My thanks to koolkame and Chibi Horsewoman for the reviews.
An original tale.
WARNING: Rated T for some nudity and zombies.
Darev and Hallowinx Tales proudly presents…
Hallow Eve
Riven, Brandon and Helia had just reached the cemetery. The full moon was overhead and the air was filled with the sounds of things that go bump in the night. Pulling off his helmet, Riven stared at the black gates—the words "Hellmouth Cemetery" engraved along the surface of a wooden plank on top. "This is it," He told his friends. "Let's get the bikes out of the open and remember to keep quiet."
The trio did as Riven instructed and pushed their levabikes into a small copse to the side of the main road. Once they had their vehicles neatly hidden, they moved toward the gates and climbed over. Riven, who was used to circumventing such obstacles, went over like a spider, landing as nimbly as a gymnast on the other side. Once he was joined by his friends, they huddled together before moving along.
The graves jutted out like jagged teeth. A mist began to gather around their feet and they felt very exposed underneath the moonlight. The specialists paused behind an old mausoleum. Riven peered around the corner. They were close.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Helia was shaking his head. He stared hard into Riven's back. "We've just broken about fifty Red Fountain protocols. That's cause for expulsion. My grandfather's going to have a fit when he hears about this."
"He's not going to," Riven assured him. "Besides I'm doing you a favor. You needed some information on the secret practices of witches for your report, right? Well I'm about to show you something you won't find in the textbooks."
"This better be worth it, Riven."
Riven glanced back. "Look if you're so scared of being caught then head back to the barn. But you're going to miss out, I promise you."
Brandon was grinning mischievously.
"What are you so happy about?" Helia asked him.
"This reminds me of the times Sky and I used to sneak out of the palace when we were kids. We used to have a lot of fun sneaking pass the guards and over the wall. We'd stay out all night exploring the city and visiting the shadier side of town. We got into fights and met with all sorts of characters but man we had fun."
"Were you ever caught?"
"Sometimes. But being the king's son and the prince's best friend we never had to worry about being kicked out of the palace for good."
"Wonderful." Helia secretly berated himself for agreeing to this—not for the first time.
"Will you stop worrying." Riven turned on him. "We'll be fine. Just keep your heads down and follow me."
"But if we're found out by the witches…" Helia started but was cut off by Riven.
"Then we'll fight our way out. Either way we're going to have a great story to tell."
Brandon was all excited while Helia just sighed.
"Let's go." Riven led them from their hiding place and into the graveyard. The seconds turned to minutes and the further along they went, the greater the apprehension Helia felt for this place. There was something different about this cemetery. It was like it was…alive? No. That could not be. This is where people went to die. Why did he feel like they were being watched?
Lights appeared in the distance. The three ducked behind a trio of withered tombstones.
"What is that?" Helia asked.
"That is where we are going," Riven told him.
"There's a lot of ground between us and those lights," Brandon observed. "Maybe we should cut around then…"
"We need to be downwind or else they'll smell us." Riven turned to them. "Witches have a very sharp sense of smell. Tonight their senses are especially sharp so we have to be careful."
"This is crazy! Riven, if we are spotted they will kill us." Helia did not hide the tremor in his voice. He hated witches. Most sensible beings did. They were usually horrible people.
"Hunting specialists will be the last thing on their minds tonight."
"What?"
"You'll see."
They crawled along their stomachs and stopped behind a drab piece of stone that was just over their heads. The boys poked out their heads slowly and watched. A gathering of witches, a score in all, had assembled in the cemetery that night. They recognized a few of them from their prior battles with Cloud Tower, but one witch stood out most of all. It was Miss Griffin.
The headmistress looked out at her students atop a raised pedestal. Several of them held torches and all were cowled only in cloaks with hoods pulled over. Raising her hands, the head witch spoke so that she could be heard. "My children, tonight is a special night in our calendar. A witch's powers are at their strongest during a full moon and it is during that time that we can do almost anything. We must embrace the night and learn to feed on her dark powers for she is our sister. Come, let us pay homage to her."
The witches began to chant in a language the boys did not understand. The night seemed to grow colder and the torch lights flickered. The mist roiled around and seemed to gather about the witches.
The chanting stopped and Miss Griffin raised her voice again. "She has answered our call. The Night has accepted us. Our Coven is strong. We are worthy." Gazing up at the moon she said, "Lo though we are far from the land of our ancestors, we know their spirits are still with us. Let us dance with them and know that no matter how difficult the time, our ties with the past will never be severed. Take pride in yourselves, witches, for you are the future. Raise your eyes," They did so. "Gaze at the majesty that is the Moon. She who watches and protects us, her daughters and sons."
"Sons?" Brandon asked but was immediately shushed by the others.
"The time is now!" Griffin exclaimed. "Let the dance begin!"
A haunting melody filled the air despite the absence of any musical instrument and the witches began to dance. Their bare feet moved in a pattern that was first erratic and gradually became synchronized. The girls picked up speed as the tempo increased and soon even Miss Griffin was dancing. The mist swirled around them and dark magic permeated the air.
"Riven, what the hell is going on?" Brandon asked without taking his eye off the strange proceedings.
"It is Hallow Eve. Witches from all over the magical dimension pay homage to their ancestors by dancing with them."
"With?" Helia repeated.
"You can sense it, can you? All that magic. Something's about to happen." He looked at them. "This used to be a witch cemetery back when witches and warlocks lived alongside regular people. The bones of their ancestors are buried here and once a year, during Halloween, they gather to dance and sing in the graveyards. They do this as a way to show their respect and to never forget where they come from." Riven smiled.
