Chapter XXX

The Unfortunate Events of October 31st: Part One

J eremiah didn't need a reason to show up unannounced, but ever since Tae-min became an additional traveler during his trips to England, his sudden appearances became that much more appreciated. Having arrived when the sun dipped below the horizon on this Halloween night, he appeared at the perfect time to catch Lysander on the front steps of the castle lighting dozens upon dozens of Jack-o'-Lanterns.

A whistle left Jeremiah's lips as he hid a flashy red bag behind his back, impressed by the design of the largest pumpkin nearly half Lysander's height. "Looks good," he said, startling the newly turned twelve-year-old. Not only was it Halloween, but it was the night Lysander was born, and the one thing he liked to be able to do was Trick-or-Treat like other kids.

"Jeremiah!" Lysander shouted, nearly stumbling over one of the many pumpkins. He looked quite dashing dressed in a dark green tunic with a utility belt, brown boots, and a long green hat to match. At his hip was a fake sword, and prosthetic ears were fixed to his own to make him look more elvish. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it."

"Why wouldn't I?" Jeremiah said. "It's your birthday."

"Yeah, but you have a baby now, so—."

"That doesn't change that we're still family. I wouldn't have missed tonight for anything." Jeremiah received an embrace from the boy before showing off the red bag he'd carted along with him. "Happy Birthday, Lysander."

"Thank you!" The boy cheerfully received the gift and immediately dug into it. He plucked several books from inside, oohing and aahing at the creepy cover art. They were all Korean Horror novels Min-jae had helped pick out. Given that the boys had started picking up on the Korean language due to Min-jae's induction into the family, he'd be able to enjoy them.

After his many thanks were given, Lysander's interests shifted back to Jeremiah and his nephew. "You want to hold him?" he was asked.

"Yes, please," Lysander nodded feverishly, and he happily cradled the small boy in his arms before they started inside.

"Are we doing the usual for your birthday?" Jeremiah asked, carrying the gift bag with him.

Lysander nodded as they entered the foyer and the doors latched behind them. "Yes," he said a bit glumly. "But I think this'll be the last time I want to Trick-or-Treat. I think I might be getting too old for it. "

"You've only just turned twelve."

"I know, but Sebastian and Avery feel like they're too old for it. They'd rather watch scary movies, so Gabriel is the only one that wants to go."

Able to see where Lysander was coming from, Jeremiah reflected on his past desire to walk the streets for candy on a night like this. Back then, it'd been a holiday he'd drag Dominick around the residential areas for fun, and by the time he was sixteen, he'd stopped all-together; not because it was something he didn't enjoy anymore, but it started to feel strange being around so many small children.

"How's about this?" Jeremiah suggested, bringing his voice to a whisper. "Sebastian and Avery stay home while Dad and I take you and Gabriel to the Central Halloween Festival instead. You'll still get your candy, and it's like a festival held all for you."

A sly smile spread across Lysander's face, and he nodded, hurrying off to Hamilton with Tae-min as Jeremiah sought out the rest of his brothers. They were up in a theater-type room, Demiesius beside Gabriel in the archway who looked like a mad scientist.

"Son," Demiesius welcomed, a look of genuine pleasure to see Jeremiah before him softening his eyes. "How are you?"

It'd been some weeks since anyone had seen him last, but everyone in the castle had begun to allow Jeremiah to bridge communication and visit whenever he pleased without pestering. Being a new parent and having his own family now meant his mind and time would be taken up by other things, and although everyone was still getting used to him not being around and often wanted to see him, managing with a bit of healthy separation felt necessary.

"I'm alright," Jeremiah crossed his arms and leaned against the threshold. "What are we doing here?"

Avery chimed in from his seat on the spacious, bed-like sofa. He was seated with his legs outstretched, taking up most of the room on the sofa. Although he wasn't going out tonight, he was wearing a black cat jumpsuit with ears and painted whiskers. "Watching scary movies and waiting for Cedric—I mean the twins!" He quickly corrected himself, and Sebastian gave him a dull, knowing look. "Lysander is going out with Dad and Gabriel while we save cake and presents for when they get back."

