XANDER

“I'm not taking a risk and waiting. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Joss's car boot contains our standard weapon collection—knives in various sizes and metals, torches, and more. “What kind of supes hang out by crop fields?” I ask as I rummage through for the most suitable weapon. Joss's encyclopaedic knowledge from our experiences and from studying books makes him the best companion right now. But he doesn't know everything.

“I don't know. Anything or anybody could live here. How do we know this isn’t a human?”

“Maybe, but I want to be prepared.”

Joss huffs. “Dunno. Maybe corn demons if it's a Halloween opportunist.”

I pull out two torches. “Elaborate.”

“Feldgeist. There's a variety—some are shifters, others straightforward demons. Hang on.”

Joss whips out his phone, and his fingers work quickly across the screen. “Okay. Roggenmuhme or Kornmaid are common. They’re human looking female demons.” He keeps scrolling. “Shit. The Roggenmuhme demons steal children and replace them with changelings.”

A familiar dread washes through my veins, and I straighten. “Okay. We go. Now. No knives. I want to end this quickly using my strength and your skills. Come on.”

As I slam the boot closed, headlights blind me from a motorbike heading down the lane in our direction. Ewan's bike pulls up next to the car, and he kills the engine. He has Vee with him?

Ewan climbs off and helps Vee. She's covered herself with his jacket which stretches halfway down her thighs, but seriously, how the hell did she ride on his bike dressed like that?

“I'm not being funny, but Vee isn't dressed for this. You should've left her with Heath,” I say.

I don't admit another reason—Vee's revealing dress fulfils my daily fantasies and throws me off my game. Okay, I shouldn't objectify the girl, but it's bloody difficult when half the night I could practically see her ass.

“You know Vee, if she wants to come, then she will. Where do we go?” Ewan points at the field. “That way?”

Vee pulls Ewan’s bike helmet from her head. The red wig has gone. “Stop talking about me as if I'm not here,” she retorts.

“Vee, wait here with Ewan,” I say.

“Why?” she asks.

I gesture at her equally impractical, heeled shoes. “If we need to run, you won't keep up.”

Vee stalks to Joss's car door and pulls open the door. She ducks in and rummages in the footwell, then reappears holding a pair of sneakers in her hand. “You're not the only ones who carry things in the cars to prepare yourself, Xander.”

Joss barks out a laugh. “Practical Vee.”

“Takes more than knives and holy water to be prepared,” she says with a sly smile and sets about changing her footwear.

“Man, your face,” Joss says to me.

Me and Vee stare at each other. There’s a lot I love about this girl, even though I deny this to myself and her. She's not lost and delicate; she meets challenges head-on, including me. Vee: smart, beautiful and funny. The girl who holds all of our hearts to match the ones on her dress.

Vee walks past me towards Joss. “I thought we were in a hurry.”

Pulling myself out of my musing, I take several strides to catch up and then walk on ahead, calling back Joss's information to Ewan.

“I'm coming too,” he says.

“You realise how suited he is to this, right?” says Joss with a chuckle.

Ewan catches up to me, and we clamber over the low gate which squeaks under our weight.

“He's Pestilence,” puts in Vee. “I'm pretty sure he'll be the best against corn demons.”

“Very funny,” retorts Ewan.

I shake my head and pass Ewan a torch. “Fine. Ewan and Joss go on ahead, and we'll catch up. See what you can find.”

They cut a path through the cropped field. I'm annoyed there's no cover apart from the darkness. Vee easily matches my stride.

“Great evening, huh?” she says with a small laugh.

“The best,” I mutter.

“You did well to spot something dangerous, Xander.”

“I could just be paranoid because it's Halloween.” I tramp faster across the ground.

Vee strides to catch up. “Are you pissed off with me for coming here? I thought kids might respond to me better than you guys if they're lost. You know, a woman rather than four scary men.”

“Maybe.”

She laughs at my begrudging tone as we continue through the low crop stubble. “Heath drew the short straw and stayed.”

I grunt with amusement. “Lucky Heath. You should've kept him company.”

