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16
Joy
It’s beena long three weeks. A grumpy three weeks too, if you ask Santa. He’s been eyeing my demons the entire time, suspicious of their every move, even though they’ve lived in a separate cabin from me and made every effort to help us repair and rebuild.
The workshop? Magic could only salvage a bit of it. Most of the machines are going to have to be rebuilt using good, old-fashioned hard work, because that’s how God likes to set up all the realms. Whether they have magic or not, the beings on each planet have to work hard. Something about idle hands being the devil’s plaything…
Dem came up with a solution for Christmas though. Everybody gets an iPad! He says it’s literally one of the most coveted and stolen items on Earth. And guess what? That little mathematical branch of our new Christmas cane happens to do a great job of multiplying things. So, while we can’t build entirely new workshops from scratch, we can replicate iPads until we have enough to fit the sleigh.
The five Barbies that I transformed? Well, they’ve got a special spot in Santa’s Workshop. We’ve built them a shelf of their own right at the front near the door. It serves as a reminder of what we’re doing and why it’s so important. It also serves as a bit of amusement.
Every day, a new cherub’s name is drawn and put on the board. That special angel gets to play with them for the day. The Barbies have had lots of tea parties, some very stellar weddings, and a few of them are even rumored by the cherubs to have Elf on the Shelf boyfriends.
Yes, angels have to be nice. To living creatures. Inanimate objects that might contain the souls of demons? Not so much.
They’ve really become a popular feature. Every cherub tries to outdo the last, and most of them wander by the Barbie shelf to see what’s new each day. Yesterday, two of them were wearing white wings made out of toilet paper. Lots of photos were snapped.
I think that’s a pretty fitting end for some assholes who wanted to take charge of Christmas. But while those demons are an open and shut case, my own demons are a bit more complex.
The guys have been trying. Key word, trying.
The first Monday after the incident, Bryn asked if he could eat lunch with me. I said yes despite Dad’s giant frown. I met up with the cutie in my kitchen at the workshop, because I didn’t really have time for much else. He was adorably flustered when he came in the door, and my heart had given a little leap when I saw how he’d tried to tame his normally sleep-rumpled hair. We’d sat at the counter with grilled cheese and milk, and he’d spent about twenty seconds complimenting my eyes before he fell asleep. I’d had to slide his glass of milk away so he wouldn’t spill it.
Tuesday, Dem met me at the door of the kitchen, bright poinsettia wreath in his hand. “I got this for you.” He’d grinned and helped me hang it on my door. Of course, an hour later, an angry cherub had flown in, demanding to know why I’d stolen the wreath she’d made.
Gus was too grumpy to hang around the cherubs and their caroling all day, so he’d taken to helping out around the stables, claiming that the cherubs there didn’t pay proper attention to the animals and working out all his anger on mucking the stalls. I’d talked to him nearly every day, but he was silent and brooding for the most part. Once, he said, “You make my veins burn like I’m inside the sun.” I still don’t know if that’s a compliment or if that’s a wrath demon thing. I’m hoping compliment, because he did try to kiss me right after…but Dad.
He’s always around! He’s not giving me a fair shot at getting to know my soulmates. He doesn’t trust them. And while I appreciate his fear and paranoia on my behalf, I also don’t.
One demon I’ve seen every single day is Cal. He’s been working with me to try to arrange for new transportation since the reindeer numbers are down now. I’d tried to get some heavenly llamas, but the angels who have them are really attached. He ended up calling in a favor with Lucillania herself and borrowing some hellhounds to help pull the sleigh, which makes Dad incredibly nervous. There’s just no way these sweet guys can win with him it seems.
The one who’s taken to the Christmas realm like a fish takes to water is Nico. He’s come up with all kinds of ideas for gag gifts that kids would love, so he’s been working with our gag department.
But our greatest obstacle by far has been my father. Kris Kringle doesn’t like seeing his only daughter linked with demons. I could care less about the stares from the cherubs. But every time the demons mess up, Dad’s there to point it out.
Like the day that Dem thought of a grand romantic gesture…
I awake to a clatter. I’ve hardly rolled out of bed before I hear someone pounding at my door. I slip on a fur cloak and some thick boots with a sigh and climb down from my loft to see what’s the matter.
It’swaytoo early for this shit. I haven’t even had my morning hot chocolate yet, and we all know that hot chocolate is life.
“You have to see this!” Dem yanks me into the air as soon as I open the door, his smile blinding. I squint blearily into the blinding morning light. Though it’s not as blinding as it usual is. Odd. It normally reflects off the snow…
I glance at the ground and realize there is no snow in front of my door. Only ugly, frozen dirt. My eyes trace the ground along the path that leads to my door. There’s not a bit of snow in sight.
And considering I live in a place that has winter weather year-round, this is quite concerning.
“What happened?” I ask, as he slams my cabin door shut and then uses his wings to propel us through the air above the mud-packed path.
“I have a surprise!” Dem exclaims.
“A surprise?” I ask through a yawn. “Did you see the snow melted?” I eye the trees curiously, because they’re still frosted with bits of snow like green sugar cookies. If the snow melted, then why…
At the end of the path leading to my cabin, the reason why there’s no snow smacks me in the face. Almost literally.
There’s a twenty foot tall snow sculpture at the end of the path. If the Abominable Snowman and Frosty had a baby, this would be it. It’s a horrid, misshapen mass, and while I can see a protrusion that looks like a nose near the top, it does not look human at all. The only reason I can guess it’s supposed to be human is the tablecloth that’s been used as a scarf. There are a couple of boulders that I think are supposed to be eyes, but one’s a bit droopy. The buttons look like more Christmas wreaths he probably “borrowed.” It’s truly the saddest snowman I’ve ever seen.
“I stole all the snow nearby and stayed up all night making it for you,” Dem says softly as we land, still keeping his arms around me. “I know that when you were a little girl, you loved making snowmen. I heard the cherubs talking about it.”
