A long moment passed. No one answered. Not a sound came from within the house. Tick, getting more worried by the second, pushed the doorbell again.

Still no response.

Finally, in a panic, he pushed the bell over and over again, hearing the loud ring through the wood of the door. He stopped when he heard a booming shout; it sounded like it came from one of the upstairs bedrooms. The shout was followed by a quick series of loud thumps—someone running down the stairs. Then the door jerked open, revealing a man Tick had never seen before in his life.

“What do you want!” the stranger screamed at the top of his lungs, spittle flying out of his mouth. The man was pale and sickly, so thin he looked like he’d crumble into a pile of sticks at any moment. His ruffled black hair stood up in patches on his head, his face covered in a scraggly beard. Dark, sleep-worn eyes stared at Tick, full of fire and anger. “Who are you, you little brat? What do you want?”

Tick felt a sick fear swell inside his stomach. “I’m . . . I’m . . . Atticus Higginbottom. I . . . I live here.”

“Live here? What are you, one of those no-good townies? Get out of here!” The man kicked out, missing Tick badly. “Get!” He slammed the door closed.

Tick, his world crashing down around him, turned and ran, the darkness weighing on his shoulders like black stone.

~

Edgar stood in the dark cemetery, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. He’d searched everywhere—behind every tombstone, tree, and bush in sight. He didn’t know how it could be possible, but what he’d seen from his hiding spot across the road must not have been a trick of his mind.

It had really happened.

What he’d seen had really happened.

Tick had disappeared. Like a Las Vegas magic show, Edgar’s only son had vanished from sight. There one second, gone the next. No smoke, no sound, nothing.

His son had disappeared.

Panicked, Edgar started searching all over again, even though he knew it was useless. Deep down inside, he tried to convince himself Tick was okay, that they’d known something like this would happen. This was what they’d been preparing for all along! Edgar told himself that Tick was safe now, in some other world or realm, learning how he could help save the lives that were depending on him. Where had all the good feelings about this whole mess gone to? He and Tick had devoted themselves to this cause, believing in its purpose.

But it hadn’t seemed real until the moment he’d seen his son vanish. And now Edgar didn’t know if he could ever forgive himself for letting Tick go. If something happened to his boy . . .