In what has become a Peacock King tradition, we've gone and killed off a bunch of people we love. Last year seventeen fans and fellow writers died - this time the body count rose to eighteen. Next year we'll try to shoot for nineteen!

(Irk actually kept a spreadsheet to tally an accurate hit count this year. Juggling that many corpses while maintaining the flow of a narrative is tricky business!)

Without further ado, 2010's Hit List is as follows:

Cayra - Cayra (aka Kira Seyvah) has been one of our most vocally supportive fans and leaves awesome comments. She also cosplayed Faun and Ebrelle, shots of which you can see in the Fanworks section. Her deviantart page is here.

* * *

The red and white fluff that remains of Rikoshi sprinkles down on us from above, part of a strange new weather pattern that's moved in this evening. It's not nearly as bad as the blood that keeps raining down every time Gerude manages to pick a rabid shenanigan out of the air. The flock that chased Jax out has been thinned down to just a few culprits. The wretched things - they ate Jhe h'Logos!

My gorge rises up as I realize that means that Jhe h'Logos has been raining on us all this time.

"Dammit, Erynn, stop getting distracted by your gut and help me keep focus! They're too fast!" Gerude's words come out in a snarl - he can barely focus on getting them out, he's too busy trying to hit Jax's assailants. Jax, to his credit, has proven very good at running.

Every Halloween we post a horror story set in the Peacock King universe. We also, uh, kill off everyone in the story, because that's how we celebrate the spirit of the season. Part one goes up today (October 30th), and part two goes up on Halloween (October 31st)! After the second part we will follow the other sacred tradition of posting a list of all the notable dead people and links to their websites. And if you missed the first Halloween special, maybe you should go read Hall of the Dead to see what we mean by that.

Also, this story is set one month after Book 3 ends, in case you're keeping track of timelines. It's not terribly relevant to the plotline, this is pretty standalone.

* * *
Erynn
* * *

"HORK."

* * *
Rhia
* * *

Mitheoni crumples like a dropped rag. I know 'Sy hasn't killed him, but I don't relax until I see the regular rise and fall of the Gahalespbar-archo's chest all the same. Luciprochoros exhales loudly and runs his hands through his hair. "This isn't good. He's changed something, isn't reacting the way he should..." He starts pacing the room. "We need to leave before he sends someone after us. Or that one wakes up."

I look down at the very unconscious Law. Something tells me he's less than friendly with suffering a splitting headache. "I know a few places where we could hide for a while."

Luci shakes his head. "No, we'll be hunted down if we stay here. The Ron may not be able to find us immediately, but it wouldn't take long."

Val nods, wincing. "He knows our faces. It would only be a matter of time before one of the Emperor's Own sees us."

* * *
'Sy
* * *

"Luci, I need to use--" I stop and stare in shock. Luci looks back at me, wide-eyed, blade in one hand, towel in the other, partially covering his face. My eyes follow the blade as he sets it down at the edge of the sink. I look at the blade, then at the golden fuzz covering the sink, mirror, and floor, then back up to Luci's face. The towel drops away, and despite all the warnings implicit in the mess, I'm shocked numb by his bare, beardless face.

I must be quite a sight, standing there with my mouth hanging open, because Luci finally giggles, running his fingertips along his naked jawline. He turns and looks in the mirror, then double-takes and laughs. He fluffs his hair as he turns back to me, and I'm startled anew by how wide his grin looks on that bare face.

"I needed a change," he says.

I just nod.

"Not to mention my hair needed a good trim. Three months took a toll!"

* * *
Rhia
* * *

I open my eyes, but instead of the cold floor of the cellar, I'm curled up in 'Sy's bed. The slow, calm wash of his breath on the back of my neck is somewhat expected, but the quiet snore from further down isn't. I try to sit up to see who it is, but 'Sy's arm curls tighter around me, pulling me hard against his chest. He mutters, digging his nose into the back of my neck.

Despite my irritation, I giggle at being tickled... and immediately regret it. I actually have to check and make sure the contents of my skull didn't in fact just slide out my eyes. It feels as though the entire building is crashing down on my skull. Repeatedly.

Water. I need water. Yesterday.

* * *
Rhia
* * *

"The Emperor is out of his fucking mind. Long live the Emperor!"

Luci raises his glass at his own toast. 'Sy follows suit a bit more clumsily, then drains it in one large swallow. I try not to laugh too hard. From what little Luci told us of what happened with Theos, he's more than earned his inebriation, and of course 'Sy is there to support him in whatever he does. Luckily, they're sitting on the floor, stacks of barrels providing the support they both really need at the moment. They clank their glasses together once more, and Luci fumbles around for the bottle they're sharing. I watch as he turns it over, then shakes it. He pouts at the bottle, then turns the pout on 'Sy. "It's empty!"

'Sy reaches behind his back and produces a new bottle. "Problem solved."

I trade glances with Val. He shrugs and sips from his glass. I look down at mine and take another tentative sip. It's good, whatever it is, but it's not wine.

* * *
Rhia
* * *

Luci has been sitting at his desk for so long that I'm afraid he's going to start growing into it. He occasionally remembers to get up to take care of his bodily needs, but as time goes on, he's less and less able to stand. He hunches over as he walks, moving with a pained shuffle that makes me wince just watching it. He's wasting away, pouring his life into whatever he's doing with that quill. I looked, once, but the script makes no sense to me. There's a quick sketch of the Emperor, very well done, but the rest of it...

Perhaps I should have learned script after all. I just never wanted to read, before. Never needed to. Arik could read, and that was enough.

* * *
'Sy
* * *

Rhia's eyes open, and she looks down at Litheosil's prone form. Val and I jump as a loud CRACK echoes through the room. We glance at each other, then Rhia, who is now standing and shaking one hand in the air.

There's been one small change with my brother. He's now sporting a bright red handprint on one cheek.

She looks at us, still scowling and nursing her hand. "He won't snap out of it. We'll have to find someone to knock sense back into him for us."

"Do you have anyone in mind?" The words have barely cleared my tongue before Val is frowning at me. My stomach tightens.