Forever Together (The Undead Detective Agency Book 4), page 8
As they passed the threshold, the door slamming behind them, he took a gasping breath, sagging against the hallway wall in relief. His heart continued to beat a mile a minute, while his crazy nut of a boyfriend continued to laugh.
“Fuck…how do you enjoy this?!” Turney brushed sweat from his brow. He knew as a zombie he shouldn’t be sweating anymore, but dammit, he still hadn’t quite figured out how to not.
“Aww, come on, it’s fun!” Octavius giggled.
He glared at the vampire. “Fun, my ass. I knew that man was human, but I still freaked out.” Turney sighed.
Octavius rubbed his back. “There, there, my zombie bunny. It’s fine. You are safe.”
The vampire’s words did not hold even a single drop of sincerity. “I don’t believe you.”
The male sighed. “I promise, nothing here will kill you. Oh, by the way, the humans working here do know about us. So, no worries about them finding out, after that change you did in there. I did warn the company that you are new, and that the humans are not to be wandering around alone. You should be safe, no matter where you go. But still, don’t leave my side, okay? Not that I’d leave you alone in here anyway,” Octavius finished with a giggle.
Turney narrowed his eyes at the vampire. “Why does it sound like you not leaving me alone has nothing to do with my safety, and everything to do with your own entertainment?”
Octavius’ eyes widened before he avoided his gaze. “Whatever do you mean, my dear Turney? Obviously, it’s for safety purposes! How could you accuse me of such a terrible thing?”
“You are a horrible liar.”
Octavius sniffed. “I’m hurt you would think I would lie to you.”
“You are so full of shit.”
Octavius pursed his lips for a moment before an evil grin slipped onto his face. “Well…if that is what you think of me then…I won’t hold back!” The vampire’s grip tightened on his arm.
His eyes widened. “Wait—”
“TO THE NEXT ROOM!” Octavius yelled dramatically.
As he was yanked forward, fear and dread filled Turney. Why did his boyfriend have to be obsessed with Halloween?
Cormac smirked and eyed the delectable vampire next to him. “So, sail around these parts often, pirate? Need anyone to raise your sails? Mop your deck? Play with your…mast?” He batted his eyelashes at the male, after he glanced down at his crotch suggestively.
This was the first time he’d had fake lashes on, and he had to say, they made him feel pretty powerful.
Henry sighed and slowly looked towards him. “That was bad, even for you, pup.”
“Aww, come on,” Cormac huffed. “It was on theme. Doesn’t that get me a few points?”
The vampire stared him dead in the eye for a few moments before saying, “No.”
He chuckled. “You're so cute.”
Henry blinked, cheeks flushing slightly. “You are so strange,” the vampire said sharply before crossing his arms and turning away.
Cormac grinned. He wanted to touch Henry’s heated cheeks so badly. They turned red so easily. Though he’d probably end up beaten to death if he tried. Would it be worth it? Maybe…
Either way, he’d get a chance to touch those cheeks soon enough…and other things. Though he’d still have to be good.
Cormac had a feeling Henry was a bit nervous about the performance. He was also pretty sure Octavius had somehow tricked the vampire into agreeing. Cormac wouldn’t take advantage of that, even if he would thoroughly enjoy the results of said trick.
Theo tried to use the press of the wall against his back to calm his racing heart, but the wings prevented him from fully connecting. So, it wasn’t working. Even Sprinkle’s constant purring and rubbing herself against his chest wasn’t helping.
He had to get out of here…
No…he was fine. He would be fine. Theo took another deep breath in and out, trying to ignore the overwhelming number of scents around him. He closed his eyes, shutting away all the noise that cluttered his vision.
Leaves and sticks crunched under their feet as they walked the path created between Octavius’ and Scarlett’s mansions. The path was about twelve feet wide, the bare trees on each side filled with lanterns and cobwebs. Some of the shadows being thrown…didn’t look natural. The twisting forms looked like claws about to strike out and drag him into the forest.
