Author's note: Hey everyone! Sorry updates are so sparse. This chapter has been kicking my butt. I have rewritten this horrible, painful thing literally twenty times over the past six months. No joke. Seriously. We're past it, thank God. I actually think I know where to go from here. Fair warning: it's going to be a couple more weeks before we're back to regular updates because I have some serious late school work I need to complete over Christmas break before the next semester starts. As such, even though the next few plot events are planned and mostly written, please don't expect another chapter for three more weeks, about. HOWEVER! Please check out and follow my Tumblr (skeletonanne) for proof that I'm still kicking (though not necessarily alive). I post or repost something new almost everyday and you can even ask the characters stuff out of canon if you want. PLEASE, also check out Tricked Out's Tumblr too (tricked-out). Make sure you use the hyphen, or you're going to get sports car stuff.

Speaking of: If you haven't started reading Tricked Out and Skeleton Anne at the same time…come on…you're missing so freaking much. Especially from something in Tricked Out's latest chapter (#29 updated Christmas 2018). Also, I meant to update Christmas Day too. Oops. It didn't work out that way.

Welcome, all the new readers! Thank you, all the long-time readers. Either way, hoping you all stick it out to the end! I do read reviews and I will eventually answer the intriguing questions posed by a very perceptive guest reader.

Chapter 39

Reunited

00000000

It was morning.

The night—that horrible night—was long passed, a complicated mess of demons and monsters and reapers and she-didn't-know-what-else all wrapped up in a disastrous bloody…

Anna's voice cracked in a small sob, startling anyone who was in hearing range.

The main square was eerily sparse of creatures that day, and it wasn't to compliment the town's spooky atmosphere.

Thick, shocking red splashed against the grey stonework of the fountain and the street. Anna's clothing and her usually pale bleached white hands were stained with that distinct crimson dye that gave off a metallic odor.

Anna sat quietly on the edge of the fountain, hands cradling her head as she cried, smearing the blood on her skull. It certainly gave her a frightful appearance, and the quiet hysteric crying added to the disturbia, but this wasn't anything to do with a scare.

The blood. Human blood was not something that frightened her, she discovered, the promise of what it meant did.

Where did it all go wrong?

Her eyes shifted to a smudge of dark mud on her arm, the bone still bare from a rolled-up sleeve.

000000

Earlier

Annalise winced as the noise throbbed through her head. However, she did as Jack instructed and held out her bare right arm as still as possible, even as the sigil Jack painted on a forearm bone burned a fluorescent yellow and gave off a smell she recognized as scorched bone.

She whimpered at the trigger of bad memories. Her senses were being assaulted. Objectively, the charring smell was the least bother compared to the cacophonous noise that seemed to vibrate through her very core, making it hard to see, hear, or even feel the ground beneath her feet, but it was that smell that she hated. She hated that she even knew what charring bone smelt like.

Moments ago, Jack assured her the spell wouldn't leave a mark as he concentrated on painstakingly drawing on her arm with the tip of his finger dipped in a nasty mixture. It was awkward painting on a cylindrical canvas such as a radius. His paint was a concoction of Zelda's black blood and some graveyard dirt he scraped off the bottom of his shoe.

"The burning effect is all part of the spell," he had explained, "But it's more of an illusion, you see. You'll never know it was there when we're finished." He had said it with a smile in attempts to comfort her, but they weren't on proper terms for him to effectively cozen her. They both knew she wouldn't really trust anything he had to say to make her feel better.

Annalise would have traded the smell for a permanently etched scar if it meant she wouldn't be reminded of melting linoleum and her own marrow searing while she was still alive. However, all she could do was hold her damn arm still.

The screeching strange music that used her own body as an instrument was not what she expected a soul, her soul, to sound like. Not at all. It was so weird.

It was beautiful. She wanted to cry. Not because it was beautiful, but because she could hear what every single minute sound and wavering pulse-like beat meant. If she tried her hardest, she could listen to her clearest memories of her human life weaving in and out and mixing together in a swirl of her own voices throughout different ages of her life overlaid a million times. She tried to put the whole of it to words, but all she came up with was "herself." That's what it was. Her self. Her soul. How can something like that be described in a few simple words?

Helgamine had mentioned that it sounded different to every listener, depending on the relationship or what they knew of the enchanted soul, but Annalise couldn't imagine it sounding like anything else than what she was hearing.

To demons, it sounded like a voiceless high-pitched whistle, so it didn't matter what they heard anyway. It would catch their attention though.

Annalise's eyes snapped to her arm, and she jumped as the yellow mark cracked and popped before turning a deep violet, the same hue as the fire she could conjure. The "music" grew and echoed around inside her skull painfully until she was squinted at Jack with gritted teeth, hoping for some sign it would end.

The witches didn't dare watch the display and kept their eyes peeled for an attack that might catch them off guard.

Jack listened to Anna's soul wail into the night and tried to ignore the terrible ache in his chest that grew every moment he had to hear the dreadful sound. He caught Annalise's eyes and immediately had to look away in shame. He knew she and the others weren't hearing the same as him, but all the music could invoke in his own soul was a terrible sinking reminder of guilt and pain and failure that drowned out everything else. He waited a couple torturous few seconds before carefully grabbing her arm where the mark was.

