I’m excited to be part of the Entangled Teen Road Trip Blog Hop. Today I want to share an excerpt from Demon Bound where bookworm Meena tells new guy in town, Jake about her boring Southing Illinois town right before she finds out it’s a hotbed for soul-sucking demons, demon-hunting witches, and vampires who just wanna have fun.

***

Meena

When we were driving down the road I said, “How’d you end up in Crossroads? It’s not exactly a summer destination spot.”

He adjusted the air-conditioning vents, tilting them upward. “My mom claims working for my aunt will build character. I’m pretty sure she wanted to go party and hang out with her new boyfriend and Aunt Zelda was the only one who’d take me.”

I’d been aiming for small talk and ended up with way more information than I knew what to do with. “I’m sorry. That sucks on two levels.”

“It is what it is,” he said. “The cool part is, during the school year my mom doesn’t care what I do.”

“Free-range parenting?”
“Pretty much.”
“How are you related to Zelda?” She was too old to actually be his aunt.
“She’s my mom’s second husband’s aunt.”
I needed a diagram to figure that explanation out, so I went with, “That’s complicated.”
“Family always is. How about you. What’s your story?”

“My family has lived in Crossroads for generations and I have no idea why. I mean if you could pick any place to live, why stay here?” I pointed out the window at the endless cornfields of Southern Illinois. “Apparently, I’m the only one who feels that way. My older sisters have shelves full of pageant trophies and they think a parade down Main Street is an amazing event. I refuse to wear false eyelashes, which is a travesty in my family, and I’d rather read a book than ride on a float.”

“People here ride on floats…for real?”

“Yes and they spend hours making them out of chicken wire and tissue paper, which is also supposed to be fun.” Chalk that up as one more thing I didn’t understand. “One more year of high school and then I’m out of here. Where’re you from?”
“My mom isn’t great at staying put, so I’ve lived in a lot of different places. Some were exciting. Some were dangerous. Some were boring. Crossroads seems like it falls into the safe, but not too exciting, category.”

“I’d call it boring with a huge helping of judgmental. Everyone is expected to behave a certain way and if you fall outside of that norm, people are not pleased.”

“What do you mean?”

I reached over to turn up the air-conditioning and discovered it was at the max. Lovely. “Everyone around here smiles and nods and does the exact same thing everyone else does and pretends to be happy about it. Then half of them, like my dad, go home and drink until they pass out in front of the television.”

“Lots of people drink,” Jake said, a tad too defensively.

This right here is why I didn’t fit in. I should’ve talked to him about football or some other thing I didn’t give a crap about, but nooo…I had to tell him something that bothered me, when I didn’t know him well enough to do that.

“You’re right. They do, but if people liked their lives, I don’t think they’d drink until they passed out every night.”

“I’ve always heard people drink more in small towns because there isn’t anything else to do.” He grinned. “This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me there’s all sorts of cool things to do around here.”

“You are about to be disappointed, unless you think hanging out at the diner, the library, or going to a bonfire is exciting.”

“Bonfires look fun in movies,” he said. “I’ve never been to one in real life.”

“In the fall when the temperature drops, bonfires are fun. It will be eighty degrees tonight. And half the citizens of Crossroads will probably go to a bonfire, sit around a blazing pile of logs, and think it’s a wonderful evening.”

“And you?” he asked.

“I think drunk people are obnoxious and it’s too freaking hot to build a fire.”

He laughed. “So you don’t fit?”

“No. I hide out at the library.” I took the turn onto the road that led to Carol’s house. “I used to try and pretend that I liked all the stuff everyone else did but it was too much work and I wasn’t any happier, so now I do what I want.”

***

We parked and grabbed the packages from the trunk before heading up the steps to the front porch. I grabbed the knob expecting the door to be open. Very few people bothered to lock their doors in Crossroads. If someone invited you to their house it was normally a walk-on-in policy. Then again, Carol was different.

I knocked. Carol opened the door. “Leave the packages on the porch and get in here. Quick.”

We set the packages down and shuffled inside. “What’s going on?” Jake asked.

Zelda stood off to the side holding a Super Soaker water gun. “Sorry about this, kids. We can’t take any chances.” And then she took aim and fired. A stream of cold water drenched the front of my dress and Jake’s shirt.

“What the hell?” Jake sputtered, wiping water from his face.

“Are you insane?” Wait, I already knew the answer to that question. “Why did you do that?”
Carol tossed me a towel and then handed one to Jake. “Since you’re not smoking, we can assume you’re not demons.”

“Why would you think we were demons?” I asked.

