20. Sebastian

20

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian's head pounded as he held the shade's stare. He'd never heard of one possessing a human before.

William's deadly smile turned to a sneer. James staggered back in shock.

"I don't want you at Storm House," the William-shade said, solid black eyes glinting. "I want you where I can keep an eye on you."

William's human motives with the mob had been clear. This wasn't. Why would the shade possessing him want to keep an eye on Sebastian?

Sebastian had lost track of Parker and the others. James seemed stunned where he stood, like the possessed person was too much to process. Sebastian needed to get James the hell out of there. He stepped toward James, but William's hands clamped down on Sebastian's right arm, yanking him to the side.

He stumbled, and the shades beside William swooped in on James. Sebastian tried and failed to pull free from William's vice-like grip. William had him off-balance, and with a shove, Sebastian found himself on the ground.

William's face leaned in close as he twisted Sebastian's arm behind his back. "We will not let you make the sacrifice necessary to bar us from this world," he hissed in a voice that didn't sound human. "We have been called, and we will claim this place as our own."

"W-what?" Sebastian sputtered, momentarily forgetting all his fear as confusion overtook him.

William yelled in pain and his face disappeared from Sebastian's sight. Sebastian's arm was released, and he pushed himself up.

Parker held William by the hair. He kicked the possessed man in the back of the legs, and he crumpled forward, knees hitting the pavement.

James stood beside Parker, breathing hard. Blood dripped from a scratch on his cheek. The two shades that had attacked him seemed to have been banished.

William shrieked and thrashed, the noises coming out of him purely animalistic. The shades around the stone turned at the sound, letting out returned cries of outrage.

"Fuck, we need to get the shade out of him," James said.

"Wait." Sebastian stepped in front of the struggling William-shade. "What did you mean? What sacrifice to bar you from this world."

The shade snapped its onyx teeth, saliva running down William's chin. "Sacrifice is how magic works in the world of blood and bone, is it not?"

The humanoid shade had planned to sacrifice James to cement its hold on Moonlight Falls. Did that mean…?

Shades swarmed Sebastian, James, and Parker. The ones from the stone must have decided to attack after all. Sebastian's gaze shot to the rock, but it was still surrounded, shades flying in rhythmic circles as a black column of shadow encased the stone, swirling and moving skyward, just as it had the night Sebastian first saw the shades doing their dance.

"Now, James," Parker yelled as William thrashed and the attacking shades scratched Parker, pulling at him and trying to free the possessed person he held.

James conjured a ball of light, and the William-shade screamed. James thrust the glowing orb forward, hitting William's face. He closed his unnaturally black eyes before the light made contact. James reacted swiftly, forcing the light into his mouth instead.

Too late, William clamped his lips shut, trapping the light inside.

A shade bit Sebastian's shoulder, distracting him with sharp pain. He sent sparks into its face and it ignited, nearly burning Sebastian's hoodie along with it.

Another shade latched on to James's back. Sebastian sent fire at it, and it burst into shadow. William struggled in Parker's hold, but Parker didn't lose his grip. He grunted with effort and most likely pain as blood slid down his arms, more cuts opening as shades clawed him.

Sebastian attempted to banish the shades attacking Parker, but they kept darting out of the way. James said the words to increase the strength of his light spell and an earsplitting yell stopped Sebastian in his tracks. William went rigid as blinding light shone from his open black eyes and tightly sealed lips.

Dark shadow erupted from his skin. Parker released William, who slumped forward. The shade that had been inside him didn't dissipate. It solidified into an opaque, inky beast that seemed to swallow the daylight around it.

James banished a shade about to bite Parker in the neck. Two more lunged toward James, but before Sebastian could react, his head throbbed and his vision blurred. It hurt more than it ever had and he wasn't even using the veins' magic.

Why was it worse now? Did it mean something was changing in the veins, or was everything finally catching up with his body? Was it because the shades seemed to be doing their dance to bring back the darkness ?

Sebastian swore the earth shook beneath his feet.

When his vision cleared, the pain subsiding somewhat, Sebastian found James and Parker breathing heavily, the shades attacking them gone.

"Let's get out of here," Parker panted.

James grabbed Parker's arm. "We can't leave William lying in the road."

Parker grunted and stooped to pick up the unconscious man. He'd been possessed, but Sebastian still suspected most of William's recent actions were his own. He didn't think the shade had rounded up that mob, especially not when it had said it didn't want Sebastian at Storm House. Still, they couldn't leave him lying there.

"The shades," Sebastian rasped, his voice weak. He pointed at the stone and the growing shadow surrounding it. They had to stop them before the darkness came back, except Sebastian felt like he had no energy left.

A thunderous boom cut through the air and the shades circling the stone were thrown back, blasted all the way into the surrounding buildings. The ground vibrated. Sebastian had no idea what was happening. The stabbing pain in his head stole his attention, his awareness of his surroundings going in and out. He managed to focus in time to see the black shadow clinging to the stone release its hold and spill haphazardly onto the grass.

Across the circle, a shriek sounded, making Sebastian wince in pain. He took a deep breath and pushed through it. When his focus returned, he found James staring ahead. Sebastian followed his gaze and his stomach dropped out.

The large stag that had been shot in the head and chest rose from the road. It threw its head back and screamed, then lowered it, a single onyx eye fixed on James, the other nothing but a bloody mess.

The stag charged.

James lurched out of its path, grabbing Sebastian. They stumbled. The stag corrected its course, head down and antlers pointing forward. In a matter of seconds, it would run them through.

