Page 30 of Scary & Bright
“It’s something that’s best if you see it in person,” he said just after jerking his neck to each side to loosen himself up.
I sat frozen, suddenly struck with nerves. Seeing my anxiety take over my expression, he took a deep breath and continued.
“Don’t feel like you have to, because you don’t,” he assured me. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, and the last thing I want is to make you feel pressured. But I really do think it is a perfect ending to the story I just told you.”
I bit my lip and considered his proposal. Going anywhere with him felt like I was entering a lion’s den—even if he was forced into this role, I was all too aware of what he was capable of doing. But my thoughts didn’t change. What did I have to lose?
“All right,” I said, rising to my feet and draping the blanket over the back of the chair. “I suppose I am invested, after all.”
As soon as I was fully standing, the reality of how massive Krampus was hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew he was big. I saw how he’d filled out the armchair across from me, and I’d thrown his arm off of me the moment I woke up, but standing near him really put it in perspective. Not only was he tall, he was extremely tall. By my best guess, the top of my head would only come up to the bottom of his pectorals, and I was not a short girl by any means.
“Wonderful,” he said as he waltzed toward the bedroom door, his heavy cloven hooves forcing the hardwood floor to creak under his weight. Despite his size, he was eerily graceful, like a black panther slinking across the rainforest floor. “In that case—after you.” He pulled the door open and gestured for me to take the lead.
As the two of us walked down the spiral balcony, I noticed the castle had gone through a bit of a change since I’d last seen it. There were windows. Not a ton, but enough to make a difference. The huge Christmas tree shooting up the center of the castle was decorated differently than I remembered. It was bright and colorful, like a cheerful take on the Las Vegas strip.
“Where are all the toys?” I asked, noting how empty the castle felt.
“I think they’re trying to give us—I mean me—space,” Krampus admitted, carefully matching his steps with mine to keep his pace. “I’ve been a bit short with them the past few days. Several had wanted to visit with me while you were out, and I sent them away. I was… stressed.”
“Stressed?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t ever learned from the creature why he hadn’t just let me die out in the snow. “Why?”
“I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up.” He sighed in return, a touch of shame gracing his words. Or was it embarrassment? “And I was stressed out about that.”
“But why, though?” I pressed, feeling just comfortable enough to let the annoying, persistent parts of my personality shine through. “If I was sent here to die, what did it matter if I died out there? Or is there some rule that you, specifically, have to be the one to do it?”
“To answer that last part, I really don’t know,” Krampus said with a shrug. “It always seemed more humane to just… get it over with quickly, you know?” He looked at me to gauge my response, and I gave him a sympathetic, crooked half-smile to tell him I understood his reasoning. “But to answer your first question? I was stressed because I didn’t want you to die, Holly.”
My name across his lips was so crisp, so clean, and it somehow sounded the way a peaceful snowfall felt. It was like a cat curled up by a fire, or the tinkling of ice in a crystal tumbler.
Krampus stopped his slow descent down the stairs, but I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice until I was a few steps ahead of him.
“Sorry about that,” he said as I turned back to face him. He picked up his pace to catch up with me and quickly changed the subject before I could pester him for anything more than he had already given me. Within just a few moments, we were at the bottom of the stairs, and I paused to allow him to take the lead. From here, I had no idea where we were going.
“Anyway, let’s head out the front door,” Krampus mused, veering off hard to the left of the tree. He seemed tense, more so than he had been, like he was somehow the one walking into a trap or toward bitter disappointment.
It occurred to me then that while I had explored all of the castle surrounding the tree, there was an entire other wing that I hadn’t seen yet. There was a grand possibility that there was more than just one wing I hadn’t seen. Following Krampus offered me another view of the castle and better oriented me to the blueprint of the space.
On the other side of the tree from where the stairs began was a tall, triangular doorway that led into a foyer. The floor shifted immediately from the warm, dark hardwood to a sparkling white, black, red, and green tile arranged in diamond shapes. It almost mimicked a plaid pattern. The walls were adorned from top to bottom with art pieces, arranged like a puzzle across every inch of open space. There were images of reindeer, ornaments, snow-covered pine trees, bells, what I could only guess were more family photos, and maps of the world. Hanging over our heads was a chandelier made of reindeer antlers and a ceiling painted with moons and stars. The front entrance was straight ahead, two double doors adorned with more antlers, and just beside it was a coat rack, more glamorous than the one near the basement, featuring a large selection of outerwear to choose from.
“Take whatever you like,” Krampus said as he shot me a reassuring smile. “Hats are under the coats, and gloves are in the pockets.” He hoisted a long fur coat over his shoulders and shoved his hands into a pair of mittens. “And I don’t need 'em, obviously, but there are a few pairs of boots on the floor. There are a few sizes. I wasn’t sure which you’d need.”
“I appreciate the organization,” I said with a small smile in return. “And the boots…”
The tense politeness between us was beginning to loosen with every passing moment as the sense of immediate danger was beginning to wane. At this point, while I was still concerned for my safety, the worry that Krampus was going to turn on me like a rabid dog was fading. There was something inherently thoughtful in how he considered that I’d need boots if I was going to be hanging around the South Pole. The mediocre shoes I’d ventured out in the first time left much to be desired, and I was thankful to have another option.
“If I could keep my apartment even a sliver as put together as this place, I’d probably be much better off.” I pulled a white down coat off the rack and shoved my arms in.
“If you’re ever presented with the opportunity to be stuck in a castle with only a swarm of eager, helpful old toys, I think you’d find the organization fairly easy to come by.” He laughed.
Once we were both bundled up and prepared to head outside, Krampus unlocked the door and pulled it open, allowing a frigid gust of air to burst into the foyer, bringing with it a thin dusting of snow.
“Shit, sorry!” Krampus grunted, noting how abrasive the shift in weather was. “You never really get used to all this.” He walked out the door in front of me to brace against the cold and carefully pulled the door shut behind us, his arm extending over the top of my head.
Once we were entirely outside, I realized the wind wasn’t too bad. The change in temperature from inside to outside must have made it feel more intense than it actually was.
“All right, uh, let’s get moving,” Krampus said, offering me his arm. “If you’d like, you can hang onto me. Sometimes the snow and ice is not the sturdiest thing to walk on.”
I immediately looped my arm through his and was shocked at how naturally the action came. I didn’t even second-guess myself. Through the soft material of his coat, I could feel his muscles tense under my touch.