by Tegan Maher
She smiled and bared real fangs. “This is not sarcasm. This is like the British dressing up as the queen.” She scrunched her pale face. “Or maybe like an American dressing up as James Dean, depending on which vampire movie you watch.”
“Wait,” Jolene said, her eyes going back and forth between us. “Dracula was real?”
Elena wobbled her head side to side. “Eh, sort of. The guy they modeled him after was this super old, emo vamp who’d cloistered himself in his castle for too long. Nobody knows why he did it, but there are legends galore, just like there is in the human world. But yeah, the concept was loosely based on a real person.”
“Huh. Learn somethin’ new every day,” Bob said, twirling his curling mustache and adjusting his Oakland baseball cap.
I puckered my lips and perused his costume. In addition to the hat, he was wearing an Oakland A’s jersey and white baseball pants. A mitt lay beside his Spiced Pumpkin Punch on the table.
“Okay, you know I suck at sports. Who are you supposed to be?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes. “I bet Colin knows.”
“Easy,” my baseball-addicted boyfriend said. “Rollie Fingers. The mustache gave it away.”
I narrowed my eyes. “It looks the same as it does every day.”
“Yeah, but when you put it with the costume, it’s a no-brainer,” Bob replied. “Anyway, I wanted to come as the abominable snowman, but Jolene said that would be tacky.”
My friend sighed. “I didn’t say it would be tacky. I said all that white hairspray would get tacky.”
Tempest interrupted Bob’s response when she popped her head up, her black-tipped ears at attention. “They’re here!” she exclaimed and hopped off her chair.
I pivoted to watch her bounce across the patio to greet Mila and Calamity. Mila shook her head and smiled as the sisters skittered off together, no doubt to gossip and bum food.
“You’d think those two hadn’t seen each other in a year rather than a couple weeks,” she said with a half-smile.
“Yeah,” I said, “and we better keep an eye on them or they’ll eat so much they’ll be sick later.”
“Aw, leave ’em be,” Bob said, his brown eyes shining as he watched the two chatter. “It’s a special occasion.”
“Says the man who doesn’t have to deal with their whining later. Or sleep with them,” I replied, standing to hug Mila. “Nice costume.”
She’d painted her face to look like a lion and teased her hair out and sprayed it with gold hairspray to emulate a mane, then dusted both with gold glitter. I was a little jealous of how great she looked in the tawny body suit and brown ballet slippers.
“You like it?” She twisted her hips to show off her devil wings and tail. It was a stuffed, smiling snake.
Jolene grinned. “A chimera!” she said. “Clever.”
“I figured it was about the only mythical creature I could count on not showing up,” Mila said, returning her smile.
That much was true. The Enchanted Coast was a resort that catered exclusively to paranormals. Vampires, unicorns, fairies, brownies, sirens, mermaids, and shifters were all regular visitors.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re safe with that one. As far as I know, they really are myths.” I hoped. The good thing about being a witch, though, is that she could cast a glamour if she needed to. I thought about that option for a minute and decided I liked the process of dressing up even if a glamour would be more comfortable. It was a Halloween tradition.
“Do you guys wanna eat,” Elena asked, “or are you waiting for a while?”
“No,” Colin said. “I’m starving. I didn’t take time for lunch.”
After we placed our orders, I pushed back from the table. “I’m going to finish setting up,” I said. “I don’t want to do it on a full stomach.”
The combination of heat and a full belly was never a good one, especially when there was work to be done.
“We’ll help,” Jolene said, taking a long pull from her fruity drink.
I waved my hand and cast a cooling spell over all our drinks, and she smiled when a thin layer of ice crept up the side of her glass. “You know, Des, I love you all the time, but sometimes my heart just overflows with it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, grinning. “There’s no need to let good alcohol go to waste just because there’s work to do.”
