Page 12 of The Heart of Moonlight Falls

The sight of Sebastian unconscious in his bed made James sick with worry. His stomach cramped and he couldn’t get it to settle. From everything James had heard about Sebastian’s fight with the invading shade, he’d used way more power that day, yet he was knocked out from just one blast today.

James sat in bed next to Sebastian. He wasn’t shivering like he had been when he’d used too much magic at Storm House, so James hoped that was a good sign. He clung to the fact that Sebastian’s condition didn’t seem to worsen. There wasn’t much more he could do than wait. Even if he found a doctor who made house calls, he couldn’t explain what Sebastian had done with the vein’s power without revealing the curse.

It was a long afternoon.

Sebastian finally stirred as the sun set. He blinked and looked around in confusion but seemed to become alert much quicker than when he’d woken from his four-day sleep.

“We’re at the duplex?” Sebastian sat up and leaned against James, the contact an immense relief.

“Yeah. Do you remember what happened?”

Sebastian rubbed his eyes. “The bear.” He turned toward the window and the darkening sky. “How long was I out?”

“Several hours. It’s still Monday.”

Sebastian nodded. “Oh, good. Not too long.” He sounded exhausted.

James stroked Sebastian’s hair. “Want to come downstairs and have something to eat? Or I can bring it up for you?” James didn’t know what else to do.

“I don’t have anything here that you won’t have to cook. We could boil some pasta and open a can of something to put on it.”

“Parker and Eli are in the living room. They brought food over.” James hadn’t been able to get rid of them. They were worried about Sebastian, and James suspected they were worried about him too.

Sebastian smiled. “That was nice of them. Let’s go down.”

James stayed close to Sebastian on the stairs, but he seemed steady enough.

“Good to see you standing, Sebastian,” Parker said as they entered the living room. He and Eli were settled on the couch, Parker reading a book while Eli worked.

Eli closed his laptop. “How do you feel?”

“Tired.” Sebastian took a seat at the dining table. “But something smells good.”

“That’ll be Parker’s pumpkin soup.” James joined Sebastian at the table, not able to leave his side.

“Ugh, my pumpkins,” Sebastian groaned. “Some of them have got to be past ripe by now. They’re going to rot away.”

Parker got up and headed to the kitchen. “Eli and I have kept an eye on your veggies. Don’t worry.”

Sebastian blinked in surprise. “Wow. Thanks.”

They ate, and Sebastian seemed just as hungry as he’d been the day before. He might not be using his magic when he harnessed that blue power, but it sure depleted his energy.

“I thought you weren’t going to try to connect to the veins again,” James couldn’t help saying.

“I wasn’t.” Sebastian put his spoon down and gave James his full attention. “I panicked and did the only thing I could. How else would we have stopped that bear?”

James took Sebastian’s hand. “I don’t know. I’m not trying to blame you or tell you off for using the veins. It’s not like we could have outrun it.”

Parker frowned thoughtfully. “I could have tried to cut its throat with a knife from the diner’s kitchen.”

James was glad Parker hadn’t tried anything that rash. He would have only hurt himself. “It was on fire.”

“And already a corpse. Stabbing wouldn’t have done anything when it was dead,” Sebastian reminded them, though maybe Parker hadn’t noticed that. James hadn’t talked to him about the incident since bringing Sebastian home.

“We could have hit its eyes with light. Or fire.” Parker shrugged as if in defeat. “I’m not saying I could have stopped it, but it’d probably pay to have some ideas up our sleeves in case that isn’t the only possessed—or undead—animal to turn up.”

“You’re right.” Sebastian rested a hand on James’s thigh. “I can’t keep doing this, but if I’m backed into another corner, it’s not like I’m going to give up without fighting with everything I have.”

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