“He has gone to Hell with his master – and you – you, dear Alex are free.” Alte Hexe stumbled to the bed as if growing weaker. Alex slipped an arm around her and heaved her frail bones onto the mattress. “And now, my promise to your sister is fulfilled. I have kept myself alive through potions and prayers, but now it is time for me to go home, too.” She smiled, closed her eyes, and exhaled very loudly.
“What? I--” Alex started, but knew Alte Hexe had died. He laid her now limp body back into the bed, his thoughts drawn to that Krampusnacht so long ago, to the chanting, robed people circling the blazing fire and to the screams of terror from his long-dead friends.
He surveyed the destruction of the room, the peaceful body of the old hag, the weeping figure of poor Gertrude, and the sprawled corpse of Gerd drowning in his concealing robe. And, he knew that he was finally free.
Epilogue
Dallas, Texas, Two Years Later
It was rare that snow actually fell in Dallas in December, but it did that year just the same. Alex arose quietly from bed, careful not to awaken Stephanie who slept soundly beside him. He went into the kitchen, made coffee, and then went to the sliding glass door that looked out on the balcony and courtyard of his apartment complex. He looked but had to blink before he really let himself register what he was seeing.
Snow.
It was snowing.
Despite his childhood in Germany, every time it snowed here, he felt a return of magic, a peaceful lull that came over the land, as if the blanket of white refreshed everything, and made the world new.
He didn’t hear Stephanie come up behind him.
She padded quietly on bare feet, then slid her arms around his waist and pressed her lips against his neck, kissing him. She gave a contended moan and she looked out and saw the snow. “Oh Alex, it’s beautiful.”
He smiled and turned toward her. He surveyed her face, her fair skin, the gentle slope of her features, the cerulean blue of her eyes and her slightly mussed blonde hair. He pulled her into an embrace, running his hands gently over the curves of her body beneath the silken negligée. They kissed.
Alec smiled at her. “You are beautiful.”
“Mmmm. You are an amazing man, Alex Brandt.”
“I make a pretty good cup of coffee, too.”
“Among other things,” she grinned and flashed a cute smile.
Moments later they had coffee together and sat on the couch. Stephanie snuggled against him and they turned on the TV, pulling a quilt over them. Stephanie had turned on the Christmas lights. It was the first year he’d ever had them, and instead of giving her the runaround about why he’d never celebrated before, he just agreed to it and let her decorate his place. Now, sitting in front of the TV to the perennial re-run of It’s a Wonderful Life, under the sparkling glow of multicolored lights and the glittering tree, fluffy snow falling outside the windows, he wondered how he ever could have thought this was a bad thing.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Alex said.
“Merry Christmas, love,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek.
Stephanie cuddled against him. He smelled the scent of her shampoo and his heart felt two sizes too big. This is a good thing, he thought. A marvelous thing. Holidays he could actually celebrate, and a woman, finally, who he loved and who loved him back.
Alex held her a little tighter, and smiled.
About the Authors
Christopher Fulbright is a former reporter turned technical writer whose stories have received honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror and Best Horror of the Year. Angeline Hawkes is a Bram Stoker-award nominated author with a B.A. in Composite English Language Arts. Individually and collaboratively they have been published by Delirium Books, Dark Regions Press, Bad Moon Books, Chaosium, and many others. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.fulbrightandhawkes.com/.
Other Books from Dark Regions Press
Dark Regions Press is an independent specialty publisher of horror, dark fiction, fantasy and science fiction, specializing in horror and dark fiction and in business since 1985. We have gained recognition around the world for our creative works in genre fiction and poetry. We were awarded the Horror Writers Association 2010 Specialty Press Award and the Italian 2012 Black Spot award for Excellence in a Foreign Publisher. We produce premium signed hardcover editions for collectors as well as quality trade paperbacks and ebook editions. Our books have received five Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers Association.
We have published hundreds of authors, artists and poets such as Kevin J. Anderson, Bentley Little, Michael D. Resnick, Rick Hautala, Bruce Boston, Robert Frazier, W.H. Pugmire, Simon Strantzas, Jeffrey Thomas, Charlee Jacob, Richard Gavin, Tim Waggoner and hundreds more. Dark Regions Press has been creating specialty books and creative projects for over twenty-seven years.
For information on other books currently available from Dark Regions Press, please visit our website at http://www.darkregions.com.
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