A Krampus Country Christmas: Day 20

 

Chapter 20: The Keeper of the Red Forest

The moment the Hunter stepped out of the woods, the storm stopped pretending to be weather. Wind slammed into the house from all sides, rattling the windows like fists. The lantern light flickered. The air smelled like burning cedar and cold iron. Nothing natural, nothing safe.

Nick stood in the doorway, enormous and trembling, claws curling into the frame.

“Go,” he said. “Now.”

Holly grabbed Max’s coat with shaking hands. “Where?”

“Into the woods.”

“That’s the worst suggestion!”

“It’s the only suggestioin” Nick said, voice raw. “The house won’t hold. But the Red Forest… might.”

Max froze. Holly’s stomach dropped.

“The Red Forest,” she whispered. “From his dreams.”

Nick turned, eyes burning. “Those weren’t dreams.”

Another crash shook the house. The Hunter’s massive bulk slamming against the side like a battering ram of shadow and bone. Nick didn’t wait. He scooped Max into one massive arm — Max yelped but clung to him — and grabbed Holly’s hand with his other. His claws were cold, but his grip was steady.

“Hold on,” he said, and they ran.

Snow exploded beneath their feet, the woods swallowing them whole. Branches whipped past like knives. Holly nearly fell twice, but Nick held her up, dragging her forward with terrifying strength. Behind them came the laughter — the minions — high and shrill. And beneath it, the Hunter’s deep, hungry, ancient bellow.

“Nick!” Holly shouted over the wind. “Where are we going?”

Nick didn’t look back. “To the boundary.”

“What boundary?”

“The one between your world and mine.”

A branch snapped behind them — loud, too close.

“Nick!” Max cried, clinging tighter.

“I know,” Nick said, breath ragged. “Almost there.”

The trees grew taller, darker. The snow beneath them glowed faintly red.

Holly skidded to a stop. “Nick. The ground —"

“Don’t let go,” he said.

The snow brightened, pulsing like a heartbeat. The trees around them shifted — bark glowing with ember veins, branches curling like antlers.

Max gasped. “It’s the forest! From my dreams!”

“No,” Nick said. “It’s the forest that dreams you.”

Before Holly could ask what that meant, the ground vanished beneath them.

They didn’t fall. They drifted slowly, weightlessly into a world of red-gold light. Trees rose like pillars of flame, their trunks glowing from within. The air shimmered with floating ash that didn’t burn. Strange symbols flickered underfoot like footprints left by ancient beasts.

Sound didn’t work right here. Wind whispered upward instead of across. Snow fell in arcs, spiraling back into the treetops. Holly clutched Max, staring around in horrified awe.

“Nick,” she whispered. “Where are we?”

He stepped forward, his body relaxing slightly as the glamour fell away completely.
In this place, his monstrous form looked… right. Like he belonged.

“This,” he said quietly, “is the Red Forest.”

Max peered around. “Why did I see it in my dreams?”

Nick knelt, setting Max gently on his feet, claws hovering protectively near him.

“Because the forest has been watching you.”

“That’s not comforting,” Holly muttered.

Nick’s voice softened. “It doesn’t watch to harm.”

“Then why?” Holly asked.

Nick exhaled — a sound full of centuries. “Because Max is… remarkable.”

Max blinked. “Me?”

Nick nodded. “You’re not naughty. Not truly. You’re curious. Determined. Fearless. The List doesn’t know how to categorize that.” A pause. “And some of us don’t want to.”

Max swallowed. “You mean… you?”

Nick didn’t answer.

Holly stepped closer. “Nick, why bring us here?”

His voice dropped. “Because this is the only place the Hunter fears. And the only place your son is safe.”

A low rumble deeper than thunder echoed through the trees. The whole forest shook.

Max clung to Holly. Nick turned toward the sound, horns gleaming red.

“The Keeper,” he said.

Holly felt her pulse stutter. “The what?”

“The guardian of the Red Forest. The one who decides which souls pass through unharmed… and which do not.”

Holly threw up her hands. “We got minions. We got hunters. We got keepers. The holidays, amiright?”

As the rumble grew louder, the trees bent outward as if bowing. Footsteps shook the ground.

Nick straightened to his full height. “Stay behind me.”

Holly grabbed Max and obeyed.

Through the fiery glow, a shape emerged from between the trees: huge, ancient, antlers twisted like living roots, eyes deep and burning with the weight of ages. Not the Hunter. Something older than time itself. A presence whose judgment filled the space around them.

“The Keeper,” Nick whispered.

Its eyes fixed on Max.

Max whispered, “Mom, I think it knows me.”

Nick stepped forward, placing himself between Max and the creature.

“No,” Nick growled. “You face me.”

The Keeper’s voice boomed like a thousand cracking trees.

“YOU DEFY THE NIGHT, KRAMPUS.”

Nick didn’t move.

“YOU SHELTER THE BOY.”

“Yes.”

“YOU BREAK THE ANCIENT ORDER.”

Nick swallowed hard. “Yes.”

The Keeper leaned down, so tall Holly thought it might crush them all.

“THEN PROVE YOUR WORTH.”

The forest shook. Nick squared his shoulders. Holly grabbed his arm.

“Nick — what does that mean?”

He closed his eyes.

“It means,” he whispered, “Krampusnacht has begun its trial.”

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