Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

“Dude, that guy has a demon,” I said to my brother. We were sitting side by side on the front porch, but he wasn’t looking at me. I nudged him in the ribs and pointed at the guy discreetly.

“What’s it doing?” Seth asked, still flipping through his Runner’s World. He never even looked up. I wasn’t surprised in the least. I squinted at the guy across the street.

“Well, the guy’s carrying groceries into his house, and it looks like the demon’s trying to open the door. And you’re not listening.”

“I’m listening.” Flip flip flip. He wasn’t even looking at the pages, he’s flipping them so fast. Trying to keep his cool, as usual. Sometimes, his calmness was maddening. I wanted him to get excited sometimes, to stand and shout at me until the veins pop out of his neck like Dad’s did. But he’ll never be Dad. He’d die first.

“There’s a demon, Seth. Hanging around the guy next door. And you’re completely unfazed by this?”

“Completely.”

“Of course,” I muttered and took a bite out of an apple. The green kind, my favorite. And suddenly it didn’t matter anymore. If he believed me or not. Because that wouldn’t change anything, would it?

“I’ll be late. Don’t wait up,” I said, and my voice sounded harder than I intended. It sounded mean. I wanted to turn back and apologize, but I made myself keep walking.

I thought about my brother. I had thought about him a lot lately, especially since his wife ran out on him six months before. After the first five, I moved in to help him take care of his baby girl, Lydia. She was a little over a year old and still didn’t sleep through the night. Nightmares. I think they’re hereditary. But then with a mom like Sparkles, I’d have nightmares too.

Yes. Seth actually married a woman who called herself Sparkles. Maybe he deserved everything he got.

“Where are you going?” a soft voice asked me. I didn’t turn to see the speaker.

“You don’t belong here,” I said, not breaking my stride. “Go home.”

“Where is home?” The voice floated along at my side. I could see the wispy darkness out of the corner of my eye.

“I meant your home. You are not invited to mine.”

“I want to come to yours.”

“Uninvited, demon.”

“I want to see where you live.”

I was getting irritated. I wanted to turn and face the demon so I could yell at it properly, but I kept walking, kept my eyes straight ahead.

“I’m on to your tricks, demon. You’ll get no sport from me.”

There was a snorting laughter, and the earlier foggy vagueness was gone from its voice. “Oh, I’ll get plenty from you, Luna.” It faded away.

The first time a demon called me by name, I about had a heart attack. How does it know me? How does it know? I had thought. But I was young then, only a little girl in school, and I was not wise to such things. They know me because I know them. Really, it isn’t very mystical at all.

I walked all of the way down to the harbor. The air had that heavy scent of fish and soft, rotting things that somehow managed to be fresh and almost pleasant. I love the sea. I leaned over the railing and stared into the dark water.

Something even darker was staring back.

I sighed, shoved my hands in my pockets, and turned with my back to the railing. Sometimes, this “gift” of mine really sucks.

My phone rang, and I fished around in my puffy down vest until I found it. It was my brother.

“What’s up?” I said.

There was a pause, and then a shadowy voice warbled out, “I am a demon.”

“What, using my brother’s phone?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Don’t be a moron. Demons can’t use electronics. What’s going on, Seth?”

My brother took a big breath and let it out slowly. It was purifying just listening to it. I found myself breathing out with him.

“I don’t want you to be mad at me, Luna,” he said. I could hear splashing and happy noises in the background. He must be giving Lydia her bath. This made me smile.

“I’m not mad at you. I’m just, you know, frustrated. I’m not lying.”

“I never thought you were,” he said, and I heard little girl giggling and more splashing. And something different, a kind of low humming. This was a lot closer.

Great.

I turned my back to the humming and stalwartly refused to look into the water. There’s always a lot of activity that goes on near the sea. A lot of things here.

“You don’t think I’m lying, you just think I’m crazy, right? And this is supposed to make me feel better?”

Seth didn’t say anything, and I bet he was mentally counting to ten. I try his patience; I know this. But at the same time, he’s my brother, the only family I have left, and I almost feel like he owes it to me to believe.

“Dad used to hear voices,” he said slowly, and I snorted and hung up the phone.

“You,” I said, pointing to a demon three steps away from me. His eyes were already upon mine. “And you, and you.” I pointed at two others, one of which was trying to reach the phone in my hand.

“It’s not going to work. You think I’d help you touch something from my world? You too,” I said, peeking over the railing into the water. “You guys aren’t real. You’re all products of my ultra-deranged mind. What do you think of that?”

They started laughing.

“Thought so,” I said, and turned toward work.