Ghost (The Halloween Boys #1) (57)
The exposed skin on my calves pricked with goose pimples as my breath caught in my throat.
“More like a cult, if you ask me,” a rough female voice remarked. The others grunted their agreements. “Lord only knows what they did to those women they took.” Chills flitted down my spine. I imagined the fear they must have felt being grabbed in their sleep . . .
The captain trailed another lap around the fire. “The afterlife was flooded with souls that night. So much so, the spirits could hardly sort through ‘em all. Pissed a lot of beings off on the other side. It wasn’t right, the balance of life and death being thrown off by such wretched violence. Even the killings weren’t enough, and they set the town on fire after. Because of the magnitude of their actions, because death would be too small a punishment, they were cursed to spend eternity paying for their sins.
“Some say that means through their children and children’s children. Some say they’re still alive today and in Ash Grove.” The captain leveled me a pointed look, and I felt cold anxiety prickle my skin.
He continued, “A celebration every night in October, Hallows, began as a festival to honor the dead. Some felt it was needed because of the things that started happening in the years after the massacre. As the town began to rebuild, survivors and torn-apart families moved forward but started . . . seeing things. The stories say that every night in October, a new monster comes to visit, smellin’ the haunted land. It’s said that on Halloween, the old townspeople, the ones they mutilated, walk the streets again. We all dress in 1800s costumes so as not to confuse them. So that they can have a normal night. But even now, hundreds of years later, the monsters are still at it. Still killing. The curse only let them extend their reign. You already know what they’re called, right, Fox?”
Even the flame silenced its pop and crackle. I didn’t want to know. So much of my time was spent avoiding . . . what I did. Avoiding the truth, the visions, the intrusive thoughts, the parts all pulling together like magnets. I took a deep breath as everyone turned to me, even the parrot. “The Halloween Boys.”
The pirate captain’s words echoed so loudly in my mind they drowned out the medley of drums and harps a group, of what looked like people dressed as deer, played. I’d hoped to see him, the one from the stories. Ghost, they had all whispered with hushed reverence. I planned to confront him, and I’d envisioned doing it during another dance.
The music was soft and perfect for my questioning. Enough of the town’s riddles and half-truths, I wanted to ask him, the skeleton man stalking me. The pirates told me enough, but I wanted to hear it from him.
Raven nudged a soft, feathery elbow at my arm. “You look tired. Shall I walk you to your car?”
I glanced around the crowd for the millionth time. With a disappointed sigh, I agreed. Tonight had been a bust, in every sense of the word. Between my blow-up fight with Ames and now feeling stood up by my dance partner, I felt like an absolute loser. Even Ezmerelda took one look at me walking back and vanished. She didn’t want to be around me.
The only good to come from my disaster of an evening, aside from getting actual intel from the pirates, was my somehow scoring a new apartment and job. And Raven was easy company. “How long have you been coming to Hallows?” I asked as we weaved through horns and fur.
“A long time,” he replied plainly. “But I live in Ash Grove. Most here do not.”
That surprised me. “But everyone in here says they never get visitors. People in Ash Grove look at me like I have two heads. Where do all these people come from if they don’t stay here?”
A month was a long time to commit to a festival, yet I was seeing the same beautiful, masked faces every evening. It didn’t make sense. Travel to and from each day would be a logistical nightmare. My friend shrugged and shook their shoulders. Still in bird-mode, I guessed. “This town’s history draws all sorts of special people. This festival is what Halloween is all about.” His beak turned toward me, and I imagined a smile beneath it as he extended his winged arms. “Tricks, treats, a little mischief, and monsters everywhere. What’s not to love?”
A grin softly touched my lips as I fell into a walk beside him. The crowd dissipated while we broke the tree line to follow the flickering jack-o’-lanterns down the way. Raven remained by my side, his feathers from his arms so long they dragged the ground alongside us. He wasn’t small by any means, but he stood only an inch or so taller than me. I stole brief moments to inspect his costume, wondering who the kind soul was beneath. A dark Hyde hood covered his head, concealing any hint of hair or ears. He wore a plain buttoned vest over hundreds of feathers that wrapped around his frame. I wished I knew who he was so I could text him, so that maybe we could be friends. I broke the silence. “I think I have some leftover pizza if you want to come to my place and hang out.” Part of me didn’t want to be alone to think about my fight with Ames. Another part truly did want to get to know Raven better.
“I already ate, but thank you—” His long winged arm shot in front of my ribs, stopping me in my tracks. “Wait,” he whispered.
My heart jumped into my chest as I stood motionless atop the faint crackles of dry leaves. A moan broke out amongst the darkness of the forest. Raven’s beak turned in the direction of the sound, and he cocked his head. I peered into the darkness, straining to see the source of the sound. Suddenly a red flash and a man I recognized stumbled out from the bushes. Ezmerelda smoothed her dress and Captain Vex shoved his hat back on his head, one arm lazily wrapped around her shoulder. “Evening,” he said.