“Sorry, my sis is so good at math,” Bennett replies with a wink.

  Okay, I sort of have to give this one to Bennett. Sofia can no longer correct him when he refers to Sofia as his sister, as they are now brother and sister, no matter how much it annoys Sofia—and whoa, does it annoy her. But then again, what doesn’t?

  “Is there something we can help you with, brother?” Sofia replies with an annoyed smirk.

  This is about as close to domestic bliss as one can hope for between these two stepsiblings.

  “Just wanted to hang out with my favorite sister.”

  Sofia turns toward Regan. “Is there room at the Bed and Boofast for me? I don’t take up much space.”

  Even though Regan knows Sofia is joking (or maybe not, you never know with Sofia), she can always use the help. She’s only allowed to leave after making all the beds and cleaning up from breakfast. It was a lot easier this morning without tending to the Clements. Four less mouths to feed and clean up after.

  “Do you want to see pictures of my bunny?” Regan asks Bennett. She already bored Sofia when she first arrived, but she can watch Lucky eating herbs and her little nose twitching all day.

  “Absolutely.” Bennett leans in close to Regan as she pulls up a video.

  “I want to teach her some tricks, but she’s pretty stubborn, and there are only so many treats I can give her in a day.”

  “Cool. So … are you going to the carnival later?”

  Regan nods. “Yeah, Sofia and I are going together.”

  “Nice. I’m hanging with my crew and, like, I’ll see you there.”

  “Bennett, everybody will be at the carnival,” Sofia reminds him.

  There’s a knock on the door, and before any of the kids can get up, Mr. Norland-Vargas comes by—phone still plastered to his ear—and opens it up to find Darius.

  “Oh, your son is here,” he says into the phone. “Okay.” He puts his hand over the speaker. “Darius, your mom wants to make sure you know to be at the bandstand by six o’clock.”

  Darius nods as Mr. Norland-Vargas goes back into the kitchen.

  “Hey, guys.” Darius sits in a chair. “I’m so over Halloween. I just want Tuesday to come and be done with it.”

  “But it’s Cauldron’s Cove. As my dad likes to remind us, it’s Halloween year-round here,” Sofia says with an eye roll.

  “Yeah, it used to be my favorite holiday, but now …” Darius doesn’t really need to explain himself. They’ve all got fright fatigue. “I don’t even want to go to the carnival, but I have to. But also …”

  He looks over to where Sofia and Bennett’s dad disappeared. “I know what they’re talking about.”

  “Mr. Hearse,” Sofia replies.

  Darius shakes his head. “No, I mean, yeah, but there’s something bigger that happened overnight.”

  “What is it?” Regan asks, right as that knotting feeling returns in her stomach. It’s like it has a sixth sense of when things are about to get bad. And it’s usually right.

  “The blood bank got robbed in the middle of the night. All of the blood in the hospital is gone. Someone took it.”

  “Why would someone take blood?” Bennett asks, then shakes his head. “You know what, it doesn’t matter because it’s not our problem anymore. Our parents are on it. We can just go to the carnival and have fun and not worry about every little thing that happens in Cauldron’s Cove. Our parents have it covered.”

  Huh, that doesn’t make me feel any better; how about you?

  Yup.

  And if you think about what kind of creature needs blood—or read the title of this book—you know things are about to get a whole lot worse.

  I’m about to perhaps make the understatement of the millennium. That’s when you say something, but you’re totally downplaying it.

  For instance, saying teachers assign too much homework, but because yeah, they do, like, it’s so unfair. Teachers, am I right? (Unless you’re a super cool and hip teacher reading this to your classroom right now or have this stocked in your library, because you, amazing teacher, deserve all the accolades, praise, and sunny summer days off!)

  Here’s another example: Siblings are so annoying.

  You get it.

  So when I say, when it comes to Halloween, no place does it quite like Cauldron’s Cove, I mean they do it up. Big-time.

  I don’t blame the flood of tourists—even those who may have nefarious intentions (which is a super fancy way to say they’re up to no good; it may even imply that they’re straight‑up evil).

