A Krampus Country Christmas: Day 19

 Chapter 19: The Hunt Begins

The moment Nick said “Yes, we’re in danger,” the house seemed to shrink around Holly — walls tightening, shadows deepening, the old wood groaning under the weight of something ancient pressing in.

Outside, the wind changed. It didn’t howl. It shrieked, high and sharp, as though the night were full of voices calling a name she did not want to hear. Max shrank behind her.
Nick rose to his full, monstrous height — horns casting jagged shadows on the walls, red light pulsing faintly beneath his skin. Whatever illusion of safety Holly had been clinging to cracked like a thin layer of ice.

“Mom,” Max whispered. “Something’s out there.”

Holly forced herself to steady her breath. “Get behind me, sweetheart.”

Nick shook his head. “No. Behind me.”

Something slammed against the front door. Hard. The entire house rattled. Max yelped. Holly’s heart leapt into her throat.

Nick crouched low, claws flexing. “They’re testing the boundaries.”

“Who?” Holly demanded, voice shaking.

“My underlings,” Nick said, his voice turning low and grim. “The ones who whisper children onto the Naughty List. They’re lesser, but persistent. They think I’ve gone rogue.”

Holly swallowed. “And have you?”

The question hung in the air. Nick’s hesitation to answer spoke volumes.

Another slam at the door. A scrape along the siding. A giggle — thin, high, cruel.

“They’re trying to come in,” Max whispered with palpable fright.

“Not while I’m here,” Nick growled.

But Holly heard the fear beneath it. It was fear not of the minions, but for them. For her.
For Max. Maybe even for himself. The door suddenly buckled inward, hinges straining.

Holly jumped. “Nick!”

“I’ll handle it,” Nick said, stepping between her and the door. “Stay behind me. Keep Max close.”

The next hit splintered the top of the doorframe. Snow burst through the cracks, swirling unnaturally, carrying with it a smell like burnt candy and old mischief. A thin black shape wriggled through the widening gap — small, hunched, wearing a knitted holiday hat stretched too tight over horns.

Greeble.

His grin split his face. “Boss,” he hissed, “we’re here for your performance review.”

Nick roared — a sound that shook the rafters.

Greeble shrieked with laughter and darted back outside.

Holly’s hands shook. “What do they want?”

“The boy,” Nick said, voice like grinding embers. “And if they can’t get him—”

The door exploded inward. Two minions, Blip and Snarl, tumbled through, all claws and tinsel-wrapped malice. They moved fast, scampering across the floor, knocking ornaments from the tree, sending Holly’s framed pictures crashing down. Max screamed.

Nick lunged, slamming one minion into a wall so hard the plaster cracked. The other skittered up the staircase, shrieking a taunt Holly didn’t understand.

“Nick!” Holly cried. “Max!”

She grabbed her son and pulled him close as Blip leapt toward them. Nick intercepted him midair, claws wrapping around the creature’s scruff.

“You dare,” Nick snarled, “touch what is under my protection?”

Blip squealed. “Oh-ho, under your protection? Sounds like someone’s gone soft!”

Nick hurled him through the open doorway and into the snow with bone-rattling force.

A storm of laughter echoed from the woods. Not human laughter. Not even minion laughter. Something bigger. Deeper. Older.

Nick froze.

Holly saw it in his eyes — recognition. And dread.

“Oh no,” he whispered. “Already?”

“What?” she gasped. “What is it?”

Nick slowly turned toward the open door. Beyond it, past the swirling snow, a shape was moving between the trees. Huge. Hulking. Antlers or branches — she couldn’t tell which.
Glowing embers for eyes.

Max whimpered. “Mom, it’s the one from my dreams.”

Nick’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Krampusnacht’s Herald. The Hunter.”

Holly clutched Max tight. “Nick, what does it want?”

Nick swallowed hard. The first she’d ever seen him truly afraid.

“It wants me,” he said. “Or the boy.” He stepped forward, blocking the doorway with his body. “But it won’t have either.”

A thunderous crack shook the woods. Branches snapped like bones. Snow fell in sheets. Nick turned to Holly and for the first time, she saw desperation in his face.

“You must trust me,” he said quietly. “Whatever happens next.”

Holly nodded. She didn’t know why. But she did.

Nick braced himself. The Hunter took another step toward the farm. The minions circled. The storm tightened around them like a fist.

That’s when Holly realized: The hunt had begun.







My new comedic sci-fi novel, Someone Else's Book Club, is available on my website or through Amazon! 

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