17. James

17

JAMES

James held Sebastian's hand tight as they left the clearing. His heart broke to hear Sebastian had gone through such a low point, thinking he'd lost James, but he was glad Sebastian had shared it with him.

Eli hurried ahead as they walked like he sensed their need for some space. James was grateful for the privacy.

"You know you always have something to live for," he whispered as they walked.

"I know." Sebastian squeezed James's hand.

"If you ever get those feelings again, there's always help."

Sebastian paused, facing James. "I don't think I'll ever be in that place again. Really. But if I do ever find myself thinking dying is my best option, I'll reach out."

James sensed Sebastian meant it, except that didn't help much when Sebastian also thought he could literally fill the hole the missing piece had created in the veins. "So this idea that you could fulfill your vision and fix everything isn't related to wanting to die?"

"No." Sebastian shook his head. "I don't want to join the stupid veins in the earth. It just felt like all the puzzle pieces fit together. I don't want them to. I want my life more than anything." He sounded adamant, like a man willing to fight.

"Good." James kissed Sebastian, then pulled him along to catch up with Eli.

"We need to do something though." Sebastian's grim demeanor returned. "We can't wait around and let things escalate further."

"I know." James glanced from Sebastian to Eli and back again, thinking. "Let's take one of the fuel cells from Gray's and transfer the curse to it. We can do it now."

Sebastian stopped. "Not if anyone might drive by the property."

Even though it was a reminder of his parents' accident, James's heart warmed. Sebastian always looked out for other people. He was kind to his core, even when others didn't return that kindness.

James gave Sebastian a reassuring smile. "We'll get Eleanor to close the road. There's plenty of advantages to having her in the know, and I'm not coming back here at night, so we're making use of everything we've got."

Sebastian nodded, looking relieved as some of the tension left his body.

"What happened to leading the shades to believe we've abandoned messing with the veins?" Eli asked.

"Dealing with shades isn't our primary issue," Sebastian said. "It'd be great if they left us alone but we have to put fixing the veins first."

Eli fell into step beside them. "Don't get me wrong, I agree. It just makes it harder having shades messing with us. I wish there was a way to get them to leave us alone."

They continued on, passing the small cemetery, when movement caught James's eye. A figure stood at the back of the fenced-in plot under the shadowy canopy of the trees.

James stopped short. Everything was unnaturally dark around the looming shadow, making it hard to see clearly even though the cemetery was on the edge of the forest and shouldn't have been darker than the trees they'd just left.

"Sebastian," James hissed.

Both Sebastian and Eli turned, and the figure came into focus. They all stared at the large humanoid shade Sebastian had banished barely a week ago. At least James assumed it was the same being. There was no way to tell if it was another individual of the same shade species since it had no decerning features, but instinct told him it was the same one that had abducted him.

Sebastian sucked in a breath beside James.

They couldn't fight this damn shade, not now. Sebastian had nearly killed himself with the effort last time.

James herded the other two along, hurrying up the path. They seemed to shake themselves from their shock and moved quickly. James glanced over his shoulder to see how fast the shade was gaining on them, but it hadn't moved. The giant figure remained behind the graves. The next time James looked, he saw it fading away, deeper into the forest in the opposite direction.

"It's leaving," he told the others.

They ran to his truck anyway.

James pulled into Gray Electrical. He was much more apprehensive about dragging one of his fuel cells out to Storm House now.

"Why did it let us walk away?" Sebastian asked, not moving to get out of the truck after Eli, who stood in the driveway on his phone, likely talking to Parker.

"I don't know." James's hand shook. He shoved it through his hair to fend off the tremors. He might not remember being captured by the formidable shade, but knowing it had happened was terrifying enough.

"I assumed it'd bring the darkness back when it returned, but it seems like it's waiting for something."

"Or tying out new tactics," James countered. "Come on, we can't just sit here."

They got out of the truck and went inside the shop. Hazel and Eleanor were by the coffee maker, heads together as they spoke in low voices.

"Great, you're here. We need to talk to you," James called across the room.

Both women looked up, and James told them about the humanoid shade they'd just seen.

"Just what we fucking need," Eleanor muttered. She looked more harried than James had ever seen her, her tidy professional appearance lacking its usual air of perfection. "William is MIA."

"What?" Sebastian crossed his arms and glared. "He has to be in Moonlight Falls somewhere."

"Well, the police can't find him, and as far as I know, no one's admitted to seeing him since yesterday evening."

James perched on the edge of his desk. "What about the other guys who broke into Sebastian's place?"

"They're giving the Apple Valley Police Department a major headache. They were arrested, but when the officers couldn't leave Moonlight Falls with them, they assumed Jim and the other culprits were using magic to try and avoid being taken to jail. I think they're being placed under house arrest until an official with magical expertise can come assist the police."

"I hope they don't send the same official who wouldn't come into town during the darkness," Hazel muttered.

