crone that wouldn't be able to help them out of this. Yet, he stood his ground, and the demon seemed to be doing whatever it could to stay out of his way.
"Stay away from me, old man,” the demon called. He was suddenly behind them, in front of the wall and using them as a shield to keep Nick at bay.
"I've stayed away for too long already."
"You will not interfere with my perfect plan."
"I believe I already have."
The yellow eyes glowed with hatred. “You're the one that organized all of this. Trapped me when I was supposed to do that to you! What makes you think you've got enough fire power to defeat me now? I can smell the age ravaging through your body. Decay's not long behind. You're weak and should never have chosen to face me now!"
"I'm not as weak as you think.” Nick looked down at Noel and nodded once. That was the signal they'd decided on before he left the store.
"He loves to talk about himself and will no doubt try to focus on my age. This will distract him, weaken him for the briefest of seconds,” Nick had said. “That's when I'll make these shackles appear in your hands, and you'll secure them around his ankles. I'll do the rest."
Noel had nodded then, just as he did now, when the golden shackles were suddenly in his hands. He lowered Natala to the floor as quickly as he could before throwing himself at the demon's hoofed feet. His mind raced but not a single thought would distract him from getting this job done. One shackle was on. The demon kicked him in the stomach, but he ignored the stab of pain long enough to throw himself against his leg to hold on tight.
"You might as well surrender now,” Nick said as he advanced.
"Never!” the demon yelled.
That's the extra second Noel needed to wrap the other half of the shackle around the demon's ankle. He held onto his leg again.
"You can let go now. He can't move."
But his fingers refused to unclench. He didn't want to let go. He wanted to tear this creature apart with his own hands.
"Noel Harris, step away from Decarabia.” This time the voice was commanding, younger.
Noel shook his head to clear the thirst for revenge from his mind.
"That's right, step away from the demon. Tend to your beloved, she's hurt and needs you."
"There's nothing I can do for her now,” Noel said with a deep sigh. “I'm going to lose her just as I lost ... Nancy."
"No, you won't,” Nick insisted.
"How do you know that for sure?"
"I know because I'm going to save her."
That's when he finally looked up and was surprised to find the old man was no longer there. He'd been replaced by a middle-aged man with grey specks on his sideburns. The blue eyes glowed with the intensity of something Noel now recognized. It was the power, the magic of Christmas personified. The demon was petrified.
"Don't worry about him, he can't move and never will again.” Nick crouched down in front of Natala. She was now lying with her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell very slowly and her injuries looked even worse now. The flesh was completely torn away from her neck and shoulder and the poison of Decarabia's saliva was worming its way through her system, leaving red streaks across her skin. “Initially, I intended to trap him with me. Make him pay for his evil deeds and intentions by forcing him to fulfill the joyous work of delivering happiness to children on Christmas Eve ... but that's not possible now. He's too far gone and would only wait patiently for a time to defeat me. His deeds require the harshest sentence possible—banishment to the Wastelands."
Nick lifted a hand and made a backhand motion in the air in front of him. The demon disappeared instantly, in a flash of white light. The new version of Nick wiped his hands clean, as if dealing with the demon had somehow soiled him.
"I don't understand. You're ... different."
"Yes, I am. I'm the very incarnation of Christmas—future, past and present. The old man was the past, and I am the present. Thanks to you and your brave Natala, I will be able to get on with the job at hand for many centuries yet. At least until the next demon decides to challenge me.” The smile on Nick's mouth was wide, and showed perfect white teeth.
Noel's head was spinning at the information overload, but his main concern now was Natala. “Can you save her?"
"Of course I can.” Nick spread his left hand over her forehead. “The life is slipping away from her, but the will to spend her life with you is helping her hang on."
"I think I saw another version of her.” He was positive he'd seen two Natalas while the demon had her in his clutches. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Though after everything he'd seen so far, Noel was open to the possibility.
"It's best if you discuss that with her. After all, she is an imp, and very different to a human. Will that deter the love you've already offered her?” Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No ... why?"
"If it did, then I would let her spirit go and move onto the next phase. But I can feel her love, and you've admitted yours. So, this year you will each be each other's gift.” Nick kept his eyes glued to Natala as he shifted the palm of his hand just above her wound, and then over her chest. The lights that ignited below his hand were white and pastel. They reminded Noel of the ones he'd seen when he held a mirror up to her face.
"There,” Nick finally said. He rubbed his palms against his bottle green pants as he stood upright again. The white tie stood out vividly against hi
s red shirt. “She's all better, though I recommend that you both lie down and sleep for a while. She'll need time to completely heal, and so will you."
"And then what?"
Nick shrugged in the same manner he'd done at the store, in his old man guise. “Then it'll still be Christmas Day, and you can both enjoy each other."
"That's it? You don't want any payment from us?"
He narrowed his eyes. “Ah, yes, payment. Well, another gift that you've been graced with is immortality, though perhaps the word can be a little deceiving. You don't actually live forever. There are still ways to destroy you, but they're pretty extreme. Still, you don't need to worry about that at the moment.” Nick turned around, headed towards the bedroom door. He stopped and turned slightly. “Oh and there's the small matter of you having to take over my position when I do eventually become too old."
"I thought you said—"
"Yes, I said a lot to you during the last few hours. But just like I can survive with past, present and future inside me, the past eventually catches up with you.” Nick said with a grin. “But don't worry. I've still got several centuries inside me yet! Now enjoy your new life."
"And Nancy?"
His eyes darkened. “Nancy's in a safe place now, Noel. She's been trying to crossover completely for a while. You have to let her go. You've been draining energy from her since the day she died. Her soul can't take much more of it. In fact, if you don't let her go completely, she'll stay outside the gates without ever crossing them."
"Are you telling me she's been stranded all this time ... because of me?"
He nodded. “You were ready to give her up a while ago, just felt more comfortable with her still in your life. If not for you, let her go for her. She wants to know happiness again, just as she wants you to indulge in what you've found."
Noel nodded, tears stinging the backs of his eyes. How could he have known that holding onto her memory so tight would actually hurt more than help?
"Don't worry, mate, she's gone to a better place. Now, I have to get going if I want to stay on schedule. And Noel..."
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