The Demon Conspiracy

  ***

  With Angie home I felt a wave of hope. Maybe it was childish of me to believe that the mere presence of an adult would make the monsters go away, but right now it was all the hope I had. I was about to rush down the stairs until I looked below. From where we stood the foyer was pitch black.

  I checked my pace and began the slow terrifying descent toward the front door. I took it one wary step at a time, keeping the bat cocked and ready. Melissa followed, allowing enough distance between us to be able to swing our weapons.

  “It fell against the door,” said Melissa, pointing with the pipe. “Right there.”

  I nodded. “It’s too dark. I can’t see the floor.” When I reached the bottom step I heard the crunch of broken glass under my shoes. I poked cautiously at the shadowy area in front of the door. All I touched was hardwood floor. “It’s gone.” As an extra precaution I tapped the floor at the den entrance searching for the smaller demon the others had called Lipsludge. More hardwood. “They’re both gone.”

  “I guess demons don’t stay hurt for long.”

  “I guess.”

  “I don’t like the way those things can move in the dark. It’s not natural.”

  “Nothing about them is natural. Watch our backs. Don’t let ‘em outflank us.”

  As Melissa kept a wary eye on both the den and living room, I released the bolt lock and slowly opened the door. Once again moonlight flooded through the storm door into the foyer. Surprisingly, we were just in time to see Angie come up the steps carrying a bag of groceries and a box of drinks.

  Angie smiled when she saw the door open. “Thanks, Kelly. Why are the lights off? Are you two getting braver with the Ouija board?”

  I paid no attention to her. I was looking for the giant demon. I scanned the big oak tree as well as the rest of the front yard. Nothing.

  Angie noticed the weapons. “What’s wrong?”

  “The power went off.” I blocked Angie from getting inside.

  “Really?” Angie looked at the house next door. Dr. Parrish’s house was brightly lit up. “It’s not a neighborhood problem so it must be a circuit breaker. I’ll check on it. Can one of you take the drinks? My fingers are about to fall off.”

  Melissa took the twelve-pack of canned drinks and set them on the floor inside the door. I leaned forward and whispered to Angie. “They’re in the house. We need to get out of here as fast as we can. Get your keys ready.”

  Angie also lowered her voice. “What’s going on?”

  “We’ll tell you in the car,” I said it firmly, guiding Angie back off the porch.

  “We should go next door,” said Angie. “Mark and Matilda are there. Did someone break in?”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Melissa. “They’re in there all right.”

  Angie fiddled with her key chain and held up a tiny can of pepper spray. “Come on.” My confidence grew a little as we followed Angie off the porch. Pepper spray had been added to our meager arsenal of weapons. And now we had an adult with us.

  As soon as we reached the sidewalk that confidence was shut away by an overwhelming sense of dread. Somehow I understood what the giant creature behind the tree would do. I couldn’t see it anywhere, but apparently its job was to keep us in the house for the other demons to deal with. Certainly, it would try to do its job. In my mind I counted down. Three-two-one…

  A broad shadow obstructed the light almost like a switch had turned off the moon. I raised the bat. The creature was right on time. Demons could be predictable—something worth remembering. The freaky part was I’d been alert to its presence, even to the exact moment it would show up. Yet I still hadn’t gotten a glimpse of it before it was suddenly in front of us. How could something so huge appear out of nowhere?

  It moved around the tree and blocked our way to both the minivan and to Dr. Parrish’s house. Angie froze up when she saw it, swept by terror. She had never experienced anything like this before and wasn’t able to process it. At first she thought it must be some kind of wild animal. But when it became visible in the moonlight and stood up to its full height, she recognized its humanlike form—except for the hands. A palpable dread flooded Angie’s mind. I heard every confused and terrified thought.

  “Stay calm,” I said, not feeling calm at all. I would have screamed, but my vocal cords were twisted into knots of fear. I could barely speak. “We’d better go back in the house.”

  Angie and Melissa nodded. They returned to the front door with me. But this time the huge demon seemed to have a different agenda. It lumbered forward, great claws snapping. I saw it first.

  Duck! I sent the order directly into the minds of Melissa and Angie. The massive claw swept over us. At that instant we all dropped to our faces on the porch. But the creature was faster than it looked. It missed grabbing Angie by mere inches. The claw smashed through one of the front windows. Glass showered over us. Blinds and drapes were ripped from inside the house and dropped on the lawn. I crawled as fast as I could toward the storm door. I reached for the handle.

  “Look out!”

  Melissa had yelled it. I looked back. The other claw rushed at me like a small car. I rolled away from the entrance just as the claw smashed through the storm door. The beast tore the storm door off the house and tossed it aside like a toy. It focused on me. The demon’s eyes lit up with excitement. I thought I saw it smile.

  “It’s coming back!” Melissa scrambled for the doorknob.

  Angie cried out. “Oh my God!”

  I rose quickly, making for the door. But I stepped on shards of glass and slipped. I landed hard behind the wooden post that held up the porch roof. The demon had me trapped.

  “Yer mine!” Its voice was husky, deep. I thought it sounded hungry. The claw came in fast. I closed my eyes. I hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much to be crushed and eaten alive.

  TRAVIS

  Travis sat on his bedroll by the wall making sure everything was just right in case he and Mathew ever decided to go to sleep. Mathew’s bedroll was next to his with enough space between them for flashlights, food and drinks. They had plenty of everything, including extra batteries, a box of gram crackers, a bucket of popcorn, some twinkies, and a two-liter bottle of soda. He nodded with satisfaction at what might be the perfect set up.

  “What’dya think, Mathew?” said Travis. “Should we move everything under the window, or leave it here?”

  “This is good,” said Mathew. “I’m not gonna sleep anyway. I’m gonna stay up all night.”

  “That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Me too.” Travis shuddered with excitement. This was so cool! Here he was sleeping over with his best friend in Dr. Parrish’s house. The house didn’t have carpet or anything so it was kind of like indoor camping. Mathew was right, they weren’t ready for sleep yet. Heck no, Travis couldn’t sleep if he tried, he was way too excited. All kinds of things could happen.

  Crash! The sound of shattering glass tore through the night. Travis jumped to his feet, eyes wide with surprise. He and Mathew exchanged looks of alarm. Did Dr. Parrish or Granny break something downstairs? Then it happened again, only this time it was much more than just glass. Smash! Crunch! Boom! A moment later a desperate scream pierced the air.

  “Kelly!” cried Travis. “That came from my house!” Both boys ran to the window. To Travis it sounded like his whole house was being torn down. That scream was definitely Kelly. He pressed his face against the glass, but there was too much glare from the ceiling light in the room to see anything. Mathew ran to the door and turned off the light. Instantly the view outside was clear. Mathew returned to the window.

  “What is it?” said Mathew. “What happened?”

  “I dunno.” Travis scanned the area and saw the damage. “Omigosh!” His mouth dropped wide open when he realized what had happened to his home. The roof of the front porch was totally caved in and debris had been scattered all across the yard. It looked like a bomb had gone off near the house. Something moved beyond the porch behind the great oak tre
e. He pointed. “What’s that?”

