'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas

by Stacey Espino

  The doorbell rang making her cheeks flush with heat as she quickly made her way to the door.

  Deep breath. Open door calmly.

  She opened the door with a huge smile pasted across her face. On the doorstep stood a black haired, blue eyed man in a black leather jacket. His brilliant blue eyes pierced through her and her breath caught in her chest.

  Then, he spoke two words that chilled her to the bone.

  “Hello, cutie.”

  Holly glared at the mysterious stranger. His smile was friendly and fatal all at the same time. Despite his cheerful greeting and the drop dead good looks that he wore comfortably, her instincts instantly screamed fear.

  After another frozen moment, she finally snapped into action and tried to slam the door shut, as her heart thumped against her breast bone.

  One arm shot out and stopped the door’s progress. Holly stumbled back, shocked, and then ran through the house towards the bedroom, all the while trying to come up with a game plan.

  Get to the bedroom.

  Lock the door.

  Find my cell phone.

  Her feet pressed into the thick carpet as she padded down the hallway. Holly wanted to look back but was too afraid of what she would see. A couple more steps and she was in the small bedroom. Slamming the door behind her and twisting the lock, she then pressed her ear to the door and listened.

  Silence.

  No one bounded down the hall after her. No one tore through her home. Just silence.

  She breathed a small sigh of relief and turned towards her bed.

  There, on her beige colored microfiber comforter, sat the dark haired man who had been at her front door only seconds earlier.

  Holly screamed.

  Chapter Two

  “Now, now…there’s no need for all that.”

  The voice of her intruder was calm, cheerful, and ever so faintly British. Holly bit her lip to stop the screams that were still threatening to burst forth from her constricted throat.

  Her hand pressed against her chest as she tried to quiet the loudly beating heart that was making it hard for her to think.

  “How’d you do that?” She panted the words out between gulps of much needed air.

  He smiled flirtatiously at her and shrugged it off.

  “Just a bit of magic is all. I’m not here to hurt you, love. I’m just here to remind you about the clause.”

  His words were making no sense to her. This whole thing seemed absolutely unreal.

  “Who are you?”

  She managed to squeak the words out from between trembling lips.

  “Name’s Tannin but you can call me Tan.”

  Holly swallowed back the rising bile in the back of her throat.

  “T…t…Tan?”

  Now she’d developed a stutter she hadn’t suffered since childhood. She tried to take a deep breath but it caught in her panic tightened throat.

  “Yes. I’m just here to give you your twenty-four hour notice. Then I’ll be on my merry way.”

  She blinked at the strikingly handsome man…creature…whatever he was that was perched on her bed in some sort of gangster street ware.

  “Is this some kind of a joke?”

  He smiled wickedly and then reached inside his coat pocket.

  Oh, God! He’s going to kill me.

  Holly turned to open the door but found the knob wouldn’t budge. She twisted and turned it but the brand new, nickel plated handle she installed just two months earlier betrayed her.

  “Settle down. I’m just showing you the contract you signed.”

  Holly spun around. The stranger smiled and held out a stack of papers bound together by a large binder clip.

  “A contract?”

  “Yeeesssss.” He drew out the word slowly as if talking to a child who couldn’t grasp the simplest conversation.

  “I didn’t sign any contract. Could you please leave now?”

  She knew it was wishful thinking but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

  “Fine. Fine. I’ll be leaving, but remember, you only have twenty-four hours left and then I’ll have to be back to collect you.”

  She blinked at him; her brain cramping with confusion. A headache began to gather at the base of her skull.

  “Collect me?”

  “This conversation is very frustrating. Do you always repeat the last thing people say and turn it into a question?”

  Holly continued to gawk at him.

  “Six months ago, when you bought this house, you signed a contract. The contract stated you would give your soul to the Harvester six months from the date you signed the contract.”

  He flipped through the bound papers to the last page.

  “Is this your signature? Here, dated June 25th?” He tapped the page.

  Holly craned her neck forward to see the paper. It appeared to be a copy of the purchase agreement she’d signed when she bought this house.

  “Maybe.” This had to be some kind of mistake. She’d never sign away her life and who was the Harvester?

  “Wait!” Tan said, and then another brilliant, white smile crossed his face. “I know what your next question is…who is the Harvester?”

  Holly waited, annoyed by his obvious sarcasm.

  “Basically, the Harvester is my boss. Although, I only have a couple more collections to make before the bastard has to let me out of my contract. He’s very clever with the fine print. Obviously, I don’t have to tell you that.”

  He stood and walked over to the book shelf near the bathroom door. He gently fingered a tiny unicorn ornament Holly’s best friend had given her for Christmas just last year.

  “Unicorns are really righteous unholy beasts, you do know that, don’t you?”

  Holly continued to glare at him. She must have fallen asleep while waiting for Liam and was dreaming this insanity.

  “Anyway, I’m getting off topic, aren’t I?” Tan grinned at her again. “So, you signed a contract forfeiting your soul within six months and tomorrow your time is up. I’ll be back to gather you then. Enjoy your last evening and all that. Say, were those white chocolate, macadamia nut cookies I smelled baking?”

