Chapter One

“BOO!”

Alyssa rolled her blue eyes at her friend’s exclamation. “Why is it that people are always treating Halloween like it is nothing more than a time to mess around and eat a ton of junk? Don’t they know what this holiday is all about?”

“Nope,” Eimania responded cheerfully. The party was in full swing and Alyssa looked slightly annoyed by it all. “Loosen up Aly. Geez, get a boyfriend. You need to get laid.”

“So says the girl who has never had a single boyfriend at one time.”

“Well, you’re not up to my standards yet. You had better take it slow,” Eimania answered off-handedly.

Alyssa just shook her head, causing her chestnut brown hair to dance around her tan shoulders. She was dressed in a medieval costume in a dark blue color that accentuated her eyes. Around her waist were several small satchels that contained random things like her phone and wallet, but were supposed to represent bags of herbs and stones that a sorceress would carry around to perform spells.

Eimania, on the other hand, was dressed like a genie. Long black hair bound up in a tight ponytail with beads and ribbons, and large dark blue eyes heavily lined in charcoal, she had caught the attention of every guy there. Her generous figure was accented by an Arabian-style Capri pants low-slung on her hips. A form-fitting top exposed her toned stomach, over which strings of glass beads hung from the bottom of the top. She carried a brightly colored bottle on a gold cord around her waist to finish off the outfit.

Alyssa looked around at all of the guys staring at Eimania and sighed. Sometimes she wondered why the guys never looked at her that way. It wasn’t like she was unattractive. It all revolved around the difference between pretty and beautiful. She turned away from Eimania as a college boy dressed as Batman approached her.

As she turned around, she noticed her friend Seamus walking over. Seamus was dressed as a leprechaun and it was a role that suited him quite well. Not only was he Irish, but he was also a dwarf…literally. Standing at around three feet tall, he was the shortest person at the party, and at the school. Of course, none of that mattered to Alyssa; he was an amazing friend and very fun to be around. “Wow, Nia sure looks nice tonight,” he said as he stopped in front of Alyssa. He was leaning on his cane,and looking over at Eimania.

“Yeah, well that seems to be the popular opinion. So, are you enjoying our first Halloween party as college students?”

“I don’t know…I’ve had three people ask me if I’m planning on getting lucky tonight.” As he said it, he pointed up to the four leaf clover on his hat.

“I know how you feel,” Alyssa said in response. She hated how Halloween had turned into a holiday of stupid costumes and lots of candy. To her, it was one of the most important holidays there was; Samhain. Then again, not everyone celebrated the Pagan holiday; they were perfectly content celebrating it as the holiday of tricks and treats.

“I vant to suck you’re blood,” said a deep voice from behind Alyssa. She turned to see her older brother, Derek, standing behind her in a vampire costume. She had hoped that he wouldn’t come to the party; having a sibling there just totally destroyed the atmosphere.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to come to the party,” Alyssa replied to him.

“I wasn’t…until I heard that Eimania was going to be here.” Then he walked over towards Eimania.

“Okay,” Alyssa said, turning back to Seamus. “I think I’m going to go outside and get some fresh air.”

“I’ll see you later,” Seamus responded.

“Blood?” asked a familiar voice from behind her. Eimania whirled to face Derek, her heart sinking. What was he doing here? “Hi, Derek,” she said uncomfortably. What was with him? She had literally known him her entire life, and he had always barely tolerated her—until she had hit puberty. Then everything had changed. It was creepy!

“Derek, dude!” exclaimed Brad, giving him a high-five. The party lights gleamed from Brad’s shaved head, making him look slightly like Lex Luthor—an ironic statement, seeing as how he had decided to dress as Superman. Not that his costume was anything spectacular; he had opted for a too-tight Superman logo tee-shirt over jeans and a red bed-sheet tied around his thick neck.

“Where you been?” Mike-or Batman, tonight-chimed in. “You was like, there, then, like, you was gone.” Smiling broadly at her, he drained half a can of beer, belched, and crushed the can like it was some great feat and presented it to Eimania.

“Thanks,” she said, insincerely. God, how she envied Aly! To just be able to enjoy a party instead of play host to the dumbest of the dumb!

“’Scuse me, lads,” said a welcome voice. Everyone looked down at Seamus, who was making his way through the thick forest of jocks’ legs.