"I wish we could go to a party or something," Sebastian said, eyes sparkling at the idea of being surrounded by pretty and energetic people.

As an eighteen-year-old now, Sebastian had minor aspirations for a lively nightlife, but there was also another part of the young dhampir that recoiled from the idea of going through with anything of the sort. Not only were his closest friends uninterested, but sometimes the thought of spending so much time around people he didn't know — unless he was accompanied by family — was daunting. His understanding of his own comfortability was what was likely keeping him from pursuing the nightly excursions of a partier.

Hamilton and Demiesius were a bit grateful for that.

"But movies are fine, too, I guess," Sebastian shrugged.

Leaving Avery and Sebastian with their horror flick, Demiesius followed Jeremiah and Gabriel down the hall. "We've got a change of plans anyways," Jeremiah kept his voice low. "I thought it'd be nice to take Lysander to the Central Halloween Festival instead, so he's excited for that. You'll stay here, too, Father?"

"That is correct," the elder said. "I'm waiting for an audience with Eros given there was something he wished to discuss."

Not sure if he should mention his run-in with Eros in Saengsacho not long ago, Jeremiah put the instance aside. They may as well be brothers, so if Eros wanted to share anything with Demiesius, he would eventually.

In an upper room where Lysander had gone with Tae-min, Hamilton was finishing up putting on his own outfit. As his hair was in a braided ponytail, he looked like a fighter dressed in a white and dark navy blue ninja-like costume, gauze was wrapped around his forearms, flats were on his feet, and an off-white scarf was partially wrapped around the lower half of his face. Fake daggers were tucked into slots along his legs, and Jeremiah couldn't help but smile at how involved Hamilton liked to be on nights like this. The man was more than happy to adorn any Halloween costume his sons decided would suit him best, and this mysterious warrior-type uniform suited him very well.

"You'll be bringing Tae-min with us?" Hamilton asked, a worried dip in his brow. "Lysander told me of our change of plans, but it's a bit hectic for a baby, don't you think?"

"I planned to leave him here," Jeremiah said, setting Lysander's gift bag on the floor. "Min-jae is back home still taking care of a few things, but he'll be here eventually to see to him. Father," he nudged the elder, "Do you mind watching him? It'll only be about half an hour."

"Of course," Demiesius said, and he gladly received the infant from Lysander, and after a moment of caution was shared from him, it wasn't long until the castle was occupied by himself, Tae-min, Sebastian, and Avery. It was quiet for the most part, and the only fuss Demiesius saw to was Tae-min's yearning for a bottle.

As he carried the small boy with him to his office, Demiesius stopped in the doorway and met the sleepy eyes of his grandson. Regardless of there being little to no shared features between Tae-min and Jeremiah, aside from their noses, if Demiesius focused on the defined sensation of Tae-min's tranquil aura, the waves that paralleled Jeremiah's when he was small came through. In the end, everyone was their own person and gives off their own personal colors to the world, but there would always be a dash of the parent's hue that came forth in some way. Demiesius was quietly over the moon to sense this trace of Jeremiah in Tae-min no matter how miniscule it was.

Taking a seat in his desk chair as Tae-min looked up at him in the crook of his arm, Demiesius picked up on the shared blood of Eros and Nabadias entering the castle. When they joined him up in the office, Nabadias gave an amused smirk as Eros merely closed the door behind them.

"Grandpa Demiesius," Nabadias joked as he peered a bit closer at the sleeping boy. "I see you've been placed on babysitting duties. Quite amusing, I must say."

"I'd rather take on the role than have my grandson on the streets of London on a night like this," Demiesius countered. Halloween was a night loved immensely by both vampires and humans alike. The nightlife would be rowdy as ever. "What is it you've come to share?"

Nabadias tucked his hands in his pockets and leaned with his bottom against the desk, a smile in his voice when he said, "I've only come to ask if anyone wishes to attend a Grand Prix with me in the coming week. Although, with the atmosphere and how preoccupied everyone is these nights, I can already assume the answer."

"I told you I would attend the championships with you in February," Eros inserted. If there was anyone who was obsessed with a certain aspect of the human race, it was Nabadias, and his love for figure skating. If someday the world opened up to their kind, no one would be surprised if Nabadias hosted competitions of his own just so he could indulge in them outside of mortal influence.

