“Hey!” Bennett runs up to Regan, a little out of breath. Maisy is right behind him. Bennett looks at Matthew and doesn’t seem too pleased. “Who’s this?”

  “Who is this, indeed?” Maisy steps closer to Matthew and bats her eyelashes.

  “Oh, um.” Regan’s been enjoying spending time with Matthew and doesn’t want to share him, especially with Maisy. Regan has to share everything at home with her siblings. It’s not like she can have a person, but Matthew’s been really nice to her, and yeah, it’s sort of flattering for a cute boy to give her attention. “This is Matthew. His family is staying at the Bed and Boofast.”

  “Hey, man.” Bennett puffs out his chest. Which is sweet and all, but Matthew is at least a foot taller than Bennett. “You okay, Regan?”

  Regan nods. Of course she’s okay. Does she look like she’s in danger?

  But also, Bennett should give Regan some credit. She can more than handle herself, and need she remind him it was Regan who had to help Bennett out with the last of the zombies. So yeah, Regan is in danger because of a cute boy. Please.

  “Matthew.” Maisy overpronounces his name for some reason. She puts her hand on his arm. “I’d be happy to show you around town. Or maybe you’d like to have a scoop of the Halloween Honeydew sorbet at Black Cat Creamery; it’s special for this time of year.” Then Maisy twirls her finger around a strand of hair.

  Matthew doesn’t even look at Maisy. His focus is still on Regan.

  And guess who that seems to agitate?

  Yup.

  “So are you just here for tonight, or, like, when are you going back home? I bet you live far away, huh?” Bennett asks. His face is all scrunched up in annoyance. Sort of like how Sofia is when she’s … well, being Sofia.

  Matthew finally turns to him. “Well, Ben.”

  “It’s Bennett.”

  (So yeah, living with Sofia is definitely rubbing off on Bennett. Can we really handle two Sofias? See, I told you things would get scary!)

  Matthew takes a step toward him. “Bennett, my family is enjoying Cauldron’s Cove so much, we may stay a little longer. So many things to see. So many people to … know.” Matthew looks back at Regan with a smile.

  Again, not the answer Bennett was hoping for. “Oh, so like—”

  Matthew whips toward Bennett. He puts his hand in front of his face. “You are tired and you need to go home.”

  Bennett’s eyes glaze over. “I am tired and I need to go home.”

  Then Matthew does the same to Maisy.

  Before Regan can even process what’s happened, both Maisy and Bennett are gone.

  “How did you …” Regan begins.

  Seriously, if Matthew has some magic trick that can make Maisy go away, Regan is all in.

  In fact, I’d love to know his trick. Wouldn’t it be great? Hmm … One moment, please.

  (*waves hand* You will tell everybody about the Scared Silly series. You will buy a copy for every person you know. You will tell your friends to do the same. You will end every conversation with “Scared Silly is the best book series of all time.”)

  As I was saying, Regan is a bit confused and intrigued. “How did you do that?”

  Matthew cocks his eyebrow at Regan. “What do you mean?”

  “Make them just leave and do what you said?” She waves her hand in front of him like he did, with the wiggling of fingers and everything. “Are you and your father hypnotists?”

  Matthew takes a step back. Then he waves his hand in front of Regan. “You will forget what I did to your friends.”

  Regan blinks at him. “If you don’t want to share or it’s some family secret, it’s fine.” I mean, rude, but still, she gets it. If she had some amazing power to control people, she might not share it with anybody who asks.

  Matthew looks at his hand and then at Regan. He does it again. “You will forget what I did to your friends and you will not question me.”

  Regan shrugs. It’s pretty clear Matthew doesn’t want to share whatever it is that he did. But Regan is going to look up how to hypnotize people when she gets home. That is one trick she’d love to have up her sleeve.

  “Now, before we were rudely interrupted.” Matthew holds out his arm for Regan to take.

  How chivalrous! How swoony! How very old-timey!

  To be honest, Matthew’s whole vibe is from a different time. The way he talks. The way he dresses in a suit with long coattails. But then again, most people are dressed up in costumes.

  Matthew leads Regan to the dart game.

