Rex didn’t notice or thought she and Jess were kidding. Dess wondered exactly what had happened last night.

She had called Jonathan’s house today to see if he’d followed through on his threat to visit Jess during the blue time. But no one had answered the phone all day. She wasn’t worried—Jonathan could take care of himself better than any of them—but Dess wanted to hear the scoop.

“Well, we’ve got big news for you,” she said.

“Come on in,” Jessica said, sliding the window open. Dess jumped through and reached back to give Rex a hand up. It occurred to her that they could just use the front door, but something about the blue time made everyone want to whisper, plot, and sneak.

Jessica sat slumped on her bed. She looked tired and bummed. Apparently it hadn’t been the best first date ever. Maybe darklings had crashed the party.

Dess noticed that Jess was rubbing her right hand, as if it was a bit sore. She knew from experience what that meant: things couldn’t have gone completely wrong.

Dess put her questions aside. She could ask Jess in study period tomorrow, when Rex wasn’t around to go ballistic.

“We went to a lore site last night,” he said.

“It was a pretty hairy trip,” Dess said. “Darkling city out there.”

“But we may have found out what’s going on.”

Jessica looked up. “It’s all my fault, isn’t it?”

Rex look surprised for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s not your fault, exactly.”

“But it’s because of me. Those things didn’t used to bother you guys. Since I showed up, they’re everywhere. Right?”

“That’s true,” Rex admitted. “The heavy darkling action could be related to you coming to Bixby. But only maybe.”

“Maybe definitely,” Jessica said. “You had a private world, a secret time all your own, and I messed it all up.”

“You didn’t mess it up. The darklings were already there, and we’ve tangled with them before,” Rex said. “But it’s possible you’ve got them scared.”

“Scared?”

Dess sat down next to Jessica. “Every midnighter has his or her own talent, Jessica.”

“So I noticed. Everyone but me, that is.”

Rex paced the room. “The lore says that darklings can taste it when new midnighters arrive in their territory, like Melissa can. They can feel our talents, and they know when someone new is a danger to them.”

“Me, a danger to them?” Jessica laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding. So far, my major talent seems to be disaster magnet. A walking bad-luck charm.”

“That’s because they’re scared,” Dess said. “They’re still animals, in a way—wild cats.”

“And you’re stirring up their nest.”

Dess rolled her eyes. “Cats don’t have nests, Rex.”