Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Adrian follows me like I’ve got a hook in his lip.
“Don’t go too far,” he says, loudly to be heard over the wind, casting an uneasy glance at the nearby trees.
I’m eyeing the forest too, but I can’t find the mountainous monster I’m looking for. “Well, you wouldn’t want anyone to spy our filthy habit from the windows, would you?” I ask, continuing to head deeper into the blizzard.
“I guess not…” He glances over his shoulder, doubt creeping into his tone.
“Let’s just go around the side of the cabin here,” I suggest, and tug one strap of my dress down on my shoulder.
My coat is still unbuttoned, and it’s fucking cold, but sacrifices must be made.
When Adrian looks back at me, his eyes drink in the exposed skin, and he forgets his hesitation and follows me.
The side of the building provides shelter from the wind, and I quickly put a cigarette between my lips and light it in a cupped hand. When Adrian steps over alongside me, I press it between his lips. He takes a drag, and I snatch it back and place it in my own mouth with a half smile.
He coughs as he exhales. I take an effortless drag and blow it out the side of my mouth.
“Thought you were a smoker,” I say.
He licks his lips. “I never said that.”
I raise my brows in mock surprise. “Are you suggesting… there was another reason you wanted to come outside with me?”
He smirks, leaning in, but I step back. He reaches for me, and I step back again, smiling in between puffs of my cigarette.
Smoking was mostly an excuse to get outside, but damn, it does feel good to have a cig after everything I’ve dealt with today—and everything I intend to do.
Adrian’s smirk is beginning to disappear. “Don’t play coy now.”
I bat my eyelashes at him and blow smoke in his face. “But I’m so very good at it!”
He lunges for me, and I dart back, laughing. Closer to the forest, though he doesn’t seem to notice. Yet… when I turn to glance over my shoulder and scan the trees, there’s still no sign of Krampus.
Doubt worms into me like a splinter under my skin. What if he’s too slow? What if he’s not coming at all? What if…
While I’m wondering, a hand closes around my forearm and yanks me forward.
“Got you,” Adrian says triumphantly. He pulls me against his chest so hard, I gasp. While I’m trying to figure out how I want to play this, he grabs the cigarette out of my hand and flicks it into the snow.
I don’t like the look in his eyes. He went from playful to angry faster than I expected. I freeze, unsure how to navigate the situation. And before I can speak or react, he slides his free hand up my side and squeezes my breast through the skintight fabric of my dress.
Instinct kicks in. I slap him across the face.
He releases me, staggering back with an expression of almost comical surprise. “What the hell was that?”
Well, shit. The jig is officially up. “I was just messing around,” I say lamely. “Let’s… let’s go back inside.” Krampus still isn’t here, and I’m starting to shiver. Maybe this was a mistake.
But Adrian gives me a grim smile. “I guess you like things rough, huh? Should’ve known.” He takes a step closer. I step back, but it no longer feels like a game, or at least not one that I’m in control of. “A girl like you is way too much for my little brother to handle.”
“Adrian, I was just playing,” I say, more firmly. “I’m not going to cheat with my brother-in-law. Come on.”
“You need a real man to put you in your place,” he says, like I didn’t speak at all.
Shit. I may have to run. But I’m not too eager to go into the forest again, especially because Adrian will doubtlessly lock me out here. I glance behind him, assessing the distance to the door we left unlocked… and then I go still.
A smile slowly spreads across my face.
“Hey, Adrian?” I prompt.
“If you think you’re weaseling out of this, you’re wrong.”
I roll my eyes. “Look behind you.”
He looks like he’s about to speak again, but then he stops himself. I wonder if some survival instinct is finally breaking through the haze of alcohol, or if he hears the crunch of snow beneath a hoof, or feels the huff of hot breath on the back of his neck.
Either way, it’s satisfying to watch his eyes grow as he slowly turns around to face the monster behind him.
Krampus towers over him, birch rods in hand, prepared to dole out punishment.
