EWAN

I wander into the kitchen, hoping for quiet away from the chaos in the dining room. Five minutes here and my head hurts already. I swear Portia asked this as one of her stupid loyalty tests. We spend Halloween patrolling each year; this is a popular time for the paranormal creatures' tricks and sometimes deaths. The worst culprits are the younger vamps and lower rank demons who can glamour themselves. The vamps cause us constant headaches, especially once they reach the point they need to find lifetime donors. And what better place to start than starry-eyed girls on the day they love sexy vampires more than usual?

A couple of girls stand at the kitchen counter beside a large white bowl that smokes with dry ice. They ladle a green drink into clear plastic cups and glance up as I walk in. One of them wears a Harlequin costume, but it's obvious who she is.

“Hey, Ewan,” she says in a low voice and gives me her inappropriate lip-biting and coy smile.

“Elyssia.”

The other girl, black hair, dressed in a vampire costume even more revealing than Vee's, runs her tongue across her red top lip and reveals sharp teeth. My senses hit alert. Are they real or false?

“This is Ewan,” purrs Elyssia. “He's a Horseman.”

The girl tips her head. “But he looks like Frankenstein.”

Elyssia laughs. “A real Horseman. You must've heard of them. Ewan's Pestilence.”

“Elyssia,” I growl at her loud announcement.

“And he rides a motorbike,” she continues. “I keep asking if I can ride Ewan's bike but mum, as usual, says no. Did you bring your bike tonight? Mum isn't around; we could do anything we wanted.”

Elyssia twirls her ponytail and whispers something to her friend. I cringe as they giggle. What is in that green drink? I cross my arms and take a good look around the room. Half-empty tall bottles are set next to a cake stand displaying orange iced cupcakes topped with tiny witches’ hats.

I peer into the bowl filled with the green drink and floating eyeballs in ice cubes and catch the strong alcohol smell.

“I hope you're keeping this punch away from the little kids,” I say.

“Of course! I was forced to hang around here, instead of going to a decent party, so I invited a few friends to join me. This is Paige.”

Paige lifts her hand in greeting.

A few friends?

“They're outside, and we're keeping away from kids. So everything's cool,” Elyssia replies and swigs her punch.

“Keep them away from that,” I retort and point at the bowl.

“We're taking this bowl out there anyway,” replies Paige and cradles it in her arms. “Grab some cups, Lys.”

Elyssia's expression changes as Vee walks into the room after me. Elyssia's mother doesn't like Vee for many reasons, and I've yet to see Elyssia and Vee together socially for longer than a few minutes.

“Elyssia,” she says in surprise.

“Hi, Verity.”

One reason Portia dislikes Vee is right in front of me.

The girl is powerful and sexy as hell.

For Halloween, Vee replaced her usual casual dress with a revealing costume, and my resolve to keep my distance from her melts as quickly as the ice cubes in the drink Elyssia holds.

Her slender thighs are naked above the knee socks, and I take a trip into my memories of the time she wrapped those legs around me.

How can Vee be oblivious to what she does to us? I resolve not to look anywhere but her face for the rest of the evening.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Elyssia straightens further as Xander joins us. “You look cute, Xan,” she says.

He tips his head. “Who's your friend? I haven't seen her before.”

“Paige.”

“Is she a vampire?” He looks at me. “Ewan?”

“I haven't asked her yet.”

“Well, obviously she is—look at her costume,” replies Elyssia

“No. Look at her teeth.”

“Cosmetic.” Paige taps on them and she and Elyssia collapse into another fit of drunken giggles.

For fuck's sake.

Xander steps forward and frowns down at Paige. “How many of you are there?” He grips her arm and she yelps, attempting to pull it away.

“Xander, they're friends of mine from Salizar House,” exclaims Elyssia.

Salizar House? We never have issues with that clan; they keep their Younglings under control, and in return, we leave them alone in their tightly controlled world. They're blended in society and live amongst humans, but hidden, unlike the fae who embrace their human surroundings. Occasionally Elders join human circles, as centuries of boredom overtake and lead to desire to try new thrills. But a vampire and fae princess? Uh. Nope. Not on my watch; Portia would lose her shit. She thinks their base creatures who don’t belong in her world – and certainly not with her daughter.

“Does your mother know?” I ask.

“Mother can think what she likes. I'm almost twenty; I live my own life.”

Apart from she doesn't and never can; Elyssia's from a royal fae bloodline. She's inherited her mother's attitude which leads to issues between the pair. We need to talk to Paige's House and make them aware they have members involved with a rebellious fae princess.

“There are two of us,” replies Paige, “and we're not here for trouble. We're curious—we've never been to a Halloween party at a fae house before.”

“It's a kids party,” retorts Xander. “Hardly interesting. I want to meet the other one.”

Vee whispers she'd rather not be around if this blows up and leaves to rejoin Heath and Joss. I follow Xander through the door to the paved garden area where two people in costumes sit around a stone table. Again, both dressed as the pop culture vampires you'd find on TV and in movies.

The girl in the black wig shivers in her tiny dress, but the guy doesn't. Spot the human.

“Who are you?” asks Xander.

“I'm Kane, and she's Dawn,” says the guy in a smooth voice; the kind that flows like honey and caught him the girl.

“I'd like you to come inside,” says Xander. “where we can keep an eye on you.”

The tall guy, with pale blond hair and a face painted with dark eye make-up and red lips, laughs at us. “We're comfortable here, thanks.”

Xander straightens. “I don't think Dawn is. She's cold.”

“I'm okay,” pipes up the girl.

Kane slings an arm across her shoulders, not that this would give her much warmth. The dewy eyed look she gives him sets alarm bells ringing.

“I'm in charge tonight. Inside,” growls Xander.

Kane stands. “Says who?”

“I'm supervising the party for Portia.”

“Then go play with the little kiddies,” he replies.

The two guys stand off against each other, and I step forward. “Okay. Listen. If you want to hang around, come inside.”

“We'll be leaving soon anyway,” replies Elyssia from behind me.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“Trick or treating,” replies the girl at the table and giggles.

So much bloody giggling.

The vamp whispers something in her ear, and I exchange looks with Xander.

“Aren't you too old to trick or treat?” I ask Kane. “By decades? Maybe centuries?”

“Ten years.”

Crap. Worse. The recently turned Younglings are the ones who can cause problems. “Who's your sire?” I ask.

“Edwin Henley.”

I blow air into my cheeks. That's one good sign; Edwin never allows his progeny to step out of line.

“I don't bite,” Kane says with a sly smile. “I have my donor.”

“How do we know you're not looking for more?” asks Xander. “Some of you have larger appetites than others.”

“What donor?” asks the girl. “What does he mean?”

Shit. The human is unaware she's cosying up with a vampire. Xander drops his diplomacy attempt—I wondered how long he'd take.

“Inside,” he growls at Kane. “I don't trust you.”

The guy sneers and stands, bumping into Xander as he passes by into the house. “Your costume's all wrong,” he says in a low voice. “I know who you are.”

I brace myself for Xander's response, but he merely stares after the group.

If Portia knew Elyssia invited vampires into her house, there'd be hell to pay.