15. James

15

JAMES

James insisted they stay at the duplex that night. He wanted to keep an eye on the town and see if there was more shade activity. After confirming there were indeed shades resistant enough to light to be unhindered by direct sunlight, James couldn't escape the feeling that something big was brewing. Maybe another wave of darkness was coming or something else they couldn't yet fathom.

Watching for shades also gave James a sense of purpose. Learning there was no restoring the veins, other than by a work-around similar to Selma's, left him lost.

He wasn't sure what to make of the sun-resistant shade either. If some of the beasts could be out during the day, why hadn't they seen more of them? Why had there been a herd of possessed deer? Were the stronger shades hiding to try and keep people from realizing some of them could withstand full sunlight, waiting to launch a surprise daytime attack, or was the one they'd seen a lone daylight-resistant one?

Sebastian leaned against James as they sat on the bed, looking out the window. He'd been quiet since seeing his mom. Part of James wished he'd given the woman more of a piece of his mind, but it was probably best he hadn't. Sebastian knew where James stood, and Sebastian's relationship with Samantha was for him to work out. James's job was to support Sebastian and remind him he had trustworthy people in his life who would stand by him and treat him right, not get caught up in his own dislike for the woman.

They hadn't seen many shades so far. A few hovered around the street but didn't seem to be doing anything.

James rubbed Sebastian's thigh. "You should get some rest."

"I had a nap this afternoon," he reminded James, even though James hadn't forgotten. "Besides, my head is feeling better."

"Okay, good." James turned back to the window, arm around Sebastian. "We can't stay up all night though."

"We could do shifts. But even if we see anything, there's no guarantee we can do something about it."

"At least Parker warded the stone." James stared at the rock, hoping the protective spell would stop the shades from doing the dance that had brought on the darkness.

Eli hadn't had a chance to test if the stone had any magic, and there was no warding the veins. Who knew, even without the stone, shades might be able to work their spells on Moonlight Falls when their leader returned.

The few shades in the center of town didn't seem interested in the stone. One darted swiftly across the circle from the diner toward town hall, completely ignoring it. As James watched the shade, he noticed a figure standing on the sidewalk shrouded in shadow because the light in front of town hall hadn't been fixed yet.

James stood from the bed. "Look." He approached the window, followed by Sebastian.

"It's a person," Sebastian said in disbelief.

The shade simply hovered in front of the person for a few moments, then darted back the way it'd come. At first, James wondered if the figure might have been the humanoid shade, but it definitely wasn't. The person didn't seem very tall and moved much more normally than the otherworldly being had. At least the shade had left the person alone.

James and Sebastian watched as the person headed in their direction. As the figure passed under a streetlight, James let out a grunt of annoyance. "It's William."

"What the hell is he doing in town at night?"

"Nothing good."

"That's a given." Sebastian snorted a dry laugh.

William continued down the sidewalk until he was out of sight. Maybe he'd been at town hall late to avoid people after ditching work and was parked around the corner. James turned his attention back to the shades. A few were peering in the closed diner windows, not unlike what they'd often done at Storm House.

Around eleven, James was too tired to keep watching. The shades had disappeared and nothing seemed to be happening. He and Sebastian settled into bed, Sebastian falling asleep almost instantly. James eventually drifted off too.

He jerked awake suddenly, not knowing how long it had been. He swore he'd heard a noise. James strained his ears, and there it was again, flowed by a sound like a door closing.

James sat bolt upright. Was someone or something in the duplex?

"Sebastian." He gently shook his shoulder. "Wake up."

"Hm?" Sebastian blinked at him in the dark.

"Something's in the house."

Sebastian sat up in alarm. Simultaneously, they slid out of bed. Sebastian gabbed a hoodie to put on over his boxer briefs, but James didn't bother.

There was a creak downstairs.

"A shade wouldn't make any noise," Sebastian whispered. "And the duplex is warded. "

Then what the hell was it? Had their protections been broken while they'd slept?

The bedroom door stood open. James moved through it quickly and as quietly as he could. At the top of the stairs, he peered down but couldn't see anything in the stairwell.

James pointed down the stairs, indicating he was going to check the ground floor. Sebastian nodded, following close behind. Luckily, the stairs and bedroom were carpeted, muffling their steps. James heard another creak from the room below. He held a wind spell in the back of his mind, ready to use it and strike out at anything they came across to knock it back.

He was two steps from the bottom when a figure appeared in front of him. William. The man froze in the dark like he was startled to see James and Sebastian standing there.

"What the hell?" Sebastian shouted.

James abandoned wind for light. His spell flared, and William squinted dramatically.

"Hey," he grunted, covering his face as if having a light shone in it was unreasonable.

" Hey ? You're in my house," Sebastian growled.

