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Chapter 6

James laid out a plan for the rest of the job and gave Sebastian a quote. It was more of a hassle than usual because his phone had died, so he couldn't use the calculator or double-check material prices, but Sebastian didn't seem to need more than a ballpark estimate. He said to send the bill to his lawyer and handed James a business card.

James disconnected the fuse box and some of the outlets on the first floor before leaving. It wasn't a bad effort, considering he was still yearning to lie down. He'd bet anything he'd sleep hard that night, but not before a big dinner. He was already starving, even after the snacks he'd had.

He made a mental note to bring a hell of a lot more shade-lights for the next time he went under the house. He wouldn't be caught off guard again.

"Do you mind walking me out?" James asked Sebastian when he was done for the day. He hadn't needed to get his truck after all, sticking to his screwdriver and other small tools, so it was still down by the road.

Sebastian bounced up from the chair he'd been sitting in while watching James work. "Sure, I can be a gentleman."

James snorted. "As long as gentlemen unlock gates."

Sebastian made an exasperated face. "Oh, right. The gate."

He'd stayed close to James the whole time he'd been working. This would have annoyed James, but he hadn't had the energy that afternoon. Sebastian had watched everything he'd done, chatting and teasing almost constantly. He kept making suggestive remarks about also being good with his hands and wanting to see James handle other things with such attention to detail. The comments had been more ridiculous than serious and had made James laugh.

It hadn't been terrible.

The two of them made their way down the driveway, the mist as wet and unpleasant as it'd been all afternoon. James couldn't help thinking how dark it would be out here in less than an hour.

"You sure you don't want to check the bed and breakfast for a spare room?" James asked as Sebastian unlocked the chain.

"Beyond sure." Sebastian opened the gate and faced James.

He couldn't really argue with that, but he was overcome with the desire not to leave Sebastian here. "What about dinner? Come to the diner with me and grab a meal. I can give you a ride back home."

After all the teasing and silly, flirty remarks, James figured he'd set himself up to be playfully accused of asking Sebastian on a date. Not that he'd intended the offer to be a date or anything.

But Sebastian didn't smile at the offer, flutter his lashes, or do any of the things he'd been doing all afternoon. He closed his eyes for a moment, his face tightening with what looked like anger. His eyes snapped open, and he glared at James, his cheeks darkening with color. "I don't want to go into town, okay?"

"Why not?" James was totally confused, a renewed sense of exhaustion overtaking him.

"I just don't want to." Sebastian's voice rose. He clutched his robe tightly around himself, knuckles going white. "I don't like town and don't want to see the damn people that live there. I don't want to go to the diner. I don't need to."

"Sorry." James put up his hands in surrender.

It was easy to forget Sebastian didn't want people around when he'd been teasing and friendly. James wondered if Sebastian had some sort of social phobia. Whatever it was, it wasn't a joke or an act, not with the way Sebastian was glaring. He must really be more comfortable out here, alone, than anywhere else.

After a long moment, the glare lessened. "It's okay." Sebastian took a breath with apparent effort. The rest of his anger seemed to fade. "I just can't— I'm not going into town. I'm not."

"Got it. I won't ask again," James assured him.

Sebastian nodded, looking toward a part of the property James hadn't been to. His face crumpled into a sudden and surprisingly heartbroken expression. It yanked at James's heart, and for a second, James swore he detected something deeply relatable in the look, but he had no idea why.

Sadness wasn't something James could fix for Sebastian, but he was surprised to find he wished it were possible. He usually only felt that way about Eli, wanting to save his brother from any possible pain or heartache. But, of course, he'd want to do everything he could for Eli. Why did he suddenly feel that way toward Sebastian?

Sebastian was attractive, but that wasn't enough to make James care like this, and it wasn't like he had a crush. He couldn't stand Sebastian a lot of the time. Unless it wasn't really annoyance and he was just trying to push his own feelings away, cover them up with grumbling complaints.

James was usually good at that.

He'd have to try harder. Everyone James cared about made his life better but also caused him stress. Sometimes, he worried irrationally about Eli and even about Hazel and Parker, who were more put-together than him and needed no one's worries. James couldn't handle getting attached to Sebastian as well.

It was why he never dated or allowed himself to develop crushes. He couldn't find happiness in loving someone if it was overshadowed by his fear of losing them, and even if he could handle his fear—he had gotten better at it—that didn't mean he wouldn't lose his partner. Tragedies happened all the time, and James couldn't cope with any more, so he didn't risk adding people to his life.

James was suddenly overcome with anger at having to be at Storm House, in these woods, down this road. He walked through the gate to escape the horrible feeling of the property, but it barely helped. He didn't want to drive through this forest right now. He didn't need the reminder of his loss.

His parents had died in a car accident out here when he was fourteen and Eli was ten. He and his brother had been at their grandparents' house that weekend while his parents visited friends in Oregon. It was lucky they hadn't been in the car with their mom and dad, but James didn't like that they had died out here alone.

"Can you please not lock me out tomorrow?" James asked over his shoulder as he unlocked his truck.

"Fine. If you insist, I'll open the gate in the morning." Sebastian closed the gate, peering through the bars, then, after a pause, said, "You should get tater tots."

"What?" James turned, leaning against his open door. The random comment almost drove the melancholy from his mind.

"From the diner." Sebastian fiddled with the lock. "They're the best."

"Okay, yeah." James was baffled and not sure why Sebastian would suggest he order tater tots after how upset he'd been with the invitation to join James at the diner.

Sebastian only nodded and looked away. James got in his truck and drove off before Sebastian finished relocking the gate.

James had plans to meet Eli and Hazel for dinner, so it was probably a good thing Sebastian hadn't wanted to tag along. James was glad his brother didn't mind going to the diner in his free time. It was the only real restaurant in Moonlight Falls, and James had never been enthusiastic about hanging out at the town's bar.

