“I don’t know,” I admitted, frustration gnawing at me as I looked around. “Damn it. Where is he?”
The others fanned out, scanning the surrounding woods for any clue, but the truth was painfully clear. Krampus was gone, and we were no closer to stopping him than when we’d started.
We began to spread out and look for tracks when Eve’s voice broke through the tense silence. “Over here!” she called, crouching near a cluster of brush. We turned toward her, and I saw her pulling back a tangled mess of branches, revealing a narrow opening to a small cave. The entrance was well-hidden, tucked into the base of a rocky outcrop, and camouflaged perfectly against the surrounding woods.
We exchanged a quick glance before stepping inside, the cold air growing damp and heavy as we moved deeper into the shadows. The space was tight, the ceiling low enough to make us duck slightly, but it widened into a small chamber. The faint scent of damp earth and something acrid clung to the air. Blood.
The beam of Aurora’s flashlight swept across the space, landing on a haphazard stash of items piled against the far wall. We moved closer, the light revealing what looked like a grotesque collection of trophies.
Pictures of children sitting on Santa’s lap, their faces frozen in forced smiles, were scattered across the ground. A wallet sat open on top of the pile, its contents spilling out. A driver’s license and a few credit cards. Next to it was a battery pack, its wires tangled in a mess.
“This stuff… it’s Brody’s,” Nishi said, her voice tight as she picked up one of the photos.
I nodded, my stomach churning as I stared at the pile. “Krampus was here,” I said, my voice low, barely more than agrowl. “But where did he go? How the hell did he get past us?”
No one answered, the question hanging heavy in the air. I turned in a slow circle, scanning the cave for any sign of an exit, a hidden tunnel, anything that could explain how Krampus had vanished so completely.
Eve knelt beside the pile, her expression dark as she sifted through the items. “It doesn’t make sense,” she muttered. “He was bleeding out. He couldn’t have gotten far.”
“But he did,” Aurora said, her voice biting. “He’s faster than we gave him credit for.”
“And smarter,” Nishi added, her tone edged with frustration. “He knew we’d follow him here, and he still managed to slip away.”
I clenched my fists, staring at the stash of Brody’s belongings as if they might suddenly offer an answer. “We’re missing something,” I said, my voice harder now.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, breaking the tense silence in the cave. I pulled it out, glancing at the screen. Tegan. I answered quickly, my voice clipped. “Yeah?”
“Hey,” she said, her tone strained, “I’ve done what I can, but I can’t keep Liam occupied for much longer. He’s asking too many questions, and Salima’s running out of distractions.”
I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly as frustration warred with worry. “We’re on our way,” I said, glancing at the others as they started gathering the scattered evidence. “Just… stall him a little longer, okay?”
“I’ll try,” Tegan said, not sounding remotely confident, before hanging up.
I shoved the phone back into my pocket and straightened, addressing the team. “Grab Brody’s things. All of it. We need to head back to Black Bounty.”
Aurora gave me an intense look. “What about Krampus?”
“Liam is about to come looking for us,” I snapped, already moving toward the cave’s exit. “We need to regroup.”
Nishi muttered something under her breath but didn’t argue, stuffing the wallet and photos into a bag while Eve carefully lifted the battery pack. The tension was thicker than the cave walls, but there was no time to dwell on it. Liam was too close to discovering the truth, and if that happened, everything I’d worked to protect him from would come crashing down.
CHAPTER 6
The drive back to Black Bounty was quiet, the kind of quiet that felt heavier than words. The snow-covered trees blurred past the windows, and the reality of what we’d just uncovered sat like a stone in my chest. No one said much, and I could tell the others were turning over the same questions I was—where Krampus had gone, what his endgame was, and how we’d stop him before he struck again.
By the time we pulled into my parking slot, the building’s warm lights were glowing against the night. The tension in the car was thick enough to cut with a blade. I stepped out, the crisp air biting at my skin as we made our way inside.
The office was transformed. Twinkling Christmas lights lined the walls, casting a soft glow over the room. A garland of fresh pine was draped along the edge of our new reception desk, and the massive tree we’d wrestled into place earlier stood proudly in the corner, its branches heavy with ornaments. Liam, Tegan, and Salima were finishing the decorations, their laughter and easy chatter cutting through the heavy mood we’d brought back with us.
“Looks good,” I said, forcing a smile as I stepped into theroom. My eyes flicked to Liam, who was busy adjusting an ornament on the tree. “Hey, can you grab the small weapons bag from my vehicle? It’s in the back.”
He stepped down from the ladder, raising an eyebrow at the request but shrugging it off. “Sure,” he said, catching the keys I tossed to him. “Be right back.”
The second the door closed behind him, I turned to Tegan and Salima, keeping my voice low. “Krampus escaped the Underworld, likely due to Dagna’s help, and is killing the naughty. We found his hideout,” I said quickly, the words tumbling out. “The victim’s stuff was stashed there—pictures of kids, his wallet, a battery pack. Krampus got away.”
Tegan’s brows shot up, and Salima frowned, glancing toward the door Liam had just walked through. “And he’s still out there?” Salima asked, her tone edged with concern.
“Yeah,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “We’re no closer to figuring out how to stop him, but we couldn’t keep chasing him with Liam so close to discerning the truth. We’ll regroup here and come up with a plan.”
