12. James

12

JAMES

The sinkhole was definitely getting bigger.

James stood at the edge of the clearing with Sebastian the next morning, eyeing it. "It has to be twice the size it was before." James was glad he'd thought to move the fuel cell last time. It might have fallen in otherwise.

Sebastian took a hesitant step forward. "Should we look in? Maybe we can see better than Eli could since it's bigger now."

James reluctantly agreed. The rope was still tied to the tree, and after checking the knot was secure, he had Sebastian tie the other end around his waist.

Sebastian gave him slack as he inched forward. The ground felt solid, but he didn't let that stop him from walking like he was on thin ice.

"It still feels pretty stable," he called back to Sebastian when he was a foot from the edge. "It's a sheer break. Doesn't look like the soil is slowly crumbling in."

"Sounds unnatural," Sebastian replied. "But we knew this had to be magical."

James couldn't see much in the hole. It seemed unusually dark. Satisfied the ground wouldn't fall away, he lay on his stomach and inched forward until he could peer over the edge. "There's nothing to see. It's completely dark."

"What if you send a light down?"

That was a good idea. James summoned a small ball of light and let it descend into the hole. It was only about four feet across, but the light didn't fill the space as it should. It was like its rays weren't leaving the ball, illuminating nothing around it.

James urged the light farther down. It got smaller as it went, showing him nothing but how deep the hole actually was. Then it disappeared.

"It's gone." James stared downward in case he missed the light popping back up. There wasn't even a flicker. James couldn't feel the spell anymore and didn't think it was taking any more of his energy. It was like the light had gone out or the spell had failed, but it didn't feel the same as when his concentration broke and he lost a spell that way.

"Think you just sent light to Beyond?" Sebastian asked.

It was a freaky thought. "Maybe." He scooted back and stood. "I wonder if the spell can continue working once it's left this world. It doesn't feel like it is."

James returned to Sebastian, who untied the rope.

"Do you think this makes it easier for things to pass through the gateway?" Sebastian glanced over James's shoulder at the hole as he spoke. He sucked in a breath and grabbed James's arm, grip crushing and eyes wide.

"What?" James asked in alarm, whipping around to look. He didn't see anything.

"I swear a shadowy hand was gripping the edge, right where you just were."

The clearing was mostly free of shadow and bright sunlight covered the ground where James had been lying. He didn't see anything else.

James turned back to Sebastian to find fear written all over his face. Sweat broke out on James's forehead. "It's daylight. Surely shades can't come through now."

Sebastian remained fixated on the hole. "Probably not, luckily for us. That must be why it retreated, or maybe it was banished by the sun."

It was a marginally comforting thought. The shade must have seen James's orb of light and come to investigate. Meaning that creatures in Beyond knew they were here, poking around on the other side of the gateway. A chill ran down James's spine.

Something else occurred to James. "Wouldn't the sun have banished the shade before it got to the edge of the hole?"

Sebastian hummed in thought. "Maybe, but whatever is in the hole seems to be keeping light out. Otherwise, we'd be able to see inside, so maybe not."

James liked that logic. It meant the shade Sebastian thought he saw was less likely to be fully sunlight resistant. Completely light-resistant shades were the last thing they needed.

Still, James and Sebastian watched the hole for a long, tense moment, waiting. Nothing happened, which hopefully meant the shade had been banished and hadn't just retreated, but James didn't find much comfort in the uncertainty they were left with.

Sebastian threw the rope down at the base of the tree. "There's not much more we can do here. Let's get Eli's data and go."

They made quick work of gathering the receipts and left the property. James drove them back to Gray Electrical, the ride quiet other than the music Sebastian selected. When they pulled up at the shop, Hazel was outside helping someone fill their car battery.

The customer seemed to stop chatting with Hazel as soon as they caught sight of Sebastian. James pursed his lips as he passed them on his way inside.

He could kill William for turning people against Sebastian, never mind trapping them unnecessarily and putting their lives at risk. James was sure that if most of the people in the auditorium yesterday had heard about the veins from Eleanor instead of William, there wouldn't be anywhere near as much animosity toward Sebastian.

To his credit, Sebastian seemed to be handling it well. It just wasn't fair. James wanted to protect Sebastian from the pain of any more rejection. He knew he couldn't. He just wished the world were kinder. He wished he and Sebastian didn't have to fight so hard to get to the happy, simple life they wanted.

"Want some coffee?" he asked Sebastian once they were inside.

Sebastian flashed a sweet smile, dimples framing his face. "Sure."

James went to make it, hoping Sebastian hadn't noticed the customer's reaction outside.

Hazel joined them a minute later. "Do I want to know how Storm House was this morning?"

"No," James said before recounting everything for her anyway. "The fuel cell has dropped more too. Another big dip in energy."

"Wonder if the bigger dips coincide with the hole growing," Hazel said as she lined mugs up on the counter for James to fill. "Oh, guess what? Eleanor told me William wasn't at work this morning, no explanation given for his absence."

James grunted, his hate for the man clear. No words needed.

"We know he can't have gone far," Sebastian said with grim amusement.

Hazel laughed. "No, he'll be lurking. Just figures he'd be all confident pointing his finger at you yesterday and then not show his face around town hall now that he knows not everyone agrees with him."

"They don't?" Sebastian asked, sounding surprised.

James's heart pinched. "Of course they don't."