Turney jumped, barely containing his scream when a ghost-like illusion of a woman in a bloody wedding dress, with glowing red eyes, flew from a nearby tree and dove right through him as she let out a death wail. His heart was seemingly beating at a permanently increased speed at the moment. Octavius snickered beside him.
Why, oh why, did his boyfriend have to be obsessed with Halloween?! Why?!
“You are enjoying this way too much—FUCK!” he said with a sigh that ended in a scream when a human dressed like a murderous clown jumped out of the shadows to the right of them.
Where the fuck had that asshole even hidden?!
Octavius burst into a fit of laughter.
He covered the vampire’s mouth with both hands, glaring. “Shut it, you evil bat!”
Octavius grinned behind the zombie’s hands. His bunny was so cute, all scared and grumpy. Pulling Turney’s hands down, he gave him a peck on the lips. “Shh, it’s fine. It’s not real. None of it is real. Once you understand that, what’s to be scared of?”
The zombie just glared harder. “Knowing it’s not real doesn’t take away the scare factor.”
“Hmm, odd… It does for me.”
“Yeah, but you aren’t normal.”
That he was not. Normal was boring though, so why would he ever want to be normal?
He hummed. “Never claimed to be.”
“Though, I suppose I’m not either…because I think I find all this scarier than the times when I was actually in danger. You’d think facing wraths and wendigos would be worse. Apparently, my brain can be more stoic when in real danger, rather than when I know it’s fake…”
Octavius’ head tilted at that. “Hmm, thinking back…you were afraid, but there always seemed to be more anger than fear to me. But, perhaps your brain knows you don’t have time to completely freak out when you are in real danger?”
“Maybe…”
“Something to worry about later, my pretty statue. Come on!” He tugged Turney down the path.
His zombie bun jumped at almost every scare. It was…sooo funny.
As they neared a turn in the path, they entered a brief patch of darkness and fog. Once around the bend, the sky lit up with jack-o-lanterns of all shapes and sizes hanging from the bare tree limbs. Octavius had seen it in daylight, and even then, it had been impressive, but at night, now this was beauty.
“Wow…that’s a lot of pumpkins,” Turney gasped in awe. The zombie’s gaze remained fixed on the trees as they continued to walk.
“I think the total came in close to five hundred.”
The zombie’s head snapped in his direction, eyes wide. “Five hundred?!”
“Well, five hundred here. There are of course more around and throughout the house. It’s a pity that I don’t get tricker-or-treaters out here. I’m sure they’d have so much fun walking through the woods to get candy from various costumed actors. Like, they could start at my house and then walk through the woods to get more candy from Scarlett’s…it would be so much fun!”
While the thought of candy was painful…the idea of giving it out to children sounded like a lot of fun—like something he’d enjoy thoroughly.
“I mean, you could always advertise and sell tickets. People would pay for this type of stuff. Though you’d have to remove the spells. They are a bit too realistic to keep up without humans asking questions.”
Eh, Turney had a point. The costumes and real decorations would be fine, but the spells…they would probably get him into trouble with the reapers. Though, depending on the ages of the children, he may need to have multiple days based on age, and switch out actors and costumes. Wouldn’t be good to emotionally scar some children...
But oh, what a great idea—a haunted Halloween candy walk! At least someone would get candy, even if it wasn’t him!
“I don’t need to sell tickets, as I don’t need the money. But maybe I could advertise multiple free haunted Halloween walks with candy for kids,” Octavius said with a happy hum, before quickly adding, “Not actually on Halloween, though. Cause that’s my party day. But maybe a few days before. Then I could add the spells after the children leave.”
“Maybe… Why are they in the trees?”
Octavius blinked in confusion. “Why are what in the trees?”
“The pumpkins, Octavius?” Turney chuckled. “Why are the pumpkins in the trees?”
“The reason is simple. It’s because they look so cool up there!” He eyed the jack-o-lanterns, just looking at them made him smile.
“Right…how silly of me to not realize. Isn’t that a fire hazard?”