2
It didn’t take us long to set up the rest of the activities for the party. Within twenty minutes, we had stations for pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples including one in the pool so the mermaids and other water folk could participate. I’d also made a box full of peeled grapes, spaghetti noodles, and ooze, then hidden little prizes in it. Finally, there were two pinatas—one over the pool and one by the tiki.
“That’s enough entertainment, right?” I asked, surveying our work.
“I think so,” Mila replied. “When you add in the costume contest and the count-the-candy corn jar, there’s plenty of stuff to do.”
“Good,” Colin replied, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. “Our food should be up, and I’m ready to finish that beer.”
I took his hand and reached up to give him a kiss. “I swear, you’re always hungry.”
“Werewolf metabolism,” he said, patting his stomach.
When we got back to the table, our food had indeed arrived, but the lids were off the bamboo containers and the food was scattered about.
I couldn’t figure out what had happened. A little niggle of irritation swept over me, because my first thought was that Tempest and Calamity had helped themselves. I didn’t want to think that, but I couldn’t find any other rational explanation. I was especially irritated because she’d eaten my slice of cheesecake the night before after she’d finished her own, and a couple of days before that, she’d polished off the last of the bacon I’d set aside for BLTs that night. I’d barely said anything then, but this was beyond the pale.
“Tempest!” I barked at the same time Mila called for Calamity. Both foxes poked their heads out from behind the bar where Tempest had her own little area in front of a fan.
“What?” Tempest asked, her head tilted. I rarely used a sharp tone with her.
“Don’t what me,” I said. “What did you two do to the food?”
She furrowed her brow and glanced toward the table. “We didn’t do anything. I swear.”
We’d caught Dimitri’s attention.
I waved my hand toward our table. “Did you see what happened?”
He shook his head. “No, I was getting ice. I took it to the table, and this is the first time I’ve even looked that direction again. A group of gorgons came up to the bar for drinks.”
I stepped closer to the table to examine the wreckage. Sure enough, the cheeseburgers were mostly gone, along with Bob’s hotdog, but Jolene’s salad was unmolested. Both foxes hated salads. A little voice whispered in my head that the girls were lying, and I narrowed my eyes at them.
Before I could say anything, though, Mila spoke up, hands fisted on her hips. “How else did it happen, then? It just so happens that the meat and fries are demolished, but the salad is just fine.”
Calamity pasted on her best wounded look. “Mila, you know we wouldn’t do that.”
Again, I got the feeling she was lying.
Tempest, the more hot-tempered of the two, glared at me. “I can’t believe you’d even think we’d do something like that.”
I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to bite back my own temper. Rather than say something I’d regret, I just turned to Dimitri. “Can you put in a replacement order?”
He nodded, his fake blue ears wobbling. “Doing it now.”
Mila swept her hand, and the bits and pieces of food floated toward the baskets. I helped her by sending them to where I knew the bus tub was behind the bar.
Though we took our seats and sipped our drinks while we waited, the silence was tense. “I’m really sorry, guys,” I said.
Jolene flapp
ed a hand. “No worries.”
Irritation practically oozed from Colin, though. There were definitely worries.
By the time our second round of food arrived, some of the tension had eased, and I suspected much of Colin’s problem was that he’d been hangry. I didn’t bother to call the girls to come eat since they’d already gorged themselves, and I still couldn’t trust myself not to say something.
It was only six-thirty when we finished eating, so we decided to take a walk on the beach.
Colin pulled in a deep breath as he took my hand. The sea breeze ruffled our hair and cooled the sweat that glued our shirts to us.
“I really am sorry about the food,” I said, and he shrugged.
“It’s not like she does stuff like that on a regular basis. Besides, we’re at a party and we’re together, walking on a beach with the sun going down. In the scheme of things, that was barely a blip.”
That was one of the many reasons I loved him; even though he was a werewolf, he was usually a water off a duck’s back type of guy.
“We’d better get back,” I said fifteen minutes later. “Halloween hijinks await.”
