“Hey, guys!” Kantarellen, Chander’s office assistant, greeted. “Want a token for a gumball?”
“Shit, this actually works?” Baxter asked as he took a token from her gloved hand. He stuck in it the slot and turned the mechanism. There were a bunch of clinks; then a sugary treat flew down the chute and into Baxter’s hand. “Did you use magic to make your costume?”
She shook her head. “Nope, I worked on the mechanics myself. No magic involved.”
Without another word, she shuffled off to offer the next person one of her tokens. “Okay, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get better than that.”
“I don’t know, have you seen the Porfyra-Dewitts?” Benton asked as he pointed his finger toward the family.
Baxter let out a laugh. “I should’ve guessed they’d go as characters from theWizard of Oz.”
“Yeah, but Myrddin as a Flying Monkey and Severin as Dorothy?”
“Emrys is Toto,” Baxter managed as he continued to chuckle over the brilliance of their costumes. He let out a gasp when the Wicked Witch tilted her head and he realized it was Prism Wizard Vadimas Porfyra-Dewitt.
“Wow,” Benton said.
“This contest is going to be so tough,” Baxter complained as he glanced around and saw the Acwellan chieftain replaced by a swashbuckling pirate. Killian the Dwyer clanked by as a Knight in Shining Armor who proudly pointed out that he belonged to his mate. The only two darkfallen on the planet had chosen to go as a believable although short Morticia and Gomez Addams. Coven Lord Bridger D’Vaire was a ghoulish plague doctor while Blodwen and Trystan D’Vaire were the storybook characters Hansel and Gretel.
“Let’s go find everyone and figure out how we’re going to score people,” Benton suggested.
“Good idea,” Baxter responded as he gave his other half a quick kiss. “But first, let’s go fall down in front of Chander as his abused pages.”
“Of course.”
Chapter 10
“Knock it off, assholes,” Chander told Baxter and Benton as they threw themselves on the floor for perhaps the hundredth time that night. Apples had been unsuccessfully bobbed, food had been devoured, and the song list Eduard had diligently worked on had been enjoyed. Chander had spent his evening at Alaric’s side, pleased that he’d gone with a costume representing something they both loved. It made him think of their first official date years ago at a place where the only thing better than the pizza had been the company.
“Are we ready to announce the winners?” Victor asked as he pushed some of his blond wig out of his face. His makeup was still flawless hours later—as one would expect of the detail-oriented cat shifter.
“Yes, and then we have a private thing we need to handle,” Alaric told Victor.
“What private thing?”
“You’ll find out, Cinderella,” Chander remarked.
Victor grinned. “Well, it’s past midnight, you know, and my carriage has already turned into a pumpkin.”
“But, Victor, you live here,” Brynnius said.
“It’s just a reference to his fairy-tale costume,” Arvandus supplied.
“Someone get everybody’s attention,” Cassius demanded.
Chander wove a bit of magic that let out a shriek. The only sound that followed was the music, which Eduard shut off as the entire D’Vaire family stared owlishly at the Darays huddled together near the kitchen.
“He always does things in the most annoying way,” Baxter complained.
“You shut the fuck up, you’ve been scaring and nearly tripping me all night,” Chander fired back.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Alaric intoned, ignoring the bickering going on at his side. “Thank you for attending our party tonight. Not only do we believe it was a success, but we welcome the opportunity to share the holiday with you again in the future. It was our absolute pleasure to have you in our home, and we’re still stunned by your creativity in selecting your incredible costumes. To that end, we have put together what we feel is the top three. Before we announce the winners, we wanted to tell you a bit about the prizes. We’ve put together a bag for each of you that is filled with not only Brynn’s delicious treats but also Victor’s mouthwatering pizza sauce. Arvandus and Albrecht have gathered fresh fruit for you from across North America including black apples, which they discovered just this year. The rest of us have thrown in things we feel represent the Darays, and we hope you enjoy everything we’ve selected. Chand?”
“It was not easy to narrow down everyone in our Lich Hollow to just three, but we did manage to come to a consensus. Allow me to tell you that there was fighting and even yelling, but our third-place prize goes to the Wicked Witch, who we hope doesn’t have a house fall on them before the night is over. Vadimas, congratulations. Come up and grab a bag.”
The Prism Wizard might’ve blushed, but it was hard to tell under his green makeup. He thanked them profusely as he snagged one of the bags Cassius held out.
“Our second prize goes to a man who offered each of us a magical pin to shove into his burlap costume. Renny, congratulations on your extraordinary voodoo doll. I hope those pins don’t make you sick, Dra’Kaedan,” Arvandus called out.
