Holiday Magick (38 page)

Bet was about to say, ‘that's what all explorers do' but he held his tongue. Upsetting Elden might be more hazardous to his health than any danger at Bogie Marsh.

Elden shot a breath of air through his nose. “And of course I don't
need
a demon mask to do it, but I wouldn't mind one.”

“How does it work? I know that demons have to shed their skin and all, but how does wearing one make you lose all your fear?”

Elden shrugged. “How should I know? You might as well ask how all the sheep always seem to know when it's going to rain. Or how the sun makes the earth so warm. Or how…it just does.”

Bet inched closer to Elden, following his steps in sync. “Okay.”

“Now be quiet because we're getting close.” Elden turned and almost knocked into Bet with the lantern. “Watch it.”

“Sorry.”

Elden made a rotating motion with his fingers. “I'll signal you like this if I find a mask. And then you can keep a lookout.” He put a hand into his pocket and pulled out the small knife with the leather sheath that Father usually kept with his other tools. “I'll cut the head part of the skin off, and then put the mask on.”

Bet felt sick to his stomach about it. He imagined the mask would feel disgusting and itchy and just plain unnatural. “How long do you have to wear it?”

Elden scratched the side of his head. “Until all of my fear goes away, I guess.”

“And then I'll wear it?”

“Don't be silly. Thomas says the same mask can't be worn twice. It loses its power after the first use. We'll have to find you one of your own.”

A sharp crack echoed through the woods and Bet jumped closer to his brother.

“It's nothing.” Elden's voice cracked a bit. “Probably a stray dog.”

Another crack—this one louder—came from the same spot. Elden held his lantern high, but the darkness would not give way to his little light.

“Let's keep moving,” Elden said in a brave voice. But Bet noticed his brother's arm was covered in goose pimples. “We're not far.”

As they walked—Bet only far enough back to avoid Elden's heels—Bet noticed something. The sounds of the night had disappeared. A too-quiet woods could mean only one thing, and Bet immediately understood why the crickets were refusing to chirp and the owls were refusing to question.

The demons must be close.

“It's too quiet.” Bet tugged at his brother's shirt. “It's not right, it's not.”

Elden swatted at Bet's hand like it was a pesky gadfly. “It's fine. Look, we're almost there.”

The water of Bogie Marsh reflected black under the moonlight, looking less like water and more like a tar pit. A fence of trees and vines stood between the boys and Bogie Marsh, but they didn't do much to hold back the scummy smell.

Bet plugged both nostrils, not caring if he seemed childish by doing so. “Gross.”

Elden pursed his lips, but he waved Bet forward. They made their way along the final edge of the path before they ducked out of the brush and the marsh came into full view.

The old relics of buildings studded the rim of Bogie Marsh. Townsfolk originally wanted to live around the marsh because it was considered lucky to live close to the natural medicines that grew on its banks, but luck seemed to be the last thing that came to the people living there. They had claimed that the buildings kept falling in because of sinkholes, but Bet knew the truth—the demons didn't want people living with them. Most of the remnants were piles of crumbly bricks and decrepit logs, but a few small shacks remained intact. Bet had forgotten how big the marsh was, and realized it would take more than a few hours to do a proper investigation for demon masks.

A light mist drifted off the peaceful waters of the marsh and all was quiet.

“You were last.” Elden smirked and bent over, giving Bet a sniff and wrinkling his nose. “Guess you really are a rotten egg.”

“You're a rotten egg.”

Elden rolled his eyes. “Real original.”

“It would have been original if I said it first, it would have.”

Elden poked Bet in the chest. “Will you stop being such a goof and start looking for masks for us to wear?”

Bet's eyes scanned what he could see of the marsh. His gut warned him to run away as fast as he could, but Bet knew that Elden wouldn't stop now, regardless of what was said.

Bet's eyes went to the pocket that held Father's knife. Too bad Elden didn't have a real sword to protect them. If he had a real sword, maybe they'd be safe.

Bet randomly pointed to the left side. “That way?”

Elden nodded. “After you, little brother.”

Bet gulped and shook his head.

Elden sighed. “When are you going to grow up? I
hope
we find two masks, because you sure need it.” He hesitated for a moment and then stepped around Bet, leading the way. Elden walked with a slight hunch, as if preparing to dash away at any moment. Bet followed behind, making sure to step lightly and not startle any demons. He wondered if demons could even be startled. If they could, he decided, they'd probably eat whoever startled them, just to get even.

Bet's eyes flashed from side to side, scanning endlessly for any sign of movement. Pastor Michael's words about the underworld continued to echo in his ears.

They came upon the first complete shack and stopped in front of the door. The wooden planks creaked like the spokes of an ungreased wagon wheel. Bet knew if his heart beat any harder then it might just knock him off his feet.

Elden's voice cracked a few times as he spoke. “I bet there's a demon shedding a mask in there right now.” Elden took the knife out of his pocket. Back in the toolbox, Bet had thought that knife was big and sharp and dangerous. But now it looked about as harmless as a willow switch. “Let's go in.”

Bet wanted to say “no.”

To scream “no!”

To bellow “NO!” at the top of his lungs and smack Elden in the head for getting him to do something as foolish as looking for demon skins on Hollow Eve.

“I'll stay here,” Bet managed to squeak.

Elden sighed again. “Such a child.” He waited a few seconds and then went up to the front of the shack, the floorboards giving an unwelcome shriek. He reached out a hand, going for the door handle—

“Boys. You don't need to do that.”

Bet nearly jumped from his skin and Elden gave a startled yelp, dropping the knife. Bet spun around and saw something that he hadn't noticed a moment earlier.

