18. James

18

JAMES

James and Sebastian joined Eli by the door, looking out the window. They couldn't see the shades from here but James didn't doubt Eli's word.

Eleanor came up behind them. "We have to do something about shades being out in full sunlight." Her determination didn't quite cover the worried edge to her voice. "Not everyone can summon fire to fight them off. The town isn't safe with beasts like this flying around. Not when they've become so aggressive. I hesitated to put out an emergency alert about it yesterday when there was only one, but I'm regretting that, especially since that humanoid shade is back."

"Let's put an alert out now," Hazel suggested. "And report it while we're at it."

"I'll take a picture of a shade out in broad daylight and send it to the officials." Eleanor pursed her lips. "Perhaps proof will prompt them to send someone competent and willing to help."

James moved out of the doorway so Eleanor and Hazel could leave the shop. "Be careful out there."

"You too." Hazel grabbed his arm. "Are you still taking one of the fuel cells to Storm House? "

James nodded, and with that, the two women left, heading for town hall.

James turned to Eli. "Where's Parker?"

"Still at work."

"You might want to hang out at the diner until he gets off." James hated leaving Eli, but there was no way he was bringing him back to Storm House when they'd just seen that powerful shade by the cemetery.

"Yeah, okay." Eli scrunched his nose as if he didn't like James's implying he needed protecting, but James was glad he didn't argue.

The three of them exited the shop, and James locked up.

"I'll see you guys soon." Eli turned to head toward the diner.

"Wait," James called. "I'll drive you."

"It's only a block," Eli muttered.

"You just saw shades drifting by," Sebastian said gently. "And we think they're targeting you because of your research. It's not safe to be wandering around, even for a short distance."

"That's fair." Eli followed Sebastian to James's truck without another word.

James was grateful Sebastian had spoken up. He knew Eli got frustrated with his overprotectiveness, but in their current situation, was there such a thing as overprotective? James would rather annoy Eli than leave him open to any unnecessary risks. He'd drop Eli off, then come back for the fuel cell.

James pulled out of the Gray Electrical driveway, his unease growing. Something didn't feel right, and he could have sworn it was more than the stress of everything they were dealing with. He turned into the town circle and looked toward the diner.

A car was stopped in the middle of the road, all its windows smashed. No people were inside or around the scene, so they must have fled. Only a single shade hovered above the wreckage.

"Shit," muttered Sebastian.

James had hoped the shades Eli had seen had only been passing through. The one yesterday hadn't been too disruptive. Seems that was wishful thinking.

The shade turned, its attention fixing on James's truck. James hit the gas, speeding around the wrecked car and past the park, where two more shades lurked. "I'm going to drive around to get to the parking lot from the other entrance."

"Good idea." Sebastian craned his neck, looking back at the smashed car. "Doesn't seem like the shades are following, so maybe they won't notice us behind the diner."

James white-knuckled the steering wheel. "I should be relieved they aren't following, but it only makes me suspicious."

"Me too," Sebastian agreed. Eli remained quiet.

James turned off Main Street and circled back to the diner's rear parking lot. He wondered if it was safe to leave Eli here. Yes, Parker was inside, but he was only one man, and who knew if the shades hovering around would leave or if more would join them.

James parked only to hesitate getting out.

Eli shifted nervously next to James. "I liked it better when this kind of stuff only happened at night."

James gave his brother a small smile. "Me too."

"It was definitely better back then, not that I'd have said so at the time." Sebastian opened his door. "Come on, let's all go in."

James followed suit, keeping an eye on the trees behind the park. If more shades were coming, they'd probably slip out of the shadows there.

A shout of alarm came from the other side of the truck.

James raced around, forgetting the trees. A shade had its arms wrapped around Sebastian's legs.

"It came out from under the truck." Eli pointed a shade-light at the beast, his hand shaking. The light did nothing, but it was all Eli could do without magic.

James shot sparks at the shade, but instead of them finding their mark, the shade disappeared. Like full-on disappeared, not dispersed into shadow as they usually did when leaving their solid form behind.

Sebastian whirled around. "Where did it go?"

"Come on." James reached for him. Where it went didn't matter. He'd rather get away than try to hunt it down.

Eli was already at the diner's back door, holding it open. As James and Sebastian reached it, the shade reappeared. It lunged for them but wasn't quick enough. They were past the diner's wards and out of its reach.

Eli closed the door in the beast's face. "Let's find Parker." He led them through the back and into the kitchen, but no one was there.

James pushed through the door to the front of the restaurant. Parker and Luna were looking out the front window along with Princeton Taylor, the museum curator who must have been in for an early lunch.

"What's going on?" Sebastian asked.

"We're watching the shade destruction." Parker turned to face them as Eli surged forward. He wrapped his arms around Parker, and Parker kissed the top of his head.

Princeton pressed a hand over his heart. "I've never seen anything like this. They're vicious, to say nothing of them being out on a bright day."

