Black Sabbath Christmas Jumper Novels & Stories

“There are no nights off. Be thankful that I can come home at all.” Salem did not even take Christmas off. During the previous year, the holiday had gone virtually unnoticed due to all the chaos and confusion of the Nightfall. But by December 1877, things had—in their own awkward way—settled down enough for London to embrace the old holiday traditions. The Church of Black Heaven maintained that lilitu and vampires were holy immortals, not demons, and as such we were encouraged to celebrate the birth of Christ. It was the perfect way to pat ourselves on the back for earning God’s favor and being blessed with immortality.

I blush. He is dressed in severe black robes, the traditional attire of the Grim Reaper. Cool tendrils of the hem of his robe snake out to skirt my ankles, as if in affection. It is a garment of living darkness, ebony as spilled ink. I step on the tendrils, squashing them with enthusiasm. They spring up hissing and new. Samael laughs low. “Your defiance is amusing,” he says quietly. “You find everything entertaining,” I counter. I stomp another snake. It squeaks and deflates. “This is as addicting as crunching leaves.”

I said slowly, “why.” “I need a plus one,” he said, blatantly. My brows knit together in both surprise and confusion. “For what” Instead of answering, he opened a drawer and slid something across the desk toward me. An invitation card. Thick paper, elegant font, painfully familiar names. Caleb Blackwood and Selene Hale

I was born with jinx speech, able to twist even good fortune into disaster. My mentor had sealed my powers in case I abused that ability, which would lead to bad karma. But now, I would take bad karma if it meant making Mark Stanley and Susan York pay for what they did! Still, Susan was furious from being hung up on and bombarded me with voice messages. "Do you think babysitting makes you a big deal, that the world has to suffer your tantrums because of that?! "A petty man like you doesn't even measure up to Mark's little finger!