Free More Than Fiends by Maureen Child

wanted to know what it was.
    As much as I prefer the view with my head in the sand, I had to acknowledge that I was all of a sudden pretty damn strong. And then there was the cool kicking thing.
    â€œJust who are you?” I asked. “Really?”
    â€œI’m your guide,” she said, and her black eyes sort of swam with a wash of color. Weird. Big surprise. “I’m here to help you accept your destiny. To—”
    â€œYeah,” I interrupted fast, because I just wasn’t up to hearing the whole destiny speech again. “I got that part. But—”
    The phone rang again, and irritated, I grabbed it. “Thea, you’re not talking to me, remember? Tell me later.”
    â€œCass, honey, is that you?”
    â€œGram?”
    â€œJust called to say happy birthday!”
    Oh yeah. As birthdays go, this one had been a beaut. “Thanks, but—”
    â€œIs Jasmine there?”
    I whipped the receiver away from my ear and stared at it before slapping it back against my head hard enough to make me wince. Damn. Forgot about the strength thing. “Jasmine? So you do know Jasmine?”
    â€œWell, of course I do, sweetie. She was my guide, too.”
    I snapped a quick look at the old lady, who was now peeling one of my Hershey’s Kisses. As she popped it into her mouth, she smiled, settled herself on a kitchen chair and folded her wrinkled-up, bony hands on the table in front of her.
    â€œYour guide?”
    â€œOh, hasn’t she explained yet?” My grandmother sounded a little whiny, which was totally not like her. “I was hoping she’d already given you the talk. But I can wait. I’ll just call back later and—”
    â€œOh, no you don’t, Gram,” I said, giving Jasmine a steely-eyed look that didn’t faze her a bit. “No slithering off until you tell me what the hell is going on!”
    â€œCass, honey, language.”
    I thumped my forehead against the cupboard. “Gram…”
    Growing up, especially after my mom died, I spent a lot of time at Gram’s house. There were always cookies, a willing ear and warm hugs waiting for me there. Harriet—better known as Harry to her friends—Burke was a constant in my life—and Thea’s, too—until she up and moved to Florida a few years ago. Why Florida when she already lived in California was beyond me. After all, we have sunshine, too, without the humidity and the hurricanes and alligators and bugs big enough to own property.
    â€œShe said something about me being a Demon Duster?”
    â€œOh, good. Then she has told you.” She laughed a little. “You had me worried for a minute there.”
    â€œI had you worried?”
    â€œWell, it is Jasmine’s place to tell you, after all. Don’t want to step on toes.”
    â€œYou mean it’s true?” Weird, weirder, weirdest. Woo-hoo! I win the Crappy Life Contest! What’s first prize? An enema ?
    â€œWell, of course it’s true, dear. Why would anyone make up something silly like that?”
    I glanced at Jasmine and saw that she was still smiling and still eating my kisses. Old lady or not, she’d better not eat all of my chocolate, or we were going to have another kick-a-thon.
    Just beneath my grandmother’s voice, I heard the echo of a ship’s horn and the rattle and clank of silverware mixed with muttered conversation.
    â€œWhere are you, Gram?”
    â€œOh, honey, I’m on a cruise.”
    â€œAgain?”
    My grandmother went on cruises every other week. Even in the fall, when most sane people want to stay on dry land, Harry was out on the high seas, bingo-ing her way to happiness.
    â€œListen now, Cass honey,” Harry was saying, dropping her voice until it was almost impossible to hear her over the background noises. “You pay attention to Jasmine. She’ll teach you everything you need to know. Then when I get back, I’m