"Aside from that then?" Demiesius said.

"As we all know," Eros started. He withdrew a glass vial from the inside pocket of his coat. "The serum once generated from the Pyrenean was never in circulation and is no longer being produced."

Demiesius eyed the vial from where he sat, not liking one bit that his brother thought it was a good idea to bring it anywhere near his home. The substance was deep violet against the light, looked as toxic as he already knew it was, and Demiesius' brow dipped when it was placed before him.

Unconsciously securing Tae-min against him a bit more, Demiesius rose from his chair and circled toward the open window, one hand placed behind Tae-min's head as the other supported his bottom. "You brought such a thing into my home, why?" he questioned. "The troubles established by that vile toxin have been stifled, just as the Public has been extinguished beneath our order. Without proper knowledge of what that damned flower is capable of, its effects will never harm another."

"I will confess I thought of keeping it for future use," Eros said, immediately receiving looks of perplexity from his brothers. The offense shown in the glare of Demiesius' eyes spoke of his sudden desire to toss Eros from his home.

"Let us be honest," Eros carried on. "Dhampirs are good at heart but fearsomely unpredictable in nature. Some might even go as far to say our offspring are much more fiendish than us when…lost."

Nabadias released a nervous laugh, eyes staying on Demiesius whose temper was on the rise. "Would you care to explain yourself, Brother?" he asked with a chuckle. "Last thing I want right now is for Demiesius to have any more thoughts of pummeling you than he is at this moment. You must understand you have, in a way, threatened the likes of his children, i.e., our nephews."

"And it is the thought of them that has pulled me away from previous notions," Eros reassured, tucking his hands in the pockets of his pants. "I will admit I've been lost these past months as well, but I've come to see I am more disturbed by what the substance has the power to take away than anything else. Destroy it or further research it if you wish, but you mustn't let it take more than what it already has."

"I do not plan to," Demiesius said, plucking the vial from the desk, and he chucked it from the open window. The glass could be heard shattering in the distance. "If I had known the death of the Korean boy affected you so much, I would have kept in closer touch with you. It is unfortunate what happened, Eros, and I understand why it troubles you, but what is done is done, and we will never be able to save him."

"Senseless death," Eros mumbled as if to himself. "I tire of it."

There were hopes inside them all that the senselessness of death and threats would be a bit further from those of their kind now, more so with the absence of the Public in various parts of the world.

As dictators of the Humanities through the time it took to fell every Public House, they'd promised severe punishment to those who may fall back into the organization. It was expected that very few people would think to return to it with current ties to the Public no longer being as intimate as they used to be.

In the past, slayers were recruited by their Houses through the misfortune of death caused by vampires, but as time went on, it was discovered these current recruitments received most of their motivation through the want to protect their fellow man from tales of ‘dark forces'. It was believed over ninety percent of the Public in recent years had never laid eyes on a vampire before, and the last true clash took place in 2017. In these parts, the rightfully earned devastation of the previous HQ was still a fresh wound, and while others had attempted to silently occupy the building again, they were mere copycats.

The Public would never be what Demiesius had meant for it to be centuries ago: an agreement.

Now, they were nothing.

At the stir of an additional aura entering the castle, Demiesius waited for Min-jae to appear before them. He had a bag strapped over his shoulder and nodded politely before entering the office.

"Hello," Min-jae said, receiving Tae-min when he was handed over. He couldn't help feeling a shiver trace his spine as Eros and Nabadias eyed him. There was no judgment in their stares, but Min-jae didn't think they knew how to look at someone without setting off a few alarms. "Thank you for watching him."

Demiesius nodded and remained in the office with Eros and Nabadias, a minor grief he tried to swallow entering him as he watched Min-jae whisper kindly and lovingly to Tae-min before he disappeared into another room. Min-jae's form had taken on a likeness that matched his own for a split second, but instead of letting off a contented nurturing with his son in his arms, Demiesius was hit with a ripple of a familiar misery that'd once followed him through the castle.

Why think of this now? Demiesius thought in the quiet of his mind.