The sound cut off abruptly as the mark smeared under Jack's hand, leaving the air empty and offputtingly silent in the absence.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they readjusted. The spell was hard to handle standing in Annalise's immediate proximity.

Helgamine shook her head, hitting the side of it a few times as if to dislodge the ringing.

The cats shuddered, and Trouble licked himself to smooth down disturbed fur.

"Are you alright?" Jack whispered, as he quietly wiped away most of the symbol.

"…yeah…" Anna mumbled, "That was…that was my soul?"

Jack laughed. "Souls are usually sensed as light. A…glow in the eyes, if you will. But they give off sound too if one knows how to tap into the right frequencies."

Anna forced a small grin. "I rather like when magic and science mix."

Jack chuckled. "In my experience, I've found that science does not negate magic, and magic does not replace science."

"Heh. Interesting."

"Alright, everyone!" Jack said, his dourness gone. "Get ready. Everyone understands what they must do?"

"I hope this works, Jack," Helgamine said hesitantly as they nodded.

"It's a risky plan," Zeldabourne added.

"Nonsense! It'll work. Trust me," Jack assured.

They walked out into the nearby clearing that was part of the park they were in and waited patiently, grouped together instead of spreading out or hiding in the trees. The demons knew how Jack and Annalise weren't alone after all. An ambush would be the wrong play.

"All will be well, Annalise," Jack said, his voice low. "Take a deep breath."

"I'm scared," she snapped angrily.

"I know."

"Don't you worry," Helgamine added with a mild growl. "You're coming home with us in one piece."

"We'll at least bring your skull back…"

"Zeldabourne," Helga said tersely as Jack started.

Anna blinked, and a smile twitched on her mouth. "I'd make a good paperweight."

Jack snorted and covered his mouth with a fist.

"We just have to break a couple demons first," Zeldabourne said with a wicked glint in her eye. "Just a bit of harmless fun."

"Remember," Jack said, "We're trying to avoid harming the human bodies."

"Oh right."

Anna laughed shakily and shifted closer to Jack, letting him take her arm. She was still angry with him of course. But she was desperate for anything to ease her swirling terror.

Jack's fingers tightened on her arm, and his eyes narrowed as an ill-lighted form approached from the shadows of a bough covered path that led to their little clearing.

"You expect me to believe you're alone?" Jack called in glib fake amusement at the figure, drawing the others' attention to it. Louder he called, "Are the theatrics necessary?!"

Anna wasn't expected the sweet feminine voice to drift toward them. She tensed, every bone in her body locking up in fear as the figure came into the light, red fire glowing from the eyes. She was immediately nauseous, but not entirely out of fear.

"Hypocrite," a woman's voice echoed from across the small field as several forms appeared out of the wood opposite the monsters. "What else were you expecting? Amplifying the girl's aura like that? Ten times? A hundred? Anything that can sense souls in a ten-mile radius can sense that. Oh no, Stingy Jack. Far be it from me to underestimate you, O'King of Hallows Eve."

"You demons don't have the best track record with underestimating me," Jack said, a small grin creeping up his face. "I was almost hoping you wouldn't learn your lesson, but where would be the fun in that?

The woman was short and of medium build with dark curly brown locks pulled up into a ponytail. She wore horn-rimmed glasses and modest rosy colored lipstick. She smiled at Annalise as she approached.

"Hello, Ms. Grisholme," the high school history teacher said.

Anna felt weak in her legs and gasped, instinctively stepping to lean into Jack as she forgot her hatred in lieu of pained terror.

Jack glared at the demon and pulled Anna behind him as the demon kept walking. He felt Anna tremble and desperately try to stifle her sobbing as she gripped his arm.

Christine Northrop didn't stop a comfortable distance away even as the other demons halted, Instead, she walked right up to face Jack nearly toe to toe. She smiled up at him as he stared back. She glanced to the side.

"Oh, look at you! Gretchen is it?" she said, ignoring Annalise for the moment to step in front of Helgamine. She leaned down to study the witch who glared at the demon unflinching, even as they were nose to nose. "My you are an ugly one. You've got a little wart there, Madame."

"Thank you," Helgamine said, emotionless. "And the name's Helgamine, you fecal stain of a pig's rear end cyst." She said it so dryly Zeldabourne chuckled.

The woman raised an eyebrow at the insult and looked at Zelda. "Hmph. I thought you were Helgamine."

"Your information's outdated, dearie. What a delight to know demons keep tabs on us measly Halloween Citizens," Zeldabourne said, "Here I was assuming you blighting creatures wouldn't bother with us."

"Normally no. But we do try our best. Personally, I enjoy knowing the names of the souls I plan to eat."

"Eat her first," Zeldabourne snipped, gesturing at Helgamine who merely sighed. "Enjoy the indigestion."

"You shan't touch them," Jack said simply.

The demon stared at the witches for a moment longer, her eyes drifting over the familiars before she looked back at Jack. "Your constituents certainly have personality, Stingy Jack."

