TWENTY-SIX | ALL HALLOWS EVE

As soon as we get to the school, I leave Mom and go to the Choir room where Ms. Jones is having a last-minute run-through of the music. All of us have out masks on and are dressed - ready for the dance. Part of the dress code was to have a mask - but not one that covers our mouths.

Darine waits for me by the entrance of the Choir room, wearing a dress that looks like it's inspired by Swan Lake. White with lush feathers here and there on the skin-tight dress, the fabric looks incredibly soft and shiny from her neckline to her knees. Even her mask has delicate feathers - the white thing only covering her eyes.

"I love your dress-" We both say to each other at the same time and laugh. She links our arms and guides us into the room and up the risers as the other people in the choir mill around, chatting excitedly or humming through scales.

"Lace suits you." Darine tells me. I laugh, feeling myself blush under my mask, relieved it's hides most of my face. It's a half-mask, very Phantom-of-the-Opera-esque, but black with red flowers.

"And feather suit you," I reply as we settle into our usual spots. Ms. Jones bustles in, looking every bit as flustered as she was Friday. At least tonight she seems a little calmer.

"Get in you places, everyone, I shouldn't have to remind you!" She calls out, smacking her baton against the music stand in front of her. People immediately bustle around, scrambling to get into their places. "Alright, let's warm-up." She taps out the tempo and begins running us through our usual warm-up exercises.

After another thirty minutes of 'warm-up' she proceeds to run through every song twice. Then marches us out the door to the gym where the dance is being held. A stage has been set up along one side of the gym with a set of risers and several microphones. Off to the side is the orchestra, a quartet of strings, and several speakers have been mounted around the room. The lights have been dimmed, spotlights trained on the stage and the orchestra.

We all march up the back of the stage and get into our places. My heart's doing this funny galloping thing and I can't tell if I'm excited or nervous. It's not like I've done a lot of these performances before. Even in some of the towns I've stay in, the timing always seem to go conveniently around performances or I just missed them. My mouth feels dry by the time I'm in place, each song's been memorized by now and my hands feel awkward by my sides.

I take a deep breath, training my eyes above the shadowy figures below, relieved at least that I can't see their faces because of the spotlight. I'm purposefully trying to avoid using any Wolven sight to see, preferring ignorance more than anything right now.

The room goes quiet. I take a deep breath to calm myself and glace at Darine. She's as calm as when I first met her, looking resolved and focused. Ms. Jones turns to the crowd, bows, then turns to the orchestra, waves her baton at them to show the opening tempo and, finally, turns to us. One...two... She mouths and we take a collective breath before beginning our fist song.

"*I put a spell on you*," The alto and soprano sections begin, the basses and tenors making the darker hms and oohs as extra effects with the orchestra. The creepy, much darker tones around our voices swell up at the right times, sounding like and echoing piano. "*Because you're mine,*" The rendition we're singing is a cross between the one done by Annie Lenox and something Ms. Jones put together. The effect is a more spooky, bluesy sound that makes my heart ache. I love the way it sounds, haunting and gorgeous. "*You better stop the things you do,*" The tempo gets a little faster, jazzing up the sound a bit before settling back down. *"I tell ya I ain't lyin', I ain't lyin',*" We continue the song, and from time to time, I have to remind myself to control my volume and not just belt out each note.

After *I put a spell on you*, we move into *Bury a friend*, the sopranos only coming in a few times here and there, though I want to sing the entire thing. Instead, I force myself to only sing the parts we've rehearsed and let the sound of the near-acapella sound echo around me. We then transition into Radiohead's *Creep*, mashing it with a more bluesy, spooky tone. A few more creepy show tunes follow, then, before I know it, we're done.

The spotlight goes out dramatically and the sopranos take our cue to leave before the light turns back on, and only the baritones and altos are left. The basses have moved off to the sides briefly. But the sopranos are now done for the night. I breathe a sigh of relief, my throat aching a little.

The lights dim slightly, and the baritones and altos begin singing *Thriller*. I hop off the stage and help Darine down. We weave our way past a few other students and go to our waiting water bottles in the make-shift dressing room behind the stage.

