3Happy Easter, everybody! I know things aren't the best right now, but I still hope you had a good holiday. Thank you again for all who had read and reviewed this story. Please enjoy the final chapter of If We Spirits Have Offended and feel free to leave a review.
Belvedere Castle had been decorated for Halloween. People strolled around enjoying the view. A few activities had been set up for children to win small prizes and people were handing out candy. Sitting up on the roof, concealed from human eyes by magic, Puck and Iris were resting. Both were tired from their mad chase around Central Park. Each had a plate with a bagel and a cup of cream.
"How nice that some remember the old ways," Puck commented. "I can't remember the last time I had such a treat left out by mortals."
"May their garden grow ever green," said Iris. She nibbled on her bagel.
Puck looked down at the footpath at the people wandering below them. "Ghosts, vampires, witches - ooh, pair of skeletons!"
Iris spotted the skeletons Puck called out. They were wearing skeleton jumpsuits, but their masks were painted in different colors with bright flower headpieces.
"That's certainly different," said Iris.
"Finally someone with creativity," said Puck.
Iris looked at Puck. "You're not even dressed for Halloween."
Puck's eyebrows shot into his hairline. He looked down at his normal tunic and leggings. Deciding she was right, Puck snapped his fingers. His clothes changed into a white shirt with a sleeveless blue tunic, blue leggings tucked into brown boots, and a red cape. His hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and he had on a floppy blue hat with a large white feather sticking out of it.
"Now we match," said Puck, looking like the prince from Snow White.
The sound of some children fighting drew their attention. A little fairy girl was being picked on by a couple of boys wearing monster costumes. An older boy in a police costume came over and stood up for the fairy girl and the boys scattered.
"A little Maza in the making," quipped Puck. "For stopping such actions sordid, the hero shall be rewarded." He flicked a finger in the police boy's direction.
The boy's candy bucket glowed green briefly.
Puck leaned back. "A little extra candy never hurt."
Iris smiled at Puck's generosity.
"Ooh!" Puck leaned forward, looking at something else below them. "Sisters!"
Iris quickly looked down, thinking he was seeing the Weird Sisters. Instead, she saw three women dressed as witches from a live-action Disney movie.
"It's just a little hocus pocus!" Puck crowed loudly enough for them to hear.
The three women looked around, but didn't see Puck and Iris.
"Thank you, Puck, for that marvelous introduction," Iris said dramatically.
Puck looked at her in surprise.
"What?" she asked innocently. "You didn't think I know that movie? It was on the trio's Halloween movie list."
Puck raised a brow. "You watched movies with the gargoyles?"
"I had nothing going on the other night, so I made extra snacks and sat with them," said Iris. She frowned slightly. "You're not upset, are you?"
"The only thing I'm upset about is that I wasn't invited," Puck pouted. His mood quickly turned around. "We should watch a Halloween movie when we get back to the castle!"
"No slashers," said Iris. "I don't like gory movies."
"Done!" Puck declared. He stretched. "I guess we should be moving on. So much fun to have, so little time." He floated to his feet and held out this hand to Iris.
Iris let him pull her to her feet. She straightened out her dress. "What did you have in mind?"
Puck zipped into the air. "On this eve of tricks and treats, let it also be for magical feats. Enchantments abound during this night, but all be fixed in morning's light."
Iris quickly finished her bagel and followed him into the air.
Puck looked around. "Let's start with them." He pointed to a young couple taking a stroll down the pathway. With mischievous glee, Puck flew off in their direction.
The musicians at the block party were taking a break.
"Hey, have you guys heard anything about Illuminators reforming?" Lexington asked Keahi and Claw.
Claw was quick to look at Keahi.
"We have," Keahi answered.
"You have?" asked Brooklyn.
This had the rest of the clan's attention.
"Talon warned us there may be a few running around in New York yet trying to regain a foothold," said Keahi.
"You talked to Derek?" Elisa asked.
"We speak often," Keahi told her. "He likes to be kept inform of what is going on in the Labyrinth."
"Have you seen any Illuminators?" asked Broadway.
"No true Illuminators," Keahi answered.
"What do you mean?" asked Elisa.
"There have been incidents involving teenagers and young adults, mostly petty thefts and vandalism of Halloween decorations," said Keahi. "Those involved were wearing homemade Illuminator patches."
"Great. Bunch of posers," Ariana said sarcastically.
