Page 16

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“I should be offended by this, you know.”

Eileen’s voice, roughened from years of cigarettes and, most recently, a pipe, was a familiar balm to Cody. She sat on the porch of the independent living condo she shared with Dieter. Her hand was curled around the bowl of a beautiful hand-carved wooden pipe, the stem tight between her teeth, and her bright green eyes squinted against the smoke drifting up.

“It’s nothing to be offended about,” Cody said. “We just know you’ve got all the in-roads for information in town.”

While they’d been open with Eileen about the witch and the demon, they hadn’t shared their body swap situation. Enough was going on without adding confusing details.

“Demetrius!”

Cody looked off down the block. Amelia and Otis had just gotten out of his Chrysler and she was waving over the roof. He smiled and waved, and when he turned back, caught a look from Demmy that made him frown.

“What?” Cody said.

“Your Aunt Amelia is going to come down here,” Demmy said.

“Yeah?”

“She’s going to ask about what’s going on.”

“Probably.”

“Do you, her nephew who’s known her all your life, want her involved?”

Cody nodded once. “Got it. Probably not. I’ll just go talk with her down there. Sound good?”

“Wait a hot tamale second,” Eileen said. “You’re worried about what will happen to Amelia, but you aren’t worried about what will happen to me if I start this rumor?”

“What? No, no. Not at all,” Demmy said.

“Eileen, listen.” Cody leaned in slightly and lowered his voice. “We know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. You carried a shotgun loaded with silver-dusted shells when we had a werewolf running around.”

“Still have it, loaded and ready,” Eileen said, puffing on her pipe as she looked at Cody. She took the pipe from her mouth and pointed the stem at him. “Something’s off.”

“What do you mean?” Demmy said.

“The two of you are acting squirrelly.” She looked between them. “I know they say married couples start to look and act like each other, but something else is going on here.” She pointed the pipe stem at Demmy, indicating Cody’s body. “You are acting more like him.” She then pointed at Cody. “And you’re acting more like him.”

“Well, we’ve been friends for most of our lives, and now we’re married, so that makes sense. Right?” Cody smiled as reassuringly as possible.

“Hello, boys!” Amelia’s bright voice floated up the driveway as she approached. “It’s good to see you both. We were just at Margie’s for dinner. Thought we might see you there.”

Cody’s stomach—really, Demmy’s stomach—growled at the thought of food, and he placed a hand over his midsection. With a smile, he tried to channel his inner Demmy and turned to Amelia. “Hi, Aunt Amelia. It’s good to see you.”

Amelia stopped on the front walk that connected to the driveway. She looked between him and Demmy, then finally settled her sharp gaze on Cody. Decades of teaching had given her a sixth sense about trouble and shenanigans. Cody had gone up against her power in the past and come away with his ears ringing from a stern talking to. He tried his best to smile as normally and reassuringly as Demmy would have, but deep down he knew their cover had been blown. And all he’d done was say hello. Damn, Amelia was good.

“What in the blazing peach trees has happened to you two?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Demmy said, then flinched.

Amelia pointed at Cody. “You’re not…” She took a step forward and looked hard at Demmy. “And you’re not, either.”

“Amelia, what the devil are you going on about?” Eileen said. “They’re not what?”

“These boys are not themselves,” Amelia said.

“Well, I can understand that, what with all the witchcraft being thrown around, and a fucking demon running loose possessing people,” Eileen said.

“No, it’s not—wait, what?” She looked at Eileen, who was happily puffing on her pipe again, looking satisfied to have dropped that bit of gossip. Amelia looked between them until finally setting her sharp gaze on Demmy. “Is that you?”

Demmy sighed and his shoulders drooped. Cody pressed his lips together as he shook his head, recognizing the signs of defeat so familiar in Demmy’s own body, now being acted out in his own. “Demmy…” Cody said in a warning tone, then realized what he’d done, closed his eyes, and made a face. “Dammit.”

“What the hell is going on?” Eileen said.