Sebastian shifted closer to James. Out the window, the shades had abandoned the park and the smashed car for the stone in the center. They darted around it but couldn't seem to get within a couple of feet of it.

"We need a good flamethrower to get rid of them," Parker mused, sounding like he was only half joking.

"Don't have one though, do we?" Luna responded, fully serious. "What are we going to do? I can't just sit in here watching. My daughter is at school just down the road. What if they fly off there next? "

"I'll call the school and warn them." Princeton pulled out his phone.

"Not to add to the issue, but one out back just disappeared like it could teleport," James said.

Parker turned to face him. "So these shades can withstand the sun and have more magical abilities than the ones we're used to. Great."

A shade appeared out of thin air on the other side of the glass, right in front of Luna. She gasped, taking a step back.

"Should I go out and set it on fire?" Parker asked the room at large.

"There's not many." James turned to Sebastian, thinking aloud. "If we can get rid of these ones, maybe we'll be good for a while."

"Or more will come, and we'll be caught in a fight out of our control," Sebastian countered.

Parker scowled out the window. "What else can we do, go home and hide?"

Eli looked up at Parker, who still held him close. "To be honest, that doesn't sound terrible." He seemed worried, and after how badly Parker drained himself last time, James wasn't surprised.

James pushed his own worries away. He couldn't let them cloud his judgment. He'd do anything to keep Sebastian, his brother, and his friends safe, but he couldn't let his fear affect his decision-making. He couldn't let it make him reckless.

Luna pulled a purse from behind the counter. "I'm going to head out. I don't feel comfortable so close to shades I can't fend off." She glanced at Parker, who nodded his acknowledgment.

"The school is calling parents," Princeton said, rejoining the conversation now that his phone call had ended. "They'll keep everyone inside until the end of the school day, but if people want to collect their kids early, they can."

"Good, that's exactly what I was planning to do." Luna took off her apron and stuffed it in her bag. "I don't know what's going on with Moonlight Falls. First that darkness, then this."

"Don't worry about your shifts if you want to get out of town," Parker assured her. "In fact, I'd recommend leaving for a while."

Luna looked relieved. "Thanks, I might just do that."

Parker walked her out to make sure there wasn't anything lurking in the parking lot.

The shade on the other side of the front window seemed to be inspecting the building. It studied the glass, swooping around to all corners, but didn't seem to be looking inside the diner. The shades by the stone continued to dart around, their movements giving off an increasing air of agitation.

James and Sebastian exchanged a weary look.

Parker returned, slipping an arm around Eli. "I think I'll close up." He turned to the diner's sole customer. "Sorry, Princeton, but getting out of town might be best. Unless you want to risk a confrontation with one of these beasts."

"No, I don't want to risk that." Princeton frowned. "But I'm parked out by the post office. Hell, I never thought I'd be nervous walking across the street in broad daylight."

The shade at the window turned abruptly and flew toward the ones circling the stone. Instead of joining in the frantic flying, it hovered above them. In response, the three stopped circling and drifted up to the newcomer.

"It's like they're communicating," Princeton muttered, transfixed by the shades. "Only it doesn't look like their mouths are moving at all. Could they be telepathic? I'd always thought their chattering and shrieking was how they talked to one another."

James remembered how the humanoid shade had spoken and the way its voice seemed to fill his mind rather than the air around him. It very well could have been some sort of telepathic ability .

Suddenly, all four shades disappeared, not leaving so much as a whisp of shadow behind.

"Shit." Princeton let out a surprised laugh. "There's my chance. Best of luck to you all." He darted out the front door and hurried across the circle, disappearing into the post office, presumably to get to his car parked out back.

Parker flipped the sign on the door to Closed, turned off the neon Open sign displayed in the window, and locked the front door.

"Should we head home?" Eli asked.

"James and I are still going to Storm House." Sebastian glanced at James. "Right?"

"Yeah." He gripped Sebastian's shoulder. "But all four of us don't need to go."

Parker opened his mouth, most likely to argue, but a commotion outside stole his attention.

Shades reappeared around the stone. One screeched, and they all charged the rock, only to be held back by Parker's ward, unable to touch it.

"Good thing you suggested we protect it," Eli said to Sebastian. "Maybe they can't bring the darkness back without it."

A sound like the heater knocking came from above their heads. James looked up. It happened again, and he swore the ceiling shook.

Sebastian pressed against him. "What…?"

A vent over the counter rattled as a black shadow poured out of it, looking less like smoke and more like ink spilling into a glass of water.

James and Sebastian shot sparks at it simultaneously. The ink-black shadow burst briefly into flame before dissipating, sent back to Beyond.

Parker pulled Eli behind him. How had the shade gotten through? Had something been on the roof, working to break the wards this whole time they were standing around ?

"Where does the heating system pull air into the building?" Sebastian asked.

