Page 5 of Some Swans Don't Swim
I nodded. “You guys go. Eddie, if you learn how to catch Krampus, call me. Oh, and take Night’s Fall with you? Bird-swords don’t fight demons. So says me.”
Jacek took the sword from me while he admired the blade. “You heard the lady. No demons for you. But maybe a tiny corner of Eddie?”
Eddie smacked him in the shoulder, still reading his Krampus book.
Sawyer took my arm and squeezed, his amber eyes filled with worry. “Are you sure about this, Belle?”
“As long as I know you guys aren’t Krampus food, I totally got this.” Of course I left off the part that I was vampire meat too. Didn’t matter. The food chain would be back in tip-top shape when I caught the beast. “And you, too, Cleo. Get inside.”
She growled, obviously not a fan of leaving her boyfriend behind.
Luc winked at her. “It’s okay, Cleo. Go on, and I’ll give you extra belly rubs when this is all done.”
She lolled her tongue out at that, thwacking her tail against my leg so hard it hurt, and pranced toward the empty house with an extra butt wiggle.
My three loves followed, skidding gracefully across the street, with Jacek’s words floating out behind them, “Should we feel relieved or emasculated or both?”
The other two didn’t seem to have an answer.
I grinned but it faded when I noticed the devil’s gaze locked on my mouth. “What are you staring at?”
He looked away, his jaw pulsing. “Nothing.”
“Well, nothing some other time, Satan, and tell me the plan.”
“You distract him.” He pulled a chain from the inside of his black leather jacket, much too long and thick to fit inside there without a little magic. “I wrap this chain around him and drag him back to hell.”
I leveled him with an incredulous look. “That’s your plan.”
“Yeah...”
“No back-up plan in case I get eaten?”
“Don’t get eaten.” He shrugged, his smug grin a perfect target for my fist.
“Great plan.” I almost rolled my eyes, but honestly, if I kept doing that around him, my eyes would turn into a constantly scrolling slot machine. I was sure of it.
Luc pointed down the road. “Sometimes he lures children out by the sound of his sleigh bells. The kids think he’s Santa and come running.”
Now that was just unfair. “How very awful of him,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’m sure it won’t take long for him to pick up your—” He vanished. As in, just like that. Gone, chain and all.
“Uh...” I looked around the icy street, my gaze catching on the frozen cars parked on the sides and thinking I’d found myself in an inappropriately timed game of hide-and-seek. “Where are you, Satan?”
Silence, except for creaking, icy branches above. I was very much alone. A deep growl reverberated up the street. Well, not totally alone. I gripped my god bone tight while I took my seraph knife from my thigh holster. The devil had said not to kill Krampus, but the devil wasn’t here. I would do what was necessary so I wouldn’t get chomped.
“Let’s go, goat demon,” I said.
About twenty yards ahead, the icy dome of trees overhead rustled. Ice cracked and fell, though I still couldn’t see anything, which was weird since I had amazing vampiric/fae/pirate twenty-twenty eyesight. Still, it made me wonder just how tall this thing was. When I’d heard the word goat, I’d immediately thought...goat. Regular goat. Goat-sized goat.
Maybe not. Silly me.
Another car alarm sounded from about fifteen yards away, and then a car flew through the air and crashed into another parked one across the street. The flying car flattened on impact and molded itself to the top of the other. Its alarm stopped. That was one way to solve that noisy problem.
This seemed less and less like a good idea.
I glanced at the other houses along the street. Surely not all the families who lived in them were vacationing in Florida. Krampus must’ve had a volume control on his...whatever the hell he was doing right now. Playing? With me? I was in no mood.