“They’ve… swapped,” Amelia said, looking between them before settling again on Demmy. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’ve swapped bodies.”

“Jesus tramp stamp Christ, are you serious?” Eileen said.

Cody couldn’t help himself. He busted out laughing. Eileen and Amelia both gasped.

“It is true!” Eileen said.

“I knew it!” Amelia said.

“Yes, fine, all right. We’re swapped, okay?” Demmy said. “But please don’t tell anyone?—”

“Dieter!” Eileen called, turning slightly toward the front door of her condo. “You gotta see this!”

“Otis!” Amelia waved her arms as she yelled across the lawns. “Come down here! You need to see this!”

“Son of a bitch,” Cody said.

* * *

Cody scrubbed his hands over his face. After a lot of explanation inside Eileen and Dieter’s condo, it finally felt like he and Demmy had managed to get Amelia, Eileen, Dieter, and Otis settled down and caught up.

“You’re really Demetrius?” Otis said, bending over with hands on knees and squinting as he looked Cody in the eyes.

“Easy there, Otis. Don’t lose your balance and give me an accidental lap dance,” Cody said, reaching out to grab Otis’s shoulder and steady him.

Otis straightened up and returned to sit beside Amelia on the love seat. “Yep. That’s Cody all right.”

“Not sure how to take that,” Cody said to Demmy who sat in the armchair beside him.

“You know how to take it,” Demmy said, then blushed and looked away, shaking his head. “It’s like unintentional double entendres just come naturally to your body.”

“It’s a gift.”

“I’m a direct descendant,” Amelia said.

“What?” Demmy looked at her in surprise. “We are?”

“You’re partly a direct descendant,” Amelia said. “Your father wasn’t from here originally. But your mother’s and my side of the family have been traced all the way back to the early 1700s, and I’ve stayed here in Parson’s Hollow.”

“Seriously?” Demmy said.

“It’s true. I’ve got a book down at the condo about it. Shows the lineage and everything.”

Demmy sat back in his chair, staring at Amelia. “That’s interesting. But it’s too dangerous. There have to be other descendants we can ask to do this.”

Amelia’s expression hardened. She sat very straight with her hands folded in her lap as she looked at Demmy. Cody himself shrank down a bit when he saw the look on her face, and he could see Demmy do the same.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve been making my own decisions for a good long time now, Demetrius Barnaby Bower-Singleton, and I’ll not be relinquishing that control anytime soon. I managed my own finances, my own investments, and my own personal life. From what I recall, last summer when the town was facing zombies, of all things, I found a crossbow and learned to use it.”

“Got pretty good, too,” Otis said with a nod.

“I wouldn’t let her shoot an apple off my head,” Eileen said, then shrugged. “But she is a good shot.”

Amelia ignored them both, keeping her eyes fixed on him. “I was able to help put down the vampires a few months ago, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit by while someone calling himself a witch causes havoc throughout our hometown. If I have decided to offer up my services in the interest of saving this town and the people I love inside its borders, then I shall do so. Is that clear?”

Demmy blinked and nodded.

“I said, is that clear?” Amelia repeated in an even firmer tone.

“Yes, ma’am,” Demmy said. “It’s clear.”

“Very good.” She gave a single nod “Now, tell me what I need to know.”

As Demmy started speaking, Cody’s phone buzzed. He checked and saw it was his mother. Catching Demmy’s eye, he tipped his head toward the kitchen. Demmy excused himself and followed him out of the room. Cody handed him the still buzzing phone. “It’s my Mom.”

“Ugh, I don’t know if I can take any more of her thinking I’m you. Amelia just shorted out my brain. Can you let it go to voicemail?”

The phone stopped buzzing in Cody’s hand and he shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I can.”

It buzzed again, displaying the word Mom and a picture of her. Cody made a face and held the phone out to Demmy. “Sorry. It might be important.”

Demmy nodded and took the phone. He cleared his throat then swiped to answer it, putting the call on speaker.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Cody!” Her voice was shrill, edged with panic. “Someone’s after us!”