  An obscure figure rose suddenly from the darkest shadows around the tree. It stood up on two legs, manlike, and was easily as tall as the second story windows. It appeared to have great lobster claws instead of hands.

  “It’s some kinda animal!” said Mathew. “It’s big!”

  “What’s going on up there?” said Granny from downstairs. “Are you boys okay?”

  Travis heard the heavy, fast moving footsteps of Granny and Dr. Parrish on the stairs. A moment later they burst into the room.

  “What happened?” said Parrish. “What broke?”

  “Next door!” said Travis, looking back at Granny. “There’s a big animal in the yard.”

  “Woh!” Mathew spun his head suddenly, his expression full of disbelief. “It moved around the side of the garage. Then it disappeared!” Sure enough, when Travis looked outside again nothing was there. His throat tightened with panic. Where were Kelly, Melissa and Angie?

  Parrish and Granny came up behind them. Granny spoke. “Show me.”

  “Right there.” Mathew pointed. “It went into those shadows. I can’t see it anymore, but it was huge!”

  “What happened to the roof?” said Granny. “What’s that on the ground by the tree? Is that a door?”

  “It’s the storm door,” said Parrish. “There’s curtains and some torn up window blinds. Is that the porch rail over by the road? We’d better get down there. Travis, you and Mathew stay in the house and call the police. Give ‘em my name if you have to, but get somebody here as fast as you can.”

  “Got it!” Mathew took out his cell phone and made the call to the police. Travis listened to Granny and Parrish talk on their way downstairs.

  “Where’s the ten pound sledgehammer?” said Granny.

  “In the dining room by the ladder,” said Parrish. “What are you going to do? Bash somebody’s head in?”

  “Crikey, Mark, I can’t shoot ‘em. I don’t have my gun.”

  Travis heard the rattle of Parrish’s tools from the first floor. The aluminum extension ladder flopped onto the hardwood with a metallic clang. He heard more footsteps until finally the front door slammed shut. The house became eerily silent.

  Mathew ended the call. “The police are on the way!”

  Travis kept his gaze glued to the house next door. Whatever was going on there sounded bad.

  Mathew stood with him, holding the phone up to the glass. “If we see that thing again, I’ll get a video of it.”

  Travis stared at his home in total disbelief. How could this be happening? Why would somebody tear their house apart? What was that thing they saw in the front yard?

  Like a slap in the face it all came back to him. Travis remembered that horrible day in the cave when those creatures had chased them. He grabbed Mathew by the shoulder.

  “It’s not an animal! It’s demons! They’ve come to get us just like they said they would!”

  33

  WE WANTS THE KELLY BISHOP

  KELLY

  I was trapped on the porch. The giant claw came at me too fast to get away. I closed my eyes and screamed.

  Suddenly, thunk! I heard the noise, but what? No pain? I opened my eyes. The creature’s claw was caught on a wooden column that held up the porch roof. This was my only chance to escape.

  “Kelly!”

  I snapped my head to the right. Melissa reached for me from the doorway. She and Angie had gotten inside the house! I stretched one hand toward Melissa. Then something made me take a quick look back. The lobster demon seemed confused by what had happened. But it squeezed its claw shut. The post broke like a dry twig. Out of anger and frustration the demon tore away the post and much of the rail. It tossed everything across the yard. Then it pounded both claws on the porch roof. I looked up as the roof came crashing down.

  At that instant Melissa grabbed my outstretched hand. She dragged me into the foyer on my belly. With everyone inside, Angie slammed the front door and locked it. A split second later the porch roof collapsed with a clamor that shook the entire house. The terrible demon abruptly stopped its rampage. The house became still. Moonlight flooded in through broken windows and shredded blinds.

  Melissa collapsed on the stairs in front of me, exhausted by terror. But Angie was too wound up and afraid to keep still. She repeatedly glanced toward the door as if she expected it to be ripped off its hinges at any moment.

  “Action beats fear,” she muttered to herself. “Action beats fear.” She grabbed Melissa’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “We gotta get outta here!”

  Melissa was nearly out of breath. “It…won’t come after us…in the house.” She shifted the pipe to her other hand. “It didn’t the first time.”

  “What won’t come after us in the house?” cried Angie. “What was that thing?” An unstable wildness gleamed in her eyes. She was scared half to death.

  I lay on the floor amidst fragments of glass from the broken chandelier. I was too upset to speak. I wanted to explain to Angie as much as I knew, but everything outside had happened so fast it still seemed like a blur. I could hardly believe I was alive. It took massive concentration for me to rise to my feet.

  Thanks, Melissa, I thought to my friend. Melissa looked me in the eye and nodded ever so slightly. Sadly, there was no reason to celebrate. We weren’t free of the demon menace. As far as I could tell the house was still crawling with the evil, hideous creatures. I scanned the dimness, searching for their glow-in-the-dark eyes. So far nothing.

  “Well?” Angie’s voice shook badly. She was on the verge of tears. “I want the truth this time.”

  “It’s the same thing we told you before,” I said. “That thing outside is a demon from Pandora’s Cave. If you don’t believe me now, then there’s no hope for you.”

  I watched as Angie groped for a means to understand what was happening. But instead of understanding, she returned to logic, which, for her was a good thing.

  She rushed to the phone table in the foyer and picked up the receiver. “It’s dead. My cell phone’s in the van. Look, girls, we need to call the police, before that beast rips my house apart. Who’s got a cell phone?”

  “Mine’s at school,” I said. “Sorry.”

  “Mine’s on the floor around here, some place.” Melissa and I renewed the search for the iPhone. Now that the curtains and blinds had been ripped out of the den window, we could see better. But the phone simply wasn’t there. Melissa was angry. “Those stupid demons had better not use up all my minutes.”

  “Listen, Angie,” I said, scanning the rooms. “There are more demons in the house. And they can hide in places you wouldn’t believe.”

  “In the house?” Angie jumped. She spun all about. “Like where?”

  At first I couldn’t answer her. Melissa pointed to an area of darkness in the den. “Like there.”

  I looked. Sure enough three yellow eyes stared back at us. I recognized the four-armed demon, Grund.

  “Give up, you worthless human trash!” said Grund. “We’re the demon death squad! You can’t win, so give us the Kelly Bishop!”

  “Yeah!” Another demon approached from the kitchen. With its seven red and gooey eyes this creature was different from the ones I’d already seen. I couldn’t make out many extra details in the dark, but I could tell it was man-sized and covered with long fur. “We want the Kelly Bishop!”

  My blood ran cold. The demons only wanted one thing—me!

  I had suspected it all along, but hearing it from their own mouths made it official. My fear became overpowering. I tried to swallow but couldn’t. My legs were so heavy I doubted I’d be able to run, even if it meant my life.

  In spite of my own situation I became intensely worried for Travis. Did they realize he was staying next door? Had they already taken him away? My spirits fell. The demons had us surrounded. The situation was hopeless. Reluctantly, I knew what I needed to do. I had to surrender and go with them. If I didn’t, they’d kill Angie and Melissa a
nd anyone else who got in the way.

