Chapter 1

Introduction: Shadowman and the Hymes of Halloween.

The hymns of priestesses echoed through the Library of Greed, distorted to add atmosphere. The single elf decorated the library with homemade ghouls and ghost decor, humming to herself. Shadowman hums as well, gutting a pumpkin of its seeds, wearing a chef’s garb. He throws the pumpkin guts in while he pulls out the seeds, pouring evaporated milk and sugar. A little spice here and there, the small kitchen he constructed smelled heavenly. Florine stopped, giving a hard sniff from the fragrant filling.

“It smells delicious, master.”

“Oh, aren’t you a doll? Like my mother always said, “Celebrate with good company and food.” Shadowman said, while he was preparing the crust. Florine was confused by his words, his mother being the Lady of Demons and Chaos.

“Never thought the lady needed food?”

“Mother was close to mortal when she met father ions ago. They were normal beings in their world; well, my father was. Mother was always a demon; she was going to devour father’s soul.”

“What happened?”

“Father gave her a pumpkin pie when she was a newly hatched demon; she tolerated my father after that.”

“Tolerated?”

“My mother is an ancient demon; we all have to start from somewhere.” Shadowman finishes the pie, sliding it in the oven for fifteen minutes until he lowers the temperature.

“You never were this open about your family?”

“Well, it’s the holiday, I guess. Even omnipotent gods can celebrate. I love the stuff. Father always made one for mother and me, ever since I was a boy.” Shadowman sat on his throne, slapping the flour off his coat. Florine chuckled, making Shadowman look at her.

“ To think, you had the Lord of Order make you a pie, so he can make his evil queen happy.” Florine said, having Shadowman smirk.

“ Pops might be doing the same thing up above. Today’s a tale about community and tasty sweets—I wonder what they are doing right now?” Shadowman pulls his vision cloud to his lap, watching the Rabbits of Glade set up for the Halloween celebration.

“I may say a lot of negatives about Otherworlders, but they do bring interesting cultures with them—when they live.” Shadowman slides the vision camera, looking for the sweet spot characters. He found Juno, Lin, and Tulee, guiding little Raila down the streets of Glade with a skip in her stride.

“I have some time to kill until the pie is ready. How do the Misfits celebrate the Hallows of the Weenies?”