The Demon's in the Details

By M.A. Kropp

When Cerise learns of her mother’s death, she decides that her father needs to know. Only problem is, Cerise’s father is a demon and doesn’t have a cell phone. She decides to attempt to summon him, the way Johnny does when he needs to speak to a demonic entity. She doesn’t tell Johnny what she’s planning. and he discovers her, unconscious, after her father was able to break the containment circle. Cerise says he didn’t care about her or her mother. He just wanted to escape.
They travel to the Pacific Northwest, where Cerise’s mother lived. It’s familiar territory for the demon so Johnny feels that’s where they have the best chance of tracking him down. They enlist the help of Quinnell, an older demon hunter, who raised Cerise after her mother couldn’t live with knowing her daughter was half-demon. Quinnell was also Johnny’s teacher, and had banished Cerise’s father originally.
As they hunt the demon, it becomes clear that he has taken a sudden interest in Cerise, and wants her to join him. When she refuses, he tries to force her to come with him. Johnny and Quinnell manage to break his hold, but they know he won’t stop. He wants something from her, and they know whatever it is, it won’t be good for Cerise. They track him into the mountains around Quinnell’s home. Daddy makes several attempts to capture Cerise, including sending some other demonic creatures after her. Add to all that a Bigfoot-hunting photographer and a tribe of indigenous creatures that have hidden in the forest for centuries, and things start to get complicated, especially when Daddy Demon does manage to kidnap his daughter. Johnny will need to teach his old yo-yo some new tricks to untangle Daddy Demon’s plot and rescue Cerise before the demon takes up permanent residence in our world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M.A. Kropp
• Release date: Jan 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781732916326

M.A. Kropp

M.A. Kropp is a writer and blogger. She writes fantasy and urban fantasy, with the occasional foray into science fiction. She has always loved myths and magic, fairy tales and folklore. She enjoys taking bits and pieces of folk tales and myths and braiding them together into a new idea. Sometimes, she bends the edges of the myth to push or pull it in a new direction. People are the linchpin of it all. She enjoys creating characters that come to life and may become friends (or enemies!) of yours. Most of all, she tries to tell a good story that all readers can enjoy.She also blogs several times a week at makropp.com. When not writing she is often found serving as Chief Scorekeeper for International Chili Society chili competitions, where she cooked competitively for a number of years. She has also been accused of reading anything and everything that comes in front of her eyes: books, old newspapers, cereal boxes, and, yes, even the instruction manuals that come with things. Most of all she enjoys eating good food, drinking good wine and other spirits, and spending time with good people. She is married, has three grown daughters, four awesome grandchildren, one dog, and three cats. She lives in southern NY.

Book preview

The Demon’s in The Details

The Yo-Yo Files #3

M.A. Kropp

Cover design by Kream of the Kropp Techworks

Copyright © 2019 M.A. Kropp

Published by Kream of the Kropp Bookworks

This e-book is being provided for your personal enjoyment without DRM encoding. It may not be sold or given to anyone other than the purchaser. If you did not purchase this book or it was not purchased for you, please respect the work of the author and purchase a copy. Thank you.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

About the Author

More Books by the Author

One

Johnny sat up in the bed, pushing the tangle of blanket and sheet away. He glanced at his watch on the bedside table. A couple hours until sunrise. He must have been dreaming. But, no, there it was again. The faint lingering scent of magic- slightly burnt with a cloying sweetness. Except he was still in bed and he hadn’t cast any spells before he went to sleep. He tossed the covers aside and slid out of the bed. He followed the faint odor down to the first floor and then to the door leading to his basement workroom. When he opened the door, the smell was stronger but fading. Someone had performed a spell down here not long ago. He started down the stairs, slowly and without sound.

When he got to the bottom, it took several seconds for his eyes to adjust to the hazy fog hanging in the air. Once they did, he stepped into the room and walked over to the long worktable in the center. Sitting on the edge was a small wooden box. It was open and empty. The box usually contained a piece of charcoal made from the wood of a tree sacred to many peoples. Johnny used it to inscribe a containment circle. He touched the box with a finger. He hadn’t opened it in days. Next to the box, one of his reference books was open to a list of containment runes.

He looked across the table. The stools that usually sat on the opposite side of the table had been moved to the back wall. The haze and smell were coming from the open space behind the worktable. He walked around the table to get a better look. A large double circle was inscribed on the floor. There were containment runes inscribed between the lines, and a large cross cut the entire thing into quarters. The lines crossing at the center were broken in multiple places and smoke rose from burned spots on the floor. One of the quarters of the circle was smeared and blackened, the runes smudged and unreadable. The circle had been breached and not closed properly after. There was a distinct smell of pine and forest mulm near the broken spot. As his gaze traveled around the broken spell, he saw a small form crumpled at the edge nearest the broken quarter. He hurried across the floor, careful not to step on the still pulsing energy field. He knelt next to the still form and saw with a rush of relief that she was breathing. He turned her onto her back and lifted her head.

