Page 19 of Dead Serious Halloween Special

“What can we do?” I ask, worried as hell. Chan’s so still, and his skin looks almost grey.

“You? Nothing. But I can,” Death murmurs, sliding a hand under Chan’s head. He cradles the nape of Chan’s neck and lowers his head to press his lips to Chan’s.

“Seriously?” Sam mutters.

I watch as the colour seeps back into Chan’s cheeks, turning his skin a pale pink. Suddenly, his arm comes up and wraps around Death’s neck to yank him in closer. Death stumbles, caught off-balance, as Chan flings his other arm around Death’s neck and deepens the kiss. One or possibly both of them moan, and Death lifts his leg onto the table so he’s almost mounting Chan.

“Oh, okay, then.” Nick flushes and averts his eyes, suddenly finding the ruined decorations on the ceiling fascinating.

Sam just grins and watches. Rolling my eyes, I turn to Harrison and Olivia, only to find Harrison staring at me contemplatively.

“Did Chan choose your costume?” he finally says, and I remember what I’m wearing.

“Gingerbread house in the woods?” Olivia asks.

“House with three bears.”

“Yeah, that can happen.” She nods as her amused gaze dances over the frilly dress.

“What can happen?” Sam tears his attention away from Death and Chan, who appear to be in their own little lust bubble.

“Besides the fairy-tale creatures being let loose, they can also draw you inside their stories. Last time this happened, a witch kidnapped my friends Mac and Jake because she thought they were Hansel and Gretel and wanted to eat them. Usually, you have to play the fairy tale out to escape. In the end, they had to cook her in her own oven.”

Sam stares.“I don’t even know what to say to that.”

We turn as Chan gasps and pushes Death away, sitting up abruptly. “Oh my god. Aidan,” he says, looking around the room.

“What about Aidan?” Nick’s brows drawn down in concern.

“I’m guessing nothing good,” Olivia murmurs, “given the current situation. Okay, Harrison, time to get everyone back in the book.”

“Back in what book?” I growl in frustration. “What the hell is going on and where’s Tristan?”

“This”—Olivia points at the book Harrison is still clutching—“is The Gospodar, the master copy of all fairy tales. When it’s opened, the fairy-tale creatures escape and cause havoc. Only the person who opened it can put them all back inside. Which is what Harrison is about to do.”

“I can’t.” He shakes his head.

“Of course you can, it’s easy,” Olivia replies.

“No, you don’t understand.” He frowns. “I’m not the one who opened the book. Tristan is.”

“Well, where’s Tristan?” Olivia is starting to look a little exasperated.

“That’s exactly what I want to know,” I snap. “Will someone please tell me where my husband is?”

“He’s been kidnapped by pirates,” Chan says. “And so has Aidan.”

“What?” Nick and I shout.

“Okay, at ease, Hayes squared,” Sam says calmly. “Chan, why don’t you tell us exactly what happened.”

“Blackbeard showed up, and he had Puck in a cage.”

“He had a puck in a cage?” Sam repeats in confusion. “Like a hockey puck?”

“No, like a naked, hairy hobgoblin named Puck,” Chan clarifies.

“Wait a minute,” Olivia interrupts. “He had captured Puck? Why?”