Sorrows were no longer as connected to him as they once were and being afraid of misfortune seemed pointless these nights. Everything right now was so…good. He'd lived his life thus far with regrets stacked atop his shoulders, but dwelling on it as he and his family were steadily moving into a future that felt secure also seemed pointless.

Peace had begun to feel like a luxury.

A privilege.

***

The Central Halloween Festival was a relatively new event held annually in recent years. It had all the makings of a carnival: rides, food, fun, and music. With the ghoulish holiday in full swing, it was still an event that catered to the enjoyment of children and teens more than adults. There were free candy distribution spots to visit, costume contests, spooky decorations, haunted mazes for fun scares, and Lysander and Gabriel looked as excited to be there as Jeremiah hoped they would.

"Is everything okay?" Jeremiah asked then, following behind the boys as they dashed for a game booth. They'd arrived some minutes ago, and as they stopped before the booth, he'd noticed the distance in Hamilton's eyes.

"It's just your father checking in," Hamilton smiled beneath his half mask. "I'm sure he'll worry until the second we walk through the doors."

Jeremiah thought it was a bit understandable now. Even while knowing his son was in the best hands possible, Jeremiah couldn't help wanting to know how things were going with Tae-min. Was he sleeping? Was he hungry? From the quiet lazing in his heart right now, he figured everything was perfectly fine.

After watching the boys surprisingly win a prize on their first try, they hurried on to the candy walk that was made up of several booths spread out on a path that led around the entire event. People dressed as zombies and other typical monsters offered treats to those who passed, and Lysander and Gabriel got the biggest laugh out of someone dressed exactly like 1931's Count Dracula. The high collar and long cape, as well as the completely in-character accent scent the boys into a laughing frenzy, so much that Hamilton felt the need to apologize and push them along to the next spot.

"Pretty sure you hurt the guy's feelings," Jeremiah said, unable to keep his own amused smile from his face.

If there was one thing he and other immortals got a kick out of, it was the interpretation of vampires through the eyes of unaware humans. The ‘I vant to suck your blood' personas were more laughable than offensive, and other times the classy or gothic-like presumptions were flattering. At the end of the day, most vampires looked like your everyday mortal, but they weren't going to shun the thought of natural sex appeal and elegance.

"How are things at home?" Hamilton asked then, trailing behind Lysander and Gabriel as they led the way to the next event: a haunted walkthrough maze. "You mentioned the other week you and Min-jae started taking Tae-min out of the house more. How do you think the people of the area are handling the realization that you and Min-jae have a child?"

"Honestly," Jeremiah kept his voice a bit low, stopping as they waited in a gradually moving line of people. "I don't think anyone has questions as to how it was possible. In this day and age, it's common to see two men having a family all their own, and it's not like anyone caught a glimpse of me while pregnant. Everyone's first assumption is probably that we adopted him, and while I don't quite like that, I'm just happy to be able to take Tae-min out more than before. It's nice being able to introduce him to people. He warms up very well to others."

"That's good," Hamilton said. "I know it's been nowhere near a year yet, but I'm excited to have another birthday to celebrate."

Jeremiah smiled as he looked around, catching a glance he received from a group of teenage girls dressed as fairies passing by. When they met his eyes and theirs darted away, he raised a brow in question.

Gabriel turned his gaze as the line continued to move slowly, watching the girls as well when they scurried away a bit faster.

"What's wrong?" Hamilton asked, immediately noticing his son's bother. He neared Gabriel a bit more and kept his voice low. "If the crowds get too much," he said, "Remember to reel in your focus. It gets loud when there's so many people around."

"I know," Gabriel let drag from his tongue, looking past Hamilton to see where the girls had gone, but instead of them, he caught yet another pair gawking their way. It was an older man and woman, and as they appeared to stare in their direction, Gabriel couldn't help but listen in.

Oh, my goodness …

Just as the boy's mind penetrated the older woman's, his line of focus was severed when they were next to enter the maze. There was fog and jump scares, creepy noises sounding through the narrow walkways as ghoulish costume-wearing people did their best to live up to their roles. Zombies with hanging clothing and flesh lunged from the foggy darkness, nasally witches cackled and promised misfortune, and while nothing scared Jeremiah or Hamilton, a good bit of laughter escaped them as Lysander and Gabriel flinched and screamed and hurried them along.

