Silas Des'Caina had been livid for weeks, after Demos had gotten the better of him. He finally began to calm down on his birthday, which happened to fall on 30 Aut'mo', the day before Samhain. He was aware that on Earth, it would be called 'Devil's Night,' and he'd found the timing delicious, ever since he began his secret project, nearly three decades ago. But it wasn't just his birthday that improved his mood, it was the fact that he felt certain, for the first time, that the deal he'd been striving toward with LandOrder would finally become a reality. Ever since that infernal Larami Illuminatus had broken away from InterGang, Capp Primus had been more reluctant than ever to align himself with vampyres. The capo believed that if Amelia Mysshroudedtery had a new enemy, in the form of one of her former dons, LandOrder would have no need of the edge that vampyres might provide, and therefore he could give in to his squeamish qualms about such an... unholy alliance. However, with Quinn Darkstrider as king, and the Syndicate and other such groups gaining traction and legitimacy, Primus now realized he needed any edge he could get.

And so it was that the day after Des'Caina's birthday, Capp had his First Sorreter, Merv Newline, translocate him to the sorcerer's home, to finalize plans for Des'Caina's defection from InterGang to LandOrder. Capp still wasn't comfortable with all this, so he secretly kept a t-mail connection open between himself and his brother, Poss, who was listening to the meeting from his office in First Village. Poss himself was not at all comfortable with what his brother had told him about the existence of vampyres, but they both agreed that if there were going to be vampyres in the world anyway, it would be best if someone like Capp could keep them in check, provide some order and discipline, just as he had with gangsters, when he first organized LandOrder. Meanwhile, in spite of his misgivings, Capp joked with his brother that at least this was the perfect night for such a meeting. Or at least, it was early evening in the capital; in Woodstockade it was shortly before noon, when the meeting took place. But Capp discovered that within Des'Caina's castle, any time of day might as well be midnight.

But aside from the creepiness of the setting and the subject, he actually found most of the details they discussed to be surprisingly mundane. After all, as capo of an intervillage gang, he dealt with all manner of subordinate gangsters on a regular basis, including Sorreters. In a practical sense, Des'Caina was no different, and this really was just a business arrangement. Vampyres would simply be a new department for the gang, and of course each village would require a department head, and there would have to be a First Vampyre for the entire gang, just as Merv was LandOrder's First Sorreter. The top candidates for that position seemed to be Des'Caina's 'sons,' Girarg Blackshirt and Brahm Des'Merrick. In fact, the two of them were hoping to share the title. It would be an unusual arrangement, but given the circumstances, it seemed wise. Meanwhile, Des'Caina himself found some amusement in the fact that his own title would merely be Chief Sorcerer of LandOrder's Woodstockade branch, while his sons, in spite of being in a different department, would technically outrank him.

Once the last of the details were worked out, Capp broached a subject he'd been avoiding, even though he knew he should have begun with this point: "But before we make all this official, I need your guarantee that any vampyres who join my gang will respect my authority. And that they will respect every mortal member of my gang. I absolutely will not tolerate any insolence or... demonic shenanigans. I understand that they have certain needs, but my people... are not food."

Des'Caina grinned a devilish grin. "Oh, I assure you, my children are well-disciplined. They have always accepted my fatherly guidance, and I shall instruct them to show you the same respect they show me. Can you guarantee that your people will all treat them as comrades, rather than simply monsters?"

"I... will make it very clear that anyone who refuses to do so should seek other employment."

"Excellent. Then I believe-"

He was interrupted by a sudden cry of "Demos! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"What was that?" demanded Des'Caina, all traces of humor suddenly gone from his voice.

Capp withdrew a t-mail bubble from his pocket. He turned off the transmission, but continued to receive audio from Poss's bubble. "My brother," he said. "I wanted to be sure someone I trusted knew where I was. Someone outside my gang."

"-waste my time with silly questions, Marshal," said Demos's voice. "We're here to kill you, of course. There are plenty of others on our list, but I'm afraid our time is limited, tonight. After all, if we don't get back home soon, who'll hand out candy to all the children that stop by?"

"I've got to get to him!" exclaimed Capp. "Merv!"

Before they could translocate away, Des'Caina said, "You should know, Demos is a vampyre now. So's his Sorreter."

"What?! How the hell did that happen?"

"I'm afraid he left me no choice. But listen, take Girarg with you. He can help."

Girarg stood up from his place at the table, about to join the humans. His father touched his arm and looked up at him. "Give Demos my regards, will you, dear boy?"

"Of course, Father."

In the few seconds they'd spent talking, they'd heard the sounds of a struggle coming from the bubble. Just before they disappeared from the castle, they heard a shout of "No!" ...And then they were in Poss's office.

Demos and Deadzone whirled to face them. "What are you doing here?"

