Page 37 of Hollow

“Give me your decorations.” Dimitri turned to Jack. “I will be festive if it will get rid of this child.”

“Okey dokey.” Jack knelt down and opened his shadows in front of the kid.

The small child’s eyes bulged in response as Jack pulled out the set of string lights he had gotten for Dimitri.

“Magic.”

“That is nothing,” Dimitri huffed. “Watch this.”

It seemed he wished to awe the child into silence. Dimitri’s antlers swelled back to their standard size, and he wrapped the string lights around them. With the extra remaining length, he coiled it around his neck like a piece of gaudy jewelry.

“Better,” the kid said, dismissing the show of Dimitri’s antlers. “But now you’re three things. A reindeer, an elf, and a Christmas tree. Trying too hard.”

“Go away, small child. You annoy me.”

The kid raced off, returning to another group of children. All of whom stared at Jack as he continued strolling through the festival. He could tell from the hushed whispers and curious eyes that the first child had mentioned his little shadow show, so he decided to give the rest of the children a little magic for the season.

Jack waved his hand, unleashing shadows in the shapes of snowflakes around the children. Ornaments leapt from the darkness and into each kid’s palms. They shouted with excitement, with wonder, with disbelief. The shadows vanished, and the children chased the darkness, giggling the entire time.

“You seem to like children,” Dimitri said, leading Jack to a less crowded street of the festival.

“They aren’t worn down by all the hate of the world yet; they haven’t learned how to hate just yet.” Jack shrugged. “It’s nice.”

“They are loud and dirty,” Dimitri countered. “Too exhausting.”

“Fair point.”

They continued making their way through the festival, and Jack filmed a few moments as his own personal keepsake. Daxter had a Krampus exhibit over at his venue. It seemed the old man loved to add a little horror to every season of the year. He told frightening tales of what happened to naughty children this time of year and sold all types of holiday tonics guaranteed to provide the best winter solstice experience. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony seemed even more spectacular this year. Though Jack believed it was true every time he attended the festival. Mostly, he enjoyed catching candid shots of Dimitri.

Despite his reluctance, Dimitri appeared truly awed by the spectacles of the festival. The way he stared at the lights, entranced. The way his ears twitched when they walked past the chorus of carolers. The tiny little smile he gave every time he sipped his hot chocolate.

Jack loved watching every second of Dimitri’s quiet excitement.

After they’d had their fill of festival food and sightseeing, Jack led the way toward the woods. He asked Dimitri a million questions on the walk back home. Anything to occupy the long trek through the fog.

Once they got into the house, Dimitri went to work untangling the light strings from his antlers. The only problem was that he kept looping them back around, making it so much worse.

Jack snorted. “You’re twisting them up even more.”

“They are impossible,” Dimitri said, tugging at the string and wincing.

“Hold on.” Jack approached, standing on his tippy-toes to get a better look at the mess Dimitri had created.

“Is this more witchcraft?”

“What? No. This is just impatience at its finest.”

Jack took his time untangling the light strings. Little by little, he managed to unravel them from Dimitri’s antlers until all that remained was a single loop.

“There.” Jack dropped back down, letting his heels cement his stance as he smiled up at Dimitri.

Dimitri stared down at Jack, his expression unreadable, which sent a quiver of anticipation through Jack. Perhaps it was the heavy breathing from Dimitri’s frustration a moment ago, or maybe it had to do with the sharp glow of his green eyes, but something about this stare-down enticed Jack.

When Dimitri’s clawed hand trailed up Jack’s side, he felt the shift between them. Dimitri leaned closer, his nose nearly pressed to the frosted pumpkin mask. Without a word, Jack lifted the pumpkin off his head and braced himself for Dimitri’s reaction. Yes, he’d seen his face before, but the fret of horror that might sweep across Dimitri’s expression still lingered in the back of Jack’s thoughts.

Dimitri didn’t panic, didn’t appear shocked, didn’t react in any way other than excitement. He leaned closer, immediately pressing his lips to Jack’s, and the two of them lost themselves in passionate kisses in the main foyer of the chateau.

Their bodies pushed against each other until Jack’s back slammed against the door. He gasped into Dimitri’s mouth, who continued kissing him, who kept running his hands along Jack’s body. His fingers slid beneath the fabric of Jack’s holiday sweater, and suddenly, he found the room a sweltering mess.