Demons are Forever: Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner Page A

rogue,” he said, “it hardly seems like I should have to put up with that crap.”
    There was humor in his voice and I clung to it because it meant that he really was okay.
    “Is he—”
    “Dead,” David said, which was the shorthand way of saying that the body was out of commission and the demon was back in the ether, technically still in existence, but no longer a nuisance.
    “Do you need me to come help you?”
    This time, he laughed for real. “He’s already dead, Kate.”
    I scowled at the phone. “I was offering to help get rid of the body,” I said. “But I think I’ll retract the offer now.”
    “It’s been taken care of,” he said. “I decided to use the opportunity to try out a new disposal method. The cathedral doesn’t have endless vault space, you know.”
    “I had hoped that San Diablo didn’t have endless demons,” I said dryly, trying not to think about the body-disposal methods that a chemistry teacher could concoct.
    “I think that hope’s been shot to hell,” he said.
    True enough. “Any idea why he attacked you? Did he want something?”
    “From what I could tell,” David said, “he wanted me. And alive, too. He caught me off guard, Kate, but he never went for the kill shot. If he’d wanted to kill me, he could have.”
    I hugged myself, suddenly chilled. “David, you need—”
    “To be more careful. Yeah. I got that. I want you to be careful, too.”
    I was immediately on alert. “Did he say something?”
    “No, but the more I think about it, the more I worry. You’re the Hunter here, and if it’s a Hunter they want...” His voice washed over me, low and gruff and very sincere. “Promise me, Katie. Promise me you won’t let down your guard.”
    I shivered, more than a little undone by his tone. “I promise,” I whispered. “And David?”
    “What?”
    “I’m glad you’re okay.” The words seemed flat somehow, but I meant them sincerely. I’d lost Eric twice—in San Francisco, and again last night. I didn’t think I could stand to lose David, too. He might not be the man I’d once loved, but I had to admit that I cared for him, possibly more than I should. Perhaps my feelings for him were colored by all the weeks that I thought he was Eric, but that didn’t change the fact that the man had become important to me. And, yes, little by little he was sliding into the role of hunting partner, too.
    As I hung up, I felt a little numb. I could hear our garage door begin its laborious climb to the top, and I splashed some water on my face, trying to wash the worry and fear for David off my face.
    Minutes later, Stuart trundled in, a bag of marshmallows in one hand and a plastic grocery bag with graham crackers and Hershey bars in the other.
    “Sweet tooth?”
    He just grinned. “And I’ve got firewood in the trunk.”
    “It’s seventy-six degrees out,” I said, mimicking what he always says to me during the winter months when I beg for a fire despite our California climate.
    He nodded, all serious. “Good point. I’ll go crank up the air conditioner.” He started out of the room but I tugged him back, then planted a kiss on his lips.
    “Thanks,” I said. “You know how to cheer a girl up.” More than that, Stuart was my rock—a demon-free zone in a life that had once again become filled with uncertainty. I hugged him tight, soaking up that deep sense of normalcy. I’d craved a normal, safe life with Eric, and I’d believed that I’d gotten it. Only recently had I learned it was only an illusion.
    I sighed, pressing my face against Stuart’s shoulder. In truth, my safe little life with Stuart was an illusion, too. Only this time, I was the one who’d brought the danger to our doorstep.
    He gave me a final squeeze, then pulled back far enough to get a good look at my face. His eyes moved as he looked me over. “Want to share what’s been on your mind?”
    I gave my head a little shake. “Just melancholy. It’s nothing. Probably PMS.”
    He put