"Where's Malum, Azitadamus?" Jack said.

"Oh, you remember my name? I'm flattered," the woman with the horribly familiar face said.

Anna shut her sockets, trying to shake the memories.

"First name basis with demons, Jack? This is going well," Helgamine said sarcastically.

"Isn't it? Glad we agree," Azitadamus chuckled.

Jack grinned wickedly. "Azitadamus, I properly introduce Halloween's finest witches, Helgamine and Zeldabourne."

"Manducare stercore," Zeldabourne greeted in Latin with a smile and a small nod.

Annalise was too pained to find any amusement in Zelda's nasty greeting with the little Latin she picked up haunting with the witches.

Azitadamus chuckled unamused and stepped back. "Now now, isn't there any way we can discuss this like civilized psychopaths?"

"I believe that rather depends on you," Jack said. He eyed them as several more "humans" came out of the trees.

One even sat on a nearby bench and pulled out a small human device, looking at it in boredom. A cellular telephone, he guessed?

Annalise shifted.

One of the male demons laughed. "Cute."

"Ah, the love of a parent. Or grandparent?"

"Does it matter?" said another.

"I suppose not."

"Oh please," another interrupted, this one the man who hadn't even moved from his seat on the park bench. "He doesn't care for her. It's just guilt, that's all this is. I wondered how far he'll go before he realizes pretending to care is more effort than worth whatever speck of 'conscience' keeping her from us relieves."

"Well he's kept it up this long," another "woman" sighed. She walked around them, stalking like a lion. "What's it been like, Jack? Year after year? Soul after soul? Fire after fire?"

Jack chose not to dignify that with a response, even as he felt Anna stiffen.

"Where's Malum," Jack demanded.

"Ooh, touchy. He's around. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know Jack."

"Hmph. Your obsession with me seems to dictate otherwise," Jack said.

Jack's eerily calm words made Anna smile slightly despite the awfulness of the situation. It was funny how he acted like he had no respect or fear of demons. She kinda liked it.

"Jack," Azitadamus/Ms. Northrop said as if to scold a child, "We both know you can't beat us in a fight. Shall we just skip the mess and you give us what you owe?"

Jack caught a whiff of blood and sulfur and glanced down, spotting liquid seeping out of the demon's foot.

The demon followed his sockets at the lack of a reply and looked down as she scratched her arm. With a scoff, she picked at something stuck in the flesh of her arm before pulling out a bloody three-inch-long thorn. She flicked it away in annoyance, and it fell into a suspicious line of dirt cut into the grass.

"A gift from one of your people, Jack. The doll bitch ran me through with a thorn bush before she and another pest ran off. I killed them of course."

"Sally," Anna choked, gripping Jack's arm tighter in panic as the witches looked alarmed.

"She's lying," Jack said calmly, the usually soft reflective glow of his sockets suddenly sharp and warning.

The demon scoffed. "Am I?"

"Quite."

The woman eyed Jack for a moment before her still red glowing eyes drifted to Annalise.

Annalise stared back. She had promised Jack she would pretend to not be afraid of the demons, but that was out the window the second she saw the woman's face.

The woman adjusted her glasses. "Hello, kiddo. It's delightful to see you again. You've certainly grown a bit. I'd say…hmm…a good three feet about? Give or take a few inches. You've lost a bit of weight too."

Annalise's eyes darkened, and she stood up to her full height, glaring down at the woman as she released Jack's arm. "Let her go."

"Let who go, Annalise?"

"Ms. Northrop. Let her go. Get out of her. She's nothing to do with anything of…this."

If Jack was surprised Annalise knew the possessed human, he didn't show.

Several of the other demons laughed.

Azitadamus giggled. "Oh, you poor sweet thing. You misunderstand."

Anna squinted, her phantom heart aching at the implication. After a minute she turned to Jack.

"This is my history teacher, Jack," she said quietly. "From my school when I was alive." She looked at the demon sideways, the betrayal in her eyes showing she clearly understood. "She was my favorite teacher. She gave me ghost stories. Taught me things not always in textbooks. She even told me your story as a Halloween treat for the class the day I died."

Jack frowned, eyes flashing in pity. "I see."

"Were you always a demon?" Annalise asked Ms. Northrop, her voice harsh from righteous anger but surprisingly even.

The demon smiled and took off her glasses for a moment to clean them. "Hmm. Well, someone had to keep an eye on you and make sure Jack didn't get in the way of your death prematurely." She shrugged. "The fool's been scouring the globe tracking all his descendants. So desperate to right his wrongs. To back out of his own deal. But it's much too late for that."

Jack narrowed his eyes but let Anna and the demon speak. His eyes lifted to rove the tree line and the darkened sky. He was grateful the witches weren't reacting dramatically to the new information. They were handling all the revelations about his personal existence somewhat privately so far, making sure to avoid giving any demon leverage to drive a wedge between them all.

"We were rather lucky, you see," Azitadamus continued. "Jack was so close to saving you. You might have gone on with your pathetic mortal life none the wiser. He found your birth parents a couple decades ago. Didn't you, Jack?"

