A flash of lightning drew my attention to the front door, bright light peeking through the frame and illuminating the wall in a golden sliver. Drops of rain splattered through the crack and wet the floor, and I realized the door was open. I thought Karra might have left it that way when she left, but that didn’t make sense. She would have taken the portal seeing how she was carrying Chatterbox. Hard to slip out unnoticed with a severed zombie head that never shuts up stuffed under your arm.

My senses not picking up anything in or around the house, I figured the storm had blown it open. Ethan and Jonas had burnt the wards out when they’d come to collect me the first time, so I wasn’t too worried about it, but paranoia runs deep in my blood. I pushed my will out further and scanned the area. There was nothing unusual.

I peered outside. The night was quiet, and the street empty, unlike the last time I’d answered my door. The slight wind fluttered past me and chilly water splashed against my cheeks, the rain blowing straight toward the front of the house. It felt good. I took another sip of my beer and watched the shower for a minute, standing in the doorway. Lightning crackled in the distance and lit up my front yard, drawing my attention to something reflective on the sidewalk. I stepped off the porch and went to where I’d seen the flicker.

It was a silver-looking coin, the size of a half-dollar, lying on the ground. Picking it up, it was heavy in my hand and a little rough, as though it were made of pewter. I glanced at the coin and saw it had a design on its face. It was like one of the old Batman TV series sound effect balloons. Jagged edges in tinted red made it look like an explosion. The word Bam! was printed on it in bold, black lettering.

I looked up to see a flash in the distance, above the rooftops of the house across the street. My mind processed it as lightning, but something more primal screamed a warning.