"I, Marniselae Cromwell, do hereby invoke the Powers of Darkness! Come hither to my aide!"

There's complete silence except for the breeze rustling through the trees all around them. Marni shivers in her thin cloak and squints through a tiny sliver of an opening underneath her eyelids. Luke's red eyebrows are raised skeptically.

Nope. Nothing.

"I, Marniselae Cromwell, do hereby invoke the Powers of Darkness!"

Marni can usually feel when her magic is working, and it most definitely isn't.

Luke doesn't think so either. "Marni, I don't think it's working."

He's only just recently started to call her Marni, and even though he's being annoying, she smiles at him. She's known him for her entire six year existence, but the etiquette of Halloweentown demands that the members of her very important family be called by their full names. She always grits her teeth when she goes into town and everyone calls her grandma Aggie "Agatha".

She really does like her full name though. It sounds awesome when she's trying to invoke stuff. The Powers of Darkness are her favorite.

The sun is shining rather cheerfully though; everyone knows the Powers of Darkness aren't all that in to sunlight. And she's technically still on her grandmother's property. Grandma Aggie had to put wards up guarding against the use of especially strong spells a few weeks ago because Dylan had accidentally blown his potion up again and burnt down half the kitchen.

Maybe if they just go far enough into the woods surrounding the house…

"It's alright though," Luke shrugs. "You can always get me another toy car the next time you visit your dad."

Marni rolls her eyes. "That's like, a whole Mortal year from now."

"Oh. Yeah. Right."

Marni sniffles and kicks the ground with her boot. It's the first year she's been allowed to buy the ones with the tiny square heel on the bottom. She loves the pointed toes. She feels like a grown-up witch in them.

"I'm really sorry I can't find it Luke."

Luke senses the oncoming meltdown and quickly intervenes. "Marni, it's fine. It'll turn up eventually!"

"But I should be able to do this! I'm supposed to be a good witch! I have to complete my training when I'm thirteen Luke! Grandma Aggie has to have me to carry on the Cromwell Line. Stupid Dylanearus just sits and reads his dumb Magic Theory books all day. He can't do magic at all-"

"Marni, he's only five-"

"And Mommy wouldn't even come and visit this year. She won't come back for a really long time, and she's already lost a lot of her magic. She couldn't even-"

"Marniselae!"

She doesn't let the formal name stop her though. She's always liked the Goblin accent that Luke puts on her name anyway. She just plows right on. "She couldn't even do a simple Levitation spell Luke! Baby stuff. I was doing those at age two! Two! What if I end up a dud like that?! What if they kick me out of Halloweentown because I turn human?! Oh my Merlin, what if…"

Marni trails off, the possibilities just too horrible to consider. She refuses to think about it. She just can't. Instead, she bursts into tears.

Luke stands there with his hands in his pockets, looking worried and somewhat frightened. At eight years old, and a Goblin at that, he has no idea what to do with a sobbing witch. He hates how sad Marni is whenever she goes to visit her mortal father and flighty witch mother in the Mortal World every Halloween. She comes back even more melancholy than when she left.

This is the worst she's ever cried though.

"Marni, it's going to be okay," he says softly, and slowly brings his arms around her skinny little shoulders.

The breeze in the trees stops. The leaves go silent, and the world seems to hold its breath for the moment Marni remains tense against his shoulder and neck.

And then she sighs and hugs him back, relaxing under his hold. Time begins again. "Do you think I'm a bad witch, Luke?"

"No. I'll never think that."

"Even if I grow sixteen warts like Aunt Harriet?"

"Hey! Harriet is really nice!"

"I didn't say she isn't nice."

"She's not a bad witch. You won't ever be one, either. Warts or no warts. Besides, warts are hardly the grossest body part in Halloweentown, Marni."

After a moment, Luke pats her back somewhat awkwardly and takes her by the hand. He leads her around the side of the house and through the giant gate in the front. They sit on the rocky ledge on the side of the hill.

Luke watches the creatures mill around the streets, pointing out the funny actions of some.

Marni has eyes only for the square's giant pumpkin.


Luke is at the Cromwell House with his mother, having a nice lunch with Aggie (it's still weird to call her that), when it happens.

All of a sudden, there's a beating on the door, and Aggie frowns because she didn't even feel someone coming. She rushes to it and throws it open and there stands Benny. He's parked the car haphazardly across the lawn, and the front gates are askew from barely having the time to jump out of the way of the yellow cab before it crashed into them.