"How do you know all this?" Helia had to ask for he did not like the way the wind was picking up.
"I dabble."
"What does that mean?"
"Guys," Brandon gasped. "Check it out."
Graves began to shuffle. Tombs creaked open. Mausoleums emptied. It was hard to believe but yet…the dead were coming back to life! Corpses, skeletons, some almost completely decomposed, began to join the witches in their dance. There were few at first but eventually they numbered in the dozens, then scores. The witches were surrounded and then engulfed by the living dead…and they danced. Neither Griffin nor her students were afraid. This was a holy ceremony afterall.
"They're dancing with zombies?" Brandon asked not believing what he saw. "This is insane." Yet he could not look away.
"I don't like this," Helia said and Riven patted him on the shoulder.
"Relax. The best is about to come."
Before he could ask Riven to clarify, Helia saw the witches pull back their cowls and then begin to remove theirs cloaks entirely. His eyes widened.
"Dude!" Brandon exclaimed behind a clenched mouth. "They're not wearing anything!"
"We have eyes, Brandon," Helia said but was just as surprised. The witches were dancing nude alongside the zombies. It was disgusting. Helia could feel bile begin to gather in his throat. He turned away. "That is just sick."
"Wait for it."
Helia turned to Riven. "Let's go, Riven. There is nothing more here I want to see."
"Look."
"I said,"
"Dude!"
At that, Helia turned back and his mouth gaped. Something was happening to the zombies. They were changing. Skin began to take shape on their rotting forms and they began to resemble people. They became men and women, warlocks and witches both—the dead had indeed come to life—to dance with their kin.
"I—don't believe it."
"Believe it, Helia. You wanted to find out why Halloween was so important to witches. It's a holy day. Hallow is another word for holy. Today is the eve of the holiest day in their calendar. Over the centuries the name had been corrupted into something that was both desecrating and insulting toward the original purpose. This is why witches so hate it come October 31st. People have taken their ceremony and turned it into a paltry night of candy and bad costumes. But witches know its true purpose. That is why they celebrate this day on their own. They celebrate Hallow Eve—or as we've come to know it…"
"Halloween," Helia said. "The Day of the Dead."
"Now you understand."
"Dude….those chicks are HOT!"
"Keep your voice down!" Helia warned Brandon.
"Even Miss G is nice. Who knew an old lady could look like that?"
"You're sick."
Brandon's eyes roved from one girl to the next. He ignored the reanimated male witches and tried to focus solely on the ladies. Of course he didn't consider this cheating on Stella. Sides, he was just looking and it wasn't like he was participating in any way. Not like Stella never had a few words to say about cute guys.
Helia was transfixed. Not for the same reasons as Brandon but because they were just witnessing something very private and sacred to witches. Ceremonies like this were kept secret and outsiders were never allowed to attend—that much Helia had acquired during his studies on witches for the essay he was writing. There was a time, long ago, when relations between the covens and non-witches were better, when they would allow others to join them in their dance, but that was long ago. Such an intrusion would be met with swift and merciless retribution.
Despite the inherit danger, Helia was thrilled. It was beautiful to watch. The witches moved in graceful turns while the reanimated corpses of their ancestors danced beside them in perfect symmetry. They looked so happy. Normally the only time you would see a witch smile is when she was about to do something really bad to someone else. Theses smiles were ones of pure contentment—of happiness. The witches were truly happy.
Helia never thought he'd see the day.
"So they just dance with their dead relatives and that's it?" Brandon asked Riven.
"Dance. Sing. Rejoice. Talk. This will go on throughout the night up until morning when the dead have to return to their resting place." Riven smiled. "So, you think it was worth the risk?"
The question was directed at Helia whose face told Riven that he had been right in bringing him here. Brandon was always up for a little danger and so he decided to bring him along. Prince Sky spent almost every free moment with Bloom and Timmy was always working on some new mechanical toy to be bothered with an outing. Let it not be said that Riven was not an interesting guy who knew interesting people in interesting places. He knew this was something neither Brandon nor Helia would ever forget and they would have him to thank for it.
"I must say, Riven. This is something all right."
"Would you look at the pair on that one!"
Helia scowled at Brandon before turning on Riven. "How exactly did you find out about this? Did Darcy tell you?"
"I told you I dabble."
"What does that mean exactly?"
"It means…" Riven went quiet.
"Riven?"
"It means it's about time we got going."
Both specialists looked at their friend in surprise.
"Come on. It won't be long before someone figures out that we're gone." He crawled away from the slab and after exchanging looks, Brandon and Helia followed. Helia wound up on the tail-end of the group as he wasn't keen on leaving just yet. He wound his way pass several graves and tombstones trying to catch up with the others once he realized he was straggling too far behind—not something he wanted with so many zombies about.
His foot caught on something and he stumbled, reached out, and stopped his fall. He almost slammed face-first against a tombstone. Cursing his clumsiness, Helia moved to get back up when he saw something. His fingers pushed back the dust and dirt that had gathered along the tombstone and his eyes widened as he read the name.
"It can't be."
There, scribbled in stone so old it was almost indecipherable, was the name Riven Darkweather, who died a hundred years ago during the Great Witch Purge. Beneath that was the commemoration, "His body may have passed, but his spirit lingers on. You will forever be remembered. Long Live the Witch Prince!"
Halloween Tip: People have their secrets. Respect them, less you find out more than you would have wanted.
