by his lapel, lifted him up to threaten him more closely.
"Indeed, I believe you will lead me down the right path."
In a grimace the being expressed all his hatred.
"I wouldn't swear to it, Your Excellency!"
Pressing a claw on the abdomen, the Krampus self-inflicted the fatal blow and dissolved in the hands and astonished glances of those present, while a last malignant giggle echoed in undefined points of the room.
"No! Damn him!" he yelled at Nicholas.
While not fully understanding what had happened, others did not escape the concern that appeared on the Bishop's face. Breaking the silence created, the father of the children dared to express his fears.
"Your Excellency, can you still do something for my boys?"
The holy man, although he sought concentration by squeezing with his thumb and index finger the area between the bridge of the nose and the eye cavities, had to surrender to the evidence of the facts: he had fallen into the trap! That group was only sent to slow him down.
"I... I'm sorry, but that thing was right, I don't think..."
As he was about to announce his defeat publicly, the unexpected solution arrived from the front door: a last Krampus burst in, upset by the long wait.
"So? How long does it take to... to..." the little dark demon abruptly suspended the sentence when he entered the room. Noting the absence of his companions and the presence of the Bishop towering imposingly, he sensed that something had gone wrong and decided to improvise.
"...to sell those branches? Yes, good cleaning branches! But I can see you're all very busy, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get out of your hair and..."
Nicholas' heavy stick fell to the ground a few inches from the demon, as a clear warning not to move.
"The next shot will go straight to your ugly face."
The black leprechaun began to sweat cold and, swallowing with difficulty, tried to pity the man with the furious look by kneeling at his feet.
"I beg you, Excellency, show mercy and magnanimity for an unfortunate being who begs for mercy! I'm a simple, pointless mistake! I shouldn't have become a Krampus, I'm too cowardly and incapable, think that they never let me take part in any armed confrontation!
The master only recruited me because there was one missing to form the group of thirteen and I was looking for mushrooms that day. It's the truth, I swear!"
The giant grabbed her by the lapel of his shirt and gnashed his teeth like a furious mastiff and pulled against his face.
"No one can become a filthy Krampus unless he has first soiled his soul, but you're right, leprechaun, your gaze is that of a coward. Relax, your arrival was providential, and I need you, so I won't eliminate you. Not yet at least..."
"Oh, thank you, mighty and wonderful lord, I will do anything you command me, you'll see, you'll trust me, I'm just a lost sheep and..."
"Now, little monster, you must sleep" he warned him.
"Huh? I beg your pardon? Sleep? I don't mean to be irreverent, but I'm having trouble sleeping at this hour..." he tried to apologize for not understanding, but he knew there was nothing good in those words.
"No problem, I'll gladly help you," the bishop made clear in his own way.
A well-aimed fist in the head was enough to knock the creature out.
"Well, sleeping pills administered, now it's my turn."
Noting that another bed had been set up next to the children, probably for the night vigil of the mother, he lay on his back holding the forehead of the Krampus with one hand and the crosier with the other. A white patina covered his eyeballs: a sign that the journey had begun.
Those present watched in silence without commenting, but confident that the Bishop knew what he was doing. Despite this, however, apprehension and anguish weighed on the hearts of the parents, only partially relieved by hope and prayer.
Chapter 2
What the Krampus saw when his consciousness was activated was a fairy-tale and surreal landscape, however incredibly realistic. With open mouths he contemplated the panorama that surrounded him without the slightest awareness of what was happening to him. He was awakened by the weight of a large hand on his right shoulder, which shaken him insistently, but it was the owner of that hand that made him grow weaker.
"You're not dead, don't worry. Now, demon, hurry up, we've got a long way to go." Nicholas urged him.
"To go where? Could you be less cryptic and make me understand what's going on, please? If you brought me with you, it means you need my help, but if I don't know what to do, how can I ever help you?" he demanded to know the Krampus.
Nicholas sighed, he had no desire to talk with a demon, but he recognized that necessity required a sacrifice.
"You will be the polar star that will show me the way to reach the kidnapped boys," he acclaimed.
"Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but I have no idea what you are talking about!" was his sincere answer.
The giant once again showed off his intimidating look on the little creature, sure that he would have all his attention.
"First: I am not your friend. Second: you don't need to know more, just walk in silence and in front of me."
"Yes, but where to? Come on, I have the right to know something, don't I? I don't even know your name. By the way, what is your name? I am Pétros the Moor, in case I want to use an appellation other than: monster, demon, goblin..." I will enumerate.
Nicholas was not accustomed to mistreating people he considered inferior, but that was not a person, but a diabolical Krampus, and that raised a wall of contempt that was difficult to break down.
"Pétros is enough for me. Then I do not judge by the colour of the skin, but by the colour of the soul. Anyway, this is the world of dreams, the infinite roads that unravel can take you everywhere, including the way to Hell, and this is what we are looking for, to recover the kidnapped boys before they reach it. Finding the right path is almost impossible, but you, as a demonic entity, are naturally connected with that path: your nature will guide us without you realizing it".
For the first time, Pétros found himself speechless and continued to walk the path that magically formed under his feet.
"Nicholas launched the bishop on the plate of education.
The leprechaun looked banned the giant.
"Sorry?
"My name: Nicholas," he said dry without adding anything else.
A smile of satisfaction appeared on the face of the Krampus.
Every now and then,
