Chapter 19 #2
She was right about that. And I guess that also meant I’d been right—Mindy had the instincts to make a good alimentatore.
I considered telling her the full truth now, but I wanted to give Allie one more day to do the right thing. And honestly, I wasn’t sure that this was the kind of thing Mindy needed in her head before she opened in one of the starring roles in the community musical.
I was no actress, but it seemed as if things like your best friend being part-demon and having a crush on a vampire were the kind of things that might distract you from your song and dance routines.
Or maybe I was just making excuses to stay quiet.
Whatever my reasons, all I said was, “I’ll be honest, Mindy.
We checked him out pretty well. You know that he goes to Coronado High, so Eric was able to dig into his records.
” Just saying Eric’s name alleviated some of my guilt.
Mindy might not know everything, but she did know the truth about Allie’s father.
“Okay. Well, that’s good. You guys are coming tonight night, right?”
She looked both excited and young. I went over and gave her a hug. “Of course, we are. I’m so proud of you. Allie is too.” She grinned and didn’t even argue with that.
Then she looked down at Timmy and took his hand. “You ready?”
“Ready!” he chimed.
She gave me one final smile, then led my little guy across the backyard to her home.
Suddenly, I was alone, my husband and my kids out of the house. Granted, Timmy was just across the way with my best friend’s daughter. But Allie was out doing adult things, and one day soon, Timmy would be, too.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my role in the world was changing too. It was less about me being a mom or a Demon Hunter. Now, it was going to be about me training a new generation. Not my kids, but my students.
It was important work—maybe the most important—because there were things hidden out in the world. Evil things. I knew that well. And I needed to make sure that there were people around who could keep the world safe when my generation of Hunters stepped away from the job.
I looked around my home, feeling melancholy as I tried to decide what to do next. I was about to give it all up and go take a long bath when my phone rang.
I grabbed it up, pleased to see that it was Eliza. “Hey cousin. What’s your ETA for coming back to San Diablo? Do you have a date for the memorial yet?”
“Not yet. Do you need me up there? It’s kind of crazy down here, to be honest.”
“It’s a little crazy up here too,” I told her. “Apparently Allie is the only one who can defeat Lilith and there’s a whole slew of demons trying to kill her.”
“So, basically, things are rolling on as usual,” she quipped.
I laughed. “Pretty much.” I considered what she’d said a moment ago. “What do you mean things are crazy there?”
“I was in a car accident.”
“What? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I promise I didn’t die. I’m not a demon in an Eliza suit. But my leg is broken.”
“Were you in the car?”
“No. I was in a crosswalk. Some guy ran me down. Honestly, if I hadn’t been training, I would have probably been killed.
Instead, I just landed wrong when I jumped out of the way.
Broke my right tibia. It should heal clean, but I can’t drive right now.
I’m really bummed, because I thought I might go up to San Diablo for a night so I could do the birthday party after all. But I can’t make it work.”
“I’m so sorry. And Stuart doesn’t have time to come get you. Mindy’s show is tonight, and…”
“Don’t worry about it. Seriously. It was just an idea that a reckless driver snuffed. You have enough to do. And I still have things to box up. Speaking of, did you check out the box I sent back with Stuart?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, glancing over to where I’d put it under the side table next to the couch. “I’ve been going a mile a minute.”
“No worries. It’s not like there’s anything important in there. Wait for me and we can go through it together. Although I don’t know when that’ll be. Stupid leg. I’m moving so slowly now.”
“I wish we could get you here easily.”
“It’s fine. And the truth is, Timmy won’t even notice if I’m not at the party. Next week we’ll figure it out, and I’ll come back and give him a big hug. I really can’t wait to get back. I miss you guys, Kate.”
“I miss you, too. But I was going to call you today anyway.” I gave her the rundown about my idea for a training center, hoping that she’d jump all over the idea of being on the faculty, then relieved when she did exactly that. So much so that she was practically squealing with glee.
“I would dance around my apartment if I could. Stupid cast. This is the best. This is such great news. And that’s a perfect location.”
“With all the occult weirdness in the past, it seems strangely perfect, too. It’s like turning something bad into something good.”
“Speaking of occult weirdness, one of the reasons I called is that I have this strange feeling.”
“Strange how?”
“I don’t know, like something bad is going to happen. And then you tell me that Allie is somehow earmarked as the only one who can defeat Lilith. Or the demons seem to think she can. I mean, that’s big stuff, right?”
“Yeah. I’d say it qualifies as big.”
“Well, it may sound crazy, but I had this sense that whoever hit me with that car was aiming for me. That it wasn’t really an accident. And now I’m thinking—well, what if they’re trying to pick off anybody who might be around to protect Allie?”
I suddenly felt cold all over. “I don’t think that’s silly at all,” I said, thinking about the attacks on me and on Eric. On Jared, too. “I really don’t.”
“Oh, God. Then you need to be careful. Promise me?”
“We are,” I assured her, although I wondered just how accurate that statement really was. My daughter was out patrolling with a vampire, after all.
I put Eliza on speaker so I could pull up the tracking app. They were still at the park. The same park that Eddie and Rita were at. I sent Eddie a quick text, asking him to go to the location and make sure all was well.
“Kate?”
“Sorry. Just taking your advice,” I said, then told her what I’d just done.
She laughed. “Sorry to make you paranoid. Let me know what Eddie says.”
Eddie’s text came back immediately.