"And how do you know of that?" Jack said without lowering his sockets as Annalise glanced at him sharply.

"We have our methods," Azitadamus said, "Oh it was priceless. Centuries of progress wiped in a moment!" She eyed Annalise knowingly, "All because your weak mother didn't want you. She tossed you aside like pure trash."

Annalise looked confused for a moment. "Are you trying to hurt my feelings? I know I'm adopted." She smiled and tilted her head in twisted amusement. "Strange, I haven't thought of my birth parents in years. I don't care they didn't want me, miss demon. I mean, it's unfortunate, but heartening to learn Jack tried to find me, at least. I suppose I should thank you for the information."

"What charming bravado, dear. So much practice lying to yourself. No one wanted you. Not even your so-called loving adoptive parents. The Grisholmes lost their interest in their bought trinket long ago, long before they even had children of their own. It's hard to love a freak like you, wouldn't you agree? Even in a piece of Purgatory, you don't quite fit in. Isn't that right?"

"I didn't think your attempts at manipulating me would be so transparent. It's almost sad," Annalise said genuinely.

"Disappointing, I'd add," Jack said.

Azitadamus shrugged. "It plants a seed of doubt regardless. I don't need to be subtle. The mind is a simple thing to play with if you know the tricks, as I'm sure you Halloween spirits are aware. Besides, the conversation has done its purpose."

Jack suddenly pulled Annalise to the side as something heavy and sharp swung by her neck vertebrae, hot and searing as it singed off a few locks of her already messy unevenly cropped hair.

Anna hit the ground hard, dirt and grass getting it her mouth. She flipped over on her back as fast as she could, her jacket twisting under her.

The witches ducked in the opposite direction to avoid the sword, Trouble and Jasper following.

0000

Minutes ago…

"Ow…"

"What the heck was that?" Jillian hissed in pain, holding her head.

"You heard it too?" James asked.

"Of course, I heard it!"

The boy winced as his sister's ringing voice. Were his ears bleeding?

"Come on."

James looked at his twin in horror as she tugged his arm. "What?!"

"It came from over there. We need to check it out."

He yanked his arm away. "Are you nuts? It was probably a bunch of weirdos playing…music?"

"Maybe it was a bomb."

"I never heard a bomb like that!"

"You've never heard a bomb, period."

"Mom said the gas main exploding in June sounded like a bomb. That noise didn't sound like a gas main."

"Maybe it's a gang. If it is, we should tell Dad, don't you think."

"Yeah. We should do that by going home!" James stress, looking at Jillian like she was an idiot.

Jillian suddenly didn't respond. Her eyes glazed over, and she looked in the direction the sound came from in shock. "James…"

The way she spoke made him forget his arguments. She sounded scared as if she heard something he couldn't.

"D-did you hear that?" Jillian whispered, the daring from earlier replaced by terrified confusion.

"Jillian?"

"Voices…I thought I heard…" Jillian mumbled, a haunted expression still turned toward the same direction. She took off, startling James.

"Jillian!" he hissed, trying to stop her. His hand barely missed her hoody.

"There's…someone…people over there!" Jillian shouted back as she ran down the pathway, "They could be hurt. We can't just…" she pulled to an abrupt stop at the scene below her.

James was following close behind and slammed into her back, sending them both down the embankment and into a dried-up storm drain ditch. Luckily, neither of them hit any rocks.

James winced as he propped himself up in the slightly muddy dirt. "Ow. Fudge. You okay?"

"SHH!" Jillian yanked him down, ignoring her bruises and sore arm. "They'll see us!"

"Who—!" James was shut up as Jillian elbowed his gut harshly and gestured for him to follow, shuffling up the side of the ditch, keeping her body close to the ground.

James followed, perplexed and fighting against the instinct to go in the opposite direction of whatever Jillian was claiming to hear.

As they crawled closer to the edge of the ditch, a terrible sick feeling in his stomach grew. It reminded him of the feeling he got after sitting in a car with the bass of the music turned up high for too long, like the low frequencies were rattling his bones and making his insides vibrate too much.

They both froze as they peeked over the edge of the ditch.

Neither of them knew what they were looking at, but the expression on James' face told Jillian she didn't imagine it before. She wasn't crazy. He saw it too.

The first thing he saw was one of his teachers. Ms. Northrop? What was she doing here? That question was gone, and his heart stopped as he saw who…what she was speaking too.

What the hell was that?!

What were those things? He couldn't…

Something about the things he was looking at itched the back of his mind, poking long forgotten fears of the dark, and the space under his bed.

Horrible looking creatures stood in front of Ms. Northrop, speaking in strange voices he had to strain to hear. Oddly, he and Jillian could listen to their teacher's voice clearly from where they were hiding, even if the words were hard to pick up. However, the…the monsters…the noises they made sounded whispery like they weren't really there. He suddenly realized that the low-frequency sound that hurt his bones and made him nauseous was the horrible creatures' voices.

James noticed several other humans standing around, starting as he realized a few were very close, just in the bushes nearby. How had they not seen him and his sister falling into the ditch?