Cerise? There was no response. Johnny shook her gently. Cerise. Come on, open your eyes.

With a groan, Cerise blinked her wide green eyes open. She gasped and tried to sit up. The movement made her groan again and reach her thin hands to cradle her head.

Ow.

Johnny grinned.

I’m not surprised. He helped Cerise sit upright and then sat back on his haunches. What happened down here? Did you do this? He gestured to the breached circle behind him. Cerise looked at the still slightly smoking markings on the floor and winced.

I just thought he ought to know. I didn’t think… She stopped and dropped her eyes to where her hands were twisting around each other on her lap. Johnny put a hand on her shoulder.

Look, let’s get upstairs and I’ll get you a cup of tea, okay? It will help the headache. You can tell me what happened after that. He started to lift her, but she held up a hand.

I can walk, thanks, anyway.

Johnny held out a hand to help her stand and they climbed the stairs to the living room. Cerise sat in an upholstered chair and Johnny went to the small kitchen to make the tea. A few moments later, he returned with a steaming mug.

It’s got some honey in it. He waved a hand when she wrinkled her nose. I know. You usually take it black, but the sugar will help you recover. She took the mug and sipped.

Is this that Devil’s Due stuff Luc gave you?

Johnny nodded. I figure it might be better than the usual store-bought stuff I have. Finish that up while I go disperse the circle. Don’t want to leave it open too long, especially with it breached. I’ll be back shortly. He crossed to the basement door again and disappeared. When he came back up, he sat on the sofa across from the chair Cerise sat in. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, supporting his chin on interlaced fingers.

You want to tell me what you were doing down there? And why you were doing a summoning without me? That is what you were doing, right?

Cerise nodded. When I found out, I just figured he might care. A little. I had no idea what was going to happen. And I don’t know how to fix it.

Okay, hang on. Who should be caring about what? At her confused look, Johnny sat back. Look, just start at the beginning. I’m not mad, but I am worried. Something got you upset enough to try that summoning. Which was a very bad idea, by the way. There’s a good chance I can help you fix whatever it is, but not if I don’t know what happened.

Cerise stared off into the distance, her green eyes clouded. She was usually confident and ready with a quick remark. Now, sitting with her hands wrapped around the mug and shoulders hunched, she looked small and vulnerable. She brought her gaze back to Johnny’s and sighed.

Day before yesterday, I got a call from Quinnell.

Johnny’s eyebrows raised but he didn’t comment.

He said my mother died a couple days ago.

Diane? Why didn’t you say something?

Cerise shrugged. She leaned forward to set her empty mug on the table between them and rested her hands on her knees.

She’s been sick for a while now. It wasn’t a surprise.

Johnny stared at her, trying to read her emotions. He couldn’t.

We could have gone out there, you know. Visited her before, well, before it got to be too late.

Cerise shrugged again.

I didn’t want to upset her. We’ve never been close. You know that. She passed me off to Quinnell so she wouldn’t have to be reminded about what happened. I figured there was no sense reminding her when she was busy dying.

Okay, but why a summoning?

Like I said, I thought he ought to know. She stopped, letting her words sink in.

He? Who is he? Johnny’s eyes widened as he figured it out. Oh. Ohhhhh. Your father!

Cerise nodded.

So, you know who he is? Johnny asked.

No, not exactly. When my ability to see daemonflash started showing, Quinnell told me what he was. He also told me what happened to him. Sort of. I never could get much detail out of him about that.

And you figured you’d ring him up and let him know that the woman who bore his child had died. How did you know what demon to call?

I just sort of concentrated on my real father and he was- just there. So, I told him about her.

How did he take it?

Cerise shut her eyes.

He laughed. Didn’t even remember her. Said she was just one of, well, a whole bunch of human women he’d been with. He called me a fool. And then. She stopped.

He broke the circle.

Yeah. The word came out in a whisper. Cerise lifted her head and looked at Johnny. I really didn’t think that would happen. I’ve seen you do summonings a million times. I thought I’d done it right. I don’t know how he got out, but he did, and now he’s loose again, and it’s all my fault. I won’t blame you if you fired me.

Johnny leaned forward and put a hand over hers.

I’m not going to fire you. You’re too valuable to what I do. I’m going to help you. Are you sure it was your father? You know how easily demons lie, especially high order ones like you called.

Cerise drew a deep breath and let it out with an audible sigh.

"I’m not sure how I knew, but I am sure it was him. I felt it, something. A connection maybe.