Still not fully recovered from the ordeal with the darkling wraith two nights before, Ping continued to sense the anxiety of the dragon’s consciousness, which in turn caused Ping considerable trepidation about going to Thanksgiving dinner with the Lanterns. Just as he was about to call Diana and cancel, she called him and asked him to hurry down to Oregon City. Something was going on with Mara.
Twenty minutes later, he stood on the front porch holding two cake boxes, waiting for someone to answer the doorbell. He had heard a faint “I’m coming” from Diana in the kitchen, so he just rocked on his heels and looked at the deepening twilight. A child’s giggle down the street caught his attention, and he turned. Sam and Hannah walked along the road. She was carrying a plastic jack-o’-lantern wi