His panicked wondering ceased as he locked eyes with a man sitting on a bench several yards in front of them. The man glanced back over his shoulder, and the twins froze at being caught.

But the man just smiled at them, letting them know he saw them and looked back at the strange creatures as if this was a regular thing.

"What the he—" James was cut off as he bit his tongue in response to the shock of seeing the man get up, a sword glowing red and yellow appearing in his hand like magic. The man swung at one of the taller creature's neck, but the other one pulled it out of the way.

James gasped in fright and pulled Jillian down with him to the bottom of the ditch, clamping a hand over her mouth.

His headache suddenly spiked.

0000

Anna's world spun as something threw her. Her spine cracked against a lamppost. She had a moment, barely, before something stabbed into her chest, slicing through the silken fabric of her shirt and going straight through her ribcage. Her jacket tugged as the spear tore and pushed it deep into the dirt. She cried out as the iron stick harshly hit the edge of several bones, including one vertebra.

The demon drove the spear in deeper as Annalise shouted again in pain, the weapon pinning her to the cold damp soil like a preserved beetle in a collection case.

Annalise sucked in a breath, and bright purple flames leaped from her hands as she laid on her back. She stretched out her hands in attempts to blind the attacking demon, a man.

He shouted, but she didn't make the light bright enough and a moment later she cried out as a second spear stabbed through her arm between the ulna and radius. It was a weird looking spear with two thin prongs on either side of a bladed point, a bit like a trident. It pinned her arm down, which didn't really hurt in itself until he pressed it deep into the dirt, putting the iron flush against her bones.

The spears burned where they touched, and Anna writhed as she shouted, trying to free herself.

The man stepped on one of her legs when she tried to kick him. He raised his hand, and a fiery red glow sprung from it before materializing into yet another spear.

Anna stilled, wide-eyed as he turned it toward her face and raised his arm…

An orange fireball slammed into the side of the man's face. His head snapped to the side, and the third spear fell sideways onto Anna's chest, which she frantically pushed away, hissing at the unbearable heat, as if it was just in a furnace.

The demon sneered at Jack and hissed as something green whipped out from Jack's hand and hit him across the face. Moments later another spear appeared, and he swung it against Jack's side.

Anna winced at the sound of cracking ribs but didn't have time to see if Jack recovered before a foot kicked her skull backward and stomped down on her neck. She choked, more as a reflex, and clawed at the foot as she stared up at Ms. Northrop's face. She tried to see where the witches were but couldn't move. She could hear Jasper and Trouble yowling.

"Ms. Northrop…" Annalise gasped. She felt a bit ill as she noticed the woman's face and she couldn't help staring in morbid interest despite the circumstances. One of the cats must have got her…

Christine Northrop's face was…shredded…though still recognizable. Razor thin, deep cat scratches stretched across the otherwise pleasant face. The glasses were gone, though Annalise figured it wouldn't help much as blood dripped from a partially gouged eyeball swinging over Anna's own sockets. She blinked and squirmed as tainted human blood dripped into her eye cavity and mouth. She gagged and spat in disgust.

For a moment Anna could have sworn she saw smoke swirling in the empty bloodied socket before the demon blithely pushed the eye with a scratched-up pupil back into place.

Azitadamus sighed as she kneeled beside Annalise's head, her foot still forcibly pressed against where Anna's larynx would be. "Oh sweetie," she gently brushed hair out of Anna's sockets and wiped some of the blood away from the corner of a socket, ignoring how Anna grimaced and tried to lean away. "I am sorry you liked me as a teacher. It really tore me up to deceive you when you didn't know any better. I actually started to like you, you know. You had such amusing interests. But a job's a job, you see."

"No hard feelings," Annalise sneered. She swung her free arm, but Azitadamus easily caught it and pinned it down. Annalise couldn't help groaning as the demon squeezed her wrist with insane crushing force. She felt as if the bones would shatter.

"Don't you agree I was a good teacher?" Azitadamus asked. "I always had time to help you with your homework. I always listened to you ramble on about your pranks." She paused and chuckled.

"What?" Annalise growled, listening to the sounds of fighting out of her range of sight.

Azitadamus went on conversationally. "Well, since the fire, many of the high school teachers have had to pull double duty. I personally have been helping out with some of the middle school classes. Specifically, your sibling's classes."

Anna froze.

"They're rather bright, you know. Just the other day, little James recited the entire preamble of the Declaration of Independence when I offered the activity as extra credit."

"You stay away from them," Annalise snarled viciously, her face twisting with rage. Faint purple lights glowed in her sockets like little faux pupils.

"You're sister though, a shame. All F's, except my class. Poor thing can't even function without her big sister. She used to have so much potential. She was a fiery soul. So combative."

Annalise felt a pang in her chest. "Shut your mouth."

Azitadamus carried on nonchalantly. "We'll have so much more time to compare notes on your family when you're home with us. I still have so much to teach you. I think you'll make a powerful demon one day, with the right instruction and a little torture. I even have permission to be one of your handlers! Isn't that exciting?"

Anna felt a chill hit her bones. "You can't make me a demon. Demons are fallen angels."

