Chapter 30

The company’s servers had failed, and the IT people had so far been unable to restore them from the backups - not an inspiring excuse to give a potential strategic partner for why the weekend presentation needs to be delayed. Having just arrived in Dallas, James boarded a flight back home to retrieve draft copies of the necessary reports from his desk.

The subdivision was thick with cars, a sure sign of a party. James searched his mind for holidays and sporting events that might be going on, trying to guess which of his neighbors were hosting the event. The cars were most dense outside his house. All of the lights were on and music was playing loudly. James began to worry that his kids might not be as trustworthy as he had thought.

Teenagers in various states of dress were lounging about in the living room. Some were cuddling, some were drinking, and a few were even asleep. A half-dozen used condoms were scattered about on the furniture and floor. There was something more disturbing than that, though: there was something in the air - some aura shrouding the house - that he had felt before, and it scared him.

“Hunter, Laurel, get out here!” James bellowed.

Hunter emerged from his bedroom, looking punch-drunk. “Dad, before you say anything, this is Laurel’s party - I had nothing to do with it,” Hunter explained.

“But you allowed it?” James retorted. “Where’s your sister?”

“How should I know? I’ve been in my room all night,” Hunter excused himself.

Just then another person emerged from Hunter’s room: a beautiful curvaceous young woman with long black hair and mismatched eyes, wearing only panties and a borrowed T-shirt. It didn’t occur to Hunter that she had been slender and blond with wings and a tail when she had entered his room.

“Hey James,” the black haired woman said. “What do you think of my new look?” Alison twirled to show off her new body.

“Dad, this is my girlfriend, Alison,” Hunter said.

“Wait, Alison?” James asked in disbelief. “My Alison?” She looked nothing like the demon James had known for half of his life, and yet he knew her.

“What do you mean, ‘your’ Alison?” Hunter asked.

James pointed at Hunter and Alison. “Don’t move, don’t say a word.”

James knocked on Laurel’s bedroom door and called out to her. When the door opened, Lenny was in the doorway wrapped in a sheet. “Um, she’s not in here,” she said, tiling her head toward the bed from which a naked boy was looking at James with fear.

James took a moment to send off a text to Clover before he continued his search:

James: Kids are having a party. Alison is here. Feels like the cruise ship.

“Dad I’m here,” Laurel said, emerging from James and Clover’s bedroom. “God, stop shouting.”

James led Laurel back to Hunter and Alison. “What the hell is going on here?” He asked.

“Dad, it’s just a party!” Laurel explained.