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Back When the Stars Go Dark Save as PDF
Chapters (83)
  1. Epigraph
  2. Maps
  3. (prologue)
  4. Part 1: Signs and Vapors
  5. (one)
  6. (two)
  7. (three)
  8. (four)
  9. (five)
  10. (six)
  11. (seven)
  12. (eight)
  13. (nine)
  14. (ten)
  15. (eleven)
  16. (twelve)
  17. Part 2: Secret Things
  18. (thirteen)
  19. (fourteen)
  20. (fifteen)
  21. (sixteen)
  22. (seventeen)
  23. (eighteen)
  24. (nineteen)
  25. (twenty)
  26. (twenty-one)
  27. (twenty-two)
  28. (twenty-three)
  29. (twenty-four)
  30. (twenty-five)
  31. (twenty-six)
  32. (twenty-seven)
  33. (twenty-eight)
  34. (twenty-nine)
  35. (thirty)
  36. (thirty-one)
  37. (thirty-two)
  38. (thirty-three)
  39. (thirty-four)
  40. (thirty-five)
  41. (thirty-six)
  42. (thirty-seven)
  43. (thirty-eight)
  44. (thirty-nine)
  45. Part 3: Time and the Maiden
  46. (forty)
  47. (forty-one)
  48. (forty-two)
  49. (forty-three)
  50. (forty-four)
  51. (forty-five)
  52. (forty-six)
  53. (forty-seven)
  54. (forty-eight)
  55. (forty-nine)
  56. (fifty)
  57. (fifty-one)
  58. (fifty-two)
  59. (fifty-three)
  60. Part 4: The Bent Grove
  61. (fifty-four)
  62. (fifty-five)
  63. (fifty-six)
  64. (fifty-seven)
  65. (fifty-eight)
  66. (fifty-nine)
  67. (sixty)
  68. (sixty-one)
  69. (sixty-two)
  70. (sixty-three)
  71. (sixty-four)
  72. (sixty-five)
  73. (sixty-six)
  74. (sixty-seven)
  75. (sixty-eight)
  76. (sixty-nine)
  77. (seventy)
  78. Dedication
  79. (acknowledgments)
  80. (author’s note)
  81. BY PAULA MCLAIN
  82. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  83. What’s next onyour reading list?

She’s half crouching in a tangle of branches, her hair knotted and wild, trying to camouflage herself. Her eyes are huge and they’re staring right at me, her expression haunted and fierce. “Cameron!”

I’m hardly breathing as she takes a step toward me in her ragged flannel shirt, legs pale and frighteningly thin. Her feet are bare. “Who are you?” she croaks before she trips and falls, either too weak or full of shock to stand.

I rush to her side, drop to my knees. She’s trembling as if she might break apart.

“It’s okay, Cameron. I’m a detective and I’m here to help. I’ve been looking for you a long time.”

“Where is he?” Her voice is frayed, terrified.

“We’re still looking for him, but you’re safe, I promise. No one can hurt you now. I won’t let them.”

“I want my mom,” she cries. Something deep inside her snaps and releases. “I want to go home.”

Before I can answer, I hear brush catch and rustle from behind us in the clearing, a body on the move. I spin to meet the sound, ready to fight to the death if I have to. But it isn’t Caleb. It’s Hector.

I can’t even imagine how he’s gotten here. Maybe he followed the search party from town, not willing to leave it to the authorities. Or maybe he’s simply materialized by magic? However it’s transpired, right now he looks as if he’s seeing the resurrection. In his hands, his flashlight trembles, light staggering over his drenched clothes and face, the impossibility of it all. The grace.

He doesn’t say a word, just drops his flashlight, still illuminated, and races to us, scooping up Cameron into his arms. She must weigh nearly nothing by now, but I can see that it doesn’t matter what size she is. He’s going to carry her anyway.

I thumb open the channel on my walkie. “We’ve got her. She’s alive, over.”

A crackle flares, and then Will’s voice. “Anna? Oh, thank God. What about Caleb?”

“No sign of him.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“I think so. I have help here, too.” I glance at Hector, leaving the full explanation for later. “We’re going to find a road and I’ll reach out to you from there. Get an ambulance, all right? And no media. Not yet.”

“Roger all that.”

In the stillness that follows, I tell Cameron she shouldn’t be afraid. That Hector is safe, a friend. Then I lead us out of the clearing, a flashlight in each hand, the valley dense and inky around us, my heart so full I think I could fly if I needed to.