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Nick shakes his head. ‘I don’t know what to do for the best, Talen. And I don’t know why the fuck I'm talking to you about it! No offence.’
Talen smiles. ‘Perhaps because I’m impartial, or more so, than anyone else here. You are not my boss, or my friend... yet,’ he adds, his smile growing.
‘Yeah. That’s probably it. I just don’t want anything to happen to her, because of being with me.’
‘What Reve did was an isolated incident.’
‘You don’t believe that anymore than I do, Talen.’
Krampus nods, his attention falling to his hands for a few moments. ‘But surely having Scarlett here with you, would be preferable to leaving her unprotected in the world?’
‘She’s not unprotected.’
‘Sending Damon to keep an eye on her isn’t the same, and you know that. You are not a man who gives up control easily. Having her out in the world without you being able to see her, to be with her, is driving you - forgive me - into a foul tempered, rather volatile man.’
Nick levels what he believes is an impressive glare at Talen, but the demon just smiles, so he gives up.
Knowing that he’s won that argument, Talen continues. ‘Do you want her here with you?’
‘What I want doesn’t matter.’
Talen laughs, a deep rumble that sounds more demonic than Nick was expecting.
‘You fancy telling me what’s so funny?’
‘You, Nick. Always Santa.’
‘What the fuck does that mean?’
‘It means that you are becoming your job. You are Nick and you work as Santa.’
Nick is about to put Talen back in his place, but stops when he remembers saying pretty much the same thing to Scarlett, when she first found out who he was. He always thought he kept the two sides of himself separate. Clearly he’s doing a lousy job. First Damon, and now Talen, have said roughly the same thing to him, within a few hours of each other. ‘You been talking to Damon?’
Talen shakes his head, confused. ‘No. Damon... I fear he would be the last person I would have any interaction with.’
Nick straightens, grateful for the change in topic. ‘What’s he done?’
‘Nothing. I foolishly thought we might get a chance to speak to each other. Damon and I are very similar. Our contracts control us more than most. The battle with the darkness inside us is a daily struggle.’ Talen narrows his eyes as he looks over at Nick. ‘You are already aware he is fighting his contract?’
‘I suspected. I’m keeping an eye on him. But, give him time. He might come around.’
‘Perhaps. I presume he shares my thoughts about you and your contract?’
‘Yeah.’ He leans back in the chair and frowns at the ceiling. ‘I honestly haven’t got a clue what to do for the best. I have a responsibility as Santa. But there’s a chance you and Damon might be on to something, with the neglecting myself part. Just a chance. I just haven’t got a fucking clue how to satisfy both sides of myself, without messing up everything for her.’
‘What makes you think that will happen?’
Nick shrugs. ‘I don’t know.’ Enough of this feeling sorry for himself. He stands up and nods at Talen. ‘Thanks for listening. I wasn’t planning on loading all this on you. I guess Scarlett was right. You aren’t as bad as I thought.’
Talen laughs, pushing to his feet. ‘I may be mistaken, but that sounded like a compliment.’
‘Yeah, it kind of did, didn’t it? I better go and get cleaned up for the run.’ He turns and walks over to the door, then stops to look back at Talen. ‘You settling in all right?’
‘I am. Thank you.’
‘Good. Tell Eve if you need anything.’
Talen nods. ‘Again, thank you. Stay safe Nick.’
