To Suzie Townsend, Sophia Ramos, and the entire crew at New Leaf Literary, who are always willing to go to bat for me, just not in terms of the bashing-zombie-brains variety. Or maybe they do. I’ll never tell.

  If I ever have to face a zombie apocalypse, I’d want to do it with my wonderful author friends who cheer me on either with a shoulder to snot on or an emergency fart joke—you know, the most important things to have in friends. Let’s get those baseball bats ready, Jen Calonita, James Ponti, Sarah Mlynowski, Christina Soontornvat, Stuart Gibbs, Max Brallier, Gordon Korman, Julie Buxbaum, Jennifer E. Smith, Laura Sebastian, Katherine Webber, Marie Rutkoski, Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Rose Brock.

  Now, I know I made some maybe not incredibly flattering comments about adults, but you know … (adults, am I right?), but I am so grateful to the booksellers, librarians, and educators who have put my books into readers’ hands. See, there are some good adults out there.

  Um, okay, I may have also perhaps said some things about parents and siblings, but I’m grateful for my family. To my siblings, thank you for the emotional torture you put me through as the youngest, as it’s made me the clever and slightly damaged girl I am today. And to my parents for saying “Stop picking on your sister!” even though they didn’t listen. Siblings, am I right?

  Like a hot fudge sundae, you always have to save the best for last. And that is you, dear reader, who made it to the bitter end—you’re even reading these acknowledgments! I’m so proud of you! Thank you for reading my book, for not blaming me for any nightmares or hugging one’s sibling. If you do blame me, well, all complaints should be directed to 1-800-I-WAS-WARNED-SO-IT-IS-ALL-MY-FAULT. I’m sure that’s someone’s number. Then again, maybe you shouldn’t call. See, reader, you’re making me a better person, which was sort of hard to do as I’m already pretty perfect and super, duper humble. I promise to make the next book even worse in terms of frights and fart jokes. You’re welcome.

  While Mayor Washington might be having a rough evening—what with Damien Hearse stirring up trouble and all the reporter questions—Regan is having the Best. Day. Ever.

  “I can’t with the cuteness! So adorable!” she exclaims as she takes in her bribe.

  Now, you may be thinking, Bribe? Why does Regan get a bribe?

  Um, let’s see: When your parents don’t believe you when you’ve been unfairly assigned detention and your possessed science teacher tries to clone you and you get blamed for said clone smashing a window at your siblings’ day care and you have to save the day when zombies take over the town, they sort of owe you.

  So just remember that when you’re dealing with a long-dormant witch’s curse, okay?

  And since Regan is super smart, she knew how to take advantage of her parents owing her big-time.

  Do you blame her? Me neither!

  (And just for the record, dear reader, I can also be bribed. Please send me cheesy treats in care of my publisher and I’ll make these books even more scary! If you want them to be less scary, please also send cheesy treats. Got it? Thanks!)

  Okay, back to Regan. What did she ask for?

  If you may recall, Regan loves all things cute and cuddly. She was hoping for a kitten, but her parents argued that some guests at the bed-and-breakfast might be allergic and her pet would need to be outside in a pen or stay more contained in Regan’s room. So Regan knew exactly what animal she wanted.

  Because what’s cuter than a fluffy, furry bunny?

  Nothing, that’s what!

  Regan puts a hand to her heart as her new bunny—a gray Holland lop, which means its ears are downturned and, like, supes adorbs—chomps on a lettuce leaf. “I love her so much! And I promise to take the best care of her!”

  She pets the bunny’s soft fur. Regan’s heart is so full, it’s about to burst. And if she keeps her grades up and, you know, doesn’t tell people about the curse and monsters and zombies (Oh my!), she gets a second bunny for Christmas.

  “Oh, Lucky!” Regan almost wants to cry, she never thought she’d love anything as much as this bunny.

  Regan named her bunny Lucky since Regan feels sort of lucky. She’s got friends now. She sits with Sofia during lunch at school. She’s gone over to both Sofia’s and Darius’s houses a bunch of times to hang out. Bennett even joins them sometimes, and he talks to her in the hallways at school, even though some of his friends are sort of jerks. (There’s no sort of about it.)

