A Girl's Guide to Demon Hunting (5 page)

Chapter 8

"Do they make cordite cologne?"
                            
     -Shooter

    I slept later than usual, not waking until mid afternoon. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to leave Pancake’s doggie door unlocked or I would have woken up to a nasty mess. After showering and feeding Pancake, I took two hundred dollars from my hiding place and grabbing my bag I walked to The Strip. It was a beautiful day, the sun was bright and I soon found myself wishing I hadn’t worn my wool socks.
    Traffic on The Strip was backed-up more than usual. I looked ahead and saw the cause right away: Christmas decorations. Lots of Christmas decorations. White and Red rope lights were wrapped around the palm tress, which at night would turn them into giant candy canes. Big white snowflakes hung from the street lamps. The decorations were beautiful, sure, but not the reason for the traffic jam. Tall, slim and dressed in elaborate costumes of red, green and gold, a group of performers walked down the Strip. Must be a new advertising gimmick. It worked since even I stopped and stared for a moment.
    I loved Christmas in Vegas. I’ve spent the last two Christmas Eves going from Casino to Casino ogling the elaborate Christmas displays. Maybe this year I’d see a show instead. Snapping out of my thoughts, I walked to the edge of the sidewalk and hailed the first cab I saw. Climbing inside, I gave the driver the address and after ensuring I had the money for such a long distance, he did a u-turn and cut around the traffic jam.
    I made the cabbie get on and off the interstate three times before I allowed him to finally take the exit for Royal Oak Lane. After his assurance he would wait for me, I climbed out of the cab and walked to the old Spanish style home. The small house was painted a bright white and Christmas lights hung from the red tile roof. It was surrounded on all sides by empty desert. I told Pancake to wait by the front door and punched in the door code, taking a step back as the door swung open revealing the entryway.
    A woman stood waiting under one of the many beautiful archways that decorated the house. She wore jeans and a pale pink sweater and her blonde hair hung over her shoulder in a long braid. I wasn’t surprised to see her or the taser on her hip. She had known a visitor was coming the moment the cab tripped one of the many sensors scattered throughout the grounds.
The hidden cameras would have used facial recognition software to identify me long before I ever made it to the front door.
    “Good afternoon, Ms. Montgomery. I trust your trip out here was uneventful?” She said, not moving from her spot under the archway, a tight smile on her lips.
    “It was, although I was surprised to find the Ostrich farm closed.” At my words, Mary visibly relaxed and she came to stand in front of me.
    So far she’d never needed to use the panic button that hung around her neck. If I hadn’t said the right words she would have pushed the little button disguised as a pearl and steel doors would have fallen from the archways, sealing me off from the rest of the house. This time her smile reached her eyes as she offered me her hand. Shaking it, I followed her into the back of the house.
    I noticed a new painting hanging over the fireplace in the living room, it was of a little girl building a snowman. I wasn’t surprised to see the little girl and I had an uncanny resemblance. I would have to thank Jenny for sending it.
    “How’s she doing?” I asked as we walked towards the sunroom.
    “There’s still no change but she’s happy. She loves this time of year.” She said, her voice no more than a whisper as we came to stand in the shadowed doorway of the sunroom.
    The room was decorated for Christmas: a tree in the corner, its tiny white lights shone even in the daylight. Two stockings hung over the fireplace. I looked through the glass of the sunroom to where she sat by the pool.  
    My chest tightened as her head tipped back in laughter and the ghost of her joy ran through my mind. Goose and Berry, her German Shepherds, were chasing a ball around the pool. I’d taken a chance coming here so soon after taking in the darkness.
    Like Pancake, Goose and Berry were half hell hound. Unlike Pancake they were trained to attack without a command. Mixed breed Hell Hounds are extremely rare; it hadn’t been easy finding these two but they were worth the effort. If they even got the slightest brush of my power they would rip me to shreds. Which is exactly the way I wanted it, considering they were guarding my mom.
 
    I stood there a moment longer, unable to look away as her black hair glinted in the sun, her grey eyes filled with joy as she watched the dogs play. She looked just as she did before the accident, except of course for the wheelchair in which she would forever stay.
    It wasn’t just her ability to walk the Demon took from her that day, it was her memory. Everything from before she woke up in the hospital was gone, including me. In my darkest thoughts I envied her not remembering she had a family, what
 
