Halloween: a holiday often appropriated by monsters who wish to indulge in their magical practices while the Arbiters are spread too thin dealing with greater matters. For humans, it’s a day of caution and fear of the arcane. And for those in the shadows, it’s rumored to be an optimal day for forming contracts, among other things. In Sorrow, however, Halloween remained a day of frights and fun for the majority who still celebrate it.

A lamia belonging to the Mortier family came around the side of our booth at lunch with a bunch of invitations in hand. Her long copper hair matched the scales that ran down the back of her tail, the scales on her front were an alternating pattern of black and white that had a bit of a sheen to them as she moved. She coiled herself up in a sitting position, looking down at me with small, smoky brown eyes befitting a snake; a true horror to see had it not been such a familiar setting.

“Hey guys,” the lamia said with a smile. “My sisters and I are throwing a costume party.” She handed me and Sam an invitation with her address. “You coming again this year, Sam?”

Sam nodded. “You bet.”

“Well, I’ll leave you boys alone now. Hope to see y’all there.” The lamia continued on to the next table to give invitations.

I asked, “Who was that?”

Sam stuffed his face with a mouthful of chips and swallowed. “That was Izzy, one of the Belle Sisters.”

“Is she a friend of yours?”

“Not really. Just an acquaintance, I guess. She’s the nicest out of her sisters but she’s also kinda weird. The parties are okay, at least. You are going to the party, right?”

I shrugged. “I would but I don’t have a costume.”

“Excuses!” Sam crossed his arms. “Let’s go shopping later. I’ll pick something out for you if you can’t decide by then.”

❦ ❦ ❦

The Mortiers lived in Watson Way, a neighborhood off the main road close to mine. Their home was painted pink, of average size, complimented by a yard that was still able to see the neighbors but also have some semblance of privacy. The front yard was littered with Halloween decorations, mainly tombstones and a stray skeleton here and there, with cars in a line down the driveway. I parked halfway on the yard near the mailbox, the worn grass between it and the only tree in the yard showed that it was as good a place as any.

I hesitated to get out of the car. I asked Sam, “Are you sure this is an okay costume?”

Sam said, “Yeah! It fits you perfectly.”

“But why a vampire?”

“Do you not realize how dour you look all the time? You seem a lot more interesting as a vampire; you already got the teeth for it, too.”

“My teeth…?” I rubbed the front of my mouth to feel the impression. “Do they really look that bad?”

“Bro, you gotta’ stop worrying and start living.” Sam hopped out of the car and opened up the rear passenger side door to grab the accessories to his devil costume. “Can you check if I put this on right?” he asked after haphazardly tossing everything on.

I grabbed my vampire cloak from behind the center console and put it on as I went around the front of my car to Sam. “Your tail is a little off.”

Sam stood still as I bent the wire to be more presentable and less likely to knock things over. He turned around and presented himself. “How do I look?”

Sam’s costume wasn’t very convincing other than his black sclera contacts. His horns had a visible headband, and his spaded tail was lifelessly hanging from his belt between his legs. “You got the eyes right at least.”

He playfully crossed his arms and looked to the side with his nose held high. “Whatever. At least I’m not wearing a blouse.”

“Ah, so it is a blouse.” I adjusted my cloak to try and hide the frilliness of my shirt.

Sam laughed. “The buttons being on the left should’ve given it away. I could’ve gotten us really pretty clothes but nooo. Had to spend most of my budget on these contacts.”

“It’s not like I was stopping you from crossdressing.”

A girl whose face was slightly hidden by her witch hat came up from behind Sam and said, “Sup, nerds.”

Sam wasn’t all that surprised by the sudden appearance and hugged the witch. He said, “Wow, Vivi. Your costume is pretty convincing.”

“Vivi?” I asked. “I didn’t recognize you without your ears and tail.”

She covered her rear with her hands. “What are you implying, pervert?”

Sam laughed. “He’s just saying that you look human.”

Vivi crossed her arms. “Well, whatever. I’m gonna go and enjoy myself by the fire. Coming with, Sam?”

Sam gave me a look and said, “In a bit, Vivi. Let me grab some food first.”

Vivi looked displeased but still went to the gate at the side of the house. A cat therian, dressed in a torn suit with a crushed tophat, came up to talk to her about the “good shit” he had and went along with her to the firepit in the backyard.