“The séance didn’t go well at the Dixons’ house,” Zelda said. “Apparently their oldest son made a deal and then decided he wanted to change his mind.”

“Made a deal?” I said. “What are you talking about?” The towel Carol gave me didn’t do much to dry my dress.

“I’ll explain everything,” Carol assured us. “Give me a minute and I’ll grab you some dry clothes.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her to forget this whole summer job. She must have sensed what I was about to say because she said, “I swear, we were making sure you were safe. We needed to know you weren’t possessed.”

Jake touched my shoulder. “Does any of this make sense to you?”

“No.”

“So it’s not some small-town joke you play on the outsider?”

I shook my head.

“I’ll make us all a nice cup of tea and we’ll explain.” Zelda headed toward the kitchen.

“Tea isn’t going to dry my dress.” I swiped at the soaked fabric and then tossed the towel on the coffee table. “This has been nice. I’m going.”

“You can’t go.” Carol came closer. “I know you think I’ve lost my marbles, but there’s a lot you don’t know about Crossroads. Stay for tea, I’ll pay you for your time, and then you can do whatever you want.”

There was a new hardback book I wanted to order so… “Fine. I’ll stay.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back in a minute.”

If she was really worried, what did that mean? Wait a minute… “You could’ve asked me to drink more holy water instead of giving me a shower,” I called out after her retreating form. She didn’t respond.

Jake looked at me sideways. “You drank holy water?”

“Yes, and I’m sure the tea will be made with it, too. Your aunt might be New Agey, but Carol believes in all sorts of supernatural things.”

“Like?”

I pointed at the jars full of silvery liquid. “Apparently those swirly things are the souls of her enemies.” “Seriously?”

I nodded.

“And you agreed to work for her?”

“It was either this or fast food,” I snapped. “And I’m allergic to hair nets.”

Carol came back carrying two black robes. “Change into these and we’ll put your clothes in the dryer.”

I held the garment at arm’s length. “These aren’t some sort of sacrificial robes, are they?”
“They’re terry cloth,” Carol said. “Sacrificial robes are never made of terry cloth.”
I did not find her response comforting.
“The laundry room is off the kitchen.” She headed in that direction and Jake followed.
Should I stay and ride out this wave of weirdness, or bail? I shivered as the air-conditioning kicked on. First I’d get dry, and then I’d figure out what the heck was going on.

When I entered the kitchen, Carol said, “Jake went in the laundry room, so you can change in the bathroom.” Once I had the too-big robe on and my dress was spinning around in the dryer, I joined the two ladies and Jake at the kitchen table.
“Do not drink the tea,” Jake warned as I reached for my cup.
“Why not?” I peered into the brown liquid.
“There is nothing wrong with the tea,” his aunt chided.

“Trust me. It tastes bad.” Jake seemed serious. “Sniff it first if you don’t believe me.”
I picked up the warm cup and inhaled some of the steam. It smelled like a dusty old spice cabinet. “What’s in here?”

“It’s chamomile clove tea,” Zelda said.
Yuck. I hated cloves. “No thanks.”
“Take one sip,” Carol said. “It helps ward off demons.” And I’m done. “You know, this job may not be for me.”

“Not so fast, I saw you checking out my library,” Carol said. “Take a sip and I’ll give you access to my books.”

Dang. She’d discovered my kryptonite. Maybe I could adjust to her level of wackiness if it meant access to her library. I eyed the brown beverage in my cup. “There’re no souls in here, right?”

“Nope. Just holy water, chamomile, and cloves.”

I put the cup to my lips and sipped, grimacing at the bitter taste.
“Told you,” Jake said.
He wasn’t wrong. I wanted off this ride. “You’ve got ten minutes to convince me that you aren’t batshit crazy.” I set the timer on my cell. “And go.”

“A few years ago,” Zelda said, “Brant Dixon made a deal with a demon and—”

“Wait a minute,” Jake said. “The town is named Crossroads and it has demons? Are you saying this is literally a crossroads where you can find wish-granting demons?”

His aunt and Carol both nodded.
I laughed. No one else joined in.
“Oh, come on.” I pushed to my feet.
Carol pointed at my cell. “Time’s not up yet.”
“Fine.” I sat back down.
“Do you know who Brant is?” Carol asked.
He’d gone to school with my oldest sister. “Sure. Everyone knows who he is.”
“Did you ever wonder how a tall skinny kid became the quarterback and married the head cheerleader?”
I didn’t know much about sports, but most of the football players looked like they could bench-press a car. Brant might be the same height but he probably weighed a third of what most of those guys did. Something didn’t add up. “Are you freaking serious? The idiot sold his soul so he could play sports and date a cheerleader?”
“Loser,” Jake muttered. “If you’re going to sell your soul it should be for something big, like a million dollars or the cure for cancer.”