  I was about to give up, when Angie winked at me. If I’d scanned Angie’s thoughts and known what she had planned, I would have stopped her immediately. But the wink caught me off guard. It brought back a brief and pleasant memory of my father winking at me, and me unable to wink back because I couldn’t close just one eye. I nearly said that aloud when Angie stepped up to Grund, face to face.

  “If you want the Kelly Bishop, you’ve come to the right place. I’m Kelly Bishop.” Angie pretended to be brave, though her voice shook.

  Grund smiled, his cold, white teeth glowing in the night. “Of course you are.”

  I was shocked. Angie was willing to sacrifice herself for a foster daughter she’d only known a few months? How dare her! “What are you doing? They came here for me!” I faced Grund in a panic. “She’s lying. I’m Kelly Bishop!”

  Grund’s yellow gaze darted back and forth between us. A look of confusion washed over his demon face. “Yer both lying scum! An’ you’ve changed yer name!” He pointed at me.

  “You’re right!” said Melissa, catching on. “They are lying scum. My name is Kelly Bishop!”

  Are you crazy? I shouted it inside Melissa’s mind. You’re my best friend but this is my problem!

  It’s our problem now, thought Melissa right back at me.

  I looked at Melissa and Angie. Were they insane? Didn’t they understand? These creatures weren’t playing games. The yellow demon already said it, they were a demon death squad! They intended to take us, or me, to the caves. They were going to eat us!

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move in the living room. I scanned the filtered darkness, searching. There, by the coffee table! It had two arms and two legs. That was good. Then I saw four red eyes. Not good. Whatever it was had two distinctly different faces, one on either side of its head and each face had two eyes. It stood so tall it had to hunker down to keep from bumping into the nine-foot ceiling. Good God! How many of those nasty things had come here?

  All at once I felt incredibly foolish. I had very nearly given up and turned myself over to the demons. Was I insane? Since when had the word failure become part of my vocabulary? Jon would have a few things to say about that, if he were here. He would never consider surrender. No, the only thing Jon would worry about was how many demons he could destroy before they got away. Where was he right now?

  My feelings of hopelessness scattered like smoke in a breeze. There had to be another way out of this. There simply had to be! There was always an alternative.

  My gaze went to the top of the stairs, which was the only path of escape the demons had allowed us. So why was that? What was their plan once they herded the humans upstairs?

  I felt my shoe bump against something on the floor. I looked down and saw the box of canned sodas. I got an idea.

  “Which girl is it, eh?” The bulky demon in the living room spoke with a ridiculously high-pitched voice. “How do we know who ta grab?”

  “Les takem all,” said Grund, rubbing his scaly chin with one of his four hands.

  “We got strict orders,” said the demon with seven red eyes. “We only take the Kelly Bishop.”

  “But they already seen us! They’ll tell!”

  “Who’d believe ‘em?” said Seven-eyes. “And who cares? We’re Demon Nation!”

  “Demon Nation,” said the others in unison.

  They spoke among themselves, discussing which of us to take to the caves. I reached down and opened the box of sodas. I removed two cans and passed them over to Angie and Melissa. I got one more for myself and left the box on the floor.

  “Follow my lead.” I whispered just loud enough for Melissa and Angie to hear. I suddenly laughed out loud. Melissa laughed along with me, but Angie could only force a smile.

  “Demons are so dumb!” I said, pointing directly at Grund. Grund frowned back. I heard his teeth grinding in anger. “I can’t believe they fell for our plan, but here they are, trapped in our house. Good plan, Kelly.”

  I said it to Melissa, who responded appropriately. “Thank you, Kelly. I told you they’d fall for it. Like you said, demons are dumb!”

  I spoke to Angie next. “Now that you brought us the secret weapons, Kelly, I think it’s time to use them. Don’t you?”

  “Uh, well, of course,” said Angie, trying to catch on. “I mean you told me the demons would come here tonight, so of course I got the secret weapons.”

  Melissa chimed in. “You demons thought you surprised us, didn’t you? Ha! We’ve been waiting for you. We’ve got you right where we want you.”

  “Yep,” said Angie. She had the basic idea now. “Right where we want you.”

  Grund’s look of confidence slowly faded as he considered what we were saying. I couldn’t read his mind but his face was like an open book. Could the humans be telling the truth this time? Could it really be a trap?

  I vigorously shook my can of soda. Melissa and Angie did the same. “Demon repellent!” I said. “It gets in your eyes and eats away your eyeballs!” I smiled confidently as if my story were absolutely true.

  Grund exchanged a worried glance with Seven-eyes. The demon in the living room scratched its head. I nodded to the others and pulled the tab on my can.

  “Now!” I aimed the soda can straight at the faces of the big demon in the living room. Melissa and Angie did the same with Grund and Seven-Eyes. The spray from the cans showered all three demons as they covered their eyes and screamed horribly.

  We tossed the cans and raced up the stairs. As expected, it was a trap. Lipsludge and Tentacles were in the second floor hallway waiting for us. Angie shrieked when she saw them. But I had my own plan. I pointed to the window.

  “Go!”

  Melissa didn’t argue. She rolled over the windowsill and out onto the roof. A moment later Angie practically dove through the window. I remained behind. I raised the bat, ready for a fight.

  Lipsludge spat orders to his cohorts downstairs. “Gets up here, you foul slime!”

  The demons below screamed and ran about the house. They crashed into walls and knocked over furniture. Another window smashed.

  “She blinded us! With demon repellent!” It was Grund.

  Lipsludge threw up his hands. “Morons! Der ain’ts no such thing as demon repellent!”

  “There ain’t?” The demons stopped wailing. They came to the foot of the stairs and blinked up at me. In an instant their expressions changed from fearful to homicidal. They charged straight for me.

  I ducked through the window and took up a position beside Melissa. We were both ready for battle. We had no choice. Angie stood beside us. She aimed the pepper spray.

  Tentacles tried to climb after us first, but Melissa cracked him in the head with the steel pipe. Tentacles screeched and fell back inside the house. Next came Lipsludge. Angie blasted him in the face with the pepper spray. Lipsludge froze partly in the window. He screamed and rubbed his eyes.

  “It burns!”

  Grund shoved the smaller demon aside and crawled onto the roof. I swung the bat hard. Whoosh! Grund ducked. I missed by a mile. His quickness surprised me. I swung again. Whoosh! Nothing but air! I kept swinging, again and again. Grund dodged to the side. He leaned back. He retreated to the peak of the roof. The more I tried to hit him the more he got out of the way. Then, unexpectedly, he stumbled and fell over backwards. Before he could find a handhold, he dropped off the roof into the back yard. Thump!

  I grinned at Melissa and Angie and leaned on the bat, out of breath.

  Melissa got excited. “Who’s next?” She waved the pipe like a madwoman. I’d seen that insane expression the day we encountered Manson Stanfield in the school restroom. “Come on! You’re not afraid of a human, are ya?”