"They probably are." Eleanor scowled before turning to Sebastian. "You'll need to make a statement if you're going to press charges. "

Sebastian grimaced. "Sure, but that's far from my top priority right now."

Eleanor gave him an understanding look.

"We need to close North Road so we can link another fuel cell to the veins," James explained. "Can we get city maintenance to put up cones and monitor the road so no one goes through?"

Eleanor gave a tired nod. "I'll make a call. Kitty heard about the veins, so at least I won't have to come up with an excuse. I'm sure she can get a team up there today."

James stood and paced the workroom. This was good. They were making progress. He just didn't know what they'd do if that humanoid shade was still in the woods at Storm House.

The shop door banged open and James whirled around. Samantha Storm stood in the doorway, cheeks red and hair disheveled.

"Sebastian." She stomped across the shop and rounded the counter.

James stepped in her path.

"What did you do?" she growled, trying to sidestep James, glaring at her son.

Sebastian shrank back. The look of shock he'd worn at the first sight of his mother turned into hurt. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did." Samantha turned her glare on James. "Excuse me."

James put out an arm, grabbing the counter and completely blocking Samantha's path to the back of the shop. "No. You can stand right here and explain what you're yelling about."

She slammed her handbag down on the counter. "I'm trapped. That's what I'm yelling about. So, Sebastian, what did you do?"

"Nothing," he said more forcefully than before. "Unlike you, I don't trap people on purpose."

"Then why can't I get out of Moonlight Falls?" Samantha asked desperately.

James didn't have any pity for the woman's plight. Out of everyone to get caught up in this mess, she was the only one to deserve it. However, he was confused as to how it'd happened. Samantha had known about the curse for decades, so her being trapped wasn't like all the townspeople who'd learned the secret and been claimed by the morphing curse on the unstable veins.

"I shouldn't be trapped here," Sebastian's mother insisted. "I didn't break the secret-binding. Sebastian, why are you trapped here even after you escaped the house? What's holding us in this town?"

Sebastian came up behind James, and he lowered the arm blocking Samantha. She didn't try to push past, just stared at her son.

"The veins are holding us here. We're trapped in the area bound by the length and width of the two intersecting branches."

Her look turned accusing. "Did you know I would be stuck when you saw me yesterday?"

"No." Sebastian wasn't trying to hide his hurt. You could see it plainly on his face and hear it in his voice. "The curse is changing. We added a new energy source to the veins and the area expanded, but ever since shades have started using the veins for otherworldly magic, things have been falling apart."

Samantha's nostrils flared.

"Everyone who knows the secret is stuck here. Seems that includes you." James frowned at her, the emotions he'd suppressed the last time he'd seen the woman winning out at last. "And, you know, maybe it's karma."

Samantha's face went scarlet. " Excuse me? "

James's own anger rose to the surface. "Karma paying you back for everything you've done. I know you and Stephen caused my parents' car accident." His voice caught, but he pressed on. "You killed them the night you damned your son and have tried to avoid the consequences of your actions ever since. Looks like your time is up."

Samantha stared at him in horror. There was no way she hadn't known her spell had caused the accident. She wasn't shocked. She looked guilty.

Her eyes darted to Sebastian. "There's no proof. You can't hold me accountable for that."

"We don't need proof," Hazel said from the back of the room, coming to James's defense.

Samantha was startled like she hadn't realized anyone else was with them.

"You're right. James can't prove you caused the accident," Hazel continued. "But we know the truth, and so do you, and now you're stuck here with us."

Samantha took a step back. "It was still an accident. By the time we realized what happened, it had been days. There was no taking it back."

Admitting her part in the accidental deaths wasn't an apology, but James didn't want one. He'd never considered her part in the accident her biggest crime. "And what about cursing Sebastian? Was that an accident?" he growled.

"I thought we already covered the fact that I'm a terrible person," Samantha snapped.

"Mom, please." Sebastian rubbed his head like it was starting to hurt. "We have enough problems without arguing about this. If you aren't going to help, please just go away."

Samantha opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. She gathered her handbag and left the shop.

"The number of people I don't want to be trapped with keeps growing," Sebastian muttered.

James was impressed that Sebastian had managed to stay so calm in front of his mother. James's pulse was pounding. He'd expressed his anger but wasn't sure how much it had helped.

Dealing with Samantha Storm felt like a waste of energy. It wouldn't bring his parents back and wouldn't help Sebastian feel less abandoned or take away his years of loneliness. They needed to heal and move on from these things, not dwell on them, and the key to that didn't lie with Samantha.

Part of James was still pleased the woman was trapped. Call him vindictive. He didn't care. He liked to think there was at least some justice in the world. Her fate was tied to Sebastian now. If they were all going down, she'd be dragged along with them.

Eli entered the silent shop, breaking the tension. "That looked unpleasant. Did I miss anything crucial?"

"No," Sebastian said. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, cool. But you should probably know three shades just flew down the street toward the center of town."