10. James

10

JAMES

James led Sebastian out of town hall, his blood boiling. How could any of them blame Sebastian when William was the problem?

He didn't let go of Sebastian as the group hovered on the sidewalk in the late afternoon light. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that."

Sebastian shifted in his arms. "It's all right, James."

"No, it's not. Even if they're scared, they shouldn't have placed blame on you."

"I don't think fear was why William was blaming me," Sebastian muttered.

Parker huffed. "No, that's just how he is. He'd blame anyone to avoid admitting he was wrong."

A few people exited town hall behind them, not stopping to say anything as they hurried to cars parked down the street.

"Want to head over to the diner for some food?" Parker asked the group.

James looked at Sebastian, making it clear it was up to him.

"That sounds good." Sebastian smiled, though James could make out worry lines around his eyes. "I'm an anxious mess from that meeting, but surely the diner is quiet enough at this time of day that I'll be able to calm down, and it won't make things worse."

"It should be. It's too early for most people to be going for dinner." James was surprised Sebastian had mentioned anything about being uncomfortable in the diner in front of the others. He must be finding it easier to trust them.

Parker led the way across the street, Eli and Hazel following closely. Several deer lurked at the back of the park as they passed, standing among the trees edging the grass where part of the forest came into town. No other people were around, and sure enough, the diner was almost deserted when they entered.

Luna, one of the longtime servers, greeted them and handed James a stack of menus. They picked a booth by a window, and James slid in next to Hazel so Sebastian could sit on his other side and not be boxed in. He seemed more relaxed as he settled next to James than he'd been in the town hall. No surprise there. It had been a tense situation regardless of social anxiety. Sebastian had handled it well.

Sebastian absently ran his fingers over the ear pads of his headphones, which he wore around his neck. He'd started bringing them any time he left the house. When James had met him in the park yesterday and he'd been wearing them, he'd looked happy and at ease, not to mention cute, with the ear covers poking out of his messy ginger curls.

They ordered and didn't have to wait long for their food. As they ate, everyone remained subdued. The silence wasn't necessarily bad. It made sense they were all in their heads with the mound of problems growing around them. James figured Sebastian might be appreciating the quiet. He sat pressed close to James, the physical contact clearly comforting.

James watched the deer out the window. It wasn't too surprising they'd stuck around since the park was empty, but when more showed up at the edge of the woods, James began to wonder. Was he being paranoid, or was this way more deer than were usually in town? They weren't eating the grass in the park either, just standing around.

"What are you staring at?" Sebastian asked, leaning forward to see around James.

"There's a bunch of deer in the park."

Eli narrowed his eyes from across the table. "Why does it feel like they're waiting for something?"

He was right. The animals had gone unnaturally still. Just as James was about to voice his agreement, a large stag walked out of the forest. It passed through the group of unmoving deer and marched onto the sidewalk. It looked up and down the street, head turning in a slow sweep from side to side.

Hazel put her iced tea down. "That can't be normal."

"At least they're not bears," Sebastian muttered.

James tried to get a good look at the deer's eyes but it was too difficult from inside. The longer he watched, the more sure he was that the deer were possessed. The stag on the sidewalk stood there as if it were looking for something, scanning the street periodically.

Sunset wasn't too far away. James was surprised shades would possess animals to come into town this late in the day. Why not just wait until dark?

Someone exited the General Store and walked down the sidewalk in their direction. The stag turned toward them and stomped its hooves, tossing its head, formidable antlers swinging through the air. The person stopped and took a tentative step backward.

"Should we go out and help?" Eli asked.

Banishing these shades should be easier than the one in the bear. At least the deer were alive.

"You might want to wait in here," Parker said gently, a hand on Eli's forearm. James agreed. Eli didn't need to face off with any possessed animals when he had no magic .

"Are we going to have to kill them?" Sebastian cringed like he hated to even think about it.

James wasn't much happier about the prospect. "They haven't tried to hurt anyone. Though that stag could run someone through easily enough."

They all hesitated. Trying to banish shades without killing their host was often not very successful. It was too hard to get them to leave the bodies.

The person on the sidewalk hurried back the way they'd come. James hoped the deer would move on but also didn't like the idea of a bunch of possessed animals wandering around unchecked.

