Page 42 of Haunted Eclipse

She focused in on me, and I could feel the energy swirling around her, caught into a vortex. It was like facing a living tornado. If she was evenliving.Nobodyknew what she was.

I stumbled back against the wall, my heart racing.

“What do you…” My voice drifted off. She wasn’t acknowledging me, just cornering me.

“The gateway will open again. Chaos is dancing, and once it finds you, there’s no escape.” Her voice echoed the sound of corn husks in a fallow field, with the wind whistling through the dry stalks. Her words filled the room, echoing from wall to wall. And I was at the center of the bullseye.

“What do you mean—” I started to say, but before I could finish my sentence, she turned and vanished, leaving a trail of mist behind her.

She was gone, and I felt like I’d just been cursed.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Cripes,”Crystal said, grabbing my arm and leading me back to the table. Bee quickly handed me my sparkling water and I drank it, shaken.

The gateway will open again. Chaos is dancing, and once it finds you, there’s no escape.

The Wandering Eye had appeared enough that everybody knew she was real, but I’d forgotten all about her during my time away. Children were taught to run if they saw her. In fact, there were several entities who made their home in Midnight Point that I’d managed to push out of my mind.

“What the hell is she talking about?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t know, and I really don’t want to find out,” I said. “I’m nervous enough as it is, with the accident, and nowthishappens? I should never have come tonight,” I added.

Bee turned to me. “When one of thesperetascomes calling, it doesn’t matter where you’re at. They’ll find you.”

“What’s a speretas?” Crystal asked.

“One of the spirit folk—the entities who make their homes in the shadow towns. Every shadow town has its own group, and sometimes they may overlap. That’s another reason I’m on the town council. I keep watch for what the speretas are up to.” Beesaid it like she might rattle off a duty like filing or answering phones.

“Who hires you for that?” I asked.

Bee pressed her lips together and looked away. Finally, she turned back. “My people. We keep an eye on them. And the shadow towns would do well to follow our suit.”

I glanced at Crystal. “I gather we don’t?”

“I don’t know. You should ask your aunt,” she said.

I didn’t feel like sticking around after that. Everybody was gawking at me, and though a few people came over to introduce themselves, most people acted like I was Typhoid Mary. Crystal and I left early, after Bee and I exchanged numbers.

“I like her,” I said, fastening my seat belt. “I didn’t think I’d like any of the Fae that much. They can be arrogant assholes, from what I understand.”

“They can,” Crystal said. “Bealissa is mostly a straight-shooter, but I neverfullytrust her. The Fae are crafty and it’s an innate trait, not simply an affect.” She was trying to keep her voice steady, but I could tell she was rocked by everything that had happened over the past week.

“Right.” I stared out the window, watching the falling snow, thinking about my life and choices. If I had stayed in Midnight Point to begin with, all of this might still have happened. And, if my house hadn’t burned down, maybe something else might have driven me back to Midnight Point.

Crystal pulled into the driveway. “Ask your aunt about Skula, and give me a call tomorrow?”

“I will,” I said, but my mind was a thousand miles away. What had happened frightened me, and I had no clue how to react. “I’ll call you tomorrow, probably in the evening.” Waving, I hurried into the house, shutting out the winter.

Astra was curledup on the sofa, watching a show. Miss P. was stretched out on the back of the sofa above her, and Dahlia was snoozing at her feet, at the end of the sofa. As I entered the house, I didn’t want to interrupt my aunt’s peaceful evening, but I knew I had to talk to her.

“Any chance you could turn off the TV for a little bit?” I asked, shrugging out of my jacket and tossing it on the Ottoman. I sat down in the recliner, leaning down to unzip my boots and pulled them off.

“You’re back early,” Astra said. But then, she took one look at my face and turned off the television, straightening up. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Something happened at the mixer tonight. I have no idea what it means.”

Auntie paled. “Are you all right? Is Crystal okay?”

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