  The answer to her question came quickly. Seven-Eyes crashed through the window like a wrecking ball. Melissa jumped back. Just before it landed she took a wild swing. The pipe struck the furry beast in the shoulder. Seven-Eyes lost his balance and landed l
ike a ton of bricks on the concrete driveway below. But Melissa lost her grip on the pipe. It flew out of her hands and disappeared in the night.

  “Yes!” I said. I exchanged a high-five with Melissa before we noticed the three other demons had gotten onto the roof. The creatures stood confidently just a few feet away, victory grins plastered across their hideous faces.

  “We wants da Kelly Bishop,” said Lipsludge, waving his fist. “We gets her an’ we goes. Gives us the Kelly Bishop!”

  “Go to hell!” Angie used her most defiant voice.

  “Beens there, dones that,” said Lipsludge matter-of-factly. He let out a shrill whistle. “Klawfinger! Now!”

  Suddenly the giant lobster demon rose from behind us on the side of the house. It grabbed Angie with one giant claw and raised her high into the air.

  “Got ‘er!” said the huge demon proudly.

  “No!” shouted Lipsludge. “Not her! Gets the little ones! We wants da little ones!”

  Klawfinger dropped Angie like a rag doll. I watched in horror as my foster mother bounced off the edge of the roof and disappeared over the side.

  “Angie!” I had no time to grieve. Tentacles and the Two-Faced demon came at us from the front. Klawfinger’s great claws swept in from behind. We were trapped.

  There’s always another way! I tossed the baseball bat at Tentacles and took Melissa’s hand.

  “Come with me!” We both ran down the slope and leaped off the roof.

  34

  SOMEONE ELSE’S NAME

  KURT

  Kurt Lazarus squirmed out from under the dirty laundry pile, desperate to stretch his legs again. But when he stood inside the cramped hall closet, a shelf jabbed him in the back. He stumbled against the door and accidentally stepped on Donnivee’s hand.

  “Ow!” she cried.

  “Be quiet!”

  “Help me up, Kurt.”

  “Stay where you are. I’ll check the hall.”

  “But, Kurt…”

  “Shhh! Don’t move!” Kurt pressed his ear against the closet door and listened. It was quiet now, but just a few minutes ago, man! Did he pick the wrong house to break into, or what? This place was crazy! Somebody hated these people even more than Donnivee, if that was possible. For the last half hour it sounded like he was in the middle of a war zone, but the battle had moved outside. He pulled the grotesque monster mask over his head and slowly opened the closet door. The mask made him sweat, but there was no use giving anyone who might still be around a free peek at his real face—not without a fight, anyway. He cautiously stepped into the empty hallway.

  The first thing he noticed was the window at the top of the stairs—it wasn’t there anymore. Just a big open hole with broken glass and scraps of wood all over the place. That explained one of the many crashes they’d heard, but not the big one. The big one had felt more like an explosion or an earthquake. The whole house had shook.

  Kurt knew they had to move fast. If the fighting came back inside he’d be right in the middle of it. And if the cops showed up and caught him he’d be dead. No more juvie for Kurt Lazarus. Nope, he’d be hanging with the big boys in the state pen. Nobody his age wanted to be locked in a cage with those guys. He’d be fresh meat. Kurt shuddered. He’d rather die than go to prison. If he could just get out of here alive he might consider ending his life of crime.

  When he turned to go back to get Donnivee she was standing right behind him. He bumped into her before he saw her. He jumped in surprise.

  “Ahh! Dammit, Donnivee! I told you to stay in the closet.”

  “I’m stayin’ with you. Did you hear what Kelly told those guys? She told them she was me!” She spoke in a low voice, but not low enough for Kurt.

  “Get your mask and be quiet! We’re not outta here yet.”

  He watched, as Donnivee returned to the closet, retrieved her mask, and put it on. They both still wore the latex monster hands, but Kurt was used to them by now, and hardly realized he had them on.

  “You heard her, Kurt.” Donnivee went on as if she really had his attention. “She tried to get me in trouble just to save her own scrawny butt! What’d I ever do to her?”

  Kurt turned in surprise. Was she kidding? Did she want him to make a list? He decided not to go there. Instead he clamped a hand over her mouth, and made threatening eye contact through the masks. “Shut up.” That time she listened.

  Kurt led them downstairs and was shocked at what he saw. Windows and blinds broken, curtains shredded, holes in the walls, pieces of glass and destroyed furniture everywhere. At the bottom of the stairs, he stepped on something, and slipped. He caught himself on the stair rail.

  “Whoa! Nice catch.” He reached down, and found a cell phone, mostly hidden in some kind of black goo. “Hey-hey, look at this! Wonder whose it is?” He held it up for Donnivee to see, but she was too afraid to care. Using her shirt like a rag, he wiped the phone clean, then slipped it into his pocket.

  “What was that?” she asked. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing. Come on.” Kurt practically sprinted to the back. He slid open the glass door and stepped onto the deck. He took in a deep breath of the cool night air. Man, did it feel good to be outside again. Donnivee closed the door behind them.

  “Manson ran out on us!” she said, a little too loud. “I’m gonna kick her tail, too!”

  “It’s a good thing she ran,” said Kurt. “She’d be extra baggage. She did the smart thing just like we’re gonna do. But first we gotta find out what’s happenin’ out front.” They left the deck and followed along the rear of the house. The back was very dark, except for a flickering, orange glow on the trees at the perimeter of the yard. It was so dark, in fact, Kurt couldn’t see Donnivee right beside him.

  All at once a piercing shriek filled the air. Kurt dropped to the ground and crawled under a large shrub. A glacial chill touched his spine. He’d never heard such a terrible sound in his life. What the hell was it? Donnivee moved in beside him under the bush.

  “What was that?” she asked, as shaken as he was. “It wasn’t human!”

  “Keep your mouth shut, all right? You’re gonna get us caught.”

  They heard cries and shouts from the front of the house, but none of it made any sense. Kurt was worried. They weren’t safe hiding under a bush and one thing was for sure…the fight wasn’t over.

  He got back to his feet and crept to the end of the house. Donnivee stayed right with him. “There’s a fire in the front yard,” he said in a low voice, peeking by the corner. “I can’t see what’s burnin’ unless I go around.”

  Donnivee nodded and pressed close to him. All at once a chorus of shrill, frantic howls pierced the night. It was a mournful sound, like a host of tortured souls screaming in agony. Kurt swallowed hard. For the first time in his life he believed in monsters. He looked down at Donnivee, unable to hide his fear. Then he remembered she couldn’t see his face behind the mask. Good thing.

  If he ran now he’d be home in an hour and nobody would realize he’d ever been there. Every instinct in every bone in his body told him to take off. But he also knew if he ran, Donnivee couldn’t keep up with him, and if she got caught the cops would eventually nail him, too. They’d offer her some kind of deal because of her age and he’d get screwed. No, somehow they both had to get out of there and it’d be a whole lot easier if nobody saw them. He leaned around the corner to get another look.

