Yuletide (Matilda Kavanagh Novels Book 3)

by Shauna Granger

  That cold hand gripped my spine, and I nearly stumbled forward.

  Krampus.

  Sparks erupted at my fingertips, and vaguely I heard Joey saying something, but when his red eyes met mine, the whole world fell away.

  He recognized me.

  Chapter 13

  I jumped from the speaker, my soles gripping the slick cement, and I ran. Digging into my pocket, I found the charmed chain and gripped it in both hands as I dove into the crowd. I pushed and wedged myself between people, but they just pushed and pulled back. Masked faces swirled around me, music pounded at my ears, and people laughed. I was trapped in a game of my own making. I screamed at them to let me through, but my words were unintelligible as the German rock band started a new, even louder song.

  Hands were on me, bodies pressing into me, twirling and swinging me around. I lost my bearings and lost sight of Krampus. Two imposter Krampuses broke through the crowd, their clawed hands reaching for me, their frozen faces leering and creepy. I felt the crowd pushing me toward them, and I knew the one with the bundle of switches planned to use it on me.

  Panic bloomed in my gut, and in the next moment, electricity snapped at my fingers. I held my hand up in warning, letting the Krampuses see the promise of pain if they came any closer. Wisely, they stopped, and the crowd shifted away from me, giving me a little space to actually breathe. In that space, I saw the real Krampus turning and running deeper into the crowd. With an animalistic growl, I rushed after him, the charmed chain dangling from one hand and the other alive with power. The crowd didn’t try to stop me this time.

  He darted from side to side, far more nimble than those impersonating him, and just when I was about to reach him, he darted forward out of my reach. I stumbled and nearly fell forward, only catching myself on some poor, unsuspecting reveler. Krampus took the chance to put more distance between us.

  In the next moment, he was through the crowd and up on the stage. The crowd cheered their approval. The Krampus impersonators roared, shook their switches, and waggled their dangling tongues. For a moment, Krampus hesitated, a strained smile pulling at his black lips.

  I shoved forward, rushing for the edge of the stage. His eyes tracked me, his smile falling to be replaced by a snarl. My thumb found the pinkie ring, and I concentrated on my friends, willing them to find me in the crowd. I hit the edge of the stage and struggled to heave myself up. Hands found my ass and pushed me over. I tumbled and came to a stop on my hands and knees with one of the Krampus impersonators grinning at me, wagging his dangling tongue. Heat flushed my face, but I got to my feet and ran.

  Krampus was already halfway up a metal, circular staircase leading to the rafters above the stage. I didn’t know where he was going, but I couldn’t lose sight of him again. When I reached the stairs, they were vibrating under his weight and clumsy stride. I had to put the chain back in my pocket to use both hands as I scrambled after him.

  He stepped out onto the catwalk on suddenly graceful feet and moved along the narrow walkway as though he was born for such heights. I was panting by the time I got to the top of the steps. My heart leapt into my mouth when I saw just how high up we were. The massive lead singer didn’t look so massive from that height, and my head spun at the thought of plummeting to the wooden stage.

  “Stop it,” I whispered to myself and stepped onto the walkway. My legs were heavy and my arms shook, but I took that first step. The next one was a little easier. Soon I was walking with my head up and back straight.

  Krampus had paused when he saw me hesitate, that same strange smile curling his lips, but when I took my first step, he roared in frustration. I was watching my steps, so I didn’t see him reaching for the light until it was too late. I screamed for him to stop, my voice stolen by the music and crowd. He grinned as he released his grip, and the huge spotlight fell.

  Time slowed. I saw the trajectory of the light falling right for the horned beauty playing the guitar. At the far end of the catwalk was a doorway, but I didn’t know where it led. I had two choices—catch Krampus and let the light kill someone or save someone and lose Krampus.

  It was no choice really.

  With a scream that ripped from my body, time sped back up. I threw myself at the catwalk, and my arms went around the narrow walkway. Power shot out of my hands and struck the light in a cascade of sparks, shoving the spotlight off its trajectory. It slammed into the stage just feet away from the guitarist, who stood frozen and stared wide-eyed at the crumpled mass of metal and shattered glass.