"At least we don't have to worry about them having the means to break into the castle," said Morgan.
"But that doesn't mean they can't hurt somebody," said Elisa. She looked at Keahi. "You said there were mostly petty thefts and vandalism. What else?"
"There have been assaults on people, mostly women, who they believed to be witches," Keahi replied.
A vampire couple was sitting on a bench in Central Park. The woman jumped and smacked her boyfriend in the chest.
"Ow! What?" he yelled.
"You know what! Making it feel like something was crawling on me!" she snapped.
The guy put his hands up. "Babe, it wasn't me!"
"What do you mean it wasn't you? You had your arm behind my back!"
His eyes widened. "Baby." He pointed to her shoulder.
"What?"
"Sp-spider!" he squeaked.
There was a very large spider crawling on her shoulder.
She crossed her arms. "Oh, like I'm gonna fall for that!" She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw the spider. She screamed and jumped off the bench. "Get it off me! Get off! Get off! Get off!"
Her boyfriend didn't help her, instead fleeing in fear.
The woman managed to get the massive spider off and ran after him, screaming at how he abandoned her.
Puck and Iris were laughing at the couple as they ran away.
"I didn't know you had it in you," Puck said to Iris.
Iris shrugged. "They do say it's the quiet ones you have to look out for. Your turn."
Puck's victims were a bunch of teenage boys in ninja costumes. They each had a carton of eggs and were planning on egging the boat shed.
The cartons popped open on their own and the eggs began to float. The boys panicked, but didn't run away. A mistake on their part. The eggs were pelted themselves at the ninjas. They ran off, covering their heads as the remaining eggs chased after them.
"Nice aim," Iris commented.
"Thank you," said Puck. He flicked his wrist and an egg appeared in his hand. "Here!"
Puck slapped the egg onto Iris's head. She froze in shock. Puck laughed and flew away.
Iris reached up to see how much of a mess the egg made. Instead of finding egg yolk, she found a piece of confetti. She tipped her head forward and shook it. Glitter and confetti fell from her hair.
"Why, you!" Iris flew off in chase of Puck.
She couldn't find him. Iris searched around the lake, but Puck was nowhere to be found. Either she was looking in the wrong place or he was waiting to ambush her.
"Let me go!"
The female scream caught Iris's attention. She stopped and looked around.
Two men were manhandling a teenage girl dressed as a witch to the lake. Another man followed behind them. The three men were dressed in black and were wearing gold masks. On their arms was a patch with an I with a circle cutting through the stem and a flame in the middle.
"Illuminators," Iris breathed in horror, her eyes turning brown-orange.
"I'm not a real witch, you morons!" the girl screamed. "Those were just cheap tricks! A kid can learn them from a book!"
They tied her hands together.
"What are you doing?" she yelled.
"Testing you," said the one tying her hands. He sounded like he was the leader. "If you float, you're a witch."
"And what if I sink?" she yelled.
"You won't," the leader said flatly.
"You're crazy!" she screamed.
They picked her up.
"No!" the girl protested, trying to kick free.
They threw her in the lake. She popped up, trying to swim with her hands tied.
"Help!" she choked out before disappearing beneath the water.
Iris unfroze. She knew she had to do something or the girl was going to drown. She landed behind the Illuminators.
"This is to be a night for fun, not for terrible deeds to be done," she said, gaining the Illuminators' attention.
The girl resurfaced unconscious in a bubble of magic. She was quickly transported to the shore far away from them.
Iris glared, her eyes were flickering between brown-orange and black with rage.
"Another witch?" one of them asked uncertainly.
"Didn't you hear her?" asked another. "That sounded like a spell to me. And look at her eyes!"
Iris clenched her fists.
"What are you waiting for?" asked the leader. "Grab her!"
The two Illuminators seemed hesitant. They looked at each other, motioning for the other to go. Iris thought it odd. She never knew Illuminators to hesitate.
Finally one of the Illuminators charged forward and tried to grab her. Iris twirled out of the way and kicked him in the behind. He ended up face first in the dirt. The second Illuminator grabbed her. Iris found his foot and slammed her heel down. The Illuminator yelped. His grip loosened and Iris pulled away. The Illuminator tried to grab her again, but grabbed her detachable skirt instead. It was pulled off and Iris turned around and kicked him in the shin.
A length of chain wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides. The burning of iron shot through her and she let out a scream. She was pulled back against the leader's chest.
