Betrayed by a lover, Jamie rents an isolated cabin on Lake Huron, wanting only to be left alone. Instead, he is pulled from his solitary existence as an artist and tumbles headlong into the legend of Saint Nicolas.<br><br>As a young man, Nicolas accidentally killed a man intent on murdering three children, only to have the man's malicious spirit rise up against him. Fleeing through the centuries from the Krampus, the evil troll-like creature that dogs his steps, Nico finds refuge with the young artist who takes him into his home and bed. But Jamie has questions. Who is Nicolas, and why does the Krampus want to destroy him?<br><br>When the Krampus begins to torment and torture anyone Nico comes in contact with to punish him, Jamie's life is put in danger. And Jamie isn't sure whether he can help Nico defeat his nemesis or if he's merely a pawn in the Krampus's game.

Nicolas

“There was a gasp, a sob of terror, and I opened my eyes, and the boys stood in front of me, whole and alive. I don’t know how. God’s mercy. But the butcher couldn’t let them be. I hadn’t meant to kill him! I shoved him from them and he struck his head on the stone hearth.”


Nico continued as if he hadn’t heard him. “The butcher’s spirit fled its dying body, bent on its revenge. I had taken a life, and he meant for me to pay.” His voice dropped to a strangled whisper. “I deserve to pay.”


Jamie grabbed his arm. “That’s not true. You saved those children. What Piter chose to do afterward was because of his own black and twisted soul.”


Chapter 61