The walk had done me good, and by the time we made it back to the patio, I was relaxed and ready for the festivities.
3
“You owe us a round of drinks!”
I whipped my head to the left at the sound of angry gorgons. That was not something you wanted at any time, especially in a crowd. All they needed to do was take off their turbans, and anybody looking their direction would be turned to stone.
“Whoa,” I said, striding toward them. “What’s wrong?”
Fiona, the head of the group and a regular at the resort, replied, “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. That unicorn over there trotted past our table and knocked our drinks over with his tail.”
I followed her gesture to find Harry, another regular, glowering at her. “I did no such thing,” he snapped, his eyes fierce and his horn glowing an angry red.
Allegra, his mate, stepped up beside him, her expression just as fierce as his. “And you snake-headed old bats need to apologize, too.”
“Apologize? I watched him do it!” Fiona said, rising to her full height.
I sighed. Unicorns were known for their pride, and once you offended one, it was a tough train to turn around if you wanted them to get over it. I held up my hands.
“There’s no need for trouble. We’re all here to have a good time. Fiona,” I said, “your next round is on the house. Harry and Allegra, same goes for you. And I’ll send some extra candy apples over, too.”
Fiona’s jaw was flexing, and neither unicorn was backing down.
“Please, guys,” I said. “I just want everybody to have a good time.”
Fiona finally rolled her shoulders and shot one final glare at Harry. “Fine, but only because you’re asking. I personally think a couple unicorn statues would really spruce this place up.”
Allegra pawed the ground and the glow in her horn intensified.
“Please, Allegra,” I said, using telepathy, which was the natural way a unicorn communicated. “She’s just wound up. All I want is for everybody to have fun. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
A few seconds passed, and just as Fiona was reaching for her turban, Allegra’s horn quit glowing and she bowed her head. “Only because we like you and you always treat us and the kids well,” she replied through the mental link.
I pulled in a deep breath and blew it out. “Thank you, all of you. Now let me get to the bar and get your drinks rolling. Elena will be right over with them as soon as Dimitri makes them.”
As soon as Allegra and Harry turned and clopped back to where their kids were playing in the kiddie pool, I jogged to the bar. Elena was leaning against it with one elbow, her ebony hair tucked behind one ear.
I explained the situation, and Dimitri shook his head. “The last thing we need is a gorgon/unicorn battle. I’ll get the drinks going right away and send over a free appetizer along with candy apples to both tables, too.”
“Thanks,” I said, relieved.
While I’d been diffusing the bomb, Colin had ordered us both fresh drinks and was sitting with Mila at our table.
“Everything okay?” my cousin asked, and I nodded.
“Barely. I thought we were going to have gored gorgons and unicorn statues there for a minute.”
“That would have been a delightful mess to clean up,” Mila said, brow raised. Gorgons weren’t like most of us. They bled green, and it was oozy and gross. I knew because Fiona had cut her finger several months before on a piece of glass and I’d had to administer first aid.
“Yeah, and a PR nightmare,” Colin added. He was one of the resort’s attorneys, so it was logical that his brain went there.
“Well, crisis diverted,” I said, chugging half my drink. The way this evening was going, I had a feeling a slight buzz wouldn’t be a bad thing. “Now let’s get this party started.”
I asked Dimitri for the mic that we kept for karaoke nights and flipped the switch on.
“Okay, everybody!” I said, walking to the patio. “Who’s ready for a Halloween party?”
I tried to inject as much enthusiasm into my voice as possible. We had a good turnout, and most everybody cheered. I smiled as my gaze roamed over the motley crowd. As usual, we had a lot of diversity.
Just as I was getting ready to speak again, a great winged horse swooped in and landed with a soft thud that belied its size. Stephanie, my Valkyrie friend, slid off his back. Her Wonder Woman costume was dea- on and suited her perfectly.
She gave me a big grin. “By all means—let’s party!” she called, and the crowd cheered.
