Ghost (The Halloween Boys #1) (29)
I opened my mouth to respond when the trill of an electric guitar radiated outward. A mass of characters had gathered around and under the abandoned station. They cheered adamantly as the band greeted them and played a hard rock melody. “Do you want to go down or watch from above?” Raven asked.
The bravery to join the bustling mosh pit wasn’t immediately appealing, and I liked my new friend, so I opted for the latter. “Where to?”
I couldn’t make out any facial expressions from behind his large, pointed mask. Standing just over my height, their face was completely covered, and long onyx feathers shown purple in the mix of moon and firelight. He took my hand. “I’ll show you.”
We broke off from the main area and trudged up a grassy knoll. “So I take it you’re a Hallows Fest regular?” I asked.
“You could say that. I mainly enjoy watching, though.”
I grinned. His voice sounded exactly what I’d imagine a raven to sound like. If, you know, ravens could speak human. Raspy but with an airy kindness about it. “People watching sounds nice for my first night. I feel like I don’t know enough to get too involved right now. It seems I’ve already wandered into places I shouldn’t.”
A beak turned, interested, in my direction. “Oh? Who’d you piss off so soon, Fox?”
“Some guy in a vampire costume with long white hair. One hell of a wig, if you ask me. And those red contact lenses.”
Raven halted our walk, cocking his head to the side again and ruffling his shoulders. “You didn’t go with him anywhere, or let him touch your skin, right?”
“No, no. I mean, I might have, but then this other guy showed up and scared him away.”
“Who?”
“I’m not sure. Someone with a skeleton face.”
Raven coughed a squawk of a laugh. These people always remained in character, I was learning. “I’ll be damned. Just don’t tell him what we do up here, got it?” We had reached the top. The feathered-person tugged at a rope ladder attached to a thick maple. He climbed a few rungs and looked down at me.
“Don’t tell who?” I asked, confusion furrowing my brow.
He only motioned for me to follow. “Alright, I’m following a bird costumed guy into a tree. This is fine,” I mumbled to myself, impressed with my hilarity. We made our way up through vibrant orange branches, finally setting foot on a platform. “Wow,” I breathed. “It’s all connected?”
“That’s right, Fox. Come on, we’ve got snacks.”
I followed him across a bridge connecting trees to several larger platforms until finally we ended at the farthest space. “This is like one giant tree house,” I said in admiration. “It’s remarkable. How did you build it?”
“Magic,” he answered plainly. The sound of music was louder here, and I noticed four others in the treehouse with us.
Raven gestured around the room. “Fox, meet The Murder.”
Four beaks, just like his, turned toward me. I wished I could see their eyes, or mouths, or some sort of expression. But their true faces remained concealed. I could only see the outlines of their forms, which were almost identical to Raven’s.
“You’re all called . . . Crow or Raven?”
They nodded.
“I’m going to have a hard time telling you all apart, but it’s nice to meet you all. Thanks for sharing your treehouse with me tonight.” I walked over to the ledge. It was a close and perfect view of the band but completely hidden from sight. No one even looked our way as we sat elevated above them all. Just another shadow in the trees. “This is amazing.”
The bird-people looked between each other and nodded. “Glad you like it. Help yourself to food and stay as long as you like,” Raven said with a smile in his voice. “Though . . . don’t stay too out of sight. We don’t want any trouble from you know who.”
“Are you going to tell me who you keep referring to?”
“Shh,” a crow interrupted. “I love this song,” a meek feminine voice squeaked.
My gaze drifted back to the stage, and I spotted Ezmerelda playing bass. Her red hair glowed in the bright strobe lights and she looked even more beautiful in clearer light. At that same moment, her gaze found mine, even at such a great distance. Or maybe she was only looking in my direction. It would have been impossible for her to see me from so far and in my dark hiding place. But she smiled that radiant pointed smile all the same as she played. The Crows passed me a plate of food and I nestled into bean bag chairs with them as we watched the show. I let the music thump through me along with the band’s hypnotizing melodies. After my second helping of nut and berry loaf and a wooden cup of mead, Raven said to me from where he perched near the ledge, “That’s who I mean, Fox.”
The others peered over. “It was only a matter of time,” the soft-spoken one crooned.
“Who—” I looked over to see him leaning against a boulder: the skeleton man. He surveyed the concert before flicking his gaze up to us in our elaborate treehouse. “How did he find me? He’s the guy I told you about that scared the vampire guy—”
Raven let out a high-pitched laugh again, flapping his long feathers. “I wish I could have been there to see Vincent’s face when he realized who you were.” The treehouse erupted in similar cackles all while the man below glared up at me.