  The music stopped abruptly, and people screamed. I drew up my arms and hid my face, making myself as small as possible so that people wouldn’t see me when they looked at the catwalk.

  A gust of cold wind whipped around me, and I lifted my face in time to see Krampus disappear into bright white nothingness through the door at the far end, his laughter echoing behind him. The sound rebounded inside my head long after the door slammed closed.

  ***

  I managed to scramble off the catwalk before the stagehands made it to the top of the stairs. But when I opened the door, the night was black and clear—not the white tundra Krampus had disappeared into—and I wondered for a moment if I was losing my mind. I darted outside before the stagehands found me and had me arrested for attempting to murder someone.

  I called my friends to me with my pinkie ring. The music inside resumed as though nothing at all had just happened. All part of the show, folks!

  Everyone was waiting for me when I made it to the ground. The exterior staircase was just as rickety as the one inside. By the time my feet found the concrete, my whole body was trembling with exhaustion and relief.

  “Here.” Ronnie pulled a tiny bottle of revitalization elixir from her purse and pressed it into my hand.

  I uncorked it and threw back the green liquid like a shot of tequila. The magic of the potion curled through my veins almost immediately. It warmed my belly, and soon my body stopped shaking. I gave Ronnie a grateful smile.

  “So how did you lose him?” Frankie asked. Though she had obviously tried not to, she sounded accusatory.

  It took a lot of will power for me not to rise to her bait.

  “Did you want her to let him kill that girl?” Spencer asked, surprising everyone.

  “Let’s not,” I said, holding up my hands. “Listen, Krampus has portal abilities, so this is going to be a helluva lot harder than I thought.”

  “Did he have his bag?” Ronnie asked.

  “No. At least, I didn’t see it,” I said.

  “Excuse me,” Kyle said, bringing our attention to him. “Portal abilities?”

  “Oh, right,” I said, remembering we were among Weres who weren’t very familiar with magics. Kyle hadn’t been born a Were, so he was raised human and wouldn’t know who Krampus was. “Portal abilities means he has the power to open a door and have it lead anywhere in the world he wants it to.”

  “Worlds,” Ronnie corrected, hitting the plural so hard she hissed.

  “Yes, fine, worlds,” I conceded.

  “What other world would he be opening a door to?” Kyle’s eyes were wide, and a little color drained from his dark face.

  Frankie moved closer to him, putting a finely manicured hand on his arm.

  “Hell,” Ronnie said.

  We all stared at each other, the word hanging between us.

  “That’s just great,” Kyle muttered, shaking his head and sending his tiny braids swinging.

  “I tried to get some pictures of you up there,” Joey said, her finger swiping across her screen so fast her phone couldn’t keep up, “but it was too dark. I didn’t get anything. Damn it.”

  “Pity.” I shook my head, then rolled it from side to side, trying to work out the knots in my neck. “I guess I should call that cop.” I slipped two fingers into the tight pocket of my blazer to pull out my phone.

  “I thought you weren’t going to help them,” Frankie said, her voice as cool as the night air.

  “
I’m not, not really.” I didn’t look at her as I unlocked my phone. “But maybe they can trace him with the signature he left on that door. If they can, they can find him, trap him, and leave me the hell alone.”

  Frankie muttered something, but I couldn’t catch it. It was probably better that I didn’t.

  I punched the contact for Lieutenant Knoll and stepped away from the group. It didn’t take him long to answer, and he was more than accommodating when I told him where I was.

  “He’ll be here in ten,” I said, sliding the phone back into my pocket.

  Frankie slipped off her silver bracelets, making her face shift back to its normal icy beauty. When her horns disappeared, she held out the bracelets, but I had nowhere to put them. Ronnie took them and stashed them in her purse.

  We spent a tense ten minutes waiting for the lieutenant. Ronnie, Joey, and I took warmth from the three Weres. Joey tapped away on her phone, a small smile curling her lips, and I wondered just how many pictures of us were floating around those sites she loved to post to.

