The Damned

Chapter 12

Onyx was nearing her twentieth birthday, the last of the fall leaves were clinging desperately to the limbs of the trees around Greenwood. It was almost Halloween, and it was Dimitras' turn to host the All Hallows Eve bash there at Greenwood. The tradition dated back so far that it was rumored that Halloween itself stemmed from this grand celebration.

Before there were near as many mystics as there were now, the students at each of the schools for the gifted would gather in an empty field in Ireland in the Boyne Valley, at the same time each year. It was known as a sacred burial ground upon which they would preform pagan rituals knowing the veil between worlds was at it's thinnest.

Now, the students of each of the schools of the gifted gathered at one of the campuses to celebrate the day of the dead, the souls in between and the souls sent to heaven. It was a costume party and although there were rules regarding what costumes were acceptable, the students wore what they pleased. The party was used as a way for students to meet while also respecting the customs of the generations before.

The previous two years, the party was not at Greenwood. Onyxs' parents were busy anyways and at the time they were still over protective of the girl due to Hades, so they had stayed there in New York. Onyx wasn't sure how she felt about having over one thousand students there, knowing Ava would be one of them. The fact that there were going to be so many students almost seemed to comfort her as she realized she may be able to avoid the girl if she tried.

Onyx went to the city with Preston, who was her closest friend from her unit that year, Bethany and Cyndi. They took the subway into the city and found the nearest Halloween store, one of the many that popped up this time of year. They spent hours inside, laughing as they tried on different outfits and props.

Once they had settled on the costumes they would be wearing to the haunted ball, they decided to have some fun in the city. They went shopping at Macy's, window shopped at Tiffany's, then ended their day with pizza. Onyx didn't forget about her parents, she made sure to bring a few slices back for them as well.

After returning to Greenwood, Onyx went to deliver her offerings to her parents. She entered their room unannounced and wasn't really surprised to see them in a scandalous position on the couch as they kissed passionately. It made her happy to see that they had stopped arguing. They quickly pulled away from one another and sat up, welcoming the girl back from her adventures, asking her if she had a fun time.

Onyx lit up as she told them all about it. She loved going to the city. Having Kai as her mother meant it was something she got to do often growing up. When she had free time during weekends, she would often get together with friends of hers to go see a show, go clubbing, or go to parties they were often invited to.

Onyx spent the next few evenings helping Kai and Dimitras prepare for the party. The day of, Onyx was in her room getting ready for the event with Cyndi and Bethany. Cyndi's costume of choice was a Nun costume that was very revealing, and Bethany dressed as a sexy nurse. Onyx had chosen to go as a gladiator as she thought the costume was very fitting.

The set came with two black feathered shoulder pads with leather straps that crossed in the front and back, clipping onto the black leather pteruges that fit nicely around her hips. It came with two black wings that hung nicely from the leather straps in the back. She wore her chest wrapped, leaving the rest of her body exposed. The set came with two black leather wrist cuffs and a sword that holstered at her waist. Cyndi and Bethany were in her bathroom finishing their makeup as Onyx stood in front of the floor length mirror in her room, applying black war paint that came with her costume. She gathered the black, tar-like substance on the tips of her fingers and painted a line from temple to temple, continuing the line around her eyes and over her the bridge of her nose. She looked down and saw that she had some of the black makeup on her thumb still, so she drew a line from beneath her bottom lip down her chin and continued down her neck.