"Ooh, someone paid attention in Sunday school," Azitadamus chuckled. She leaned close and whispered. "Not all, sweetie."

It was the chance Annalise needed. Without warning, she headbutted Christine and reared up her legs the moment she had space. Perhaps underestimating her strength, Annalise kicked the woman in the chest as hard as she could. She felt bones shatter and organs crush.

Christine stumbled back and coughed up thick blackened blood as her shirt front seeped dark liquid.

Anna heard the sickening sounds of more bones breaking, and a man's enraged howl before Jack appeared at her side.

He pulled the spear in her arm out of the ground, wincing as his hands smoked slightly, and helped her up as she freed herself from the spear in her chest.

Annalise's eyes widened as she saw the scene.

More demons had appeared from the shadows. There was about a dozen now, and not all were human looking. A few were massive shadows that twisted in the air and struck like serpents. There was a disturbing amount of blood scattered about.

Annalise didn't really want to think about who exactly caused the damage. She realized the howl from before was from Jack letting a demon accidentally stab another as the king played a game of dancing out of reach, always erring more toward the center of the clearing.

Annalise glanced at Helgamine in fright as the witch backed into her out of nowhere, chanting Latin under her "breath" without pause. Anna must have missed a good portion of the fighting during her forced conversation with Azitadamus. Part of her was sure the demons would be more observant than this.

There was a shout, and Helgamine forced herself to keep chanting as Zeldabourne was hit across the face and tossed toward the rest of them, falling against her fellow witch.

Jack looked alarmed and quickly helped the grouchy old hag up before she pushed him away and waved her hand to shoo him off.

The witch immediately tossed a few rude gestures at the demon who had beaten her. Her long nose looked a bit more crooked than usual.

Azitadamus wiped the blood from her mouth and looked around from a few feet away.

"See, we were trying to avoid a mess, Jack," the man Jack had been busy with a moment ago said as he got up.

Jack smiled, refusing to react at the creaking sound of fractured ribs as he stood up straight. He looked around, taking in the situation. The spat was short, but the monsters were surrounded now, and all the demons were properly in the clearing. They were lucky, all things considered. Minimal injury, as it was. He saw Annalise flinch as one of his ribs made a sharp clicking noise. Well, moderate injury. It didn't truly hurt, but the fractures were undoubtedly bothersome.

"A diligent grandfather, wouldn't you agree, Thei?" Azitadamus asked. "Putting up at least a little fight."

The man who first tried to kill Anna shrugged. "A show. A useless one at that."

"Thei! Been a while," Jack said.

"I didn't say earlier," Annalise spoke up dryly. "But it's weird you know their names. You know that right?" She rubbed her arm where the spear was.

"Agreed," Zelda muttered.

Jack patted Annalise's shoulder and shook his head in amusement. "They're mere lackeys, my dear. It's a bit insulting. The one I actually had a deal with has yet to show himself. A coward."

"He has other, more pressing concerns than a simple debt collection," Thei reiterated. He looked back toward a drainage ditch a little way away, but the monsters didn't notice.

"Insulting!" Jack insisted childishly.

Azitadamus sneered at Jack's lightness. "You're such an arrogant fool. Give up, Jack. You're surrounded. There's twenty of us against a mere three holiday spirits and a single untied soul."

"An arrogant fool that's tricked you multiple times!" Jack said. "Truly. I would have thought you'd learn by now." Jack smiled again and tilted his head, sockets roving to count the visible demons. Twenty she said? He counted nineteen. Something to keep in mind.

Several demons mumbled and glanced between themselves.

Jack watched with glee as a look of horror spread on Azitadamus and Thei's face. They appeared to be the leaders tonight.

He had warned them.

"Insidiae perfecta. Ut sit," Helgamine finished speaking her spell.

The demons looked down as the ground began to glow. Some tried to run. Some tried to exorcize themselves from the humans they possessed, but the lines dug into the grass underneath their feet flashed green outward from the witch.

They were too late, and some of the weaker demons hit the ground as the massive pentagram Jack and the other monsters had etched across the clearing sucked out their strength. Some wailed in rage and pain as the injuries the monsters had uselessly inflicted before hit them as their spirits were forcibly tied into their human forms, temporarily trapping them in the bodies they possessed.

Annalise looked on in pity. She hated this. She recognized some of the faces. A cashier at a local grocery store. One of her mother's coworkers. A librarian. She knew they were demons, but it was hard to not see the humans too.

Helgamine continued to chant. She had to. The spell would only sap the demon's energy as long as she kept speaking. Her beady eyes were narrowed in concentration, and none of the other monsters dared distract her.

Jack tried his best to ignore the drumming of the witch's words and observed the demons, making sure they were truly incapacitated. He also kept a socket out for the missing one, if Azitadamus' careless mention of "twenty" was to be trusted.

"You bastard…" Azitadamus hissed as she struggled to stay standing. She coughed up blood and glared at the skeleton hatefully. She looked at another demon. "What in the nine circles are you doing, Yeris!" she snapped. "Get up you fool!"

"They've done something."

