by Johnny Miles
The realm had shaken violently, and the cavern he’d stood in cracked and splintered with tremendous ferocity, the kind of power only a pissed-off planet could ever possess or express.
There had been screams. Then a moment of almost perfect stillness and strange quiet as he jumped, intending to get to the other side. His body seemed suspended in midair…
…but something hit him. Hard.
And he fell.
But, no. That wasn’t right, was it? He hadn’t just fallen. Whatever hit him struck his midriff with force. Something—or someone—had attacked him. Someone had lunged.
Knowing there was more to the memory he wasn’t yet able to see, he reached back further into his mind.
And like the awareness of his age, it all came rushing back. His memories, his past, his actions. Except it wasn’t a rush, not quite. It was more like taking a sledgehammer to the head as the rest of his life, especially the one memory, flooded his brain with vivid color and full emotion.
His entire body ached more than before, this time from the rising, bubbling anger in his soul. He saw them—all of them—standing before him, using his own heart against him. How dare they! A surge of energy rippled through the air from his hands. It had bounced back with obvious intent. They’d meant to kill, not maim. It had spiraled, careening off the columns, walls, and ceiling of the Great Hall. Then the shaking began.
He’d lost his balance when the crack in the earth appeared, splintering across the cavern floor. He’d stepped back, watching them as they fled and left him all alone.
“Cowards!” he hissed and vowed to get every last one of them. Tear them limb from limb and drink their blood. He would feast on their flesh and watch their corpses rot!
Gavin had come running toward him. They’d cried out from the force of their bodies slamming together and struggled as they fell, locked in a twisted parody of a lover’s embrace.
Plummeting, they’d tumbled and turned until they’d hit bottom. And then there had been darkness.
Now here he was. Still alive. Gavin only just. Magic must have kept them from exploding once they hit the ground.
Seething with anger, he suddenly thrust a fist into the man’s chest cavity. Gavin screamed. The sound echoed in the tiny space as he punched through the skin and broke through ribs to get at Gavin’s heart.
Wrapping thick, long fingers almost lovingly around the vital organ, he watched as Gavin’s eyes glowed softly blue, seconds before he tore the man’s heart out.
He heard the man cry out in horrified pain, but the sound faded away as he held up the heart like a beacon even as Gavin lay gasping. The darkness abated, even if only a little, in a reddish glow that filled the space.
He squeezed the heart, his nails like talons making tiny incisions in the chambers of the muscle. Droplets of blood seeped out. They trickled down his fingers, hand, and arm. He brought the heart to his face, opened his mouth and swallowed it whole. He savored the gristly, chewy muscle as though he'd just eaten a perfectly ripe, succulent piece of fruit.
Gavin’s life force, his energy and power along with his memories, dreams, and desires—all the man had ever been and had longed to be—coursed through him like a mad, rushing river. He felt the man’s spirit as it filled him, and for the briefest of moments, he knew joy. The emotion was not unfamiliar, but it had been so long since he’d experienced it, it almost threatened to take over.
But he was far older and far more powerful than that.
He licked and sucked on his fingers with relish, savoring Gavin’s memories and absorbing his Magic. Then, with great effort, he clenched every muscle in his still aching body, calling upon his own restored energy as well as Gavin’s.
He pushed out with his mind even as he surrounded himself within a circle of magic. He felt the flow of magnified energy through his limbs and fingertips as he stood and hollered—so his voice could be heard across the plains to distant planets—beyond the universe and all its realms.
“I…am…Krampusss!”
The earth outside the circle exploded up and out like an atomic bomb. Up and away the dirt flew, leaving Krampus and Gavin unmarred at the bottom of a newly formed crater.
When the cloud of dust and debris cleared, Krampus could once again hear the shriek and howl of the wind. He could once again see the tiny sliver of light that lit his planet at that time of year. In the air was the smell of a coming storm.
He inspected himself. His greenish-gray skin was dusty, but he wasn’t bleeding. His muscles ached and felt sore, but nothing was broken. His tail, though hurting from the weight of the boulder that had fallen on it, swished neatly through the air.
Satisfied with his own self-inspection, Krampus glanced down. At his feet, body ravaged and puny, chest ripped open, was Gavin. His eyes were open and glazed over with the stunned awareness death had been but seconds away.
Krampus was tempted to do something he hadn’t done in a while. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gorged himself on human. But there were other more important things to do, and he couldn’t afford to waste another moment.
Levitating, he rose to the surface of the still heaving planet, then came to stand at the edge of the crater. He stood still and glanced around. Nothing but barren rock and sand as far as the eye could see, bathed in perpetual dusk. He lowered the protective shield surrounding him…
…and screamed, long and loud.
He clutched at his head and squeezed, pressing the heels of his hands into his ears. But it was no use. The dull throbbing in his head was back. So, too, was the infernal high-pitched whine that made his ears hurt.
Krampus nearly fell to his knees in agony, the affliction made stronger, he supposed, by the temporary absence of it. He consoled himself by focusing on one thing: revenge.
Thrusting aside his pain as best he could, Krampus inhaled deeply. His lungs filled with fetid air. He called out to the approaching storm with his mind, coaxing it forward with his newfound magic.
Soon the billowing clouds came, and lightning pierced the skies in an electrical storm the likes of which his planet had never seen. Thunder rumbled, vibrating in his chest, and as the power surged and mounted, it surrounded Krampus like a cyclone.
Krampus chuckled at first, then burst into laughter. The sound of his voice seemed to join forces with what was already happening around him, the way it had so many hundreds of years ago, when he’d been a child and the world had been young.
And as he rushed into the sky, he cried, “Let the Wild Hunt begin!”
Loose Id Titles by Johnny Miles
Casa Rodrigo
Lauderdale Hearts
Learning to Samba
The Rosas of Spanish Harlem
* * * *
The YULETIDE KNIGHTS Series
Yuletide Knights
A Spring Frost
The Hunt for Magic
Johnny Miles
Johnny Miles began his writing career in 1985, when his first erotic short story was published by Numbers magazine. Since then, his work appeared in various adult magazines, including Blueboy, First Hand, and Honcho.
After working in varied careers—from typesetting and graphic design to massage therapy, from customer service to copywriting—Johnny re-entered the world of erotica in 2008 with the release of his first full-length novel, Casa Rodrigo. The controversial story was followed by Lauderdale Hearts, Learning To Samba, The Rosas of Spanish Harlem, Yuletide Knights, and Yuletide Knights 2: A Spring Frost, all available from Loose Id, as well as The Last Stop: USA, released by MLR Press. Non-erotic titles include Christmas Baby and My ABCs.
Casa Rodrigo is now available as an audio play. With four and a half hours of pure aural entertainment and twelve outstanding actors, the story is richly layered and textured with sounds effects that will stimulate your senses. It’s an immersive experience not to be missed!
Johnny lives in Fort Lauderdale with his husband and a grumble of pugs.
Find out more at ht
tp://johnny-miles.com/.