  The guy manning the booth—wearing a TOBY name tag—smiles when he sees them coming. “Step right up! Step right up! Five dollars for three darts. Hit a balloon and win a prize!” He then dramatically motions toward the big stuffed animals at the top of the stall.

  But here’s the thing, curious reader: I know for a fact there’s only one balloon that gets you a big prize. It also so happens that it’s the balloon in the far-left bottom corner. Pretty impossible to get, even for the most skilled dart-thrower. Most of the other balloons are for the smaller prizes like a plastic comb or pencil. Can those even be considered prizes?

  But Regan doesn’t know this. How could she? How could anybody? (Except me because I know all sorts of stuff, like how you pick your nose and rub it on your sibling’s jacket, but it’s okay, dear reader, that’ll be our little secret.)

  Regan reaches into her pocket to get the allowance money she’s been saving up.

  But Matthew holds out his hand. “No, please allow me.” He gives the guy five dollars, but in five one-dollar coins. Which is pretty random and odd. I can’t even remember the last time I saw one of those coins, and I’m, like, super old. The things I’ve seen, reader. The things I’ve seen.

  Toby smirks as he hands Regan the darts. “Have at it, kid.” He then gives a little snicker, like there’s no way Regan will be able to get a prize. And we all know what happens when people underestimate Regan.

  Regan looks at the three darts in her hand. The tips look awfully sharp and pointy and like they would cause damage if they pierced her skin.

  Matthew stands behind Regan and … did he just sniff her? Boys are so weird, am I right?

  He takes her arm with the dart in it and lines it up for her. “All you need to do is concentrate, pull your arm”—he guides her arm—“and then in one swift motion, move it forward and let go.”

  Regan has her eyes on a yellow balloon near the center. She figures if she misses that balloon, she’ll hit another one. She does exactly what Matthew tells her. She bites her lip as she lets go of the dart. It goes flying and …

  Hits right in the middle of two balloons. No prize.

  “It is okay,” Matthew tells Regan. “You have two more tries.”

  Two more tries. Regan plants her feet firmly down. You can do this, she tells herself. It’s easier than killing zombies. Which, you know, fact.

  She throws the second dart and POP! A blue balloon bursts.

  Regan claps as she eyes the cute stuffed bunny, which is gray like Lucky. Toby takes the piece of paper that was tacked up behind the balloon. He shows her it reads SMALL, which means she can get an eraser. Ugh, these “prizes” are the worst.

  Regan takes the eraser and shoves it in her pocket.

  Matthew leans over the barrier and examines the balloons.

  “Hey, dude, back up,” Toby says.

  Matthew studies Toby for a moment. His nostrils flare, and he licks his lips before smiling. He then moves Regan toward the side. He points down at the bottom-left corner. “Aim for that red one.”

  Toby’s eyes get wide. Oh, he’s so busted.

  (Wait. How does Matthew know about the big prize? Here I thought I was the one who knew everything …)

  “I don’t know if I can.” Regan got lucky with the balloon that was smack dab in the middle. There’s no way she could hit something that out of the way. She holds on to the feather part of the dart, the super pointy and sharp edge away from her. “I think maybe you should try.”

  With that, Regan spins too quicky and didn’t realize Matthew was so close to her. The tip of the dart goes right into Matthew’s hand.

  “Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Regan sees the dart sticking out of a completely calm Matthew, a trail of dark liquid making its way down his hand.

  “Hey, man, you can’t sue. I had nothing to do with that!” Toby holds his hands out.

  “I’m so sorry, I, ah—” Regan really doesn’t like the sight of blood. (Oh, poor Regan, she is not going to be happy with what’s about to come.)

  “Regan,” Matthew says calmly as he takes the dart out of his hand. He flexes it a few times, then licks the blood that was trickling down his arm. He shows Regan his hand, which is … fine. There’s only a slight indentation where the dart went. No more blood. Nothing.

  “But …” Regan looks at his hand in shock.

  “Please, these darts are very dull.” Matthew keeps his focus on Regan. “And I am sure you are as tired as I am with this game and this trickster.”

  “Dude, this game is fair,” Toby protests.