  So yeah, the Cauldron’s Cove Carnival is one of the most popular events the town hosts. Sure, it has your normal carnival activities—rides, games, delicious fried food—but as with everything in Cauldron’s Cove, it’s ramped up about fourteen notches in terms of ghouly, witchy, and of course, punny.

  You’ve got “Take a Bite,” which is your standard apple-bobbing station, but with this one you need to use fake vampire fangs. “Witchy Wanders” is their version of a hayride, where you’re invited to sit on a broomstick that whisks you around town. “Potent Potions” is a mixing station for both adults and kids to make drinks. “Witchy Creations” is the same but with sandwitches.

  And then there’s the costumes. Either people are dressed in witchy-inspired attire or decked out in their finest Halloween costumes. You’ve got mythical creatures, you’ve got historical figures, you’ve got TV, movie, and gaming characters, and oh, the witches. So many witches. Now, at this point, I don’t want to assume that everyone is only dressed up as a witch. There could be real witches. I know one witch in attendance, but I’ve already said too much, as we don’t find out about that for a while. Like, another book.

  Patience, young reader, we are in this for the long haul, you and me.

  That is, if you can handle it. (And we both know you can.)

  “You know,” Regan says as she and Sofia weave between the crowds, “this carnival wouldn’t have happened without us.”

  No kidding. Need I remind anybody that if it weren’t for our foursome, this town would’ve been overrun by either clones or zombies at this point. And no way would those creatures stop with Cauldron’s Cove. It would’ve moved on to the next city and then next state and then the world. Definitely your hometown. So yeah, you’re welcome.

  Regan stops at a dart game where you get a toy if you burst a balloon. And there in the center of potential prizes is a giant stuffed bunny. Now, this isn’t as cute as Lucky, but Regan thinks it would look so nice in her room and could keep Lucky company when she’s at school. “Do you want to play?”

  Sofia keeps walking. “No.”

  “Oh okay.” Regan catches up to Sofia. “Or maybe a ride?” Regan looks around at the different rides and tries to figure out which one would make her less sick.

  “No.” Sofia stops in her tracks. “All I can think about is blood.”

  Regan gulps. “Blood?”

  “Yes, about the blood that was stolen. You and I know our parents will just chalk it up to another Halloween prank, but this makes me think it could be something … more.” Sofia looks thoughtful for a moment before she continues walking.

  “But what do you think it could be?” Regan asks, even though she definitely does not want to know.

  “As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think Ann Wilder is done with us yet, but all I have is a hunch and missing blood. It’s not like we can make any accusations when we don’t know anything. So I guess we just have to pay attention.”

  “Pay attention.” Regan scans the crowd, which is filled with zombies, witches, mummies, vampires, and all sorts of monsters.

  If any real monsters wanted to attack Cauldron’s Cove, during Halloween would be the perfect time. They’d be able to blend in. Not like the town isn’t crawling with witches or other creatures during the rest of the year. But this is just next level.

  “People of Cauldron’s Cove,” a voice calls out near the center.

  Regan and Sofia get a closer look to see Damien Hearse surrounded by people holding YOUR FUTURE IS IN HEARSE! signs.

  “Your mayor is lying to you,” he says. “Did you know that the hospital’s blood bank was robbed last night?”

  The crowd starts murmuring. Phones are out recording Hearse. So yeah, this isn’t good.

  But wait a second …

  “How does he know?” Regan asks. “I thought they were keeping it a secret.”

  “I don’t think that’s something easy to keep quiet. Too many people work in the hospital. Plus, the police …” Sofia shakes her head. “It’s amazing not one officer has spilled about the wedding.”

  “Probably because nobody would believe them,” Regan reasons as someone who wasn’t believed when she tried to tell people the truth about the monsters and zombies.

  “A vote for Hearse,” he continues, “is a vote for the future of Cauldron’s Cove.”

  “Let’s go.” Sofia starts walking away. “I wonder if he might have something to do with it.”

  “What do you mean?” Regan asks.

  “Who benefits the most if the city’s troubles come out? If Mayor Washington’s troubles become public?”