"Aggie, come quick. It's the kids."

It's the first time Luke has seen Benny somber, and it's the first time he's seen Aggie move that quickly. He doesn't even think about it; he's up and following her out the door and into the cab before he's even registered what's going on.

"Please watch the house!" Aggie calls out to his mother.

Benny speeds so quickly down the hill and zigzags so fast through the two streets to the town square Luke has to peel himself off the seat when the cab finally stops.

There's Marni, in the middle of the square, with practically everyone in Halloweentown watching as she screams, and screams, and screams. She hasn't even been gone four hours Halloweentown time yet to visit her parents in the Mortal World. She's writhing against her mother, fighting the strong hold she has on her, and sobbing so hard she can't breathe.

Dylanearus and Sophronia are clutching each other near the giant Jack-o-lantern, both crying and shaking.

Something terrible has happened.

Luke makes himself move when Aggie reaches Marni. Her mother instantly lets go of her, and Marni would have hit the ground had Luke not dived instinctively to catch her. He takes the brunt of her fall, and she curls into him and howls in a way that sounds more like a banshee than a witch.

"Gwendolyn! What-"

"It's William, Mother. William is gone. I don't know why I didn't think of it before you sent her, but it's been a few months since the accident and you know we split ages ago-"

"You! You inconsiderate- I can't believe you're my daughter! To be so careless with your own children. I knew I made the right decision when I insisted you leave their raising to me. You're not nearly stable enough to-"

"Well it's not exactly as though there's a telephone between this godforsaken place and my world-"

"Your world?! This is your world, Gwen! This!"

Marni has stopped wailing, and is now merely keening low, mournful sounds in her throat. Luke is thirteen now, the age Marni is so eager to reach herself. He knows more about comforting girls than he did when he was younger. But this is out of his hands. He doesn't know how to end grief like this.

He hears a tiny sniffle behind him amid the screaming of the Cromwell matriarchs. He turns and sees Sophie reaching out for him. It's the first time he's been able to think of her as Sophie. She's always been like a tiny little princess to him, deserving of her regal title. And Dylan has always been too irritating to think of him as anything but Dylanearus, but seeing him now with tear tracks down his stoic face and shaking knees, Luke can't help but think of him as a friend.

He holds his hand out to both of them. Sophie rushes to him, about to collapse down next to her sister, but he stops her. He looks up at Dylan, staring into his eyes through his giant glasses and sharing the grief there. It hurts more than anything to see Marni like this.

"Help me get her up."

Dylan doesn't say anything, just reaches down for his big sister. She blindly grasps his hand, and he pulls her up with Luke's help. When she's steady and leaning on Dylan, Luke bends and scoops up tiny Sophie.

Together, they limp like refugees to the backseat of Benny's cab. He's already sitting in the driver's seat, and tries to crack a joke about the spectacle Agatha and Gwendolyn are still making in the town square. None of them laugh.

Aggie's spell against her own daughter takes all of them by surprise.

"I relegant tibi vos ingratus puera ex domo et ex hoc loco!"

Marni has been studying Latin spells recently. She knows what her grandmother has done.

She watches with stinging eyes as her mother is violently dragged from the square by some invisible hand and forcibly shoved into the yellow bus.

Its tires screech as it skids against the ground and back up into the sky, vanishing entirely from view.

Marni isn't sorry to see it go.


It is a week before Marni's thirteenth Halloween. She was born on the summer solstice, and had a birthday party then, but tonight is her coming out ball, where she'll showcase all she's learned throughout her training before it officially comes to an end in seven days. It's something she's been looking forward to for her whole life, and talking nonstop about since her birthday.

She's never been more excited for anything in her entire life.

Luke, however, is miserable.

His nose is too big. His ears are way too pointy. His hair is twice the normal shade of red, and his skin is incredibly pale. He's somewhere between average and tall, and more than a bit gangly. His arm muscles are too defined for his mediocre chest.

He is literally an ugly Goblin in the midst of the handsomest of warlocks.