  And she was able to save her hometown from zombies.

  So yeah, Regan feels lucky.

  (Spoiler alert: Her luck is going to run out in about, oh, two minutes.)

  I mean, Regan still feels a little uneasy about being related to none other than Ann Wilder.

  Oh yeah, in case you forgot, we have discovered that Ann Wilder, the witch who cursed the town of Cauldron’s Cove back in the 1600s, is related to Regan. It was her family that came back from the dead to terrorize the town. (Bet your family issues seem small now.)

  Okay, so there is a part of Regan that feels that maybe she’s cursed as well. She’s always struggled at school and with making friends. Maybe it’s the witch’s blood running through her. Then there’s another part that wonders if it’s what makes her strong. It was Regan who had the strength to break the cursed goo in Ms. Stein’s lab, and even though it took her longer to warm up with the whole bashing zombie brains situation, Regan was the one who finished off the last of the zombies with some pretty impressive skills. (Let’s take a moment of silence for Regan’s favorite dress that got destroyed from being covered in zombie brains and gunk.)

  “Now, Regan.” Her mom sits on the floor next to her. “You have to keep your grades up, and that means studying extra for your math test on Monday.”

  Math is Regan’s most difficult subject with her dyslexia. She always gets the numbers switched in her head. She even missed out on the senior center performance to study. Well, that and this is the busiest time for her parents’ B&B. Who wouldn’t want to stay at the Bed and Boofast during Halloween?

  “I know and I promise,” Regan says. She goes to hug Lucky, but the bunny hops away. “Come here.” She crawls on her knees to pet Lucky, but she keeps hopping away.

  Regan holds out another lettuce leaf and wouldn’t you know, Lucky hops back over.

  (Seems Lucky can also be bribed with food.)

  Okay, reader, I’ve got to be honest here: This bunny is so cute, it’s sort of melted my cold, dead heart. Nothing better happen to it. Because that would not be okay. Besides, what kind of monster would hurt such an adorable creature?

  Ding-dong.

  (And would you look at that? It’s been two minutes.)

  “That must be our last family for the week.” Mrs. Charles gets up and walks toward the front door of the B&B. “Put Lucky in her cage and be ready to help the Clements with anything they may need.”

  Mrs. Charles opens the door and pauses when she sees none other than Damien Hearse. (Wait a second, wasn’t he just at the senior center performance? My goodness, he certainly gets around quickly.)

  “Mrs. Charles,” he says with a grin. “I’m hoping I can count on your vote.”

  “Now, Mr. Hearse, you know that my family is friends with the Washingtons, and I’ll be proudly supporting Mayor Washington.” Mrs. Charles gives him a curt nod.

  “Well, it would be an awful shame if the truth got out. I’d protect you.” Mr. Hearse extends his bony hand with a flyer that says The Future of Cauldron’s Cove is in Hearse.

  Regan’s eyes are wide. What exactly does Mr. Hearse know? Is he … threatening her mom? Her family?

  Mrs. Charles’s face remains neutral. “As I said, I’ll be supporting Mayor Washington.” Her attention moves to the family standing behind Mr. Hearse. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Hearse, I’ve got guests to check in.”

  Mr. Hearse keeps his eyes glued to Regan’s mom, stubbornly not moving. With a sigh, she begrudgingly takes the flyer so he’ll finally leave. Which he does, but not without also giving the family some flyers.

  Now, this new family to the Bed and Boofast are definitely into the Halloween spirit. They’re all dressed in black and in slightly older clothes: The father is wearing a three-piece suit and top hat, the mother is in a black corseted dress that looks like it’s a couple centuries old, and their kids are dressed similarly. There’s a boy who looks about twelve or thirteen and a girl who’s a few years younger, clutching a worn teddy bear.

  “I’m so sorry about that. Hello and welcome to Cauldron’s Cove’s Bed and Boofast!” Mrs. Charles greets them.

  Mr. Clement takes off his top hat and gives her a little bow. “May we come in?”

  “Of course, of course! You are most welcome!” Mrs. Charles steps aside as the family enters.

