Nicholas and the Krampus by Michael Scott

Author:Michael Scott [Scott, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2021-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

7

“I have no idea what a Krampus is,” Nicholas said.

But I did. The goat monsters were common to all the Celtic lands, including Brittany, where I had grown up.

Nick pushed another snow globe across the table. My husband picked it up and shook it. Glittering black sand swirled and spun to reveal a monster.

“The Krampus,” Nick said. “Or a version of it, at least.”

Within the small glass globe, the creature moved and turned, almost as if it was real. Tall, with the muscular body of a man, the Krampus had a huge goat’s head, with thick horns curling on either side of its head. Beneath leather and metal armor, it was completely covered in shaggy, dirty-white fur, and its eyes were bloodred. But through the matted coat, there was almost the outline of a human skull. A thick chain was wrapped around its waist and trailed on the ground behind it.

“It is Torc Gabhar? A were-goat?” Nicholas asked.

“I have dealt with the Torc Gabhar many times,” Holle said. “This is not a creature of the were.”

“This is something older, far older,” Nick said. “I have often wondered if it was one of the fabled Earthlords.”

Nicholas and I shook our heads. “Earthlords are serpentine,” I said. “This definitely has the look of a goat about it.”

“And those are not the teeth of a goat,” Nicholas said, tilting the globe so that I could see into the creature’s mouth: it was filled with a double row of needle-pointed teeth. “Guessing it’s not an herbivore either.”

“It has a taste for humans,” Nick said softly.

“Humans in general or, special humans?” Nicholas wondered.

“There was a time when the Krampus was not too fussy. But in the past few centuries, I understand it has developed a taste for immortal humans. Now it will eat nothing else. It considers them a delicacy.”

“It will think its entire Christmas dinner has come at once if it sees the three of us,” I said. “Nicholas will be the starter, you the main course, and I the dessert, of course.”

Nicholas pushed back from the table. In his plain blue suit, rumpled shirt, and stained tie, he looked like an accountant, but even Leonardo da Vinci admitted that Nicholas Flamel was a genius. Without looking at me, my husband said, “So you expect us to help you—what? Fight the Krampus? Why?”

Nick looked confused. “Marethyu said I should talk to you. He said only you have the peculiar combination of powers to help me. I’m not sure what he means,” he added. “You know the hook-handed man. He can be a bit cryptic sometimes.”

The small man tilted his head to one side and smiled sadly. “Before the war, the Krampus had busily devoured his way through a dozen European immortals. This war, and the previous one, have complicated matters.”

“I would have thought the chaos of war might have helped conceal its crimes,” Nicholas said.

“On the contrary. Individuals and communities are so much more suspicious now. The Krampus, like many of us, lives in the shadows.

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