Cody’s heart pounded, and he instinctively leaned in closer to the phone, shouting, “What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s trying to run us off the road! Greg, look out!”

The hard sound of crumpling plastic and the shriek of scraping metal sent icy dread up Cody’s spine.

“Mom!” Cody shouted, forgetting he was supposed to be Demmy. “Dad!”

“Oh my God, this woman is crazy! She just hit us! She’s trying to force us into the ditch!”

“Where are you?” Demmy asked. Cody barely registered that the others had gathered in the kitchen as well.

“We were headed to Amelia’s,” she said. “She came up behind us on 118. I think we’re almost at the driveway for the Pines.”

“Good!” Demmy practically shouted. “We’re here right now! We’ll drive out and meet you.”

“No! We’re turning in the road now. Stay where you are, we’re almost there.” Her voice softened as if she had turned away from the phone. “Oh no, Greg, she’s still following us!”

The call ended abruptly. Cody broke for the door, pushing through the others as he ran. Demmy was right behind him, actually overtaking him at the door thanks to his longer legs. Cody really missed being inside his own body.

“Wait!” Amelia shouted as Demmy yanked open the door. “It could be a trap!”

“I don’t care,” Cody shouted back.

He crossed Eileen and Dieter’s front porch then ran across the lawn to the street. The sun was about to set, and a winter bite had come back into the air. His breath plumed in front of him as he ran down the road toward Amelia and Otis’s condo, two houses down the block.

As the sun dropped, a streetlight across from Amelia’s condo popped into life. It illuminated the bottom half of Amelia and Otis’s front yard, and threw shadows across the low ground cover plants by the porch. A few of Amelia’s garden gnomes skulked among the leaves, looking like mini assassins.

Headlights swept around the bend, and tires squealed against the asphalt. He recognized their SUV running fast approaching where he and Demmy stood in the road. They moved to the curb as another car sped around the bend. One headlight was out, and in a quick flash of streetlight, Cody saw damage along that side. This vehicle swerved back and forth across the road, the engine rumbling as the driver accelerated after Cody’s parents.

“What the fuck?” Cody shouted.

Adrenaline flooded his system as the pursuer rammed the back of the SUV and his parents jerked inside the vehicle. The SUV swerved violently side to side, and as the others gathered behind them cried out in alarm, he and Demmy leaped out of its path as it jumped the curb and drove across the grass.

The SUV came to a stop in the middle of Amelia and Otis’s lawn, and their pursuer screeched to a stop at the curb. Cody leapt to his feet, fists clenched, ready for action. Who the fuck was coming after his parents? Was it Baron or some road raging asshole who was about to regret every decision he’d made?

Dieter and Otis hurried to the passenger door and were helping Cody’s mother out. When he saw his parents moving around, Cody headed straight for the other car, Demmy right behind him.

Before they could reach the car, the driver’s door shoved open with a cry of protesting metal. The driver got out and Cody faltered. He stopped a few feet from the damaged front end of the car. Steam rose in a hissing cloud from beneath the crumpled hood, and a puddle of antifreeze spread across the road. It was like an automotive crime scene.

Mayor Henderson stood behind the car door, her eyes fully black and a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth as she smiled at them. Cody hadn’t really interacted much with her, but he knew her from events around town. She was a big-boned woman with a wide face and a helmet of hair that always looked like it weighed more than it should. And right now she looked like she was coming off a three week bender.

In the midst of all the other emotions he was feeling, Cody felt a twinge of sadness for the mayor, and, hot on the heels of that, embarrassment. She’d always been so put together when she’d been out in public. She would be horrified to know how she looked now.

“Hello, boys!” the mayor said, her voice unnaturally deep and throaty. “Good to see you again.”

“Fuck me,” Demmy said. He put a hand on Cody’s arm and pulled him a couple of steps back from the car.

