Happy Holidays
Chapter 9

My whole being just froze.

I didn’t want to turn around. It was the reasoning of a scared child; as long as I didn’t see it, it didn’t exist.

Before my stupidity could get me killed, strong fingers wrapped around my upper arm and pulled me forward. My face was squashed against a cold jacket, but underneath it was Aiden’s familiar smell of pine. Safe.

Behind me I heard a vicious, deep growl and it took me a second to realize it was actually Akela and not some monster.

Aiden was staring at something over my shoulder, Jo as well. While Aiden looked angry, Jo’s skin was paler than usual and her eyes opened wide. Turning my head, I spotted what they were looking at.

Monsters.

Eight Monsters with ridiculous caps.

Their appearance was frightening. Though rather small and slender, their knobby elbows, knees and wrists combined with bony shoulders and a long neck made them look malformed. Their heads were disproportionately big, like an apple on a stalk, their brown visage split by a huge maw, gaping with the long needle-teeth of a deep-sea fish. Their eyes were bulging and round and a colored disconcerting fiery red. Long fingers tipped their hands, so spindly and possessing an extra joint they creepily reminded me of spider-legs. Grisly hair was streaming over their shoulders and doing its best to hide their huge, pointy ears.

Breaking up this rather frightening outer appearance was their headwear: it was the only piece of cloth they wore and though the garments differed, some baseball caps, some wool-hats and even a jewish kippah the most ridiculous one was a Santa hat. Complete with a fluffy, white bobble.

What all of them had in common though, was that they were colored a deep red.

I finally realized what I was looking at: redcaps.

The redcaps were eyeing us in turn, their bloody eyes gleaming.

“Nice color,” one of the redcaps grated, looking straight at me.

I felt a shiver stealing up my spine, and for once it wasn’t because of the cold.

“Need some fresh dye,” Santa-hat agreed, his long fingers petting his red hat.

“They cannot dry,” a third, wearing a snapback, croaked.

Salvia started dribbling from their teeth, forming foam and bubbles before dripping into the snow. The trees around us tinkled in the breeze.

I should be doing something. In my pack I had some potions that could be helpful, even one that would function just like acid. But I didn’t dare move a muscle.

In the end the one that ended our strange standoff was Akela.

His growl transformed into a bark, and then he was jumping, toppling one of the redcaps. His teeth closed around its throat, and I saw Akela do an abrupt shaking-motion, probably to break his victim’s neck.

The redcap wasn’t done in that easily though. Although it was screaming, the sound was almost gleeful, and it started burrowing its needle-tipped fingers in Akela’s flank. Bloody spots appeared on his pristine white fur, but still the dog didn’t let up.

The other seven creatures were creeping closer, mashing their teeth so the salvia bubbled forth even more quickly, grins splitting their ugly faces from one side to the other.

Jo fell on her knees and was rifling through her pack almost manically. Just as the first creature was almost close enough to touch her she pulled a simple dagger out from the pack. Holding her prize in front of her, she jumped back, trying to put some distance between herself and the redcap.

The dagger was vibrating strangely. The redcap with the kippah suddenly dashed at Jo, but before she could do anything, the dagger jumped out of her hand of its own volition and unerringly found the redcap’s chest. The creature went down with a gurgle, but the dagger wasn’t done. It started wiggling, burrowing deeper into its preys flesh and simultaneously opening the wound, the blood gushing out and coloring the snow around the fallen redcap.

Its companions paused for a second, but greed was still burning in their eyes. Santa-hat stepped forward and dunked his hat into his fallen companions blood, licking his lips. The soaked hat was placed back onto his head, blood dripping onto his face. He had somehow managed to keep the bobble white and pristine.

Akela finally managed to snap his victims neck, rejoining us quickly, slightly favoring his bloodied side.

The group followed Santa-hats example, bathing their various headwear in their fallen comrade’s blood, opening more wounds on his body to keep up a steady flow. Their preoccupation gave us moment to breath.

“We should run,” I croaked, finally replaceing my voice. Jo nodded agreement, and though Akela growled, he didn’t jump on the next redcap who showed him his unprotected back while busily coating his conical party-hat.

Only Aiden stayed silent. It was strange, that he hadn’t moved even once during the short fights of the others. His hand on my arm had stayed tight as a vice, keeping me close to him, and just as immobile.

Looking up into his face, I was prepared for fear or maybe panic, but not hot rage.

His eyes were practically glowing. His lips were pulled back and I realized that something was wrong with his teeth. They seemed sharper and more triangular than usual.

They didn’t look like human teeth.

“They would catch us,” he said, his voice hoarse.

Somewhere deep inside I knew he was right. The deep snow combined with the labyrinth of intertwining giant trees would slow us to something a bit above normal walking speed. The redcaps though seemed to be at home in this environment. They were so light they didn’t sink into the snow, and their long, nimble fingers probably meant they were quite good tree-climbers.

I swallowed. “Then we fight.”

I wanted to sound brave, but probably only managed delusional. Jo was shooting me a helpless glance. Her dagger was still buried in the corpse, though it wasn’t moving anymore.

Aiden gave a short laugh. It sounded harsh, cynical. “No need. Just close your eyes.”

