Slaying Monsters for the Feeble - Annette Marie Page 0,22

had to see my demon. Nope, not at all.

Amalia fell into step beside me as we strolled along the sidewalk. I wasn’t surprised to see that Claude’s townhouse was devoid of Christmas decorations. His blinds were closed and no car was parked out front; he didn’t seem to be home. Now that his business partner was in hiding, what was Claude doing with his time? Was he spending every minute searching for Uncle Jack?

“I can’t wait for this,” Amalia whispered excitedly as we turned the corner. “We’re going to catch that rat bastard and find out where my dad is. I can feel it.”

I wasn’t so sure but I held my tongue as we cut into a back alley.

“Are you going to call Zylas now?” she asked.

Normally, she was the last person to encourage me to bring out Zylas, but as she glanced nervously across the rooftops on either side of us, I knew where her eagerness for a protector came from. In our last encounter with Claude, his demon had choked Amalia unconscious.

“Not yet,” I answered as I waved at all the windows that overlooked the alley. “Anyone could be watching.”

She frowned but didn’t argue. We unhurriedly walked along, the alley bordered by tiny backyards with chain-link fences. The townhouses were nice enough, but any residence in this neighborhood was a far cry from Uncle Jack’s oversized mansion. Yet another way in which Claude and Uncle Jack were complete opposites.

As we drew level with Claude’s unit, I scanned the empty backyard. The grass behind each property was the same length, which suggested the lawns were maintained by the same company. His yard was empty—no plastic lawn chairs, no grill on the small patio beside the back door.

Was it my imagination, or was the back door cracked open an inch?

“Robin,” Amalia hissed. “Do you see that?”

I started to nod.

“The window is broken.”

I stopped nodding and scanned the townhouse. She was right. The window beside the door was broken, the gauzy white drapes fluttering in the icy breeze. It was easy to miss; most of the glass was gone, with only a few shards sticking out of the frame.

“The door is open too,” I whispered.

“Now will you call Zylas out?”

I reached for my chest, the infernus hidden under my jacket, but voices rolled down the alley. Three people stood on a patio six units down, talking conversationally. No way they wouldn’t notice me summon a demon.

“Shit,” Amalia muttered. “What do we do now?”

I looked again at the broken window, then pulled the gate open. Projecting confidence, I walked across the grass and onto the patio. My nerves twanged as I strained my ears. No sound aside from Amalia’s footsteps on the grass as she followed me.

Ready to call Zylas at the first sign of movement, I pushed on the heavy back door. It swung silently inward, revealing a living room illuminated by sunlight streaking around the blinds.

“I … don’t think Claude is here,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” Amalia agreed faintly.

I stepped across the threshold and onto a forgettable beige rug. Amalia slipped in behind me, and we took in Claude’s home.

The living room, with a leather sectional around a gas fireplace, filled one side of the space. On the other side, an oak desk sat near a chaise lounge, and its cushions and accent pillows lay on the rug beside it, their fabric slit and cotton innards scattered everywhere. The desk was empty except for the monitor, severed cords hanging off it; someone had hastily cut the computer free. The drawers hung open, and papers had been dumped all over the floor.

The flat-screen TV was on the floor too, and the drywall around the mount had been punched in. Evenly spaced holes marred every wall, as though someone had taken a sledgehammer around the room and smashed it between every stud. The sofa cushions had received the same tender treatment as the chaise.

“Shit,” Amalia muttered.

“I’m thinking Claude wasn’t the one who broke into your dad’s safe.”

“Whoever did that came here next, didn’t they?” She gave her head a single sharp shake. “They searched this place from top to bottom. Damn, look, they even ripped up the carpet over there.”

“Well.” I gloomily unzipped my jacket before I overheated. “We should still check it out. Maybe we’ll find something the other guys missed.”

“But first, call out your damn demon so he can spring any nasty surprises that might be waiting for us.”

Grimacing, I tapped the infernus against my chest as though knocking on a door.