The mayor slammed the car door shut with another squeal, this time accompanied by a crunch. No way any extended warranty was going to cover that. She wore a navy pantsuit, the jacket’s right sleeve torn at the shoulder, the white blouse underneath spotted with blood, dirt, and other stains.

“Ms. Mayor,” Cody said. “You’re looking a little rough tonight.”

The demon inside the mayor smiled, and it looked so completely unhinged and terrible, Cody shuddered.

“I know what you’re trying to do.” The mayor took a step toward them. Cody realized she was barefoot and both of her big toes were raw and bloody. It looked like the mayor had recently had a pedicure, if the color of the polish on her other toes was any indication, and somewhere in the back of his mind he thought she could have saved that money if she’d known she’d be possessed by a demon in the near future.

“You’re tracking down descendants to try and imprison me again.” The mayor looked to where Otis was helping Cody’s father out of the SUV.

“What? Why would we do that?” Demmy said, attracting the demon’s attention once again. “You’re obviously enjoying your freedom. You and Baron have some things to work out, sure, but you’re finally free. We’re all about freedom.”

The mayor sneered, lip curling and nose wrinkling in distaste. “I’m not free. When he released me, he bound me within the borders of this town. He just wants to use my power to feed his own. But don’t worry, I’ve got plans for him. We’ve been playing hide and seek throughout town, but I’ll find him. He dodged me out in the woods when I tried to jump into him. And you two were warded somehow, deflecting me. I had to take a fucking squirrel, and then a possum after that.” She shuddered and made a face. “Nasty things. But I made my way back into town and found your honorable mayor this morning, fresh from her pedicure.”

“What do you want?” Cody said. “Why’d you try to run my parents off the road?”

She shrugged and made a face. “I saw them drive past as I was out cruising around and decided to have a little fun. I also figured they’d eventually bring you back in my sights. And look…” The mayor spread her arms wide and flashed that awful smile. “I was right. Let’s play!”

Anything Cody might have been thinking fled as the mayor rushed them. She moved faster than he’d expected, short legs pumping, bare feet stomping through the spreading puddle of antifreeze, her dirty fingers curled into claws. Demmy yanked him aside just in time, both of them stumbling up against the SUV. He heard his parents and the others shout in surprise at the mayor’s attack, then turned to press his back against the SUV’s dented and scraped driver’s side.

The mayor had stumbled and fallen onto the driveway, tripped up by a garden gnome lurking in a flowerbed near the street. She got to her feet with a groan. Her slacks were torn at her knees, revealing scraped and bloody skin beneath. Blood dripped from cuts in her palms. She sneered, black eyes glittering in the light from the street lamp.

“Well, at least we know the demon is limited by the body it inhabits,” Demmy said.

“Yes,” the mayor said. “And it’s time for a new one.”

She moved fast, and Cody’s brain saw it like a yoga move. Leaning forward and dropping to one knee, the mayor extended her arms to either side, then brought her hands together hard in front of her. But just before her palms touched, a blur of movement in front of him made Cody flinch and turn away.

The force of the clap knocked him and Demmy back against the SUV and they fell to the grass. Cody’s ears popped from the pressure of the attack. He sat up and checked himself over. Still inside Demmy’s body, and no indications he’d been possessed.

He turned to Demmy, who lay slightly to one side. “You okay?”

Demmy pushed Cody’s big body upright and put a hand to his forehead. He shook his head slowly, then looked at him. His eyes were clear—Cody’s own brown, not demon-black—and Cody let out a breath.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Still in here, but okay.”

They both looked at the mayor lying face down in the driveway. Her arms were out to her sides and legs spread slightly. She appeared to be dead, and Cody sighed.

“Going to need to hold another special election for a new mayor,” he said. “Getting to be like the Dark Arts teachers in Harry Potter .”

Demmy stood and reached down to help Cody up. They rounded the SUV and were surprised to find his parents, Amelia, Otis, Eileen, and Dieter picking themselves up off the grass as well. They both hurried to help them all up. A quick check revealed none of them had been possessed.

“Goddamn, that hurts.”

