Chapter 1

Halloween Night

T he bus rolled to a stop in front of a shifty-looking archway. It was rickety and rusted over, and I could barely read the writing. Beneath it was an old black and blue-striped ticket booth with a bored-looking teenage girl inside. The traveling carnival was small and, in my opinion, not worth the thirty-minute ride to get here on a smelly, squished charter bus full of rowdy basketball players.

But Maddie made me promise I'd come with her since it was Halloween, and Sunset University, where everyone finally started college courses last month but me, was going out for the night. The basketball team coach took out the big guns before the season started and bribed them to bond with a free trip to the carnival. At one time in my life, I'd have been excited, but now this trip just seemed like a chore. She said I needed a little fun in my life, but something told me Maddie's version of fun did not align with my own right now.

I filed behind her closely, watching her blonde head bob down the aisle of the bus while she bounced on her toes in anticipation. I honestly couldn't see what the big deal was. We'd gone to carnivals just like this one when we were kids. They came through the state every year around this same time. There was even a huge pumpkin patch and a hayride set up for the children every Halloween.

Back in high school, my mom and dad had never let me go to things like this, so when I snuck out, it was usually with Maddie and the guys I'd known since we were just little kids. One of the guys would drive, and we'd all gorge ourselves on candy, sodas, and weed until we puked our guts out, only to do it all over again the next year.

I stumbled forward when something pushed me from behind, causing me to slam into Maddie. "Oh shit!" she yelped, but then laughed as I mumbled a half assed apology.

She snorted, shaking her head as she righted herself and kept shuffling forward. I turned around, eyes already narrowed at the dirtbag behind me. I didn't even have to look to know who it was. I knew he was there, looming over me as usual. I could smell his familiar scent, how sad was that? Not cologne, but something like leather and aftershave.

Jason. One of four guys on this planet who I loathed with every fiber of my mortal being.

Our eyes connected, and I had to reel in a flaming blush at the fact that I had to crane my neck so far back to do so. My pale skin couldn't hide an ounce of the rushing blood to my cheeks. Jason was tall and more than easy on the eyes. It pissed me off. He had mocha brown hair, smokey gray eyes, and a smile with two small dimples on each side. His skin was the color of almonds, and there was not a blemish to be found. I hated him. I hated those dimples. I hated the way those eyes stared at me in such revulsion nowadays, when I could so clearly remember a time when they were dancing with laughter and affection. A mean smirk curled his full lips.

A throat cleared behind me, and I whipped back around. Maddie was standing at the front of the bus, waving me over with a pressing look in her brown eyes. The line was blocked up behind Jason and me, waiting for my stupid ass to get moving. I heard him chuckle, but I turned away in shame and practically sprinted off the bus into freedom.

"Sheesh, what was that?" Maddie asked, looping an arm through mine. We walked towards the ticket booth, following the herd. "The sexual tension coming off you guys is getting thicker by the day."

I shoved Maddie, grumbling under my breath. She was right, though. But I was almost one hundred percent sure the sexual part of that tension was coming from my side only. The last makeout session with him flashed through my memory without invitation. Jason could barely stand to breathe the same air as me these days, much less touch me.

"I think you're reading too much into it. I'm the school leper, remember? Nothing's changed just because we graduated." I bit the inside of my cheek at how bitter I sounded to my own ears.

Maddie winced, and I felt bad for being snappy with her. But we both knew it was true. After my parents died and I went off the rails, the school and everyone I used to hang out with treated me like I was some sort of walking fungal infection.

"He's a piece of shit, Toby," she said with a soft smile. My chest warmed at the nickname she'd given me when we were six years old and met for the first time in the lunchroom. She used to have trouble pronouncing October, but even after she got over the lisp, the name Toby just kind of stuck.

"True." I shrugged, pretending it didn't bother me one bit. "Let's get this over with."

