The smell of ale and hog roast filled the air, drifting along with the laughter and revelries. The Samhain Festival was upon us and this year it was bigger and better than before. Stalls and games filled the clearing atop the cliffs, braziers of flames lighting the night.

Travelling performers had arrived in the days before to set up, and now they entertained the townsfolk with wondrous spectacles. Fire-eaters, sword-swallowers, and falconers were amongst the entertainment for the festival.

My friend Sid pulled me towards one of the many stalls handing out ale. "Are you sure you don't want a drink, Kit?"

I shook my head. "No. I can't stand the taste." Lifting my skirts, I stepped around a mud puddle.

"All the more for those of us that can, then." He downed the remainder of his tankard before grabbing another.

I glanced around at all the people, swaying in an ale-soaked stupor. "It would seem I'm the only one who doesn't like it, so it won't be too much more."

"Shame." Sid smirked.

"The town will be at a stand-still tomorrow at this rate." I chuckled. The sea breeze blew my auburn waves across my face and I pushed them back.

"It always is after festivals." Sid reached over to tuck a stray curl behind my ear. "That's why we make more bread the day before." He tapped his nose. "That way we don't have to worry about making more."

"Wow, selling day-old bread so you don't have to work with a hangover. I'm sure Charlie would love everyone to know that."

"Don't you go about getting me fired from the bakery." He elbowed me. "I don't have the security of my mother being my boss."

"Hey!" I shoved him. Not that he moved much, despite my best effort. He stood a head and shoulders above me and was far broader after years lugging huge sacks of flour around. But it was enough that some of the ale spilled from the tankard.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Truce! Truce! For the sake of the ale if nothing else."

I shook my head, grinning.

We strolled towards a fire-eater, blowing out a plume of yellow flame, much to the crowd's delight. Once that torrent ended, he spat on his hands, fire sparking on them. Gasps sounded around us as more came to watch. He waved his hands around in intricate patterns. The sky overheard darkened further as angry storm-clouds moved in, blocking out what little light the moon gave.

Everyone around me was entranced. As darkness pressed closer, the flames cast shadows to dance across the man's bare chest. His platinum hair glimmered in the light, his strange tribal paint seeming to morph with the shadows. I blinked.

The man began to chant, his movements becoming sharper. He stomped and clapped, creating a pulsing rhythm. More flocked around until it felt like the entire town had come to watch in silent wonder. The tempo increased, beating through me until it reached its crescendo and halted.

I wished to clap, but paused when there was no applause. The man jumped down from the stage. If he had not, I would have thought time itself had stopped. It was as if everyone had frozen. He stalked through the crowd and, on instinct, I froze too. As he drew closer, I held my breath. Fear pierced through me. What was happening?

The other performers prowled through the clearing.

"Did you see anyone not drinking the ale?" the fire-eater called out to them.

They shook their heads.

What did they mean? Had they done something to it? Was that why everyone had stopped?

Movement stirred in my periphery and I dared to glance towards it. A man strolled through the festival, his brow furrowed in confusion. It seemed I was not the only one who couldn't stand ale. Little good that did him. The performers surrounded him like a pack of dogs. The sword-swallower threw a small blade and it found its target.

I screamed.

They all turned, spotting me.

I ran.

*****

My feet pounded across the forest floor. I followed the edge of the treeline down towards the town. The rustle of footsteps sounded behind me. A crow danced above me, cawing as if to give away my whereabouts. Nearing the end of the forest, I disappeared into a nearby street.

I fled through the twisting lanes, hoping I would lose them in the maze of the lower town. Though I could not hear them, the crow still soared above me. I dove into the bakery. The crow landed on the sign above the door. I feared that the bird belonged to them. If so, I would not be safe here.

I waited a few moments. If only I knew where the key was, then I could lock them out. As I searched the benches, the door slammed open. The falconer walked in, the crow upon his shoulder.

I cleared my throat. "How can I help? Bread, pies, pastries?"

He growled, stepping towards me.

"No?" I backed away towards the ovens. "There are some lovely cakes if that's more your thing."

"Not what I'm here for." He grinned, revealing gold teeth among his normal ones, as he stalked towards me.

I skirted around the benches. "What lovely teeth you have. Staying away from sugar on account of those, I see." Glancing towards the back door, I wasn't sure if I would make it.

He walked along the other side of the table, in line with me. From my periphery I spotted a wooden peel. As I neared the end of the table, I backed towards it. I saw the realisation of my plan in his eyes. Just as he lunged towards me, I grabbed the peel and swung it around. It connected with his head and he went down like a sack of flour.

I burst out of the back door, glancing back to see the crow remain with its master. Good. I didn't need it following me again.

I ran through the town, unsure where to go or what to do. It wasn't as if I could just abandon everyone, but I couldn't do a lot whilst being hunted either.

