CHAPTER ELEVENI was viciously pulling weeds in the garden when a demon came sauntering by.“Remember me?” it called out cheerfully.“Whatever,” I said. “You all look the same.”It edged closer. “I told you not to go into that restaurant. Should’ve listened, huh?”I narrowed my eyes and gave a particularly stubborn weed a good, hard yank.“Luna. We need to talk. I’m not going to go away until we do.”I turned and threw the weed at it. It sailed right on through. “Oh, all right! What do we so desperately need to talk about, demon? I’m busy here.”The demon tsked sarcastically, and I felt my muscles tense.“Poor baby,” it said and flopped down on the grass. “Listen. You’re going to be in a boatload of trouble soon. I’m talking serious, serious trouble. Dig?”I attacked another weed. “You’re threatening me now? Typical.”The demon sighed and leaned back, staring at the sky. “That’s the thing about you people. You always expect the worst. Why can’t I be doing you a favor? Why ca

CHAPTER THIRTEENI walked in the front door and knew something was wrong. The house didn’t feel right.“Seth? Lydia? I’m home,” I called and dropped my backpack on the floor. Nobody answered.“I’m leaving my jacket on the couch like a slob. I’m wearing my boots in the house, and I didn’t even wipe them. You’d better come yell at me.”Silence.The sticky weight of the atmosphere nearly took my breath away. The Mark between my shoulder blades burned, making me slightly nauseous. I tiptoed to the kitchen and peeked through the door. Nothing. I reached in and slid a heavy duty kitchen knife out of the block, just in case.“Seth? Are you here?”I walked through the downstairs, checking closets and under tables as I went. The knife shone dully, and I swallowed hard. I hoped I didn’t have to use it. I took a deep breath and nearly decided not to go upstairs, telling myself I was obviously alone in the house, but the sickly, oily ambiance of the home made me grind my teeth and continue

CHAPTER FIFTEENI had my helmet in hand by the time Reed Taylor squealed into the driveway. I climbed onto the bike behind him, wrapped my arms around his waist, and rested my head against his back.“St. Marks,” I said.“Hold on, baby,” he answered and took off. I closed my eyes. I tried not to think about Seth. Instead, I tried to figure out where Lydia could be.Seth wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. So obviously she wouldn’t be in the house when he tried to . . . do what he did. Is she at the babysitter’s? Except I am the babysitter. Who could she be staying with? Or, and the mere thought made my stomach heave, did something happen to Lydia, and that’s why Seth didn’t think he could go on?My eyes snapped open, and I flinched.“What’s going on?” Reed Taylor yelled back to me.“Just thinking,” I yelled back. He nodded and kept up his breakneck speed.No, if something had happened to Lydia, Seth would have called me. No matter how bad it was, we would have figured something ou

CHAPTER SEVENTEENI left Reed Taylor standing in my driveway and headed to the flower shop on the far end of town. We had a big garden when I was a kid, full of daylilies. I packed the flowers up carefully and hopped back onto the bike. It was a good long drive, and it was getting dark when I arrived at the cemetery.I had been here so many times that I could walk the place blindfolded. I stepped carefully past the tattered flags and broken stone. My boots didn’t make a sound on the soft grass. I knelt down by a double stone that had two names carved on it.“Hi, Mom,” I said and kissed my fingers. I pressed them to her name. “How are things going there?”I stopped for a second. I wasn’t really sure what to say. I forced a smile just in case she could see me. And it made me feel braver, more confidant. The last thing I wanted to do was curl up and cry on my parents’ graves. I am not an orphan in a Charles Dickens story. I’m more . . . Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Only not cute and perk

CHAPTER NINETEEN“Reed Taylor, I need to talk to you.” I was nothing if not polite and gracious on the phone. A thing of beauty. An absolute queen of decorum.“Uh, not right now, Luna. I’m kind of in the middle of something.”I felt my eyebrows rise. “Really? But Seth believes me and needs our help.”“Not now. This is important.”“What could be more important than helping me get Lydia back?”He made a sound, and I could tell he was getting exasperated. Was I really being that forceful? Well yes, yes I was. But I needed him, and he knew it. At least, I thought he knew it.“Reed Taylor?” I asked.His voice was definitely strained. “Nothing is more important than getting your niece back. That’s precisely what I’m trying to do. But I need to deal with this right now, all right? Later, bye.” And he hung up.He hung up, just like that.I stared at the phone in shock. It looked properly apologetic. “I have no idea why he would possibly act in such a dastardly manner,” it seemed like