"Not bad, huh?" Darine stage whispers to me. I shrug, taking large gulps of water to soothe my parched throat.

"Coulda been worse." I whisper back in agreement. We walk from the back of the stage to the backdoor of the gym. I finish off my water and toss it in one of the rolling trashcans stationed by the exit.

"Hey, I'm gonna go...get some punch." Darine suddenly says. I look up at her quizzically, seeing she's still got some water in her bottle, and frown at her. She's looking at some text on her phone, though from this angle I can't see what message is there.

"Okay..." I tell her and she heads to the punch bowl set up in the middle of the room, along the wall where the doors to the locker room are. The I see a few Azures loitering around the table and grin. Yuri stands out from his other cousins, super tall, and wearing some sort of demonic mask with horns on one side and an angelic halo on the other. I roll my eyes, watching Darine nervously approach the Azure group and start chatting. *Smooth, Darine, real smooth*.

Cole and Misha branch away, talking to two other people - maybe classmates? Then Mom and Hale start serving more punch, setting the clear plastic cups out for people to take, talking to each other amicably. Soon Ms. Jin joins them, and though Mom doesn't seem thrilled by her presence, she doesn't shoo her away either. Progress.

Caly sees me and waves from her position by the snack side of the table, closer to the other side of the gym. I wave back, grinning at her. The she's approached by a few freshman she seems to know and starts chatting with them. Yuri and Darine are now walking over to help Caly with her side of the table and I can't help but smile at the sense of community.

Though a few moments later, I find myself scanning the crowd for a different set of grey eyes, more specifically silvery-grey. I complete the sweep without success and feel a wave of disappointment hit me. I glance at my phone, rereading the text Blue had sent earlier.

'*I'll come find you after your performance. Good luck!*' I decide to stay in this one place. I can see just about the whole room from here.

I stand by the back door, smiling as I scan the crowd of people. I catch sight of Cole dancing with a freshman I don't recognize. She's almost as tall as he is, and cast in this light, her white dress is almost glowing. Cole's eyes never leave hers as they dance and talk. Mom and Hale are hovering behind the table with the punch bowl, chatting almost conspiratorially while Ritska fills clear cups and sets them on the table.

"You guys were great." Blue suddenly murmurs in my ear. I nearly jump at the sudden awareness of his presence. I couldn't sense him coming!

"Thanks." I turn to face him. He's wearing a suit. My eyes can't help but trace over the well tailored black and white fabric. The mask on his face is like the one batman wears, black and fitted to his face. The sharp contrast makes his silvery-grey eyes stand out even more, the waring colors even brighter in the shadowy light of the room.

"I never pegged you for the singing type." He smirks at me, but it's not an accusatory look, just curious.

"It's therapeutic." I blush, not really sure why I even tell him. It's one ting to admit to my mom, but another entirely to tell him why I sing.

"Wanna dance?" He holds a hand out to me. The question is sudden - bursting out of his mouth on one breath - like he couldn't help but ask. His cheeks are slightly pink now, even in this dim lighting, I can see that much. My stomach flips unexpectedly at his response. In a surprisingly good way, I'm suddenly nervous.

"I don't know..." I hesitate.

"C'mon." He pulls me towards the dance floor, and I follow close behind - until a flash behind the crowd catches my eyes and makes me stop dead.

Her bright red hair is curled luxurious and long and perfect. Her silken hair is maybe the biggest similarity between us, but her eyes, her cerulean eyes are what sets us apart. My eyes are blue - sapphire blue and full of darkness, but her eyes are blueish-green in a combination that is lighter, brighter and colder. And I've missed seeing those eyes. I haven't seen her since I left the Reinier Pack *that* night. Paris. She tosses me a little smirk from her reflection - across the room. I spin around, searching the crowd for her, but she's gone. *How could she be here? Was I seeing things?*

"Hey, you okay?" Blue asks me, frowning when I look back at him.

"Y-yeah. I, uh, just thought I saw...it's not important." I breathe in a rush, clearing my throat and giving him a little smile.

"Are you sure?" He asks, still looking concerned.