When they turned down the final stretch of the haunted house, the walkway was wider and looked much like a backstreet with toppled bins and fake blood-stained corpses lying about the edges. From a hidden crevice emerged a towering man with lengthy makeshift talons on his fingers, and when he sprang forward and snarled and hissed, Jeremiah stopped in his tracks when the full get up of this man was taken in.

Alongside the talons, this man wore tattered clothing and prosthetic features that made his face appear like a rogue vampire, but on top of that, he also adorned a half blond and black wig. As Jeremiah stared incredulously, it was a lot like looking into an offensive funhouse mirror.

"What the hell…" Jeremiah said under his breath, puzzled by the fact that this actor appeared to be a crude depiction of himself.

"We have to keep moving," Hamilton softly pushed Jeremiah along, eyeing the actor who'd dropped his in-character persona to stare in equal puzzlement as Jeremiah moved by.

Quickly heading for the exit, the moment they were out, Jeremiah swallowed down a blockage in his throat, and said, "Was that what I think it was? I'm not crazy, am I?"

"Maybe it's not a good idea to be here," Hamilton said, his own nervousness validating Jeremiah's suspicions, and he took hold of Lysander's hand. "I'm sorry to cut it short boys, but we should probably start home."

There were no complaints from Gabriel and Lysander as they moved. This place was filled with so many people doing their own things, but as they headed through the crowd, there was no doubt in Jeremiah's mind he'd caught the attention of various people. Every murmur was either tucked behind the wall of someone's thoughts or whispered under their breath, and the glances received made it that much more obvious that Jeremiah was the subject of interest.

Is that who I think it is?

That's that guy!

I swear, that's him…

He's cuter than I imagined.

He doesn't look like a monster, but that's definitely the guy from the news.

"Ignore it," Hamilton urged Jeremiah. It was obvious he was listening to the mutterings. He could hear it, too.

It was like they couldn't get out fast enough. Few whispers were turning into many, and the number of eyes on them grew as they casually yet hurriedly trekked through the crowds for the main exit. It was at this point where Jeremiah began to regret not throwing on a quick costume to cover up. He'd have never thought his natural look would draw attention to himself aside from the usual lust that once touched his ear from strangers. Now these strangers were seeing him as more than a random conventionally attractive young man on the streets .

They were seeing him for what they thought was a killer.

And while they wouldn't be wrong, Jeremiah wasn't ready to be seen as something he'd never wanted to be looked upon as: a monster.

"Just keep walking," Hamilton said, hoping to return to their vehicle.

At last making it through the main entry of the festival, they passed several other event goers making their way inside. There was a small cluster of girls standing off to the side of the ticket booths, and Gabriel swore aloud when noticing they were the same he'd overheard first before entering the maze. The girls looked nervous, more so when they peered around the two police officers they'd been making a report to.

"He's there," one of them whispered.

Overhearing the young voice, Jeremiah looked toward the group of fairy-dressed girls and officers. One of the teenagers was showing off the bright screen of her cell phone; a clear image of Jeremiah from the old broadcast was displayed.

"Stop right there!" an officer shouted then, gaining the curious stares of people waiting in the entry line.

Hamilton tried to act as though they hadn't heard, pushing a light hand at Jeremiah's backside as he held onto Lysander. Gabriel was the only one to acknowledge the demand with a glare he couldn't help.

"I said stop right there!" the officer shouted once more, hustling over, and he and his partner circled around to cut them off.

Getting a direct glimpse of Jeremiah who looked more annoyed than dangerous, the hairs on the back of their necks rose upon realizing he was a perfect match to the image shown to them.

While the news story from months ago had fallen out of circulation, that didn't mean talks of it weren't still active in places outside of the televised media. In online forums and across social media, talks of a backstreet monster were alive and well. If there hadn't been such a gruesome death caught on camera, it was safe to say the sighting would've been deemed a hoax and forgotten long ago, but the blood left in that alley pushed talks of nocturnal beings to the surface, one whose likeness had shifted from that of a fearsome creature to a human-like young man.