"Demons and their pride," Jack said quietly. Then he shook his head, not interested in goading the demons on any further with the trap sprung. He gently took Annalise's arm, guiding her away from the struggling human bodies, careful to keep them in sight.

Zeldabourne stayed by Helgamine, guarding the other witch so she could continue the chanting. The cats sat on either side of the taller witch, aiding her like proper familiars.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Annalise said as she let him lead her away, but still where they could keep a wary eye on their enemies.

"You're crying," Jack whispered, turning her by the shoulders so her back was to the scene.

Anna touched her face, surprised her bony fingers brought away wetness.

"It's alright," Jack said.

"It's not alright. They're people, Jack. Th-they…they are humans, aren't they?"

"The shells are."

"Are the…human souls still inside there?"

"Most likely," Jack said, knowing it would do no good to lie to her. "I'm sorry. I was trying to taunt them all to come out into the circle so we could trap them without hurting the humans."

Annalise looked at him a moment before sharply turning her face to the empty tree line, trying to put the sound of human voices screaming profanities at them behind her out of mind. She closed her eyes and hiccupped as she sobbed, desperately trying to stifle it so the demons wouldn't hear, her hands clasped over her mouth.

Jack held her shoulder tightly and let her cry, standing sideways so he could still observe the situation.

"Is…is there a-anything we can do?" Anna begged.

Jack frowned. "There's too many of them for us to exorcize. Helgamine isn't strong enough to keep the spell up forever, and exorcisms take energy from the caster as well," he explained seriously. "Right now, all we can do is hold them down and out of our way until someone comes."

Annalise forced a nod. "Are you sure a Thanksgiving Citizen heard us?"

Jack tapped her arm where the symbol was painted earlier, a smudge still visible. "It should be audible to all spirits."

"But you're not sure."

Jack didn't answer. They stood in relative silence for a couple more minutes before the most beautiful sound they had ever heard answered Jack's uncertainty.

"Jack!" Sally's voice hit their ears.

Helgamine glanced toward the ragdoll's voice, still chanting. It was a blessed relief to see Sally break out of the trees with Little Braid in tow.

The Thanksgiving Citizen looked a little out of breath, but otherwise unharmed, like Sally. On second glance, she wore a sling and one arm was wrapped in a patchwork bandage.

They ran up to Jack and Anna, stopping short in shock at the scene behind them.

"WHAT THE…" Little Braid stared, immediately turning ill and pale. She covered her mouth at the blood and gore of human bodies. "What did you do?" She made a move to run to their aid, but Annalise caught her friend around the middle and held her back.

"Demons. They're demons," Anna said frantically. "We didn't hurt any humans," she lied.

Little Braid heard her, ceasing her struggle, before turning away and puking violently on the ground.

Anna grimaced, realizing she was probably long desensitized to horror and gore. She was more emotionally wrecked than visually.

Sally sympathetically patted the poor spirit on the back before turning to hug Jack, planting a kiss on his lips.

"Are you alright, Sally?" Jack said, frantically checking her over.

"Fine. Fine. I'm fine," Sally insisted, hugging him again. She jumped as Jack let out a sharp grunt and backed up in discomfort. Frowning, she lightly brushed a hand against Jack's lower ribs. She gasped as she felt something give that shouldn't have. "Jack!"

"It's nothing!" he said, taking her hand. He laughed unconvincingly. "Nothing a bit of tape and calcium paste can't fix."

Sally glared at him then turned to Annalise warningly.

"He broke a lot," she reported.

"Annalise," Jack scolded.

"What?"

He sighed.

Little Braid spat more bile out and wiped her mouth. "We heard something. Loud. Like music…This may sound strange, but I thought it sounded like…" she trailed off.

"Me?" Annalise asked.

Little Braid frowned but nodded. "Ms. Sally agreed, and we came to see. What happened?!"

"Your holiday's portal moved," Jack said. "It wasn't where it last was, and we didn't have time to search for it."

"You sure don't. It closes in less than two hours. There's no way you could've found it," Braid snapped. "Governor Hale is getting anxious keeping it open for you. She and Chief Squanto ordered everyone to speed up their Thanks deliveries and get out of this town as quickly as possible with demons about." She glared at the Halloween King. "You shouldn't have left us behind at the Church. We could have taken you home ages ago."

"A lack of foresight on my part," Jack said. "I apologize. Do you know why the portal moved?"

"It does that if it's at risk of being discovered by someone not a Citizen or friend of ours. A human might have gotten too close."

"Or a demon looking to ambush us," Anna suggested. "Those two dumb ones?"

Jack nodded. "Thank you for coming, Little Braid. We need a guide."

"That's what I'm here for…" she sighed, nervously glancing behind the king. Little Braid swallowed. "I thought you were trying to avoid demons, not fight them."

"We were running out of time," Annalise defended. "We didn't have time to look for a Thanksgiving Citizen to take us to the portal, so we made a beacon to catch someone's attention."

Jack looked back at the small battle scene. "Demons can hear that…music…too. They were quick to show, as expected."

"Ahh…"

"You don't sound convinced," Anna snorted.

