Winterwood Read Online Free PDF

tunneled out to form chimneys and from the numerous fire pits, redolent with the odors of burning wood and cooking food. The ripe stink of manure wove its way through the other smells like an unwanted guest.
    On its own, the village made for an astounding sight. But it paled in comparison to the edifice that loomed over everything, a structure carved from a single, immense trunk, a tree whose twisting, deformed branches rose hundreds of feet in the air, higher than the fires’ glows could reach, and whose width spanned the entire back of the clearing. Lights blazed in dozens of windows and from numerous spires that overlooked balconies and terraces.
    A shiver ran down Anders’s spine, not from the cold but from the aura of foreboding the village and its giant castle gave off. Despite the old-fashioned style of the architecture, the dark wood, with its knots and gnarled branches and lack of color, exuded a feeling of danger rather than hominess. Even the nostalgic smells of roasting meats, baking dough and burnt pine failed to evoke good feelings. The odors arrived greasy and polluted, despoiled in some odd manner, as if contaminated by the malevolent beings who’d created them.
    â€œWhat is that place?”
    The quavering voice behind him made Anders jump. With a start, he realized he’d been so focused on the village that he’d forgotten Anna and Paul. Worse, he’d forgotten they were intruders in enemy territory, standing right out in the open for all to see.
    â€œPaul, look at me.” Anders spoke in a firm voice then waited until he had his son-in-law’s attention. The younger man took a deep breath, and although he still looked shaken, he no longer appeared ready to break down. “I’m going to give you the quick version.”
    â€œQuick version of what?”
    â€œEverything you know about Christmas is a lie, a watered-down version of the truth. There is no Santa, no bringing of presents, no Rudolph guiding a sleigh. The reality beneath it all is a legend older than time, the legend of the Holly King who rules Winterwood, the land we’re in now.”
    â€œIt’s all true? The Yule Elf? Winterwood? The Holly King?” Dark circles stood out under Anna’s eyes, giving the appearance she’d gone days without sleep, but Anders knew it was shock. The shock of her boys going missing, and now an added attack on logic as her childhood nightmares came true. It hurt Anders to see her that way; hurt even more to know that in some part, he’d caused it. However, it couldn’t be avoided. Not with the clock ticking down on them.
    â€œYes.” Anders wanted to say more, but the fear in his daughter’s eyes stopped him. What good to say “I told you so”? It would only add to her pain.
    â€œGoddammit, will somebody tell me what’s going on?” Paul looked from his wife to Anders.
    â€œThe celebration of Yule, the three longest nights of the year, is much older than the Christmas you know. It’s the time when the Holly King’s reign over the world comes to its annual end. On each of the three nights of the solstice, Krampus, the Holly King, takes his forces out on the Wild Hunt. He travels the world on an enormous stag, with his hounds and his soldiers by his side. Between the hours of nightfall and dawn, he and his men capture anyone they find and bring them back. At the same time, his sons—the Yule Lads—ride out and kidnap boys and girls who’ve been bad. The Yule Elf, the creature you met at your house, the one who sent us here, it’s his job to make sure good children don’t get taken. Parents are supposed to leave presents for their children under a decorated tree or wreath to show the Yule Elf that their children had been good.”
    â€œAnd that’s what happened to Nick and Jake?”
    Anders nodded. “I believe the Yule Lads took them, and they’re being held down there.” He