Page 1 of A Beginner's Guide to Christmas Miracles
CHAPTER1
Nachielus
Nachielus sat at a scarred,dark wooden bar in Limbo, a glass of whiskey sitting in front of him. It wasn’t really his drink of choice, and he probably shouldn’t even be visiting Limbo, which was more of a stop on the way to heaven or reincarnation, not a place of punishment. Limbo tended to be filled with mortal souls and the occasional demonic visitors (it was quite the party place, and Nach usually loved secretly visiting and soaking up the joy), but most angels tended to stick to their roles upstairs.
But Nach needed a break from the other angels and his angelic duties.
He knew it probably wasn’t a good idea, because taking breaks from his “angelic duties” never seemed to end well for him. Really, though, the whole incident wasn’t totally his fault, and it sort of did fall under his duties since he was an angel of joy and fulfillment. What was more joyful than gifts, after all? But it seemed like the upstairs crew was never going to forget the incident, and he just couldn’t deal with the disdainful looks or the whispered comments, which always seemed to pick up this time of year.
Angels did not go rogue. And if they did, they apparentlyneverlived it down.
He was so tired of the gossip and the menial tasks he was constantly given. He hadn’t been able to fulfill his job of really giving joy forages. It was amazing how much paperwork you could get buried in when management was mad at you.
He took the glass in hand and thought about downing the shot, but he felt a presence sit down next to him. He looked over to see a tall, burgundy demon sitting there.
Just great.
“This is partly your fault, you know,” Nach grumped, twirling the glass and then pushing it back. He couldn't stomach the thought of whiskey. He had no idea why he’d even asked for it.
Minos, Judge of the Damned and grumpy demon, just grunted. So typical.
“If you and Arioch hadn’t been here when I stopped by Limbo to spread some joy to the mortal souls here…” Nach turned and faced the demon. “Well, I wouldn’t be on the outs with the leadership team.”
“Don’t blame me,” Minos scowled. “That was all Arioch. And you went along with it. Not my fault you didn’t think twice before listening to a demon of chaos.”
“It sounded like such a good idea!” Nach wailed. Because at the time ithadsounded like a good idea. Winter solstice was such a bummer—the shortest day of the year, so little sunlight, cold weather… So of course when Arioch had suggested bringing some joy to little children, Nach had thought it sounded like a fantastic idea. Little kids! Of course he wanted to see little kids joyful! Why not decorate their houses a bit and give them a couple small presents?
“Anyway, it was, what, a century ago at least? They can’t still be mad about it,” Minos reasoned.
Nach flushed and turned away. “Well, I might have decided to make it an annual tradition. It was so much fun, and it really did bring so much joy, and the families were so excited to get decorations and food and presents. And I might have expanded the number of people I visited each year, but really, everyone deserves joy, so can you blame me? It wastechnicallywithin the boundaries of my job description.”
Minos just grunted again.
“I know, I know, such large scale miracles need to be sanctioned, but I really didn’t think of it like a large scale miracle, you know. It was just a bunch of tiny miracles. That’s all,” Nach defended.
Nach looked back at Minos, who just raised his eyebrows. Nach felt like the demon was judging him.
“The maroon cloak was yours, so you’re at least to blame for that. Never mind that Arioch suggested I borrow it in case I got cold. And I didn’t even want credit! It’s not my fault that a few people spotted me over the years, and when they asked who I was, it would be rude to ignore them. Not that they got my name right anyway,” Nach grumbled. “And really, you know how much of a sweet tooth I have. You try turning down warm cookies and fresh milk and all sorts of sweets that people leave out for you.”
“It was a really warm cloak,” Minos grumbled, then he nodded toward the whiskey, raising an eyebrow again.
“Yeah, yeah, totally not my drink of choice. I’m trying to stay off the sweets though. It never ends well when I start in on them. And I have beenbannedfrom visiting mortals for the next two months. Can you believe it? Two months! I’ll miss all the good stuff! But I was called in to management and promised ‘dire consequences’ if I make an appearance topside.” Nach scowled. He couldn’t believe they’d actually placed abanon him. It was so absurd. He hadn’t done the whole gift giving thing in years, after all. It wasn’t his fault the mortals had taken over something he had inadvertently started.
“I just wanted to bring some joy to people. I certainly never meant to start a whole… thing,” Nach finished lamely, sighing.
“Screw management,” Minos growled. “You did good.”
“Well, upstairs certainly doesn’t see it that way. It wasn’tapproved, you know,” Nach grumbled. He just felt so… sad. He loved going topside this time of year. There was always such joy, and that was histhing. Maybe he should have felt more regret over the whole Christmas thing, but hehadbrought joy to so many people.
His musings were interrupted by a gasp, and the cutest little mortal soul bounded over to them. To Nach’s utter and complete shock, the man climbed into Minos’s lap, talking all the while.
“I leave you alone for two minutes, and you end up sitting next to the cutest daddy type, and I have to tell you he looksexactlylike—”
“Don’t say it!” Nach interrupted.
The human stared at him, snuggling up to the grumpy demon and actually patting his leg. Which was beyond weird. Mortals feared Minos, Judge of the Damned. He was grumpy and scary and looked very demonic, even if he was a nice guy underneath it all. Mortals did not snuggle up to him, though.
The man’s quiet lasted about two seconds. “You totally sound just like I imagined. That deep and rumbly voice! I bet you have a fantastic laugh! And the white hair and dad bod totally do it for you!” The man then winked at him, patted Minos again, and then turned andkissedthe demon.
