A.N.: Yes, I am ashamed it has taken me this long to update it. If you are still out there my lovely, wonderful, brilliant, loyal, fantastic reviewers, the next chapter is here! I hope you're reading this, and please enjoy. And I'm sorry it's so short, but it's 1:30 in the morning, so it can't be helped.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Riddles of Epsilon.

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James skidded to a halt in the open doorway, leaning against it somewhat and breathing heavier than normal. He hadn't been allowed enough sleep to properly recover from the night before. Not to mention that he had just used even more power to get there. Blinking a couple times to focus his eyes on the room, he saw Jess sitting on her bed, gripping a pillow and staring at him as if she hadn't just sent a message asking him to come. "Jess…" he breathed, searching for some sort of explanation.

But it would have to wait a few moments longer, because Jess' mother had finally made her appearance behind him. "First pebbles, now this. What's going on? Is something wrong?" Her breathing was slightly labored as well.

Jess shot her a shaky smile. "Everything's fine, mom. I just asked James to come over, and I guess I was kind of freaked out so I made it sound like a bigger deal than it is. No worries."

Her mother looked confused. "Well, what was the problem, Jess?" she asked, sparing James' rough appearance another glance. "Whatever it was seems to have caused James to come in quite a hurry."

Jess followed her mother's glance and felt her cheeks flame. "I… saw… a… spider?"

Jess' mom blinked. "A spider? If it bothered you that much, you could have just asked me or your father…"

"I know, but I was already on the computer, so it just seemed logical at the time to message James." She looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you. Stay and hang out; that way you won't have wasted a trip."

James looked warily between Jess and her mother. The older woman shrugged and left, and Jess let out a sigh.

"I really am sorry about that," Jess mumbled.

James took a couple of steps into the room. "I'm really hoping that IM wasn't about a spider," he said, forcing an easy smile as he rubbed his eyes.

Jess let out a nervous laugh. "No, not really. But I was so freaked out I couldn't think of anything else." She was forcing her eyes to remain on his, or at least trying, but he didn't seem to notice. "Are you alright? You look tired."

"I am. Long night. Do you mind if I borrow your floor while you tell me what's going on?"

Jess shook her head. "Go ahead."

James dropped to the floor and quickly made himself as comfortable as he could on the hard surface. His eyes closed as he linked his fingers over his chest.

"Do you need a pillow?"

He opened one eye to see the red-faced girl sitting at the foot of her bed now, looking at him strangely.

"No, this is fine." He was used to sleeping on hard surfaces. After all, the Light Ones weren't know to spread things such as pillows to criminals…

"Did you run all the way over here?"

"Yes," he lied easily. "You seemed frightened; what else would I do?" It was then that he realized what was causing her distraction. Slowly but effectively, he buttoned up his shirt. He hoped now he would get an explanation, or at least some more sleep.

Jess watched as the smooth, tan skin slowly disappeared beneath the white fabric. James Dove was certainly fit. Blinking and shaking her head slightly, she looked out the window. "I don't really know what to say… I'm not even sure why I'm telling you this… But… I had a really weird dream last night. Even more strange than the others. They could be freaky, but that would always fade soon enough." When Matthias comes. "This time, though… it was just so weird. The guy was there, but… James, I think he was angry."

When Jess looked back down at James, his eyes were open again and set in a determination he tried to hide. "Did he do anything?"

"No, that was some of the creepy part. He didn't even seem to realize I was there. He usually does, but this time it was just as if I were invisible. But I don't know if he was talking to me or not. He kept muttering something."

"What was he saying?"

"He kept muttering something about a story. Something about 'a boy who tried to overreach his bounds' or something. He kept saying, 'Just a little longer.'"

James forced another smile and closed his eyes again. "Sounds like you were just having a nightmare about a lunatic. Are you sure it was the same man as usual?"

"Of course I'm sure," Jess snapped. She took a breath. "But do you know what the scariest part was?"

"What?"

"In the end, it was like he could see me. And he said, 'Soon I will have enough power to tell you the truth. Then, you will never leave me again. Soon, I will be able to defeat those who would harm us. Don't worry, Athaniel and your other little friends will be out of our way soon."

James was silent for a while, and Jess began to wonder if he had somehow fallen asleep. Just as she was about to try to wake him, he said, "I think you're giving this dream too much power over you, Jess. Do you want some advice?"

"Uh… sure."

"Next time he comes to you, don't talk to it. And whatever you do, don't touch it. See how that works for you, alright?"

Jess nodded. What a strange reaction he had.