He gets out into the rain and hikes up the small hill. He could levitate, sure, but he suspects it’s going to be a long night, and there’s no point wasting any energy on special effects. Same reason he didn’t use a magic door to get here.

He’s not in any hurry for this to begin.

He can see Jeremy, or Colchester, already at the top of the hill, next to the fairy ring. Kirk and Susan are with him. They hold Grace by her arms, even though she’s tied up.

Grace, however, is watching Jeremy.

When Eric reaches them, he can see why.

Colchester hangs over Jeremy, a translucent, ghostly figure with one hand on the boy’s shoulder. He doesn’t look like the old man Eric fought twenty years ago. This is a younger Colchester, a man of the 1800s, with a gunslinger mustache and a dark suit.

He’s almost made it completely into this world, using Jeremy as his anchor. Once the ritual is complete, he’ll be able to do whatever he wants.

Jeremy’s eyes are closed and he concentrates deeply, standing at the edge of the Serpent’s Crown. His hands are clasped in front of his chest, palms together. It looks comical, the solemn look on the little face.

Until Eric notices that, despite the summer storm pouring from above, the boy is completely dry. The rain falls around him, every drop avoiding him, as if frightened to touch his skin.

Eric looks with his third eye. He can see the ley lines that run below the surface of this place, intertwining like braids. They join one another until they form a glowing river, swirling around in a circle at the little boy’s feet. It’s an incredible amount of power, and Colchester, working through Jeremy, channels it effortlessly.

Colchester gestures, and Jeremy’s body imitates the movement as if he’s a puppet on strings. The boy raises his hands, and the ground opens before him. Mud and dirt and grass turn over, churning like liquid. Round boulders heave from the ground, regurgitated from the belly of the earth. They roll and clack and slam together, fusing into a shape.

A moment later, the boy stands in front of a stone altar that looks as if it has been there for centuries.

He opens his eyes, and sees Eric and Grace.

It’s Jeremy’s face, but it’s the exact same smile as the one Colchester wears, hanging there in the air. They both look utterly happy.

Grace, despite all Eric has done to her, all the treachery and generally shitty behavior, looks at him with desperation. Kirk and Susan look frightened, too, as they realize that this is what they’d always wanted, and they cannot stop it now.