Demon Ex Machina: Tales of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom Read Online Free PDF Page B

curtains.
    “Hmm?” I said, my mind on Eric and secrets and the messiness of life in general.
    “Your house,” she said. “Someone’s home.”
    That got my attention. “No way,” I said. I glanced at the clock. “It hasn’t even been an hour.”
    She didn’t bother to respond, just stepped to the side, taking the curtain with her so that a triangle of window was revealed. Laura lives one street over, her house backing up to mine, with only a utility easement separating our two properties. From her kitchen window, she had a mostly unobstructed view of our back porch and living room. Our storage shed blocked her view of the kitchen, but at the moment, that didn’t matter. Because I saw it, too. The lights on downstairs. And the shadow moving within.
    “You’ll watch him a little longer?” I said, nodding toward Timmy, who’d been sacked out on the couch when I’d arrived, and hadn’t moved once during our entire conversation.
    “You’re going over there? Call Stuart. Hell, call the police.”
    I considered that plan for about ten seconds before dismissing it. “If Stuart’s home, I’ll know soon enough. If it’s a demon, I’m more qualified than the cops.”
    “And if it’s a plain, old-fashioned burglar?”
    “Then the odds are good I’ll scare him off,” I said.
    “And if not?”
    I lifted a shoulder. “I can handle myself.”
    “Jesus, Kate,” she said, but it didn’t matter, I already had her kitchen door open, and was slipping my jacket back on. The one with the stiletto conveniently hidden in the sleeve.
    “Grab the holy water out of my purse and toss it here,” I said. “Keys, too.”
    She frowned, but complied. “Promise me you won’t end up dead,” she said.
    I stepped over the threshold and onto her back stoop. “I promise,” I said. It was an oath I’d sworn innumerable times. So far, at least, I hadn’t broken my word.
    I figured that had to count for something.
     
     
    The house was shadow-free as I approached, and I began to wonder if Laura and I were simply being paranoid. Maybe a cloud had passed over the moon. Maybe headlights hitting the front of the house had transformed my wooden coatrack into a wraith.
    Or maybe I was engaging in some serious wishful thinking.
    Keeping my senses sharp, I moved toward my house. The lights had been on inside, but I knew that didn’t mean the outside was necessarily clear. My intruder could have a companion, and the last thing I wanted was to get jumped on the way to my own ambush. So despite my eagerness to figure out what was going on, I moved slowly and with precision. A good plan in general, actually, considering that the length and breadth of the Timmy-created path of destruction had transformed our yard into a veritable warzone, complete with tiny Timmy toy land mines.
    I eased my way around a pile of plastic soldiers, gently kicked aside an inflated beach ball, and skirted the empty dinosaur sandbox.
    I moved to my left, edging up against the side of our storage shed, then peered cautiously around the corner, half-expecting a demon to rush me. When none did, I let out a quick sigh and continued forward. I remembered our motion-sensing back-porch light too late, and sprang sideways as it flashed on, hoping it would flash immediately off before my uninvited guest noticed me.
    Stock-still in the shadows, I watched the house, frozen for longer than was comfortable until I was certain that I’d remained unnoticed.
    Then I edged around the front of the storage shed, my back only inches from the structure, staying clear of the light’s effective range until I reached the corner of the house.
    We have a picture window in the breakfast area that looks out over the backyard. That window had, in fact, been my re-entree into the world of demon hunting, and I found it ironic that I was now on the outside, hands and face pressed to the glass, as I peered inside, hoping to catch sight of a demon.
    And, yeah, I really did hope to see