Yuletide (Matilda Kavanagh Novels Book 3) Read Online Free

found him curled up in the lap of a younger human girl, her two friends cooing at him.
    “Ham,” I said with a shake of my head.
    With the talismans passed out, that cleared out half of my regular customers, making the living room more comfortable. Making sure each person got the potion they’d come for—almost mixing up a sleeping draught and revitalization elixir—I got the other half out. My money box was pleasantly full, and the thought of the money I’d spent earlier didn’t seem so bad anymore.
    All that was left were the three human girls on my couch, still cooing over Artie, now purring at full volume. I rolled my eyes as he rolled onto his back, demanding belly scratches. The three girls looked as if they were ready for a Hello Kitty convention or a rave with their rainbows of costume jewelry, anime makeup, pigtails, and tiny backpacks. The girl holding Artie was wearing knee-high boots that looked as if three purple Muppets had to die to make them. Her rainbow-striped tights were a shock of color in my neutral living room.
    “So, girls,” I said, feeling much older than my twenty-four years as I looked at them. “What can I do for you tonight?”
    The girl on the arm of my couch pulled a lollipop out of her mouth. “We were hoping you could make us some glamours.”
    “What for?” I crossed my arms and let one brow arch as I eyed them.
    “We’re not gonna rob a bank or anything,” Lollipop said, making her two friends giggle. “We’re going to the Krampus Rumpus.” She pulled her backpack around and dug into it until she found a glossy postcard.
    I jolted at the sight of it when I took it. On one side were scrolling words with sponsors all over it in a riot of information and color, but on the other was a sight I hadn’t seen since I was kid. A demon grinned at me, his long red tongue lolled out as his horns almost disappeared at the edge of the paper. In one hand, he held a large black sack, and in the other was a scantily clad woman, her cartoon face contorted into mock surprise.
    Gruß vom Krampu s was scrolled along the top. Greetings from Krampus. A shiver ran down my back. I had just thought of the Yulelord devil a few hours ago. I felt as if thinking about him had brought him into my home.
    “Are you serious?” I asked, looking from the card to the girls. The card was an all-access pass to the various events over the next couple weeks, all of them centered around Krampus, that led up to the Rumpus on Christmas Eve Eve. A popular German death metal band was promised to play at the Rumpus.
    “It’s gonna be so great. Last year was the first year so it wasn’t that big, but this year is going to be epic!” The girl holding Artie bounced in her seat, making Artie flip onto his paws and jump to the floor, affronted.
    “I, uh…” I blinked and shook my head, at a complete loss for words. The Krampus Ball was tomorrow night, according to the card, and costumes were encouraged to complement the Alpine Christmas theme.
    “So can you do glamours? We heard you’re the best.”
    “You did, did you?” I asked, pulling my eyes away from the card.
    “Well, we heard you’re the real deal, you know? You’re not a fake.”
    “Who told you this?”
    “Our friend Bu.”
    “Oh,” I said with a nod. “Shinobu? He’s good people.” I swore all three girls turned three shades of red before collapsing into giggles. “All right, all right”—I waved at them to follow me into the kitchen—“what are you looking for?”
    It took the better part of an hour and my aching back and feet from the mall were catching up to me, but eventually all three girls were giddy with excitement as their glamours settled over them. They wanted to look like half-shifted woodland nymphs, so I’d given them each twisting, graceful, glittering horns that pushed through their brightly colored hair. I’d flattened their noses and widened their eyes until they had the sweet, soft faces of does with human aspects.