Already with the kid and the vamp. Both doing fine.
“I guess all is well.”
“For now,” Eliza said. “But I was listening to the news this morning. Did you know there’s a daytime meteor shower this week. Arietids or arachnids or something like that. I don’t know. But air and fire are Lilith’s elements.”
“How do you know that?”
“My mom used to do tarot cards, and she was into astrology and astronomy. I don’t know if it really means anything, but I can’t help but think that it’s a sign that Lilith’s up to something.”
I thought about it. Air and fire. Meteors and the atmosphere.
And my daughter at the center of it all.
By four, both Allie and Timmy were back home safe and sound. In a normal family that wouldn’t even be something to take notice of, but in my household, it was to be celebrated.
At five, I started to get ready to go to the community theater. By seven, Laura was in the living room sipping a glass of wine. I joined her, and we waited for Allie and Stuart, the latter having rushed in from the office only half an hour ago.
Eddie was staying to babysit, and Rita was going to join him. They didn’t intend to miss out on Mindy’s show, but planned to skip the preview and just go to opening night.
“Are you nervous?” I asked Laura.
“Absolutely not,” she said nodding her head in what was undoubtedly the true response.
I laughed. “She’ll do great. She’s got an incredible voice.”
“But the question is, can she act?” Eddie asked, making Laura pale a bit. “It’s not just about singing up on a stage like that.” He chuckled, and pointed his finger at her. “Don’t be a stage mom. She’ll do what she can do, and she’ll do her best.”
“I know. I just hope her best is good enough to get a standing ovation.”
I grinned. I had to admit I was a little jealous.
I loved and was extremely proud of my girl, but I would never see her up on stage.
Then again I don’t know that anything could be better than the time I saw her execute a round kick to a demon’s head, knock it flat on his back, and impale him through the eye in one single fluid motion. Honestly, it made a mother proud.
Speaking of the devil, my daughter pounded down the stairs in a casual summer dress and bare feet. I raised my brows, and she rolled her eyes in response. “My shoes are in the hall closet,” she said. “I’m not going to go without them.” I eyed Laura who grinned back at me.
“You look very nice. Mindy’s thrilled you’re coming.”
“I was hoping Jared could come too,” she said pointedly looking at me.
I held up my hands. “I did nothing to discourage him,” I said. What I didn’t add was that I was relieved when he had declined Allie’s invitation, saying that there were things he had to take care of that night, but that he would happily join her Saturday for the public premiere.
Allie checked her watch and started to bounce. “We need to go. Where’s Stuart?”
Soon enough the man in question appeared on the stairs, looking very dapper in one of his casual suits. He hurried down as well, checked his watch, and looked at all of us. “We really need to go.”
Laura and I looked at each other, both fighting smiles.
I shook my head, a signal not to say anything to him.
Then we all bundled into the van and headed to the community center.
Fortunately it was a short drive, and parking was easy since this was a preview night.
And, as a bonus, because Mindy was playing one of the leads, we’d been given front row seats.
I sat between Laura and Allie with Stuart on the other side of our daughter. He leaned over her and looked at me, grinning as the curtain rose. I squeezed Laura’s hand, then sat back to watch the show.
Into the Woods has always been one of my favorite musicals, but as I watched the fairy tale beginning followed by the story about what happens after happily ever after, I couldn’t help but think about the parallels to my own life.
To what Allie was going through, especially.
She’d learned that her mother had a secret life, a special life.
And she’d wanted desperately to be part of that.
She got that wish, but what came after was more difficult than she could have imagined. My baby girl was truly going into the woods herself, and I could only hope that at the end of the day, she would come out unscathed.
My deep, philosophical thoughts flittered away as the show really got underway. Mindy’s voice filled the theater, clear and strong and beautiful. She and the boy who played the baker were perfect together, singing and dancing and looking so professional I almost forgot she was only fifteen.
More than once I leaned over to Laura and whispered how impressed I was, and Allie squealed and clapped at the end of every one of Mindy’s songs.
When the curtain fell, we jumped to our feet applauding the entire cast for their incredible performance, though I knew the four of us were mostly applauding Mindy.
When the curtain closed again, Allie turned to me enthusiastically throwing her arms around me and giving me a tight hug. “She was amazing. I had no idea she could do that. Oh my God, I would be mortified up there. And I would sound like a strangled hamster.”
“But a cute strangled hamster.”
“Yeah. Not sure that would be good enough. Oh my God, I can’t believe how good she was.”
“You need to go tell her,” I said. “That’s what previews are for.”
As if to underscore my words, the curtain rose again and the cast came onstage, with the director stepping out and telling the audience that we could come up and talk to the cast. Allie literally leaped onto the stage, making me cringe, since that really wasn’t the designated route to get up there.
But since she pulled Mindy into a huge hug, I decided to let it go.
At first, Mindy looked completely freaked out by this massive show of attention, then she burst into laughter herself. Even from where I sat, I could tell that Allie was gushing and gushing.
They went through another round of hugs, then another and another. Finally, I saw my daughter’s expression change, going darker, her brow furrowing. I went cold inside, then leaned over to Laura. “Right now, I really wish we had that voice amplifier.”
“Right there with you.” But this wasn’t a moment that we could navigate for our girls, and as Mindy cocked her head and led Allie off into the wings where we couldn’t see them.
I could only sit, my stomach churning, as I wondered about their conversation, and about how their friendship would survive it.