Page 66 of The King of Halloween
An awkwardness that had its place in a sweaty middle school dance, or when two hands touched on a bus, flailed around them. What was it about Adam that kept turning Raj into a brain-addled teenager? Even knowing that he had to go out there, open the doors, and finally let people see his haunt, a part of him wanted to make good on that duet.
“So.” Raj finished slotting on the headset. He checked the walkie-talkie and faced Adam. “How does scaring teenagers for a second date sound?”
Adam’s wicked smile made Raj’s heart jump. “Perfect.”
?CHAPTER TWENTY
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“MWHAHAHAHA!”
Adam’s target stared at him with a slack jaw. “Bro, is that supposed to be scary?”
“He’s like an accountant or something.”
It would be easy for Adam to slip back into his hidey-hole and let them pass by, but he refused to let a bunch of kids get the better of him. “You’re right, I am an accountant.” He reached into his jacket pocket like he was going for a pen. “Every day I walk this earth searching for…”
“Don’t tell me, lost souls.”
Adam smiled with all the malice packed in his lithe frame. “Potential customers. Sign on this line for all your dreams to come true…for a year. Then, debtors will call you, your parents, your friends, every minute of the day, demanding your blood. You won’t be able to rent an apartment. You’ll have to live above a tattoo parlor where they practice on dead rats that you eat for dinner. No matter how much of your money you give me, it never makes a dent in your debt. Instead, it grows fatter and fatter every year until you die without a penny to your name. You can run, you can hide, but in the end…the student loans will always hunt you down.”
All three kids screamed at the top of their lungs and peeled out. They missed the skeleton thrashing in his electric chair. Adam nodded to his impromptu coworker, who finished screaming and took a little nap. “I hear that.” He stretched his arms wide and glanced around. It’d been a long night, though surprisingly fun.
As the King of Halloween, he was supposed to be spooky but never scary. Terrifying the shit out of presumptuous teens put a skip in his step that he didn’t realize was missing. God, he should have worn one of Baph’s masks. That sewn flesh one with the mouths for eyes. They’d piss their pants through two rooms.
“Anyone in here?” Raj appeared, the man looking dangerously scrumptious. At some point, he’d traded his comfy sweater for a tight red suit coat and tails. Black horns prodded through his hair, their wicked ends curved back. And his eyes blazed crimson thanks to the fiery contacts.
“You just missed them.” Adam pointed in the direction.
Raj spun his demon baton, catching Adam’s eye. “Good, because…” Raj must have realized that Adam was watching and getting ideas as he gulped. The demonic ring master blushed beneath his red makeup and tucked the baton under his arm. “That was the last of them.”
“Hallelujah!” Adam exclaimed, then he held a hand to Raj. “Present company excluded.”
His demon laughed. “We’re meeting back for drinks and snacks at the staging area.”
“Drinks?” Adam asked.
“Juice and soda. These are all kids, after all.”
Very loud kids whose knees didn’t pop every time they hunched over in the dark. Adam swallowed, finding his throat rough from all of his demonic cackling. This was a game for the young.
“Shall we go together?” Adam asked.
“I have to do one last pass, make sure everyone’s out, then I’ll see you there.”
Adam leaned closer, nearly brushing his nose against the red makeup. “You’d better.”
With that, Raj turned to chase up the lingering ghosts and goblins in hiding. But as Adam watched him go, a long tail bounded back and forth above Raj’s plunderable ass. He did his best to put away all the naughty thoughts of what he wanted to do to said buttocks, preferably while that tail swatted his dick, in favor of a night of cookies and juice.
The kids were exhausted but also exhilarated, everyone trading their war stories over a can of pop and a bag of pretzels. When Raj appeared, he nodded to the group who’d been appreciative but careful around Adam. Judging by the looks, it had already gotten around that Adam was aspecial guestof their boss.
Raj clapped his hands, then eyed them up. “We did it. At last. Thank you all for sticking around. Now that the haunt is up and working, we should have a set schedule going ahead. I’ll email you the days you’re needed once I’ve hammered it out with my partner.”
Fifty eyes swung to Adam.
“My business partner,” Raj said. “Please, take another bag of chips or soda home with you. I’ll be turning the lights off soon. Be sure to leave your costume hanging on the rack before you go.”
The kids, sensing freedom, made a break for it, but not before stuffing a few goodies in their pockets. It’s always Halloween somewhere. Adam kept a close eye on Raj, who took the time to greet and smile at every kid in a wig.
