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

there first, her head cocking to one side. “He wasn’t retired,” she announced triumphantly. “Daddy was still hunting demons, right up to the day he was killed.”
    “I think he might have been,” I admitted, though that wasn’t why I kept his stuff in the trunk. That was simply because it seemed to belong there, with the things from my past that were special to me.
    “You think?”
    “Because of the notes we found,” I explained. “My best guess is that your dad was hunting again.” Right before Christmas, Allie and I had found two cryptic notes from Eric. To both of us, it had been clear that Eric had been purposefully killed. From the subtext, though, I’d gleaned that he’d stuck his toe back in the Forza waters. Whether he’d gone so far as to hunt again, though...
    That I wasn’t sure about, and that one simple question had weighed on me for weeks. I’d lived for years with the belief that I knew Eric inside and out, just like he knew me. And then, with one cryptic note, everything changed. Suddenly, I’d learned that Eric had secrets. Big secrets.
    Reality had slapped me hard across the face and I was still reeling.
    “When we moved to San Diablo,” I began, in response to Allie’s querying look, “it was because we’d retired. We were done with hunting. It’s not exactly a career you want long term. There’s a pretty high mortality rate, and we were starting a family.”
    She scooted around until her back was against the chest and her knees were tucked up under her chin. Then she nodded, my signal to continue.
    “I gave up hunting completely, and I thought your dad had, too. I stayed at home with you. He got a job in the rare books room at the library. We invited the neighbors over for dinner, went to birthday parties for your friends, spent weekends at the beach. It was normal.”
    “Except Daddy wasn’t really...”
    “Apparently not,” I said. “But let me tell it my way.”
    She nodded, and I kept on.
    “I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently your dad had been training to be an alimentatore.”
    “A what?”
    “It’s like a coach for a Hunter. Does research. Tells you where to go and who to fight. That kind of thing.”
    “And you didn’t know?”
    I shook my head. “I only just learned, actually. I called Father Corletti a few weeks ago. He told me. And he told me that your dad had wanted to keep it a secret.”
    “Oh.” The sound was small and insecure, essentially a mirror to the way I felt. The knowledge of Eric’s secret pursuit had stung, the pain all the more intense because I couldn’t help but wonder if the life we had together wasn’t enough for him. That I wasn’t enough for him.
    I took a deep breath, determined to stay in control for Allie’s sake. “So when he went on that business trip to San Francisco,” I continued, “I had no reason to think it was anything other than what he’d told me. Now, though...”
    I broke off, my voice cracking. Allie leaned forward and took my hand. “It’s okay, Mom. It’s okay to be mad at him.”
    I blinked, startled. Because she was absolutely right. I was mad. I’d had no idea he was in danger; no idea that he’d reentered the world of Forza. When we’d hunted together I’d been prepared. But ten years later, when we were supposedly retired? His death just about laid me flat. And to know now what I should have known then... well, yeah. Mad is pretty much an understatement.
    Her hand was still in mine, and I tugged her close and hugged her fiercely. “I love you, Allie. Don’t you ever forget that.”
    “I know, Mom,” she whispered, and hugged me back just as tight. “Daddy loved you, too,” she said, after a long pause.
    “Oh, baby, I know that. I’m a little mad, but mostly I’m confused. And maybe my feelings are hurt. But I’ve never doubted for a second that your dad loved me. You can keep a secret from someone and still love that person. That’s just the way the world works.”
    She