“Don’t even joke about selling your soul.” Zelda pointed at him. “Demons are always listening and waiting to prey on the weak.”

I took a deep breath and blew it out. “For the sake of argument, let’s say I believe about the demons. Why are you so freaked out?”

“Brant’s mom claimed she wanted a séance so she could ask her great-aunt Betty for a pumpkin pecan pie recipe. Once I summoned Betty, Brant called to his demon. Things went downhill after that. Brant argued that he didn’t owe the demon his soul on account of his wife leaving him. He claimed that voided their deal.”

“And the demon didn’t agree?” Jake said.

“No. He did not, and he expressed his discontent by making Brant slam his head on the dining room table until he cracked his skull open.”

“Oh…well that’s a disturbing visual.”

“And now the demon is mad at me,” Zelda said, “because he thinks I was involved in the deceit.”

“Can’t you tell him you weren’t in on it?” Jake asked.

“Demons aren’t known for being reasonable,” Carol said.
“That still doesn’t explain why you thought Jake and I needed to be blasted with holy water.”

“Demons can hitch a ride with unsuspecting victims,” Carol said. “Bane, the crossroads demon in question, would find the people closest to Zelda and try to use them. So we couldn’t take any chances.”

…

Jake

Aunt Zelda had always been eccentric, but this was overboard, even for her. I’d play along and figure a way out of this mess. “Now that Meena and I have been declared demon-free, what’s next?”

“I’m going to call a lesser demon and hope he’ll help us broker a conversation with Bane.”

Yeah, that sounded like a solid plan. “While you’re doing that, Meena and I will go someplace else.”

“Good idea,” Meena said. “We’ll hang out at the diner. The totally normal, not-possibly-infested-with-demons diner.”

Carol snorted. “Nice try. You’re both staying put until we know it’s safe to leave.”

No, we weren’t. “How long is that going to take?” We needed a reason to leave. “I haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

“Help yourself to anything in the refrigerator,” Carol said. “Don’t open the freezer.”

“Speaking of opening things, you never said if we brought the right packages,” Meena said.

“One problem at a time,” Carol said.

“What did you order?” Meena asked. “I’m asking because I need to know if I should spray my car with holy water.”

“Books and crystals, so your car should be fine.” “Good to know.”
Zelda stood and went into the dining room. Carol followed. She crossed the threshold and looked back at us. “Remember, don’t open the freezer.”

“Got it.” I waited for them to close the door before turning to Meena.

“We’re not staying here,” she said. “Right?”
“No. Any chance our clothes are dry?”
“Nope,” she said. “But I’ll take wet clothes over demon- summoning old ladies.”
I followed her to the laundry room. She opened the dryer and pulled out her blue dress and something made of pink lace. That was interesting.

She held the dress up. “This isn’t nearly dry enough.”

I grabbed my things. My jeans were damp, but not too bad. My shirt was still soaked.

“I’m going to change in the bathroom,” Meena said, and then took off.

I changed in the laundry room. Something that sounded like chanting in another language filtered through the wall. Aunt Zelda was nuts, which was too bad, because I liked her.

I could worry about her mental state later. Right now we needed a way out of here. There was a door on the back wall of the laundry room which was probably a closet, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. I grabbed the handle. Son of a— I yanked my hand back and stared at my red palm. The doorknob was so cold it burned.
“Jake, you should come out here,” Meena said.
I joined her in the kitchen. She wasn’t alone. A dark- haired man sat at the table eating cat treats out of a bag. “Dude, that’s cat food,” I said.

“I realize that.” He tilted his head and stared at Meena. “Do you know who I am?” “No.”

“You told me I was a handsome guy.” And then he meowed.

Meena took a step backward. “You’re Goblin?”

“Whoa!” I looked around for a weapon. “He’s a goblin?”

“No,” Meena said. “He’s Carol’s cat. His name is Goblin.”

“This guy’s a cat?” Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder.
“I’m a familiar,” Goblin said.
“Wait a minute,” Meena said. “Does that mean Carol is a witch?”
“Something like that,” Goblin said.
Meena reached up to rub her temples. “I’ve about reached my quota for weird crap today, Goblin. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Well, it would appear that Carol has summoned a demon. I’m not sure it’s going well.”

“We need a plan,” Meena said. “We’ll start with the simplest approach first.” She grabbed her phone and tried to make a call. “I don’t have any service.”

I pulled out my cell. “Me either. Does Carol have a landline?”

