1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The most thrilling experience you will find, we offer base jumping from a height of five hundred meters to—

With a roll of my eyes, I stopped reading. Five hundred meters was nothing compared to the base jumping I’d done in Mexico. Too bad money was tight and I couldn’t get back there anytime soon.

Next.

I clicked back through my search results.

Our white water river rafting will—

Will what? Bore me to death.

Next.

Hm, bungee jumping in Vegas could be good. Only, I tripped on the words “controlled descent” and slammed my fist down on the rickety desk I’d found at the side of the building after moving day.

The thing almost collapsed under my fist. Whatever. Hobbies like mine were expensive and who cared if my furniture was garbage? You only live once, right? The money I earned from selling photos I took during my escapades covered this way of life, and I was barely home anyway. With a groan, I leaned back, letting the wheels of my chair scrape across the hardwood floor.

There had to be something to do around this small-town layover I was in until I could move back to the city.

An idea came to me, and I jumped up to grab my phone and dial my friend Tom. He was the most likely to go along with my latest plan. I waited patiently as the phone rang, wondering if he was there, frozen in terror at receiving an actual phone call instead of a text. Sure, I could text, but the excitement was buzzing in my ears, and I wanted to actually talk to him.

Tom’s voice clicked onto the line.

“Hey, thanks for calling, but I’ve got bad news for you. I’m out. Leave a message or, better yet, send me a text.” With a long-suffering sigh, I gripped the phone.

“So, I have a new adventure for us this Halloween weekend.” My hand shot up as if I was talking to him in person. “Before you say no, hear me out. We rent some gear and go camping up in Yellowstone. They’ve got cliffs we could dive off of. Maybe we’ll tell some ghost stories around the campfire.” I paused. “Plus, you owe me for introducing you to Carly.” I was just about to further the guilt trip and secure my victory when a ruffling sound at the door to my apartment caught my attention. Squinting, I took the two steps to the door and stared in surprise at what appeared to be a crisp, yellow envelope.

What in the world? The words “You’re invited” were printed in bold sweeping pen strokes, the calligraphy clearly done by a professional, and I flipped it over to find a red wax seal with a devil head, complete with large black horns, pressed into it .

Intrigued, I ran a finger over the bumps and ridges cut into the wax. But my hand shot back in surprise when I realized the wax was still somehow warm.

Weird . Carefully opening the envelope, I pulled a piece of paper out and found a centered poem written in the same gorgeous calligraphy.

The Devil’s Carnival has come to town.

Don’t be frightened, come on down.

Life is such a fickle thing.

A glass of wine,

A bit of fun

Before the bell and you’re done.

Come on down this Halloween.

You’ll never forget the sights we bring.

The Devil’s Carnival? I knew there was a carnival in town, but I had no idea they were doing a Halloween thing. Excitement brewed in my chest, and I grabbed the letter, flipping it over to rub my finger along the now cool wax seal.

With a grin, I gripped the letter in one hand and the envelope and phone in the other, marveling at my good luck.

This was just what I needed.

“Tom, I have something even better for us to do.”

A cool breeze whipped through the air, carrying with it the sounds of The Devil’s Carnival. Bright lights flickered on the Ferris wheel, drawing my gaze to the left. I took a moment to admire the metal monstrosity looming over the carnival below. At a glance, it appeared perfectly normal, but I knew its secret. Some carriages contained special doors hidden beneath the foot trays that would give way at the push of a button. Whether that would be when it was safely near solid ground or at its zenith, would be up to the operator, and he wasn’t known for his mercy.

For the moment, those traps remained secure—the brightly spinning wheel meant to charm and delight. Human voices filled the air with laughter and joy.

But not for long.

The rest of the carnival was equally disarming, with canvas tents painted in deep purples, blues, and blacks shielding the games and food stations below. It was a painfully normal carnival meant to lull the local humans into a false sense of security.

A human child with the unsteady gait of an early walker wandered close to where I hid in the folded back curtain of our fortune teller’s tent, and I was forced to step back into the shadows lest the tiny cherub spot me. With curly blonde hair and round cheeks, it stared into the darkness, blowing raspberries until thick drool dribbled down its chubby chin.

It was so sickeningly sweet I wanted to vomit. Thankfully, the creature’s mother and father called to it in a tender voice, and it toddled back towards them, leaving me unseen within the shadows.

How I hated having to hide myself, but I was far too strong to have left the body I inhabited as recognizably human. Only the lesser demons who weren’t strong enough to influence human flesh were allowed to go out in the day and deal directly with humans. Pathetic weaklings. The best those low-ranked demons could manage were a few stubby horns that were easy to hide under a broad hat and with the advent of coloured contacts, no one noticed their strange eyes. But me? No. There was no hiding my crimson skin or the two onyx horns coming to a proud point high atop my head.

The insult of having to hide was soothed by knowing my time was coming. On Halloween, any deviations from a normal human appearance were met with delight, and I was only too happy to show them what the face of a high- ranked demon looked like. A wicked grin tugged at my lips. I belonged in a cautionary storybook.

Too bad the humans didn’t heed those warnings, assuming they were products of imagination meant to thrill. What pathetic beings they were. The truth was right there for them to see. Hell, The Devil, Demons, and all the various creatures hiding in the dark, we roamed the world unchecked. But humans preferred to think of us as fantasy—ignoring the ever-present danger barely concealed by the shadows.

In two days, I’d show them.