They're all lined up along the staircase in Aggie's house, waiting to receive the witch of honor, as is custom. He's across from Dylan at the end of the two lines; it's supposed to be a huge honor for a non-relative. Being one of the two boys at the end signifies a very close relationship with the celebrated witch. But all Luke can think of is the fact that Marni will have to walk past all of those attractive, snooty warlock bastards and then meet his ugly mug at the end. What a let-down that must be for her! To have all of these guys waiting on her, and then walk into the ball on the arms of her dorky brother and a disgusting Goblin.

He stands and fidgets with the collar on his dress robes until Aggie comes to stand between the two lines on the first stair. Sophie is standing on her right, holding tightly to her hand and smiling shyly at the hundreds of gathered guests. Astrid, Harriet's half-elf granddaughter, is on Aggie's left, smiling proudly. Marni is a bit of a protégée of hers; Astrid taught her how to walk in sparkly heeled boots and put on copious amounts of eyeliner.

"I would like to thank all of you for attending this special occasion in the House of Cromwell. The eldest Daughter in the most recent generation of the Cromwell Line has reached the end-point of her training on the cusp of her thirteenth Halloween. I think that you will all be proud to welcome this most accomplished young lady officially into the society of Halloweentown. I am pleased to present my granddaughter, Marniselae Cromwell. "

Everyone claps politely, but in the confined space of the house it sounds like patters of thunder.

When Marni comes around the corner, Luke's heart stops in his chest and crashes through the floor.

She's dressed head-to-toe in black, and her dress clings to her upper body like a second skin before fanning out in a plethora of spider-web-lace skirts. Her sleeves are wide and form a point that brushes the bottom of her skirt. Her hair is down in wave after wave of curl, very unlike her usual ponytail, and a black sparkly witch's hat sits atop her head. But the most beautiful thing about her is her eyes. He's never seen her with so much fire; so much passion; so much brilliant life.

She smiles the widest when she reaches him. Her eyes only skim over the various warlocks that are staring at her as though she's the sun, moon, and universe all in one.

Her magic display is performed with perfect precision. She's several years ahead of where any thirteen year old witch has the right to be. He knows that memorizing spells is her weakness, but she doesn't stutter once over the Old Welsh, Latin, English, or Gaelic. The spells she cast burst into being over the heads of the people in the audience. He's never seen anything so spectacular. He could swear she's glowing herself the entire time.

The next morning, he kneels enthusiastically on the floor in front of the Shadow Creature. When the evil thing touches him on the shoulder, asking if he's ready, the reply that's been on the tip of his tongue since laying eyes on Marni the night before spills from him almost without permission.

"I am yours."

He feels an odd feeling slide over his entire body; almost like a slippery wet eel gliding along his skin.

When he reaches up, the tips of his ears are round. He is beautiful.

Marni hasn't been back to the Mortal World since her father's death and her mother's public humiliation. The Shadow Creature can take her back when he conquers it. And Luke can go with her, as a Mortal, a creature she loves but can never be, next to her in a world she can never belong to. He can be human for her.


Marni hates the way Luke has changed.

He's ditched her on several occasions since her ball, and when she does catch glimpses of him, he looks nothing like himself. He looks like a human. He's running with a gang-like group of boys, and causing mayhem all over Halloweentown.

All she wants is her friend back.

She knows it's shallow, but she tries to cast a spell from her room at home in the new cauldron Astrid gifted her with. She tries to turn his nose back to normal. It was the most wonderful nose in all of Halloweentown.

Something blocks her spell. Something big, and dark, and chaotic. Something very, very evil is surrounding Halloweentown this brilliant morning.

Her grandmother appears in the doorway when she's through. There's a disturbed, knowing look in her grandmother's eyes.

"It's the Bad Thing, isn't it?" They've been keeping an eye on it in the Witch's Glass for almost a year now.

Grandma Aggie nods. "I'm afraid it is, my dear."

Marni takes a deep, shuddering breath. Astrid had been expressing concern over Harriet's changes. Now the Bad Thing has taken hold of Luke, too. It can't go on any longer. Her training is over. It's time to take her place as the most powerful Cromwell in centuries.

She looks at her grandmother and tries to smile a bit, but it comes out as a grimace. "Alright, Grandma. Go get the talisman."

Aggie smiles, thoroughly delighted in spite of the circumstances. Marni is turning out to be a very fine witch indeed.


"I think we should pay your mother a visit."

Marni freezes and snaps her head up to stare in disbelief at her grandmother.

"Are you high?!" she shrieks. It's possibly the most offensive thing she's ever said to an Elder.

