Page 25 of The Heart of Moonlight Falls

Parker led the way across the street, Eli and Hazel following closely. Several deer lurked at the back of the park as they passed, standing among the trees edging the grass where part of the forest came into town. No other people were around, and sure enough, the diner was almost deserted when they entered.

Luna, one of the longtime servers, greeted them and handed James a stack of menus. They picked a booth by a window, and James slid in next to Hazel so Sebastian could sit on his other side and not be boxed in. He seemed more relaxed as he settled next to James than he’d been in the town hall. No surprise there. It had been a tense situation regardless of social anxiety. Sebastian had handled it well.

Sebastian absently ran his fingers over the ear pads of his headphones, which he wore around his neck. He’d started bringing them any time he left the house. When James had met him in the park yesterday and he’d been wearing them, he’d looked happy and at ease, not to mention cute, with the ear covers poking out of his messy ginger curls.

They ordered and didn’t have to wait long for their food. As they ate, everyone remained subdued. The silence wasn’t necessarily bad. It made sense they were all in their heads with the mound of problems growing around them. James figured Sebastian might be appreciating the quiet. He sat pressed close to James, the physical contact clearly comforting.

James watched the deer out the window. It wasn’t too surprising they’d stuck around since the park was empty, but when more showed up at the edge of the woods, James began to wonder. Was he being paranoid, or was this way more deer than were usually in town? They weren’t eating the grass in the park either, just standing around.

“What are you staring at?” Sebastian asked, leaning forward to see around James.

“There’s a bunch of deer in the park.”

Eli narrowed his eyes from across the table. “Why does it feel like they’re waiting for something?”

He was right. The animals had gone unnaturally still. Just as James was about to voice his agreement, a large stag walked out of the forest. It passed through the group of unmoving deer and marched onto the sidewalk. It looked up and down the street, head turning in a slow sweep from side to side.

Hazel put her iced tea down. “That can’t be normal.”

“At least they’re not bears,” Sebastian muttered.

James tried to get a good look at the deer’s eyes but it was too difficult from inside. The longer he watched, the more sure he was that the deer were possessed. The stag on the sidewalk stood there as if it were looking for something, scanning the street periodically.

Sunset wasn’t too far away. James was surprised shades would possess animals to come into town this late in the day. Why not just wait until dark?

Someone exited the General Store and walked down the sidewalk in their direction. The stag turned toward them and stomped its hooves, tossing its head, formidable antlers swinging through the air. The person stopped and took a tentative step backward.

“Should we go out and help?” Eli asked.

Banishing these shades should be easier than the one in the bear. At least the deer were alive.

“You might want to wait in here,” Parker said gently, a hand on Eli’s forearm. James agreed. Eli didn’t need to face off with any possessed animals when he had no magic.

“Are we going to have to kill them?” Sebastian cringed like he hated to even think about it.

James wasn’t much happier about the prospect. “They haven’t tried to hurt anyone. Though that stag could run someone through easily enough.”

They all hesitated. Trying to banish shades without killing their host was often not very successful. It was too hard to get them to leave the bodies.

The person on the sidewalk hurried back the way they’d come. James hoped the deer would move on but also didn’t like the idea of a bunch of possessed animals wandering around unchecked.

“Eleanor’s heading over.” Hazel pointed out the window to where the mayor was crossing the circle.

Eleanor reached the stone and hesitated, clearly spotting the odd group of deer. Parker stood and Hazel nudged James with her elbow, prompting him to get out of her way.

It was a standoff. Eleanor on the grass, the stag on the sidewalk, and James, Sebastian, Hazel, and Parker hovering inside. The stag tossed its head.

Eleanor took a step backward.

“We can’t let the deer scare everyone off.” James took a decisive step toward the door. “And we can’t just hide in here forever. We either need to banish the shades or scare them all back into the woods.”

A car drove up the street, moving between Eleanor and the stag. She took the opportunity to move farther away, placing the stone between her and the beast. The stag stomped its hooves and charged after the car as if angered by the interruption. It rammed the back bumper with its antlers, and the car sped off.

James exited the diner with everyone but Eli close behind. The stag turned away from the car toward Eleanor. It stomped its hooves again. Was it targeting her specifically as a leader like the humanoid shade had?

It lowered its head like it was getting ready to charge. James summoned a ball of bright light and sent it racing toward the stag, straight into its eyes. The animal reared up on its back legs, letting out a cry of confusion. James kept the light in its face, forcing it to make contact with the stag, trying to get it in its eyes.

The shade shrieked, the unnatural sound coming from the stag’s mouth. To James’s horror, the stag had sharp onyx teeth.

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