Waiting near the edge of the bog was a table with two chairs in front of it. A handsome man in fine clothing sat behind the table in a third chair, his elbows on the polished surface and his fingers folded.

Bet was relieved to see that it wasn't a monster.

“Come here, boys. Sit down.”

The man's voice was deep but friendly. He revealed a mouth full of perfect, white teeth as he smiled and waved the boys over.

Elden reached down and grabbed his knife, his face firing up a fierce expression. “Who are you? Are you a sorcerer?”

The man chuckled. “I'm a friend.”

The man looked slightly older than Father, and much wealthier. His clothing was the finest cut Bet had ever seen. Bet didn't think any monster could afford a suit like that. The man had a dashing smile and a thick head of hair.

Elden looked at Bet and then stowed the knife with a shrug. He led Bet over to the table and they both took a seat. Bet readied himself for an earful.

The man gave a shrewd smile. “So the tales of ‘Hollow Eve' pulled you from your beds tonight. You are searching for demon masks, am I correct?”

The boys remained quiet with guilt. Eventually, Elden nodded.

The man
tskked
. “What would your parents say?”

Bet seriously hoped the man wouldn't tell Mother and Father. He preferred his intestines inside his body, thank you very much. “I—”

The man waved away Bet's concern. “Don't worry, I won't tell your parents. But just out of curiosity, why are you searching for masks?”

Bet hung his head. “If we find a skin that a demon shed, and then put the head part of it on, our fear disappears, it does.”

The man chuckled. “Is that so?”

Elden nodded.

The man leaned forward and put his hands flat against the table, giving a charming smile. “What if I told you that demons don't exist?”

Bet's eyes shot up.

“Of course they do,” Elden said in a defiant tone.

The man raised an eyebrow. “Have you seen one, then? Pray tell, what kind was it?”

Elden paused, pinching his lips together. “Well, I haven't seen one. But my friend Thomas swears that they're real.”

The man folded his fingers again. “Oh, I see. Your friend Thomas swears it. So then Thomas has seen one?”

Elden's face flushed. He shook his head.

The man opened his hands. “Oh, to be young again.”

Bet felt silly. Of course demons weren't real. That was just childish talk. He almost wanted to laugh at how silly he'd been.

Elden let his eyes fall to the table. “But tonight
is
Hollow Eve. Doesn't that mean that demons are real? How else are you supposed to get rid of your fear?”

The man drummed his immaculate fingertips against the table. “I might have good news for you boys.”

Both boys looked up hopefully.

“You've already started to conquer your fear.”

Bet and Elden exchanged a questioning glance.

The man sat back in his chair. “Maybe the story of ‘Hollow Eve' is just a tale to get boys to brave the dark and frightening night. Weren't you scared to go out? Weren't you very afraid?”

“Very.” Bet nodded furiously. “Very afraid.”

Elden looked back and forth, and then gave the smallest nod possible.

The man nodded, smiling a bright, easy smile. “But you both went out anyway.”

Bet felt his body relax for the first time that night.

“Maybe you boys should be proud of yourselves.” The man's face went blank. “Maybe you now know the true meaning of Hollow Eve. Maybe Hollow Eve is just the first step to discovering all you two need to conquer your fear is to follow your desire to overcome it.”

Elden looked at Bet with a smile. He reached out and put a hand on Bet's shoulder, like he was proud. A rare gesture. “Maybe.”

Bet and Elden shared a nice silence. Bet could tell that Elden was sort of excited about what the man had said.

Bet was
very
excited.

“Or maybe not.” The man scratched at his chin. “Maybe that's not it at all.”

Bet cocked his head to the side, confused.

The man pawed at his neck like a dog might. “Maybe
we
spawned tales of ‘Hollow Eve' and whispered them into the ears of small boys, who whispered them to other small boys.”

Bet's heart started up again, faster than ever.

The man dug his fingernails under his skin. “What boy can resist the promise of a fearless future? Sometimes we even get pretty little girls. Maybe we found a way to get delicious children to come to us willingly. To trick our treats into coming to
us
.”

Elden's jaw dropped in horror. “But what about what you said?”

The man stretched his neck. “I said ‘maybe.'”

“Why are you trying to frighten us? You said you were a friend!”

The man gave Elden a wicked look. “I didn't say I was
your
friend.”

Then the surface of the pond started boiling. Black, rolling ripples pocked the water from shore to shore. And out of the water emerged the heads of all sorts of monsters. Goblins, witches, fiends, scarecrows, and hundreds of other monsters broke out of Bogie Marsh and began making their way toward the table.

“
Maybe
we get hungriest when we shed our skins.” With a flourish, he peeled the mask away from his face in one big slice, revealing his true skin of crimson-red scales. He gave the boys a horrible smirk of crusty, craggy lips curled around perfect white teeth. “I'm afraid that you're on the wrong side of this holiday, boys.”

The creature finished pulling off the skin and flung the mask against the ground. It took a deep, satisfied breath, as if it had just been re-born.

Bet knew that if he survived he would never have another peaceful night of sleep for the rest of his life. The sight in front of him was nothing anyone, young or old, could ever get over. From then on, it would only be nightmares.

But Bet wasn't a fool. The look in the monster's eyes assured Bet that this would be the last nightmare he'd ever experience.

The Devil smiled, licking its lips. “Happy Hollow Eve.”

Though Mother and Father didn't give up hope for many years, Bet and Elden were never found. And they weren't the only boys to disappear that Hollow Eve. The Nelson's youngest son also failed to come home that night. The town grieved for a period, but…that's the way things were back then.