  When Frankie growled, the low rumbling a promise of pain, I jumped back, thinking it was meant for me. But then I saw Knoll, two uniformed officers, and the three Collar witches he’d brought with him.

  Althea strode across the parking lot with her head held high, followed by the lackey who had been with her the other night. Beside her was Cassandra Morose, the second in command. She was as haughty as Althea but not as nice. Her jet-black hair was pulled back into a severe bun, making her widow’s peak pull at her forehead. Her heavy, dark eyebrows were perfectly shaped over her wide, emerald eyes. Her pale skin looked luminescent in the moonlight, and she towered over me just like Althea. When Cassandra’s eyes fell on my face, she sniffed lightly, coming to a stop a little too far away.

  “Ms. Kavanagh?” Lieutenant Knoll asked, squinting at my face.

  “Yeah?” I wrinkled my brow at him.

  “Oh, you look so different.”

  “Oh, frogs,” I said, scrambling to take off my bracelets. “Sorry.” I felt my horns and hair shrinking away. When I could breathe easier, I knew my nose was back to normal.

  “That was quite a trick,” Knoll said, holding out his hand for a shake. “Thank you for reconsidering.”

  “I haven’t reconsidered,” I said, making sure Althea and Cassandra heard me. “I just happen to have a solution that might make everyone happy.”

  “Uh, Mattie?”

  Kyle’s voice turned me around, and I realized he was basically holding Frankie back.

  “I think we’re going to head inside. You don’t need us, right?” he said.

  When I looked at Frankie, I realized her eyes had bled to yellow. I thought I could see her teeth pressing at her lips. I waved them off. “Sure, go.”

  “I’m gonna go with them,” Joey said, her voice small but hopeful.

  I waved her off as well. Luckily, Ronnie and Spencer elected to stay with me.

  “You were saying?” Knoll said.

  I turned back to him when my friends disappeared around the corner of the building. “Yeah, so Krampus disappeared through that door, from the inside out.” I pointed at the door at the top of the fire escape. “You could do a tracing spell and find him.”

  “Thank you, Matilda,” Althea said. “We are perfectly capable of assessing the situation.”

  I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

  “So what is the plan, ladies?” Knoll asked, clearly asking Althea and Cassandra.

  “We will have to investigate the area and find his signature. It appears it would be isolated to the door, but one cannot be sure without being up there. Once we have his signature isolated, we can perform a tracing spell. If what Matilda says is true, we should be able to reopen the portal and follow it to where he disappeared.”

  “For the love of frogs,” I grumbled, “is there any way you could have made that explanation longer?”

  Cassandra’s nostrils flared as she glared at me, and I watched her perfect façade crack. It gave me a petty joy.

  “Just go up there and cast the freaking spell,” I said, flinging an arm toward the staircase.

  One of the uniformed officers jolted in surprise, and his hand started to move for his side, as though he wanted to pull his gun. He calmed himself before he did something stupid.

  “There are procedures we have to follow,” Althea said as though she was explaining things to a child. “As the Coven of Los Angeles, we have rules and regulations to follow, especially when assisting the police. We can’t just throw spells around pell-mell.”

  “Frogs on toast.” I shook my head and turned to Knoll for support, expecting him to want to get the show on the road.

  He was staring at the building, shaking his head. “We’ll have to wait until the concert is over.”

  “No,” I said, “that’ll be hours from now. The longer you make them wait, the weaker his signature becomes, and you may lose your chance.”

  Cassandra sniffed, a smirk curling her full lips. “Child, don’t you worry about that.”

  I bristled at the child comment but managed to hold my tongue. “You know signatures fade over time, and with so many auras in the building, it’ll go faster.”

  “We can’t do magic above the heads of so many people,” Knoll said. “It’ll cause a riot. What if they find him, and he jumps out and attacks everyone? No, no. We wait.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but Ronnie put her hand on my shoulder to stop me.

  “I don’t believe we’ll have to worry about losing his signature,” Althea said to Knoll as though she needed to reassure him.

