Nameless: The Darkness Comes Read Free

in all, but he was looking particularly harsh this morning. Worn out. Maybe he had more dreams about the Elusive Miss Sparkles. Like I said, I think the nightmares were hereditary.
    I sat down next to him, stole the milk for my own cereal. “Seriously, Seth. You haven’t believed me in years. Why the sudden interest now?”
    He leaned back in his chair, covered his eyes with his hands. “Gar! Just tell me already. I might never ask again.”
    I sighed and pushed my bowl away. I was never into Raisin Bran anyway. Too soggy. And it tried too hard to be good for you. Pretentious.
    “Well. What do you want to know?” I crossed my hands neatly on the table and tried to look helpful. Secretarial, even.
    “Is there one in the house?”
    My friendly smile stuck to my teeth. “Right now?” I asked.
    Seth looked at me. “Yeah, right now. Is there a demon hanging around here now?”
    I shook my head. “Inside, no. They can’t come in. Not usually, anyway. But outside...that’s different.” I pointed to the demon that had its featureless faced pressed to the kitchen window. “There’s one there.”
    Seth looked. The demon looked. I studied my fingernails, which were a bit ragged.
    “I don’t see anything,” Seth complained.
    “Don’t worry. Neither does the demon. I made sure of it.”
    “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
    I scattered more Cheerios for Lydia. “Well, it’s hard for demons to come into your home, right? They can’t just waltz in. They have to be…”
    “Invited?” Seth interrupted. “Like vampires?”
    “Don’t be stupid,” I said. “Vampires aren’t real.”
    He squeezed his eyes shut , and I knew he was mentally counting to ten. That happened a lot. “Keep talking, Luna. I’m trying to be serious and supportive for once.”
    He was, and it was killing him. “Thanks, Seth. I appreciate it. Really. So, anyway, I guess they have to be invited, in a way. Demons can’t just wander into random homes so much. I mean, they can, but it’s really rare. And if they do, they tend to be the really dumb ones who don’t know any better.”
    “Dumb demons?”
    “I know, right?” I said, and Seth grinned. “Demons are like everybody else, at least from my experience. You have your smart ones and your dumb ones, and ones that are worse than the others. You know. Just like us. So it’s bad news to wander into somebody’s house if you have no reason to be there. They tend to get in trouble.”
    Seth washed Lydia’s hands with a washcloth. She squirmed when he reached her round face. “Get in trouble by who? Is there some kind of demon police? What do they call them, the Demon Patrol?”
    I almost laughed. “I’m not really sure. They get in trouble by somebody, because I’ve seen it. They look all panicked and explain themselves to somebody, but I have no idea who. I don’t see or feel anything. It’s like they’re talking to somebody who isn’t there.”
    Seth raised an eyebrow at me. “That’s what you look like a lot of the time, for your information.”
    I blushed. I knew this. I worked really hard on not having conversations unless I was alone, but I slipped up. A lot.
    Seth noticed my face and tried to smooth things over. “No, you’re okay, Luna. It’s really not a big deal. I just tell people you’re practicing lines for a play, or something. It’s nothing to worry about.”
    Well, great. My dorky brother has to cover for me. Now that’s just embarrassing.
    Now Seth looked embarrassed, too. “Okay. So usually demons can’t come inside. And they can’t look inside, either, right?”
    I nodded. Then I thought, and shook my head. Then I kind of bobbed my head in a half nod, half shake.
    “Explain,” he commanded.
    I took a deep breath and looked up, thinking. I didn’t know the best way to approach this.
    “Well, usually they can see inside, and it isn’t so much of a big deal. But…” I paused. Seth glared at me.
    “Spit it out.”
    I did. It