Sam and I walked up to the decorated front entrance. I could see into the house through the windows beside the front door; the stuff in the yard seemed almost an afterthought compared to the extensive Halloween décor inside. Sam knocked on the storm door to get someone’s attention, and it turned out that Izzy was waiting for us in the nearby kitchen. Her costume was that of a nurse—plain and uninspired.

Izzy said, “Sam! So glad you came.”

Sam said, “You know I wouldn’t miss a chance to eat some of your mom’s cookin’.”

She laughed. “Come on in, then. There’s plenty of it.”

The kitchen was dark with candles providing what little light there was to set the mood. At the oven was another lamia in the spitting image of Izzy with long hair going past her waist. In between cooking up sweets and Halloween themed treats, she turned towards us and asked, “New friends, Izzy?”

“Yeah, you know Sam and… uh…”

“Elliot,” I said with a nod.

“It’s nice to meet you, Elliot. Sam. Help yourselves to any food you see.”

Izzy’s mother went back to cooking and decorating the finished goods. Sam grabbed a couple sugar cookies and ate one while he looked at the other morsels laid out for everyone. I walked over to the actual food and prepared a hotdog for myself and drowned it in mustard to make the taste bearable.

I sat at the nearby kitchen table after grabbing an already poured drink of lemonade. Across from me, Izzy waited patiently for Sam to sit down so she could coil up by him. When Sam finished filling his plate, he sat across from me and chowed down on his cookies and slightly charred burger.

I tried to make conversation as Izzy rested beside Sam. “How long have you two known each other?”

Izzy responded. “Since elementary school.”

“We weren’t really friends until middle school,” said Sam. “Got paired up in science class and decided to do a project on monster biology together.”

Izzy giggled. “The first thing he asked me was what it was like to lay eggs.”

Sam refuted the remark. “Don’t go spreading that lie. Eli, I was asking about parthenogenesis and if she could actually reproduce asexually. You can’t fault me for being curious—especially since it was for science! She was the one that made it weird by offering to show me.”

I said, “You certainly are strange about that stuff, though.”

Still, it was an understandable curiosity. There was always something new to learn when it came to monsters, simple and strange facts of life; like how the devils are, in essence, very large imps; or how therians have a significant amount of plant cells along their nervous system, remnants of an unusual symbiosis. In practice these details mattered little to the common person. To people like Sam, however, it was something fascinating in an otherwise dull world.

I also had my own questions about lamia. “I always wondered how things like dating worked for y’all since you’re an all-female race. I know it doesn’t matter, but do you actually have a preference in other races, like male or female?”

Izzy replied. “Yeah, we have preferences despite it not really mattering. Or were you asking about me specifically?”

I shrugged. “I don’t mind if you want to tell me.”

Izzy sat back on her tail and gave my question some thought. “I like short, chubby guys. Makes me want to gobble them up.”

I became a bit concerned. “Do you actually…?”

She laughed. “We can’t unhinge our jaw like the naga, so no. But it is fun to completely coil around them and… maybe that’s too much info. Guys are just a lot more interesting to me than girls. Less gross, too.” She muttered to herself, “How can someone bleed so much and not die?”

Sam frowned. “It’s really not that bad. Not that I would know… but… monsters like therians have it a lot easier.”

Izzy stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted face. “Bleh. It’s so strange that half of the same species could have such a unique experience compared to the other. Y’all would be better off if you were like us—we all lay eggs and don’t get as weird about parentage.”

I said, “There wouldn’t be any males if that were the case. People like me and Sam wouldn’t exist.”

Izzy sighed. “Well maybe you’d be really cute girls, then.” She then tried to wink at Sam but ended up awkwardly scrunching her face.

Sam let out a nervous laugh at the sight. “Or hermaphrodites, like alps.”

I finished eating and got up to throw away my paper plate. Sam was only half-finished with his food and was more focused on talking to Izzy. I decided to look around the other parts of the house as the sounds of a horror movie drew me into the living room. The other partygoers were not paying much attention to the movie, missing the blood pouring out of an elevator. A valkyrie with dyed black wings and a crow mask was flirting with one of Izzy’s sisters. Two therians, both hiding their animalistic features, were making out on the loveseat while a very frustrated cupid watched from the corner. I felt it wasn’t quite right for me to be there, so I went down the hallway to the sitting room between the living room and back porch.