I tried to let Jason' s heavy stare roll off my shoulders and enjoy the rest of my night. I could feel him watching me, just like he always did. He loved putting me on edge and thrived on making me uncomfortable. I acted like I'd forgotten about the encounter. We only had to tough it out for a few hours before we could go back home. Maddie and I were planning to spend our Halloween in my living room watching horror classics and eating our weight in candy with my two aunties, and I was looking forward to forgetting reality for a while.

She dragged me into the throng of people heading into the carnival. There were bales of hay stacked in piles everywhere, and lit jack-o-lanterns smiled at us wherever we looked. Clowns, mimes, zombies, and Halloween characters dressed in spooky outfits were juggling, telling jokes, and making balloon animals. The music was loud, and the sun was setting soon.

Maddie made a beeline for the cotton candy cart. I shook my head. That girl could pack away food better than any linebacker I'd ever met. As the head cheerleader in high school and for the university team, she didn't really seem to care about dieting. She honestly had no need for it, given the fact that she weighed one-ten soaking wet.

She offered me some, but I waved it away. The lingering heat of the day was oppressive enough; I didn't need to add the stickiness of woven sugar to the sweat already beading on my skin. It was Halloween, sure, but for some reason, my phone told me it was nearly eighty degrees outside. A crime against nature, if you ask me. Fall was supposed to be crisp and smell like decaying leaves. This was just a travesty. This year just brought one unwanted surprise after another.

It was sunny out, even as it descended over the horizon, and I'd worn my wide-brimmed floppy black hat to keep it at bay. It matched the black lace dress I' d sewn myself, and I actually felt pretty in it. When I showed up this morning for the bus, my former friends snickered at the ensemble, calling me witchy, spooky, and pale. Sometimes, I wanted to knock their teeth in for being assholes. They were correct, I suppose, but I drew the line at the Twilight jokes. Besides, I knew I looked good. Screw those girls. They could go fuck themselves with a broomstick.

I stood there awkwardly with one earbud in, wishing I was back home in Sunset Hollow, having some spiced cider with the aunties. I wanted to take these heeled boots off, snuggle up in a onesie, and eat my weight in chocolate. But no, I had to pretend to be a normal human today and make my bestie happy. Life was unfair sometimes. Or maybe I was just being pathetic. Yeah, we'd go with that. Maybe Maddie was right. Maybe I needed to get out of my head for a little while.

There was a time not too long ago when I was exactly like the other girls on the squad, who sneered at me as they walked by. I sneered back, but I stuck my tongue out, making them roll their eyes and flip their hair before sauntering off. Fuck, they were bitches. I hated knowing I was once one of them—bottle blonde hair to my butt, skin covered in fake tan, hair and nails done to perfection, and dressed in our high school's cheerleading uniform.

None of it was me. Never had been, if I were being honest. Something shifted after the accident. Something fundamental, and I'd woken up the first day of summer before senior year feeling like a completely different person. My headspace was no longer filled with parties, plans, and people. I'd spent the whole last year of high school being exactly who I was meant to be.

My hair was now my natural dark orange, bluntly cut a few inches below my collar bones, and I'd let that fake Barbie tan fade away, leaving me ghostly pale. It was cathartic to throw my cheer uniform in the trash and set it on fire, along with all the bright clothing that I never felt right wearing.

I could practically feel my mom rolling in her grave. She hated Halloween when she was alive. In fact, she hated all the fun, spooky, gothic things that I loved. She despised anything considered alternative. Both she and my dad claimed they couldn't understand my fascination with dark or macabre things and always said I took too much after the aunties. Mom had usually worn pastels and kept her hair blonde instead of the dark orange that ran in our family. Dad had worn suits a lot, and they'd never shown even an ounce of eccentricity.

Sometimes, I really wondered if I was adopted. But I couldn't have been, given the fact that I was the spitting image of my two aunties and my mom. The orange hair and icy eyes were too alike to question.

