Chapter 19
Christmas and New Year's came and went; however, the guardians did not celebrate as they went on with their duty of protecting the children from Mora's night terrors.
Pitch refused to let Grace out of his sight, as he feared that the night terrors might come and take her.
The new school semester was to begin in three days and Grace had prepared herself for the new term.
One night, she could not get to sleep and Pitch visited her in her room. "You need to rest," he said, but Grace shook her head.
"I can't sleep, I'm not tired," she replied.
Pitch looked at her, but didn't speak. Ever since the night of the Christmas party, a new feeling had bloomed inside him. He had come to realize that he truly cared for Grace, perhaps to the point that he loved her as a friend or something more.
"You know," Grace said to Pitch, "I had never seen the ocean cliffs. Could we go for a quick visit?" she asked.
Pitch did not know what to think; he sensed that it would be dangerous for Grace to be out this late. However, he could not refuse.
"Just have Erebos fly over them, no need to stay there," Grace added and Pitch nodded.
They quietly left the house and got on the black Pegasus. It was a cold night, snow had blanketed the land the other day, but the sky was clear with a bright moon and sparkling stars.
Erebos went airborne and he flew towards the coast. They passed over the city of Blackpool and headed up towards the cliffs.
In the shadows, however, the night terrors had spotted them and they followed them.
Erebos picked his ears up and snorted. "Erebos, what is it?" Pitch asked, but the Pegasus flew downward toward land.
Once he landed, Pitch and Grace got off and Erebos started to stomp his hooves, flapped his wings, and screamed a few times.
"Erebos, easy, what is it?" Pitch asked, trying to calm the Pegasus down.
Grace took a few steps back, but suddenly, something grabbed her, covering her mouth, and pulled her away into the darkness.
Erebos noticed Grace being taken and Pitch looked back. Staring back was a black sand night terror in the form of a dog.
"Where's Grace?!" he ordered and charged at the beast, but the night terror vanished.
Grace was being pulled and tugged by black sand monkeys and they played with her.
"Let me go! Please!" she begged and Pitch heard her cries.
"Leave her alone, you buffoons!" he shouted, just as a large black sand bird arrived, taking Grace with it.
The monkeys began to play with the boogeyman and Erebos, but Pitch fought back, and he got on the Pegasus and they went after the bird.
"Pitch!" Grace called out, stretching out her hands toward him.
Suddenly, Pitch and Erebos were attacked by little black sand birds and they peeked at them.
Then, one bird hit Erebos in the eye, and the Pegasus cried out in pain. He tossed about and Pitch was losing his grip on Erebos.
Erebos then hit the side of a cliff and he and his rider fell towards the bottom.
"Pitch!" Grace screamed and the bird took her deep into the night.
Erebos was the first to get up; he wasn't hurt, as he and Pitch were immune to mortal injuries, and the Pegasus nudged at him.
Pitch got up, rubbing the side of his head, but he realized that Grace was gone.
"Grace!" he called, but no answer.
Then, a stream of golden sand appeared and Pitch looked around, he knew that Sandy must be nearby.
"Pitch?" someone said and the boogeyman turned to see Jack Frost.
"Jack! Thank heavens you're here!" Pitch exclaimed.
"What happened?" Jack asked.
"It was the night terrors. They attacked us and took Grace. They must be—" "Wait, wait! They took Grace?!" Jack interrupted and Pitch nodded.
"Where did they take her?" Jack demanded.
"I know they would take her to Mora, but I have no idea where her realm is," Pitch replied and Jack looked angry.
Then, Sandy arrived and he showed them a black sand monkey. "Sandy! Thank you!" Pitch exclaimed and took the night terror.
"Where is your mistress? Where did they take Grace?" he demanded, but the creature refused to speak.
"Do you want me to squeeze the life out of you?" Pitch asked, again, and began to choke the monkey.
The creature finally gave word of where to find the entrance to Mora's home. "We're taking you with us, just to be sure you're not playing tricks," Pitch said and got on Erebos.
Jack, Sandy, and Erebos flew off to find Mora and save Grace.