As I turned a corner, I spotted the fire-eater and sword-swallower looking out over the docks. I drew back around the wall.

"We need to find her," the fire-eater said. "We cannot risk her ruining our plans. Head back to the clearing. Make sure they have the situation under control. The spell will not hold forever. I will find her. Our gods demand sacrifices, and she will be the first."

My breath hitched at his words. Everyone was in danger, and I was the only one not under the spell. I had to find a way to free everyone, whilst not getting killed myself. No pressure.

I snuck back towards the forest once they left. Sprinting through the trees, I tried to think of a plan. Perhaps if I could get Sid, I could figure out a way to break this spell? Not that I knew how to go about doing that, but I had to do something.

I reached the edge of the clearing. An altar now stood near the cliff-edge and the townsfolk lined the forest. They had the children guarded all together on the far side of the clearing. Anger burned within me. I couldn't allow them to do this. With new resolve, I searched for the pale blonde head of Sid. He was a couple rows away from the treeline. The performers were more preoccupied with the children than they were with the adults over here. Hopefully, they would not see me.

I wove between the lines of people until I reached Sid. Grabbing his hand, I pulled. But he would not move.

"You have to be kidding me."

Putting my full weight into it, I tugged on his arm again. Still, he would not move. I lost my grip and fell back into the mud with a squelch. I groaned, getting back to my feet to try pushing him instead. Placing my hands on his chest, I shoved with all my might. To no avail. I slapped him on the face, but there was no reaction. Then I kicked his shin.

"Just bloody move." I kicked out again.

"You!"

I turned at the shout to see the sword-swallower running towards me. Gasping, I headed for the cover of the trees. A blade soared through the air. As I ducked behind a tree, the blade caught my billowing sleeve, burying itself up to the hilt in the trunk. I ripped the material to free myself.

The man spoke ancient words, much like the chant from earlier. I watched from the forest as Sid stirred.

"Goddess, no," I murmured.

Sid turned, striding towards the trees. His eyes were pure white and unseeing. I backed away slowly.

"Sid?"

He didn't respond, not that I expected him to. Reaching for me, he lurched forward. I skittered back and turned to flee. Paying no mind to where I was going, I just focused on getting away.

The sound of my heartbeat filled my ears. Sid's steady footsteps echoed behind me. Fear seared through me and tears sprung up, blinding me. All I could do was keep moving.

I emerged from the forest upon the beach. The beach that was essentially a dead-end. I faltered, unsure of what to do now. It wasn't as if I could just head back into the forest where possessed-Sid was coming to kill me. I turned to see him leave the trees, his face devoid of emotion.

"Sid, no." I knew it wasn't him, not really.

He didn't stop for even a second. I ran across the sand, needing to put distance between us. But it was no use, there wasn't anywhere for me to go. In my panic, I didn't see the rock jutting up from the sand. I tripped and sprawled across the sand. Scrambling to my feet, I sobbed. But I was not fast enough. And my mistake had cost me.

Sid tackled me to the ground. I screamed as he turned me over, pinning me in place. Though I struggled against him, it was no use. He was far stronger than I. His fingers wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air. I clawed at his hands, trying to get him to release me, but there was no point. Possessed-Sid could feel nothing. I searched either side of me for any kind of stone as darkness creeped in on my vision. The tide lapped at my fingers, drawing ever nearer. At least the sea would take me away when he was done. Looking to the cliff above, where the altar stood, I wondered what the fate of our town would be after tonight. If only I could have done something. My vision faded further, and I focused on Sid. I hoped he would never have to know what he'd done. It wasn't his fault.

The sea washed over us, and Sid's grip loosened enough for me to take a breath. I choked on sea water, but pushed back against him nonetheless. Beating my fists against his chest, I barely noticed when he rolled off me.

He sputtered as the sea washed over us again. "Kit!" He tried to get up, but I pushed him back down. "Kit, stop!" He caught my arms, restraining me. "What are you doing?"

I gasped. "Are you yourself again?"

"What?"

"You don't remember?"

He shook his head. "Last thing I can remember is being at the festival. We were watching the fire-eater. What happened? How did we get here?"

I sagged. "Long story."

Sid led us to a large boulder in the shadow of the cliff and I told him everything. I was hesitant to tell him how he had almost killed me, but I made sure to emphasise how it wasn't his fault. The look in his eyes told me what I already knew. He would blame himself, regardless.

His fingers traced along my throat. "Are you alright?"

"I will be. But we need to figure out how to save everyone."

"At least we know how to break the spell."

I nodded. "Sea water."

"We're going to need some buckets." He smirked.

*****

As we stole back into the town, I became concerned when we saw no one. Were they all up at the clearing? Had they begun the sacrifice? More reason for us to hurry.

