Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 085

"Afraid not. I'm not entirely sure what happened there. Was that an earthquake?"

Yuki blushed. "That was me. I was trying to avoid freezing the room and tapped into a little earth magic. It used to be my specialty, you know." She was already pulling sheets off the bed. "I'll do this if you'll clean the floor. Probably should apologize to the tree while you clean it."

"Agreed." He turned away from her and felt a sudden tug inside his mind. It was Kisa. She was nearby, perhaps even in the same building. Smiling, he began mopping up his mess, pausing only to clean and properly apologize to Mrs. Claus' tree.

The tree accepted.

Jack stood on the roof of the bakery, her gaze on the streets below. The storm had blotted out a large portion of the sky, and the accompanying winds had coated the side of the building in ice. She didn't bother wiping the tears from her cheeks, as they kept freezing. The cold itself couldn't hurt her, but repeatedly peeling ice off her face would irritate her skin and make her even more miserable.

The Krampus had screamed at her upon learning she had taken matters into her own hands. The demon had finally emerged from the woodshop to discover that she had left her post and was chasing the intruders. There were few things on Earth that terrified her, but feeling that creature's otherworldly wrath simmering beneath the fringes of reality had set her on edge. She had been incapable of responding to his allegations at the sight of those brutal, gnarled teeth just inches from her own face.

He had spent months inside her head, pleading for his freedom. She thought that he was a kindred soul, a misunderstood entity who knew what it was like to be underappreciated and forgotten. Then, there had been kindness in his tone, and a determination that had resonated deep within her.

Now, though, she could see that he was unhinged. The Krampus was smart, but he was also cruel. His emotions got the better of him often, and it was only after he had calmed down that he reasoned the elf had escaped through the tunnels under the village.

Leaving Jack behind, he vanished into a nearby building, giving her instructions to keep watch from above. After a long wait, her walkie had crackled to life, and the Krampus had told her to come to his location and make herself useful by being his lookout. What he didn't count on was that she would do a thorough sweep of the exterior, easily spotting the altered elves within through the large bay windows. They were twisted things, only vaguely familiar as the joyous creatures they so recently were.

Though she had often felt neglected by the denizens of the North Pole, she had never wished them any harm. The Krampus had declared that times had changed. The true meaning of Christmas would return, a time where the wicked could be properly punished, but she had a hard time seeing it now.

And so she waited and she wept. Maybe the things the Krampus had promised would still come to pass, perhaps she was just seeing a less-than-pleasant transitory phase. Logically, she knew she was in denial, but to admit anything else right now mig destroy her.

The monotony was shattered by an explosion of flames. Turning, Jack saw a massive fireball climb into the sky, somewhere over by the stables. Unsure if she should remain or go see what happened, the decision was made for her when she heard the Krampus shriek out in fury.

She leapt from the roof, allowing the winds to carry her to the stables. The interior of the building was in flames, but they curled around the structure itself, burning the large bales of hay that had been scattered around within. The air stank of whiskey and burnt hair, the smell stinging her nostrils.

"Jack." A heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she spun around to see the Krampus looming over her. Steam rose from his body as the Krampus sneered at her. "You let them escape."

"They were here?" She looked around and saw a small collection of footprints in the snow. "I didn't know."

"This is your fault, Jack." His large hand circled her throat and he squeezed. Jack grabbed his fingers and summoned the frost, but knew it was no use. Ice formed over the demon's knuckles, but it cracked and fell away as he squeezed. He lifted her up high, then pulled her close. His breath was hot and smelled of peppermint. "You have disappointed me."

She gasped for air and slapped feebly at his hands. The bones in her neck felt like they would pop any moment, and once the lights went out, that would be it for her.

The storm swirled around them, and the Krampus loosened his grip, allowing her to breathe. With a grunt of disgust, he tossed her away, where she tumbled onto the ground.

"Go watch the monitors," he hissed, turning his attention back to the stables. "If you see anything, tell me right away, or I will powder this village with your bones."

Jack tried to respond, but her voice allowed her only a harsh squeak.

"Seven will have to do," he grumbled, scratching his belly with a claw. "And where is my sleigh? Hmmm." Seeing Jack, he snarled at her. "Go! Now!"

She obeyed, staggering to her feet before letting the wind carry her back to the Workshop. The tears were hot and many as she fled to the safety of the monitor room. In the last few hundred years, she hadn't suffered so much as a scratch, but the Krampus had ended the streak by nearly taking her life. He was a creature of madness, and she was crazy to have ever listened to him.

Sniffling, she sat down in one of the tiny chairs by the monitors and started clicking absently through them. It was hard to concentrate, her mind preoccupied with the Krampus.

Could she flee? She had no doubts that she could lose him in the storm, but he would have eternity to find her should he choose. The giants would probably help him, they had no loyalty to her. And even if he decided to let Jack go, she always ran the risk of running into him.

Frustrated, she clicked through the monitors, uncertain what she was hoping to see. Her neck hurt, and she felt more lost than ever.

But even worse than feeling lost was how alone she was. She thought the Krampus had been her friend, but she knew better now.