"Positive," I force the smile to be more relaxed and release his hand. "I'm just going to get some punch-"

"It's alright, I'll get it." He pats my back gently, it's like he knows I need a second to collect myself. I give him a grateful smile and he goes. I run a hand through my hair, readjusting the mask on my face and take a deep breath. There's no way Paris could be here. There are way too many Azures here, not to mention humans. The Reinier's wouldn't send anyone to such a populated area alone. I relax a little...until I smell sea salt and ice in the air, suddenly I sense a presence nearby. I whirl around and suck in a breath, instantly recognizing the man watching me, inches away.

"Craven." My eyes widen, I haven't seen Craven in person since I left the Pack. He takes my hand, looking at me the way a cat looks at a mouse, and pulls me into a dancing pose. A new song starts. One I remember from my old Reiner Pack days, a song my grandmother liked to sing to us as pups. Half his face is covered by a mask, simple black and rounded.

"Scarlett," He says in his usual clipped, emotionless way that I remember. "It's nice to see you again, cousin." He tells me, but there's no warmth in his voice, no twitch of emotion in his face just a bit of cold in his crystal-blue eyes. He has the trademark family rust-red hair but it's cut close to his head, showing the numerous scars spotting his scalp. He's death pale, as always, and the circles under his eyes are only further proof of what I'm already thinking. He's been tracking me ever since we left the Pack. "It's been too long."

"You spoke to Ryker, didn't you?" I ask after a moment, too afraid to ask about anything else. We're in public, and I'm too worried about what will happen if I push Mad dog Craven too far.

"I did. Our cousin was very concerned about the people you're hanging out with." Craven says and a little glimmer lights up the cold of his eyes. "The Azures are very similar to us aren't they? A family made Pack, close knit and powerful... They also share very similar characteristics. Hair, eyes, skin tones...*fight*." Something in his eyes shifts - the tiniest flash of pure joy breaks through and I'm suddenly winded.

"What did you do?" I breathe, forgetting to move my legs as the thought hits me that he's been in town longer than I'm aware. He's a Tracker, he'd know how to cover his scent.

"Easy now, cousin. Don't want anything to happen to your boyfriend, now do you?" Craven asks, a truly horrific smile blooming on his mouth and I feel my blood run cold. His teeth never change, even when he transforms from human to wolf, it was always one of the most terrifying things about Craven: his Wolven teeth. Sharpened to points, slightly tinged a very light right red and horrific black gums.

"Craven, *please*," I croak, about ready to destroy my own cousin because of his words. *Who did he hurt? Where are they? Are they even alive?* Craven pulls me closer and forces me to keep moving, endlessly spinning us in circles as he continues to taunt me.

"Poor little Scarlet, your life has been nothing but pain, hasn't it? If you'd like, I can help you fix that." His smile becomes wider.

"Please, Craven, just tell me who you hurt-" I shut up immediately when his hands tighten around mine and my waist.

"Let me help you, Scarlett." He warns softly, coldly. He's getting annoyed. When Craven is annoyed, very very bad things happen.

"Craven-" I persist - trying to calm him down, but we're interrupted.

"Is something wrong, Red?" I look over to see Blue standing there, looking from me to Craven, holding our cups of punch. He clearly doesn't recognize my cousin from our visions. I don't blame him, in this lighting.

"Uh, no. Um, I was just talking to-" I begin, struggling to figure out how to explain this to Blue without pissing off Craven. Even back before my lineage was known, talking to Craven was like walking on eggshells or trying to reason with a rabid dog.

"I should get going now, Scarlett." Craven releases me, his grin disappearing instantly. "Enjoy your night you two."

"Red?" Blue asks me again once Cravens taken his leave, and I'm shaking, looking around wildly. "Red, what's wrong?" *Okay, there's Yuri, standing by the punch with Darine. And Misha and my parents are talking to Ms. Jones. Ritska is with Cole and his date*- "Red-"

"Oh God, where's Caly?" My voice breaks and I whirl around - trying to remember when I saw her last.

"Caly?" Blue looks confused, then his face goes blank. "Was he your cousin?"

"Not now." I hiss at him, looking around again. "We need to find Caly - *now*."