When Adrian tenses in preparation to run, I expect to witness a chase like the one I lived through. Instead, he only manages one staggering step before Krampus draws back a massive hand and slams it into the side of Adrian’s head.
He doesn’t even have time to scream. He just collapses in the snow.
My heart hammers as I watch Krampus bend down and wrap a length of heavy chains around the man’s neck.
Mingled anticipation and fear make my chest tight.
I’m dizzy all of a sudden. Excited to see Krampus deal out his brutal brand of justice…
and realizing that the monster was going easy on me earlier.
He could’ve taken me down much sooner. He could’ve hurt me very badly, if he wanted to.
And he still might. But back in the forest, he must’ve been playing with me. When he pulls the chain taut and yanks a half-conscious Adrian to his feet, there’s nothing playful in his manner at all.
Adrian chokes, hands scrabbling at the metal chains constricting him. His boots just barely scrape the ground.
“Confess your sins,” Krampus says, his voice deadly serious.
Adrian’s mouth gapes like a fish. His lips form words I can’t decipher.
Krampus grunts in frustration and lowers him, loosening the chains just slightly.
Adrian sucks in a breath. Then he shrieks at the top of his lungs.
“Help me!” he screams. “Dad! Mom!”
I laugh despite myself. Krampus darts a disapproving look in my direction before yanking the chains tight again, cutting off Adrian’s childlike screaming.
Krampus’s expression is impassive, but his tail swishes, betraying his impatience. “Fine, then,” he says. “I will name your sins, if you are too cowardly to do so yourself.” He leans in, nostrils flaring as he drags in a deep breath. Adrian’s eyes bulge in terror.
Krampus grimaces as if tasting something rotten. “You reek of lust,” he says. “And envy, sloth, greed… all seven. But lust most of all.” He sniffs again, and growls low in his throat. “Adultery. Covetousness. Rape.”
A chill slides down my spine that has nothing to do with the blizzard around us. I wonder how far he would have gone if Krampus had not showed up… but as I touch the bruises forming on my wrist, I suspect I already know the answer.
“Will you confess now?” Krampus asks. “What have you to say for yourself?”
He loosens the chains again.
Adrian sucks in a deep breath, lets loose a hacking, wet cough. I expect him to scream again, but there’s a glazed look in his eye that has replaced his former terror. His lips twitch into a manic smile as he looks up at Krampus.
“Go fuck yourself,” he says.
Krampus doesn’t say a word. He just yanks the chain tight and lifts Adrian completely off the ground. His boots kick in the air, fingers scraping at the metal cutting off his airflow. His eyes bulge and his face turns red.
Krampus pulls tighter. The muscles in his thick arms swell with effort.
I watch in silence, heart hammering in my ears. Though it isn’t fear I feel, not precisely. I’m not sure how to name the sensation surging in my veins, but I know I can’t take my eyes off the sight.
Adrian’s face goes purple. His struggles weaken. His arms fall limp at his sides and his eyes roll back in his head.
I swallow past a dry mouth. Is Krampus really going to kill him? I thought he’d whip him, hurt him, but I didn’t expect an execution. Yet… after the crimes Krampus named… do I blame him?
I keep my mouth shut.
Krampus yanks harder. Harder. Veins throbbing, muscles all through his torso clenched with effort. The metal digs into the darkening skin at the edges of Adrian’s neck. There’s a sharp crack, and his head snaps to the side.
I gasp, taking an inadvertent step back. But I still don’t look away—and Krampus still doesn’t release the chain clenched in his fists.
Instead, with a mighty roar, he yanks even harder. With a wet tear, the chains tear right through Adrian’s neck. His head goes flying. Blood sprays out of him, splattering all over me. Some gets into my open mouth when I gape, and I stumble back, sputtering.
I wipe a hand over my face, trying to scrub myself clean. When I lower it, I see that Adrian’s gaping, severed head has rolled to a stop in the snow in front of me.
I scream.