Not to mention one of them can summon fire in the palm of his hand. I’m sure there are ways to fake that, but it doesn’t look fake to me.
Which puts me in a very tricky position.
Because right now Santa is pissing me off.
“Why don’t you just leave the presents and go?” I put my hands on my hips, sadly aware that I no longer have my shoe handy. Not that it was really going to help against either of these two.
“That’s not how it works,” Santa sneers. “One kid, one wish, one present.”
“Seriously?” It’s my turn to throw my hands in the air. “It’s Christmas. Look at all the time you’re wasting. Just leave the present and get out of here.”
“Fine then. Let’s just prove who really knows what Mandy wants for Christmas.” Santa plops back down on the sofa and quick as a snake grabs my daughter’s wrist before I realize we’re so close to him.
Just as my fingers close around her free arm another hand encircles her wrist.
“Back off.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
Lucifer and I speak at the same time and I can’t help but glance up at the man--or is he an angel--no, now isn’t the time for that train of thought. His jaw is clenched tight, his dark eyes flashing with some kind of power I don’t understand. The hairs on my arm stand up like they say happens just before being struck by lightning. And for the first time, I notice small black horns blending in with the curls of his wild hair.
Demon horns?
“I was going to have her sit in my lap and tell me her Christmas wish.” The older man--elf--whatever he is, doesn’t let go of Mandy, and my anger ignites into something louder, harsher, more violent.
“Let. My. Daughter. Go.” I keep my voice calm, so as not to further terrify my child, but I enunciate each word and lob them at Santa like weapons.
I feel Lucifers’ eyes on me, but he doesn’t say anything. Neither does he look back at the elf. It’s as if he suddenly finds me to be the most dangerous being in the room and the direct attention of his stare only heightens my rage.
A tug pulls Mandy closer to Santa and I growl like a predator before a kill. The sound surprises me, but I give it little thought as I lunge forward, wrap an arm around her waist and practically fly to the other side of the room with her tucked against me.
“Mommy?” She looks up at me with watery eyes and I brush the tears away before they can fall.
“It’s okay, bunny. Don’t leave my side.” She gives me a quick little nod, but I see the quiver in her lips and it ignites my rage all over again.
“Stay where you are,” Lucifer says to us, and I realize he’s positioned himself between us and Santa Claus. “I’ve always known there was something wrong with you--having children sit in your lap to tell you wishes--but you’ve really gone too far here. Grabbing a child? Yanking her away from her mother? Pulling her onto your lap by force?”
His voice is almost a hiss, but fills the tiny room like thunder. Blue and orange flames dance across the skin of his hands, but oddly I’m not afraid of him. Not even a little bit. Which really makes me question my survival instincts. Shouldn’t I be terrified of an angry Satan standing in my living room? But his fury isn’t directed at me. No, it’s directed at the man in the red suit.
“Just what are you implying?” Santa stands up and I swear I can literally feel the tension in the room amp up. Where I have alway thought Santa would be warm and cozy, like a fireplace during a winter storm, he is all hard ice and sharp edges. Instead, it’s the Devil himself filling our half of the room with warmth and a sense of security.
“Pedophilia. I have a place I’d love for you to visit.” Satan closes and opens his hands. “For eternity. I’ve worked very hard to make sure it’s a very special experience for people like you.”
“Pedophile? You’re accusing me of being a pedophile? If I didn’t think it would upset your father, I’d kill you right here.” A howling wind seems to spring to life around Santa, his bushy beard floating in the gusts. “Do you know how hard it is for children to trust nowadays? To get them to tell me their most heartfelt wishes without fear? You think it’s so easy to do my job? You think it’s simple to make billions of children happy when I only have one night?”
“If someone like you can do it, then I must say it would be supremely simple for someone like me.” The derision in Lucifer’s voice is so thick even Mandy seems to pick up on it, so I wrap my arms around her even tighter.
“Is that so?” Santa’s blue eyes are flickering with their own strange magic. Nothing like the twinkle Mandy and I read about in the stories. More like lightning about to strike.
“Without doubt.” A shadow appears behind Lucifer, stretching and closing, as if it’s a pair of wings. I raise a shaking hand to my mouth. Am I really seeing this?
“Fine.” All of the wind stops, leaving the room oddly still. “Then you do it.”
“I will--wait. What?” The fire disappears from Lucifer’s hands and the shadow behind him vanishes. “Do what?”
“My job. You want it so badly, you do it.” Santa leans over and picks up his bag before launching it at Lucifer, who catches it hard in the gut with an oomph. “I have no reason to stand here and argue with a petulant child.”
“Again, I’m far older than you are.” Lucifer’s menacing words hold a bit of confusion.
“Then act like it,” the heavy-set man snaps. “Go. Be Santa Claus. If it’s so easy, you’ll be done in no time.”
“I’m not doing your job.” Lucifer drops the bag and it lands with a heavy thump.
“Then there will be no Christmas.” The blue eyes narrow. “And tomorrow morning when there is even less magic filling the earthly plane, everyone will have you to thank for it.”
“Now see here!” Lucifer’s eyes are so wide it would have been comical if they weren’t having a showdown in my living room on Christmas Eve in front of my child.
With one last look in our direction, Santa gives us a brief nod before lying his finger beside his nose and disappearing completely.
If there was any doubt these two are who they say they are, this crushes them all. Fire, magic, and a disappearing Saint Nicholas.
Silence reigns in the room before Mandy’s tiny voice pipes up. “How are we going to deliver all the presents? Do you have a sleigh?”
“A sleigh?” A bewildered look flits across Lucifer’s face. “Whatever for?”
“To deliver the presents,” she says, like it should be obvious “We can’t let all the kids be disappointed just because Santa is having a cranky day.” Mandy steps out of my arms and gestures at the sack. “If you don’t have a sleigh, how are we going to get from house to house?”
Wait. Why is she including us in this? I run a hand over my face.
“Mandy. Bunny. We can’t deliver Santa’s presents. We’re human. We don’t have any magic.” I place a hand on her shoulder.
“That’s not exactly true,” Lucifer says. “Magic was gifted to humans long ago, but eventually it was taken away because you abused it.” He looks me over. “Well, it has been dying off over the generations. The idiotic witch hunts had a big hand in that. I suppose there could still be some lineages with a bit of magic left.”