“What the?—”
I ignored Laura, primarily because I’d been knocked flat on my back by another fast-moving creature, and my sharp, hunterly-attuned senses had already figured that out that I’d been attacked by a demon. The same demon that had scared Kabit, our cat, back into the house.
Now, the demon hovered over me, his putrid breath right in my face and his long, greasy hair brushing my forehead. Even as I mentally kicked myself for not having a weapon—Ireallyshould know better by now—I physically kicked the demon. Or tried to. He was straddling my hips, and my efforts to spin him over were less than effective, especially since he had his hands around my throat.
I brought my arms in and up in an attempt to break his hold, only to be surprised when he let out an earth shattering howl, slammed his palms onto the top of his head, then lurched up took off running across the yard.
Above me, Laura proudly held up the small bottle of holy water. “This stuff packs a serious—aaaaaah!”
I managed a kip-up, bringing me to my feet as another demon—this one of the spry geriatric variety—yanked her close,its bulbous nose wrinkling as it sniffed, then said, “It is not you—you are not the one who is new.”
He shoved her aside, and Laura landed with a thud on the gravel as I lunged, grabbing the demon’s upper arm so that I could spin it around and shove my finger—ick—right through its eye, releasing the demon and sending it back into the ether.
I didn’t even wait for now-unoccupied body to hit the ground. Instead, I took off running after the greasy-haired demon, all the while sternly reminding myself to keep a weapon on my person at all times. Either that, or get acrylic nails.
CHAPTER 5
“Mom?”
Mindy raced toward me, her shrill cry tearing at my heart as I sprinted in her direction.
“She’s fine!” I cried, not breaking stride. “Your mom’s fine! Allie?”
“Demon!” We passed each other at top speed, my heart tightening even more as I approached the easement and the sound of kicks and grunts.
Oh, God! Allie!
I sprinted the rest of the distance, then plowed through the gate, pausing only long enough to bend over and grab a fallen branch from a nearby tree. Then I hurried down the incline, only to find that I was too late.
It was all over.
And there was my baby girl standing victorious over the body of the greasy-haired demon who’d attacked me, his face scarred from the holy water that had dripped on him and an ivory-handled stiletto protruding from his eye.
“Hey, Mom,” she said, her chin trembling a little as she blinked rapidly. “I got him.”
“Oh, sweetie!” I raced to her, then pulled her into a tight hug before releasing her and pushing her to arms length so that I could inspect every single inch of her. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, taking deep breaths. “I’m okay. Really.” Her breath shook as she drew it in. “Honestly,” she said, pushing my hands away as I continued to pat her down for hidden injuries, the branch I’d brought as a weapon now shoved into my back pocket. “I’m really fine.”
Her voice was clearer now. Stronger. And with a firm nod, she pushed me away. “I’m all right, Mom.”
“Holy freaking crap,” a small voice murmured from the dark.
I twisted around, grabbing the branch as I did, then found Eliza sprawled on her back, her face hidden by a shadow cast from the line of trees on Laura’s side of the easement.
She pushed herself up onto her elbows, bringing her into the light and revealing a metal grating that she’d been leaning against. Access to one of the sewer lines, presumably, since this stretch of city land is essentially a trench that not only allows runoff water to flow, but also provides access to the sewers and whatever other underground utility gizmos and gadgets it takes to keep our city running.
As Eliza climbed to her feet, footsteps pounded toward us. Immediately, all three of us went on alert, ready for the next demonic foe. Then we all relaxed together when Mindy came into view, her breath coming in gasps. “Mom’s hiding the other one,” she said. She hugged herself, then drew in a breath. “This is really freaky.”
Mindy clambered down to us, then nodded toward the body at Allie’s feet. “What should do we do with this one?”
“You were freaking incredible,” Eliza said, ignoring the question. Her eyes were tight on Allie, but she turned toward me. “Seriously. She was absolutely freaking incredible.”
“That’s my girl,” I said proudly, but my smile was a little bit too tight, because there was something about Eliza’s tone that gave me pause.
“It wasn’t that big a deal.” Allie shrugged, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her jeans.
“He turned, and you nailed him through the eye. From all the way over there.” Eliza gestured vaguely behind her. “One shot, andbam. It was awesome.”
