Page 118 of My Monster’s Keeper

He pokes his head out of the kitchen, looks at the shadows, and his eyes widen. “Uh, sure.”

I tear free of the shadows as something crashes loudly. I don’t know what it is, but I’m seeing my pantry with a huge hole in it in my mind. So not okay.

“I said stop!” Diablos thunders. “You came here, I helped you, it’s only fair you help me.”

“I told you not to trespass in our den,” Puppy growls in an evil voice. “Now you shall be food.”

“Wait!” I shout out. I finally get to the kitchen and manage to squeeze past Stix. Diablos is in his demon form. He’s huge and crimson.

“We can’t kill him.”

“Why not?” Puppy snarls.

“Because Hartley brings you snacks. And we like Hartley. Diablos is Hartley’s mate.”

“The useless demon has a mate?” Puppy asks, but the question is aimed at Frost, not me. I turn, watching as the two communicate silently.

Oh, this is a pairing that is going to send me mad.

“Fine. No eating. But he must not leave the kitchen when he trespasses,” Puppy snaps outs. He jumps towards the room and lands on the ceiling. We all crane our heads and watch as he scurries away.

“Well, I hope you enjoyed the entertainment,” I say to break the ice.

Diablos wheezes, puts a hand to his chest, and leans heavily on my fridge. “He’s going to give me a heart attack one day.”

“Can your kind die of heart attacks?” I ask curiously.

“You do not amuse me in the least,” Diablos snaps. “I have a job for all of you.”

“That’s wonderful,” I say absently, watching as the shadows reach out to me. “What are they doing?”

“What?” Stix asks and looks towards the other side of the room.

“Here, these, what are they doing?” I snap, my voice rising with my growing alarm.

“Oh, um. Yeah, those are yours. Have fun. What a wonderful mating present, right?”

“Mating present?” I stutter over those words and eye the shadows like a pit full of cobras.

“Indeed. Now, let’s focus on what poor, almost dead Diablos is saying.”

“We’re going to talk about this,” I snarl at Stix.

“Yes. Of course. Later.”

I growl loudly and impress everyone. Okay, so maybe this is kinda cool.

Chapter 35

Becky

Diablos’ instructions find us in the middle of suburbia. The houses are homes that I’d dream about living in. Who needs a mansion when you can aim for mediocrity?

White picket fences surround every yard, the grass is cut exactly two inches high and is uniform in its perfection. The houses have cute flowers in flower boxes, are painted white, and have huge, clear windows with frilly lace curtains shielding the insides.

I used to think people who lived in places like this were living the dream, but then I realised most of these people are in their own personal hell. They just hide it.

“We’re after one thousand and one,” Stix murmurs. He peers down the dark street and flicks his fingers. The street lights flare all at once in an explosion of sparks.