“Thanks,” she said, preening.
“Now I need you to go check on your brother.”
Her smile faded. “Why?”
“Because I think I hear him.”
“I don’t.”
“Then I think you need to go get dressed for school,” I said.
“It’s still early.”
“Allie.” I injected a warning into my voice.
“God! If you want to get rid of me just say so!”
“I want to get rid of you,” I said, then saw the temper flare in her eyes.
“That’s so unfair!” she wailed. “I figure this stuff out and I don’t even get to hang for the planning session. I’m not a kid! I’m fifteen!”
“Not until Friday, you’re not.”
I waited for her to make some sarcastic comment, but none came. Instead, she stormed away, muttering.
As soon as she was out the door, Eddie turned serious eyes on me. “We need to find that dagger,” he said. “And we need to find it soon.”
“Forget the dagger,” Stuart said. “If we can’t find it, we take that demon out the old-fashioned way. A knife through the eye.”
“He’ll just come back,” Eddie said. “Born into someone else.”
“Forgive me if I’m more worried about my family than someone else’s future problem.”
Eddie nodded. “We look for the dagger,” he said. “And if we don’t find it, we do it your way.”
“Either way, Eric’s dead and trapped,” I said. “His soul will be tied to this demon for eternity. There’s got to be a way to unbind them,” I said. “We just haven’t found it yet.”
“And we’re running out of time. Kate—” Stuart began, but Eddie held up a hand to cut him off.
“With these two, there’s no halfway,” he said. “Lilith’s evil. And Odayne’s the mate of the first evil. And now that power’s waking up inside your boy. You willing to risk that? You willing to risk your kids?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. Of course I wasn’t. No matter what—even if it meant sacrificing Eric—my kids had to come first.
“You find that dagger, and you use it,” Stuart said. “And if you don’t, you can be damn sure that I will.”
Twelve
After the announcement of
Lilith’s descent into San Diablo, I’d assumed the day couldn’t get any worse. I was, of course, wrong. And as I stood in bare feet amidst a sea of dishwasher bubbles, I listened as Laura rattled off fact after fact after fact about my new nemesis. I’m not sure if a broken dishwasher is really on the same par as a vile uber-demon, but in my current mood, both seemed equally horrible.
“She’s a badass, all right,” Laura said, frowning at her laptop.
“That’s a given if she’s come to San Diablo,” I said dryly. “All we ever seem to get are badasses.” I dropped another towel on the floor and moved it around with my toe, trying to sop up some soapsuds. I don’t know what Timmy shoved into the dishwasher, but after an expensive service call, I’m sure the plumber would be more than happy to tell me when he finally fit me into his busy schedule.
In the meantime, I was more energized than ever about finding a way to unbind Eric from Odayne, and while Laura researched Lilith on the computer, I finished going through all of Eric’s books in the attic.
By the time I closed the last book, my head was pounding, my eyes were swimming, and I was mightily discouraged.
“Nothing?”
“Not in these,” I confirmed. “Nothing that seems to even touch on Odayne or unbinding a demon from a soul. And as if those questions aren’t enough, I can’t stop thinking about what Eric said. About how they didn’t want to hurt me. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Eric loves you,” she said. “He’d fight to keep you safe.”
“Maybe,” I said. But I wasn’t sure I believed it.
I caught Laura glancing up at the clock. “You need to go?”
“Sorry,” she said.
I brushed off the apology. “As much as I like the idea of having my own personal research minion, I know that you have a life beyond demons. That is, of course, why I’m training Allie.”
“Damn,” Laura said. “I’m about to be outsourced.”
She tucked her computer under her arm and promised to spend some time researching later. Every little bit helped. If anything, Allie and her online gaming research had proved that point.
I left not long after she did, hauling a screaming, cranky little boy around to various errands that I’d been ignoring. Home Depot for Stuart and the grocery store for the family being tops of my list. “Cap’n Crunch!” Timmy wailed in the cereal aisle. “Please, Mommy! Please, please, please!”
And, because I am a sucker with a fondness for those crispy little orange-colored bites, I caved, earning myself a tight hug and a firm, “I love you, Mommy.”
