Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception."

"As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night…

And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means."

- Isaiah 28:15,19

The day had finally arrived. Years of teaching, punishing, correction, waiting for the day that she thought would never actually come. Yet time of course did pass and Mary Lou had finally completed her last Krampusnacht. Her successor would take over within the month.

She couldn't even remember the names of the children that she released the six nights before, or even the trip to Santa's Workshop, it had all seemed to be a blur. Mary Lou didn't care. Her day of deliverance was here at last.

Upon arrival, she had greeted by Bernard and Judy. "The lady of the hour arrives! Come in, come in!" Judy wrapped her arms around Mary Lou, and the three entered the Great Hall.

"My dear Elves," announced Santa Claus, "fellow members of the Council of Legendary Figures, friends and visitor, I am pleased to welcome to Santa's Workshop at the North Pole, the legendary Krampus!" Loud applause echoed in the chamber, as did calls for a speech. Santa held up his hands. "She has served as Krampus for decades. Mary Lou Dobbins has borne the trial of those years silently and without complaint, and now goes off to resume her human life. May my friend's future endeavors be as bountiful as her past ones!"

Again there was much applause. Santa continued. "I shall now hand the floor over to Father Time." The two men shook hands and Santa Claus took his position next to Krampus.

"Mary Lou has taken the reins of perhaps the most difficult position of legendary figures and has performed his duties admirably. She shall be missed, but as a legendary figure emeritus, she is always welcome to speak on the Council." Turning to her he said, "I have no doubts your wisdom shall be strongly considered." Looking Krampus in her eye, he continued:

"I believe it is time to get on to what Miss Dobbins has been waiting for. Santa Claus, are you ready to relieve Krampus of the Birch Bundle?"

Santa showed Father Time his gloves. "I am ready."

"...Proceed!"

Santa Claus stood tall and straight, regal in bearing

"Mary Lou Dobbins, having received and accepted your resignation, I hereby relieve you of all duties and obligations of the office of The Krampus."

Krampus bowed. "Santa Claus, it was my honor to serve. I now pass to you the symbol of the office of Krampus, to be held in your care until such time as the office is filled. In doing so, I officially resign the office and relinquish my duties." She handed the Birch Bundle to Santa Claus. Santa took them in his left hand. They shook hands.

"Congratulations Mary Lou," said Santa, putting his arm around her waist. "Now, I expect you'll want to hit the bathroom right now, and we have one set aside for you right over there. You deserve a bit of privacy.

"Thank you, Santa!" She could already feel the magic flowing out of her body. She reached up to feel her head – and felt her horns receding. Walking quickly on mismatched feet, Mary Lou stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door. Her horns had fully receded into her head. She gasped, her skin prickling as the mass of tightly woven fur reversed its growth, pulling into her skin while her skin itself lightened from dark grey to a healthy shade of pinkish ivory. The sharp features of her face softened as her muzzle retracted into a childlike oval face. Ears became soft and rounded. Muscles shrank from monstrous to simply athletic. Her cloven hoof split into five toes and her upper hoof stretched into a foot. Claws withdrew and were replaced by flat nails. Tusk-like fangs shrank into flat, clean, white teeth. Mary Lou gasped as her hair follicles reverted to their normal growth pattern and her blond hair returned to its formal glory.

Thirty years worth.

And that was that. Scissors and a razor had been provided and Mary Lou snipped fifteen feet of hair to her preferred short and simple style parted on the right.

She had scarcely aged over the decades, but her time as Krampus had slightly altered her body. She seemed taller than her original five feet even, and she was considerably more muscular than the Christmas on which she had first handled that Birch Bundle. She would have to check with Father Time about that. Like the razor and scissors, several sets of clothes had been thoughtfully provided, and she changed into one of the pairs of blue jeans and a grey flannel shirt. She stepped out of the bathroom.

Cheers greeted her as she returned to Santa and Father Time.

"Gentlemen," she said in a voice she had sorely missed. "I stand relieved."

They bowed in return. "Mary Lou, your retirement package has been prepared and is waiting for us on the sleigh. I take it that you wish to return to Pennsylvania as quickly as possible."

"Oh, yes please, Santa!" No need to tarry. It was time to return to her old life. She could barely contain herself as they headed towards the sleigh. No longer protected by her own coat, Mary Lou eagerly donned the forest green parka that an elf provided her. A final exchange of farewells and the sleigh headed south towards the American eastern seaboard.