  Cassandra and the other witch tittered in amusement. I gave Ronnie a look of disbelief, but she just shook her head, telling me to be quiet.

  “All right, well,” I said, tugging on the tips of my jacket. “We’ll be on our way then.”

  Knoll held out his hands to stop us. “Oh no, you have to stay.”

  “Why?” I demanded. “I helped. I called you, I told you where he was. I’m not casting with them.” I pointed at the two high witches, and as one, they lifted their chins to look down at me.

  “You’re witnesses. We need you to stay,” Knoll said as if that made any sense.

  “This is stupid. They don’t even want our help!”

  “Your friend can go, but you two have to stay,” Knoll said, pointing at Spencer.

  Spencer’s eyes flashed, and his arm went around Ronnie.

  “Or you can all stay. Fine,” Knoll said.

  “I’m not going to spend my Christmas Eve here.” I planted my hands on my hips to stop the power snapping at my fingers.

  “The concert will be over before dawn,” he said, and I snorted.

  “No, it won’t.”

  Knoll turned on me, all good-natured personality gone from his face and voice. “Ms. Kavanagh, I understand this is a stressful situation, but you need to calm down and be quiet. I don’t want to have to make you.”

  Anger boiled inside me at his veiled threat. My eyes darted to the faces of the three witches behind him, and I found them smirking. I wanted to rip off their faces. Then Ronnie’s hand was on my arm again, her calming presence a cool wash against my hot anger.

  With a dramatic sigh, my shoulders slumped, and I sat on the curb, happy that my ruffled bustle kept the chill of the cement away from my body. Ronnie and Spencer sat next to me, and Ronnie put him between us so we could share his body heat. Spencer awkwardly patted my back. I ignored the uniformed officer who stepped up behind us.

  “Merry fucking Christmas, asshat,” I muttered.

  Ronnie had to hide her face in Spencer’s shoulder to stifle her laugh.

  Chapter 14

  Hours had gone by. My back ached, and my ass was numb. I’d unbuttoned my blazer, hoping to release some of the tension in my shoulders, but I was so tired and so angry, nothing worked. The tip of my nose was practically frozen and starting to run. The first few rays of sunlight were brightening the sky, chasing away the
stars, and the concert was finally ending.

  The stench of bodies and urine and spilled alcohol filled my nostrils. I wondered if I would ever get that smell out of my nose. Cars shuffled forward, honking and screeching as everyone tried to get out of the parking lot at the same time. Now that the light of a new day was coming, I saw just how dingy and creepy the venue really was. There was graffiti on every wall, the chain-link fence was falling down, and people slept in the corners of the exterior doors.

  “Well, this is cheery,” Ronnie whispered.

  Spencer stood and stretched his hands above his head, arching his back and making it pop. His height and breadth made the officer standing watch over us step back. That was the first time I’d smiled all night. I helped Ronnie up, and we both stretched and shook out our hair. I couldn’t help being disappointed that I didn’t get to enjoy the outfit Joey had helped me put together—I had to admit it was pretty cool. As I dusted myself off, Knoll came over.

  “All right, I’ve spoken to the manager of the theater, and they know what’s going on. We’re going to go inside, and you’re going to show us what happened.”

  I glared at Knoll, feeling the argument rising up inside me. I had already told him what happened. I had already told him which door Krampus had gone through. Why did everything have to take so damn long when the police were involved? I waved at him. “Whatever. It’s probably too damn late anyway.”

  Knoll furrowed his brow at me, but he didn’t say anything. In a group, we turned for the theater. In the light of day, the inside of the theater had lost its charm. It was filthy from the audience, trash and confetti scattered all over the cement floor. The air inside was stale with the scent of bodies and something sour like spilled beer or vomit. Probably both.

  The manager was waiting for us on the stage, and I was disappointed to find it creaking and in dire need of refinishing. There were a bunch of broken boards were the light had crashed hours before.

  “Ms. Kavanagh?” Knoll said.

  I spun, realizing I’d been zoning out on the décor, or lack thereof, of the theater. “Right, so this way.”