Sugary cereals. The way to every child’s heart.
When we finally got back home, I settled Timmy in his room for a nap, and began unloading the car. Three hours of shopping and two dozen bags and I still didn’t have any new clothes. Somehow, it just didn’t seem fair.
I was shoving two Snickers bars into the freezer when Allie and Mindy came barreling inside, backpacks flying as they tossed them onto the kitchen table. Then they both fell into chairs and demanded ice cream.
“Hello? Do I look like your personal serving wench?”
“A little,” Allie said.
“Around the eyes,” Mindy added.
“Here.” Allie reached into her backpack and pulled out a report covered in clear plastic.
I took it, then smiled when I saw the cover.
Lilith. Bitch Demon from Hell. By Allie Crowe and Mindy Dupont.
“We had free periods today,” Mindy said. “And access to the computer lab.”
“This is great,” I said seriously, flipping through the pages. They’d included various images of Lilith they’d located online (though how they accessed sites relating to demonology from the school I didn’t know, and figured I shouldn’t ask). More important was the history section, which included a few accounts of possession by Lilith herself.
“It’s not common,” Allie said when I mentioned the reference to her. “But it’s happened before. And the really interesting thing,” she said, moving to stand by me so she could point to the relevant sections of the report, “is this right here.”
I started to skim the language myself, but Mindy chimed in. “Every time she’s possessed someone, there have been hints that Odayne’s burst out in some poor sap. That’s what he does,” she explained. “He grows inside humans and then when he’s like a grown-up demon he takes over and the person is just buried inside.”
“It’s nasty stuff,” Allie said, while I made fascinated noises and hoped that they couldn’t tell that not only did I already have this information, but that it worried me greatly.
“You’ve done terrific work, girls,” I said, closing the report and trying to change the subject. “But school is for schoolwork. I don’t want your grades to suffer. Especially yours,” I said, aiming a stern glance toward Mindy. “Your mom’s counting on scholarships.”
They both rolled their eyes at that, and then Mindy shook her head in a gesture I recognized as Laura’s when she’d reached the point of exasperation.
She tugged her backpack toward her and started pulling out folders. “All done,” she said. “And we even did extra credit work. We’re totally on the ball, Aunt Kate. I swear.”
“Honest,” Allie confirmed when I glanced her way. “Me, too. All caught up.”
“Well,” I said, then stayed silent since I didn’t know where to go from there. Homework done before reaching home was a new precedent in my household. And if this was the boon from getting Mindy involved then I couldn’t help but wish that Allie had shared our deep, dark secrets months ago.
“So since we’re all caught up, can I sleep over at Mindy’s?”
“Mom’s got a date coming over, but it’s just Cutter, and we’ll totally stay out of their way.”
“Cutter?” I repeated.
The girls exchanged glances. “You didn’t know?”
I hid a frown, wondering why Laura hadn’t mentioned it and trying not to feel slighted or jealous. Daily, I seemed to be learning how little the people most important in my life shared with me. “No, no,” I said. “My mind was just somewhere else. And if you’re sure a sleepover’s okay with Laura then it’s okay with me.”
“Awesome,” Allie said. “And can we go patrolling tonight?”
“Not tonight. I’ve been checking the paper. No new leads.”
“You don’t have to come. Just Mindy and me. I want to take her. And a slow night’s a good one to start on, right?”
I aimed a severe look in her direction. “Are you insane? Of course you’re not going patrolling on your own.”
“But—”
“No. Now go get your stuff for tonight before I change my mind. Honestly, Allie! Patrolling? What on earth are you thinking?”
She didn’t tell me what she was thinking. Instead, they both skulked away, leaving me alone in the kitchen with thoughts of Lilith and Odayne and Cutter and Laura. In other words, a mishmash of thoughts sufficient to spur a headache in the strongest of women.
Which was why I didn’t feel in the least bit weak when I went to the freezer and snagged one of my candy bars. Not only did I need it, I deserved it.
