As the holidays draw near people are often busy and running around trying to get so much done. No matter what holiday you celebrate around this time of year there always seems to be so much to do.
This holiday I wanted to bring to you, my readers, a special gift! I never before read, short story! This story takes place after the novella "When All Else Fears" and follows Prince Kyler on Earth for his first Christmas. If you have not read "When All Else Fears" you won't need to read it to read this, all you will need to know is Prince Kyler is a demon and he just left hell to come to Earth.
I hope you enjoy the short story!
Kyler's First Christmas
Snow is something I don’t think I will get use to. It doesn’t snow back home. Not with cold water anyway. It flutters to the ground outside as Addie cooks breakfast in the kitchen.
It’s strange here. Addie hums while stirring a pan of eggs. She does this all the time, hums while cooking, sings off key while cleaning.
I enjoy the smell of eggs, more so when it’s mixed with the greasy smell of bacon. That too, is not like home.
A moment later, Addie sets down a plate piled high with bacon, eggs and pancakes. “Here you are. Eat. You have one more day of school before winter break.”
I smile and dig into the warm food she’s offered. School is a small price for all she’s done since she’s taken me in.
Addie takes the chair next to mine and begins to eat her own breakfast. “After work today I’m going to finish my Christmas shopping.”
“So you’ll be home late?”
“Later than normal.” She smiles at me.
“I can make dinner.” There are a few things I’ve learned to cook, some of them she even likes.
“That would be nice. Thank you. Whatever you can find in the house. I need to go shopping.”
I nod and return to my food.
The snow outside falls in a steady stream, making the light on the porch seem to flicker with every passing flake. It’s getting late. She should have been home by now, even if she was Christmas shopping, the stores are closed by now. It’s a bad sign that she isn’t, nor is she answering her phone.
Pulling on my black coat I step into the cold environment. She works about eight minutes from the house, in town. Any shop she’d go to for Christmas gifts would likely also be in town. That means she would have likely taken one of two routes home. In this weather though, I would imagine she would stay on the main roads, even if it meant a slightly longer trip.
I begin my walk. It isn’t long before my feet are wet. The wind is biting. There is little that bothers me, but wet feet and cold ears are fairly high on my list.
I’m about two miles from the house when I feel it.
The wave of fear.
Shutting my eyes I bathe in it. Fear on Earth is intoxicating. It is raw and real. There is never a shortage of it.
I follow the fear to the wreckage of a car on its side in a ditch.
Glass litters the melting snow, smoke comes from under the hood. I slid into the ditch and climb onto the side of the car. The metal is cold and yet… warm as well.
I peer through where the passenger window should be. Addie is laying against broken glass and melting snow. Red splatters the snow like a dropped can of paint. Her eyes are wide and unfocused. The fear coming from her is strong.
I shimmy to the back window and drop into the backseat.
“What?” She tries to turn, crying out instead.
“Hold still.” I look over the situation. Her legs are pinned under the steering wheel.
“Kyler?” she seems surprised. I wonder if on Earth helping people is an unusual thing. To be fair, helping people in Hell is also very unlikely, unless you plan on paying the large price that will be attached to it.
“Just hang on. Let me see what needs to be done.” I look her over, there doesn’t seem to be any broken bones, but I can smell the blood.
“How did you get here?”
“I walked.” I lean between the seats and examine the steering collum. It’s pressed into her chest. If I shove it off her, I can just pull her free. I lean up further and grab the streeting wheel. Just as a fire sparks under the hood.
Addie’s fear peeks. She begins to cry and thrash against the seatbelt. Smoke seeps into the car from the vents and broken windows.
“Stop it.” I order. I shove the wheel, plastic cracks and metal crunches as it moves off her. I unbuckle her seatbelt.
Peering out the cracked windshield I can see the flames licking closer. “It’s time to go.” I tell her. I climb back out of the back window and move to the front. I lean down and reach down. “Take my hand.”
She looks up at me.
“Addie.” I snap.
She swallows then tentatively holds up her hand. I grab hold of her, wrapping my fingers around her elbow. I tug on her arm and pull her up and out onto the car beside me.
“I’m climbing down.” I tell her. “Then you can follow.”
She gives a tiny nod. I hop off the side of the car. I hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance. I reach up and pull Addie down. She nearly falls over as her feet hit the ground.
I pull her away from the wreckage and look over her injuries. Her shirt if soaked red.
“You…” she blinks at me. “How did you move that on your own?”
Now that she is free from the car I can hear the hitch in her breath, and the fluid in her lungs. I help her sit. Not that I think sitting in the snow will help, but she has been out here for awhile already. At this point, it won’t matter. Not to mention…
“You’re dying.”
She coughs up blood. The wailing of the ambulances are closer, but she’ll still drown in the blood before they even arrive.
“I can help you.” I tell her. “If you ask. I can save you.”
“How?”
“Do you want to be saved?” I push. Her eyes flutter shut. I can see flashes of red and blue between trees. This needs to be done now if she wants it.
“Yes.” She whispers, blood splatters from her mouth, speckling the snow with red.
I close my eyes, trying to focus. Her fear is intoxicating. “In return you will owe me a favor.” I tell her. I’m not sure what she is thinking, but whatever it is, it’s likely wrong.
“I owe you.”
The sound is barley audible. I open my eyes and take her hand in my own. “Deal.” I can feel the string of my power as it weaves into her. As the deal forms and links us. Once it’s complete I wash my own energy into her, surging it through her system and flooding her with it. It finds the spots that are injured, the parts that are dying and mends them. It makes her whole.