"Fuck!" She slammed her hand on the console, accidentally changing the cameras on the screen. Disgruntled, she tried to reacquire the missing channels by clicking through all of them. She couldn't concentrate, couldn't remember how the console worked. It was all a blur.

So she clicked through them one at a time, only now noticing that the bakery wasn't part of any of the cycles. Where else were the cameras down? What were the elves actually doing?

She was clicking through them so fast that her mind didn't register movement until she was already three channels past. Aghast, she clicked back and sat there, stunned.

The camera was labeled Claus Residence Master Bedroom. It viewed the room from above the head of the bed, and Jack was surprised to see that the kitsune from earlier was busy riding the human named Mike. Fascinated, all she could do was stare.

Why in the North Pole would Santa have a camera in his bedroom? Jack's thoughts milled about uselessly in an effort to rationalize what she was seeing. The kitsune's face was scrunched up in sweet agony as she held her own breasts while bouncing up and down on the biggest cock Jack had ever seen. Her mouth hung open so long that it became dry, but she simply couldn't look away.

It was an intimate moment, one of thousands she had witnessed on accident. Being invisible to the mortal realm meant that Jack had seen plenty of things that she wasn't supposed to. Maybe it was as simple as someone sneaking a cigarette, or complex like the time she had stumbled onto a military installation in northern Russia. Though she had never been much of a voyeur, she couldn't help but watch the people on the screen as they made love to each other.

Her stomach fluttered, and she put her hand on her belly, reminded of her contact with Mike. His voice had made her eager to obey, and she wondered if he had used that same power on the kitsune. If not, then maybe they were a couple, or, at the very least, close friends. When was the last time Jack had a friend, much less a close one?

Or even a lover?

For just a moment, it felt like a stray memory bubbled to the top of her consciousness, eager for her attention. Unable to grab it, she let it sink into the recesses of her mind once more, catching just a glimpse of golden rays.

She knew she should notify the Krampus, should tell him the mortal had survived the vents, but her finger hovered over the button of the walkie talkie. Her skin still burned from where he had choked her, his words still harsh in her ears. He was already angry, but would positively explode if he knew that the human had escaped to Mrs. Claus' home. It was no fault of her own, but would he see it that way?

Her hesitation caused her to stand there and watch, her focus on Mike and the kitsune. In the throes of their passion, they summoned up a maelstrom of sparking lights that danced around the room. She knew the kitsune had ice magic, but this was something else. Through the camera, she couldn't make heads or tails of it, and was surprised when the camera distorted. It was being overloaded by the sheer power in that room, and she wondered which one of them was the culprit.

Curious, she clicked through the rest of the house. Mrs. Claus could be seen baking in her kitchen, and she was speaking with someone invisible to the camera. If there was somebody capable of fighting the Krampus, it was Mrs. Claus, and it was clear that she already had help.

Ice formed around her hands and spread to the rest of the console. If she chose, she could destroy these monitors, could put an end to the Krampus' surveillance. But then what? Change sides, just like that? Or would it be the first step toward oblivion?

Jack wished she had a friend, someone she could talk to. Clicking through the monitors, she saw the Krampus skulking around the outside of Santa's home. It was clear that he already knew something was going on there, so she clicked the button on her walkie-talkie, hoping to buy herself some good will.

"The human is with Mrs. Claus," she said. On the camera, she saw the Krampus tilt his head as he heard her, then let out a shriek of rage. He bounded up to Santa's home and pounded on the front door with a giant fist.

Jack smirked, knowing that even if the door was open, the Krampus wouldn't go in. There was something about Mrs. Claus that was dangerous to the Krampus, but she didn't know what. Standing, she clicked through the monitors until she was once again looking at Santa's mirror.

Santa turned his attention to the camera and waved.

"Shit." She clicked away from the mirror and bit at her nails. Maybe it would be safer to just let things play out a bit longer before deciding, to weigh her options. Seeing the Krampus succeed meant that he would let her be, and nothing would change. That was far preferable to being killed.

With so many thoughts running through her head, she left the security room behind, frost forming beneath her feet as she hovered down the hallway. Her decisions lately had been terrible, and maybe it was time to check in on an old friend and see what he thought before she committed.

She just hoped she could hear him through his prison of glass.

Wow, some amazing stuff went down this chapter!

I remember when I first introduced Yuki, I got absolute hate for her. It's been such a fun twist to get letters from readers begging for Yuki to find happiness and become whole once again, and I so looked forward to making this happen organically.

Thanks again for reading to the end. Tell your friends, local celebrities, and everybody you know about this story. Or just leave me some stars, whichever is easier. It helps others to find it, and my favorite emails are new reader emails (those lucky bastards get to binge all of it over a few days instead of years).

Wow, I've been posting here for years now. Kind of wild.

Here's a fun fact before I go. Originally, Kisa was going to find Rudolph. Did you know that he's the only reindeer who is still copyrighted? I can't tell you how many copyrights I've dodged writing this novel. During my research, I actually found out that companies tried to copyright/trademark Santa, the phrase Merry Christmas, and all sorts of bullshit to make easy cash on the holiday.

Anyway, give yourself a top secret high five, you magnificent human/cyborg/future alien invader, because you are awesome and you deserve it. See you next time!

~Annabelle Hawthorne