"Not at all," Hazel agreed. "Especially after they were told the truth. Eleanor is way more respected than William. It's one of the reasons she's mayor. People listen to her. Seeing her support you changed people's minds. The meeting was tense, but that wasn't the end of it."

The shop bell rang, and all three of them turned. There, standing on the retail side of the room, was William himself.

"Speak of the fucking devil," Hazel muttered. "Hi," she called loud enough for him to hear, making her way over. "Is there something you need?"

William narrowed his eyes at Hazel, probably picking up on her less-than-friendly tone.

Hazel leaned against the counter, pulling off a casual I-don't-trust-or-like-you stance. William didn't say anything, which wasn't like him. James had never known the man to keep anything to himself.

William turned away from Hazel and scrutinized the store. James was glad he wasn't starting in on Sebastian, but if he wasn't planning to harass him, why was he here? Was his presence some sort of intimidation, like a warning that he was watching them?

"I don't think you have what I need," William said at last.

"Sorry," Hazel replied, not sounding sorry at all.

William glared at her and then turned his narrowed eyes on James and Sebastian. "I'll be seeing you around, unfortunately." He left the shop without a backward glance.

Hazel returned to the work side of the shop and grabbed her mug. "He's certainly using his time ditching work wisely." She rolled her eyes.

James sat at his desk, preparing to type up the data they'd gathered from the clearing since Eli was working at the diner that morning. Sebastian grabbed a spare chair and settled in next to him, reading out the numbers. James found it hard to see the point in recording more of the veins' energy flow. Was any of this information helping them?

Hazel assisted a few more customers at the pumps. By late morning, she and James packed up and left the shop to continue fixing the lights in town, starting with one in front of the post office.

Sebastian, who'd come along with them, got a phone call. James perked up, hoping it was Sebastian's mom, even though he hated that Sebastian had to deal with her. She might have answers, and James was getting desperate enough to hope she'd help.

"It's my lawyer." Sebastian accepted the call and wandered to the grass by the stone to talk. James tried to fend off his disappointment.

"I'm beginning to feel like nothing we're doing is worth the effort," James admitted to Hazel.

She gave him a sympathetic frown. "We can't do nothing."

"I know." James nudged the toolbox sitting on the sidewalk with his foot. "But take the lights, for example. Is replacing them pointless? They'll probably get smashed out again. And that hand in the clearing today could mean shades resistant to daylight are coming or are already here." He assumed the shade in the clearing had been banished by the daylight, but he couldn't shake the fear it hadn't been.

Hazel shrugged helplessly. "Not fixing the lights feels like giving up. We have to do what we can."

"I know. And I don't want to give up." James was determined not to. "But we don't have control over this situation, and everything we do is a reminder. What if that horrible shade comes back and casts spells on the veins again? What if it makes the imbalance even more unstable?"

"I don't know, James." Hazel gripped his shoulder. It would have been more comforting if there wasn't obvious fear in Hazel's eyes.

Sebastian walked back over to them, his phone call apparently finished.

"Anything?" James asked.

Sebastian grimaced. "Owning part of Nelson Power doesn't give me access to their intellectual property. Even offering to exchange my shares for the information got me nowhere. Whatever they know isn't getting out. I can't even get more information on Nelson Storm. Being a descendant doesn't seem to mean much."

"Oh well, it's what we expected." James tried his best not to be dejected. The secret of how to safely extract power from the veins was never the most likely solution, so not finding it out wasn't a setback. Still, it would have felt better to be able to try taking power from the veins and see what happened to rule it out completely.

Doing nothing was killing them slowly, but there wasn't anything else to say about the dead end, so James and Hazel got back to fixing the lights while Sebastian sat against a nearby tree and listened to music.

Now that the darkness was gone, all the tourists seemed to have returned. People were in and out of Beth's souvenir shop, wandering around the circle and taking pictures of the stone.

For the first time, the peaceful familiarity of Moonlight Falls didn't comfort James. Seeing things go on as if nothing was wrong put him on edge.

James couldn't help scrutinizing all the locals who passed by. Most of them probably hadn't found out about the veins, but he was wary of anyone who'd been at the meeting. He noticed a woman standing by the ice cream shop who seemed to be staring at them. He frowned at her. She wasn't familiar, so it was unlikely she was a Moonlighter or had been at the meeting, but James swore she was looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian had his eyes closed. He looked dazzling sitting under the tree, surrounded by fall leaves, soft autumn light warming his skin. The season suited him, the fall colors complementing his ginger hair and rosy cheeks. James suspected spring and summer would suit him just as well. He'd look absolutely ethereal, surrounded by all the freshly blooming flowers, and would enjoy the long days spent in his garden.

James couldn't wait to see the seasons change with Sebastian. He longed for the years ahead and all the little routines they would build together.

Sebastian opened his eyes and looked at James from beneath his lashes. A deeper red tinged Sebastian's cheeks in response to whatever expression he found on James's face. Fuck, James loved him so much.

The back of James's neck prickled, and his attention was torn from Sebastian. He looked across the street to find the woman still staring. James glanced between her and Sebastian, not sure what had her attention.

Sebastian followed his gaze. He sat up abruptly, all the softness leaving his features. Sebastian slowly pulled the headphones off his ears.

"What's wrong?" James asked.

Sebastian didn't speak right away, and when he did, his voice was barely audible. "That's my mom."