  The landscaping on that side of the house included some tall, thick boxwoods. Beyond those he could see flames and moving shadows. But he still couldn’t see where the fighting was because of the bushes and a decorative flagpole centered in the flowerbed. The pole was about his height and the flag blocked much of his view. He wanted to rip it out of the ground and toss it into the fire.

  Suddenly, Kurt got the feeling they weren’t alone. He looked behind them but saw nothing in the darkness. “Put your mask on,” he said to Donnivee. “In case somebody sees us.”

  Unlike before Donnivee didn??
?t ask questions, she just did what he told her and pulled on the mask. At this point Kurt could almost smell her fear. He took her arm and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Nobody’s gonna know we were here except you, me and Manson.”

  Her tension eased a little. He could tell because she hugged him from behind.

  He only felt safe for a moment. He got the sensation again, only this time it was more like he was being watched. He turned quickly. Nothing. But the feeling festered inside him like spoiled mayonnaise. Somebody was close. Real close. He could almost feel their warm breath. He scanned the area again, but darkness was darkness.

  Then a few feet away, a set of sickly yellow eyes blinked open. Three of them. Except for the color and the number they seemed to be real. The other weird thing about them was the way they glowed in the dark. Kurt was impressed. Whoever it was had on a helluva costume! But why would anybody other than a thief be wearing a costume tonight?

  “Who are you?” came the gruff order from the stranger in the dark.

  Donnivee let out a tiny cry. Kurt leaned over to her. He whispered softly, “Use someone else’s name.”

  Right away her eyes lit up under the mask. She had an idea.

  “I’m Spider Dedmon,” said Kurt as bravely as he could. Good thing he had on the mask. If the guy could see his face he’d know he was lying.

  Donnivee spoke boldly to the stranger. “I’m Kelly Bishop. I live here.” The guy didn’t seem to care about Spider Dedmon’s name, but when he heard Donnivee speak he got very excited.

  “Yer the Kelly Bishop?” He must have been a foreigner. His husky voice had some kind of accent.

  “That’s me.”

  “But you’re demon kind.”

  “What?” Donnivee was clearly confused by what he meant.

  Kurt thought he understood. He whispered to her again. “It’s your mask. He’s got one on, too. He must be one of those fantasy role-playing freaks. Play along.”

  Donnivee nodded at the stranger. “Yeah, sure, I’m demon kind. Aren’t we all? Look, I’m Kelly Bishop, okay? I’m the real deal. You can tell everybody I broke the windows in this house and I tore up the furniture, too. I hate my foster parents and most of all I hate Melissa Godwin.”

  Kurt knew she was enjoying this. Donnivee would have fun doing anything that got Kelly in trouble.

  The guy clapped his hands in the dark. It sounded like more than one person clapping. “Good fer me!” All at once he leaned forward and scooped up Donnivee with one hand. He tossed her over his shoulder and strutted off. Kurt looked on in disbelief.

  “Hey, buddy! She’s mine!”

  “I finded her. Beat it! Or th’ Boss ‘ll put you in th’ soup!” The stranger shoved Kurt into the wall and went on his way. Kurt lost his balance, but caught himself on a bush. What’d he say? Boss? Soup? What the hell was that fruitcake even talking about?

  “Stop!” cried Donnivee. “Kurt! Stop him!” The figure clamped a hand over her mouth. Her cries were muffled as they disappeared around the corner.

  Kurt’s anger overcame his sense of self-preservation. He’d had enough. He wasn’t going to let some clown just walk up and take his girl like that. Hell, she was only thirteen. What was this guy anyway? A pedophile?

  Kurt followed them around the house, pulling up the flagpole along the way. Maybe he’d just crack the guy in the skull with the flagpole and kick in his ribs while he’s down. Or better yet, he could spear him in the back. That would teach him for sure. A swarm of vengeful possibilities flashed through Kurt’s mind as he came up behind the stranger.

  At the front of the house he could see the guy clearly in the firelight. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. The guy held Donnivee over his shoulder with two well-muscled arms. A third arm kept its hand clamped firmly over her mouth. And the fourth arm swung freely as he moved. Kurt stared in disbelief. Four arms? Helluva costume!

  “Four arms or not,” said Kurt aloud. “Nobody steals my girl until I’m done with her!” With that he raised the flagpole like a javelin and charged after them.

  35

  LADDER TROUBLE

  TRAVIS

  The towering lobster demon took hold of Angie with one claw and raised her high into the air. Travis looked on from the third-story window in Parrish’s house, wide-eyed and helpless. Though his heart jumped, the rest of him remained paralyzed with a terrible awe. That creature was going to crush Angie in half. It would crush her and probably eat her. All Travis could do was stand there and watch it happen.

  “No! Not Angie. Not my mom!” Travis’ eyes bulged in all-out panic. He turned to Mathew, who promptly shut off the cell phone video recorder. Travis knew Mathew had made a video of everything they’d seen from the window so far. But he wouldn’t record something as gruesome as that.

  Travis looked back at Angie. At that very moment the demon released her. She dropped fast, landing face-first on the roof. The force of the impact bounced her over the edge.

  “Angie!”

  Travis lost sight of her somewhere between the demon’s massive body and the house.

  He was on the verge of tears, when Mathew pointed. “There she is!”

  The lobster demon moved with purpose to the front of the house. It left Angie behind, clinging helplessly to the edge of the roof. Twenty feet below her was the concrete sidewalk. It looked like she was losing her grip.

  Travis freaked. “Come on!”

  “What’re we gonna do?”

  “I dunno!”

  Travis sprinted downstairs with Mathew right on his heels. When he got to the living room he saw the extension ladder on the floor. “Ladder!”

  Travis grabbed one end and Mathew took the other. Without any discussion Travis led them out the front door and off the porch.

  As they hustled across the grass toward the McCormicks’ house, Dr. Parrish blew past them going the other way. His face was all scrunched up and his eyes were crazy with fear. The big man stomped across the porch and made it into the house without saying a word.

  Travis and Mathew got to Angie and laid the ladder on the ground. “Hang on, Angie!” shouted Travis. “We got a ladder!”

  Angie dangled by her fingertips with her head bowed. It seemed like she might be in a lot of pain. She tried to answer, but her voice was just above a whisper. She spoke in short spasms.

  “Can’t…hold…”

  Travis placed his end of the ladder on the ground and ran to help Mathew.

  “Other end!” cried Mathew, pointing. Travis looked. He was right. The ladder was upside down! They hastily reversed ends and struggled to lift the ladder against the wall.

  “It’s heavy,” said Mathew straining against the weight.

  “It’s cuz we’re little,” said Travis back to him. He gritted his teeth as he wrestled with the heavy object. “We can do this!”

  “We have to!” said Mathew.

  Travis fought with every ounce of strength he could muster. His foot slipped. The ladder dropped a little. He regained his foothold and kept pushing. Beside him Mathew yelled a fierce cry of power. The ladder went up. At last the top end fell against the house.

  “It’s right beside you!” said Travis excitedly. “Can you get on it?”

  “Be careful,” said Mathew.