Her heart leapt when she saw the retirement package that that been arranged. Combined with the fund that her father had set up, the years had expanded her account to nearly seven million dollars. She was wealthy, young, and free. And now, at long last, very human.

Santa grunted. "That's odd."

"What?"

"Just a burst of electromagnetism over North America," he said, pointing to the sensors. Santa's sleigh had been upgraded several times while she had served as Krampus and now was advanced as any fifth-generation fighter jet.

"Meaning?"

"It could mean several…" He turned on the shortwave radio – and their blood became ice in their veins.

"…has confirmed thermonuclear explosions of undetermined magnitude over Frankfurt-Main, NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and RAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath. Russian authorities regret the loss of life but claim they have received information of NATO strategic launches and have detected missile plumes from the American Midwest.."

Santa picked up the flashing North Pole handset. "Curtis, talk to me, buddy!" The young elf was sobbing.

"I-I can't believe this is happening, Scott! We've confirmed missile launches…dozens of warheads crossing within a hundred kilometers of the Pole. Okay, now detonations confirmed over Riga and Kaliningrad!"

"Turn to KYW, Philly news," said Mary Lou quietly but firmly. Her mind was utterly blank.

He did so. They heard a high pitched tone followed by an electronic voice.

"We interrupt our programming. This is a national emergency. The following message is transmitted at the request of the United States government. This is not a test. A nuclear attack is occurring against the United States. Multiple missile launches have been detected from both the mainland of the Russian Empire and from…"

A series of bluish-white flashes erupted along the east coast which then faded to reveal luminescent mushroom clouds from Halifax to Boston, down to Norfolk. Mary Lou opened up her mouth to scream.

I woke up, my heart pounding. I held out my arms in front of me. Claws and fur. I growled and fell back into bed, relieved, staring at the rough cathedral ceiling.

This had been happening a lot over the past few years. There had been nightmares similar to this – a return to human form, then a return to a world where it wouldn't matter.

Ernst had warned me that the office grows on you…

Since I no longer had to wake up knowing that the next day was just the barest fraction of a five-hundred year term but merely a twentieth of the time, I had been able to more closely focus on making Krampus an actual and viable career.

With Ernst's assistance and my own practical experience, I was able to complete doctoral programs in education and philosophy, and, just for the fun of it, a masters degree in aviation from Embry-Riddle over the course of just a few years.

Doctor Krampus, if you please...

Naturally, this formal education made me more effective in educating my charges and in disciplining them. I'm sure it's no surprise though that Danik was my first but by no means the only small child that fell in to my hands responsible for heinous crimes. Some did well and prospered following my period of correction, some failed terribly.

Danik was happily one of the former. I had kept him isolated, away from the others, and the boy's suffering quickly progressed from physical to mental anguish. As his body – only spirit, to be sure, but he didn't know that – deteriorated from a human figure into a handless waterlogged skeleton covered in aquatic plant life, the nerve endings, such as they were, deteriorated as well.

And there he remained in his cell. No food was necessary for him to remain alive, but small portions were brought to help him mark the slow passage of days. My intention was to punish him for his crimes, and rendering him insane would be counterproductive. After a few years, I took to reading to him in order to keep his mind occupied, an activity I found relaxing as well. Some time later, we were spending more time just talking. Danik had long given up on pleading for his release and restoration, as my response was always the same. He would also ask about me, and I would always tell him the mythology. It took him a while to make the connection.

"You say the Krampus is…but wait…you're a woman!" he said in a gurgling rasp of a voice. I couldn't help laughing at that

"You're not to know the details on that, Danik, but yes. Suffice it to say that I am a woman, and the Krampus hasn't always been me."

November through Christmas was always the worst, as that was the time when I had to set aside my 'gentle though beastly-looking teacher' persona and become the monster.

I wish I could say that it was merely good method acting. But I can't, not after that first Krampusnacht following my physical transformation. I guess the powers that be saw fit to let the Krampus relax for that first time. The next year and the years following, though, I understood first hand why Krampus bears the nickname Christmas Demon.

What caused it, I cannot say for certain, but it seems tied to how I regard my appearance. Be assured, I look unsettling at the best of times – and being a monster is not something that can be ignored. Oh yes, I see and feel everything – and it depresses me even though I know it should not.