  Regan can’t imagine someone could ever stoop so low, but then again, look at how much Darius’s mom is willing to hide to protect her job. Politicians, am I right?

  Sofia and Regan turn a corner to find Bennett and his crew approaching, including Stu Ripley and Maisy Menzel, two of Bennett’s buddies who are not very nice, especially to Regan.

  “Hey!” Bennett says brightly when he sees Regan and his sister. “I thought I’d eventually find you.”

  “’Sup, Regan the Rhino,” Stu says with a snort.

  (Told you he wasn’t very nice.)

  “Come on, bro,” Bennett says, his shoulders tense.

  “’Sup, Stu-pid,” Sofia retorts with a smirk.

  Okay, now, that’s not very nice either, but Stu did start it. (Like that excuse has ever worked before, but he shouldn’t get away with making fun of Regan. It’s just mean.)

  Now, in the past when Regan has been bullied, she’s turned inward. She hated that it was her automatic response, but she would wish she could just disappear.

  But here’s the thing: This was Regan before she defeated zombies. And once you’ve had to stomp on the head of a zombie, bullies and mean girls just don’t hold the same bite. (Pun absolutely intended.)

  Regan takes a step forward. “Do you feel better, Stu?”

  Stu scrunches up his face. “What?”

  “Do you feel better about yourself now that you’ve insulted me? Did you get whatever power you need to get through the rest of your day? Or is there something else you’d like to say? Because go ahead. I can take it.” Regan crosses her arms as she stares Stu down.

  (I think I speak for all of us when I say, It’s about dang time! And yup, I said dang.)

  Regan is standing tall, and also looking extra cute in an orange jumpsuit decorated in black cats and a black cat-eared headband that pulls back her fire-red hair. She keeps her gaze on a very confused and flustered Stu. And yes, it feels as good as you can imagine.

  Maisy Menzel responds by laughing, a little too hard. “She’s so not worth it, Stu. Let’s just go.”

  “Come on, leave Regan—” Bennett starts, but Regan doesn’t need him to stand up for her. She’s doing a pretty good job of it on her own.

  “And how are you, Maisy?” Regan asks. “Good? Want to insult my weight, since that’s so original?”

  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, but also who cares, that Regan’s fat. But for some reason others have a problem with it, especially girls like Maisy. Why? Who knows? People should just mind their own business as far as Regan is concerned, but since they won’t, it sort of makes it Regan’s business.

  Maisy replies by flipping her shiny black hair back. “I’m doing fabulous, Regan. Going to audition for the winter musical, Ms. Knox-Walker said I’m a shoo‑in for the lead.”

  Regan inwardly flinches.

  Okay, so here’s a little secret Regan hasn’t shared with anybody: She loves to sing. She wants nothing more than to sing, dance, and be onstage, but she’s the oldest of five children and her parents need all the help that they can get, so she doesn’t get a lot of free time. And I don’t think I need to remind anybody at this point that saving the town twice keeps one busy.

  But maybe that’s an excuse Regan likes to use since she’s never had the confidence to even try.

  I guess we’ll have to wait and see. She also never had the confidence to stand up for herself, and look at her now. And maybe if she doesn’t have to save the town anymore, she will have more time for herself.

  (All I’ll say is Poor Regan.)

  “Well, good luck, Maisy,” Regan replies with a forced smile. Ugh, I sort of want Regan to tell Maisy off, but it can be hard being the bigger person sometimes. Do unto others and whatnot.

  “Let’s go get some food before the show starts,” Max—one of Bennett’s friends who can actually take a hint—says, trying to lead the group away.

  “I think I’m going to hang with them.” While Bennett said them, he’s nodding his chin at Regan.

  “Seriously?” Stu replies, the disgust in his voice clear.

  “Yeah, seriously?” Sofia echoes … although her disgust is at the thought of spending more time with Bennett.

  “Come on, sis.” Bennett puts his arm around Sofia. “Won’t it be fun to hang?”

  Sofia takes his arm off her. “I see you enough at home. And school.”

  Bennett puts his hand over his heart, like it’s wounded, which honestly only seems to delight Sofia. “Aw, Sof.”