"Eleanor's heading over." Hazel pointed out the window to where the mayor was crossing the circle.

Eleanor reached the stone and hesitated, clearly spotting the odd group of deer. Parker stood and Hazel nudged James with her elbow, prompting him to get out of her way.

It was a standoff. Eleanor on the grass, the stag on the sidewalk, and James, Sebastian, Hazel, and Parker hovering inside. The stag tossed its head.

Eleanor took a step backward.

"We can't let the deer scare everyone off." James took a decisive step toward the door. "And we can't just hide in here forever. We either need to banish the shades or scare them all back into the woods."

A car drove up the street, moving between Eleanor and the stag. She took the opportunity to move farther away, placing the stone between her and the beast. The stag stomped its hooves and charged after the car as if angered by the interruption. It rammed the back bumper with its antlers, and the car sped off.

James exited the diner with everyone but Eli close behind. The stag turned away from the car toward Eleanor. It stomped its hooves again. Was it targeting her specifically as a leader like the humanoid shade had ?

It lowered its head like it was getting ready to charge. James summoned a ball of bright light and sent it racing toward the stag, straight into its eyes. The animal reared up on its back legs, letting out a cry of confusion. James kept the light in its face, forcing it to make contact with the stag, trying to get it in its eyes.

The shade shrieked, the unnatural sound coming from the stag's mouth. To James's horror, the stag had sharp onyx teeth.

Hazel rushed to Eleanor as Parker sent another ball of light at the stag's face, ushering it into the stag's open mouth. The stag thrashed, then froze as the light forced its way deeper inside. Black wisps of shadow flowed from its fur and burst into nothing.

James and Parker let their lights go out. The stag blinked and took off, running toward the forest like a scared animal, no longer possessed. The rest of the possessed deer melded back into the woods, probably not wanting to stick around and be banished back to Beyond.

Eleanor approached the group, Hazel at her side. "I'm glad that worked."

"Me too." James stared at the now-empty park. He hadn't wanted to kill a bunch of deer, but maybe that was why the shades had chosen them as their hosts.

Sebastian stared off in the same direction. "What do you think they were doing?"

"Who knows." Parker joined them in scrutinizing the trees as if they had answers. "They definitely seemed to be up to something."

"Regrouping for another attack on the town?" James suggested.

No one responded, but everyone had matching grim expressions as if they all feared the same.

"Why don't you come inside and get something to eat?" Hazel slung her arm through Eleanor's and the two women disappeared inside the diner .

James was about to suggest they follow when he noticed Sebastian's attention had shifted to the stone, a deep furrow in his brow. "What are you thinking?"

Sebastian crossed his arms. "There's something about this rock."

Eli, who'd come out of the diner when the deer fled, came to stand next to Sebastian. "Like what?"

"I swear it was glowing when the shade was preparing for its sacrifice. And when I was fighting off the darkness, it seemed like it exploded with light." Sebastian shook his head. "Does it have magic?"

James frowned at the tall stone. "It's just a rock, isn't it? A symbol?"

Sebastian turned to face him. "But the shades dancing around it before the darkness set in had to be them doing magic. It all centered around the stone. Why do that if it's just a rock?"

"It is strange now that I think about it," Eli said as he wandered closer to the stone. "It's right above a vein, but I've always thought it was just a rock too."

Parker came up behind Eli. "Can you check using your instruments to see if it has any magic of its own?"

"I can try." Eli bit his lip like he did when he was thinking hard.

"Maybe we should ward it," James suggested. "Sebastian's right. Shades dancing around it had to mean something, even if they were using the veins to create the darkness and it's nothing but a convenient rock."

"It wouldn't hurt," Parker agreed. "I need to eat some more and rest before doing another ward since I've already done a few today."

"Yeah, I don't want you straining yourself." Eli turned away from the stone, looking at Parker with concern.

"You'll look after me." He smiled down at Eli, and the two headed back into the diner .

James turned to follow when someone called out, "Sebastian!" He turned to find the librarian, Mila, waving at them from across the street.

Sebastian grabbed James's arm. "Was she in the meeting?"

"I didn't see her, but it was crowded. She could have been up near the front." From where Mila stood, it looked like she'd just come out of town hall.

"Shit." Sebastian set off across the street at a hurried pace, pulling James along.