“We’ll start with the pumpkin carving contest!” I said. “We have two divisions: one for the kids and one for the adults. Go ahead and get started. We’ll judge in forty-five minutes. If you’re not carving a pumpkin, feel free to bob for some apples or cheer on your favorite carver!”
I’d made sure the kiddie stations were equipped only with the safety cutters, but the adults had access to the metal ones. I held my breath that no more angry hiccups occurred while half the party was armed with sharp, pointy objects. Of course, that wasn’t to be.
We weren’t ten minutes into the contest before a little fairie girl dressed as a princess howled and pointed her finger at a young witch wearing an Ariel costume standing beside her. A small pumpkin lay splattered on the other side of the table. Parents rushed to both girls.
I figured I’d better get a jump start on the hullabaloo, so I bolted toward them.
“What happened?” I asked the little princess.
“She pushed my punkin off the table!” she said, tears rolling down her chubby little cheeks.
“I did not!” the witchling said. “It just rolled off by itself.”
“Did you see her do it?” I asked the fairie.
“N-no, but I know she did it.”
“If she says she did it, she did,” a fairie woman dressed as Jane from Tarzan snapped. “My little girl wouldn’t make that up.”
“But if she didn’t see it—” I started.
“I said, she wouldn’t make it up,” the woman snapped, cutting me off.
“And my little girl wouldn’t do something like that!” a tall, angry witch replied, resting her hands on her daughter’s shoulders.
The fairie mom drew back her hand, magic swirling at her fingertips.
“No, no, no!” I hurried to say, stepping between the two of them and hoping I didn’t end up with warts or something even worse by getting caught in the crossfire. “I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding. How about we start the time over for you?” I asked the fairie girl.
She sniffled and stuck her pumpkiny thumb in her mouth but nodded.
“Does that work for everybody?” I asked the parents, who were still glaring at each other. “Ladies?” I asked when neither of them answered.
The witch finally backed down first and gave a sharp nod
. “Of course it does. That’s only fair, and I want them both to have fun.”
The fairie woman took her sweet time, but she nodded after a few seconds. “I suppose that’ll work.”
My shoulders sagged with relief. “Okay, then,” I said, and magicked a fresh pumpkin from thin air since there were no more on the table. “There you go, sweetie. See? All fixed.”
I mouthed thank you to the witch mom once the two fairies had turned their attention to the pumpkin, and she gave me a half-smile and a shrug.
“What the hell is going on tonight?” I asked Mila and Colin once I made it back to the tiki. Mila shrugged and shoved a fresh drink into my hand.
“I think I can answer that for you,” a voice said from behind me. I turned to find a blond woman about my age dressed like a sexy devil, minus the horns. Black wings sprung from her back, and she was wearing black leather boots, dark jeans, and a pink bustier. I couldn’t stop staring at the wings because they looked so lifelike.
“Kira!” Mila said, delight tinging her voice. “I didn’t think you’d be able to make it. Where’s your costume, though? And where’s Callum?”
I raised a brow. If that wasn’t a costume, then she sure had fooled me.
The woman—Kira, apparently—sighed. “He wanted to come, but he had other work. For that matter, I’m not here for fun, either. I’m hunting a trickster demon, and I’m pretty sure he’s here somewhere.”
“A trickster demon,” I parroted. “That’s a real thing? I mean, I didn’t realize there were different kinds.”
She nodded with a wry smile. “They’re as different as people are, except each one is a different brand of trouble. What’s this one done so far? Have you had more than the confrontation between the witch and the fairie?”
Colin nodded. “Yep. The whole evening’s been a mess. Our food was destroyed, and a gorgon and a unicorn almost got into it because the gorgon swore the unicorn had knocked all their drinks over with his tail.”
Guilt washed over me. I’d blamed Tempest and Calamity even though they’d both sworn they didn’t do it. I remembered that little voice in my head telling me they were guilty.