devil out into the open, and the army of souls quickly cleared away, seeking the heavens or some other respite away from the monster in shredded skin. The creature held still once he’d revealed himself, unsure of which souls to chase down, or whether to come after Leo again, and the men made their move in his moment of indecision.
Remkar opened the lantern to the east, letting loose a thin howl, and a mighty one answered as before. Other howls joined it and the pack of wolves returned from the west, bursting over the warm stream where the devil stood near the freezing warriors. They glanced at Leo once, his scent still in their snouts and on their tongues, and then found his scent again in the ragged flesh hanging around the shadowy devil, mixed with fresh blood and a deader man’s stink. The wolves lunged at once onto the skin, snapping and biting at their new prey, and as easily as they could tear apart a dead man’s skin, they tore apart the devil that had merged with it, pulling away his horns, bony claws, chunks of flesh, his hooves, and soon pieces of his face.
As the devil was ripped limb from limb, prayers and whispers and promises unfulfilled, Remkar and Bahn carried Leo away with numbness overtaking their limbs and chests. They could scarcely feel their feet anymore, and about halfway to reaching where they’d turned around, the two carriers collapsed in the snow beneath the trunk of a fat tree, its branches as barren with life as the men below.
As the storm eased, the witch came wandering by and shook her head at the sight of the dead men. “I couldn’t shelter you with the dead at your heels. If you’d not wasted my gift, you might’ve stayed warm.”
When the witch was gone, the giant came thundering past and shrugged at the sight of the dead men. “I couldn’t shelter you with the wolves slavering after you. If you’d not wasted my gift, you might’ve found your way faster.”
At the storm’s end, the antlered man came strolling by and lifted the dead men into his massive arms. “I couldn’t shelter you and risk association with that eater of men’s wills. If you’d wrapped the skin around you and pretended to be someone else, you might have beaten the devil. Waste not, want not.” But he knew just as well as the witch and the giant that the men couldn’t hear a word he said. He then carried the bodies to his home in the woods, where he could make use of them.
Krampus the Generous
In the early days of one winter, when the snow fell thick and a certain someone was soon to go house to house, delivering gifts from a sleigh pulled by eight goats, Canja burned her little sister’s doll in the snow behind their house. The doll was made of strong oak wood and the fire took its time in spreading, but eventually its surface blackened in the snow and the smoke rose high beyond the trees.
Canja was soon caught by her mother and sister, once the doll was too ruined to be saved. “It watched me!” Canja cried.
“Your sister loved that doll!” her mother shouted, smacking the back of her eldest daughter’s head. “It was a simple toy. Why would it watch you?”
“It was made too much like a person,” Canja said. “The Yuletide King will bring Tanya a new, better one, you’ll see.”
“And what of you?” Mama grasped Canja by the wrist, dragging her away from where the charred wooden chunk lay in the snow. Tanya followed in tears. “The way I see, my daughter, he will bring your sister a doll of her liking, akin to the last one, and bring you nothing but the wrath of Krampus. Tomorrow, we will all go to the winter feast in the village below the mountain, but will both my daughters be there? Or will one have been taken into the woods for her mischief?”
Canja was shoved into the bedroom she shared with her sister and was left alone to think on her mother’s words. She had not worried over Krampus since she was Tanya’s age, for she did few ill deeds. The doll had to be dealt
Remkar opened the lantern to the east, letting loose a thin howl, and a mighty one answered as before. Other howls joined it and the pack of wolves returned from the west, bursting over the warm stream where the devil stood near the freezing warriors. They glanced at Leo once, his scent still in their snouts and on their tongues, and then found his scent again in the ragged flesh hanging around the shadowy devil, mixed with fresh blood and a deader man’s stink. The wolves lunged at once onto the skin, snapping and biting at their new prey, and as easily as they could tear apart a dead man’s skin, they tore apart the devil that had merged with it, pulling away his horns, bony claws, chunks of flesh, his hooves, and soon pieces of his face.
As the devil was ripped limb from limb, prayers and whispers and promises unfulfilled, Remkar and Bahn carried Leo away with numbness overtaking their limbs and chests. They could scarcely feel their feet anymore, and about halfway to reaching where they’d turned around, the two carriers collapsed in the snow beneath the trunk of a fat tree, its branches as barren with life as the men below.
As the storm eased, the witch came wandering by and shook her head at the sight of the dead men. “I couldn’t shelter you with the dead at your heels. If you’d not wasted my gift, you might’ve stayed warm.”
When the witch was gone, the giant came thundering past and shrugged at the sight of the dead men. “I couldn’t shelter you with the wolves slavering after you. If you’d not wasted my gift, you might’ve found your way faster.”
At the storm’s end, the antlered man came strolling by and lifted the dead men into his massive arms. “I couldn’t shelter you and risk association with that eater of men’s wills. If you’d wrapped the skin around you and pretended to be someone else, you might have beaten the devil. Waste not, want not.” But he knew just as well as the witch and the giant that the men couldn’t hear a word he said. He then carried the bodies to his home in the woods, where he could make use of them.
Krampus the Generous
In the early days of one winter, when the snow fell thick and a certain someone was soon to go house to house, delivering gifts from a sleigh pulled by eight goats, Canja burned her little sister’s doll in the snow behind their house. The doll was made of strong oak wood and the fire took its time in spreading, but eventually its surface blackened in the snow and the smoke rose high beyond the trees.
Canja was soon caught by her mother and sister, once the doll was too ruined to be saved. “It watched me!” Canja cried.
“Your sister loved that doll!” her mother shouted, smacking the back of her eldest daughter’s head. “It was a simple toy. Why would it watch you?”
“It was made too much like a person,” Canja said. “The Yuletide King will bring Tanya a new, better one, you’ll see.”
“And what of you?” Mama grasped Canja by the wrist, dragging her away from where the charred wooden chunk lay in the snow. Tanya followed in tears. “The way I see, my daughter, he will bring your sister a doll of her liking, akin to the last one, and bring you nothing but the wrath of Krampus. Tomorrow, we will all go to the winter feast in the village below the mountain, but will both my daughters be there? Or will one have been taken into the woods for her mischief?”
Canja was shoved into the bedroom she shared with her sister and was left alone to think on her mother’s words. She had not worried over Krampus since she was Tanya’s age, for she did few ill deeds. The doll had to be dealt
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