aggressively or without emotion. He just looked genuinely curious. I watched him carefully, waiting for that sinister gleam to come into his eyes, or the hint of fear that suggested he would call the cops. Nothing on his face changed. This must have been sincerity, something I wasn’t very familiar with. It made my fingers twitch, itching for the hilt of my hatchet to remind me that I could take control of the situation if I felt I needed to.
“All right. I’ll answer whatever questions you have. Tomorrow.”
Dro bit her lip. Max cleared his throat. “They don’t have a place to stay, Dad,” he said. “If they spend the night here, it’ll be easier for everybody. They can sleep in the basement. They won’t cause any trouble.” Max hesitated when he looked at me. “Well, Dro won’t. Constance… I’m not so sure.”
I grinned wickedly at him.
“She won’t do anything,” said Dro. “You have my word.”
My smile dropped. I didn’t like when Dro made promises for me. It meant that I had to keep them.
“All right,” Manny sighed, clearly as tired of this as we were. “You can stay one night so we can get some answers for each other.” His eyes found mine. “I will tell you everything I know about hunting demons, if that’s what you still want.”
I crossed my arms. “It is, as long as you keep your end of the bargain.”
Dro sighed heavily beside me.
Manny narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t put a lot of stock into the human race, do you Constance?” he asked grumpily.
I shrugged. “I haven’t had the best experiences with them. Kind of hard to do when almost every single one has died or stabbed me in the back.”
Another silence followed as I fell into a dark place. I tried to picture the faces of the people who betrayed me in the past, but there were more than I could remember. And I was no better than any one of them.
“We won’t betray you,” Max said, sounding very honest.
He really did seem like a good kid, and I wanted to believe him. From the endearing look in Dro’s eyes, she wanted to believe him, too. But if I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, Dro and I wouldn’t be living in poverty.
“Both of you should get some sleep,” said Manny, the weariness still heavy in his eyes. “We’ll start first thing in the morning.”
He made it sound less than promising, but at least I could tell myself we were making progress. Hopefully.
Chapter 4
I woke up early on purpose. I was used to running on little sleep, having trained my body to wake at the slightest sound. I took the risk of having Dro sleep on the mattress next to me, like we had when we were kids. I slept near the edge of the mattress, my hatchet under the pillow and a knife on a box near my head.
After about four hours of sleep, I woke up and looked over at my sister to make sure she wasn’t having a nightmare. She seemed all right, breathing evenly and calmly. But her nightmares were unpredictable. I could only pray she wouldn’t burn down the house of the only people who had offered to help us.
I slipped out of the bed and grabbed my weapons, hooking the hatchet through one of the loops on the waistband of my jeans, sliding the knife into another. The oversized shirt I was wearing concealed the blades.
I padded toward the stairs, glancing back at Dro one more time to make sure her sleeping hadn’t changed. She still looked fine, so I walked up to the basement door, pulled it open and left the room. I ran a hand through my hair to shake it out, stopping by the digital thermostat on the wall to check the time.
5:00 AM. Ugh.
I regretted not taking the time to check the rest of the house before we’d gone to bed. Still, now was just as good a time as any. Only crazy people were up this early.
I made my footsteps as light as possible as I walked into the living room, which was way bigger than I expected.
It was a living room, a dining room, a library, and a den all in one. Across from me
“All right. I’ll answer whatever questions you have. Tomorrow.”
Dro bit her lip. Max cleared his throat. “They don’t have a place to stay, Dad,” he said. “If they spend the night here, it’ll be easier for everybody. They can sleep in the basement. They won’t cause any trouble.” Max hesitated when he looked at me. “Well, Dro won’t. Constance… I’m not so sure.”
I grinned wickedly at him.
“She won’t do anything,” said Dro. “You have my word.”
My smile dropped. I didn’t like when Dro made promises for me. It meant that I had to keep them.
“All right,” Manny sighed, clearly as tired of this as we were. “You can stay one night so we can get some answers for each other.” His eyes found mine. “I will tell you everything I know about hunting demons, if that’s what you still want.”
I crossed my arms. “It is, as long as you keep your end of the bargain.”
Dro sighed heavily beside me.
Manny narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t put a lot of stock into the human race, do you Constance?” he asked grumpily.
I shrugged. “I haven’t had the best experiences with them. Kind of hard to do when almost every single one has died or stabbed me in the back.”
Another silence followed as I fell into a dark place. I tried to picture the faces of the people who betrayed me in the past, but there were more than I could remember. And I was no better than any one of them.
“We won’t betray you,” Max said, sounding very honest.
He really did seem like a good kid, and I wanted to believe him. From the endearing look in Dro’s eyes, she wanted to believe him, too. But if I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, Dro and I wouldn’t be living in poverty.
“Both of you should get some sleep,” said Manny, the weariness still heavy in his eyes. “We’ll start first thing in the morning.”
He made it sound less than promising, but at least I could tell myself we were making progress. Hopefully.
Chapter 4
I woke up early on purpose. I was used to running on little sleep, having trained my body to wake at the slightest sound. I took the risk of having Dro sleep on the mattress next to me, like we had when we were kids. I slept near the edge of the mattress, my hatchet under the pillow and a knife on a box near my head.
After about four hours of sleep, I woke up and looked over at my sister to make sure she wasn’t having a nightmare. She seemed all right, breathing evenly and calmly. But her nightmares were unpredictable. I could only pray she wouldn’t burn down the house of the only people who had offered to help us.
I slipped out of the bed and grabbed my weapons, hooking the hatchet through one of the loops on the waistband of my jeans, sliding the knife into another. The oversized shirt I was wearing concealed the blades.
I padded toward the stairs, glancing back at Dro one more time to make sure her sleeping hadn’t changed. She still looked fine, so I walked up to the basement door, pulled it open and left the room. I ran a hand through my hair to shake it out, stopping by the digital thermostat on the wall to check the time.
5:00 AM. Ugh.
I regretted not taking the time to check the rest of the house before we’d gone to bed. Still, now was just as good a time as any. Only crazy people were up this early.
I made my footsteps as light as possible as I walked into the living room, which was way bigger than I expected.
It was a living room, a dining room, a library, and a den all in one. Across from me
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