Cody and Demmy exchanged a look.

“Who was that?” Demmy said.

“Me.”

They turned to see Tracey getting up from behind Cody’s parents’ SUV. She looked rough: flyaway hair, same jacket, shirt and jeans she’d been wearing when Cody had last seen her at Bulk & Beyond. She held the strap of her messenger bag in one hand and what looked like a large Mason jar with holes punched in the lid in the other.

“Tracey? Oh my God, are you all right?” Demmy said. “What happened?”

“I’ve been following it. I realized it had jumped in the mayor but before I could do anything it took off. I came out here because I had a lead on another descendant, so I was parked down the block when this all happened. When I saw it was going to try to jump hosts again, I blocked it with this.” She held up the mason jar. Inside Cody could see a number of dry ingredients. It looked like a large shaker of seasonings a fancy restaurant like Antonio’s might keep on tables. “But I don’t know where it ended up. From what Clarabell and I have learned, it needs to find an organic host soon after leaving or being expelled from the last one.” She looked over her shoulder. “And I’m fine, thanks. What’s with all the concern all of a sudden? That’s usually his thing.” She gestured to Cody.

“That is Demmy,” Cody said, jerking a thumb toward Demmy. “Your favorite ex-boyfriend is right here.”

She made a face. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“We wish we were,” Demmy said, then looked around. “It happened out in the woods by Parson Stone’s church.”

Tracey’s expression softened and her shoulders drooped. She looked incredibly exhausted all at once, and, despite their complicated history heavy with sarcasm and bad mojo, Cody felt for her.

“That’s where he killed Rita,” she said. “And took over Heath.”

“We were there when it left Heath,” Demmy said, Cody’s voice soft and compassionate. “I’m very sorry. I know you two cared a lot about each other.”

Tracey nodded but wouldn’t meet their eyes.

“So, where did it go this time?” Cody asked, trying to change the direction of the conversation to the more immediate problem.

“Don’t know,” Tracey said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

They looked up and down the street. Shadows clung to the sides of the condos, deepening the feel of the night and playing tricks on Cody’s vision. Or Demmy’s vision. Maybe Demmy needed to get his eyes checked once this was all over.

“What the hell is going on?” Greg came forward, looking from Demmy to Tracey to Cody and back again. He finally focused on Demmy, and said, “Will you please tell me who that woman is and why she wanted to drive us off the road?”

“Um, yeah, sure,” Demmy said, glancing at Cody over Greg’s shoulder. “Dad. Let’s all go inside Amelia and Otis’s house and call the police. We can talk inside.” He looked over at Tracey. “Do you want to come in, too?”

“I don’t know,” Tracey said, coming forward and looking closely at each of the seniors in turn. “I’m not sure what happened to it.”

“To what?” Alice said, and he could hear a slight edge of hysteria in her voice. “What’s going on?”

“The demon that had possessed the mayor,” Tracey said flatly. She turned her back on them all and looked both ways up and down the road.

“The what ?”

“Who is this woman?” Greg said, waving at Tracey’s back. “What in the name of hell is going on?”

Loud creaking and cracking sounds made them all jump.

“What the hell was that?” Dieter said.

“Trouble,” Tracey said. “But I don’t know where it’s coming from.”

Cody looked at the seniors grouped behind him and Demmy. Whatever was coming next, they wouldn’t last inside one of the condos. Tracey only had so much of her magical mixture of herbs and spices in that jar. They needed to get somewhere safe. Somewhere else. He nudged Demmy.

“You’ve got my keys on you?”

Demmy nodded and patted his front pocket. “Right here.”

“We need to get everyone away from here. Now.”

“We won’t all fit inside the truck.”

“I wasn’t thinking about the truck.” Cody turned to the group. “We’re leaving.” He pointed at Dieter. “Open your garage door.”

“What?” Dieter said.

“We need the Cadillac,” Cody said. “And we have to leave right this fucking minute.”

“What’s going on?” Alice practically shouted. “Who is that woman?”