  Holly shook her head.

  “Oh, my bad. I usually have a nose for those.”

  “No, I mean…yes…I mean…I didn’t sign any contract with this Harvester person and I certainly didn’t agree to give him my soul.”

  “Yes. Well, I’m afraid you did.” He reached into his coat pocket again and this time extracted a large magnifying glass. Tan held it out to her.

  She hesitated before snatching it away from him.

  “It’s down there, at the bottom. In the fine print. You always have to read the fine print, love.”

  Holly side-stepped along the wall slowly, trying to keep her distance from Tan. Despite his cheerful demeanor and apparently friendly nature, she was still terrified of him.

  She reached the bed and lifted the copy of the contract he’d left there.

  Flipping through it quickly, Holly noted it appeared to be the long document she’d signed just months ago. When she got to the last page, she lifted the glass and scanned over it carefully.

  Tan began whistling softly from the other side of her room. She darted an annoyed glance in his direction and saw he was still inspecting the items on her bookshelf.

  She found a section of tiny print, just above her signature. Without the magnifying glass, it was absolutely imperceptible to the naked eye. Her heart rate quickened another notch as she read the words.

  Soul Binder Clause: On the six month to the day after completion of this sale, the owner of this home shall hereby become the “soul property” of the Harvester hereinafter referred to as the Soul Binder. Said home owner shall enjoy the use of this home but on the six month anniversary of this agreement shall have his/her soul collected for my personal use. This clause is irrevocable and non-negotiable.

  Holly looked up and found Tan’s blue eyes watching her. Tears stung her eyes.

&n
bsp; “Don’t worry, love, I’ll be gentle.”

  “Gentle?”

  He nodded slowly. “Well, you’d have to be dead for me to gather your soul now wouldn’t you?”

  Nausea rolled in her stomach and her knees felt as if they would buckle. She sank down on her bed and put her head in her hands.

  “Why is this happening to me? This isn’t real.” She tried to convince herself she was dreaming as she ran her hands through her hair and tugged at her own scalp. “I’m ready to wake up now.”

  Tan walked closer to her and stood at the foot of the bed. She could hear him twisting the metal knob on the bed post.

  “Look, the boss is a conniving bastard. Given the poor state of the real estate market, he decided to prey on all the young, single people who were getting screaming deals on houses. He used one of his henchmen to open up Sole Property Realty. They basically offered deals folks couldn’t refuse.”

  Holly’s mind raced back to the eye glass wearing, Mr. Todd who sold her the home. He seemed nice enough and was eager to make the deal quickly and cheaply. She should have known if something seemed too good to be true—it probably was and there would be a catch.

  But who would ever dream of a catch this big?

  “Why young, single people?”

  Now she was questioning a monster about his monster boss to whom she’d sold her soul for the use of a house for six months. Clearly, she must be slipping deeper into insanity by the second.

  “Because you have no one. Because it’s easier for you to disappear with minimal questions.”

  Holly knew being single was bad but never dreamed it would be the death of her.

  “Isn’t there anything I can do?” Tears flowed down her cheeks as she looked up at Tan and his glowing eyes.

  “Aww, don’t cry. I can’t take tears from the pretty girls.”

  He reached out to touch her but she jumped back and stood up, just as the doorbell rang.

  Chapter Three

  Shaking from the shock over the hidden death clause that was apparently in her home owner’s agreement, Holly stared at the door of her bedroom as she suddenly realized it must be Liam and her package delivery at the door.

  “But…what can I do?” she asked frantically.

  “Enjoy your last day, love. Do everything you’ve always wanted to do. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  She took a step towards the door and reached for the handle, but stopped cold when Tan’s words sounded behind her, “Don’t think about trying to run or telling anyone about this. It won’t make any difference and you’ll just make him mad.”

  But when she turned to look back at him, he was gone.

  Moments later, Holly raced towards the front door, and yanked it open, revealing the smiling face of Liam. His smile quickly faded when he caught sight of her face. He probably noticed the tracks of her tears.

  “Holly, what is it?”

  Without another word, without stopping to think it through…she stepped out onto the doorstep and wrapped her arms around him.

  Liam seemed to hesitate for a second, and then he wound his arms around her tightly in response. She sobbed into his chest.

  After a few moments, she managed to control her emotions enough to take a step back and feel the heat of embarrassment wash over her.

  “I’m sorry, Liam.”

  The look of concern in his eyes was palpable.

  “What’s going on? Do you need me to call someone for you?”

  Holly managed a small smile. She felt suddenly silly standing on her front porch beneath the timer controlled strand of Christmas lights that had just flickered on, casting them in a jolly red and green glow.

  “No. I…uh…” Her mind raced with exactly how she could explain her current predicament without sounding like a total nut case.

  His eyes searched her face and his hand still grasped her forearm gently.

  “I just received some very bad news. I apologize for making you a part of it.” She suddenly feared that somehow this curse or clause would radiate out to all the people in her life she cared about.

  “I hate to hear that and on Christmas Eve, no less. Is there anything I can do?”