Aggie blinks at her. "No, of course not. I haven't been high since 1967. Oh, those were the days, although the Code was being challenged along with the Man and-"

"Grandma," Sophie interrupts. Her bottom lip is quivering.

Aggie sighs, and reaches out to squeeze Dylan's shoulder. He violently shrugs her off, and she frowns. "My dears, you must understand… The Cromwell line is strongest when all of the Cromwells are together. This type of evil requires the most forceful of Light. We need Gwen."

"Well Gwen has never needed us!" Marni snaps. "Otherwise she'd be here. This is Halloween. She's had hours in the Mortal World to come and visit."

"I know. I know. But we must try. Grab your cloaks, come along."

Aggie snatches her deep ruby-colored cloak and briskly strides out the front door. Sophie sighs and slings her green one around her shoulders, an old hand-me-down of Marni's. Dylan grabs a blue one that he's rapidly outgrowing.

Marni snarls in rage and snaps her brand new cloak around her shoulders. It was a coming-of-age gift from Astrid, and apparently the latest fashion, all black velvet with spider-web-lace strings. It settles around her shoulders like a black cloud to represent her mood. She fingers the moonstone around her neck that's very similar to the one around her grandmother's throat. All witches receive one upon their thirteenth birthday. It's her most prized possession.

She doesn't let go of her necklace the entire way into town. They pass by the movie theater, Luke's new hangout. He isn't there, though, and Marni has to force down the lump in her throat and let go of her stone, because Luke helped Aggie pick it out for her.

She boards the bus without stumbling once on her boots; at one inch, they have the highest heel she's worn yet.


Hours later, Marni storms off of the bus, still fuming. She's so angry she doesn't see Harriet, and barrels right into her.

"Oh, my Merlin, Harriet! I'm so sorry!" she gasps.

Harriet grabs her elbow to steady her and smiles very kindly. "Watch out, Marni! Wouldn't want to spill the muffins. Actually, would you like one? I baked them early this morning and thought I'd take them down to the Headless Shelter for breakfast. Didn't occur to me that they couldn't eat them; no heads!"

Harriet cackles, and Marni manages a weak smile. It's still morning here in Halloweentown. In the Mortal World, it had been dark outside, and there had been mortal children running every which way, dressed in a mockery of her world. Even there, with everyone dressed up, they'd stuck out. Amid all the cheap costume fabric, not meant for everyday wear, they'd been in real clothes. Marni's deep purple dress had been ogled by many girls, and a group of boys dressed like cowboys and Indians had winked at her. Granted, she is wearing a fuller skirt than she does most days, but it is officially Halloween, and her thirteenth at that. More ruffles than usual aren't that conspicuous.

Dylan is still ranting about how the same group of boys that had winked at her had pointed and hooted at him; Dylan had left the house in pants similar to mortal jeans, a warlock's tunic printed with stars, and a casual cloth pointed hat. What wouldn't be blinked twice at here in Halloweentown had been considered odd in the mortal world, even on Halloween.

"What are you supposed to be, they asked," Dylan huffs, tugging Marni away from Harriet. "What were they supposed to be? Wanna-be centaurs and fauns?"

Marni waves goodbye to Harriet, and yanks her arm away from Dylan. She doesn't see Aggie or Sophie anywhere, so she assumes they both went home.

Dylan and Marni hail Benny down and climb in the backseat.

"Where to?"

"Our grandmother's house, of course. Where else?"

"Over the river and through the woods. Gotcha."

Benny will never understand that he is not, in fact, hilarious. But Marni always makes sure to at least giggle at his jokes. He tries so hard.

They see their grandmother on the street on the way, busy comparing prices at the market. There's always a giant vendor festival on Halloween. It goes on into the late night. They ask Benny to pull over, and Marni briefly wonders where Sophie has gone off to (probably the ice cream shop, the Abominable Snowman always gives her free cones) when she spots them.

The brooms.

Out of cauldrons, cloaks, ritual daggers, ancient spell books, heeled boots, pointy hats, and candy bats, the one thing she wanted most in the world hadn't been gifted to her at her coming out ball. She'd wanted a broom of her very own since she was younger than Sophie, and right there they are, next to the movie theater, just waiting for her.

"Grandma!" Marni gasps, and rushes over to them. She runs her fingers over silver sticks and multicolored bristles.

