Happy Halloween, all 
What follows is my reply to the Halloween challenge of 'Short and Scary'
With all due apologies to Duran Duran, please enjoy. May your Halloween be fun, safe and your candy plentiful
All Hallows Eve…Redux
Another Halloween, another Kostan party.
How like Josef to flaunt all things unholy on the eve of the feast celebrating human sanctity. The scents and sounds of the annual bacchanalia assailed Mick’s senses fifty yards from the house, stirring long suppressed desires and memories best forgotten.
Just like Josef knew they would.
‘You can’t deny yourself forever, Mick. You need to let your inner vamp out to play every now and then.’
He should have turned around then, gone home and concocted some lame excuse that Josef would see right through; better to be verbally abused later than physically tortured now. Instead, the young vampire saw the challenge for what it was and accepted.
Just like Josef knew he would.
The party's pleasures nearly undid Mick’s resolve. The freshies were plentiful and scantily clad, their warm, aromatic flesh pressing against him, enticing man and vampire alike. The music’s bass thrummed like his long absent heartbeat, pulsing a seductive rhythm entrancing the costumed revelers. A quick scan of the room located Josef strategically situated where he could see and be seen by all. Raising his glass in mock salute, the ancient vampire acknowledged the prodigal’s arrival, his message clear.
‘Like it or not, Mick, this is who you are.’
In a way, Josef was right. Just like the human revelers cloaked in gaudy costumes, Mick desired to be anything than what he was, if only for a night.
Between the booze and the strobes, the scene was surreal. Pills were being popped like candy and no one here gave a damn about bobbing for anything except blood. All around him, heroes mingled with villains, with the more adventuresome transforming themselves into fantastic or monstrous beings. Mick smile sardonically; he knew who the real monsters were. Scattered amongst their prey, they hid in plain sight until it was time to hunt, to feed and maybe even to kill, the latter just for kicks.
Just as he once had. That Mick was gone and nothing Josef said or did could ever bring him back.
In touch with the ground, I'm on the hunt I'm after you…
Mick cursed under his breath; Josef was intentionally goading him tonight, knowing how much he hated Halloween and that damned song. For the solitary detective, Halloween was every night of the year as he hid behind a mask of humanity, one he now felt slipping away.
A scent and a sound, I'm lost and I'm found, And I'm hungry like the wolf...
Screw that song! Mick shook his head, trying to regain some composure. For once, man and vampire conspired against him; what each hungered for was plentiful and theirs for the taking. Just the thought of the flesh and blood this unholy gathering offered aroused him. His lips twitched, his fangs aching to descend and plunge into soft succulent flesh, his body hardening in similar desire. He had to leave now, before he gave in….
Strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme, I'm on the hunt, I'm after you….
Too late.
Someone had come up from behind him, wrapping their arms around his waist and it wasn’t just any someone; hers was a scent he’d never forget. Holding him close, seducing hands moved up his chest, gently caressing and offering pleasures as only they could. The touch of his seductress and mere memories of her love were enough to set his body and soul on fire.
I howl and I whine, I'm after you…
Damn Josef!! Mick shot a murderous look at his host, who was watching the pair with an air of smug satisfaction. In his efforts to bring the prodigal back into the vampiric fold, Josef had pulled out all the stops.
Mouth is alive, juices like wine
As his captor’s lips brushed his ear whispering promises of pleasures yet to come, her fingers entwined in his hair. Aching with desire, Mick turned to face his temptress. Try as he might, she was too much to resist. He’d held out so long, he’d tried to be good, but his need for her and all she offered was overwhelming.
And I'm hungry like the wolf…….
His eyes silvered as he brushed her long, raven hair away from her delicate neck, and cursing Kostan for what he’d done, Mick sank himself into a world of forbidden pleasure.
Just like Josef knew he would.
Mick shook his head, banishing memories of a night long ago. A light touch on his arm had brought him back to the present. Her touch, her scent pleased man and vampire alike, although the latter longed for another taste of her sweet blood. Their brief encounter in the desert seemed an eternity ago, something Josef reminded him at every opportunity. But nothing Josef could say or do was going to influence how Mick proceeded in his relationship with the woman he loved.
Not this time.
And so, against his better judgment, Mick found himself once again at his friend’s annual Halloween party, now with a beautiful woman on his arm. He had only minor misgivings about bringing her here as the festivities were more civilized now, or at least more discrete. Josef had even transformed his bacchanalia into a charitable event, but still, the booze was plentiful and the freshies were there for those that desired them.
Their host was making the rounds now, smiling and chatting with his guests, thanking them for their generosity. As Josef drew near, a knowing smile flickered across his face. The lights dimmed and the band began to play something a little more upbeat. Mick froze, the music bringing back more than just a memory, but a scent he thought lost forever.
Just like Josef knew it would.
A scent and a sound, I'm lost and I'm found, And I'm hungry like the wolf……
Poor Mick - he has an iron will, but Josef knows just how to turn that resolve molten-hot... 