  Travis watched breathlessly. Angie swung a leg onto the nearest ladder rung. Slowly she shifted the full weight of her body from the roof to the ladder. It took many long seconds for her to complete the move. When she finally stood on the ladder Travis felt a huge surge of relief. She made it! But then something happened to her. He wasn’t sure what, but he immediately sensed it when her emotions just stopped flowing. Had she lost consciousness? All at once her hands let go and her feet slipped. She fell quickly.

  Her legs dropped between rungs as she flipped over backwards, falling headfirst. Her knees hooked on a rung and jerked her to a halt. The ladder shuddered violently. Angie hung upside down, arms dangling. The uneven force of her weight shift caused the ladder to slowly tilt t
o the left. The whole thing started to slide down the wall.

  Travis gawked. Somebody had to do something and it had to be now!

  He leaped onto the ladder and climbed up several rungs as fast as he could. He leaned his full body weight away from the direction of the fall. The ladder slowed, but continued its descent. Travis looked down in desperation. He needed more weight.

  Below him Mathew must have seen the problem. He immediately scrambled up the ladder just under Travis and held on to a lower rung. Both boys stretched their bodies outward away from the ladder’s center of gravity. The ladder teetered dangerously on one leg. If it moved another inch they’d all crash onto the sidewalk. Angie moaned from her upside down position.

  “Go up!” said Mathew with white-knuckled effort.

  Travis understood. It was sort of like a seesaw. He went up another step. Then another. The ladder shifted. It slid across the wall and straightened up. When both legs were back on the ground, Mathew jumped off and did his best to hold it firmly in place. Travis moved to the center of the ladder and held on tight. He glanced down at his friend.

  “Thanks,” said Travis, trembling with fear.

  “No problem,” said Mathew back to him. “Better hurry. What can I do?”

  “I don’t even know what I can do.”

  “See if she’s okay.”

  Travis nodded and crept up to Angie very slowly. She seemed completely gone, until he spoke to her, almost in her face. Her eyes blinked open.

  “Travis? Why are you…upside down?”

  “It’s you, not me,” he said, lifting her head to show her what had happened. “Can you pull yourself up? Like doin’ a situp?”

  “Sure.” She tried. Her effort lasted barely a second. She shrieked. “Ohhh…my ribs!”

  Travis had to think fast. They couldn’t stay on the ladder all night. “I’ll lift you.” He ducked his head under her back and climbed up another rung. With her back supported by his shoulder all she needed now was a light shove. Travis pushed her up. Angie groaned in agony when she reached out and pulled herself into a sitting position on the same step that had caught her legs. It took her a while to untangle, but a few minutes later she was safely on the ground.

  “Thanks for saving my life, boys,” she said, collapsing on the sidewalk beside the house. She grimaced every time she breathed. “I’d hug you both, but it hurts too much.”

  “It’s okay, Ms. Angie,” said Mathew. “And don’t worry, we called the police. They’ll be here any minute.”

  “Where’s Kelly and Melissa? Are they all right?”

  Travis looked up suddenly. During their efforts to help Angie he’d forgotten all about Kelly. He didn’t know where she was. Melissa either. He wasn’t even sure if they were still alive until he heard their screams from the front yard.

  36

  KLAWFINGER

  KELLY

  I took Melissa’s hand and ran down the roof. Together we leaped from the house, arms and legs flailing for balance. I held my breath against the flutters in my stomach.

  Thump-thump!

  We landed on top of the minivan, one behind the other. The van rocked. The metal roof sagged. I collapsed in a heap on top of the van. Melissa fell off the side. Luckily she caught the luggage rack as she rolled. Somehow it twisted her around. She landed in the driveway on her feet.

  She blinked up at me, eyes wild. “Oh-my-gosh! That was so cool!”

  I stood up on the van. “You’re crazy! We need a plan!”

  “What kinda plan?”

  Before I could respond something rattled overhead. I looked up. Lipsludge stood in the gutter on the roof just a few feet above me. He waved his gnarly hands.

  “There! Gets the little ones!” He pointed directly at me.

  I choked as everything happened at once.

  “Run, Kelly!” It was Granny.

  Granny and Parrish raced toward us from the house next door. Granny lugged a heavy sledgehammer. Parrish carried a much smaller hammer, like the kind used with ordinary nails. They both looked ready for a fight.

  Suddenly, Parrish froze midstride. His gaze locked on something over his head beside the garage. A moment later the lobster demon lumbered from that direction into the front yard. Granny dove out of its way to avoid getting stepped on. The demon spied Melissa and me. Its eyes lit up with excitement, smiling again.

  My mouth went dry. Should we get inside the van? Should we split up and run in different directions? I tried to form a plan—but my mind froze.

  “Run!” Granny practically screamed it.

  Forget the plan! I jumped off the van. I landed and took off in a full sprint. There was only one plan. We had to make it to the far end of the house. It was our only hope. If we could just get around the corner somehow we could…we could…we could do what? I had no idea what came next. All I could do was run.

  Melissa stayed with me, step for step. We’d nearly made it when I glanced back.

  Apparently the lobster demon never noticed the minivan. It caught one foot on it and kicked it so hard the windows exploded. A glassy spray flew out in all directions. The van flipped over on its side. The demon fell forward and struck the ground with tremendous force. It slid on its belly across the dry grass. But it landed very close to us. In a single, quick move it reached out and snagged us both, one in each claw.

  “Gotcha!” Its voice made a heavy, diesel sound.

  I struggled against the force of the rock-hard claw. I struck it with both fists in an effort to break loose. All I got were sore knuckles. I wasn’t getting away. This was it. I’d be killed by a demon from Pandora’s Cave. Sadly, my best friend would die with me. I wanted to apologize to Melissa for getting her involved in this mess. I also wanted to thank Granny just for being our granny when no one else wanted the job. Most of all I wanted to scream in terror. But to do any of that I needed air and the demon’s grip was very snug.

  Snug, yes, I realized. But it didn’t cut me in two like the post on the front porch. In fact it didn’t really hurt. If killing us was the plan then we should have been torn to pieces by now. No. For some reason the demons wanted us alive.

  The lobster demon rose to its full height. It celebrated by lifting us high in the air and pumping us up and down. “Yes!” It was very excited. My mind rocked with confusion. On the one point I wanted to get free. But at the same time I was afraid the demon might drop us.

  Granny stopped before the great creature, clearly unsure what to do about it. But Parrish was quicker. He looked from his tiny hammer to the gigantic demon and back at the hammer. I heard his next thought clearly.

  Size does matter! Parrish tossed the hammer and sprinted full speed back to his own house. Granny never noticed he was gone until he’d already disappeared inside.

  “Mark?” Granny spun about searching for Dr. Parrish. She raised her voice. “Mark, no! They need us!” Granny took a deep breath and drew the heavy sledgehammer over her head. “Crikey. I never did have sense enough to back out of a fight. Put down my granddaughter!”

