Page 15 of The Heart of Moonlight Falls

The only way to move it was levitation. James performed the spell and shifted the fuel cell over toward the path. He didn’t put it directly next to a mechanism in case another one got sucked into the ground. The fuel cell had drained more since they’d been here last, but the drop wasn’t any bigger than the worst of what Eli and Parker had seen earlier that week.

“I have no idea why this would have happened,” Eli said as he crouched over another crate, getting the data from across the clearing.

“Could it be because the intersection is a gateway?” James leaned against a tree to rest after doing the levitation spell. “How does that even work? I don’t get how a gateway to Beyond can be underground.”

“They always are. Veins are in the earth and shifting ones are no different. For shades, it doesn’t matter. They can leave their solid form, move through the space between worlds created by the shifting energy, come out here, and return to solid form once they’ve moved through the ground to the surface.”

James glared at the hole. “Could the ground be getting sucked through the gateway to Beyond?”

“I want to say no, that’s never happened anywhere else that I’ve heard of, but this situation is pretty much unprecedented, so I have no idea.”

Eli always liked facts or having data-based theories, but to James, the hole seemed exactly like things from this world falling through the gateway to Beyond.

6

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian got out of bed eventually. He showered and dressed, then decided to get out of the duplex.

Sometime while he’d been unconscious, a bunch of mail had arrived for him. He now had his debit card, a nice set of over-ear headphones, and a laptop. He synced the headphones to his cell phone and selected some music.

Sebastian went to the General Store to try out his debit card. He kept the headphones on and felt more relaxed, knowing no one would try to talk to him when he clearly couldn’t hear them.

He took a muffin to the register and slipped the headphones around his neck when Carla looked up at him.

“Hi, Sebastian.” She smiled brightly.

“Hey.” He pulled out his card.

“Got your money, I see.” She chuckled and scanned the muffin. “Glad things are back to normal. Wasn’t sure if that darkness had scared you off.”

“No, I really am a local.”

“Must be.” She handed him the muffin. “In that case, you probably know there’s a trivia night at the diner every other Monday. And in case you’re looking for a team, my boyfriend and I need all the help we can get. My sister joins us, but she always steers us wrong. If you want to come along, let me know.” Carla looked at him expectantly.

The invitation took Sebastian by surprise, making his stomach churn. Back in college, he wouldn’t have hesitated to say he was game, but socializing had become nerve-wracking. “Maybe. I don’t really like busy events.”

Carla nodded. “Fair enough. I’m sure I’ll see you around here, anyway.”

“Probably.” He shrugged. “Have a good day.”

At least Carla hadn’t seemed annoyed by his response. She was very friendly and Sebastian did want his own friends outside James’s group. Maybe they could do something else together other than trivia.

Sebastian took his muffin to the park. Maybe he should have been wary of the place after the bear incident, but he didn’t think it any more likely a possessed animal would show up just because one had yesterday. He wasn’t going to hide inside twenty-four-seven.

It felt good to get out and wander for no reason. He was still adjusting to everything not being trapped at Storm House entailed, and most of it was good. He appreciated sitting among the fall leaves, listening to music, and eating a sweet blueberry muffin more than he would have otherwise.

A man walking through town gave him a funny look before entering the diner. It gave Sebastian a flash of insecurity. Did he look weird or something?

He didn’t have long to worry about it. James showed up a minute later. He’d dropped Eli at home and filled Sebastian in on their trip to his cursed property.

“Sounds like things are getting sucked into the gateway.” Sebastian agreed with James’s conjecture. “It must be connected to whatever I did to the veins, banishing the darkness.”

James tensed next to him, saying quietly, “It feels like we have less and less time to figure this out.”

“Yeah, everything’s crumbling and getting less manageable by the day.” Sebastian rubbed James’s shoulders, ignoring the sinking feeling settling over him. “I think I should call my mom.”

“What?” James’s eyes widened in alarm.

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