She sucks in a breath, her eyes growing wide.
I step away as an ambulance stops on the road just above us. Two paramedics rush out and head toward us.
“Is anyone hurt?” The man with the medical bag asks.
“No.” I shake my head.
Addie is silent beside me. The pair stop in front of us.
“Let’s get you up into the ambo.” The male, an older gentleman with a full bread and mustache says. He takes Addie’s hand and leads her up the incline.
The female worker, a younger lady compared to the man, with the corner of some colorful tattoo peaking out from under her coat looks me over. “We need to get you out of the cold.”
“I’m not hurt.” I inform her.
“We still need to check you.”
I wasn’t even in the car. Well, not when it crashed. I study her but imagine she is seeing the blood on my clothes from Addie. I sigh. She won’t leave unless I go with her. Besides, I should check on Addie anyway. I start up the incline.
Addie is already inside the ambulance, an IV in her arm. The older paramedic exams her. “Where does it hurt?”
“It… doesn’t.” She blinks, her gaze catching mine as I climb into the back and sit on the bench.
The female worker puts a blood pressure cuff on my arm. I eye it.
“Can I see your hand, please?” She asks.
I hold it out and she puts a clip on my finger.
“Do you have any allergies?”
“No”
“Are you on and medications?”
“No.” I shake my head.
She looks at the clip then removes it, then takes the cuff off my arm.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Addie was in a car crash.” I tell her. “When she didn’t come home I went to find her. She was stuck in the car, so I got her out.”
I see a fire truck pull up and firefighters rush out dragging hoses and axes. I watch them work on the car.
“You weren’t in the car?”
“No.” Though I cut myself climbing in for Addie, those had already healed. I am still cold, and my feet feel like blocks of ice, but beside that, I am fine.
The woman eyes me a few moments. “We still need to get you checked at the hospital.” She climbs from the back and shuts the door before getting into the front of the ambulance and pulling away from the scene.
It isn’t until early afternoon the following day, Christmas Eve, they allow us to leave. Addie calls a cab which takes us back to her house. She’s said little to me the last few hours. I don’t push. Once we’re back in the house I go into the kitchen and clean up the cold dinner. Addie follows and watches.
“How… how did you heal me?” She asks after several long silent moments.
I turn and look at her. She took me in several months ago. I suppose it is time I tell her. “I’m not human.”
She blinks.
“I’m a demon. The day you found me was the day I came to Earth.”
“You’re a demon?” She gives a shake of her head. “Demons aren’t real. Beside, you don’t have horns or a tail and you aren’t red.”
“Not all demons are red.” I pause. “Nor do they all have horns or tails.” I put the pot down and take a step toward her. “A lot of creatures can shift their appearance to look human while up here. It’s a defense, to protect themselves, I suppose in some degree to protect humans.” I shift back into my true form. It’s not one I am used to, but the familiar shift in my bones, the pressure of my horns and claws expanding are comforting.
Addie screams and stumbles back. I stay where I am. After a second she stops, her eyes wide.
“You… you… oh shit!”
I can’t help but laugh.
“Demons are evil… they corrupt people, they torture people, they take your soul. Oh my God I made a deal with you… I sold my soul to you, is… is that a thing or just with the devil…. You aren’t the devil are you? Oh God, I’m going to hell now.” She begins to pace.
“Stop that.” I change back to my human form and return to cleaning the kitchen. “You didn’t sell your soul to me, that is a thing, but I find little use in souls. I’m not a devil.”
“You’re a kid.” She stops pacing. “You are a kid… aren’t you?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Though calling a sixteen-year-old a kid is a little insulting.”
“Sorry…” She drops into the dining room chair. “Why… why are you up here? Like… what brings a demon to Earth?”
“A lot of things bring demons to Earth. For me…” I wipe my hands on the towel and walk over to the table and sit by her. “It’s a fairly long story.”
She nods. So, I tell her.
Christmas comes with another wave of snow. I wake up to the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen. I dress and head downstairs. The tree Addie picked up from the local lot twinkles in the dim living room. A scattering of wrapped gifts lay under it. I head into the kitchen.
“Morning.” I greet.
Addie doesn’t turn away from the stove, or the food she is cooking. After a few silent moments she answers. “Morning. Merry Christmas.”
“Happy Holidays.” I sit at the table. There is no Christmas in Hell. A holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Some creatures who have traveled to Earth will exchange gifts around this time, but it’s not a huge deal, nor is it called Christmas. The witches often celebrate the Winter Solstice around this time of year though. I watch her cook and wonder what she’s thinking. With a link to her now I could read her mind, but I’m not going to. After our talk yesterday, after I told her everything, she just gave a tiny nod and went to her room. I don’t know where her mind is. Where we stand. If I’m going to need to find a new place to go.
Addie turns the stove off and pulls down plates. She carries them to the table and sets one in front of me before sitting down.
“Thank you.”
“After breakfast we can open gifts.” She says, voice a little shaky.
“Alright.”
She gives a little nod before digging into her food. I watch her before beginning to eat. I take the offer of food, and the opening of gifts as a sign that as of now, she isn’t going to kick me out. I wouldn’t blame her of course if she did. I laid a lot out on her. But I have to admit, as we eat in silence, that it is a nice Holiday gift that she is allowing me to stay.
I’ll just have to see what comes next.
To see what's going to happen to Kyler you can read "When Fear Comes" - Coming Soon! And if you haven't checked out "When All Else Fears" Check it out here!
Happy and Safe Holidays From my family to yours!
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