We entered the marketplace. Beside the well were several pails and shoulder poles. I grabbed four buckets, setting two on a shoulder pole. Sid took two poles and six buckets.

With no time to lose, we raced to the sea, filling each of the buckets. Then we set on our way back to the clearing through the forest. Hopefully, they would not have moved the townsfolk away from the treeline. Then we could get to them more easily.

As we ran, cawing echoed through the woods. I searched for the crow. It swooped down at me. I stifled a scream, bringing my arms up to protect myself. Its claws tore at my forearms and my buckets fell to the ground.

Sid set his down, taking up a pole to beat away the crow. But, as he did, more appeared. I could barely see through the swarm, covering my face with my hands, peering through my fingers. The falconer appeared, a large bump on his forehead beneath his dark hair. Sid strode towards him, swinging the pole. I watched from my prison of crows as the man dodged the attacks. He caught the pole and pulled it from his grasp, hitting Sid on the head with it. He collapsed and I screamed, the crows pressing closer, their claws piercing my skin.

Another performer came forth, lifting Sid over his shoulder. The falconer ordered the crows to stop and he restrained me, carrying me through the forest.

As we entered the clearing, the fire-eater looked towards us, frowning.

"I thought she was dead. And he was under control." He looked to the sword-swallower, anger lighting his eyes.

"They were supposed to be, sir." The sword-swallower wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Well, clearly they are not!" He struck the man to the floor. "Must I do everything myself?"

"We handled the situation, sir," the falconer said.

The fire-eater sneered. "Do you want a medal?" He breathed a laugh. "None of you seem to understand the severity of our situation here. Our powers will be taken away if we do not appease the gods. And what will we do when the powers we sold our souls for are taken back? This is not an exchange. They hold everything! So, we owe them sacrifices." He looked around at them. "And you are all jeopardising it!"

All of them looked to the ground like scolded children.

"Now, let's get this started." He looked at me and I held his gaze. "We'll start with him." He pointed at Sid. "And you will watch. You will watch them all perish before you join them."

I had failed. And we were so close too. I looked to the altar where they were strapping Sid down. Not that they needed to, after all he wasn't conscious. Part of me wished he had killed me on the beach so I would not have to suffer this. My head fell as I sagged in defeat. But the falconer raised my head, forcing me to watch.

As the fire-eater approached the altar, his blade at the ready, I noticed Sid twitch. My breath caught in my throat. He was conscious. He'd have to watch that blade descend.

"Kit!"

Even now, strapped unto the altar, his only thought was of me.

"Where is she?"

"Sid!"

A hand covered my mouth and I bit him, flinging my head back into his, my determination returning. The falconer's grip loosened, and I broke free of him, running into the trees. I had to get the water; I couldn't face them all alone. But, with the help of the townsfolk, we could do this.

"Out of the way!" the fire-eater yelled. I could hear him approaching the forest.

I found my way to the water buckets. Grabbing two in each hand, I staggered back towards the treeline where the townsfolk still waited.

Reaching the edge of the forest, I threw the first bucket over those closest. They awakened from their trance. I cried for them to help, briefly relaying what happened, before throwing more water over others. Some ran for water, others stayed to fight the performers.

I heard an unearthly howl from behind and watched as the fire-eater took in the scene before him. He stalked back towards the altar. Sid.

My feet were moving before I knew it. The blade was poised above Sid. Raising the bucket I held, I swung it. The blade clattered to the ground, tumbling off the edge of the cliff. Swinging the bucket again, it impacted the fire-eater's head. He fell to his knees. Bringing the bucket down again, I knocked him out. He fell in the mud like a lead weight.

I turned to see the rest of the performers captured. The townsfolk still looked confused, and some still needed freeing, but it hadn't taken much convincing once they'd seen Sid strapped to the altar.

Sid.

I went to the altar, untying him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "You saved me. You saved us all."

"Someone had to." I shrugged.

He pulled me into an embrace and I gripped his upper arms, burying my face in his chest. My hands shook from the fear that still coursed through me.

Sid led me back away from the altar. The officers were taking the performers to the carts in chains. They would most likely spend the night behind bars before facing the noose in the morning.

People thanked me as I went by. I spotted my mother searching the crowd. Finding me, she hurried over, taking me in her arms.

"If it weren't for you, this town would be no more." She pressed a kiss to my forehead. "My brave girl."

I drew back. "Perhaps next year we shouldn't outsource the entertainment."

"After all that excitement, I need a drink." Sid reached for a tankard of ale.

I knocked it from his hand. "Are you crazy? That's what did it. They spiked the ale to possess you all."

"Ah, yes, that's right. Maybe we should all lay off the alcohol for a while too?"

I breathed a laugh, shaking my head. "Happy Samhain."