The summer after the accident, I stopped answering texts and calls from any of my friends. I stopped going places and doing things. I stopped being social and caring about who slept with whom and trivial social bullshit. It just didn't mean anything anymore. Gradually, my circle of friends grew smaller and smaller, until no one was left but Maddie. She was the one person who, despite all my changes and weirdness, would never abandon me. I was incredibly grateful for it.

The sound of low laughter broke through my foggy brain haze while I waited for my best friend, and I turned to find a group of guys passing us on our right. My stomach clenched just like it always did when they were around. Maddie waved at them limply while she choked down more cotton candy, heading back towards me, but all four basketball players sneered my way.

"Hey, pumpkin head, where's your booth?" Michael stepped forward, smiling wickedly down at me. "This is a sideshow, right? You'll fit right in." His dark blond hair was combed neatly and shaved tight on the sides, making his sky-blue eyes pop. He was another handsome bastard, but he was an asshole, too.

It was a love-hate relationship that I wished would just disappear. Damn feelings always rushed to the surface and stuck to you like a bad case of a rash.

I chose not to respond. It would only give them more ammunition against me. I'd learned halfway into senior year that the best way to deal with my former best friends was to ignore the jabs until eventually they got bored. Unfortunately, they hadn't grown bored, but in just a couple more months, I'd never have to see them again. The thought was kind of depressing, and I hated that feeling of wanting something you shouldn't.

The others laughed. Jason was standing there, too, his steely, cold eyes alight with mischief. Freddy and Norman were right behind them—the devil twins, as I liked to call them. They were the polar opposites of one another. Freddy had shoulder-length golden hair, looking like a sun-kissed surfer, and Norman had cropped black hair, pale as moonlight skin, and razor-sharp cheekbones, but it was their eyes that were the same. A beautiful green that seemed to change different shades depending on their mood.

They'd been the top dogs at our old high school. Popular, loved, and idolized. All of them had been on the varsity basketball team—the team I used to cheer for on the sidelines. Freddy and Norman also happened to live down the street from me in the small town of Sunset Hollow, and we'd been close since we were kids. Close might've even been an understatement for what we were. We'd been inseparable for years, and slowly, feelings had started to develop on both sides. Until recently.

I suppose it was sort of my fault for the rift between us. In fact, it would be a bold-faced lie to claim otherwise. The whole thing was my fault. They'd tried to console me after the accident that took my parents. They'd tried to seek me out, but I turned them away every single time. Little did they know what actually happened that night on that lonely country road. It scares me even now. Haunted me. There was a reason I turned my back on them.

They told me I was different now. Weird. Too strange for them to accept. When I showed up at school on the first day of senior year, decked out head to toe in black, with my hair a natural dark red, and my lips painted onyx, they let me know exactly how they felt about it.

Every day of this past year had been a walking nightmare. Taunting jabs, pranks, and horrible cruelty had followed me everywhere, and they'd convinced the rest of the student body to play along. That was my life for a whole year. But it was better than pretending to be a robot. It was better than pretending nothing had happened. That was what people expected me to do—forget that my parents died horrifically right in front of me.

The four of them breezed past us, Norman flipping me off as he went by. I tried not to let their coldness get to me. I tried not to let it hurt, but it did. Every single time, it was like a fresh wound. I watched as Jason and Michael looped their arms around two cheerleaders and weaved into the crowd, forgetting me entirely. My stomach was in knots. Flashes of the days gone by went through my head. There was a time when it would've been my shoulders under those toned arms.

Fuck, I'm pathetic.

"I know those broody eyes, and no, you're not leaving me here stranded," Maddie said, licking her fingers clean of the sticky candy. She knew I was thinking about bailing and catching an Uber back home. "Please don't let those skidmarks ruin your one day in the sun." She stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.

I grinned reluctantly. It was so hard to stay moody around my bestie. She was nearly the literal personification of sunshine, and I needed a little bit of that in all my doom and gloom sometimes. It was why Auntie Pip and Auntie Fe loved it when Mads spent the night and stayed for a while. She basically had her own room in the Hallowell manor. I knew how worried they were. I'd known for a long time, but I ignored it, and they didn't like to bother me about it.