  The father and son are carrying a very, very large suitcase.

  “Oh, goodness!” Mrs. Charles exclaims as she sees three matching suitcases on the porch of their Victorian home. “We can help you with your luggage.”

  “That will not be necessary. We have everything covered, but thank you for your hospitality.” He gives a nod to the son, who picks up the large suitcase like it weighs nothing. “My name is Balthazar; this is my wife, Victoria; and our children, Natasha and Matthew.”

  Regan notices the family members all look very different from one another. Almost like they don’t fit together, but she knows there are all types of families. The dad is very tall and slender with blond, curly hair. The mom is of Korean descent with short chestnut-colored hair. The two kids look the most different: The girl is tiny with black eyes and white hair that matches her pale skin, while the son has a muscular build with light brown skin and short, curly brown hair.

  “It has been quite a journey here,” Mr. Clement says. And I gotta be honest with you, these four look really tired, maybe even more tired than Mr. Hearse. It seems like a long, relaxing weekend in Cauldron’s Cove is exactly what they need.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Mae.” Mrs. Charles hands Mr. Clement their room key. “You’re on the top floor, in our Sorcerer’s Suite.”

  “Thank you so much, Mae,” Mr. Clement says with a friendly smile. “I hope you did not find it incredibly rude of us to turn down your delicious breakfast. We are not morning people.”

  “Not at all, I’d be happy to make up some sandwiches for lunch instead,” Mrs. Charles adds.

  “Why that is a lovely offer. However, it will not be necessary. In fact, we do not even require our suite to be serviced during our stay.”

  This perks Regan up. No breakfast and one less room to clean means less work for her. The Clements might just be her favorite guests ever.

  Mr. Clement takes a step closer to Mrs. Charles. He leans in and waves his hand in front of her face. “And you will not disturb us during the day. We shall be left alone whilst we reside in your house.”

  Her mom’s eyes glaze over. “You will not be disturbed during your stay. We shall leave you alone whilst you reside in our house,” she repeats in a voice that sounds like it’s coming from someone else.

  Regan’s eyebrows furrow. This seems strange. Why would—

  “And you must be the infamous Regan.” The son, Matthew, approaches her. “It seems that beauty runs in the family.” He then bows down and kisses her hand.

  Goodness. First of all, dear amazing reader, as I mentioned in the warning, flattery can get you everywhere. Would you like to try it out on me? Go ahead, say something super nice about me. Like, for instance, how I’m your favorite author and how I’m your hero and that I can do no wrong. Just a few examples that came to the top of my head.

  Go ahead …

  Aww, thanks! See, I knew back in book one that this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

  And may I tell you that you’re very kind and have the best taste in books and no matter what anybody says, you do not smell that bad.

  Now, while you and I are used to being heaped with compliments because we are made of awesome, but supes humble about it, Regan isn’t used to this kind of attention, especially from a boy. And this particular one looks like he belongs in a boy band with his dreamy hair and pale eyes. I mean, sure, Bennett sort of gave Regan a googly-eye look after she destroyed those zombies, but this guy’s staring at Regan.

  “I hope you enjoy your time in Cauldron’s Cove,” Regan says, remembering how to be a good hostess.

  “We will.”

  At that, Natasha comes to stand behind Matthew. She grabs his coattail.

  Regan bends down to the young girl. “And you must be Natasha.”

  Natasha peeks from behind Matthew and gives the smallest nod of her head.

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Natasha.”

  “It is nice to meet you, too,” comes a soft voice, the girl still mostly hidden behind her big brother.

  “It takes her a while to warm up,” Matthew explains. “But I must say that the pleasure is all ours. We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. A very long time.”

  “Well, Halloween is definitely the best week to come to Cauldron’s Cove. Let us know if there’s anything else you need.” Regan waits for her mother to jump in, but she still looks dazed. “Mom?”

  Mrs. Charles blinks a few times like she’s just waking up. “What?” She takes in the family in front of her. “Yes! We hope you have a frightfully wonderful visit to Cauldron’s Cove!”

  Mrs. Clement brushes back her hair from her face. “We most certainly will.”