James stopped by home to change out of his work clothes and take a quick shower. The shades had given him a few shallow puncture wounds on his ankles and upper arms, so he washed them and put on some antiseptic ointment. They weren't much more than scratches. The sharp pain he'd felt at the time must have been due to panic and the force of the shades grip more than breaking his skin.

Eli wasn't home and the house was quiet. James had always liked their grandparents' old house, but it was much nicer to live in now that Eli was back. It had felt empty during the years James had lived there alone. He couldn't imagine what being in a place like Storm House by himself would be like. Even discounting the creepy dreariness—which you couldn't—the sheer size of the manor would have left James feeling like he was bouncing around in a void, and he hadn't even seen a quarter of the place yet.

Hazel and Eli were already in a booth when James arrived at the diner. Eli had his map out again and was pointing things out to Hazel as she nursed an iced tea. The diner was busy but not packed. Since it was Friday night, James had no doubt it would be soon. A group of kids in the next booth were levitating sugar packets and shooting them at each other. Behind them was a family with two toddlers coloring on placemats.

"Have you ever known shades to be territorial?" James asked as he sat and grabbed a menu off the table.

Hazel set down her tea. "Do they even have territories?"

"Yeah, they're not wolves." Eli laughed.

James eyed his brother. "I know, but you're sure you've never heard anything like that? No cases of shades guarding certain places?"

Eli gave him a confused look. "No. I mean, I don't study supernatural entities, but they're pretty well known to be transitory. Right?"

"Yeah, that's my understanding too." Hazel picked up her menu but didn't look at it. "Why the sudden interest?"

James told them about his afternoon and detailed what happened with the shades under Storm House.

"They weren't necessarily being territorial." Eli began folding his map. "Sounds like they were fucking with you. Which is pretty typical, and even them being aggressive and initiating physical contact isn't a total surprise with the way things have been going in town lately."

At the time, it had felt like the shades had gone after him for being under the house and were trying to chase him off, but now, James wasn't sure. "Sebastian seemed to think these particular shades had been living under the house for a while."

"How would he know?" Eli's confidence didn't waver. "It's more likely he saw shades under there once and they moved on, only for more to turn up."

It was hard to tell individual shades apart. Still, James couldn't shake the feeling Sebastian knew what he was talking about, even in the face of Eli's logic. "I don't know. Something felt weird about it." Unless that had just been the bad energy at the property.

Hazel crossed her arms, menu abandoned. "What happened to you today, unfortunately, sounds like more of what we've already been seeing."

"Yeah, this sounds similar to the shade attacking me behind the diner. Though not as violent," Eli said quietly, leaning in. "It's not good if incidents like this are becoming more common."

Until now, Eli getting attacked had been an extreme outlier of an incident, which was why James hadn't worried the beasts would attack him before he'd gone under the house. But if the shades today weren't being territorial, their going after him could easily be in line with the shift in their general behavior that had been seen over the last couple of months.

James focused on his brother. "You're right. It's not good if they're moving from scaring people to going after them, especially with more shades around. You haven't found anything in your research to explain why things are changing, have you?"

Eli shook his head. "Having so many shades in Moonlight Falls is actually strange in itself, considering what I know about the vein in town. Shifting veins of power create the passages that allow shades to slip from Beyond into our world. The vein here is fixed. It doesn't move at all, so the energy isn't right for passing between."

Hazel took another sip of her tea. "Couldn't there be a shifting vein out in the woods?"

Eli shrugged. "That's my theory. No one's recorded any evidence, but the forest is huge, especially when you count the logging land and national park. It's not surprising we don't know exactly what's going on with magic out there."

James tapped his menu, thinking. "A shifting vein out in the woods wouldn't have anything to do with the haunted energy at Storm House, would it?"

"No, I doubt it." Eli unfolded his map again. "Storm House is pretty far out, but not that remote. I'd say any potential passages the shades are using are way out here." He pointed to a vast expanse of trees with no road access. "Though, if I'm right, it's still interesting that so many of them come all the way to Moonlight Falls."

They ordered food after that. James chose the cheeseburger and added extra fries rather than tater tots. He planned on having pie for dessert and was already looking forward to bed.

A shout came from outside. James and his companions turned quickly to the window beside them.

Hazel pointed. "The light in front of the ice cream shop is out."

There was another yell. The three hurried out of the booth and exited the diner. Across the street, people huddled inside the ice cream shop, visible through the front windows. A shade was outside, pressing itself to the glass front door, hissing.

Eli pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on. It was like the light James had intended to use under the house that afternoon and had an extra-bright setting for shades. Eli pointed the beam directly at the shade's back. It screeched and shot off into the darkness beside the shop. Eli followed it with the light until it flew up into the night sky and disappeared.

The people in the ice cream shop looked like tourists. They came for the supernatural tours, but they freaked out the moment a shade caught them unaware. It didn't seem like anything worse than a dropped ice cream cone had happened, which was a relief after what had happened to Eli and in light of James's earlier incident.

"I don't know why the light is out." Hazel frowned up at it.

James could understand her frustration. They'd installed new ones along this street just recently and shouldn't be experiencing faults so soon.

"Look." Eli pointed his shade-light beam upward. The bulb above the shop had been smashed.

"The shade did it." A man came out of the ice cream shop now that the coast was clear. "Swooped in and crashed right into it, then came after us in the dark."

James wanted to argue. There was no way a shade would dive straight into a bright light source. They never tried to fight the light, just ran from it, seeking the safety of shadows, but the shade had been pressed against the glass even when the shop was bright inside. It shouldn't have been doing that either.

Was this another worrying new behavior or a fluke? Whatever was changing, James didn't like it at all.

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