Every time someone died, he felt it. He felt a piece of them torn out and sent spiraling away to Colchester, like a chunk of meat tossed to a wild animal.

He liked it a lot.

Colchester stood at the top of Snake Hill, looking down on the lights of Middleton. Every few seconds, his body would jolt as if he was on the receiving end of an electric shock, while another little life, down there in the town below, was offered up to him.

There went Annie Sung, a junior. She was an honor student who adored the Ramones. She volunteered at an animal shelter. Her parents loved her so much that they refused to put her down the first three days she was home from the hospital. Ten miles away, she coughed up blood and the light of her soul went down the Well.

Colchester stood up a bit straighter. In another moment, he would not need his cane.

The Well of Stars, at his feet, widened another few inches as the power passed from him into it. He knew that his limited, human eyes could not actually see what was in the Well. The stars and dark were a kind of placeholder for what was there.

But his other senses, the ones he’d been training for more than a century now, those could see the truth.

Middleton was special. He’d always known it, ever since he first walked into this valley behind a Conestoga wagon. He knew he’d come home.

He’d had to slaughter the people living here, of course. He used his magic and his hands to kill every last member of the tribe, down to their infant children. When he was done, he felt like an American for the first time since stepping on the continent.

Because this place belonged to him. It had drawn him across half the world. He knew he would find all the power he’d ever wanted here. The Well of Stars was a door to the Other Side, and once the ritual was complete, it would remain open. The End would finally begin. He was so close now.

He arched his spine as he felt the life flow from David Padgett into him. Padgett was a senior who could not believe his luck when Kristen Walker agreed to go with him to the New Year’s Dance. He’d been in love with her since sophomore year. He’d joined the football team, lifted weights, gained twenty pounds of muscle, all in hopes of being someone she would look at. But it was only when he made her laugh that she actually started talking to him. He was happier than he’d ever been in his life, doped up on hormones and sheer joy, holding her arm as they walked into the dance. He whispered that she was beautiful, and she blushed and pulled him closer.