Octavius laughed. “No worries, it’s just some super bright and fancy fake tealights. There are no real candles inside. The flickering fooled you, right?”
“A bit. Good to know that you won’t accidentally be setting the forest on fire.”
Yeah, been there done that. Octavius had learned his lesson. Candles in trees were a no-no. They turned another bend and Scarlett’s home came into sight.
Turney gasped. “When the hell did you have time? This was not decorated when I left like four hours ago.”
Octavius smiled brightly as they approached the house. “I have my ways,” he said with a giggle.
There were jack-o-lanterns lining the path to Scarlett’s front door—up both of her sets of staircases. Webs were placed on top of the pumpkins. Well, spiderwebs were pretty much everywhere now. They spun down from the roof, hanging intricately while also covering the roof itself. Giant black spiders, along with others of various sizes, were placed all around, with lights under the webs to illuminate them. The bushes were also covered in spiderwebs and strings of lights.
On the lower part of the house were silhouettes of a dead forest, with glowing eyes peeking through the branches. In front of the vinyl trees were actual physical fake trees, creating a mini forest to the right and left side of the house. These were also covered in spiderwebs. Of the windows you could see still, those on the upper floor looked as if they had been shattered. And in the center covered balcony there was a mass of spiderwebs, with a spider larger than all the rest hanging partly out of one of the windows. That spider moved, looking as though it was spinning a dead body in its web.
It was truly a feat of hard work…and money. Not too much, but probably a lot by Turney’s standards.
Turney lifted a brow at him and asked, “Do those ways involve magic or money?”
Octavius sniffed. “I can’t divulge my secrets. Now, let’s head back. Can’t miss the show. We can check out Scarlett’s place later!”
Turney sighed. “Why did we go through all that just to turn around?”
He grinned. “Because it’s fun!”
“For who?!”
“Come on!” He tugged the zombie around and giggled as he pulled him back along the path they’d just come down.
Min-ji twirled Scarlett around to some sort of spooky dance song. She wasn’t sure who it was by, but it was the first time she had ever heard it.
When Scarlett flinched again in her arms, Min-ji couldn’t help but ask, “Is something wrong?”
The zombie sighed. “Turney…”
Her brow rose at that. “Turney?”
“My poor neophyte is suffering due to what Octavius considers fun. I keep feeling him freaking out.”
Min-ji chuckled. “Considering I’ve seen most of the rooms, I suggest cutting the connection for now. Or you will likely be dealing with that all night.”
She sighed. “I wanted to keep watch due to the humans.”
Min-ji spun the woman, before pulling her tight against her body and placing a kiss on her forehead. “He will be fine. Turney has adjusted quite well to his change. I doubt he would attack anyone.”
“He has adjusted well, and found control that some take months to gain… He has a remarkable ability to adapt to even the most absurd situations.” Scarlett sounded quite proud as she spoke. “That being said…he is not even two months past his change. I’d rather he not be pushed to his limits.”
“Turney will be fine, Scarlett. There is no way Octavius will leave him to wander around alone.”
Scarlett grimaced. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Min-ji scoffed, twirling her once again, but frowned at how pale the zombie was looking. Paler than normal, practically white, which seemed impossible considering her normal complexion. Was she really that uncomfortable in her costume?
Pulling the woman close again, she suggested, “How about we slip out and I switch costumes with you? I may be taller, but it should fit well enough.”
Scarlett’s eyes widened. “Would you really?” Her voice sounded elated at the thought.
Min-ji smiled. “Of course. I want you to have a good time. Even if this is obviously not either of our ideas of fun.”
Scarlett frowned. “Octavius will fuss if we do.”
“Who cares. I want my girlfriend to be comfortable and happy. That matters more to me than Octavius pouting.”
Scarlett’s cheeks flushed at the word, but she smiled and hesitantly said, “We can…slip away after the show. Octavius will be distracted then.”
Min-ji frowned. “Why not now? I don’t think he’s in the room at the moment.”