  Matthew takes another step closer to Regan. He takes a deep breath through his nose. “And I look forward to spending more time with you, Regan.”

  Wow. Regan has a bunny and there’s a super cute boy who wants to spend time with her.

  So yeah, this is the best day ever.

  Or so she thinks.

  Because the next morning is pretty great, too. And it’s the day of the Cauldron’s Cove Carnival, which is one of the most popular events in the town. It’s always the Sunday before Halloween (which is in two days, clock is ticking, dear reader) in the town square. At sundown there’s an immersive witch’s performance featuring spells, dancing, and of course, the most important staple of any decent event related to Halloween: Candy.

  So yeah, maybe today will be even better!

  (I bet you thought I was being all ominous when I said “or so she thinks.” But sometimes, astute reader, I can be optimistic about our heroes. Dead wrong, but still optimistic nonetheless.)

  “Are you sure she’s going to be safe out here?” Regan asks her dad as he puts the finishing touches on an outdoor habitat for Lucky.

  “It’s best she’s not cooped up in your room while you’re at school.” He strokes his ginger beard, the same shade as Regan’s and her siblings’ hair. Oh wait, did you forget that Regan is the oldest of five kids, which is why she has to help out so much? The terror that is known as Regan’s siblings is another reason to lock the bunny safely away.

  Regan looks up at the darkened morning sky. “But it might rain!”

  “Now, Regan, there’s a roof.” Her dad taps on the roof of the two-story wire-and-wood habitat, complete with a staircase. “I forgot one thing and will be right back.”

  Regan plops down on the grass. She holds out a treat to get Lucky to sit on her lap. The little bunny hops over from the corner of the habitat. She’s happily chewing, her little whiskers moving as she chomps away. Lucky suddenly stands up on her hind legs, sniffing the air before she darts back into the enclosure, bounding up the stars to the second floor, which is completely covered.

  “Lucky!” Regan calls out, holding out the wildflower mixture to try to coax the shaking bunny from the darkened space.

  “Good morning, Regan!”

  Regan turns around to find Matthew and Natasha coming from the house.

  “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” It’s always the question her parents ask guests, but it’s clear from their rosy complexion that they had a great night’s sleep.

  “We sure did. Our parents are still asleep.” Matthew gives Regan a wide grin while Natasha continues to hide behind him.

  Regan looks up to the third-floor windows of their suite. She does a double take. “Did you … put something on the windows?”

  “Ah, yes.” Matthew sits down next to Regan while Natasha studies the habitat. “My parents prefer their room to be really dark, so we put some paper on the windows. We will remove it before we leave.”

  “Oh, that’s something we could’ve done.”

  “We did not want to be a bother.” Matthew’s gaze is on Regan, and she can feel her cheeks reddening.

  “It wouldn’t have been a bother at all,” Regan says.

  For real. Putting paper on windows wouldn’t have been the weirdest request they’ve gotten. Regan’s family gets a lot of oddball visitors. One family didn’t want a room with any white in it (and honestly, with how messy Regan’s siblings get, it sort of makes sense). There were the three sisters who insisted on being called Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson after the witches in Hocus Pocus. There was the couple who only wanted “so rare it bleeds” steaks for breakfast. Another asked for black curtains over the lamps. Another for broomsticks in their closet.

  Cauldron’s Cove gets all kind of weird. And they always want to stay at the Bed and Boofast.

  Besides, who doesn’t like to sleep in a dark room? I mean, you might not want to after reading this book, but I love it to be as dark as possible. One must get their beauty rest when their job requires coming up with new ideas and monsters to torture the Cauldron’s Cove crew.

  “Can I see your bunny?” Natasha asks in a small voice.

  “Of course.” Regan holds out another treat. Food seems to be the only way to get Lucky to do anything. (Hmm, I might start demanding treats for me to do work. You want another chapter, editor, show me the cheese fries!) But this time, not even the promise of a treat will get Lucky to leave her pen. “Um, maybe another time?”

  “Oh, okay.” Natasha hugs onto her teddy bear tightly. She looks up at the clouds. “We should probably get inside, brother.”