"Out back." Parker scrubbed a hand over his face. "Shit. They probably broke in back there. I should go repair the ward."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than more inky shadow poured out of the vent. James struck again. At least it was easy to banish shades when they were confined to one narrow entrance to the room.

Parker pushed past into the kitchen, Eli in tow.

Sebastian grabbed James's arm. "There's a hell of a lot more of them outside now."

Another shade came through the vent, and James banished it. He didn't want to look away in case more came in. "What's happening, Sebastian?"

"There's got to be a half-dozen shades around the stone, and something's coming out of the ground."

"The ground?" James asked in alarm, just as another shadow appeared in the vent.

"Oh fuck." Sebastian squeezed James's arm. "It's those tendril things. They're swarming the stone."

James turned to look. "Should we abandon the diner and try to fight them off instead? The stone is obviously important if they're going after the wards on it."

Worry creased Sebastian's brow. "I don't know if I can defeat the tendrils without using the veins. You have to find the center to kill the whole thing."

"Ah, shit." Just in time, James noticed a shade that had gotten all the way through the vent and was returning to solid form. He quickly banished it. "I wish we'd left when Princeton did."

Parker and Eli burst back through the kitchen door. "Wards are secured. You wanna head out?" His last word faded as he looked out the front window.

Eli's eyes widened. "Let's not go that way."

The tendrils had completely covered the stone. Did that mean the humanoid shade was nearby? It seemed to pop up along with the tendrils. Both clearly had more powerful magic than other shades.

A thundering sound interrupted James's thoughts. Deer streamed out of the woods and through the park into the street. Several stags were among them, rearing on their back legs, unnaturally black eyes glinting. They surrounded the grass where the stone was being swarmed by the tendrils, the largest ones continuing to gallop around the street, tossing their heads.

James was speechless. There was no sense going out there to try and save the stone now. They should run out back, get in the truck and leave.

An SUV drove into the north side of the circle, slamming on its brakes as the driver noticed the strange spectacle in the middle of the road. A truck stopped behind it. James willed them to turn and drive away.

Sebastian and Eli made simultaneous sounds of apprehension. This wouldn't be good, but James couldn't make himself look away. He was rooted to the spot. Maybe he should help, but he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that going outside would only hurt him and everyone he was with.

The largest stag broke away from the herd and charged the SUV, ramming its antlers into the front of the vehicle. Sebastian jolted beside James. The stag pulled its antlers from the dented metal and threw its head back, mouth open to expose pointy onyx teeth, as it let out a high-pitched shriek.

A chill ran down James's spine. The people in those vehicles needed to get the hell out of there. Instead, two men jumped out of the truck behind the SUV.

"Oh my god, Sam!" Eli shouted as his old childhood friend reached into the back of the truck.

The other man was Sam's father, Carson Lee. The logging crew must have come back to town early, which on its own didn't bode well for what might be happening out in the forest .

Carson leveled a hunting rifle at the stag and shot twice, once in the chest and once in the head. The possessed animal jolted and dropped like a stone, the shade bursting from its body to be destroyed by the sunlight.

The other deer took notice. Three more stags charged the cars. The SUV surged forward, hitting one and knocking it down. Sam had his own rifle and took aim at another. His first shot sent it to the ground, his second killing it and destroying the shade as Carson took care of the last stag.

The stag that the SUV had just hit to the ground got to its feet and went straight for Sam, showing no signs that the vehicle impact had hurt it even though it was bleeding. Sam seemed transfixed, a look of fear on his face as the bloody stag bared its unnatural razor-sharp teeth.

Carson took the beast down just in time. It fell at Sam's feet, the shade possessing it shrieking as it was destroyed.

"Fuck," Sebastian breathed, a hand over his mouth.

The rest of the deer bolted for the woods, the shades possessing them probably unwilling to risk being shot and banished back to Beyond.

With all the commotion, James had lost track of the tendrils around the stone. When he looked back, the writhing mass was gone. Shades caressed the stone with their hands, no longer held back by Parker's wards.

"What do we do?" Eli whispered, gaze fixed on the stone.

"Get the hell out of here." Sebastian turned to go out the back, but James grabbed him as the shades around the stone vanished into thin air.

"Wait." James still couldn't look away, like watching and knowing what was happening helped somehow. Where had the shades gone?

Carson and Sam got back in their truck, and the two vehicles tore out of the town center, leaving the deer where they lay in the street. At least the Lees weren't trapped and could get out of town along with Luna and Princeton. James hoped the rest of the crew was free too.

"Should I re-ward the stone?" Parker asked, sounding unsure.

"Unless we have a way of guarding the ward, I don't know if it's worth the effort," James admitted. "With the shades set on breaking it, they're bound to do it again."

"It's probably best to save your strength for wards that will keep you safe," Sebastian added.

Parker turned away from the window. "In that case, let's go."