  Without removing his gaze from Regan, Matthew takes the dart and throws it. He hasn’t even glanced to see where he’s aiming.

  POP! And wouldn’t you know, Matthew breaks the red balloon in the bottom-left corner.

  “Hey, how did you—” Toby starts before stopping himself when he sees the look in Matthew’s eyes. It’s not just the look—which is one of pure hatred—it’s the color.

  Matthew’s pale eyes have turned red.

  Regan takes a step back. When did Matthew put in contacts? She thought she would’ve noticed with all the gazing she’s done into those once dreamy, now scary, eyes.

  “Ah, yeah, no—no—no worries.” Toby takes the big bunny and hands it to Regan. “Everything’s cool. You enjoy this toy.”

  (Poor Toby, things are not cool and are only going to get worse for him, but you’ll have to wait two more chapters to find out how. And I’ll just say, you may want to cuddle a big stuffed animal when you read that.)

  A stunned Regan takes the bunny and holds on to it tightly. That knotting feeling in her stomach is in full force. “How did you—”

  There’s a WHOOSH of air and Matthew’s sister, Natasha, is suddenly right beside him. She holds on to his hand while she eyes Regan and her bunny. “Father said we must go. Now, brother.” Her soft voice somehow pierces through the air.

  Matthew waves his hand in front of Regan. “You will forget about the dart wounding my hand.”

  “Um …” Regan starts, but Matthew doesn’t wait for a reply.

  He gives Regan a bow. She blinks and—POOF!—they’re both gone.

  “But …” Regan looks at the darts, the stuffed animal, and a terrified Toby.

  She picks up one of the darts and studies the tip. It does look really sharp. And it did pierce Matthew’s skin because she saw his dark, almost black blood. Regan takes her index finger and lightly taps the top. “Ow!” She drops the dart and looks at the top of her finger, where a drop of blood is forming.

  “But how …” Regan says to herself.

  How indeed?

  Okay, let’s be real: We all get confused from time to time.

  Yes, even me, your super smart and witty narrator. Just this morning I was all, Where did I put my notebook where I outlined all the devilish deeds I’m going to put these kids through? I swore I left it under the jar with a human heart in it. Or was it near my vat of gooey nacho cheese? Did I leave it under my book of spells?

  It happens to us all, right?

  But you know who rarely gets confused?

  Yup, Sofia.

  This is the girl who reads nonfiction, likes to study history, and is top in her class. Oh, and in case you forgot, she skipped a grade.

  But as Sofia stands by herself in the living room of the Norland-Vargas house, she seems very confused. Sofia scratches her head. She closes her eyes for a minute. She takes a few deep breaths. She opens her eyes and … still looks confused.

  The house is empty. Everybody else is at the carnival. Why isn’t Sofia at the carnival? It’s her favorite night in Cauldron’s Cove (not like she’d ever admit that to her dad because of course she won’t).

  Sofia continues to blink, like she’s trying to wake up. Then guess who else shows up at the house? Yup. Bennett with a similar perplexed look on his face.

  “What are you doing home?” Sofia asks Bennett. “You love the carnival.”

  Bennett’s face is glazed over. “I—I … don’t know.”

  “What do you mean—” But Sofia stops herself.

  Bennett sits down on the couch. “I was walking with my crew and having a good time …” He narrows his eyes like it’ll help him focus the thoughts swirling in his mind. “And then—oh!” He perks up. “I saw Regan talking to some guy and went over to see who this dude was. It also looked like she needed help. Not like Regan is delicate or anything, but I did not like the look of him, and he was hovering all over Regan, and it’s like who is this dude, and then …” Bennett looks around at the living room. “Now I’m here.”

  Sofia sits down next to her stepbrother. “Bennett,” Sofia begins with a shake of her head.

  He throws his hands up. “Aw, come on, Sof.”

  “It’s Sofia.”

  Bennett groans. “Yeah, I know what you’re going to say: How could you not know what happened. And yeah, I don’t know how to explain it, either. I didn’t mean to leave, I just did. And, like, I know you’ll think I’m making this up—”

  Sofia puts her hand on his shoulder. “Bennett, I’m not going to say any of that.”