As if Jeremiah was the only one standing in front of them, the two officers' pulses picked up in an instant, and they each withdrew a taser.

"Come easy, lad," Jeremiah was ordered. "Or we'll tase you where you are."

"Officers," Hamilton tried to interject, placing himself before Jeremiah. "There must be a mistake."

"Ma'am," one of the men said, "Step away from him."

Fuck!

Jeremiah was frozen where he stood. He didn't know what to do, but the last thing he wanted right now was Hamilton and his brothers getting caught up in this mess; in appearance alone, they were all so obviously family. If these people turned their fears onto anyone else aside from himself…Jeremiah wasn't sure what he'd do.

Taking a step away, Jeremiah caused the officers to tense, and they quickly stepped around Hamilton. "Don't make this harder than it has to be," one man commanded. "On the ground!"

Switching his gaze between the two clearly flustered men and Hamilton, there appeared to be a nervous urge and apology in Jeremiah's eyes before he took another step away .

One of the officers unleashed the spikes of his taser, but they didn't reach fast enough. In a second, Jeremiah turned on his heels, and he darted from the festival entrance and away from all the onlookers. In his wake, the officers gathered themselves and hurried after, shouting into their two-way radios.

Jeremiah ran with the fiery passion of a gold medal track star under his feet. The haste in his stride was urgent, and he swore again and again when he could hear the policemen trailing him. He'd at least wanted to get away from Hamilton, put some distance between them so that Hamilton and his brothers might escape the curiosity of others. If he could just get out of sight, he'd be able to master directly to the castle and everything would be over and done with.

However, a night like this just about guaranteed not a single street would be without eyes. In this area of the city, the nightlife was active due to the nearby festival, and the spirit of Halloween was taking over almost every pub and late-night eatery.

Where the hell am I supposed to go? Jeremiah thought.

He darted by a group of scantily dressed women, and they squealed due to his abrupt pass and the shouting from the officers telling them to move aside.

Terrorized by the idea of not being able to find a safe place to disappear, Jeremiah quickly turned down a faintly lit path, and he nearly swore aloud due to the group of teenagers hanging out. Given that the path was walled off on the other side anyways, Jeremiah skidded to a stop as the perplexed eyes of the teens fell onto him.

"Dammit," Jeremiah turned to race away again, but suddenly found himself trapped between the two pursuing officers and the teens behind him.

"Stop!" they instructed, and the man who'd yet to unleash the prongs of his taser aimed the handheld again. "Don't move!" he ordered, and he called toward the boys who looked as confused as ever. "Lads, slowly come this way."

Immediately assuming Jeremiah must be some sort of hard criminal fleeing capture, the boys were anything but calm when they scurried around him. In the confusion, Jeremiah turned to dash for a set of iron steps bolted to the building. The moment his hands grabbed onto the metal; he felt the agonizing swell of an electric current rush through him. The grievous pinch struck his lower back before the charge splintered every which way about his body, lighting up each vein and limb as a weakness overcame and he dropped to a knee.

Jeremiah clenched his teeth so as not to scream, but the insufferable ache in his groan escaped him anyway. His heart shuttered and his head throbbed, feelings shifting between worry and fear until they molded into one mass of agitation.

He'd only wanted to get away…

That was all.

Although the night was cool around him, a wintry chill traced through Jeremiah the second the electric current subsided, and broad echoes followed the noises around him. Approaching footsteps sounded like he was in the center of an empty chamber, distant but looming voices throwing command after command his way.

In an instant, the chill assembling in Jeremiah's body turned to flames when a ring of silver latched around his wrist. The officers made an attempt to handcuff him before he could make any sudden movements, but that was all they were given: an attempt .

When his other wrist was grabbed, all the flustered and angry turmoil wracking Jeremiah's head and heart mingled into one, and this forged heap of fury came forth when he snatched himself away and released a deterring screech.

The officers backed away in an instant, shouting terrified confirmations into their radios. They spoke of their location, of the nightmarish creature standing before them, and when the men withdrew and extended their steel batons, Jeremiah's instincts urged him to do the only thing on his mind.

Kill them…

These people were trying to hurt him.

Kill them!

They were trying to kill him.

Kill them ALL!