was still nowhere to be found.
Cars, each decorated with a different theme, lined the street for trunk-or-treating. And by the looks of the costume-clad crowd already filling the sidewalks, checking out the concession booths and games, the whole town was probably going to turn out for the event.
Mr. Day stood in front of the market, dressed like an old-timey shopkeeper, passing out coupons in honor of the grand reopening. He beamed at
April and me as we walked by with our baskets of refreshments. The store was already packed with customers.
Mom was so busy ordering everyone around that she didn’t even notice my costume at first, and by the time she did, April and I were already manning the caramel-apple booth. I could tell by the look on her face that if I hadn’t been surrounded at the time by half of the ladies from the Sunday school board, she probably would have thrown a massive fit and sent me home. Luckily, Mrs. Ellsworth, bouncing her fairy-princess baby on her hip, smiled and said, “Don’t you look adorable?”
But then again, that comment was probably directed at Baby James in his wolf suit as he pulled on the hem of my dress while begging me to take him through the trunk-or-treat to get some candy.
I scooped him up in one arm and then grabbed a basket of caramel apples in the other. “I’m going to take James trick-or-treating and try to sell some of these along the way.”
“Thank you,” Mom said. She patted her forehead with her long kimono sleeve and then counted out change for Amber Clark and her boyfriend.
“But don’t let him get too much candy.”
Baby James and I set out along the street. “Just me and my big bad wolf,” I said, and set him down with his trick-or-treat bag. James made a little growling noise and then took off running for the first car in the trunk-or- treat. I followed after him with my basket. We stopped at each car, and everyone fawned over James and his cuteness, and I sold a caramel apple for every third piece of candy he collected. I had only about half a dozen left when we made it to the end of Main Street. We were about to cross and go up the other side when Charity and a couple of her friends came bounding up to me to buy apples.
I handed out three and was counting their money while James pulled on my dress, trying to force me to cross the street toward more candy, when
I heard another customer ask, “How much?” from behind me.
“Two dollars each,” I said, and handed Angela Leonard three dollars back.
“Thanks,” she said.
“But what if I want the whole basket of goodies?” the customer behind me said.
I looked over my shoulder and almost dropped my basket. “Talbot?”
He stood there in a yellow-and-blue flannel shirt and faded blue jeans, but he was without his customary baseball cap. He had a slight smile on his face, but his green eyes seemed serious and concerned.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just checking out the festival,” he said, and winked at Charity and her friends. Then he leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “I need you to come with me, Grace. Right now.”
“What? I can’t. I’ve got my brother.”
James pulled on my hand and pointed in the direction of more candy, making his little growling noise.
“Oh. My. Gosh,” Mimi Dutton said. “You guys are so cute. Look, Angela, they’re Little Red, the wolf, and the woodsman.” She pointed at Talbot last.
Talbot cracked a smile, then cocked his head like he was pointing in the direction that he wanted me to go. Come now, he mouthed.
Charity gave me a funny look. “Where’s Daniel?”
“I don’t know.”
Talbot put his hand on my arm. “Excuse us, little ladies,” he said to Charity and her friends. “Grace, I need your help with something.”
James wailed and started to dart for the street. I bolted forward and caught him by the hood of his wolf suit.
“Whoa,” Charity said. “That was fast.”
I gave myself a little shake—I hadn’t meant to use my powers. I picked up James, and he kicked my legs and whined for candy.
“Charity, will you take him?”
“But Mom said I could hang with my friends. I’m not the one who’s grounded.”
“Just for a few minutes, okay?” I looked up at Talbot. “We’ll be right back, right?”
“Sure,” he said, and nodded to Charity. “I just need your sis for a minute.”
“Whatever.” Charity grabbed James out of my arms and let him drag her across the street toward Gabriel —dressed like a monk—who was handing out Snickers bars from a plastic cauldron.
I slipped around the corner with Talbot before Gabriel could see me with him. “What’s going on?”
Talbot grabbed my arm. “We have to get out of here,” he said. “You and me. Right now.”
“What? Why?”
“There’s no time to explain. We just need to go.” He grabbed my arm, his hand like a vise over my elbow, and led me into the parking lot behind
Lyman’s Hardware. The lot was packed with cars, but we were the only people there. “We need to get out of here before they find you.”
Talbot pulled me toward his old blue truck, double-parked under a lamppost that shone in the dusky dimness of the evening. I could see from here that the back of his truck was loaded up with what looked like camping gear. I stopped dead, digging the heels of my boots into the asphalt, and pulled my arm out of his grasp. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
“They’re coming for you, Grace,” he said. His words sounded just like Jude when he called with his warning. “You’re in danger. The Shadow
Kings are coming here. Right now. And I can’t stop them. They’ll tear this town apart until they find you. But maybe we can run. Drive as far away from here as we can get and then maybe hide out in the woods. I don’t know. We just need to go.”
“They’re coming here? Right here? I have to warn my family.”
“There’s no time!”
“My sister’s out there with my baby brother, and my parents. Not to mention the whole town. If the Shadow Kings are coming here, then I need to warn them. I need to find Gabriel or my dad.” I turned and was about to bolt out of the parking lot.
“Don’t!”
Talbot lunged at me. He grabbed my cloak and jerked me back toward him. I yelped and dropped my basket. Caramel apples spilled out around our feet.
“I don’t care about them,” he said. “You’re the only thing that matters.”
“They’re my family!” How can he not want me to warn them? And there was no way I was going to leave Baby James unprotected. I’d promised him that. “I’m not going to leave them in danger.”
“Just get in the damn truck,” Talbot said, and clamped his hand over my wrist, making my silver bracelet dig into my skin. He started to yank me toward his car, but before he could finish the movement, he yelped and let go of my arm.
I looked at his hand. A red welt the width of my bracelet blistered up on his open palm. The silver had burned him.
“Talbot?” I backed away. I’d thought all along that he was like me. An Urbat who hadn’t changed yet. Now it was clear that wasn’t true.
Talbot looked at his hand and then back at me. His eyes glinted with light from the streetlamp. A low growl escaped his lips. “Just get in the truck, Grace. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
I took another step back. The heel of my boot slipped a bit on the gravel under my feet. “What’s going on? Who are you?”
“Someone who can’t be trusted,” said a familiar voice from somewhere nearby.
I whirled around and watched with disbelief as a tall, broad-shouldered guy stepped out from between two