Goblin shook his head.

“Back to the original plan.” Hopefully the cat-guy could help. “We need a way out of this house.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Goblin said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Carol warded the entire house. It’s on lockdown right now.”

“Is that why the door in the laundry room gave me frostbite?” I held out my palm to show the red mark where I’d touched the doorknob.

“That door leads to the basement,” Goblin said.

“We’re not supposed to go in the basement,” Meena said. And then she pointed at Goblin. “Why can’t we go in the basement?”

“There are things locked in the basement you don’t want to deal with.” Goblin held the treat bag upside down over the table and shook it vigorously. Nothing came out.

“There are things up here we don’t want to deal with.” Meena snatched the bag of cat treats from Goblin. “Stop it. The bag is empty.”

“The bag is never empty.” Goblin sounded more upset over this than he did about our situation. “Carol makes the bag full again.”

“I’ll check the cabinets for more treats,” I said.

…

Meena

I was beginning to think Goblin’s mind was more cat than human. When Jake brought a new bag of treats over to the table Goblin reached for it but I was faster. “Let me help you.” Maybe I could bribe him into being helpful. I ripped the top open and put three treats on the table. He ate the first two and then batted the third one back and forth between his hands.
“Goblin.” I kept my tone even. “Where is the back door?” All houses had to have back doors.
“There is no back door. Carol sealed it off years ago.” Goblin stopped playing with the treat as a ripple of something flowed through the house.

“What was that?” Jake asked.
“It felt like invisible ice water,” I said.
“That was power from the rift that Carol and Zelda made,” said Goblin.

Ten minutes ago I wouldn’t have believed that statement, but I was talking to a guy who was a cat, so anything seemed possible. “You know the layout of the house. There has to be another way out.”

“If Carol doesn’t come back, promise you’ll take me home with you. I don’t like being alone.”

“I promise I’ll take care of you.” Not sure how I’d explain the man-cat to my dad, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

Jake came and sat at the table with us. “Let’s focus. How do we get out?”

“The front door opens to Crossroads,” Goblin said. “The upstairs bedroom window leads to Crossroads, too.”

“So you’re saying there are other doors that lead to places besides Crossroads?” Talking to Goblin was like trying to assemble a puzzle.

“The new portal in the living room floor leads to the demon realm,” he said. “And the basement and the freezer are where Carol dries out the demons.”

“Enough riddles.” Jake stood and walked over to the door which led to the dining room. He turned the handle back and forth. “It’s locked, but the hinges are on this side. All I need is a flat head screwdriver and a hammer. We can take the pins out of the hinges and open the door.”

Sounded better than any plan I had. “Okay.” I helped him rummage through the kitchen drawers. A butter knife and a meat tenderizer would have to do.

Jake placed the blade of the knife against the lip of the pin and tapped it up until the pin was almost out. He did the same thing to the other hinges. “Hold the door, Meena.”

I placed my palms flat on the door so it wouldn’t fall on us once it was free. Jake pulled the pins out and the door wobbled and then came loose from the frame.

“I’ve got it.” Jake grabbed the handle. I ducked under his arm and backed up. With one tug, the door came free from the frame.

“You’re handy to have around,” I said.

He leaned the door against the wall. “You can be in charge of the book smarts and I’ll take care of the real- world problems.”

The dining room turned office looked the same as it had the last time I’d seen it. “Nothing seems different in here.”

Another wave of invisible power rolled over me, making me a little woozy. “I don’t like that.”

“You shouldn’t have destroyed the door.” Goblin’s voice came right next to my ear. I jumped.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that. And we didn’t destroy it, we opened it.”

“The doors of this house keep things out,” Goblin said.

“Well, right now they’re keeping us in and we need out,” Jake said.

“You shouldn’t open that door.” Goblin pointed to the door which led to the living room and the front door beyond. Paragraph

“Do you have a better idea?” I asked Goblin. “Because I don’t want to live in this house forever.”
“We should go upstairs,” Goblin said.
And that’s when I realized something. “Where are the stairs?” I hadn’t seen any steps leading up to the second story.

“Behind that bookcase.” Goblin pointed to a tall bookshelf overflowing with leather-bound books and folders.

“We don’t want to go up, we want to go out,” Jake said.

I was torn. “What are the odds that the thing on the other side of the door sending out those pulses of power is friendly?”

“I don’t know, but if it’s that powerful, it probably knows we’re here,” Jake said.

Good point. “If we’re not trying to surprise it, we might as well make a detour upstairs. Maybe we’ll find something useful.”

You can find out more about Demon Bound here: https://books2read.com/DemonBound1

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