  Granny slammed the sledgehammer as hard as she could onto the lobster demon’s foot. The business end of the hammer crushed through the flesh. The demon’s eyes bulged. It reared back its ugly head and let loose a wicked, ailing howl. My flesh went cold. I’d never heard anything so tortured and frightening in my life.

  The demon staggered in pain. It stumbled against the house and smashed an elbow through the second story window in Travis’ bedroom.

  “Ya gots ‘em, Klawfinger!” said Lipsludge. “Good work! Now gets to the tunnel!” The small demon squirmed over the edge of the roof and slid down the downspout. He dropped onto the pile of rubble that used to be the front porch.

  Tunnel? What tunnel? I looked to the end of the cul-de-sac. The only thing that resembled a tunnel was a drainage pipe that went under the road. It certainly didn’t have enough headroom for a twenty-foot tall lobster demon to pass through. Did they have another tunnel?

  The lobster demon
didn’t head for any tunnel. Instead of following orders Klawfinger went after Granny. The big demon wanted revenge. Granny ran for her life.

  Klawfinger raised its right claw, the one that held Melissa. The roller coaster look on Melissa’s face told it all—she was frightened half to death. The claw swept across the lawn straight at Granny. Granny hit the ground, face-first. The claw whisked by her, just missing.

  But the demon was quick. Before Granny could get up it brought the lethal claw straight down at her. Granny barely saw it coming. She dropped the sledgehammer and rolled out of the way.

  WHUMP!

  The blow missed Granny by inches. The claw pounded a shallow hole in the front lawn.

  “Ooof!” It was Melissa. I looked up in alarm. The fear was gone from Melissa’s face. In fact she appeared to be unconscious, or worse. Her eyelids were slack. Her body flopped limply in Klawfinger’s grip.

  “Don’t move, Matilda!”

  I heard the familiar voice and looked up. Parrish. He’d come back! I saw him running across the lawn with a five-gallon can on one shoulder. What was in the can?

  “Kerosene!” cried Parrish, as if he’d heard my thoughts. He caught up with the tall demon and began pouring kerosene all over its feet and legs as high as he could reach. The demon didn’t appear to even notice him at first.

  “I…don’t know what’s going…to happen…girls,” said Parrish, about to drop from exhaustion. “But be…ready!”

  Soon enough he’d soaked the demon and much of the ground around it. He tossed the can in the direction of the cul-de-sac to get it clear of the house. I saw a ribbon of fuel leak out of the can as it bounced across the yard. Next Parrish took out a book of matches. He lit a match and dropped it onto one of Klawfinger’s soaked feet. Flames shot up in an instant. A trail of fire swept across the yard. It raced toward the empty kerosene can.

  Parrish ducked when he saw it. A second later the can exploded in a fireball. The giant demon stopped trying to squash Granny and looked down. Its legs and the ground around it were completely enveloped in flames.

  Tentacles and the two-faced demon leaped out of a broken window and met Lipsludge near the front door. The demon with seven eyes appeared from a dark shadow and joined them. The demons all stared at the fire like it was something they’d never seen before.

  Scorching flames raced up the lobster demon’s legs above the knees. Dr. Parrish jumped back and shook his fist at the demon.

  “Ha!” he said triumphantly.

  Granny joined him, again holding the sledgehammer. She smiled at the sight. “Be ready to run, girls!” she said.

  “It’s fire!” cried Lipsludge, mesmerized.

  “Yeah,” said Klawfinger in his deep voice without emotion. “I’m burning.”

  My eyes were wide as saucers as the flames rose toward us. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. What would happen next? Would the huge demon use me and Melissa to beat out the fire? Or would we simply burn up while trapped in its claws?

  All at once the demons began to howl. It sounded like a tainted mix of hungry wolves, colicky babies, and long fingernails dragged over a chalkboard. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. A moment later Klawfinger tossed both of us aside like potato sacks. Melissa plopped onto the large boxwood at the end of the house.

  She moaned and looked up in a daze. “What happened?”

  “Tell you later!” Parrish quickly lifted her into his arms and hauled her away.

  I landed on my hands and knees in the grass at the edge of the fire. I was so surprised to be free I couldn’t believe it. I started to get to my feet when Granny tucked me under one arm like a football and followed Parrish to the garage end of the house. We ducked around the corner and nearly bumped into Angie and the boys.

  “Do you believe in demons now, Dr. Parrish?” asked Travis.

  “Travis, you’ve got my full attention,” said Parrish, as he set Melissa down. “I never should have doubted you and Kelly. I never will again.”

  Granny kept a close eye on what was happening out front. “I guess demons don’t like fire,” she said. Her expression abruptly changed. “Well, I’ll be stonkered! Look!”

  “What?” We crowded behind her at the corner. Everyone wanted to see.

  That stupid Klawfinger had sat down in the middle of the flames. He rubbed burning kerosene over himself with those great claw hands. Patches of fire burned all over his body. Instead of suffering and burning, according to plan, he giggled at the feel of the scorching heat. The other demons dove headfirst into the flames. It quickly became a regular demon pool party, but with fire instead of water.

  The four-armed demon, Grund, rounded the far corner of the house in a panic. He carried what looked like a much smaller, wriggling demon over his shoulder. His excitement showed when he saw the fire, until sirens sounded in the distance.

  “Police!” cried Travis. “Now we’ll get ‘em!”

  When Grund heard the sirens he seemed to sober up on the spot. He pointed in the direction of the sound with his free hand. “Don’tcha see who’s comin’? We gotta move out!”

  It took a while for Lipsludge to regain his composure. Apparently, the fire felt just too good. He looked up slowly. “Yeah! Gets movin’ you blokes! Moves it, moves it, moves it! Klawfinger, ya droppsd the girls!”

  Klawfinger looked around for Melissa and me, but didn’t see either of us. The giant demon shrugged, looking embarrassed.

  “Don’t worry about ‘em!” said Grund. “I got the real Kelly Bishop right here! She confessed…after I tortured her of course!”

  The hairy demon gave Grund a high five. “I like torturing humans. I like to stick pins through ‘em an watch ‘em wriggle, ya know?”

  “Shuddsup, ya morons!” said Lipsludge. “Runs fer the tunnel!”

  The demons set off at a fantastic pace. From behind the house another demon appeared, one I hadn’t seen yet. It had a thin, human looking body with a huge head and long, skinny fingers. The skinny demon waved a pole with a flag on it as it chased after the others.

  “Come back here!” cried the skinny demon. “Bring her back! She’s mine!”

  By the time two police squad cars skidded to a halt in front of the house, the demons had vanished into darkness beyond the cul-de-sac. The cops searched the entire area, but all they found were footprints and splotches of oily black goo. They never found any other trace of the demons or the mystery tunnel, either. I wasn’t surprised. After all, the night belonged to them.

  37

  DEMON PROOFING

  KELLY

  “Demon infestation? We get that sort of thing all the time in the mountain states. Not so much in your part of the country, though.” The male voice that came through the speaker on Angie’s cell phone had a pleasant Midwest twang and sounded sincere.

  I was dumbfounded. No way! The insurance company actually had a name for it? I tried to read the man’s thoughts to be sure he wasn’t kidding, but my telepathy didn’t work over the phone.

