Page 85 of Halloween Town

“Poppy McMaster, are you listening to me?”

Poppy jumped at her name being boomed across the crowd, and she looked at Luna, who was scowling at her. She nodded frantically and mouthed an apology, her face flaming. It was H-Town’s equivalent of being sent to the principal’s office.

“You’re in trouble,” Wren softly sing-songed.

“Shut up,” Poppy muttered.

“Just happy it’s not me for a change,” Wren whispered.

“Shh, she’s looking at us. I don’t want to be cursed,” Poppy stated.

Wren laughed, and Poppy fought the urge to look at Thom again and forced herself to concentrate on what Luna was saying.

“Before we get to the main event, folks, I need to make a few announcements.” Luna placed her winged, bedazzled reading glasses on her face and looked down at the piece of paper in her hands.

“Yes, Cedric darling, I haven’t forgotten about dear Effie. Do stop nagging, there’s a love,” she cooed. Poppy’s eyes crashed into Hadley’s and they both winced as Luna actually batted her eyelashes. What the hell was happening between those two? The mind boggled.

Luna squinted at her notes. “For some reason, we have many more items in Lost and Found this year. Can you lot not look after your possessions? The lost items include a rubber face mask, a few fake mustaches, a rather valuable ring—you’ll need to describe it or provide us with a photo to prove it’s yours, because not all of you are honest—and, good grief, a paperback copy of the Kama Sutra.” She looked at the crowd over the rim of her glasses. “And you lot call me weird.”

Kama Sutra paperback or not, she was weird. “Witches, on this auspicious night, I would like to ask that you don’t cast spells where people are around. And for the love of the goddess, please do not summon spirits, especially if you do not have a permit. Only the most experienced can handle spirits on Hallow’s eve.”

“Or for fuck’s sake,” Wren said. Thankfully her words were drowned by the snorts and groans coming from the skeptics in the crowds and didn’t reach Luna’s bat-like ears.

Luna silenced them with another fierce glare. “Also, I’ve been told Effie is feeling very frisky tonight. For those of you who don’t know, she’s the ghost who haunts the coffee shop, and we’d like to formally announce that she’s been promoted to Co-CEO at Spirited Grounds.”

Poppy looked around, saw the bemused expressions, and grinned when some spontaneous clapping erupted from the costumed True Believers. “Effie wants to celebrate, so if you hear laughter in your ear or someone kissing your cheek, it’s probably her,” Luna continued.

Wren groaned. “For fuck’s sake squared. Seriously, is she getting battier, or am I losing what’s left of my patience?”

“Both?” Poppy suggested.

Luna spread her arms out wide, wished everyone a happy Halloween, and grandly declared the Bonfire of the Bewitched open. Then she entreated the crowds to rid themselves of bad energy, unrealized expectations, and dreams by tossing their bats into the fire.

Poppy looked down at her paper bat, then across to Thom—he was still watching her—and stepped forward to throw it into the fire. She watched as the wind picked it up, and it started to fly like a bat would. But, instead of landing in the fire, it landed at her feet. Bending down, she picked it up and sent it to the fire again, and the same thing happened; it landed at her feet again.

Annoyed, and wondering if Effie, or some other spirit was messing with her, she scrunched it into a ball and threw it into the fire, watching as the paper turned black.

Thom was both a wish and a regret, and right now, both were burning in the Bonfire of the Bewitched.

Chapter Eighteen

Thom

Thom almost smiled when Luna chastised Poppy but couldn’t quite get the corners of his mouth to lift. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the bonfire blaze, its flames licking the cold night sky. Pulling his eyes off Poppy—hard to do—he took in the large crowd, there were so many people here for this popular ceremony, most dressed in some sort of Halloween costume. Conversation and laughter swirled around him, but he felt profoundly alone. Strange because he’d spent the bulk of the last few years alone and he’d been perfectly content. But that tiny fairy’s arrival in his life changed everything…

He and his house felt empty without her. Felony was pining for her, and neither of them had eaten much since she left. Fel also blamed him for Poppy’s absence, and was giving Thom the stink eye, turning his back on him and refusing to interact with him at all. His dog was super pissed, and Thom knew he wouldn’t get over Poppy leaving anytime soon.

Neither would he.

Poppy looked like she was doing okay. Her friendship with Wren was as solid as it always was, and she often turned to speak to a resident or to smile at a tourist. She looked at home in H-Town, like this was her place, and these were her people. She belonged here more than he did.

He vaguely heard Luna saying something about someone, and telling the crowd to release their wishes, and the crowd started to move as people stepped up to the fire to throw their paper bats—God!—into the fire. He crunched the paper in his fist—Hadley’d shoved it into his hand and taken five dollars from him before he could register what she was up to—and planted his feet, staying where he was. He shook his head when Hayes invited him for a beer, and when he lost sight of Poppy, he turned his attention to the fire.

He looked down at his hand, thinking about what he’d write if he were forced to name his wish.

He simply wanted Poppy. She was already in his heart, but he wanted her in his life, in his bed, in his supposedly haunted house. She was the future he wanted… He recalled her pensive face as she’d watched the crackling fire. She didn’t know how strong she was, had no idea that she was so much more than she believed herself to be. She’d survived the neglect of her family, her beloved grandparents’ deaths, what sounded like a pretty dreadful engagement to his very dreadful brother. She’d even handled him, grumpy and unwelcoming and withdrawn.

She didn’t need him to rescue her anymore, didn’t need his input and advice. She had everything she needed within her. He was surplus to requirements.