She nodded. The flashlight in her hand seemed ordinary now, but when it had shone, something had surged through her, larger and more powerful than anything she had experienced before. She had felt like the conduit of something huge, as if the daylight world were flowing through her into midnight, changing everything.

“Safe,” she murmured. Not just safe, though. What she had become felt bigger than that, and scarier, too.

“You know, Jessica, it’s probably not just flashlights,” Dess said. “I wonder what your limits are. I mean, maybe you can use a camera in the blue time.”

Jessica shrugged, looking at Rex.

“There’s no way of knowing,” he said, “except to try. I mean, film is a chemical process, kind of like fire, I guess.”

“Hey, just a flash attachment would kick butt.”

“Or walkie-talkies!”

“What about a car engine?”

“No way.”

The group fell into silence. Rex shook his head, dazed and happy, then looked up at the setting moon.

“It’s late,” he said. “We can figure this out tomorrow night.”

Jonathan nodded. “I better get going. St. Claire’s boys are on the lookout for me these days. Do you want me to take you home?”

Jessica sighed. She wanted to fly, to leave the horrible things she’d seen tonight behind on the ground. But she shook her head.

“I have to get back to the party. Constanza will flip if I just disappear into thin air.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow?”

“Definitely.”

Jonathan bent forward to kiss her, and gravity left her body at the touch of his lips. As he pulled away, her feet settled back onto the ground, but her stomach still danced inside her.

“Tomorrow,” she said as Jonathan turned and jumped, soaring out of the snake pit. Another bound took him high into the air, then he disappeared into distance and darkness.

“We’d better get moving too,” Rex said.

“Sure,” Jessica answered. “I’ll be okay.”

“You look better than okay.” Dess laughed. “Wipe that smile off your face, Jessica Day.”

Jessica felt herself blushing and pulled her jacket tighter.

“Do you know the way back to the party?” Melissa asked quietly.

“Yeah.” She pointed. “Moon sets in the west, so back that way.”

“Not bad, Jessica,” Dess said. “You’re starting to get the hang of midnight.”

“Thanks.”

“Let’s clean up some of this stuff, guys,” Rex said. “We left a bigger mess than usual.” Dess and Melissa grudgingly agreed.

“I should get back to the party,” Jessica said. She hefted the flashlight in her hand. “I guess I’ll be safe.”

Rex nodded. “Thanks for coming here, Jessica. For trusting us.”

“Thanks for telling me what I am,” she answered, then frowned. “Whatever it turns out to mean in the long run, at least I’m not a totally useless midnighter, you know?”

“I never thought you were.”