  “Are you serious?” said Angie to the man. I scanned her mind. Angie wasn’t as concerned about getting repair money for the house, as she was timidly hopeful that somebody else in the world had encountered demons, too. It was important for her to know that we weren’t alone. “You’ve heard about this kind of thing before?”

  The agent’s friendly attitude instantly changed. “Lady, do you think I’m an idiot? I mean you’re trying to make a claim based on demonic destruction! That’s the lamest scam I’ve ever heard. Even if it were true we don’t cover demon damage. Read your policy! You’re lucky I don’t report you to the police.” He hung up.

  Angie put away her cell phone. “Jerk. Guess I should have lied and said it was vandals.”

  It was the morning after the attack. Angie and I were on our way back home after spending what was left of the previous night at the Thrifty-Nifty Motel. We’d gone to the motel because I’d absolutely refused to stay anywhere near the house, even after police had arrived. My r
easoning was simple—what if the demons came back?

  “I won’t argue with that kind of logic,” said Angie with an understanding nod. “We’ll pack a few things and take Melissa home on the way.” Angie had insisted that everyone go with them, especially Travis and Mathew. But the boys had begged her to let them finish out the night with Parrish and Granny at Dr. Parrish’s house. They weren’t afraid at all!

  What’s wrong with them? I wondered. Don’t they realize what everyone has just gone through?

  “You said it yourself, Angie,” said Travis convincingly. “The demons weren’t lookin’ for boys.”

  “That’s right,” said Mathew, backing him up. “They only wanted Kelly.”

  “But if anything happened to you,” said Angie. “Well, I just think you should come with us. Mom?”

  I gasped. It was the only time I’d ever heard Angie use the M-word with Granny. But Granny didn’t view danger the way most people did and she completely missed or ignored Angie’s subtle hint for support.

  “The cops’ll be here all night,” said Granny matter-of-factly. “You go ahead and get some sleep. We’ll keep the lads safe.”

  With what had just happened nobody could doubt Granny’s courage and devotion to “keeping the lads safe.” Not after she’d single-handedly taken on a giant lobster demon with a sledgehammer. So Angie let them stay. She’d packed an overnight bag for two, then rushed off in the Mustang with us before another demon attack could occur. I breathed a sigh of relief in the back seat with Melissa. For a change it was good to be away from home.

  Before searching for a motel, we dropped Melissa off at her house. Angie told her parents we’d lost power, which was certainly true enough, and it was a good enough reason to bring her home. They didn’t suspect anything unusual had happened and we didn’t drop any hints.

  By the time we left the motel the next morning, Angie had already been on the phone with contractors, cleanup crews and home security companies. Some of them were supposed to meet us at the house. Calling the insurance company had been a long shot.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, hanging my head. The wave of guilt that flowed through my bones made me feel just terrible. “If I hadn’t come to live with you nothing would have happened to your house.”

  “If you hadn’t come to live with us those creatures would have followed you some place else. Another family couldn’t have protected you as well as we did. None of this is your fault, young lady. Those demons did it all on their own.”

  “But how can you pay to get everything fixed? There’s so much damage.”

  “Did you forget how much money we got when Chris sold the Majik Juice recipe? Kelly, that stuff is already selling like crazy and we get paid for every single bottle. There’s enough money in the bank right now to fix the house ten times over and more comes in every day. The only reason I haven’t spent any of it is because Chris and I always discuss big expenditures like this before we do anything. But he’s in the hospital and Dr. Sanderlyn won’t let me see him and our house is full of holes, so I’m getting it all fixed. But this time I’m going to do it right. This time it’s going to be demon proof!”

  “Demon proof? Is there such thing?”

  “We’ll find out. Of course, demons are probably like cockroaches. They can always find a way in. But we’re going to make it really hard for them.”

  “Even the big one? The lobster demon? I had nightmares about that one last night.”

  “Let me put it this way. Chris and I put a lot of time and a lot of love into this house. It’s our house and no frickin’ demons are going to make me leave! If they come back they’re going to be in for a big surprise. We’ll be ready.”

  I couldn’t imagine what Angie had in mind, so I peeked and saw all sorts of ideas in her head, some wilder than others. Everything from imaginary demon traps to video surveillance at every corner to machineguns mounted in the hallways to an armored panic room in the basement. Man, she wasn’t kidding! Angie was fired up for a fight, almost like Granny.

  “Don’t forget you promised to go by the emergency room today,” I said firmly. “How do your ribs feel?”

  “I kept ice on them all night. They’re a little better and I doubt they’re broken. I just hate to waste my time in the ER, Kelly. They take forever unless you’re half dead. But a promise is a promise.”

  When we arrived at the cul-de-sac there was a small fleet of vehicles parked in front of our house. Some belonged to the contractors that Angie had called and the rest were with the police. Yellow tape was strung up all around the property, even down into the woods near the drainage pipe. The damage to the house looked worse in the daylight.

  “Crime scene tape,” said Angie, as if she were thinking aloud. “Is it too much to hope that the police might believe our story?”

  A young female uniformed officer immediately approached us. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’re in the middle of an investigation here. Oh, Mrs. McCormick! I didn’t recognize you. You can park in the driveway. But please park beside the van, not behind it. We’ve got a tow truck coming to clear it out of here.”

  “You should know my insurance company won’t cover any of this, including the van,” said Angie. “They won’t pay for the tow either, but I can write you a check.”

  “There’s no charge for the tow. The van is evidence.”

  “Evidence? So you believe us?”

  The officer shrugged noncommittally. “Mrs. McCormick, I realize you need to go into your house and deal with the contractors, but you’ll need to wait until our crime-scene investigators are done. Perhaps you could show the outside of the house first?”

  “We can do that.”

  The officer nodded politely and moved a squad car out of the way. Angie parked and we got out. Glass from the minivan windows crunched under our shoes.

  “Your poor van,” I said. “Do you think it’s totaled?”

  “Oh yeah,” said Angie. “Listen, when they finally let us inside, go to your room and gather up about a week’s worth of clothes and whatever you’ll need for school. We’ll be staying at the motel until the house is ready. In the mean time I need to speak with the contractors about fixing this mess.”

  “Okay.”

  I looked on as Angie walked up to the mostly male group and introduced herself. She shook hands all around.

  “I’ll explain what I want done while I show you the damage,” said Angie. “We can’t go inside until the police leave, but there’s plenty on the outside we can talk about first. Just so you’ll know, I want more done to this house than the obvious repair work. Lots more. Money is no object.”

  One contractor, a tall, bearded man wearing a Blandford Construction hoodie, stepped up to her. “Pardon me for asking,” he said politely. “But did you get hit by a tornado?”

  “No, Mr. Blandford,” said Angie. “We got hit by demons, which is why police investigators are all over the place. But it’s a very long story. Now if you’ll follow me you can see where the window over the garage is completely missing. We need to replace it. In fact we need to replace all the windows and doors. But I want them stronger than before. In fact I want them indestructible.”