Onny nodded frantically. “In fact, I wasn’t going to say anything until I was sure, but…” She leaned in close to them again. “Guys, I think I saw her. Earlier, me and Byron were outside grabbing… air?”
True frowned. Was Onnyblushing? Innnnteresting. True knew Onny had a hate-hate relationship with Byron (well, usually) but True herself had always had a grudging respect for the guy, though she’d never expressed it out of loyalty for Onny. Any skeptical, scientific mind stood out like a shining centrifuge in Moon Ridge.
“ANYWAY, and I totally saw someone! With a long white dress! And a creepy vibe!”
True composed her facial features so they were perfectly blank. “Someone in a creepy dress… on Halloween. What a concept.”
Ash twisted his fingers together, his forehead creased above his mask. “No, I… I think I saw something, too, True. For real.”
True cleared her throat, realizing she wasn’t going to win this one. “I totally believe you guys believe you saw her. So, um, yeah. I’ll keep an eye out for her, and at any sign of ghostly shenanigans… I’ll do my most killer Krav Maga move!” She demonstrated said move as best she could in her long dress. “That ghost doesn’t stand a chance. Okay?”
Onny and Ash each raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed.
True tried again. “Or I’ll… throw some salt at her? That’s a thing people do, right?” She’d seen it on an episode ofSupernaturalonce, when she was trying to find something to watch on TV.
Ash laughed. “Well, you get points for trying. You don’t have todoanything, though, True. We just want you to be aware. You know. In case you see her.”
Right. True seeing a ghost tonight was right up there possibility-wise with her seeing a polar bear floating by on a glacier, or Bradley getting down on one knee and proposing to her. But she didn’t share her doubts with her friends. “Okay,” she said, instead. “Thanks for, um, the warning.”
With a knowing look, Onny changed the subject to something else she loved talking about as much as witchy things—True’s (nonexistent) love life. “So. You’re going to find someone new tonight, yes? Thatisthe plan?”
True rolled her eyes and pulled a strand of hair from behind her mask, where it had become trapped. Like her, at this party. “Yeah, I’m going to find someone. Preferably someone who once ate my entire copy ofOn the Origin of Speciesand then puked it up page by page.” She looked around. “Speaking of, where’s Igor?”
“Prowling around outside. Igor can’t be trusted around thepaper flowers. Or most humans,” Onny added thoughtfully. Then, leaning in: “But really, True, you should open your mind—”
“Don’t let Onny pressure you,” Ash cut in, adjusting the horns on True’s bronze mask. “Have I mentioned this looks incredible on you? You’re like a sculpture that just walked off Rodin’sGates of Hell.Is it comfortable?”
True smiled at her sweet, soft cousin. “Yeah. It’s wicked cool, Ash. Thanks again for making these for us. I mean, we all know my usual aesthetic is more gas mask than carnival mask, but evenIlook awesome in this.”
“True that.” Onny laughed and touched her own mask, the most ornate of all. “Ilovemine, you guys. It just makes all of this seem so much more, I don’t know, what’s the word?”
“Moon Ridge Madness-y?” True said, at the same time that Ash said, “Moon Ridge Magical?”
They looked at each other and laughed. “Don’t worry.” Ash, clearly sensing her discomfort, put an arm around her. True was only five feet tall (okay, so she was actually four feet eleven, but she’d like to see anyone stop her from claiming that last one inch), and Ash, at six three, towered almost comically over her. “You’ll feel a lot better once you find your magical midnight match. Maybe with some luck from the Lady of Moon Ridge.”
True sighed as she looked around the place. “I appreciate your optimism, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. At least I haven’t run into you-know-who yet, though.” She paused. “Your house looks really amazing, by the way. You guys really outdid yourselves this year, Onny.”
“Thanks,” her friend replied, looking genuinely pleased at the compliment.
True wasn’t lying: the Diamantes’ mansion was all done up, with enchanted, glowing trees blooming in the massive living room, den, and kitchen. Purple and gold spotlights illuminated enormous, vibrant bouquets of flowers (of both the paper and botanical variety) scattered over gleaming surfaces. Glitter lights sparkled and danced where she least expected them, flitting in and out of her peripheral vision like bashful fairies.
The house was steeped in manufactured magic, and as she studied the guests and their borrowed identities—like they’d all shapeshifted for the night—True felt a tingle of superstition that she doused by grabbing the empty test tube in her pocket. Chemistry. Physics. The natural world.Thesewere things she believed in. There was no magic present tonight, no matter what everyone else in town might believe.
“But seriously, True,” Onny continued, drawing her attention again. “This could beitfor you tonight. This could beitfor all of us.” Her eyes sparkled with secrets.
True raised an eyebrow. “According to your tea-leaf reading, my soul mate carries the ‘moon on his chest’—remember? But considering the moon weighs 7.35 x 1022kilograms, I’d say I’m screwed. Unless the message was that I’m supposed to fall in love with the universe or something.” She narrowed her eyes. “Which I wouldn’t put past Onny.”
“No, no,” Onny said gaily, slinging an arm around True’s waist. A pause, and then: “But youdidbring the love potion with you, right? Just in case?”
Unable to hold back a half smile at her friend’s enthusiasm, True reached into her other dress pocket and pulled out a different delicate glass bottle, this one with an ornate silver stopper. Inside, a pale pink liquid undulated like a mini ocean wave. It was a metaphor for her life in Moon Ridge and with The Coven: in one pocket, science, and in the other, magic.
“Yes, Onny,” True intoned, like a wayward pupil answering a teacher.
“Good,” Onny replied. “Just keep it on you, okay? And only drink it with the one you’re sure about. You’re definitely going to find a man tonight… like, a solid, mortal man. I can feel it in my marrow.”
“‘A solid, mortal man’?” True threw her hands in the air. “There goes my centaur dream.” At Onny’s severe look (though Ash was chuckling softly), she rearranged her features into something more serious and slipped the potion back into her pocket. “Okay, fine. Well, clearly people are trying to get your attention,” she added, when Ash and Onny’s gazes drifted away from her to Cassidy and Byron, respectively. “I’ll catch up with you guys later?”
Onny kissed her cheek, under the mask. “Yes, sounds good! Love ya!” She danced away, mingling into the crowd.
