YEAR OF THE VAMPIRE 21

Chapter 21

Music from: Caught in the Web

Halloween arrived bright and crisp that Friday. It had been a long few days since Vohn had told Ivy about Dred's past.

Possible past, she reminded herself as she readied Sandy and Rowley for a night of Trick-or-Treating. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin had promised not to be too late that night—getting home at no later than eight-thirty. Conveniently, she thought, after the madness of Halloween candy had passed for the kids in the small subdivision. They were going to a party his company had for work and a brief stop-in was expected. They had already delivered candy bags to all of the neighbor kids' houses, so there would be no handing-out of candy at the Marvins.

Four-year-old Sandy bounced up and down in her Little Red Riding Hood costume as Ivy tried to fix the headband attached to the hood that had come loose. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" the girl cried, jangling her pumpkin bucket for treats. "We're late, we're late, we're late!"

"We're not late," Ivy said, straightening the hood over the girl's round face. She looked to Rowley, age five, who was dressed as a ninja. "Ready?"

He nodded, and they set off down the sidewalk.

Most of the subdivision was decorated in raging Halloween style, but some were more tastefully embellished with "harvest" colors. These were the houses, Ivy noticed, that didn't have the front porch lights on or doors open to invite Trick-or-Treaters. She had already given Sandy and Rowley treats—sugar-free comic books—of what she knew were their favorite series. A twinge of Halloweens past went through her as she thought of her dad handing out candies from their front door. He always wore a Chewbacca mask, and had already been wearing it—"Warming it up," he had said—when she left that afternoon.

It was a double reason to feel amiss. Not only was she skipping out on her dad, but also missing the opening night of Romeo and Juliet at school. Lornie was still relegated to understudy, as Carlie was well again, but Ivy still missed Lornie. And Camille. Their tight knit triangle had come loose over the summer.

"Watch for cars!" she called as Sandy and Rowley joined the subdivision street crawling with kids in costumes.

She got two screams of laughter in answer.

At first the houses were busy, with costumed-children racing pell-mell all over the yards and sidewalks, but as the event got into the last twenty minutes of allotted time, many of the kids were spent, their steps slower, and candy bags and buckets dragging.

Ivy was right there with them, the chill night air seeping into her jacket as the clear, nearly full moon shone down on them. They circled home taking the back side of the subdivision, where some decorated homes had already closed doors and shut off porch lights, their candy supplies depleted.

"I'm tired," Sandy said, pulling her pumpkin basket along, bumping it off the curb. Her hood was down and her hair loose from the headband. "My teeth hurt."

"You didn't have any candy yet, did you?" Ivy asked suspiciously. That was the rule: no candy until they got home—when their parents could take inventory and safety measures.

"No," Sandy said slowly, not looking at her.

"Yeah, she did," Rowley said, pointing at her, laughing, which showed his chocolate-stained teeth.

"You both have been sneaking," Ivy said.

"Just MMs," Sandy said.

Rowley nodded. "She did it first," he said defensively.

"No more 'til we get home," Ivy said sternly. "And only after your mom and dad say it's okay."

Above, or perhaps below, the music playing from the corner house, Ivy could hear something else. The theme from Ghostbusters movie boomed from the house as Ivy and her charges neared. But from elsewhere, Ivy could hear something else, something more melodious, something beckoning. She tried to hear it above the movie soundtrack, but could only detect a few notes.

They sounded simple, like something even she could have picked out on a piano—given enough time.

Sandy crashed on the sofa as soon as Ivy opened the Marvin house front door, followed by Rowley slumping into an upholstered chair in the living room. Ivy shook her head and slipped off the girl's shoes and untied her hood, helping her get comfortable, and was in the middle of wresting Rowley's double-knotted shoes off when the door opened and Mr. and Mrs. Marvin stepped in.

Naturally, Ivy thought, not really caring that the parents had missed the fun of candy looting. The Marvins paid well.

"Be careful going home, Ivy," Mr. Marvin said as Ivy got ready to leave.

"Yes, lots of mischief out tonight," his wife added. "Someone's buzzing the main intersection with black kites."