The observatory came into view at the crest of the hill. There was a small crowd waiting. Mo’Lock stood by Sabrina near the main building, speaking with the two LAPD ghouls. At the gate of the observatory grounds other cops guarded the roads. I assumed they were ghouls too, but it was the floating black hole that I was most interested in. That was my way to get to Billy and put an end to this madness once and for all.

Mo’Lock, Sabrina, and the cops approached me as I rose to my feet and shifted back to human. Sabrina was looking at me strangely, but I couldn’t tell if she’d seen me in wolf form or not.

“Anything happened here? The valley is bedlam.”

“A bunch of those red things flew out,” Mo’Lock said, “but we couldn’t do anything. It was right after it went dark.”

Sabrina smiled. “I got the photos to prove it.”

I smiled at her. If she saw me shift, she wasn’t letting on.

Hamm and Shooter looked worried. “We have a report of another hole in South Central,” Hamm said.

Shooter finished. “If this spreads much further, we won’t be able to do anything to stop it.”

I looked at the rip. “Mo’Lock, give me a leg up. I’m going in.”

“I’m going with you,” Mo’Lock insisted.

I pulled him aside and whispered. “Not this time, buddy. I think this Billy kid made some sort of deal with an evil force… a spiritual force. I don’t think someone of your undead nature should be messing around in there.”

Mo’Lock looked to see if anybody was listening. “Are you saying the hole is the gateway to . . .”

“I’m not saying anything for sure. But if it is, you could put yourself in danger, not having a soul and all.”

The ghoul thought about it and then nodded. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

“You always are.” I slapped his arm. “How about that leg up?”

I walked to the edge of the floating hole in the air. The lowest point of the opening was about two feet above my head. I stared up at it then glanced over at Sabrina.

“See you when I get back.”

She tried to smile. “You better. You owe me an interview.”

Mo’Lock hoisted me up to the opening. I grabbed the edge. It felt hot and spongy-wet, but I was able to get a grip and pulled myself up and over. The next thing I knew, I was in a black expanse and the hole was gone. I was in.

There was nothing but total darkness. I could have been in a stadium or a closet. I couldn’t tell. It wasn’t the kind of darkness I was used to, but a thick, airless dark without any sign of light or sound. With no plan to speak of, I began to walk into the darkness but no matter how long I walked I couldn’t tell if I was making progress. As far as I knew I was walking in place. There was no horizon, no way to judge where I’d been or where I was going.