In any case, I become more fearsome in appearance in the last month of the year, which hardly helps my mood…and which I suppose makes me more effective. But I don't have to like it…even if the day after Christmas makes it seem all worth it – for a little while at least. To say that releasing my captives is… "rewarding" only captures the barest essence, a child saved, perhaps a soul redeemed. A grateful embrace.

December 26, 2027. The tenth anniversary of my first – or rather my second – Boxing Day as Krampus. I just hadn't gotten my "uniform" the first time around.

"Merry Christmas, Krampus?"

"A happy Boxing Day, Danik."

"I get to go home today, right?"

"You sure do," I said with all the warmth I could muster. "For a time at least." He didn't ask about that, and I didn't expand on it. I simply placed my paws on his head and let the restorative magic do its work.

I took the same general route that I had taken every year, and we were soon landing at Danik's home in Belarus – just three weeks from the date that I took him.

I brought his spirit, fully restored to the boy's delight, into his own bedroom where he saw his form there, sleeping calmly.

"Is that you," I asked, anticipating the question I had been getting a dozen times or more every Boxing Day. "Of course it is. It was only your spiritual form that I took with you. And now, before I join your soul back with your body, I must give you an instruction that you must obey, lest I return very angry in less than a year's time. Are you ready?

"Y-yes."

"You won't like it."

"Kinda figured."

I smiled ruefully. "Danik, you need to tell the truth of what you did. It's now the day after Christmas, 2017, and Julija's body needs to be recovered and put to rest properly."

He hung his head. "That's what I thought," he whispered.

I wrapped my tail around his waist and lifted up his chin to look him in the eyes. "I know you're terrified. You should be. But the justice I provide can't replace the debt you owe society. I took him gently by his shoulders. "You can do this."

He choked back a sob, and then threw his arms around me. After a minute or two, he was whole, back where he belonged.

I learned later that Danik Marchenko indeed confessed to his crime and was eventually sentenced to twenty-five years for the murder of Julija Sadouskija, but this sentence was later commuted and he was released in 2029. As of this writing, he is a construction worker in Minsk.

My life as Krampus continued on. Things changed as time passed - obviously. Todd graduated from college, married and began his career as a public accountant. I felt not just a little bit of envy at that. Not professionally, mind you. I love math, but there was not enough money in the world that could get me to become a CPA. Maybe it was just me getting older and more mature, but I often found myself thinking about having a husband, getting pregnant, having children. Lots of warm fuzzies there…for a moment.

Then I'd remember.

Matthew went on to marry someone with fewer mythological obligations and became a systems administrator in Denver with two sons. His little brother took a similar path but ended up teaching coding at a Philadelphia junior college.

Mom and Daddy continued on with their lives, fending off questions about what had become of their daughter. At least they weren't lying when they said that I had moved up North permanently, earnestly seeking a cure for my bodily ailment.

My body. I loved it and I hated it. I loved the glacial pace of aging and the immunity to all forms of illness and disease and that any injuries sustained would heal practically immediately. And while having a tail and a fur coat is humiliating, the feeling they provide is amazing – my layered fur provides perfect climate control and the tail offers increased balance while acting as a third arm. It's the same with my horns: abject humiliation on one hand, immense pleasure on the other (although having them when you're in bed is like sleeping with a two-foot long and wide neck brace). So there are advantages.

Claws, I can do without claws. To be sure, they are great at intimidating, but that only comes to play on Krampusnacht, if then and I can count on one of them the number of times I've used them the rest of the year. Other than that, they are merely a source of frustration.

Fangs are similar; not really useful, they just make me look like an animal. They really don't work with spaghetti, let me tell you…

I hate my mismatched feet, one a hoof, the other the paw of a beast. They make walking awkward, and when I run, I have to do so on all fours, so you can imagine what that does to my ego.

After years of being Krampus, I still can't stave off the revulsion I feel when I see my reflection or shadow. Though I was rather fond of the way my voice had changed originally – deep yet still feminine – over the years it has gotten more animalistic, and I sound like a beast when I'm not thinking about it, or at best like Brunhilde with a smokers rasp when I am.

And I especially loathe that despite all this, I love doing the job. Oh, I could have resigned on the date Mother Nature had mentioned, December 31st, 2046 but I chose to stay on. Ernst had warned me that the position grows on you, and he was more right than I could have believed. I don't know what magic it is, but makes you want to stay in the position and makes your previous life seem – less than optimal.

