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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 blinks slowly, heavily. “I’d been in the shelter for a long time, mostly alone. He’d come back every few days to feed me and…” She swallows the rest of the sentence, unable to even think about what came next, let alone say it. Clutching her blanket like a shield, she says, “I hadn’t seen him in a while. I started to think he was going to let me starve, but then he came back and that was worse.”

“What was different?” I ask.

“He seemed freaked out about something. He was tearing around grabbing stuff, talking to himself, really unhinged. He had a knife in his hand, and I thought for sure it was all over.” Her voice falters and sticks.

“And then what happened?”

“He cut my hands free and I don’t know. I had this thought that I didn’t have a choice except to fight. That it was my last chance.”

“Had you ever fought him before?”

“Not really. He’s so much bigger than I am. The knife was right there, but I didn’t think I could try for it. Instead, I just started throwing things, whatever I could grab. He got off-balance and fell against the wall and then things started crashing. I made it to the door and kicked it open, and then I heard something. He heard it, too. Someone was coming.”

“And that’s when you ran?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Will asks. “Did he ever mention other places, wanting to get away?”

“I don’t think so. He likes it here, likes the ocean. I don’t think he’ll go very far.”

“The ocean?” I ask. “What about it?”

“Everything. He told me about diving for pearls in Iran.” She lifts her gaze to meet mine. Her eyes seem very clear suddenly. Sad but clear. “He didn’t always sound crazy.”

No, he didn’t, I think. And then we let her rest.

(sixty-seven)

On Halloween, though I don’t feel remotely celebratory, I stand in front of Patterson’s and watch neighborhood kids trick-or-treating up and down Lansing Street, ducking into the businesses that all have their doors open and their lights blazing long past closing time. There’s an inflatable bouncy house in Rotary Park, and a table set up in front of Mendosa’s where kids can get silly face tattoos. But all I can think as I see ghouls and witches and superheroes stream by, parents just behind them at a respectable distance, is that everyone—the whole town—should be home with their doors shut tight.