Jonathan hadn’t told Jess, but over the last week he had spotted a few slithers at the edges of downtown, daring to come closer to the tall steel buildings than he’d ever seen before. They were tentative, slithering across the low warehouses on the fringes, blurring them into the midnight world, laying claim to them. Since Jess had come to town, the midnight creatures were pushing their way in, a little closer every night. It might take months, but Jonathan had grown certain that eventually there wouldn’t be any clean places left in Bixby. The slithers and their darkling masters would be able to claim even Pegasus.

Where would he and Jess go then?

“But we can’t sit on top of this sign forever, Jonathan.”

He looked up at her, wondering how she knew what he was thinking. He dreaded that Jess’s mysterious talent might have something to do with mind casting. He hoped not. Jonathan had no idea how Rex could stand to hang out with Melissa. He shivered. No privacy, not even in your brain.

“We’re safe for now, Jess. And maybe once you get ungrounded—”

“I got ungrounded today,” she said.

“That’s great! Why didn’t you tell me?” he said. Then he saw her expression. “Jess, why isn’t that great?”

“Well, because now I’m allowed to go to that party tomorrow night, out at Rustle’s Bottom.”

“Oh, the snake pit.” Jess had told him about Rex’s master plan a few days ago. The idea had sounded dangerous enough when it was way off in the future. Now that it was twenty-four hours away…

“You know that’s out in the badlands.”

“They kind of mentioned that. But Rex says it’s the only way to find out what I am,” Jessica said. “Dess can make it safe out there, and Rex says my talent could be important or maybe something I can protect myself with. In the museum he told me there’s lots of kick-ass talents.”

“If Rex told you to jump off a cliff—,” he started.

“Jonathan,” she said, laughing, “that would be you telling me to jump off a cliff.”

Jonathan smiled. “Probably. But I’d jump with you.”

She pulled him closer. “I’ve got to do something, Jonathan. I can’t spend the rest of my life sitting up here.”

“I know.” He sighed. “So you’ve got to do what Rex says. He’s the only one of us who’s got the manual for midnight, after all.”

Jess looked into his eyes. “That’s why you don’t like him, isn’t it? Because he can read the lore and you can’t.”