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."

* * *
Lyric
* * *

It's strange walking down this hallway. There's something weird in the air - like something's going on, or it's just about to happen. Is this how Poets feel? I don't quite like it. I start to wish I'd been able to train a little bit before getting kidnapped - maybe if I were a really good Poet, I could have planned for this all. Jhe h'Logos is a Time Lord, after all. Couldn't he help me predict stuff like this? I mean, Gerald didn't seem like he was doing anything Poetic on purpose, but he's Gerald, not the Poet King.

Surely the Poet King would know what to do about this ominous feeling, and the near-visible flashes I'm starting to get of other places and familiar people. I'm thinking of Ebrellin-i so much right now - maybe because I've been around his mother so much? Ugh, that just gives me the chills.

* * *
Jax
* * *

We're hacking through the undergrowth in the woods around the big castle here when Gerude tells us all that we shouldn't be hacking through it with the particular method that we're using now. He phrases it in a pretty creative way, though:

"YEEEAAAUUUUGH!!!"

I think pretty much anybody could understand that.

I didn't know you could shoot a tree dead, but I guess Arms can shoot anything dead. Kennit and Caerig manage to put three holes through the trunk of the tree that Gerude seems to be having a problem with before I realize that it was already dead-looking before he shot it. It's then that I notice that the trees in these woods are moving, but the air is stale and still. There's no breeze to make those limbs creak, so why are they--

It's so dark in here. Strange, usually Jhe h'Logos has enough light to write by. Still, in the low light I can make out the barest details of Jhe h'Logos's suite as Gerude scans over every inch of his surroundings, Kennit always at the ready. The hardwood floor is getting stained by our bloody footprints, but I think that's the least of anyone's worries right now. The furniture here seems relatively undisturbed, and I see no other signs of blood. Once we get past the wood flooring, its on to deep red carpets. The soft squishy feel of them is strange to my bare foot. Somehow it's reminiscent of tromping through corpses, and the similarity makes me shiver through and through.

As we stand at the base of the grand staircase leading to the fifth floor, a thin trickle of blood cascades down the steps. We watch, silent, as the crimson beads hesitate at the lip of the last step. One fat bead finally plops down, followed by a few more in rapid succession, until it's coming down in a steady trickle.

"That's, uh... that's a lot of blood."

Gerude gives Erynn one of the most exasperated looks I've ever seen an Armed toss a Poet's way. It's rather reminiscent of the ones I see Jhe h'Akribastes level at Jhe h'Logos when my King is being particularly helpful. Erynn raises his eyebrows and shrugs. "What? It is."

"How many are up there?" I ask, heading off any lovers spat before it has a chance to start. Gerude gets that typical pinched look on his face as he consults his Arms, then shakes his head.

Set thirteen years before the Peacock King Trilogy, the Halloween special story for 2009 is a 4-part zombietacular of epic proportions. You can jump right into this one without any prior reading in the Peacock King series.

Also, we kinda killed off some readers in this one. Perilous!

The Halloween extravaganza continues! This time Irk and Char bring you Part 2, complete with zombies, more zombies, and WAY MORE ZOMBIES! Also, you may recognize a few of the new guys in here. ^_^ We had so many people to kill off that this ran long - the third and final part will run tomorrow. Whether it'll be a trick or a treat remains to be seen... until then, enjoy today's portion!

***
Edward
***

Stevane isn't there.

I stare down at the bed. It's rumpled, like there was a struggle, and there's blood sprayed around the room. One small handprint stands out in stark crimson against the white infirmary wall, the fingerprints trailing in a smear. There's smudges of blood all over the crumpled-up pillow, and splatters trailing across the floor and out the main door.

* * *
Katherine
* * *

To mock a great opening line, picture this: Gerald standing in front of me, happy all over his beaming, punchable face, hands on his hips, the very picture of a heroic retard.

"Okay, Katherine, I forgive you."

"I... okay wait, what?" I swear, that was so out of nowhere that I can't figure out a way to kick him for it. "Will you just get out of the way? I need to go see the Judge."

"Oh, Daddy's not in his office. Come on, let's go talk." Gerald grabs my hand. I jerk it away.

RADIA

* * *
Luciprochoros
* * *

Ruling half of the free world is a busy and time-consuming job, with a lot of distractions. In the founding days of our Kingdom, I had to create a coffee company just to have enough coffee on hand to be able to perform all of my duties. That's right, I have my own supply-chain, bean-sorting, and roasting hierarchy. That is a LOT of coffee. Celestial Coffee Company is a highly successful business as well, more than paying for its own overhead and expenses. It is also a lot to manage in its own right, and it really can't all get done properly unless it's done directly, by myself, no matter what my accountants tell me about fair business practices.