I was finishing up my second Snickers when the girls clambered back down the stairs. I got a quick kiss from Allie, and then they were gone. I watched the door slam shut behind them, and fought a sense of loss. For a moment, I considered calling Laura, then I remembered her date.
With Cutter.
Honestly.
I started pacing, needing to get my mind off my friend and back onto the more serious problem of my first husband. And since I had no brilliant new ideas on that front, I decided to head upstairs and see if my trusty
alimentatore
had figured anything out. I was halfway up the stairs when I remembered that Rita had come by earlier, and they’d headed out to the movies. For a Wednesday night, romance certainly seemed to be in the air. And, yeah, I was feeling a little sorry for myself when the garage door opened and Stuart walked in.
“The dishwasher’s dead, Eddie’s at the movies, the girls are sleeping at Laura’s, and she’s got a date with Cutter,” I announced. “How was your day?”
“Good,” he said. “I’ve got a deal closing on Friday.”
I examined his face. “You’re liking it?”
“I am. But don’t think I like it so much that you’re going to convince me to stop training.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.
“So should I go change?” he asked. “We can go out tonight.”
I shook my head, suddenly realizing I had a much better idea. “Not a good night for patrolling,” I said, moving closer to him and closing my hand around his tie. “So I’ll just give you a tip today, okay?”
“Fair enough,” he said, keeping his eyes on mine.
“Dagger. Eyes. And only the eyes. Don’t forget.”
“I won’t forget,” he said. Or, rather, he tried to say it. I caught him in a kiss that effectively cut off his words. I could tell I surprised him, but my husband’s a big-shot attorney, and he recovers from surprise quickly. He deepened the kiss, making my entire body weak and tingly. “Upstairs?” he asked.
“Here,” I said, then grinned when I saw his brows lift.
“Really?” he asked.
“Damn right,” I said, kissing him again, backing him toward a wall and fumbling with his clothes.
He got with the program quickly enough, and while I’d like to say that Stuart knows how to follow directions, “here” quickly became “there,” and we ended up sweaty, satisfied, and naked in the living room, rolled up in each other’s arms on the floor, half-covered by the afghan I keep on the sofa.
“Well, that was a nice welcome home,” Stuart said. “Where’s Timmy?”
“Either asleep in his room,” I said, “or getting an eyeful at the top of the stairs.” We both glanced that direction, relieved to find there was no small child peering down at us.
“I love you,” I said, then kissed him, this time warm and sweet rather than hot and desperate.
“I know,” he said. “I love you, too.” He pulled me close, and we stayed like that, the wood floor beneath us growing more and more uncomfortable, but neither of us wanting to get up and break the spell.
The phone, however, managed that.
I sighed and climbed to my feet, frowning when I saw that it was Laura. “I thought you had a date,” I said.
“Oh.” I heard the guilt in her voice. “Right. About that. I was going to tell you, but—”
“It’s okay. Really. But is it true? You’re dating Cutter?” I tried to decide how I felt about that. I had nothing going on with the man—nothing—but I’d always had the impression he was a little attracted to me. So was I going to be jealous now that he was hot for my best friend?
I told myself I wasn’t, and hoped that I meant it.
“No!” Laura said, but then qualified it with a soft, “Well, maybe.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I’m working for him,” she said. “His office manager quit, and since I used to do administrative stuff for Paul, I offered to fill in until he found someone. And now he’s hired me officially.”
“And tonight? Was that admin stuff?”
I could practically hear the blush over the phone.
“Don’t answer,” I said, managing to keep the chuckle out of my voice. “And I’ll only say this. I know Cutter. I like Cutter. And we already know he’s not a demon. I figure those are some serious points in his favor.”
“Yeah,” she said. “And he kisses great, too.”
“Laura!” And that time I really did laugh.
She did, too. “Listen, I didn’t call to talk about the man in my living room—”
“He’s still there?”
“I need to talk to Mindy,” she said as a knot of fear settled in my gut. “Her dad wants her to come on Wednesday, but—”
“Laura,” I said sharply. “Mindy’s not here.”
“What? Did you let them go to the mall?”
“No,” I said slowly. “I let them go to your house.”
“Shit,” she said. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe they’d do that.”