There wasn't time to think, let alone run or try to banish the shade. Not when the animal was already dead. Sebastian did the only thing he could. He called the power of the veins to him and unleashed scalding blue power on the stag.

The blow hit the beast in the head, blasting it back as the shade was expelled from its body and destroyed. The stag slumped to the ground and the earth shook.

Sebastian dropped to his knees. Power still crackled at his fingers.

The earth trembled again like an earthquake. James wrapped his arms around Sebastian, trying to pull him up. They had to go before another dead stag rose, but Sebastian couldn't move.

The ground shook harder. The shades thrown from the stone shrieked and fled toward the forest. Then everything went black.

Sebastian's head throbbed and filled his world with agony. The only thing he could concentrate on other than the pain was his breathing. He tried to use it to relax, taking steady, deep breaths.

He must have lost consciousness again, and when he was next alert, the pain wasn't so bad. Sebastian opened his eyes to a darkened room. He was at the duplex. A light lit the stairwell, so his bedroom wasn't pitch black, but he was relieved the overhead light wasn't on.

"James?" he croaked, throat dry.

"I'm here, sweetheart." James lay next to him, an arm around Sebastian. He propped himself up and filled Sebastian's vision.

Tears welled in Sebastian's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be. You saved us. That's nothing to be sorry for." James stroked Sebastian's forehead. "Can I get you anything?"

"My head," was all Sebastian could manage.

James hurried from the bed and returned with water and a pill. Sebastian accepted gratefully. James passed him some nuts and an apple, and Sebastian forced them down. He knew he needed food but everything was so uncomfortable that eating didn't feel as satisfying as it usually did after magic use.

The duplex shook.

Sebastian set the apple aside, directing a wide-eyed stare at James.

He grimaced. "Yeah, that keeps happening."

Sebastian remembered the earth shaking before he passed out. "It's not a normal earthquake, is it?"

"No." James rubbed Sebastian's back. "The tremors are strongest closest to the veins, and Parker said they're even worse at the vein intersection."

"He went out to Storm House?"

James nodded. "He and Hazel took one of the fuel cells while Eli and Eleanor stayed in town. They connected it to the veins just like we did, but it doesn't seem to have had any impact."

Sebastian tried to absorb James's words. "You gave them the transfer spell to use?"

"Yeah. They returned it after. Everyone's at Parker's, but I thought it might be best if we stayed here. At least until you were awake."

"How long have I been out?" The night sky gave Sebastian a sudden jolt. "The shades tried to bring back the darkness, but they failed. Right?"

James nodded. "It's almost ten p.m. That's nothing but a normal night sky outside." The building shook again. James paused before saying, "The veins must not have been stable enough to hold the shades' darkness spell this time. Their attempt to use the veins again seems to have caused the tremors. "

"Think it means things are close to exploding?" Sebastian whispered.

"Yeah," James replied, voice low and fear in his eyes. "Most people have evacuated. Other than the ones who can't."

Sebastian grabbed James's hand and squeezed. He let the reality of the situation sink in. They were at the end. They'd run out of time.

There was only one thing left to try.

Sebastian's heart pounded. "We have to go to Storm House."

Alarm flashed across James's face as if he knew exactly what Sebastian was thinking. "No. Why would we go out there? We don't have any way of fixing this."

"Sacrifice is how magic works in the world of blood and bone," Sebastian repeated the shade's words. It had been right. Even the personal energy cost of casting spells could be considered a small sacrifice. "What if I was right about putting everything back together with me as the missing piece? That shade said it wouldn't let me bar them from this world, so I must be able to do something."

James shook his head desperately, and Sebastian felt immensely sad, like he'd fallen into a pit that had no bottom. James's eyes shone. Sebastian wanted to take his pain away but didn't know if he could, and that scared him.

Sebastian forced himself to remain as calm as he could. "Correcting the imbalance and closing the gateway would bar them from Moonlight Falls."

"But this isn't how it ends," James pleaded, tears breaking free and falling down his cheeks.

Sebastian wiped them away, leaning in to brush a soft kiss against James's lips. "It'd be better than waiting for the explosion. This way, not everyone has to die."

James choked on a sob. "You really think this is what we have to do?"

Sebastian nodded, unable to speak. Neither of them seemed to be able to spell it out. It was deeply unfair, but Sebastian couldn't deny that joining the veins in place of the missing piece felt like the only solution. That shade's words hadn't been random, and Sebastian had always suspected the beasts knew more about the inner workings of the veins than humans did.

"Okay." James gripped Sebastian's hand, his expression hardening. "I'm coming with you."

"What?" Sebastian jerked back. "You can't, James. I can't make you watch as I…"

"Who said I'd watch. I'm coming with you ." James took hold of either side of Sebastian's face in a tender but firm grip. "I'm not leaving you. We're in this together no matter what that means, sweetheart. I'll go with you wherever you need me. There isn't anything I won't face for you."

Sebastian's throat clogged and he blinked away tears at the pure love in James's expression. "Even death?"

"Even that." James sounded calm in a way Sebastian found hard to believe. Was James really offering to walk into the veins with him, to go into the earth? Sebastian couldn't accept that.

James pulled Sebastian against his chest, crushing them together. "I've been afraid of death my whole life, but I'm not anymore. Not when it means standing by you and supporting you. Not when it means doing everything I can for you."

"James, that doesn't make sense," Sebastian sobbed as the duplex gave a violent shake and something crashed off the counter in the bathroom.

"It doesn't have to make sense." James kissed the top of Sebastian's head. "You just have to know I love you, and I'm here for you. Come on, let's go save the town."