"Stop screwing around!" he snapped at them.
A pale finger tapped the leader on the shoulder. The Illuminator looked back.
"That's not very nice," Puck said with a finger wag. He drew his other fist back and punched the Illuminator in the mask.
The chain fell away and the Illuminator hit the ground hard.
Puck grinned maliciously at the two remaining Illuminators.
They started to run. They didn't get far before they both tripped and fell to the ground. Long blades of grass were wrapped around their ankles. They looked back and saw Iris standing over them with her hands on her hips.
Iris lifted one hand to her lips and blew across her palm. Yellow dust flew from her hand and into the faces of the two Illuminators. They both fell unconscious.
"Though she be but little, she is fierce!" Puck laughed.
Iris went to retrieve her skirt.
"Are you all right?" Puck asked, seeing the red marks on her arms where the chain had been.
Iris nodded. "I've had worse."
Puck knew she had been through worse, but it didn't make him any less concerned. He turned to the unconscious Illuminators. "Is it just me or did that seem easy?"
"It's not you," said Iris. "I need to find the girl they tried to drown."
"She's fine," Puck told her. "I ran into her. She told me some lunatics in masks accused her of witchcraft and threw her in the lake. I had her go find a policeman."
Iris looked at the patches on the Illuminators' sleeve. "These look homemade," she commented. "They're painted, not stitched."
Puck pulled the mask off the leader. The leader was young, not even twenty.
Iris took off the masks of the other two and found they were younger yet. "They're children," Iris whispered in shock.
"No wonder it was so easy," said Puck. "Just a bunch of kids playing dress up."
"And almost killed a girl," added Iris.
They were interrupted by a police officer running up the path. It seemed the girl had found help. The two fey quickly vanished without a trace.
The block party was wrapping up for the night. Broadway, Brooklyn, Angela, and Ariana were sitting at a picnic table finishing the food they got from a vendor. Goliath and Elisa were speaking to Keahi and Claw. Lexington and Morgan were having one last dance before the musicians packed up. There weren't many other people left, just those who were in charge and the vendors and one or two small groups who were getting ready to leave as well.
"You done, Angela?" Broadway asked.
"Yes," she replied, passing her trash to Broadway so he could take it to the garbage.
"I got yours, Ariana," said Brooklyn, gathering it up.
"Thank you," Ariana said, keeping her drink.
The two gargoyles got up and walked away.
"Tonight was fun," said Angela. "Now I know why it's their favorite time of year."
"Mine, too," said Ariana.
They both stood up.
A man dressed as a clown came up behind Angela and stuck something in her ribs. "You scream, you die. Money and jewelry, now!"
Ariana looked at the gun shoved against Angela's side. "Yeah, bad idea, buddy," she said depreciatingly.
"Shut up!" the clown hissed.
"Certainly dressed appropriately," Ariana continued. She glanced at Angela, silently asking her to trust her.
"I said shut up!"
Ariana threw her drink in the clown's face. The gun went off and Angela screamed. She dropped to the ground clutching her side.
"Angela!" different clan members cried out, running to help.
Ariana tackled the clown and knocked the gun away. She reached back and pulled off one of her pumps.
"You messed with the wrong people!" Ariana shouted, beating the clown with her shoe.
The clown put his hands up to protect himself from Ariana's assault.
Brooklyn pulled Ariana off the clown.
Elisa came around with her gun in hand and pointed it at the clown. "Police!" she identified herself.
Keahi came around with a gun of her own. Claw stood behind her for backup.
Broadway and Goliath were at Angela's side.
"Morgan!" Broadway shouted for the healer.
Morgan ran over with Lexington behind her.
"Let me see," Morgan said softly. She pulled Angela's hands away to find a black mark on her costume, but there was no blood. She ran her power through Angela and only detected a nasty bruise forming. It would be gone by the next night, but Morgan healed it anyway.
"Thank you," Angela said with relief.
"She's okay," Morgan assured the rest of the clan.
"Lucky him," Keahi said, staring at the clown. "Got any handcuffs, detective?"
"Yes," Elisa replied. She lowered her gun and got out the handcuffs she had with her.
"Claw," Keahi commanded.
The tiger mutate walked around and hauled the clown to his feet for Elisa to handcuff him.
Angela got to her feet with Goliath and Broadway's help.
"I am glad you are all right, daughter," Goliath said.