"Oh, yes," Aggie says, with a twinkle in her eye. "I suppose it is the rite of passage for a witch your age. Silly me. I forgot."

Marni understands that her grandmother wanted her to have this last, most wonderful gift on her actual thirteenth Halloween. Marni understands, and she almost cries.

The vendor winks at her. "Wanna try one out?"

Marni nods eagerly, but then senses someone behind her. She whirls around, and there for the first time in days stands Luke. His red hair is much tamer, and his nose is perfectly small and average. His ears are disgustingly round. Marni thinks he looks hideous and puny in comparison to his old striking Goblin features.

Dylan frowns, sensing the same strange darkness that she does, and moves to step in front of her. For the first time in a while, she feels a rush of affection for her younger nerdy brother.

"Well, well. What do we have here? Little baby Marni, out shopping for her very first broomstick."

He's never twisted her nickname like that, in a way meant to be disrespectful and mocking. She hates it. She hates this Luke. Her heart is twisting inside her chest and bleeding at the seams.

Aggie frowns. "Luke."

Luke just snorts. "Cool it, Grandma."

Aggie gasps in indignation, but she backs off. This is Marni's fight.

Marni snarls. "What do you want, Luke?"

He smirks. "Come on, Marni. Don't be like that. You and I both know I've turned into a bit of a big cheese around here. Let's go grab a cone. I know the Abominable Snowman's place down the street is your favorite."

Marni's face darkens, and she takes a threatening step forward. She raises her chin and squares her shoulders in that aristocratic, Cromwell way. "You know, I was kind of hungry, but then I smelled something nasty. It must have been the big cheese."

She hears Aggie snort behind her, and gives Luke a smirk of her own.

But then Luke's face falters, and there's pain and confusion and a strange sort of sadness. Aggie puts her hands on Marni's arms and gently pulls her away from Luke. "Perhaps another time," Aggie says kindly.

Dylan feels the most betrayed out of all of them though, and Hades will freeze over before he lets anyone hurt his sister. Luke had been his only real friend, and now he's running around with the guys that pick on him every solstice. Dylan steps forward, in front of Marni entirely, and smiles dangerously. He might not have a lot of power, but what he does have is very volatile. He can feel his fingers start to tingle, and knows it's only a matter of seconds before the blue sizzling light appears. "Yeah," Dylan snarls, agreeing with his grandmother, "like never."

Aggie raises an eyebrow and peers down at Dylan, surprised that her grandson would be so outspoken and angry. She's never known him to be so quick to cut ties. After the death of his father and the public spectacle Aggie and Gwen had made, Luke and Dylan had been almost like brothers.

Luke immediately jumps to his own defense. He rarely ever got angry at Dylan, but when he did, the sparks flew from him, too. "You know what, if you people were smart, you'd be nice to me. I'm friends with some very powerful creatures around here."

He backs away, tripping over broomsticks as he goes. Marni aches as she watches him disappear around the corner of a building.

"Oh, that Luke dude. He's turned into such a wiener," the vendor says, trying to lighten the mood. Marni laughs a bit, but her grandmother is still staring after Luke with way too much concern.

Marni purchases the Windsweeper 5000, a beautiful broom with red, orange, and yellow chrome detailing. Marni's favorite Halloween colors.

Her grandmother smiles at her. "Now your training is officially complete. Would you like to show off your broom riding skills?"

Marni grins. "Only if you come with me."

Aggie claps her hands in delight, and Marni kicks off into the bright blue sky.


"If you marry him, I am not calling him Dad," Marni snarls, staring out the window of the mayor's office and into the street.

She's known Kalabar for what seems like most of her life, but she never truly knew him until now.

She is going to kill Sophie for staying behind in the Mortal World and making it necessary for Gwen to come bring her back. Now Gwen is stuck here because the busses aren't running. She's already almost started another confrontation with Aggie in the street.

Marni will never live in the Mortal World. Marni will never become her mother- a coward that gave up her children in order to pursue a life with a Mortal man, and then asks for them back when life without the Mortal man proves to be too much to bear.

Sophie would become human. Dylan would become human. And though Marni loves to study the culture, and even embrace it, human is what they will never be.

Halloweentown is their home, and she wants nothing more than to send the intruder back.

Sophie comes to stand by the window with her. Dylan sits on a chair next to them, his chin on his knees and his glasses slipping off. They all refuse to look at their mother.