“Oh, apple orchards,” Amelia said. “What’s happening to Milton and Regina’s elm tree?”

“It’s moving awfully strange,” Otis said, squinting. “Is it a tornado?”

“Oh, shit,” Tracey said, taking a step back. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, do it faster.”

“Dieter,” Cody snapped. “Now!”

Dieter jumped as if he’d been shocked. He hurried across the lawns toward his and Eileen’s condo.

“Why’d you ask him to do that?” Eileen said. “He shouldn’t be alone.”

“He won’t be for long.” Cody looked at Demmy. “Give me the keys.”

“The seat’s already set for your legs. It’ll be faster if I go.”

Before Cody could protest, Demmy ran off to where Dieter stood by the garage door. It was opening, but much too slowly in Cody’s opinion.

“Oh birch trees, it’s uprooting itself!”

Cody looked across the street. Sure enough, in the yellow glow of the streetlight, Cody saw the large tree in the neighbor’s front yard moving as if alive. It had lowered some of its branches and was using them to push itself up out of the ground, roots and all.

“Demon version of The Lord Of the Rings ,” Cody muttered, facing the group behind him. “Everyone over to Eileen’s, right now.”

“How the hell will we be safe from that thing in my house?” Eileen said.

“We’re leaving,” Cody said, taking her by the arm and hurrying her along. “In the Cadillac.” He looked back to see his parents, Amelia, Otis, and Tracey following him. In the background, the tree had pulled a good portion of its roots from the ground, and a split ran up the center of the trunk. When he realized the demon was giving itself legs, he picked up the pace a bit more. “Gotta go, gotta go.”

“Easy, easy,” Eileen said. “My hip and knees don’t move like they used to.”

“It’s coming,” Cody said. “We need to get out of here, and hopefully lure it away from the neighborhood.”

“I can’t believe it’s inside a tree,” Tracey said. “And it’s pulling itself out of the ground.”

Ahead of him, Cody saw the Cadillac back out of the garage. He took a second to admire how his body looked behind the wheel before Dieter pulled open both passenger side doors. Cody handed off Eileen to him, and he helped her into the backseat. Amelia, Otis, and Dieter followed, crowding across the big bench seat. Cody slid in beside Demmy, and his parents crowded in beside him. They all looked out at Tracey, who stood on the driveway looking scared and alone. There was no room for her.

“Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll keep it from following you.”

“No! Lay across our laps!” Amelia shouted. “Come on!”

Cody leaned forward and shouted past his parents, “Get the fuck in the car. Now!”

Loud cracking, snapping, and tearing sounds made them all look down the street. The tree had pulled itself free. Terrifyingly long branches reached out for them as it stomped into the road on its roots. It knocked the streetlight over with one of the branches. The cover and bulb shattered against the asphalt with a pop and a bright flash.

That helped Tracey make up her mind. She dove into the backseat like a swimmer from a starting block. As she stretched out across the laps of everyone in the back, Dieter pulled the door shut.

“Drive!” Dieter shouted.

Demmy backed out of the driveway and angled the car into the neighborhood. He hit the gas, and the Cadillac’s V8 roared. The whitewall tires squealed against the asphalt and, as the tips of branches scraped across the trunk, the car shot off down the street like a rocket.

Everyone screamed, Cody included. Demmy took the corner fast, throwing them all screaming to one side.

“Easy, babe,” Cody said. “Geraldine’s got a lot more power than you’re used to.”

“Geraldine?” Alice said.

“That’s what I named her,” Cody said, then remembered he was supposed to be Demmy, and added, “Well, I suggested it to Cody, and he liked it.”

“Hang on!” Demmy said.

He took the next corner just as fast as the last one. Everyone screamed again, including the tires.

“Is it still back there?” Demmy asked, then spun the wheel hard and shouted, “Oh, shit!” as the tree lunged out of the shadowy side yard of a condo. Branches scraped along the passenger side as Demmy bounced the Cadillac up the curb and across two lawns. Porch lights began going on. Cody hoped everyone stayed inside to avoid providing the demon with fresh possession options once it burned out the inside of the tree.