William backed up a step, and James and Sebastian pushed forward. As they exited the stairway, the rest of the living room came into view, revealing three other men. One lunged for the front door and threw it open.

"Stop!" Sebastian shouted, but the guy was gone.

"I've seen the rest of you," James warned. "No point running."

William turned toward the other men. "Come on. Honest mistake. We thought the place was unoccupied. No idea it had been rented out."

"Yeah right." Sebastian switched on the living room light, and James let his spell snuff out. "You broke in. Why bother if you thought no one lived here?"

"What were you doing, William?" James demanded when no one spoke up .

Before William could reply, one of the men—someone James could have sworn was relatively new in town—lunged for James, grabbing him and pinning his arms to his sides.

"Get the other one," the attacker shouted.

The other man—who James would have bet was named Jim Mills—grabbed at Sebastian. James stomped on the insole of the man holding him. He grunted in pain, his hold loosening enough for James to elbow him in the gut and twist free. James grabbed the man going for Sebastian by the back of his shirt.

"Stop now, or I'll be using magic next," James growled.

Both men stood stalk still.

"Where did William go?" Sebastian asked.

"Shit." James looked around. William was nowhere to be seen. "He couldn't have gone far."

"No, all because of you," the man who'd attacked James said, pointing at Sebastian. "You trapped us!"

"Is that why you're here?" James looked between them.

Jim glared. "He needs to go back to Storm House and release us from his curse."

"So you were going to abduct him and try to trap him there?"

"Someone's got to do something." Jim crossed his arms indignantly.

James couldn't believe it. He was almost blind with anger. "And you thought this was justifiable?"

Jim clapped the other man on the shoulder. "Let's go." He gestured to the open door.

James stepped in front of them. "I don't think so. I'm calling the police."

"Got your phone in your underwear," the other man sneered.

Shit, their phones were upstairs.

"We can't go to jail anyway," the man said. "We're trapped, so no one's taking us down to Apple Valley, are they?" They pushed past James to leave.

Sebastian took an unsteady step after them .

James grabbed his arm. "Let them go. They can't escape Moonlight Falls. I'm sure Eleanor will figure out what to do with them. People can't just commit crimes because they're trapped here and unable to be taken to jail."

Sebastian closed the front door. "True." The tension disappeared from his body, leaving him looking scared and hurt.

James wrapped his arms around him. "Are you okay? I mean, of course, you aren't. William just led a group of people to break in and kidnap you."

"Definitely doesn't make me like the duplex any more than before." Sebastian glanced hopelessly around the sparse room. "How did William know I lived here?"

"He must have seen us coming in or out." The only time James had noticed William was when he and Sebastian had been on the way to the duplex, but William had gone into town hall before he could have seen where they were going. He must have seen them another time or seen Sebastian coming and going without James.

James retrieved his phone and called Eleanor, waking the poor woman up. James had never heard her so mad. She said William was dismissed from his position as a city councilor. Sharing the Storm House secret should have been enough to get rid of him, but breaking and entering and attempted kidnapping was a whole other story.

"Let's call the police anyway," Eleanor said. "They can come arrest everyone involved, and when they can't get out of Moonlight Falls with them, at least someone on the outside will know there's something strange going on."

James hung up the phone and rubbed his temple. How could someone violate Sebastian's home like this, and how had they planned to keep him at Storm House? A horrible vision of Sebastian chained up in the musty old manor filled his mind.

"I think I want to live on a hobby farm," Sebastian said out of nowhere.

James stopped rubbing his head. Sebastian was perched on the couch, curled into his hoodie, looking deeply serious. "What?" James asked.

"I don't know if I want a house in the middle of one of the neighborhoods." Sebastian took a moment to consider this, then nodded in agreement with himself. "I want more space than that and need a field for Miss Moo, not to mention lots of fruit trees and a garden. I just don't want to be as far away as Storm House was or live anywhere that dreary."

James forced his mind to shift gears. "A hobby farm sounds wonderful. Some of the places on the edge of town might work."

Sebastian nodded. "I remember seeing a For Sale sign when we met Eli and Parker by the boundary before the horde of shades attacked."

"We'll check it out," James promised, sitting on the couch next to Sebastian. It sounded perfect and so beautifully normal. Helping Sebastian settle into the life he wanted was what James should be doing, not dealing with veins and mobs of angry Moonlighters.

"I already didn't like this place," Sebastian all but whispered. "Having people break in has completely killed it. I can't believe they were going to attack me and force me back to that house."

"I know, it's horrible. But they won't be getting away with it." James squeezed his hand. "Want to spend the rest of the night at my place."

"Yeah." Sebastian gave him a tired smile. "But you should probably put your pants on before we go."

James laughed. "True. Can't have anyone else seeing the goods. They're only for you."

Sebastian preened, smiling fully now. "Damn right."