“Yeah, I know. I’ll be there. I just need a costume to wear,” Jessica said into her phone as she shifted through the outfits in her closet.

“How do you not have a costume?” Her friend, Claire, asked over the phone.

“I haven’t bought a Halloween costume in thirteen years. The ones I have don’t fit me anymore.” Jessica replied, moving aside boxes on the floor of the closet, looking for anything that could be used as a costume.

- “Get creative! You could always make your own costume. I’m going as Hylonome.”

- “Who?”

- “A famous Centaur.”

- “Well, that’s easy for you. You are a Centaur!”

- “Fair enough.”

The two continued discussing costumes as Jessica rummaged through her closet, until something caught her eye. Her eyes narrowed on the small, white MagiTech box, the picture of the Divider Knife still visible on it.

“I just got an idea,” Jessica said with excitement in her voice.

- “Great! What is it?”

- “I’ll show you at the party. See you there!”

She turned off her phone and put it back into her pocket as she began looking around her closet for a black leather outfit. Sure enough, there was one in her closet. She pulled it off the hanger rack and gave it a look-over to check for any damage. The outfit was in pristine condition. Perfect.

Putting the outfit on, complete with long, black socks, and equally black high heels, she got in her car and drove to the costume shop.

Thauma City had plenty of costume shops, especially popular with the magical population of the city. However, there was only one Jessica considered to have quality costumes and props: Andrew’s.

Andrew’s Cosmetic Magic was a small, yet flourishing costume shop in the downtown section of Thauma City. It had hundreds, if not thousands of props on its shelves, but she only needed a few.

“Ah, Jessica,” Andrew said as Jessica walked in, “I haven’t seen you in a long time!”

- “Andrew? I’m surprised you remember me.”

- “You left quite an impression when you were little. You used to be my favorite customer! Look at you! You’ve grown so much!”

- “And you’ve barely aged a day.”

- “I have my ways. So, what do you need?”

Jessica turned around to face the many rows of shelves that seemed to stretch on forever, before turning back to face Andrew. “I’ll take a scythe and a pumpkin mask.”

 - “Ah, a Dullahan costume. But last I checked, you’re not a Dullahan, right?”

- “Things change.”

- “I see. MagiTech, I assume?”

Jessica nodded. Andrew helped her peruse his wares until she found what she wanted. She walked to the counter with a prop scythe, complete with fake blood painted on the tip, and a pumpkin mask, glowing yellow out of the eyes and mouth by mysterious means. Before she left, Andrew stopped her and handed her a thin ring about large enough to fit around her neck.

“What’s this?” Jessica asked.

“It’s a collar that creates an illusion of flames around the neck. Very popular for Dullahan costumes.”

- “How much?”

- “It’s on the house. Consider it a token of gratitude for my old favorite customer.”

After thanking Andrew and paying for the other items, Jessica drove back to her house to get ready for the party.

Stepping into the bathroom to review herself, she observed that the scythe and pumpkin mask, with the rest of the outfit, really completed the look. Except for one thing...

Raising both hands to the side of her head, Jessica separated her head from her body and set it down on the bathroom counter, so it faced her body. Pulling the collar out of her costume pocket, she slid it onto her neck. Easier without her head in the way, though she fumbled a little trying to control it from an odd perspective, and the mask narrowed her field of view slightly.

After the collar was secured around her neck, yellow flames blossomed up from her neck stump. Jessica panicked, trying to wave away the flames, until she paused, realizing there was no pain. Or heat, for that matter.

Huh.

It’s perfect.

Picking up her head with the arm that wasn't holding the scythe and tucking it under her shoulder, she gave herself one last glance in the mirror. She looked good. She then headed off to the costume party.

...

After reaching the house, Jessica knocked on the door, which was difficult with both her hands holding something. She turned the scythe and tapped the door with the side opposite of the blade. Even from her lowered perspective, Jessica could see disco lights and hear the music coming from the inside.

When the door was opened, she found herself staring at a set of horse legs. She tilted her head up to see Claire, clad in light prop armor to complete the Centaur look.

“Oh, hey---” Claire paused, taken aback by her friend’s appearance, then looked down to see her friend’s head held in her arm.

“Jessica! Is this your costume?”

- “Yeah. What, is it not good?”

- “No. It’s... amazing! How did you do this?”

- “I have my ways.”

- “Okay, Ms. Mysterious. Come on in! Party’s just getting started! You’ll love it!”

Claire turned around and disappeared into the crowd of partygoers. Jessica chuckled lightly, then followed her friend inside.

It would be a party to remember.