"Look," Sophie says after several moments of awkward silence. "Grandma is following the wiener."

Marni's eyes snap to where Sophie is pointing. Her grandmother is following Luke into the old movie theater. The dark, foreboding feeling inside of her swells and swells. She glances at Dylan, and knows he feels it too.

Marni takes off running.


Mom!

The word keeps ringing over and over in Marni's ears. She clatters down the steps and her heel gets wedged in the lattice work on the bottom one, tripping her. She falls hard to her knees, and whimpers.

Mom!

She had never understood what being a trained Cromwell matriarch meant. She had never realized her position as a sworn protector of the Light, until now.

Going up against that Shadow Creature will be the hardest thing she has ever done. She keeps reliving the moment when her grandmother fell, sparks flying underneath her skin, and then her mother. She keeps hearing her own scream in her head. She never thought she'd care so much about seeing her mother get zapped.

And Luke. She couldn't do anything against Luke. She had watched as he jumped to his feet, watched as her mother used her shaky, faulty powers to wrap him in flowered vines. But for all her training, she hadn't been able to use her powers against him. Not Luke. Not her best friend.

What kind of a best friend sells his soul to a Shadow Creature and delivers her grandmother up on a silver platter?

Marni doesn't stop shaking until she feels a tiny hand resting on her shoulder. She looks up to see a tear-stained Sophie.

"I want Mommy and Grandma."

Marni takes a deep, shuddering breath, and wipes her stinging palms together. There are tiny pieces of gravel embedded in her skin, but not as much blood as she thought there would be.

"I know. And I am going to get Mommy and Grandma back."

"Awesome!" Dylan intervenes, clearly still panicking. "Now let's get out of here before that shadow thing gets us too!"

"No," Marni shakes her head slowly, taking deep breaths and reaching for clarity. Her training is kicking in. Her grandmother has spent the past thirteen years preparing her for this moment. "No. It won't follow us. It was hurt by the sunlight."

"We need to get back home," Dylan says.

"Not yet. There are some things we need to get first."

Dylan scoffs in disbelief. "You're going to do some shopping? Now?!"

"We have to finish the witch's brew Grandma and I have been working on. She got the talisman out this morning." Marni nods.

"I don't know…" Dylan bites his lip, but he follows dutifully behind them when Marni and Sophie walk back onto the street.


This would be the one spell Marni doesn't have memorized yet.

She's filled the talisman up. Getting the ingredients had been the most sneaky, underhanded thing she's ever done. Usually she just orders her ingredients from the apothecary and has them shipped to the house, but she needs them fresh today, and she needs them now.

But she's tried every incantation and invocation she can think of, and nothing has made the light in the talisman go on.

"Some witch you are!" Dylan snaps in frustration.

Then Sophie starts singing, and Marni begins to smile.


"Out of my way, Luke."

She has never been angrier or more hurt in her life.

She's changed her clothes into a flowy orange, pink, and purple tunic, and put on more sensible shoes. If she's going to be climbing the Jack-o-lantern, she really doesn't want to have to worry about her heels. She grabbed her grandmother's cloak on the way out of the house, a loose plan forming in her mind. Almost all of Halloweentown had seen her out and about today. She can't be recognized.

Her siblings are already hiding. Her heart is beating out of her chest. She can sense the Bad Thing getting closer and closer. She doesn't have much time.

"Marni, you have to listen to me!" Luke growls as she tries to sidestep him. He grabs her shoulders and slams her against the brick wall behind her, effectively trapping her. "Look, I didn't know he was going to do that to your mom and grandma. I would never have-"

Marni rolls her eyes. She really doesn't have time for this. Her magic is humming in her veins in response to the darkness in the air. "Save your tricks, twerp, okay? I'm busy."

She tries to move around him again, but he doesn't let her.

"Marni! He's the one that's tricking you, alright, this is all a trap! He tricked me too. He said all he wanted was the talisman, and then he'd let your grandma go."

He's so different. But his earnest blue eyes are the same.

She still doesn't have time for this. The sky is darkening by the second. "I said, get out of my way-"

It's too late. Clouds rush in, clouds darker than any normal cloud would have the right to be, and lightning strikes the top of the court house. The wind picks up and brushes Marni's bangs across her forehead.

Luke shudders. "He's coming!"