happened to us, the Demons. I wouldn’t mind forgetting. But I couldn’t, not ever. Besides, then who would make the Demons pay? Turning around I walked back to the front door. Mary silent at my side.
    “You’ll make sure she has a good Christmas, right?” I asked.
    “Of course. You know I love her as much as you do.” Her eyes filling with empathy, I pushed away the sudden urge to crumble into a little ball of self pity.
    Mary knew I was the daughter; she didn’t know exactly what I was but she knew about the Demons. Her history was as dark as anyone who had an intimate knowledge of what was out there and yet she had the gentlest soul of anyone I’d met. Not that she wouldn’t kill a Demon on sight.
    It was this combination of strength and gentleness that made her perfect for taking care of my mom. In the beginning it was just a job but over the years they had grown to be best friends. Which was what I was most thankful for; just because I had to be alone didn’t mean mom should too.
    Thinking of my Camilla problem I told her, “I don’t know when I’ll be back next.” Taking a small sliver key off my key chain I pressed it into her hand. “I want you to take this. Keep it safe. If anything should happen, go to the bank on Fifteenth street. Safe deposit box three. You’ll find everything you need in there.”
    I made her repeat my instructions back until I was sure she would remember.
    “Be safe.” She called as I walked out the front door. Not wanting to make promises I didn’t intend to keep, I walked to the waiting cab, Pancake trotting next to me.

Chapter 9

Tip 43:  Sometimes finding a Demon is as easy as going to the closest Beauty Pageant. I think its the intoxicating combination of hairspray and sparkles.  

  
 
I gave the cab driver my address and relaxed back in the seat, watching the setting sun paint the sky in pinks and oranges. The trip back was much shorter since I didn’t have to be worried about being followed and in what felt like no time the cab turned down my street.  
    I’m not sure what caused me to go on alert but I’m glad I did. Just a block from my apartment a black limo was tucked into an alleyway. Standing at the ready was a large man dressed in a dark suit,
 
his eyes covered by black sunglasses.
     My stomach dropped as I saw a thick gold ring on the left hand of his pinky finger. I recognized the gaudy ring right away: Mateo’s personal guard. Immediately I pulled Pancake close and sunk down in the seat.
    “Change of plans.” I said to the driver and gave him a new address.
    This was bad, very very bad. It’d been months since I’d seen Mateo. I’d hoped that after our last little discussion he would just go through Peaches for any job he wanted me to do. What did he want with me? We’d been careful these last months to only steal from a just a few Greed Demons. I mean technically, was it really ‘stealing?’ Can you steal from dead Demons? It’s not like we killed them for the money. Somehow I felt the subtlety of that argument would be lost on Mateo.
    As the cab weaved in and out of traffic, I spared a quick glance out the back window and breathed a sigh of relief. No limo in sight. I’d dodged a bullet tonight, hopefully my luck would hold out.
    It was late and I was cold by the time I climbed into the hammock that hung between the two palm trees in Father Henry’s backyard. I didn’t make it a habit of crashing in peoples’ hammocks, but I was out of options. Home was no longer safe, not with Mateo looking for me.
    I could have gone to Peters but I didn’t feel like hearing him bitch about Pancake. With Pancake stretched out on my stomach, her little face tucked under my chin, she had already begun snoring by the time I covered her with my jacket. I laid there a long time staring at the moon.
   
Pushing the little pink umbrella out of my way, I took another sip of my drink, the sweet taste of pineapple filling my mouth. The sun warm on my skin, a soft breeze carried on it the smell of the beach...salt, sand, and suntan lotion. Placing my drink on the little table next to my lounge chair, I found mom laying in the chair next to me. She wore the bathing suit from the summer before the accident. Black with white polka dots. Her nails and toes painted a deep red, long black hair tucked into her red straw hat.
    The sound of splashing reached us and we both turned towards the water. A woman stood in the water, the waves crashing against her legs. Long blonde curls fell past her shoulders, framing a beautiful face. Watchful deep brown eyes followed our every move. She wore a dark green dress that clung to her, the water weighing it down.
 
    “I like her.” Mom said, her voice soft on the breeze.
    “Who is she?”
    “I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know her.” She said with a small shrug.
    “That makes no sense, mom.”
    “What in life makes sense?”
    “True, Obi-wan.” I said, smiling at her.
 