"I'm just wondering why we're still standing here," Little Braid shuddered. She swallowed. "Can't you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Coldness. Evil. I thought you folks felt strange. You make me feel cold, but not…not like that. I don't like it. Let's take you home, please."

Annalise frowned worriedly, deciding not to comment on Little Braid's senses though she cast Jack a questioning look. "W-we have to wait for Nevermore. He should have heard it too."

"Can't he go home with a ghoul gate?" Sally asked.

"What if a demon got him?"

Jack quickly shook his head. "I'm sure he's fine. Sally's right. Time is of the essence. What's important is that we get you to safety. Nevermore is experienced. He knows how to get home."

As if Nevermore heard his name, he made his presence known at that moment, screeching from a nearby grove of trees above a small ditch.

"NO! YOU STUPID CHILD! JACK! JACK! STOP HER!" The Raven screamed, making Annalise squeak in fright.

They didn't have a moment to wonder why Nevermore hadn't helped minutes ago during the tussle with the demons if he was here. Why had he merely watched, a spectator?

Jack saw why as Zeldabourne fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, knocked out as a rock collided with her brow. A small pool of black blood grew beneath her head, soaking into the grass. It wouldn't kill her, likely, but she wouldn't appreciate the headache when she woke up.

Helgamine was so shocked at the other witch's fall, she stumbled in her words for the briefest of seconds. But it was enough.

"A-adi nos…poten—" she struggled shakily.

Annalise gasped as a wave of energy hit Helgamine, the backlash of the interrupted spell sending her into the same lamppost Annalise was thrown against minutes ago.

"Ms. Northrop!" came Jillian's cry as she scrambled out of the ditch she and James were hiding in, her hand bleeding from throwing the sharp rock at the smallest witch. The girl paled. "Y-your face…"

"Jillian!" James shouted lunging to push her out of the way as Nevermore swooped from the trees to grab the human girl by her shirt in efforts to keep the stupid child away from the demons who were already getting up, weakened, but quickly gaining strength again.

He wasn't expecting the boy to get in the way and the raven's sharp talons accidentally raked against the kid's shoulder, cutting deep.

James screamed, and Annalise felt her phantom heart stop.

The boy swung an arm on instinct and hit Nevermore away, sending the black bird off-kilter in his confusion.

She tried to move and was vaguely aware of Jack spouting off frantic Latin as he tried to reach her brother and sister in time, but her own feet wouldn't budge. Was this a nightmare? It was a cruel one. She had some complaints to whoever oversaw these things. She ran, unaware the paralysis had worn off in moments.

Jillian gasped in terror and clung to the nearest familiar thing, which happened to be the bloodied shirt of a trusted history teacher.

Christine Northrop pulled the little girl into a protective hug, holding her in a secure embrace as she smiled eerily with Jillian tucked under her chin.

"Shh… it's alright darling. They won't hurt you." It wasn't a lie…

"Jillian!" James stammered as he crawled away from the large black bird that attacked him. He pressed against his sister's side, and Ms. Northrop pulled him close. He cradled his bleeding arm.

Jack pulled to a stop as the others followed behind. He stopped the beginnings of an exorcism the moment his socket caught the glint of a knife pressed against the human girl's side, undetected by the child.

"NO! You stay away from them! Don't touch them!" Annalise screamed at the demon, trying to lunge at her to tear her brother and sister away.

James stared in fear as the taller skeleton suddenly caught the other one with black hair around the waist and held it back, even as it kicked and fought.

It wailed, making him want to claw his ears out. A haunted, soul-wrenching sound. It may have been words, but he couldn't really hear them. It was like hearing someone try to scream over a windy day. He trembled as the creature struggled against the one that resembled it and a strange lady with stitches covering her whole body. A reddish-gold glow hung behind the three in the vague shape of a human form, but he couldn't see details.

He didn't know what to do?! He didn't…his thoughts were cut short as he was suddenly aware of Jillian struggling beside him.

He looked at her.

She was crying. Jillian was crying. She was staring at the strange monsters in confusion and fear, her eyes locked on the one that was…crying…

It was crying? Why…why was that scary looking skeleton…crying as it wailed?

Jillian's struggling got more desperate as she tried to get out of Ms. Northrop's arms, which only confused James further.

Ms. Northrop wasn't letting Jillian go. Why…why should she, with these dangerous monsters standing only a few feet away?

"J-James…get away…" Jillian said, voice tight, her eyes glued to the smaller skeleton.

Ms. Northrop looked down in surprise, and that was when James noticed the teacher's eyes weren't their ordinary hazel, but an unnatural blazing red.

"Interesting. It seems she can hear you, Annalise."

The skeleton, the wailing one, cut off. It and the other monsters stared at Jillian in what James could only express as shock.

Tears sprung to Jillian's eyes. "James, RUN!"

"Oh, that's not necessary, dear." Ms. Northrop suddenly held out her hand to James, a hunting knife offered to him by the handle.

To James' horror, his hand moved of its own accord without his prompting, reaching out to take the knife. His headache peaked.

That was all James remembered before the world turned dark.

0000

Authors note:

I'm sorry.

It was…so long ago.

Look over Chapter 8 again, dears.