Brad grinned. “Hey, little man! Can I borrow that clover for a while?” he bent down and elbowed the leprechaun. “Want to get lucky tonight, know what I mean?”

Seamus blushed hotly, amid the laughter around him. Nia felt herself flushing in embarrassment. Where was Aly?

Brad looked her up and down in an obvious and uncomfortable manner. “I don’t know, little man. I don’t think you’re tall enough for this ride.”

Nia blushed hotly. “Brad?” she managed, quite calmly.

Brad turned to her, smiling possessively, “Yeah, babe? Gonna grant me three wishes?” the other laughed harder at this, but one or two—the one or two who knew her best—began to look uncomfortable.

Smiling sweetly, Nia pulled back, and punched him in the nose, feeling cartilage breaking beneath her fist.

“OOOooo!”

Gathering what was left of her dignity, Nia stepped over the groaning wrestler and headed outside. “Come on, Seamus.”

Outside, Aly looked up at the sky. The stars were glistening in the dark sky and the moon was in the middle of the sky, glowing orange. She enjoyed the vastness of the universe for several minutes. Then she opened one of her satchels and looked at her cell phone. The time read 11:34. Only another twenty-six minutes until midnight. Then the new year would begin. For Pagans, the new year was October 31st, unlike everyone else’s New Year being January 1st.

She turned to go back inside to find Nia and tell her that she was going back to their room. But as she went to go inside the door, Nia and Seamus walked out, both of them red in the face.

“What happened?” she asked them.

“Brad!” Nia exclaimed. “Let’s just go!”

“…Um, I think I’m going to go back to my room,” Seamus managed.

“Okay,” Aly responded. “Seamus, just ignore those stupid jocks. I’ll see you tomorrow alright?”

Seamus nodded then started walking off towards his dorm.

Nia and Aly walked to their room and Aly began to prepare for her sabbat. She always celebrated at midnight, and at five minutes until midnight, she began to walk outside, preferring to hold her ritual outside. Nia followed her to crack jokes and make sarcastic comments during the ritual, as usual.

As they neared the door, they heard knocking on the other side. They opened the door to find no one there. But, on the doorstep, was an envelope. Aly bent down and picked it up. She opened it and , upon reading the letter, gasped.

“What?” Nia asked.

“Someone tied up a dog and left it in the circle.”

“What?!”

“Come on, let’s go,” Aly said, starting to run. She was going to the circle anyway for her ritual…it was where she performed all of her rituals. The circle was an area on the outskirts of campus where someone had put bricks in a circle.

When they reached the circle, they found Seamus tied up and dressed in a dog costume. “Oh my Goddess,” Aly gasped. She ran up to him and started to untie him.

“Aly?” Nia asked uncertainly.

“Not now, Nia!” Aly said, distracted. “Goddess, Seamus, what did they do to you?”

“Aly?” Nia asked again, this time with real urgency in her voice.

“What?” she replied, irritably. She looked up into her friend’s terrified face and froze.

Then she looked at the sky.

Where before there had only been a clear, cold field of stars there was now a swirling vortex of strange colored lightning. Sudden wind whipped her costume around her ankles, and she felt her friend’s long hair lash at her face. Seamus started hyperventilating beneath her hands, his eyes wide and panicked above the tight gag that distorted his mouth. Simultaneously, every light for as far as they could see went out, plunging them into blackness. Seamus began to howl in terror and pain, his voice distorted in a way she couldn’t identify. She heard Nia shriek in shock and surprise, but it was only a startled yelp before it was cut off. It felt as if lightening raced over her skin, and ozone filled the air.

Then, just as there had been absolute darkness before, she was blinded by a light so bright that she screamed in pain, and a heat so intense she wondered if she had, in fact, been struck by lightening. Her body seemed to lift from the ground, and she flailed for purchase. Encountering the fur of Seamus’ costume, she grabbed it and held her friend to her as tight as she could while reaching for Eimania, but only managed to grab the bottle tied to her friend’s belt. Clutching both to her, she continued to scream as the agonizing light lanced through her, feeling more than hearing Seamus whimpering against her.

Then the light stopped at last, as cool soothing darkness enveloped her, and the ground rose to receive her, and she knew no more.