A Vampire's Christmas Carol by Cynthia Eden Page B

the vamp’s body had to be burned until only ashes remained.
    William laughed. “Your kind needs the invitation to enter. Not mine.”  The flames vanished. William’s tattoos swirled.  “I’m here to repay a debt, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
    Ben ground his teeth together. “I never meant to save you. Does that cancel the debt?”
    William’s blue eyes glinted. “No.”
    Hell.
    The demon’s head cocked to the right. His hair was long and dark, hanging to his shoulders. “Do you know what tomorrow is, vampire?”
    Sure he did. He might be a vamp, but he wasn’t an idiot. As he’d slogged through the town of Desolate, Ben hadn’t exactly missed the decorations that hung from every storefront. “Christmas.”  Just saying the word made pain wrench through him.  He’d become a vampire ten years ago, right before Christmas. He’d lost
her,
right after the clock struck midnight on what the humans thought was such a happy day.
    Ben raked a hand through his hair. “I fucking hate Christmas.”
    William’s lips twitched, then he waved his hand toward the bare cabin walls. “That would explain the lack of decorations in your, uh, charming abode here. You know, a tree, some garland—shit like that would really liven up this dump.”
    Ben’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re a demon.”
    “Talk about stating the obvious.” William sighed. “I’m a demon, but I’m not evil.” His lips definitely twisted into a smile this time. “
And I fucking love Christmas.
I mean, seriously—presents? Spiked eggnog? How does it get better?”
    Ben’s temples started to pound. “Get out of my house.”
    “I don’t know that this place qualifies as a house.”
    The demon was a total dick.
    William shook his head. “Besides, I can’t just walk away from you. That’s not how it works.” His gaze dipped around the little cabin once more. “Maybe I’ll decorate it for you. I’m sure
she
would appreciate some Christmas touches.”
    Right. The demon was a dick,
and
he was insane. “There aren’t any women here. Just one psychotic demon and—”
    “A vampire who is getting his
last
chance to change.”  The words held no humor. Only cold, hard promise. “The others downstairs, they wanted to mark you as evil already. To just put your name on the list and consider your fate sealed.”
    Ben stilled.
Downstairs?
    “The powers-that-be have looked ahead, you see, and they know what you’re going to do.”
    Cold air seemed to fill the room.  
    “But I don’t think you’ve crossed the line yet,” the demon said with another shake of his head. “And since I owe you, I agreed to do this little routine once more.”
    Routine? Ben felt so fucking lost.
    William shrugged. “I’ve done it a few times in the past. Sometimes it works.” Sadness crept over his face. “And, sometimes there is no saving the lost.” His gaze raked over Ben. “The debt I owe you
will
be paid by midnight. One way or another.”   
    “I don’t care if your blood burns,” Ben said, pushed too far. “I’m about to drain you.”
    The fire flared again, and in the next instant, William was right in front of Ben.  The demon was
fast.
“You should be more grateful. You’re immortal. One of the most powerful vampires I’ve ever come across. But you’re going down a dark and dangerous path, a path you don’t want to take.”
    Ben offered him a grim smile. “It’s the only path for me.” Blood and death and demons. Yeah, that all seemed right.   
    “Once you wanted more.”  William grabbed Ben’s hand. The demon’s touch burned, and smoke rose from Ben’s skin. “You just need to remember that. Remember who you were before.” 
    Ben twisted his wrist, but, even with his vamp strength, he couldn’t break free from William’s hold.  “Let. Me. Go.” Or he’d be ripping the demon’s head off in the next five seconds.
    “I’m the first visitor of the night.”
    The first?
    “There will be