"Father sends his regards," said Girarg, moving swiftly toward Demos. However, Demos avoided him just as swiftly.

"Tut tut, none of that, this time," said Demos.

But before either he or Deadzone could make another move, Merv cast a paralysis spell on both of them. Because of their supernatural celerity, all that did was slow them down to human speed, but it was enough to give their enemies the advantage, and they knew it. So Deadzone immediately translocated Demos and himself away.

Capp now looked to his brother, who was kneeling on the floor, beside a young man who was quickly losing blood.

Poss looked up and said, "Gregory... my aide-de-camp. He rushed in to protect me, got between me and Demos... We've got to... call a medic...."

Girarg looked at him and said, "There's no time. But I can save him, if he'll let me."

"What do you-" Poss's eyes suddenly widened with understanding. "No. I mean..." He looked down at Lt. deCamp. "Greg... he's a vampyre. You wouldn't want-"

"I'll... do it," said deCamp weakly.

And so the vampyre cut his hand and fed the fallen soldier. When it was done, he told Poss, "He should come with me. He has much to learn."

Poss looked at his friend with great concern, unsure what to do. Finally deCamp nodded, and Poss waved them away. The two vampyres disappeared.

Capp laid a consoling hand tentatively on his brother's shoulder. "Poss... I... I'll do all I can to make sure he's alright."

The marshal stood up, and fixed the capo with a hard stare. "I won't be able to explain any of this. Not without revealing your secret."

"I know. I can't ask-"

"We've talked about this. They need your control, which you can only exert if this deal goes through. Which won't happen if I tell anyone what really happened. So... I'll say Deadzone killed him. With a fire that consumed the body." He looked at Merv, who nodded, and cast a fire spell at the spot where deCamp had been lying. The blood vanished, though Poss couldn't tell if it had really burned away, or if the Sorreter had translocated it away. More importantly, there was now a large scorch mark on the floor, to support the story. Looking back at his brother, Poss said, "He... he'll need a job."

"He'll have one."

Poss nodded. "Then... go. Just go."

Capp touched Merv's shoulder, and they returned to Des'Caina's castle.

Poss returned to his desk, and slumped heavily onto his chair. He wondered for a moment if the commotion would attract anyone to his office, but then he remembered it was not only after hours on the weekin, but also a holiday. And he'd kept fewer than usual people around him lately, anyway, as he was still in the process of determining whom he could trust. Letting go of the dread he'd felt at the thought of having to deal with anyone else right now, he suddenly wished he kept alcohol in his office. He was about to get up and look for a pub, preferably one to which he never went, where hopefully he might not be recognized, and therefore left alone to drink in peace. But he suddenly remembered something Demos had said. There are plenty of others on our list. With that in mind, he began frantically trying to think just who those others might include, so that he could warn them. Though he wasn't quite sure how to do so without revealing the fact that Demos and Deadzone were now both vampyres. Nor was he sure how anyone could protect themselves even if they did know. So perhaps, rather than warn anyone, he should put together a detail that could protect them without their even knowing they were being protected. But he realized ordinary soldiers or police would be of little use for the job, so he tried to think who would be of use. Who could possibly organize such a detail, or details?

Finally, he took out a high-priority t-mail bubble and said, "Poss Primus for Cirna Mastera. Urgent."

Darius and the others had started their flight back to Triscot the day after the debate. Once they got back, they spent a few days discussing what each of them intended to do, from this point forward. It was soon realized that the Band was going to split up, at least for awhile. Darius planned to stay with his family, at least until some other opportunity presented itself. He was quite keen to get involved with the founding of the village Cameron had mentioned, but that would have to wait until Cameron had discussed it further with his fellow ex-Sorreters, so that's where he'd be going. Tom, as he'd predicted, had finished reading the book Darius lent him during the two-day flight to Triscot. He said it had inspired him to learn a new trade, one he planned on studying in Tonad. Tiejo had a project of his own in mind, having been inspired by what Quinn Darkstrider had said to him. The project would require him to travel the world, and the first place he wanted to go was Kimrin, to talk with Taryn Hillrat. Vallus said that since he had no particular plans of his own, he'd be honored if Tiejo let him tag along, for old time's sake, to which Tiejo enthusiastically agreed. Alec said he had some business of his own to attend to in the Northern Alliance, but he declined to specify which village or what exactly that business entailed. Ginger planned to return to Plist, to visit her mother and some old friends. She wasn't sure how long that would last, but she thought that would be the best place for her to do some soul-searching about what her future might hold. Tino, naturally, said he intended to go wherever Ginger went. He also reminded Darius that he'd have to visit them there, and join them for some absinthe. Emma decided it was high time to return to Woodstockade, and reconcile with her parents, as well as seeing her brothers and sisters. And she reminded Ginger that she'd promised to visit her sometime.