  Holly swallowed. She wanted to tell him. She would give anything to have her knight in brown uniform rescue her from the evil of the world, but she knew that at best he’d think she was crazy. She stood silent for a beat and took in the smooth skin of his face. The wisps of hair curling over his ears and the long eyelashes that batted at her now with nothing but genuine concern.

  Kiss me. Hold me. Love me.

  “Yes,” she said suddenly, not giving herself a chance to lose the little bit of wild courage suddenly coursing through her.

  His eyes widened ever so slightly and he leaned forward as if to hear her wishes more clearly.

  “Stay. Have dinner with me tonight.”

  His expression changed from utter concern to total surprise.

  Again, embarrassment swept through her and she felt like running back inside the house and closing the door before he could reject her. This surge of boldness was not at all common for her.

  “Well…” he looked down at his watch and then back at his truck.

  Her heart sank into her stomach. She knew he was about to turn her down, and was probably buying time to try to think of a plausible excuse.

  “I can’t stay.”

  The words hit her like a ton of bricks. After the shocking news and scare she just endured, this was too much. The tears returned to her eyes again and she turned back towards the house before he could see them. She couldn’t bear humiliating herself further in his eyes. Not tonight. Not ever.

  A hand touched her shoulder…softly…warmly. She stopped.

  “But, I can come back in a couple of hours after I get off my delivery route. Would that be okay?”

  A thrill rushed through her body. Suddenly giddy, the fears and uncertainty about this strange evening suddenly lifted a notch and she felt downright giddy.

  She turned back to him and he was smiling. He looked…hopeful.

  Could he have feelings for me too?

  The thoughts entered her mind before she could stop them. She shook it off. Better not get your hopes up. He probably just felt sorry for her. But whatever the reason, she’d take it. She just wanted to be with him so badly.

  “That sounds wonderful.” She smiled at him and he reciprocated with his dimple now showing clearly beneath the brightness of the Christmas lights.

  “Should I bring anything?”

  Holly shook her head. “No, just yourself.”

  He nodded and turned to leave, but stopped. “Oh, I forgot…you need to sign for your package.”

  Gazing down at her feet, Holly saw the box he’d left on her doorstep, and chuckled softly as she reached for the hand held signature collection device.

  “These always remind me of Etch-a-Sketch,” she said, scrawling her name across the display window.

  “I was never really good at those, as a kid,” Liam added.

  She handed him back the device and his fingers brushed the back of her hand. A chill tapered up her arm and when they made eye contact again, he winked at her.

  * * * *

  After Holly was back inside her house with the shoe box in her arms, she sank down to the floor with her back against the front door. This day had been simultaneously the most terrible and the best day of her life…ever.

  Overwhelmed with anxiety about the next few hours of her life, a panic attack started to rear its head deep inside her. That made her think of her best friend, Rani. She crawled over to the sofa and searched for her cell phone amidst the sofa cushions.

  Rani Ogitani had been Holly’s best friend at college when they were both majoring in computer graphics. As it turned out, Rani had a bit more talent at the design aspect than Holly did and now owned her own animation cell art gallery here in Alta Loma, while Holly had resorted to using her degree to teach computer skills labs at the local commun
ity college.

  During college, Holly had lost her parents in a terrible accident and had gone through a bad patch of panic attacks and bouts of crippling anxiety. Rani had been there for her to hold her hand through all of them.

  Despite her busy schedule, Rani always called weekly to check on Holly but they hadn’t spoken this week and hadn’t seen one another in a month or more. It suddenly seemed like the only possible action for Holly to take.

  Cradling the small, thin phone in her shaky hand, Holly punched in the speed dial number for Rani’s home.

  “Hello and happy Holly-day!” Rani sang into the phone, knowing it was Holly on the other end—courtesy of caller id and using her name to send holiday greetings.

  That was so typical of Rani. She could always make her smile, even when everything else in her life was dismal at best.

  “Hi, Rani.” Holly’s voice sounded cracked and damaged even to her own ears.

  “Oh, Holly, what’s happened? You sound down.”

  Holly burst into tears and sobbed into the phone. She knew she had to tell Rani. She was the only person she could even begin to tell, although Holly couldn’t help but wonder if her friend would think she’d finally gone over the deep end for good.

  “Listen, get in your car and drive on over here. I’ve just made my world famous Fettuccini Alfredo and I have the latest Sandra Bullock movie all queued up on my DVD player.”

  Holly dried her tears and sniffed. “I can’t. Liam is coming for dinner in just two hours and I have no idea what to make or to wear.”

  Rani’s shriek reverberated through the phone. Holly had to move the phone away from her ear for a beat or two.

  “That is friggin’ fantastic, chica! Why in hell are you sobbing over that?”

  “There’s something else…” she started, but couldn’t think of a way to broach the subject of a soul stealing entity named the Harvester and his hired killer named Tan.

  “Well, listen…hold that thought. I’ll package all this food up and bring it right over. You can serve it to your lovely Liam and he’ll think you are brilliant in the kitchen.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t do that,” Holly said, smiling warmly at her friend’s generosity.