    We sat there for a long time; mom watched her and I watched mom, fascinated by every breath she took, the way little wisps of her hair would escape from under her hat. Her skin pink from the sun, she looked healthy. There was no confusion in her eyes when she looked at me. I missed this, the time before the accident. When we were a family, just the two of us.
    The roar of thunder in the distance pulled me from my staring. I was surprised to see dark rain clouds moving quickly towards us. Looking into the ocean, I saw the blonde woman fighting against the growing surf. A large wave crashed over her, pulling her under. When she didn’t reappear, I began to panic. Standing up, I ran into the warm water, my mom chasing after me.
    “Stop!” Mom shouted from the shore line. Turning back, I found her frozen, fear etched on her face as she looked at the water.
    “Come on, she needs our help.” I said, waving her towards me.
    “But you can’t swim.”
    Her words caused me to pause. What was I doing? I can’t swim. I felt the tug of the current against my legs threatening to drag me under. The dark clouds moved faster and faster. I wasn’t sure I’d be safe on land either. Looking back to the water, I felt my resolve return and I took another step into the water.
    “Please sweetie, I can’t follow you there.”
    Turning back, mom stood just inches from the water; the growing wind tore her hat off, sending it tumbling down the shoreline. Her hair billowed in the wind like a black flag.
    “This is a place only you can go.”
    “I know.” I said but the wind snatched the words from me and carried them away. Giving her a small smile I turned and waded further into the water.
When it reached my knees, I took a deep breath and dove into the waves. When I thought my lungs would burst, I broke the surface and found myself falling through the air.
    I landed in a heap on the rocky ground of Father Henry’s backyard. Pancake sat on her haunches a few feet away from me, a Cheshire Cat grin on her face. Cold, hungry, and sore, I went inside Father Henry’s house, where I hoped there would be a hot cup of coffee waiting. I needed something to wipe away my dream.
“You know, I have a guest room.” Father Henry said as I walked into the kitchen.
“It was late, I didn't want to wake you.”
    I took the offered coffee and dumped sugar and creamer in it. Taking a sip, I felt my insides begin to thaw and sunk into one of the mismatched chairs at his little kitchen table.
I sat there and watched as he moved about the tiny kitchen. Putting two slices of bread in the toaster, he pulled down a jar of peanut butter. This morning he was dressed in grey sweat pants and a blue St. Mary’s T-shirt; his hair was damp with sweat, he must have just finished his morning jog.
    “Your monthly allowance came in from The Council, I wired it to your account this morning.”
    “Thanks. Did they have any issues with last month’s stats?” I asked.
I’d been a little busy last month with a nest of visiting Demons and hadn’t been able to do as much recording of Demon behavior as usual. Since I was underage, I was only supposed to observe their behavior; contact was forbidden unless life was endangered. It was just another rule I didn’t follow.
    “They didn’t mention anything,” he said.
    Tossing me an apple, he sliced up another one and set it on the floor for Pancake.
Pancake gave the fruit the stink eye and turned her big brown eyes on me, pleading for something loaded with sugar. Giving her a stern look, I pointed to the apple. With a little sigh she picked up a slice and begrudgingly ate it.
    “Do I want to know why you slept in my hammock last night?”
    “Not really. I was wondering if you’d ever heard of a Demon named Camilla?” 
    No way I was going to tell him about Mateo, he worried enough about me already. While I waited for an answer, I watched him spread peanut butter on the toast. As the peanut butter melted to a shiny glaze, my mouth watered and I realized it’d been a long time since I ate. Remembering the apple in my hand, I took a big bite. 
    “Not that I can think of. Why?”
    “Peaches wants her eliminated.” I said after swallowing my bite of apple.
    He didn’t say anything in response, not that he needed to. I could see the mixture of disappointment and anger in his eyes as he set the toast in front of me. Automatically I went on the defensive.
  
    “What would you have me do, go back on the agreement? You know what she would do to me, to all of us. There are consequences if I break the contract with Peaches, trust me when I say death would be a blessing.”
    “Then we leave. We tell the others the truth and leave town.”
    “Fine, go. I’d like to see you try to convince Jenny to leave her dad or Ace and Shooter to leave any of us.” I said angrily, “But I’m not leaving, not until I kill the Demon who hurt mom.”
 
 
    “Don’t you think if there was a Demon here with that amount of power it would have already removed Peaches from the throne? You’re an underage and untrained Guardian without a shield. There is no way you’re going to beat a Demon that strong. Allie, you know you wouldn’t survive. Or is that why you’re taking in the darkness again? Are you trying to find another way of beating it?”
 
    I’d hoped he wouldn’t pick up on the darkness. Not wanting to talk about my recent screw up, I took a bite of toast, enjoying the warm peanut butter melting on my tongue.
    “You think I wouldn’t notice? Allie, you’ve got to stop. Your lack of a shield is no excuse, nor would to be if The Council found out. You should be trying to find a way to block the darkness, not give it an all-access pass to your soul.”
    Irritated, I tried to defend myself but found I was unable to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth.
Really? I was being silenced by peanut butter?
Seeing the smug look on his face, I glared at him. It took a few moments but finally the fight went out of him. Leaning forward in his chair, he took my hand.
    “I’m just worried about you. Every time you let the darkness in you take one more step down a path for which we have no map. I know why you’ve insisted on staying here but I want you to think about something. The night of your mother’s accident you were badly hurt. You can’t be sure what you heard or saw. This life, it’s not good for you. Maybe if you had a shield-”
    The ringing of his cell phone stopped him from continuing. Giving me a look that suggested he was just getting started, he wiped his hands on a towel and walked into the rear of the house.