Mum was wearing a black dress she’d bought specially for the occasion. Dad had dug out his old grey suit to wear, but Mum had made him give it to a charity shop and buy a new one. He came home with a suit that was almost identical to the old one.Mum had responded to the line on the invitation that said ‘Fancy Dress Optional, But Encouraged’ by adding a feathered black eye mask to her dress and leaving it at that. Dad spiked his hair, painted his face black and white and said he was a rock star I’d never heard of.I wore the zombie outfit I’d used at a school party the previous year. I had a pair of trousers with ragged edges, a shirt covered in fake gore, and a jacket with bullet holes and streams of painted blood down the back. I darkened round my eyes and put a scar across my cheek. I looked pretty good. Cars began to fill up Priory Mews, as well as the driveway to Bierce Priory itself, about five minutes before eight o’clock. Most of them were huge and freshly cleaned.