“Guys!” calls Joss. “Come and look at this.”

We catch up to Joss and Ewan. Ewan points at the ground. “There’s some sweets here.”

Joss shines a torch around the area revealing the same wrapped candy as they kids left by the tree. “More here.”

Vee takes his torch and shines it at the ground as she walks slowly ahead. “I think we have a Hansel and Gretel situation.”

I look in confusion at Joss. “Fairy tale. I’ll read it to you at bed time if you like,” he says.

“This isn’t funny, Joss,” I retort.

Vee sighs. “Kids are kidnapped by a witch in the book.”

“Fuck!” I stride past her. “Come on. Now.”

A house is located a few hundred metres ahead at the field’s edge and close to some trees. The farmhouse we live in is twice the size of this one and in better condition. The short pathway is overgrown, and a light shines behind a tattered curtain.

I step forward and rap on the door, turning my head to listen, but there's no sound within.

“Maybe we're wasting our time,” says Joss.

My reply is interrupted by the sound of someone unbolting the door. A woman appears in the doorway as the door opens. She's older than we look and has dark brown hair sweeping her shoulders. Dressed simply in jeans and a loose grey shirt, the woman is unremarkable. She eyes us warily through her brown eyes, set in a long face with sharp cheekbones.

“Can I help you?” she asks.

“We're looking for some kids we know. We think they might be lost. Did they pass by here trick or treating?” I ask.

Her brow dips. “I don't get many trick or treaters here. I'm a bit far out of town.”

“You haven't seen anyone?” asks Joss.

The woman sighs and opens the door further. A fire burns in the hearth, giving the small room a cosier feeling than the sparse furniture does. The wall is exposed brick with decoration and two tatty brown armchairs face the fire.

I scout the room further. There's a rough table towards the back and a bookshelf. No TV.

A large dog lies on a rug, rough coated and grey. A wolfhound? He stretches his legs out as he stirs, but doesn't register our arrival. Not much of a guard dog.

“As you can see, I haven't kidnapped children. Look upstairs if you want.”

Her weird defensiveness is followed by a soft laugh as she picks up strange items from an armchair, before sitting. This appears to be human-shaped figures made from corn or wheat, and she places it in her lap. A third is half a figure, and she ignores us to weave more of the body into shape.

Should I take up her offer and walk upstairs?

“Okay. But if you see the boys, can you tell them to go home before their parents worry?” says Vee.

She turns a friendly smile in our direction. “Of course.”

The dog lifts its head to watch us, and she rises. “Happy Halloween. Sorry I don't have any treats for you.” She nods. “Love your costumes though.”

She still holds the strange figures. She extends a hand. “Would you like a doll instead? I have more than enough, and I think I only need two.”

Vee stares and then glances at me. “Um. I'm okay. Thanks.”

“Good night, then.” She closes the door as firmly as her voice sounds.

Vee sucks in a breath as she closes the door.

“Joss?” I ask in a low voice.

“Yes.” Demon. I knew it.

“Do we go back in?” asks Ewan.

“No, we need to step back and think about this. If the woman is suspicious, we need to find the boys somehow. They might not be in the house.”

Vee shivers. “I can feel fear. A lot of fear.”

Joss takes her hand and squeezes and absorbs some of the emotion flooding her system. They don't speak.

“Didn't you see?” she whispers.

“The dog? Or the dolls?” I ask.

“No. There was a colourful plastic bag by the armchair. When the woman sat, she pushed it under the chair with her foot.”

“Did you see if anything was printed on the bag?” I ask.

“It looked like pumpkins.”

The same as the bag I found by the tree.

“We need to find those kids,” she says in a firm voice.

“Do you think they're in the house?” Joss asks her.

“Maybe. I'm not sure.”

The breeze picks up, and Vee shivers again. I’m too cold to hang around in fields, something is very wrong here and we can’t leave.

“Two of us go back to her; the other two check the perimeter. See if there's a shed, or anywhere they can hide,” I say.

“Or be hidden,” mutters Ewan. “Me and Vee will go. You head back with Joss.”