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

Stuart said, and Eddie’s mirth-filled chuckle filled the air. “Builds muscle tone.”
    “Little more practice, and you’ll have the pointy end of those things sliding through demon flesh in no time.”
    “Just so long as I don’t take down any raggedly old men.”
    “Heh. I may be old, but I’m still spry.”
    How nice. After months of tension-filled coexistence, the two adult men in my household had finally connected. And all it had taken was for one to almost kill the other. If I’d known that, I could have shoved them in the backyard with a handful of knives weeks ago.
    “You sure you’re okay, Gramps?” Allie asked, her forehead crinkled with concern. “That hit really hard. You coulda broken some ribs.”
    Eddie thumbed himself on his chest. “Rock solid,” he said, then held out his hand for her. She took it, leaning in next to him as he swung his arm around her shoulder and allowed her to help haul him to his feet. Dressed as they both were in head-to-toe black, I had to laugh. They looked like an advertisement for multi-generational ninja training, an image with added irony when you considered that they weren’t actually related, though neither Allie nor Stuart knew that.
    And, the truth was, Eddie had truly become Gramps. No, he wasn’t Eric’s grandfather, like I’d told Stuart so many months ago before I’d settled the then-loopy and involuntarily medicated former Hunter in our guest room. But somewhere between then and now, the fiction had become our reality. Eddie was family. A fact evidenced most strongly by Stuart’s recent agreement to have his room wired for cable.
    “Don’t take this the wrong way,” I said, lifting my hand up and down as I gestured to Eddie’s midnight black outfit. “But why are you here?”
    I’d asked Eddie to join our little training mission, with both him and Allie playing the role of wandering demons to Stuart’s Hunter-in-training. He’d declined. Or, more accurately, he’d turned me down flat with a snort and a chuckle and the uniquely unhelpful comment that training Stuart was too little, too late, and if I was going to let my husband go out into the field, then I damn well better be training him to heel.
    The sad part? I actually feared Eddie was right.
    “Eh, Tammy’s cable’s down,” he said. “Decided to call it an early night and see how lawyer-boy’s training was going. Figured if you wanted me and the kid playing demon, it was the least I could do.”
    “You left a date with your girlfriend because her cable was down?” I repeated.
    “Hell, yeah,” he said. “Her DVD collection is crap.”
    Stuart and I exchanged a glance, and I caught the ever-so subtle shake of his head. I exhaled, backing down from my instinctive response to challenge Eddie’s less-than-romantic approach to dating.
    “We appreciate the help,” I said, “but I think we’re calling it a night.”
    A snort of protest from Eddie underscored Allie’s anguished cry of, “But!” Even Stuart muttered protests.
    Although I was probably being paranoid, I didn’t back down. I’d felt something out there that made the hair on the back of my neck prickle, something other than Eddie lumbering through the dark.
    As Eric had recently reminded me before all hell broke loose, I’d developed a Hunter’s instincts over the years. Which meant that my vague sense of paranoia could very well be the minions of hell lining us all up in their sights.
    I bit back a sigh, battle weary and tired, but knowing better than to ignore the inevitable. Something was brewing in San Diablo.
    So what else was new?
    I cocked my head vaguely in the direction of the parking lot. “Come on, guys. I’m serious. We’ll do this again next week.”
    Stuart looked like he was going to join in the protests, but then he took one look at my face and nodded. “Good idea. I have some things I need to take care of tonight anyway.” I’m not sure if he saw the resolve in my eyes or if he was simply