  “It’s Sofia.” Then Sofia takes Regan by the elbow and leads her toward the gazebo, where the audience is now gathering for the “Witching Hour” show that will start once the sun has set.

  Regan looks back to find a dejected Bennett giving her a wave before returning to his friends. It’s probably best for him to be with them. Regan doesn’t want yet another reason for Stu and Maisy to not like her, even though she’s sort of done caring what they think.

  Although she’d really like to try out for that musical.

  “Do we think they’ll mention Ann Wilder this year?” Regan asks as the large cauldron in front of the gazebo starts to smoke.

  “I don’t believe people should say things like ‘always’ or ‘never,’ but I do believe when it comes to Ann Wilder and the town of Cauldron’s Cove, they’ll always put her aside and never bring her up.” Sofia shakes her head.

  Whoosh!

  Regan feels a breeze beside her and looks over, and seemingly out of nowhere, Matthew appears. Regan looks around. “Where did you come from?”

  “I was over there with my family.” Matthew points to the corner where his parents and sister are studying the crowd. Natasha’s hiding in her mother’s overflowing skirt as she flinches at all the people walking around.

  “Sofia, this is Matthew, he’s staying at the B and B with his family. Matthew, this is my friend Sofia.” Regan practically beams that she gets to call Sofia her friend.

  Matthew gives Sofia a little bow. “Lovely to meet a friend of Regan’s.”

  Sofia nods once. And here Regan thought she’d impress Sofia with this super cute boy.

  “Regan, would you like to take me on a tour of your fair city?” Matthew smiles at Regan and does that intense staring thing that causes a little flip in her stomach.

  “Oh, I.” Is Matthew … asking Regan on a date or something? No, he just wants her to show him Cauldron’s Cove. It’s sort of her job with the Bed and Boofast. Plus, she’s only ten and not allowed to date, but still. A boy is asking her to do something that’s not related to a witch’s curse. However, Regan is also excited to be doing something with a friend and isn’t just going to up and leave Sofia. “We’re going to watch the play.”

  Matthew tilts his head for a moment, then in one graceful move, he twirls to be right in front of Sofia. He waves his hand over her face, just like Mr. Clement did to Regan’s mother. “You are tired and need to go home.”

  Sofia blinks a few times but then turns to Regan. “I am tired and need to go home.”

  Before Regan can reply, Sofia walks away and gets swept into the crowd.

  Um, that was weird. Since when does Sofia listen to anybody?

  “So this is Cauldron’s Cove,” Matthew says as he and Regan walk around the carnival.

  I say they’re walking, but Matthew sort of glides. It’s almost like he’s on a skateboard or something.

  Pretty graceful fella, that Matthew.

  “You’re here at the perfect time.” Regan looks around the center of her hometown and feels a swell of pride. It’s pretty cool to live somewhere that’s so festive, with lots of fun events. It would be great if the town wasn’t cursed and all, but hey, no place is perfect.

  Look at where you live. I’m sure there are things you love about it, like your favorite place to get ice cream or the park where you and your friends meet up. And then they’re things that aren’t great, like that one haunted house on the corner of your street. (Oh, you didn’t know that house was haunted? Yeah, I’d steer clear of it from now on.) Or the big sewage plant. I mean, your poo has to go somewhere.What? Did you think it just disappeared? Nope.

  Anyhoo, Matthew takes in the crowd. “Yes, it is the perfect time.”

  “It is a little crowded,” Regan admits right as a kid in a zombie costume runs into her. But this is also when her family’s B&B is packed every night, and admittedly, the rates are higher in the fall. “But it’ll be an unforgettable Halloween.”

  “Oh, I have no doubt that this will be a Halloween Cauldron’s Cove will talk about for centuries to come.”

  Regan eyes the dart game again with the cute stuffed bunny. She’s never thrown darts before, but then again, she’d never bashed in a zombie’s brain before and did a pretty good job at it.

  Matthew’s gaze follows Regan’s. “Would you like to play?”

  Regan hesitates for a moment. She’d feel so foolish if she was bad at it, but there’s nothing wrong with—