We spent the next hour roaming the carnival, and the sun was beginning to set in earnest. I breathed in cooler, crisper night air, pretending like it wasn't tinged with the cloying smell of popcorn. I reluctantly rode the ferris wheel when Mads begged, but I hated it the whole time. I hated heights and the feeling of being trapped. For some reason, the farther away from the dirt and soil beneath my firmly planted feet I got, the more anxious I became. But I'd sweat it out for my best friend and try to enjoy the view from above.

The moon was full tonight. Full, close, and round. It was tinged ever so slightly orange, which was odd since I didn't believe it was a harvest moon, but it was beautiful against a backdrop of stars. I kept my eyes on it as we went around a few times, grateful for the distraction. Maddie was having a good time, taking as many selfies as was humanly possible. That girl was a handful, but I loved her .

I was grateful she hadn't ditched me. I wouldn't have blamed her. In fact, I'd worried for a while that she'd get tired of my moodiness and my new take on life after the accident. But Mads wasn't like that. Yes, she was the queen bee, and she was literally every stereotypical thing a cheerleader was expected to be, but she was kind, and she was like a sister to me. She'd mourned my mom and dad just as deeply as I had. They were practically her second set of parents.

"Oh, hell yeah," I heard her whisper as she dragged me to a stop a half-hour later. "Oh my god, we are so going in there." She pointed a finger that was wiggling in her excitement.

We stood in front of a black and purple tent. It was small, worn-down-looking, and had a curtain of multicolored beads hanging across the entrance. Above it was a rough wooden sign that looked like it was hand-carved. It read, Palm Reader. I smiled. Now this looked like something I'd actually enjoy. We ducked inside the tent and were immediately smacked in the face with the thick scent of pumpkin and cinnamon, which was a relief after the sticky carnival air that would still be in my hair later.

There were candles everywhere, probably a fire hazard, but the ambiance was worth it. It was downright spooky. Shining fabrics hung everywhere, draped along the walls of the tent, and beads hung from the ceiling in curtains. Little metallic bowls of what looked like crystals and herbs were scattered around on various surfaces, and in the center of the room was a round wooden table with an honest-to-god crystal ball on the top.

"Do you think it's the real thing?" Maddie asked with an excited chuckle, clutching my arm in a death grip as she stared at the all-seeing crystal.

"Well, the sign on the wall says a palm reading costs only three dollars, and a chakra alignment is free on the side, so I sincerely doubt it." I shook my head. I loved carnival psychics, but everyone knew they were just a scam to take your money.

"Bah humbug," Maddie said, pouting in disappointment. She ran her finger along the edge of a pewter bowl, making it ring through the quiet. "Maybe she's a witch or something. Maybe she's—"

She was cut off when we heard the rattle of beads from the other side of the tent. To our surprise, a man walked out, clad in a purple velvet suit with a lime green tie. He wore a matching top hat, and his ears stuck out through the curtain of his long white hair. He was a short man, even shorter than me, and at five feet two, that was saying something. He was older, maybe in his late sixties, and had a seriously impressive handlebar mustache I wanted to touch.

"Okay, not what I was expecting," Maddie murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

I snorted and shoved her lightly to get her to shut up before he heard her.

"Come for a reading, I'm guessing?" He asked in a gruff, raspy voice that reminded me of a smoker. He sounded kind and welcoming, at least.

"Shouldn't you have known that already?" Maddie retorted cheekily, raising a sarcastic brow at him.

I elbowed her again, rolling my eyes as she mouthed ouch. "Rude—"

"Indeed." He clicked his tongue, making his way over to a plush red velvet wingback chair at the small table and settling down to get comfortable. "Well?" He gestured to the stools opposite him.