The layout of the house was a bit odd to me compared to the villa. It was obviously renovated to accommodate its liminal residents with large rooms and a tall ceiling, but there was still a feeling that it was somehow larger on the inside than it should be, having two floors in what should’ve been a single story house. The thought that the house was enchanted crossed my mind, and it would have made sense considering the holiday, but a house of that size would’ve needed a powerful mage to pull it off. I cleared my mind of the thought and navigated between guests who were standing around and talking—only a few being recognizable, but not anyone I would associate with, all mixed between lamia that appeared identical save for their hair and costumes.

As I got to the back porch, I saw Izzy’s human father, Mr. Mortier, grilling in the dark under the patio awning. He was tall and lanky yet retained an intimidating presence despite his pink apron and unnecessary aviator sunglasses.

He said to me in passing, “That costume is a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

“On the nose?” I uttered back.

“Nose-feratu,” he laughed.

I stared at him in confusion.

“Come on, son. It’s a joke.”

I grinned to please his need for a reaction and sat on the couch at the other end of the patio where the smoke of the grill couldn’t reach. I could see Vivi and two other therians—the cat from before, and a raccoon with a bandit mask—back near the storage shed at the left corner of the yard. They all sat around a small fire pit which seemed to give more light than it did warmth judging from how close they were all sitting to it. Vivi held a couple stems of pom-pom grass, a plant similar to dandelions except that the puff part doesn’t disperse in the wind and comes in a wide variety of colors. She pushed a couple of the pom-pom puffs near her nose and breathed deep. The other therians also partook of the grass and chewed their leftover stems.

My focus was disrupted when I heard a soft voice in my right ear. “They say it’s not addictive, but I’ve never seen a therian refuse a sprig.” I turned to see Beth in a gothic style dress with red accents and accessories. She sat beside me on the couch, her presence was oddly calming and welcome to me. “Hope you don’t mind me hanging around you.” She touched my shoulder. “You’re the only one here that I know.”

“I don’t mind. I only know a couple here… most everyone else is a stranger.”

“Isn’t that fox girl one of your friends? Why not sit with her?”

I said, “Well, she doesn’t really like me. I wouldn’t want to bother them, either; they look like they’re enjoying themselves. She’s even drooling.”

“Sitting out here all alone… aren’t you cold?”

I shook my head. “The cold doesn’t bother me. What about you?”

She laughed. “I’m used to it, myself.”

A gentle moment passed. Shadows danced along the edges of the fire pit. The therians were all in a trance. They spoke to each other but held no conversations. Each one was in their own world with a different sun brought on by the warmth of the flames. I felt a longing to touch the flame, though I had not known what possessed me to feel such a way; to think such things in the moment—it was nonsense.

Beth smiled curiously when I spoke again. “I haven’t had another dream since that night.”

“Think it was just a fever dream?”

I nodded. “Guess it was.”

“Seemed a silly thing to be worried about anyways. I dream so much yet remember so little. Nothing ever really stands out to me about them.”

“I don’t know. I hate that I lack perspective when it comes to dreams. Humans seem to be able to dream pretty easily about a variety of things—even imagine things in their head like photographs. It’s something that…” I lost my train of thought. “I guess even humans are different amongst themselves.”

Beth giggled. “Sounds like you’re worried that you’re different. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when you’re part fungus, dude.”

I looked away. “Fair point.”

“You should just give up on the whole humanity thing. Be your own person.”

“I’d prefer to live a normal life. As you should, too.”

“Oh? Tell me, then, what’s normal about this.” Beth widened her mouth to reveal her sharpened fangs. Her hand graced my wrist to keep my attention, pressing hard and then relaxing. Noticing my lack of resistance, she reverted back to a normal look and gave a peaceful smile. I knew she was no threat to me—not to my existence at least—though it was another obstacle to a normal life. “You will never be ‘normal’ if you can’t be yourself. And you have no idea what you’re capable of.”

“I’ve no intention of finding out.”