“Get us out of here,” Cody said. “We need to get it away from these condos.”

“I’m trying,” Demmy said through gritted teeth. “It took a fucking short cut.”

He narrowly missed hitting a car parked in a driveway before he got the Cadillac back onto the road. The demon-tree turned, branches and roots digging into lawns and gouging the siding of a condo as it reached for them.

“Jesus weightlifting Christ, gun it!” Eileen shouted.

Demmy stomped the accelerator to the floor. The Cadillac roared down the street like the Millennium Falcon hitting light speed. Cody heard the thump and crash of the tree pursuing them, but it couldn’t keep up with the Cadillac. Then he realized…they needed to keep it thinking it had a chance.

“Slow down,” Cody said.

“What?” everyone else in the car shouted.

“We have to let it think it can catch us,” Cody said. “To get it out of the neighborhood and away from innocent people.”

“We’re not innocent?” Alice asked, and he ignored her.

“Dammit,” Demmy said. “You’re right.” He eased off the gas, and the Cadillac slowed.

Cody turned to look out the back window, and everyone else did the same. The tree stomped up the street toward them, knocking down smaller trees and shoving aside parked cars as it came. A chorus of car alarms blared behind it, and Cody could see people coming out onto their porches.

“Sheriff’s deputies will be here soon,” Cody said.

“We need to get it out onto 118 or something,” Tracey said, wincing as she turned onto her side. The four seniors she lay across grunted and winced as well. “Out in the open.”

“If enough residents have called this in as a joyride gone bad, the sheriff may put up a roadblock at the Pines entrance,” Otis said.

“I’ll call Lucia.” Cody dug his phone from his pocket. The Face ID didn’t work, of course, so he tapped in his code and placed the call.

Lucia picked up on the second ring. “What the fuck is going on?”

Cody didn’t mince words. “A demon possessed tree is chasing us in the Cadillac. We’re trying to lure it out of the Parson’s Pines neighborhood.”

“Tell her about the mayor,” Amelia chimed in.

“Oh, yeah. And the mayor is dead.”

“We’re going to need another descendant,” Tracey said loud enough for Lucia to hear.

“Son of a bitch,” Lucia said, and then she disconnected.

Cody stuck the phone between his thighs. “Okay, Lucia’s caught up.”

A branch slammed onto the trunk, the force of it lifting the front tires. Everyone shouted in surprise, and Demmy gave the car some gas. The long, shrill shriek of the branch dragging across the lid of the trunk made Cody wince.

“Sorry, girl,” he said.

“It’s got a longer reach than I expected,” Demmy said.

He played cat and mouse, slowing down and speeding up again, leading the tree out to the long ribbon of 118. A couple of sheriff’s cars sat on the shoulder to either side of the entrance. The bubble lights sent red across the tree as it lumbered up the driveway after them. Cody could see the shocked expressions of the deputies inside the cars as they watched the tree stomp and shuffle onto the road.

“It’s starting to smoke,” Dieter said, craning his neck to see out the back window.

“It’s burning through the tree faster than a human host,” Tracey said.

“Makes sense,” Cody said.

“We need to be out of sight before it burns out again,” Tracey said. “We need a place to lay low and come up with a plan.”

“It knows where to look for us at most places,” Cody said.

“Margie’s?” Eileen suggested.

“It wouldn’t be right to put her or her business at risk,” Cody said. “We need to be away from downtown.”

“I know where we can go,” Demmy said. His expression was still and tight, fingers white as they gripped the steering wheel.

“Yeah?” Cody said. “Where?”

“I’ll tell you when we get there. Hold on everyone.”

Demmy hit the gas and the car sped up. Cody looked out the back window and watched the tree lag farther behind. Smoke now curled from its upper and lower branches. That was going to be a hell of a mess to clean up.

Turning forward again, he let his head fall back against the seat and let out a breath. What a fucking day.