We wasted no time taking our seats, scooting the stools closer in wonder at the unknown, even though it could've been a joke. On the table was just the crystal ball, which was larger than my head, and a deck of tarot cards. But he reached for neither. He was looking at me silently. His watery blue eyes ran over my face, and a look of what I could only describe as recognition passed over his wrinkled features, but he wiped it away before I could think too much about it.

I felt something weird then. The oddest sensation simmered in my belly like an empty tingle. It was one of those feelings that you get every once in a while, like the feeling of walking into a room and forgetting what you'd gone in there to do. Or that feeling when you pass a stranger on the street and could have sworn you knew them from somewhere before.

He cleared his throat with a small smile, the crow's feet at the corner of his eyes more pronounced. "You may call me Frank."

Maddie snickered next to me, trying to cover the laugh with a cough. "Frank," she deadpanned. "Couldn't you come up with something more mystical, like Alistair or Merlin or something?"

He blinked at her. My cheeks were flaming, but I'd thought the exact same thing. "But my name's Frank," he said, his brows furrowing like he didn't understand.

I was trying to contain a snort. Everything about Frank seemed so sincere and kind. His face was open, and his eyes shone with simple humor, but everything about him was strangely refreshing for some reason. Being in his presence gave me a breath of fresh air. Strange. I was almost positive I'd never met this man in my life. I would have remembered.

"Let's start with you then, Miss Maddie." He stuck out a palm facing upwards for her to take. I sucked in a sharp breath, and Maddie's eyes went wide as he waited for her to grab his hand.

"Maybe he just heard me say it or something," I whispered nervously in her ear, but deep inside, I knew that was bullshit. I hadn't said her name out loud. Was this just a trick?

A weird breeze flowed through the room, giving me goosebumps. I didn't know if anyone else noticed the way the candles flickered or the way the beaded curtains clinked. Maddie was too busy staring at his open palm. Suddenly, this didn't seem so make-believe.

Despite her reservations, she slowly took his wrinkled hand and waited with her breath held, as if something magical was about to happen. He went silent, closing his eyes. She glanced at me, looking lost, and once again, I was trying to contain a smile. Maddie wasn't much for the spooky mumbo-jumbo. She thought it was entertaining, but she didn't believe in any of it. Not in the way I did. I believed in magic and psychics, but not so much at a carnival, of all places. He was really starting to change my mind.

She squeaked when his fingers closed, tightening on her palm. "There's a change looming ahead, Miss Maddie. Something's about to shift in the world, and you'll have to make a choice." His voice was low and unwavering. "It's hazy, but it's there. You're going to walk a fine line. A fine line indeed." I saw her try to pull her hand away, but his fingers just held hers tighter. It was like he was in a trance. "Keep your friends close to your side; you'll need them for what comes next. Don't succumb to the temptation of running, or the darkness will follow."

This time, she did rip her hand away. She was breathing hard and looking a little green. Frank's eyes popped open, and for just a second, I could have sworn his irises were gone. But I must have been seeing things.

"I thought you were supposed to tell me about my soulmate or my future lottery ticket, not some ominous warning that means jack shit to me." She folded her arms over her body petulantly as she bit the inside of her cheek. I knew it was just a defense mechanism. His words had rattled her. Hell, they'd rattled me, too.

"I don't pick your future from a basket, nor do I select what I wish to see, young lady. If you wanted to know if your crush fancies you back, then you should have gone down a few tents to visit Madam Esmeralda." He sniffed, seeming put out. I needed to defuse the tension.

"Me next," I said in fake excitement as nerves bounced in my stomach, sticking out my palm for him to grab.

Frank looked at my hand, his brows furrowing. His eyes flickered to mine, worry simmering in their depths. "Are you sure you want to know?" he asked gruffly, like a warning for my doomed future.

"It's what I came in here for, isn't it?" I raised a challenging brow.

"That's not what I asked." He stared at me like he was trying to tell me something important, but I wasn't scared.

