“Okay, let’s do this in phases,” Chander decided. He took two steps forward, and the square coffee table vanished. In its place a circular pond formed with gray water. “Living forest or dead?”
“Except for Victor and you, we’re all dead, so my vote is for dead,” Benton remarked.
“Plus, it’s way spookier like that,” Victor enthused. “And wait until you see the way my costume is going to stand out against the dark forest.”
“I think there’s no reason to make it completely realistic,” Chander murmured, the ground around the pool blackening and spreading across the entire floor. There was the impression of grass, though it was not a color regularly seen in nature. The furniture went the way of the coffee table, and trees sprung up between the window frames. Over the giant plates of glass, a mirrorlike visage appeared, mostly hidden by tattered curtains that fluttered eerily.
The banister was replaced by a gnarled branch since they still had to use it, and the stairs themselves were turned to stone that gave the impression it was worn from centuries of feet traipsing down them. Where the office had been, a cave emerged which was so dark inside, no light filtered out. There were more trees added throughout the space. The condo was enormous, and it seemed to only get bigger as the Arch Lich spread his magic.
Kitchen counters turned into large rocks that were only slightly misshapen, while the cupboards went a grayish black. The appliances weren’t forgotten and though Benton knew they had to work properly, they now looked like they’d been fashioned centuries ago. He completed the look with a ferocious gargoyle above the stove.
“Don’t forget the guest bathroom,” Baxter told Chander, and the Arch Lich nodded. The doorframe altered so it was no longer square. Like the rest of his scenery, it shifted so there was no color in their condo. Leaves sprung from many branches and Chander added his mist, which was waist-high and moved ever so slowly in the distance.
“Can we keep that away from the kitchen?” Victor asked. “Also, there are no chairs. Where are we going to eat? And our guests will probably want to sit from time to time.”
“I’ll keep the mist from interrupting you guys in the kitchen. Give me an idea for creepy-ass furniture—you know I don’t know shit about decorating.”
“You say that, but this looks amazing,” Victor remarked as he pulled out his phone. In his bright yellow shorts, he was like technicolor in a black-and-white movie. Benton liked the contrast and couldn’t wait to see how incredible the costumes were going to look against the dramatic backdrop they’d chosen.
Chander was instructed to glance at Victor’s screen, and their dining table re-emerged and was turned to an aged gray wood. Around it chairs were added, and each one was different. Some were padded while others weren’t. There was one decorated in dragon scales, another that was tailor-made for a vampire, while the one next to it was brimming with skulls. The Arch Lich gathered more magic and supplied more chairs. He kept up with the theme of representing the races of their extended family but in the spookiest way possible. At Brynnius’s direction, long tables were added in front of the cave for them to lay out the buffet the night of the party.
“And there’s still plenty of room for dancing,” Victor enthused.
“Did you want a specific floor for that?” Chander asked.
“If you wanted to do a creepy castle floor, that might be nice,” Victor suggested. “But let’s not go overboard with the size, or it’s going to take away from our hollow.”
Benton smiled as Chander did as he was told, and the edges blended seamlessly into the enchanted ground.
“Now for animals,” Grymington insisted.
“I can temporarily resurrect whatever you guys want,” Chander responded. “Do you want skeletons or full-fledged versions?”
“What if we did normal versions of the animals and added some tiny skeletons too?” Victor asked.
“Love it,” Chander said.
“I say we go with owls, cats, crows, and bats,” Grymington said.
Chander smiled at the always animal-friendly reaper. “Do you have pictures of what you want?”
His phone was yanked from his jeans, and Grymington showed Chander what he had in mind. Without a word, animals popped up around them. They were black, and Cassius let out a whoop when nine little skeletons emerged. While eight of them were white, the last had bones as dark as Albrecht’s had once been before his flesh returned. Five of the little guys were gifted with the two-toned daggers carried by the Skeleton Seven, and two had just the green that floated around Benton’s. A single one had black weapons like the Venerable Knight used in his training sessions, while the final skeleton had two glowing yellow swords crossed over his shoulders, which represented the Lich Reaper.
Cassius scooped up a skeleton and cuddled him close. “Can we keep them forever?”
“They will be here until the day after All Hallow’s Eve. You don’t need a skeleton pet,” Chander said.
“I think you should resurrect a little demon,” Victor suggested. “I mean, you could do that, right?”
“I have no damn clue,” Chander said. His face grew pensive, and he chose to pull off his T-shirt to allow his wings to sprout from his back. The pewter of his eyes turned red as he formed a black ball of magic and pushed it outward. On the round table it burst open, and a tiny creature appeared in its place. Like Chander he had wings, but his were the crimson of the demonic Acwellan elves, not black decorated with green like the Arch Lich.
“So,um…we have a demon in the house for a week?” Benton asked.
“It’s kind of a facsimile of a demon,” Chander revealed. “I don’t have a spell for a real one, so he has no brain and can’t talk. He’s basically a vision, but I used the word ‘demon.’ Strangely, I had an image of my own wings in my head, so I don’t know why he’s got red ones.”
“Weird,” Cassius said, bundling him into his arms with the skelly. “He’s cute, though.”
“We have everyone in the house represented except for Victor,” Brynnius pointed out.
