Page 9 of Unholy Night

“Just what are you implying?” Santa stands up and I swear I can literally feel the tension in the room amp up. Where I have alway thought Santa would be warm and cozy, like a fireplace during a winter storm, he is all hard ice and sharp edges. Instead, it’s the Devil himself filling our half of the room with warmth and a sense of security.

“Pedophilia. I have a place I’d love for you to visit.” Satan closes and opens his hands. “For eternity. I’ve worked very hard to make sure it’s a veryspecialexperience for people like you.”

“Pedophile? You’re accusing me of being a pedophile? If I didn’t think it would upset your father, I’d kill you right here.” A howling wind seems to spring to life around Santa, his bushy beard floating in the gusts. “Do you know how hard it is for children to trust nowadays? To get them to tell me their most heartfelt wishes without fear? You think it’s so easy to do my job? You think it’s simple to make billions of children happy when I only have one night?”

“If someone like you can do it, then I must say it would be supremely simple for someone likeme.” The derision in Lucifer’s voice is so thick even Mandy seems to pick up on it, so I wrap my arms around her even tighter.

“Is that so?” Santa’s blue eyes are flickering with their own strange magic. Nothing like the twinkle Mandy and I read about in the stories. More like lightning about to strike.

“Without doubt.” A shadow appears behind Lucifer, stretching and closing, as if it’s a pair of wings. I raise a shaking hand to my mouth. Am I really seeing this?

“Fine.” All of the wind stops, leaving the room oddly still. “Then you do it.”

“I will--wait. What?” The fire disappears from Lucifer’s hands and the shadow behind him vanishes. “Do what?”

“My job. You want it so badly, you do it.” Santa leans over and picks up his bag before launching it at Lucifer, who catches it hard in the gut with an oomph. “I have no reason to stand here and argue with a petulant child.”

“Again, I’m far older than you are.” Lucifer’s menacing words hold a bit of confusion.

“Then act like it,” the heavy-set man snaps. “Go. Be Santa Claus. If it’s so easy, you’ll be done in no time.”

“I’m not doing your job.” Lucifer drops the bag and it lands with a heavy thump.

“Then there will be no Christmas.” The blue eyes narrow. “And tomorrow morning when there is even less magic filling the earthly plane, everyone will have you to thank for it.”

“Now see here!” Lucifer’s eyes are so wide it would have been comical if they weren’t having a showdown in my living room on Christmas Eve in front of my child.

With one last look in our direction, Santa gives us a brief nod before lying his finger beside his nose and disappearing completely.

If there was any doubt these two are who they say they are, this crushes them all. Fire, magic, and a disappearing Saint Nicholas.

Silence reigns in the room before Mandy’s tiny voice pipes up. “How are we going to deliver all the presents? Do you have a sleigh?”

“A sleigh?” A bewildered look flits across Lucifer’s face. “Whatever for?”

“To deliver the presents,” she says, like it should be obvious “We can’t let all the kids be disappointed just because Santa is having a cranky day.” Mandy steps out of my arms and gestures at the sack. “If you don’t have a sleigh, how are we going to get from house to house?”

Wait. Why is she including us in this? I run a hand over my face.

“Mandy. Bunny. We can’t deliver Santa’s presents. We’re human. We don’t have any magic.” I place a hand on her shoulder.

“That’s not exactly true,” Lucifer says. “Magic was gifted to humans long ago, but eventually it was taken away because you abused it.” He looks me over. “Well, it has been dying off over the generations. The idiotic witch hunts had a big hand in that. I suppose there could still be some lineages with a bit of magic left.”

I stare at him. For all the world, he sounds exactly like one of my history professors from college when someone got an answer wrong and he gently corrected them.

“What are you saying?” I ask, holding Mandy close to me.

Now that Santa’s gone, disappearing in a puff of smoke as it were, the tension has drained from the room, along with my adrenaline. I’m cold now, shivering, standing in just underwear and a shirt, and with the way Lucifer’s eyes take me in, top to bottom, I’m keenly aware of an entirely different kind of chemistry filling the space between us.

I blink, pushing thoughts that could definitely land me on the naughty list into the back recesses of my mind. It’s been awhile since a man has looked at me the way the King of Hell is currently looking at me. To be honest, I’m not sure anyone has ever so fully devoured me with their eyes, but this is neither the time nor the place to play out those fantasies. My priority is Mandy. There isn’t time for anything else.

Lucifer grins with such a devilish knowing I wonder if he can read my mind. It’s possible, I suppose. I have no idea what kind of powers Satan has.

“Only someone with magic in them would be able to see me or the pervy elf. Not even most kids can see us, which is how Santa gets away with his breaking and entering schtickevery year. And the few kids who can see us usually lose all their magic when they hit puberty.” His voice is smooth as whiskey on a cold night, but his words jolt something awake inside of me.

“Are you saying…?” I can’t finish the sentence. It seems too outlandish.

But he smiles and gives a small nod. “Kids used to channel more magic. But these days, they are too lost in their electronics to notice anything else. But you…”

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