Then Luke is pushing her down behind some hay, and Marni doesn't even bother with protesting. She's shivering inside of her cloak, and all of the darkness is leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.

A swirling cloud drops the Shadow Creature onto the roof. Almost all of the creatures of Halloweentown are present; today is Halloween, and the festivities of the night are about to begin. Apparently they've been delayed.

"My fellow creatures-!" The demon begins.

Marni glances back to where her siblings are hiding, to Luke, and to the Jack-o-lantern.

"I offer you a chance to return to the days of glory. To end this exile from the mortal world, which the humans have forced upon us! Follow me, my fellow citizens of Halloweentown. Too long we've been exiled to this second-class world!"

To her horror, Marni watches as certain creatures nod in agreement. Can't they see what is going on here? Don't they know the evil this creature possesses?

Marni raises the talisman, studying the glow. She frowns in determination, and cuts her hard gaze to Luke. He looks petrified. "I've got to install this thing before it's too late."

The Jack-o-lantern is dark, and with its darkness, so arises the darkness in the creatures of Halloweentown. If she lets this continue, there will be nothing to stop their darker natures from taking over entirely.

And then there are gasps from the crowd; she looks up to see not the Shadow Creature spewing hateful propaganda, but…

"Kalabar!" Marni gasps. She whips her head around to glare accusingly at Luke. "You knew?!"

"Marni, I made an awful mistake. So let me try to make up for it."


Marni sobs with every pained groan of Luke's underneath the hood of her grandmother's cloak. She's running through the crowd, pushing and shoving. Almost there…

Kalabar keeps shocking her best friend, and she has to install this talisman and banish him to get it to stop. The weight of the entire dimension is on her shoulders. What if she doesn't make it?

She's on top of the pumpkin before she hears it. Luke's cry is anguished.

"NNNNNOOOOOOO!"

She gasps and for a split second meets Kalabar's crazed eyes. She has only a nanosecond to get the talisman out of her pocket, and then she is hit.

She cries out as the ball of power hits her lower back. She always has defensive wards around her body just in case, but these blue bursts break through them as though they are nothing but wax paper. She feels all of her nerves sizzle and burn. The feeling intensifies every time she is hit.

Darkness dances around her eyes, and she goes limp.

No one is coming to save her now.

No one is left.

It is just her. Her, and thirteen years' worth of Cromwell training.

She can feel the last of her defensive barriers drying up. Soon, she'll be unconscious entirely.

Voices slide inside of her ears, reaching her brain through her haze.

Some witch you are!

Let me try to make up for it.

All you have to do is want something, and then let yourself have it!

A simple Levitation spell Luke! Baby stuff! I was doing those at age two!

She uses the last of her energy to drop the talisman.

Her Levitation spell flips it, and it lands with a dull thud in the bottom of the Jack-o-lantern.

LIGHT.

Light is everywhere. It bursts up and out, sweeping away clouds and darkness and doubt. It nearly blinds her, even with her eyes closed. She can feel the beautiful light burn all the bad stuff boiling in her blood away.

Kalabar screams. He falls.

Marni opens her eyes.


"Grandma!"

"Mom!"

Sophie hurls herself at their mother. Gwen stumbles with the weight of the small girl, then quickly rights them both. She presses kisses to Sophie's hair. It is the first time Marni has seen her mother show any of them any sort of affection.

Marni runs right past her, and throws her arms around her grandmother. She smells like apple cider and fallen leaves and candles. She smells like home. There is no trace of the darkness left inside of her.

Dylan stands awkwardly between his mother and grandmother, grinning and torn. Marni has never seen him so thrilled.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The wail comes harsh and fast. Marni turns to watch Kalabar stumble haphazardly across the court house steps. He's glaring and squinting in the sudden sun.

"You think you could honestly defeat me? Me?!"

Kalabar's rage terrifies everyone. Citizens begin to come back into their right minds. The more ferocious push others back, out of harm's way.

Kalabar holds out his hand. The talisman goes flying out of the mouth of the pumpkin and straight into his hand. Marni's stomach drops to the ground. She can feel her heartbeat on her tongue. She had won. It's not supposed to be this way.

Her mother and grandmother step forward. They begin chanting in frantic Latin, but it seemingly has no effect. She has never resented her mother more for not keeping up her powers.

Something bigger than she settles inside of her chest. She is deathly calm. Kalabar hurt Luke. Kalabar hurt her family. Kalabar will pay.

