Free Crimson Christmas by Rain Oxford

was for that matter. He regularly controlled aspects of the void, which was
where the demons came from, using his god powers. Light filled the space and
Dylan saw the creatures that surrounded him.
    He cursed and killed the light. He would rather be
eaten. In fact, he hoped they ate his eyes first. The image he saw in that
single moment was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen, and he would
rather have been fed on alive by demons than see what he just saw.
    And then the darkness cleared, leaving him in his
apartment with Mordon and the boys. “What happened?” Mordon asked immediately.
Dylan shook his head. It wasn’t something he could describe. He was going to
ask Divina to erase it from his mind as soon as he saw her again.
    He looked down, wanting to offer the cat something to
eat for helping him, but it was gone. Hail’s eyes glowed and he started to
fall. Dylan caught him in time to stop him from hitting the ground.
    “What the hell is that?” Ron asked, looking at the
table. Swiping at the box was the cat that had helped Dylan. Before anyone
could stop the cat, it clawed the binding ribbon and flipped off the lid.
     
    *          *          *
     
    Blood pooled on the ground, forming an inch-thick
magic circle. In the middle of the blood was a small, colorful box. As a
hissing, malicious voice recited an incantation, the blood began to creep up
the walls of the box. The blood was being absorbed into the box, and as it was,
it stained the box red.
     
    *          *          *
     
    Hail’s eyes returned to their normal purple, but
everyone was distracted by what had appeared out of the tiny box.
    Which was a less tiny box.
    Mordon went to the present box, pulled the new
string, and lift the lid. The sides of the box fell away and left a bigger box,
like the reverse of matryoshka dolls. The cat flattened his ears and glared at
it, then vanished.
    “Reality is leaking again,” Ron said.
    The door slammed open and the flame-proof creature
burst in. Mordon shot fire at it, but the flames just hit the creature and
died. Dylan motioned with his hand, about to attack. “Wait!” Hail exclaimed.
Dylan changed his magic to defensive and instead put a protective shield of
energy around Ron and Hail.
    The creature remained at the door, watching them.
    “He’s here for the box,” Hail said. “I think Devon
sent him.”
    “If Devon is in any condition to send this creature,
he should have come himself,” Mordon argued.
    Hail grabbed the box off the table, surprised by how
heavy it had gotten, set it on the floor, and gave it a kick. It slid across
the floor until it reached the creature. The beast picked up the box, spread
its wings, and took off out the door.
    “We need to get back to the shop,” Dylan said. “We
have twenty minutes to save the kids.”
     
    *          *          *
     
    “What would happen if you destroy the box without the
proper rituals?” Devon asked Sylvester as he tied the toymaker to the chair.
    “Just like opening it, you’ll die. The doorway would
be sealed forever with the children inside and I wouldn’t get their energy. All
the children would starve to death and die.”
    “And there’s absolutely no other way for anyone to go
inside or out?”
    “No, there isn’t.”
    “Good.”
    “You’re not going to make it in time.”
    “Of course I will.” He knew the creature was already
bringing him the box and that Hail and his family were also on their way. He
wanted to get done with everything before they arrived, but not too early.
    Right on time , he thought as the creature
entered the basement through the destroyed door and leapt down the steps. The
thing was creepy as hell, but he didn’t care as long as he had full control
over it.
    “Go stand in the circle,” he told the beast. It
obeyed instantly. He didn’t have his uncle’s grimoire, which contained more
knowledge of magic than he would ever attain, but he