“The heck is going on over—” Kim begins but I hold up a hand to stop her.
“Is there sound?” I ask.
Reaching over my shoulder, Kim does something to the orb. “There should be… there we go.”
“Hear, ye, hear ye! His Evilness is ready for another supplicant!” Alkarvi announces.
Krav beckons him with a claw, and the two put their heads together to confer. I strain but can’t hear what they’re saying. After a moment, Alkarvi straightens up and clears his throat.
“Excuse me. The kingformerlyknown as His Evilness is ready for another supplicant. You may call himSatan!”
Krav lets out a huge sigh and beckons Alkarvi to him again. There’s another whispered conference, followed by a new announcement.
“Not Satan!Santa!”
Krav rolls his eyes but he looks more bemused than anything else.
Alkarvi gestures to a short, pink-skinned Ulfarri, beckoning him forward. “Come, child! Make your request to Santa.”
“I wish for my fangs to finally come in,” the little one squeaks. “And… I want atyrlee!”
Krav bows his head so he’s at eye-level with the kid. The gold and silver strands adorning his horns glint in the suns’ light as he moves.
I’m holding my breath, half-expecting the Demon King to bellow in the little one’s face. But Krav’s voice is calm—jovial, even. “Have you been behaving yourself? Doing what your mother and father tell you?”
The kid drags his toes across the ground. “Mostly, Your Evi—Santa.”
“Mostly is a good start,” Krav says. “Mind that you continue to be good for your parents. As for your wishes… your fangs will descend in time and grow bigger at the same rate as the rest of you.” He reaches beside his throne before handing the child a cup and a small plate piled high with what look likeleeberrytarts. “You will drink this white juice and eat thesekoo-keysto get big and strong.” The kid accepts the gifts carefully, grinning over his shoulder at two taller Ulfarri with similar markings who are probably his parents.
Sitting up tall, Krav roars, “Bring forth thetyrlee!”
“I don’t understand…” I blink several times and even give my wrist a pinch, but the strange scene in the orb remains the same. “Krav was adamant that he never visited the villages, let alone handed out gifts to people.”
“It looks like some kind of local ritual,” Emma says. “See there? They’re putting up decorations.”
I lean closer. The Pyredii who aren’t queueing to see Krav are bustling about, nailing bunches of silver and gold threads to their doorjambs. One is swaying on a rickety ladder, fastening a bright red bunch of leaves to the frame of his hut.
“Ahhh. I think I know what’s happening,” Kim says. “Earlier today, Aurus was asking me a bunch of stuff aboutHoo-man holidays, particularly Christmas. I asked why he wanted to know, and he told me it wasofficial business. I bet Krav called him.”
None of this makes sense. Krav’s too proud and arrogant to admit he doesn’t know something. Besides, he’d never ask anyone for help or advice, let alone another Alpha. And even if he did, why the heck would he want to know more about Christmas? He didn’t seemthatinterested when I tried to describe it. “What did you tell him?”
“I tried to explain that there were lots of different human holidays, and different ways to celebrate Christmas. But he insisted on more details, so I told him how we always did it in our family.” Kim ticks items off on her fingers as she lists them. “Gift giving, Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. All that stuff.”
“Look.” Emma points. “Thattyrleehas a red nose!”
Alkarvi has abandoned his post beside Krav to clip a leash on a weird-looking creature—like a cross between a cow and a horse—and lead it out of its pen. There’s a dab of glossy crimson paint on the animal’s nose.
“Accept this gift from Santa,” Krav announces, placing the end of the leash in the kid’s hand. “And let it be known that demons make benevolent and generous kings!”
The crowd cheers, and the child leads his new pet away. His parents wave their hands in the air, looking ecstatic.
“The next petitioner to the King Santa may approach!” Alkarvi calls out.
Another kid dashes forward, beads rattling in her hair. “Can I ride the monster?” she squeaks, pointing to the sky where Plutus is dipping and wheeling in the distance. The adult behind the little girl gasps and clutches her chest.
“Alas, you cannot,” Krav tells her. “He bites. But look…” He flips his hand in a shower of sparks and a little figurine of thestyxianappears between his talons. It looks similar to the one he gave me. The kid lets out a gasp of delight.
“What do you say?” her mother prompts behind her.