All of this had been sorted out by the end of the week, but they were all reluctant to actually embark on their new and mostly separate adventures. They decided to spend one final day together, and Darius thought it was fitting that that day should be a holiday. In fact, his favorite holiday. He said not so long ago, he'd been worried that he'd be too depressed to celebrate it this year, but as long as they were all together for one last hurrah, he thought they'd have a lot of fun. He asked if anyone wanted to dress up for Samhain, and Tiejo showed some interest, but everyone else declined. So, Darius and Tiejo dropped the idea. But there were plenty of activities in town that afternoon, at a festival that Darius thought almost made up for missing the World Fair, over the summer. The first event was a visit to the cemetery, where they exchanged stories about loved ones they'd each lost over the years. Darius didn't share any stories, but he listened to those his relatives told. Later they went to a farmers' market, where vendors were selling all sorts of foods. Most of them involved pumpkin, but Darius made sure to buy a large bag of kettle corn, which he shared with his friends, his sister, and his cousins. Then there was a haunted house, and a storyteller who told some spine-tingling tales, and finally a late afternoon concert in a darkened music hall. As they walked back to the Lonewander estate, Darius said, "I've always thought cellos were evil. And that concert proved it."

Around Third Two, trick-or-treaters began arriving, all in costumes that were scary or adorable or amusing, or some combination thereof. It was supposed to be Alyn's job to pass out candy, but her guests insisted on helping. It had been years since Darius or his friends had gone trick-or-treating themselves, so they enjoyed a vicarious thrill by admiring the children's costumes. Cameron proved particularly popular with the kids who stopped by, as he performed magic tricks for them.

By Third Four and Fifty, it seemed like that part of the evening was over, so Darius and his friends went back into town, as they had a reservation at Emerald Honeytree. After they'd finished their meals, their server, Ty, brought a selection of complimentary calaveras, which he said was a Samhain tradition their chain had started when the very first Emerald Honeytree had opened in Sorret in 376. Everyone thought that was great, especially Darius, who'd wanted to get a sugar skull at the farmers' market, but had refrained, believing the kettle corn would provide quite enough sweetness for the afternoon.

As they were getting up to leave, Emma, who'd had a couple of Green Fairies, giggled and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially with Ty, though her voice was a bit louder than she thought. "Say, you know that bartender?"

"Meg? Yeah. Why?"

"Out of curiosity, she's not by any chance Julian, is she? She's pretty cute."

Ty grinned. "Nope, sorry."

"Aww. Oh well, too bad."

When they got back their wagon- or rather Adam's wagon, the strider-drawn kind- Cameron said, "Well, we've still got a few hours to kill. What shall we do next?"

Alec said, "There's a new horror movie playing. I think we've got time to make it, if we hurry."

"I've got a better idea," said Darius. "I was thinking... one day not long after we started our original adventure, this spring, Cameron said something about history being written by the winners. I've read a history book, when I was in school right after the Coming, but it occurs to me, some of you probably haven't. So maybe... we should break into a school, and read one. See how many details we may want to rectify for the history that will be taught in our country's schools."

"I feel like there must be a better way to go about that," said Tom. "You know, without breaking any laws."

"Psh! We spent three damn months in a dungeon for not breaking laws. It's about time we do something illegal, to make up for that."

"If you say so. But maybe we could stop by a liquor store, first."

"Shopping or lifting?"

"Take your pick."

They ended up buying a few bottles to share among themselves, and when they arrived at the nearest school, Tom said, "Now, just give me a centhour. I'm a fair hand at picking locks, but it's been awhile since I've tested my skills."

"First you object to breaking and entering, and now you're the ringleader?" asked Darius.

"I just don't want you busting any windows, or anything."

While Tom stooped down to work on the lock, Cameron provided illumination. Suddenly, he looked up and glanced around in confusion. "Did anyone else... sense something strange?"

"What do you mean?" asked Emma.

"I'm not sure, I just..." He fell silent for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Never mind, it's nothing." He went back to watching Tom work.

Darius said, "Hey, remember in that movie when the burglars were pulling their totally awesome heist? How they had totally awesome theme music that made the scene even cooler? We should have something like that."

"Oh!" exclaimed Ginger. "I just remembered, I brought a recording with me, with some music Sizinia gave me not long after the Band first formed. I wanted to play that for those who haven't heard it, before we go our separate ways. It's kind of like our theme, I guess, though it would have been more apropos... sometime earlier this year." She pulled the bubble out of her pocket. "Although it's about halfway into the song before the part I like best starts."

"Got it," said Tom, standing up. "Cue the awesome theme music."

Ginger raised the bubble and instructed it, "Activate. Track six. Skip four centhours. Play."

The music began. After about ten seconds, Tom said, "Not very Samhain-y, but nice. Shall we?" He swung the door open, and everyone followed him in....

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