Ariana wiggled herself out of Brooklyn's hold. "Of course she is. You didn't think I wouldn't put some type of protection on my costumes, did you?"
She looked at the clown. Claw had forced him to his knees and had hand on his shoulder to keep him from trying to run.
"Should have hexed him," she muttered.
"It wouldn't be worth it," said Brooklyn.
"I've done it for less," Ariana countered.
Morgan shook her head, knowing how true Ariana's statement was. "I hope Iris and Puck are having a better time than we are."
Puck and Iris watched from the shadows as the police took away the three Illuminator imposters. The girl in the witch's costume was physically fine, but she was still shook up over the entire ordeal.
"Well, tonight was certainly interesting," Puck commented, looking at scene.
"Yes," Iris quietly agreed.
"I'm proud of you," Puck said.
Iris turned to him, confused.
He smiled at her. "You stood up to them and saved that girl."
"They were just a bunch of children," Iris responded.
"But did you know that at the time?" asked Puck. "You truly thought they were Illuminators."
"Puck, you act like it's the first time I stood up to Illuminators," said Iris. "I've done it before."
"To save a person you love. To save me," he interrupted. "You don't know this mortal, yet you saved her."
"It was the right thing to do," Iris defended.
"Of course it was, my flower. I'm not saying it's not." He took her hands in his. "I know you were terrified. You can't hide your emotions."
"I think I was more enraged than scared," she admitted.
"But you faced the fear and that's what matters. And you saved a life in the process and looked great while doing it."
Iris blushed a little. "You know, I'm up for one more trick before we go home."
"Oh? Did you have something in mind?" asked Puck.
The peace of Central Park was broken by the sound of maniacal laughter. Galloping down the path to Belvedere Castle was a pitch black horse with a headless rider. Under one arm was a jack-o'-lantern with glowing features. People jumped out of the way, some screaming and a few laughing at the sight. The horseman rode up in front of the castle. The horse turned and reared up. The headless horseman held the jack-o'-lantern high and with a final laugh, threw it to the ground. The jack-o'-lantern exploded in flames on impact. When the fire and smoke disappeared, the headless horseman was gone. People cheered and looked around for those responsible for the trick. None of them thought to look up on the roof of the castle.
"Nice finale," Puck commended Iris. "It could have used a bit more flare."
Iris gave him a playful shove in the shoulder.
Puck chuckled. "Now I do remember something about a movie."
"That sounds like a good idea," said Iris.
The two fey vanished from Central Park.
It was after midnight when Ariana and Morgan walked into the former's workroom.
"What a night," Ariana said with a stretch. "I don't think I've had that eventful of a Halloween in years."
Morgan unpinned her hair. "Let's be glad that Elisa was able to smooth everything over and keep the gargoyles out of her report."
"If not, I'm sure I could have come up with something," said Ariana, going behind the partition to change. "He's lucky I couldn't do anything else to him besides beat him with my shoe. You don't mess with me and you don't mess with my family."
"Don't mess with the Manhattan clan at all," Morgan said.
"Exactly. It won't end well," said Ariana.
"Although, I think next time Angela would appreciate it if she didn't get shot. She would have been fine until dawn, but it would have been painful."
"Rather her side than her head," said Ariana. "Contrary to what some believe, I do think things through."
Morgan let her eyes dart to another side of the room. They were unfocused, like she wasn't really looking at anything in the room. "Puck and Iris are back already."
"Really? Hmm. Hope they had more fun than we did," said Ariana.
Puck and Iris were in Owen's room. The rarely used television was on and Puck was going through a stack of rented movies.
"This was certainly an interesting night," said Puck. He was back in his usual garb.
Iris had changed out of her costume and had chosen to wear a set of fuzzy pink pajamas. She made herself comfortable on the bed with a large bowl of popcorn.
Puck put a tape into the VCR player. "And you said no slashers, so let's go with this."
The opening credits played.
Iris raised her brows at Puck's choice. "Live action Cinderella? I wouldn't call it a Halloween movie."
"Ah, but it is magical," Puck pointed out.
Both fey settled in to finish out their Halloween night together.
I wasn't certain how to end this, so I apologize if this seems a little sudden. It was nice working with these characters again and perhaps in the future you may see them again. For now, I am going back to Lucid Dream: The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the couple other projects I have planned in the very near future. One of them may be posted this week.
