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The pup yawns with a wide mouth and little puffs of fire spark around him. Lyla gasps and moves forward, but I hold her back. “Look.”

Mandy laughs and sets Rudolph on the floor. “The elf clothing protected her.”

Lyla exhales, her shoulders relaxing.

“Let’s go, deerhounds, it’s time to deliver presents!” Mandy says, marching out of the barn and back toward the sleigh.

And to the astonishment of every demon--and human--present, all nine of them follow her in an orderly fashion.

It does not take long for us to strap them to the sleigh, but Mandy pauses, frowning. “Hm...”

As if reading her mind, Tzul snaps his fingers and another demon arrives carrying a large bag. He hands the bag to the girl, who peers into it and smiles, then says “thanks” in Demon, shocking her mother.

“She’s already learning their language?” Lyla asks.

I nod. “She’s an extraordinary child.” I glance at the beautiful woman beside me and smile. “She must get it from her mother.”

Mandy drops the bag on the floor and the demons help her take out the contents and strap them to the Hellhounds, who stand patiently during the entire process.

The cheeky girl has given them each fake reindeer antlers. “This way, against the moon, they will look like Santa’s reindeer and people will believe. Just like in the story me and Mommy read each year.”

Lyla walks forward and pulls her child into a hug. “It’s perfect.”

There’s an excited energy in the air as we all climb in.

“Are you ready?” I ask her, holding the reins but knowing I won’t need them. My hounds know my will. That is all that is needed to guide them.

Still, the reins are a nice prop. Something to occupy my hands so I don’t give into temptation and touch Lyla in ways I know we both want.

I tighten my knuckles around the leather straps as Lyla smiles nervously. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she says.

Mandy whoops from the back seat. “Let’s do this!”

I press the red button on the dash, and we fly.

11

Lyla

Iclutch at the list as the sleigh lurches into the air. Mandy is in the second row, whooping like crazy. Her delight is palpable and I can’t deny the smile spreading across my own face. Deciding to not hold back, I let out my own whoop of exhilaration. There is no explaining the thrill of being pulled through a night sky in a sleigh.

Lucifer presses some buttons on the dash and then we’re flying through one of his fiery portals. I close my eyes as we pass under the flames and then suck in a breath as true winter cold hits me. Wind whips at my face and hair and I reach up to grab my hat, but it’s staying on as if it’s glued in place.

Magic, I think to myself. For that matter, other than my nose and cheeks, I’m not cold in the least. Looking down, I run a gloved hand over my pantsuit. It feels like normal velvet, but I’m not uncomfortable. Gurch is sitting in my lap wearing one of those ridiculous Hell-elf costumes and doesn’t look bothered at all.

“Where to first?” Lucifer raises his voice just a little and glances in my direction.

Right, this is where my part came in. I look over the edge of the sleigh to see if I can guess where we are. “Is this Chicago?”

“Yes,” he says.

I run my finger over the list the way Gurch has shown me and pull up the list for Chicago. It’s surprisingly small for such a large city. Maybe Santa already got a lot done in this area.

“The Denricks! They live in an apartment complex in Lincoln Park. Gurch says if we get close the sleigh should do the rest.” I watch as Lucifer stands confidently, the reigns loose in his hands.

“Then the Denricks it is.”

The sleigh makes a sharp turn to the right and I clutch my seat tightly. “Mandy, you better be holding on!”