“Then I’ll show you a glimpse of the real me.” Beth gripped my hand again. The warmth of the fire seemed miles away from me. She inched closer to better work her magic on me, some sorcery involving the mind. My vision darkened as she once again touched my bare skin—this time on the neck. “Your blood is wasted on you,” she whispered. “A weak heart is no good to anyone.”

In an instant, I felt an assault on my body in the dark. There was no pain, yet it made the hollowness inside of me all the more apparent. Beth tried to dominate me with magic, but there was nothing for her to manipulate or control. In silence, I waited as the speck of light that was the fire returned to my vision. But I alone was not able to regain my senses.

“You okay, son?” Mr. Mortier touched my shoulder. His voice broke through the black and set me free.

I said, “I’m fine,” and shrugged off his hand, touching the side of my neck to make sure Beth left no mark.

Mr. Mortier wasn’t so convinced, however, and stood beside me with a spatula in hand. He adjusted his aviator glasses and asked, “Has a demon taken an interest in you? Or was it just a prank?”

“I… I don’t know.” Beth had already disappeared, and I wondered if she was ever really there in the first place. How Mr. Mortier was keen on the situation was also beyond me—he’s a mystery all his own.

“I know someone who can help you if you’re in danger.”

I got up and faced him. “I don’t need any help.”

“Best you went home, then. I can’t allow any harm to come to my daughters with all this magic tomfoolery going on.

I didn’t want to make a fuss about no longer being welcome at the party. I left without telling anyone and headed directly home—being followed the whole time by shades emboldened by the night.

❦ ❦ ❦

Beth was waiting for me in the living room, still in her dress and drinking red wine on the couch. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked upon seeing her, not trying to yell.

She looked at me and sighed. “Sit down, Eli. It’s not like you wanted to be there.”

“I did want to be there, Beth. Were you even invited?”

“Of course not. But I wasn’t going to spend the night by myself.”

I sat down on the opposite end of the couch. Beth poured a glass of wine and slid it towards me. “Damn you,” I said and took a sip. “Don’t ever do that again. Not even as a joke.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I knew you could handle it… I was just messing around. I didn’t expect that much resistance from you—or that man wising up to us.”

“Whatever. It’s over now.” I took another sip. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“You’re not mad?”

“Yes, I’m mad. I’m not going to let that stop me from having a good night, though. You don’t want to be alone tonight, right? May as well watch a movie.”

Beth leaned onto the side of the couch and swished her wine. “Sure. But just so you know, it’s tonight only—you know how it gets out there in the dark on Halloween.”

“Yeah, yeah. Perfect night for the shades to play their games. It’s nothing the Arbiters can’t handle if it gets bad enough.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said. “I’ve been hearing their whispers in the woods where I live. They leave me alone, but it’s still kind of bothersome when I’m trying to relax. I figured it’d be best to let them have their space tonight. Whatever they’re planning, I don’t want a part of it.”

I nodded and drank some more. “Wait, you live in the woods? Like outside?”

“Yeah? Where else would I be?”

“I thought you lived at the bar. Rosa has rooms on the second floor for people to stay in. There’s also her office—”

“I couldn’t stand living there anymore. I prefer it my way.”

“Well, you’re obviously welcome to stay the night. It’s a lot safer than outside. But I guess it doesn’t matter much when you’re the one lurking in the shadows.”

Beth smirked. “I’m not the only one. There’s an abomination that roams around. I call him the Deer God… at least I think he was a deer before. He stands on two legs and passes through the woods every night without making any noise.”

“I’m not surprised. Animals that become abominations generally go unnoticed or become local legends. Sam even told me that he saw something similar while riding on his bike, a deer man staring at him from the edge of the woods. I didn’t believe him, but I guess there are certainly some strange things in this world. Like the mara and shades”

“And us,” Beth said as I got up.

“How about you pick the movie? I'm getting some water.”

“You’re such a lightweight, dude.”

I kept the bright kitchen light off since my eyes were adjusted to the warmer light in the living room. I grabbed a bottle of water from the bottom of the fridge and made my way to the sink, drinking the whole thing and leaving the plastic to dry in the basin. For a brief moment, my eye caught a glimmer of white light from the backyard through the window above the sink. Two glowing eyes were staring at me right at the threshold of light from the garage lamp. With some discernment, I could see the shape of a deer skull as the eyes turned away.