The redcaps were finished with their companion and were slowly standing up again, facing us. They looked even more gruesome than before, the blood from their hats leaving streaks on their faces, running through the deep crevices between their eyes and dripping on their skeletal shoulders. They were grinning widely and then they all moved towards as in a slow, coordinated movement. They were snickering and grating their teeth, producing a strange squeaking sound. They were probably trying to frighten us - and in my case it was definitely working.

Aiden’s hand smoothly moved from my shoulder to my face and he used it to cover my eyes.

“Hey,” I started to protest, reaching up to pull his hand away, when I realized it.

Silence.

From one second to the next it had gotten eerily quiet. No teeth-grating, no snickers or hisses - just a whispered moan, a small whimper and the muffled thuds of multiple objects hitting the snow.

And then simply nothing. Not even the rustling trees or the howling wind dared encroach on this silence.

What just happened?

Aiden slowly lowered his hand.

Blinking I stared at the place where the redcaps had been stalking us just a moment ago. And saw corpses.

The redcaps were lying unmoving in the snow, not even a single spider-finger twitching. Those that hadn’t fallen face-down were staring unseeingly at the hidden sky, their eyes lifeless and dull. Their mouths still gaped but this time it was in a forgotten scream.

Jo and Akela were silent, staring at the dead redcaps just like I was. There was not a single wound on their bodies. All blood belonged to their precious caps. I saw frost starting to coat their wet hats.

And suddenly I remembered part of the poem Alice had been spouting just yesterday: Sharing his morning meal with the green and golden basilisk.

My eyes slowly wandered to Aiden. The anger had burned out, leaving only a stony facade in its place. Even though he must feel my gaze, he refused to look at me.

A basilisk. Aiden is a basilisk.

Without conscious effort my brain started listing everything I knew about Basilisks. A serpent that hatched from a chicken’s egg. The most poisonous creature ever known. Not only its breath but also its gaze is able to kill within seconds. King of serpents.

A muscle started ticking in his jaw. Aiden had already lowered his hand and was now taking a step away from me, still without looking at me. His green eyes were clouded.

I thought about the two students fainting simply because Aiden had looked at them. I thought about the gas-mask-creature in his dream, its eyes protected by black glass.

“Was zur Hölle ist passiert?” Jo asked. Akela’s ear were flat, his blue eyes focused on Aiden’s back, but his tail was hidden between his hind legs.

Aiden’s lips were paling because he was pressing them together so hard.

“Are they dead?” Jo continued, even though no one was responding. “How come they’re dead?”

Aiden’s free hand balled into a fist, the other clutching the jar with the precious snow-bees turned white-knuckled. Just a second later, he relaxed them very deliberately, averting his face.

Say something.

“That’s like cheating.” I sounded way too accusing considering he just saved us from a horde of redcaps.

The world held his breath. Slowly, almost as if moving underwater, Aiden turned his head and finally looked at me. His face was voicing a silent challenge, but when I held his stare he seemed confused.

It might not have been the smartest remark, but it was all I could come up with right now. Just roll with it. Indicating the corpses in front of us I continued: “They got all worked up, with their claws and deep sea teeth and disgusting spit and you just dropped them on the spot.”

His emerald green eyes bored into mine.

“Maybe next time, let them get a swing or two in, just out of common courtesy.”

“You’re crazy,” he whispered, almost to himself.

I smiled. “Maybe just a little bit. And by the way, thanks for saving us.”

I leaned up and kissed him.

I had intended for it to be a quick kiss, nothing more than a peck, my adrenalin induced bravery too short-lived for anything else. But as I started to lower my face, Aiden followed me down, his large hand tangling in my hair, keeping me where he wanted me. His lips pressed against mine, demanding, fierce.

It was different than my first intention. This kiss was not chaste or simple, his lips moving with a hunger I’d never before experienced. His piercing was like a lick of cold, contrasting sharply with his soft, warm lips, sending something akin to an electric shock through my body. Involuntary my hands grasped his jacket, my toes curling in my thick boots. A strange feeling enveloped me, something jittery and blissful at the same time, and I didn’t know what to do with myself.

The kiss deepened and a small moan escaped my lips. Aiden’s fingers twitched, clenching against my skull.

“Guys, I appreciate the free show, but how about waiting until you can get a room?”

We broke apart. I felt my face flame in embarrassment.

“And anyway, can someone finally explain the dead bodies?” Jo continued. Either she had enough time to process everything, or our kiss had startled her back into her usual temper. At least she wasn’t shivering and frightened anymore.

“Get your dagger,” I told her. “And then let’s get out of here.”

As complicated as the journey had been up to this point, as easy was the rest of it. Maybe it was the relief and happy hormones in my body talking, but even the dark forest didn’t appear as sinister as before. We walked for roughly an hour, but when the entrance for the cave with the portal appeared before us, I still couldn’t believe it. On the way back we encountered no more spooky creatures or white-outs, it was almost as if the dimension wanted us gone just as badly as we wanted to disappear.

Entering the cave, nothing about its shiny, blueish interior had changed. The well sprawled before us, still dirty, big and layered in frost. Akela’s limp had gotten worse during our walk back to the cave, so Jo hefted him up in her arms in a surprising show of strength and vanished through the portal first.

I was just about to follow her, when Aiden grasped my hand, holding me back.

“Do you know what happened?” he asked.

For a second I thought about lying, but then simply shrugged. “I think I’ve figured it out.”

Aiden swallowed. “And you are still okay … with me?”

I smiled. “Always.”