She laughed. “But he will be soon enough. He won’t miss the show he sneakily plotted away for. And he will no doubt look for me beforehand.”
“Fine,” Min-ji said with a smile. “After.”
Octavius smiled brightly as he reached the top of the fake hill, which was really just a water tank with dirt, fake grass, sand, and a wooden structure underneath. His cute little stone statue stood at the bottom waiting for him. On the other side of the hill behind him, hidden from the crowd, there was a set of stairs for actors to come up and appear. Henry and a slew of other actors were waiting there.
It was time for the show to start! Oh, he couldn’t wait to see it. With a wave of his hand, he signaled for the music to be cut. As the music eased away, he looked out over the crowd, his smile widening when he spotted Scarlett and Min-ji. He sent them a wink, laughing softly when Scarlett rolled her eyes.
Gaze moving on, he frowned when he caught sight of Theo in the corner with Sprinkle… Was the wolf okay? Maybe he’d send someone to check on him after this. Or he’d do so himself…after…
When spotlights that mimicked the sun lit up the area, he shook the thought away and smiled brightly at the crowd who could now see him clearly. Though with them all being paranormals, it was likely they could see him perfectly clear before—whatever.
He cleared his throat and loudly spoke with the help of his microphone. “Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in-between, now is the time to find a perfect spot and focus your eyes up here. In just a moment, you’ll get to feast your eyes on a story of seduction and death!”
Saying his bit, he made his way back down the hill, grabbing onto Turney as he reached him, before backing up with the rest of the crowd so they had a better view of the show.
Henry took a deep breath and walked up the stairs, stopping near the top, remaining just out of sight of the viewers. The only one in view for him was Cormac.
The werewolf was sitting shirtless, his deep brown skin wet with water droplets dripping down. The wolf was very built, he couldn’t help but note. He was, of course, wearing the red mermaid tail, and he had small realistic-looking fake fins attached to his forearms, the same color as his tail. Silver bands were clipped on his thick biceps, and his ears were pointed and decorated with all sorts of earrings, some that dangled. Cormac’s face was decorated with scales, and some very elaborate eye make-up that was a mixture of black, red, and silver. The thick black eyelashes seemed to make his startling amber eyes appear larger than they were. The wig he was wearing…really drove home that this costume was probably never meant for Henry. The wig had medium sized braids that fell to Cormac’s trimmed waist, the strands turning from black to red—an ombre effect.
Henry tensed as music started… It was time.
Cormac began to sing. Well, he was lip-syncing. Though the voice was male and very beautiful, seductive…entrancing even, it wasn’t actually his. Though Henry was pretty impressed by Cormac’s ability to fake it.
He stood there waiting until the song reached the mid-way point, and then he went up the last few steps, making his appearance as the pirate seduced by the ‘siren’. How…unoriginal.
Henry stepped onto the hill into view, eyes focused on Cormac. Pretending as if he were in a trance, he followed the siren’s song to the water’s edge. Just as he reached it, more pirates spewed from the other side of the hill. The music took on a dramatic effect as they attacked and tried to capture the siren. Some tried to drag Henry back, attempting to snap him out of the entrancement.
But as he was supposed to, according to Octavius’ cheesy script, instead of snapping out of it, he attacked his fellow pirates. Pulling his fake sword free, he fought them all off. ‘Fighting’ to the bitter end, to protect the creature that had ‘entrapped’ his mind.
And unlike in real life when a human fights this many opponents—because the script was ridiculous—he, of course, miraculously manages to take them all down—all fifteen of the other men. But not unscathed, couldn’t be too unbelievable, he thought with an inner eye roll.
Henry let out a fake cry of pain as the blood pack on his side burst open, giving the illusion of his ‘injury’ as he collapsed to the ground. But he had ‘won’, and the rest were ‘dead’.
On his hands and knees, he crawled ‘desperately’ towards the water.
Eyes on Cormac, he tried to fake emotions and pain. “Go, go, more will come!” he cried.