My past was already fucked up, so not much in my future could catch me by surprise.

"Just do it so we can get out of here," said Maddie with an exasperated groan. She was bouncing in her seat, looking uncomfortable.

I ignored her, too curious about my fortune, and it was too late to just get up and leave now. So I placed my hand in his with a deep breath. A cold chill immediately rushed up my arm, and I could have sworn the lights dimmed, a few candles flickering out completely. I shivered, glancing over at Maddie to see if she felt the same, but she was just staring off into space as she bit her nails, probably pretending she was anywhere else but here right now.

Frank's other hand landed on top of mine, and he clasped my palm hard, his jaw going slack and his eyes looking glassy, a faraway look taking over his expression. I was prepared to come in here and listen to some mumbo-jumbo about finding true love and good fortune, but the look on this man's face made me feel a little scared. I didn't think he was faking it. This wasn't a performance. I could feel it in my bones. So no matter how much I wanted to pull away and sprint from the tent, I stayed put. I really must've loved torturing myself.

Those glassy eyes met mine after a tense minute, and they came back into focus. It was then that I realized his hands were shaking ever so slightly in my grip.

"What is it? What did you see?" I breathed out, wondering if he'd seen my own death.

Fuck, I was scared shitless.

Maddie huffed in annoyance. "He didn't see anything, Toby. C'mon, this is giving me the creeps."

"Miss Hallowell," Frank whispered in a hauntingly raspy voice. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end, and even Maddie shut up and stopped bouncing her feet. He squeezed tighter. "Everything you know is about to change. Something comes for you. Something dark, it's not right. It's unnatural. Answers will finally come to light, but watch your back, because there are some places even the sun can't reach to protect you."

"What are you talking about? What's coming?" I was on the edge of my seat now, scooting closer with my heart pounding.

He shook his head, his brows scrunched together. "It's unclear. So far away and ever-changing." His eyes snapped to mine, widening. "You need to prepare yourself, Miss Hallowell. Something unnatural lurks around the corner, and if you let it, it will consume you. Everyone and everything you hold dear could slip away if you let them. Don't let the past repeat itself."

"Okay, I'm fucking out of here," said Mads, standing up from her stool that tipped over with her sudden movement. "Dude, you're insane. I should report you to the police for tricking people into this shit." She grabbed my hand and pried it from Frank's grip.

The moment our skin lost contact, that cold feeling disappeared, and it was like a fog receded and the world snapped back into place. Frank's eyes visibly cleared, and so did mine. I suddenly didn't feel so well. My stomach gave a lurch, and there was pressure building in my inner ears. I stood, letting the stool clatter to the floor.

"H-How much do we owe you?" I reached for my bag with my hands trembling, ready to start running for the hills.

Frank shook his head and waved me away as he continued giving me a worried glance. "Your money's no good to me here, Miss Hallowell. Just please…" He stood, walking around his small table. Mads backed towards the entrance, but I stayed put. "Heed my warning. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but it was too unclear, like trying to see through dark, murky water. You're in danger, young lady. You need to..."

"We need to leave," said Maddie. Her voice was short and impatient. I whipped around and saw her glaring at Frank with her arms crossed over her chest before looking at me. "Come on, October. Seriously, we're going to miss the bus. "

She was right. I glanced at my watch. It was time to go. It was nearly midnight, and the aunties would be expecting us soon. I tried to give Frank a semblance of a smile, but I knew it felt flat. What was supposed to be a lighthearted, fun psychic reading at a carnival turned into something cold and eerie. I could tell Mads was visibly upset and ready to leave, like yesterday.

"Thank you, Frank..." I backed away slowly without looking away from him.

He stood there, staring at me with a perplexing expression on his withered face. If I looked hard enough, I might have even called it pity. But I'd pretend for now that I hadn't seen it. Turning away from the old man in the strange purple suit and top hat, I left the tent with Mads, letting the beads swish behind me.