Every dream in which I have been in or seen myself in my former state has been a nightmare – while every dream as Krampus is blissful. Fortunately, the dreams as Krampus predominate. And it must be said that the outside world looks less and less appealing as the years wear on. The nuclear war scenario had nearly become a reality several times already.

Even so, as the years went by, I knew it was time to move on to a somewhat more conventional life.

"So," I said. "You can see why I am more than a little reluctant to delay my resignation for yet another year."

I just wished I could have been more effective. Despite our best efforts, and the Iron Stronghold bulging at the seams, the behavior of children continued to decline. Everyone involved or that had been involved assured me that it was not my fault but the fault of the world as a whole. And I could certainly see this reflected in the world situation. There had not been a massive world war, thankfully, but there had been a steady upswing in terrorist attacks and small military skirmishes – including within Canada and the US

Scott sighed. He was well into his eighties now, but he didn't seem that way. He loved the job, and I think he would do it forever if that was an option to him. But it was the retirement of Bernard that he was concerned about. He said that it would be too difficult to keep things running while training Bernard's replacement and also training a new Krampus, and since Bernard had the benefit of seniority not to mention being the first to request retirement…my resignation request had resulted in this meeting.

"Mary Lou, I know you've been through a lot. I felt the same way when I lost my father. But all I ask for is one more year."

Yeah. That was "one more year" he had asked for last year, and that was enough time for my father to develop prostate cancer, a cancer that was inoperable and very fast-moving. Perhaps a mercy, but it didn't do much for my mood to see his funeral through mp4.

In order to preserve the Secret, I had been forbidden from meeting my niece and nephew. Todd had been expressly forbidden from revealing my existence to them or his wife. My brother and I stayed in touch, but we could only meet once or twice a year for two or three days at a time.

And the thing is; I really can't say no to Santa or Mother Nature. I know Santa called Ernst to come bat for me in the hearing. And I know Mother Nature had been under no obligation to reduce my term in office. And I also know that I was going to say 'yes' to serving one more year as the beast.

"All right," I said. "I will agree to serve just one more year from today, and end my term on December 31st of next year. Do I have your word that you will respect my wishes?"

"I promise, Mary Lou," said Santa. "You will be allowed to retire on the last day of next year."

"You have my promise as well," agreed Mother Nature.

We shook hands on the deal and they departed the Iron Stronghold. I sighed, and my tail gave me a comforting squeeze.

One more year and a few months? I could handle it.

Since I had already spent well over thirty years as Krampus, I saw no reason to think that I couldn't manage another one or two.

What I hadn't foreseen was the swift and sudden deterioration of world affairs in within just a few short months. South Asia and the Middle East were most seriously affected, but international relations on the whole declined precipitously. Lahore and Mumbai were both destroyed as India and Pakistan slipped over the line into nuclear war. It was a thankfully "limited" exchange that terrified both nations and the rest of the world. The five missiles killed forty-one million people within a handful of hours. Many more would die from fallout in the weeks and months to follow.

Nearly all would suffer as from the devastation it would wreak on the world's economy.

I had not foreseen the development of an alliance between Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Turkey. And I had not foreseen the alliance they had formed with Israel after Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, this time backed by nuclear-armed Iran and Pakistan, attempted to destroy the state "once and for all." An attack that was stopped cold.

A seven-year peace treaty between Israel and the Islamic world that amazed all.

I had not foreseen that Father Time had indeed been correct in his initial observation of what the End of the Age might entail and how it might affect us Legendaries. And yet he had no idea how overwhelming and total our ensuing transformations would be.

The truth that was driven home is that there is a significant difference between 'holding the office' or 'wearing the mantle' of a legendary figure and truly being that legendary figure.

And, one might think, I could have hated Scott Calvin for that.

But I don't. My form and destiny – for the next millennium anyway – is set. My anger is reserved for others…and my just wrath is terrible.

I was once merely Mary Lou Dobbins, a high school student who wound up taking and serving the office of Krampus. I was once merely Ernst Müller, whose wisdom, knowledge, and experience I draw upon daily and gratefully. But now Mary Lou, though I do love her – she remains a crucial aspect of me, is merely the person that I had been and will be.

I am Krampus.

=THE BEGINNING=

Author's Note - And this completes the tale. Thank you for reading. And Merry Christmas.