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She whimpered.

‘Stay still and let me enjoy myself. The more you move, the longer I’ll make you wait…’

The following week, Mia was smiling as she walked up the little high street, past the tree where people tied ribbons and remembrances, the bakery that always smelled so good – especially now they were baking their spiced pumpkin bread – the little pub, hairdresser’s and other stores that made up Hudsbury, and headed towards Glimmers.

‘Oi oi! Are you looking for potion recipes? I’ve got one for you.’ A wolf-whistle followed the voice from the largest pumpkin, making Mia giggle. ‘How about eye of newt, squeak of bat, a cup of damn you’re fine and a dollop of call me later?’

‘She can call me whenever she wants, I’ll pick that call up. And her!’ one of the smaller ones replied.

‘Hey, she’s hot enough to roast my seeds!’ another said with a cackle as she shook her head and headed into the shop, laughing.

She ducked under the bundle of herbs above the door then jumped and squealed as she came face to face with an uncomfortably realistic-looking spider in a large web in the shape of a star, made with black and red thread and dotted with silver coins. For the fae folk, a nearly forgotten memory whispered in her mind, making her wonder where that brain cell had been hiding.

Just like every year, the shop – presumably with Aiden’s help this time – had been filled with greenery and lights – with little candles dropped into hollowed-out apples and turnips, which gently filled the air with their lazy slow-roasting scent.

Tangled branches arched over her head, festooned with deep purple and orange rags, with yet more tiny coins, this time with sprigs of hazelnuts and acorns woven in.

Three interlaced arcs had been painted across the floor, joining together in the centre beneath a huge planter housing a living apple tree, its branches gently waving in the breeze from the door.

Mia knelt down to pet Mist, who was lying beneath the tree, lazily batting at one of the lower hanging apples. ‘Hello, pretty.’

‘Hello to you too.’

‘I had been talking to the cat, but hello, Aiden.’

‘What do you think? My first time ever decorating for Samhain.’

‘It’s absolutely amazing. How on earth did you get a tree in here?’

‘A lot of muscles and some’ – he shot a look at Mist, who had stopped playing with fruit and appeared to be paying intense attention – ‘ingenuity.’

Mist sniffed and stalked away.

‘It really is beautiful. And I like the pumpkins. I’m assuming you’re in charge of them this year?’

‘I did a lot of the carving.’

‘Yeah, I meant the speaker. I know Ophelia and Rayenne have done them for years, but the comments seem a bit… more like you this year. How do they work, by the way? Katie and Ophelia will never tell me. What are they? Some sort of animatronics, or recordings and a movement-activated speaker? Or do you have a microphone hidden in here somewhere?’

‘That’s what you think?’

Mist mewled a lilting sound and Aiden gave her a weird look, shushing her, making Mia feel a bit confused.

‘I can’t believe you’ve done so much already… it’s still September!’

‘Samhain is a big deal around here. Apparently. Can I convince you to try my take on traditional honey cakes?’

‘Well, I am your official taste-tester, so I guess I have to say yes.’ She giggled and followed him towards the back of the store.

‘Oh, that’s so cute… you even put little pumpkins and ghosts in the painting!’

Aiden just about managed to control his surprise as one of the pumpkins grinned at him, and a ghost waved. Surely Mia had seen it? She was looking right at the painting.

‘They’re really cute.’

‘You don’t notice anything unusual about them?’

Stop pushing.