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‘Hey, this has nothing to do with me. I just found out myself. Kane knew, but didn’t think Nick needed to be made aware.’ She pauses and her face hardens. ‘Apparently, protecting Nick also means keeping things like that from him. And just for the record, I don’t agree with that. He should have known. A lot of us are only here because of Nick. We actually care about him as a person, not just because he’s the current Santa.’
Damon’s anger ebbs away a little. He knows when people are lying to him. What she just said was the truth.
‘Who else knows about this minor detail?’
‘Just Kane and the previous Santas. I’ve been Nick’s assistant since I arrived, and I didn’t know. I get why no one wanted it to be common knowledge, that Santa can be killed by keeping him away from the workshop at Christmas.’
‘Yeah well, someone else knows.’
She looks him in the eye and, for some irritating reason, it unnerves him. People don’t usually look him in the eye. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘Nick has disappeared just before Christmas. Do you not think that maybe someone is taking advantage of what you just told me? Nick is dedicated to his job. You know he is. There isn’t a chance he’d disappear just before Christmas. Someone, or something, has either taken him, lured him away, or is keeping him away.’
‘But why? What would they gain by doing this?’
‘Power. Nick’s magic tops all of the rest of ours put together.’
‘Yes, for one day a year. And if he dies without passing it on to someone else, by having them sign the contract, the magic is lost. There’s no way of taking it.’
‘You so sure about that? Because right now that’s the biggest gain, by taking him out of the equation. And his power is at its peak this time of year.’
‘What about the team? Maybe they want to take it over?’
Damon laughs at that. ‘Do you honestly think anyone in their right or wrong mind would want to lead us? I’m surprised Nick does. And there’s no chance we’d answer to anyone except Nick.’
She grins at that. ‘Yeah. You’re right. I wouldn’t wish the team leader job on anyone.’ She pauses and looks at him. ‘I don’t suppose... I mean can you pick up on any thoughts?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Can you sense if anyone has negative thoughts about Nick? I don’t know exactly what you can do.’
He steps closer to her, resting one hand against the wall, trapping her. ‘My contract means I can tell if someone means to do wrong.’
‘How do you do that?’
She’s nervous, but he gets the impression she’s genuinely curious. Apart from Nick, no one has ever been interested in his abilities. Hearing about all the inventive ways he has of inducing fear, isn’t something that comes up in conversation.
Damon takes a deep breath, suppressing the smile that wants to break free. The peppermint scent surrounding Eve is far too intoxicating. Too addictive.
Too distracting.
He’s here for Nick, not Eve. He’s the fucking Boogeyman! He can’t afford to let his mind get carried away. Time to stop being weak.
Damon grabs her by the throat and peers into her eyes. She squirms under his gaze but he’s more powerful.
‘You want to know how I do it? I’ll show you.’
‘Damon!’
‘Stop struggling. Let me in.’
‘Get off—’
Ignoring her, he pushes into her mind, searching for anything that raises alarms with him. He’s usually shit hot at being able to tell if someone is up to no good, but there’s nothing suspicious with Eve. He releases her and she coughs, clutching her throat.
‘Damon! What the hell was that? I asked you how you do it - not for a demonstration!’
‘There’s no darkness in you. No jealousy, no greed. Nothing. You’re boring as hell, to be honest.’