"Kalabar." Her voice comes out soft and even. Authoritative. It is enough to make him pause his ranting about Gwen's past chances of becoming his Queen.

"You may not be defeated by only my grandmother and mother. However, with the whole existing Cromwell line against you, you will die." She commands the attention of the entire town. Everyone's eyes are on her. Her mother looks astounded.

Kalabar laughs.

Marni takes her grandmother's hand in hers. Aggie takes Gwen's. Gwen, still shocked, reaches for Sophie.

Dylan shuffles uncertainly to stand beside Marni. She can feel his fury crackle around him. When she entwines her fingers through his, blue sparks shoot up his arm, around his neck, in his eyes.

She begins to hum. Kalabar begins to scream.

It is over in moments.

The citizens of Halloweentown cheer, and it makes her want to cry.


"Luke!"

Luke cannot bear to look up and see her stunning face in the crowd. She's been calling for him for several minutes. He is not worthy of her notice. He never has been. He never will be.

With Kalabar's demise, he has reverted back to his true form.

He keeps his head bent under her grandmother's cloak and wishes fervently to sink into the hay bale he's found refuge in.

"Luke? LUKE!" And suddenly Marni is slamming into him, knocking him over sideways. His arms come up around her to break the fall. She squeezes the life out of him, grinning as though she has won a war. In fact, she has prevented one.

"Hi, Marniselae."

She goes rigid on top of him. His heart shatters. It is for the best.

"Why would you call me that? I'm Marni, Luke. Just Marni. Say Marni."

"I shouldn't."

"…Why did you do it Luke? Why did you serve that awful creature? Why did you let him change your face into something so ugly? Why did-"

"What?!" He cannot believe what he is hearing. He really can't. "You thought the change was ugly?"

"Of course!" Marni shrieks so loudly several heads turn in alarm. A banshee even winces. "Didn't you?"

"I changed for you."

"What?" Her voice is dangerous. Angry.

"I. Changed. For. You."

"Why? I love your nose! It's the most perfect nose I've ever seen, Luke, don't you know that? And your ears! They're even more beautiful than Astrid's!" Her eyes have welled with frustrated tears. Luke sits up and wraps an arm around her shoulders. He sits for several long seconds in stunned disbelief.

Marni whispers, quiet and ashamed, "Don't you know how lucky you are? I look like a disgusting human. All average and plain and-"

"No," he growls. "No. You're a beautiful witch. Besides, you'll get Marks one day. Practice Marks and coven Marks even, if you choose to join one, and spell Marks…a mate Mark."

Marni blinks at him uncertainly. He can tell already that she's forgiven him, but something inside of him will never escape the sting of Kalabar's curses if she doesn't say the words.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she breathes.

"Of course." Luke can't help but snort. "As does the entire young warlock population."

Marni smiles brilliantly. More brilliantly than the Jack-o-lantern. More brilliantly than the sun. "Well, I'd much rather go to the Halloween festival with you tonight."

"So you forgive me?" He has to be sure.

"Yes. I forgive you. If someone gave me the chance to stop looking like a human… I don't know. I'd probably do the same thing as you."

He frowns at the self-deprecating comment, but takes her hand when she rises, anyhow.


Marni stares at her mother, bewildered, when she offers to take her and her siblings back with her to the Mortal world.

Aggie looks on the verge of tears. Luke's hand tightens around hers brutally.

"No, thanks. See you around, okay Mom? I really have to go get ready for the festival now."

Marni breaks away from Luke and practically dives into Benny's cab. By the time Luke has caught up, her eyes are dry. Sophie and Dylan quickly follow.


Marni dresses in bright orange for the festival. A golden cloak keeps her warm. Her boots are brown. She doesn't want any black reminders of darkness.

Luke can't take his eyes off of her. He dances every dance with her, accompanies her to every booth. It's the most fun she can remember having at a festival.

Across the street, in the alleyway between two buildings, she sees a boy around Luke's age glaring at her. There are tears in his eyes and hatred in his stance.

She blinks, and he has already faded away. She thinks maybe it was a trick of the light.

…Then again, it is Halloween.


A/N: Happy October! This story will feature one chapter a week for a total of four weeks in this beautiful month, based on the four Halloweentown movies! I hope you enjoy my tricks and treats. If you do, leave a review!

- Abrus