“I hope to hell he’s not in charge of food. No one is going to enjoy an all-pizza buffet,” Baxter snarked.
“We’ll discuss food after we finish decorations,” Alaric stated. While he was fond of pizza and enjoyed it often with Chander—much to the distress of the Daemon Lords—he wanted something more spectacular than just delivery for their party.
“I have an idea,” Lich Reaper Grymington Daray interjected. “I’ve been reading spooky stories to figure out my costume. I’m going as Ichabod Crane, and Hekate will be the Headless Horseman. Those characters are fromThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow. What if we turned the downstairs of our condo into a magical hollow?”
“What is a hollow?” Skeleton Lord Ducarius Daray asked.
“Technically, it’s a hole, but in the book, there’s this scary place with trees and stuff,” Grymington supplied.
“Oh, my gosh. You could do a bunch of dead trees around a hollow,” Victor enthused.
“With some creepy-ass mist,” Skeleton Lord Cassius Daray added. “Could you temporarily resurrect some animals to fill it?”
Chander bit his bottom lip, and Alaric could see the wheels turning in his head. Although Chander was always sexy, when his brain kicked into full gear, Alaric’s hands always itched to touch him. “Yeah, that’ll work. We’ll have to decide how much of the house we want to be affected by the spell.”
“Can you invite spirits?” Victor asked.
Chander shook his head. “The veil is thinner on All Hallow’s Eve, so I can do more with less magic, but spirits can’t cross on their own. Some necros receive messages in dreams, but I never have. Perhaps it’s because I don’t know my bloodlines, but in recent years, I’ve had ones with winged creatures. I think that goes back to my fascination with demons since I found out I was one, though.”
“As much as possible of the condo should be enchanted; we want an immersive experience,” Alaric told him. “The party is in fourteen days. I suggest you work on ideas and convert it into a hollow perhaps a week before, so we can fine-tune any issues.”
“Yeah, like how I can keep the kitchen and bathrooms functional while being scary as fuck,” Chander mused.
“It’s going to be awesome. Our very own Lich Hollow.”
“Grymmie, that’s the perfect name,” Victor gushed.
“Are we still going to carve pumpkins and have them somewhere?” Arvandus asked. All Hallow’s Eve was the fallen knight’s favorite time of year, and he always took Albrecht to a pumpkin patch.
“I think those would fit in somewhere,” Chander promised.
“Could we all carve them this year?” Brynnius asked.
“Sure,” Arvandus responded. “I’ll take everyone to the orchard where we get our apples and pumpkins.”
“We should have a pumpkin-carving contest,” Skeleton Lord Eduard Daray suggested.
“I do like that idea,” Alaric stated. “Is everyone available on Saturday to go and have our contest?”
After everyone agreed, Alaric moved on to his next issue. “We need to discuss food. I do not want Noirin and Kendrick involved. Not only do they work hard year-round to feed their immediate family, but they always have an extra plate for any of us. I want them to have the night off. Brynn, you will be in charge of the menu.” Seneschal Duchess Noirin D’Vairedraconis and her mate, Seneschal Duchess-mate Kendrick D’Vairedraconis, were the chefs at D’Vaire and served a buffet meal three times a day, every day of the year, as far as Alaric knew.
“Can I ask Victor to help me?” Brynnius asked.
“Victor feeds us five days a week and should also get to enjoy his holiday.”
“I would like to help, though,” Victor pleaded.
“Very well, but if you change your mind, no one will be upset. Do either of you have any ideas off the top of your head for food?” Alaric asked.
“I’ve been thinking about it since I figured I would at least volunteer to make some sweets,” Brynnius explained. “One idea I had was to make an edible graveyard. We could make tombstones for everyone who has been resurrected, even Hekate.”
Victor’s expression was horrified. “That’s really morbid.”
“Wearedead, Victor,” Alaric said with a laugh.
“Fine, have it your way. Brynn, you and I can do some research on themed food ideas. I want it to be spooky.”
“We will need music, and since Eduard is the only one of us that plays an instrument, he will be in charge of it,” Alaric stated. He wasn’t sure the Skeleton Lord had any talent since whenever he picked up his saxophone, Alaric wanted to smash it into pieces, but he was a sentinel and would persevere. Or so Alaric hoped.