  “You’re not?”

  She’s not?

  “No, because the same thing happened to me.”

  Bennett looks skeptical. “What do you mean?”

  Sofia furrows her brows. “I mean I recall being at the carnival with Regan. We were walking around getting ready for the witch show and then Matthew showed up.”

  “See!” Bennett’s hands fly up in the air. “Something isn’t right with that dude.”

  Sofia rolls her eyes. “Jealous much?”

  “I’m not—”

  “Anyways,” Sofia cuts him off because of course she does. “It was the same for me. Matthew arrives and then I find myself walking home. It was like I was on autopilot.”

  Bennett nods along. “Does that mean he can hypnotize people? Is he a magician or something? That would explain his weird outfit and, like, is that suit a century old or is it a costume or what?”

  Sofia gets up and starts pacing the room. (We know what that means: Sofia is thinking of a plan.) She stops and looks at her stepbrother. “Bennett, do you want to watch a movie?”

  Forget possibly being hypnotized (and being jealous of Matthew), Bennett’s spirits have lifted. Sofia never asks him to do anything. And yeah, watching a movie isn’t a big deal for most siblings, but for Sofia and Bennett it is.

  “Yeah, that’d be cool.” He tries to pretend that he isn’t super, duper excited about a movie night with his sis. “What are you thinking?”

  Sofia’s face is serious. I mean, when you think about it, picking a movie is important business. You need to make sure you have something everybody will enjoy. Do you think she’s in the mood for a comedy? Or drama? Or a superhero movie? But then again, Sofia usually prefers documentaries. She likes to learn while watching TV.

  “I’m thinking vampires, Bennett. Vampires.”

  It’s past midnight as the lights go off in the town square. The carnival workers have finished packing up. They’re heading toward their caravans parked across the square, where they’ll sleep before traveling to another town to entertain (and rip off).

  “I’m being serious!” Toby (aka the dart dude) says to a friend. “His eyes were red, and there’s no way he could’ve known where the big prize was.”

  “I told you not to have any of the balloons win the big prize, you’re just throwing away your money.” The friend shakes his head.

  “But his eyes!” Toby’s entire body is shaking. Dude hasn’t felt right since Matthew left and he had to fork over that big stuffed bunny.

  (Spoiler alert: He’s going to feel a whole lot worse soon.)

  “Yeah, yeah, right, Tobs. Have you heard of colored contacts?” The friend snorts. “Or are you letting this creepy town get to you? Cauldron’s Cove.” He shakes his head as they cross the street.

  Just then the streetlamp above them shuts off, casting them into darkness.

  “What is that?” Toby says as his eyes scan the pitch-black sky.

  “Dude, you need to relax! What? Are you afraid of the dark now?”

  Toby looks up and squints. “There’s something flying up ahead.”

  “Hey, Wolfie and Becks!” the friend calls out to two other carnival workers up ahead. “Tobs has officially lost it.”

  “Not like he had much to begin with,” one of them replies.

  Not polite, these carnival workers.

  “I’m telling you, there’s something up there!” Toby points to where something is flying over them.

  In fact, it’s more than one thing.

  “It’s just a bird or, like, a bat. Chill, man.” The friend laughs but soon stops when those somethings land in front of them.

  And transform.

  The four carnival workers don’t even have time to let out a scream before they’re viciously attacked.

  See, I warned you this book was a whole new level.

  Sweet dreams, terrified reader, sweet dreams.

  You know who else is having trouble sleeping?

  Darius has been tossing and turning all night. I’m sure you can relate, since you’ve probably had some sleepless nights since picking up my books.

  Now, I don’t blame the guy. There’s a lot to worry about, especially with the pressure of being the mayor’s son. While his mom and family are always under a microscope, it’s worse now with Leona’s death being questioned and Damien Hearse stirring up trouble. The mayoral race is getting tighter and tighter.

  And, okay, there is a part of Darius that wouldn’t mind having a normal mom. He wouldn’t have to wear stuffy suits and smile all the time. He wouldn’t have people staring at him when he’s out, waiting for him to do something “unbecoming” of the mayor’s son. His mom wouldn’t always be so stressed.