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a flicker of conceit in his eyes. He almost certainly never went hungry, or ran out of milk for his cereal, like Kara often did.
    With a groan, she ignored his comment.
    “Come on!” Kara yanked Tom’s arm, and he followed her up the stairs, but she saw his eyes were glued to the graffiti in the foyer.
    Kara began to feel anxious about her mother. She climbed up the stairs two at a time. What if the demons had gotten a hold of her? What if she was already dead? The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She remembered the crackling sound of Brooke’s dying spirit as her legs disappeared down the demons drooling gorge. She could still hear her screaming as the higher demons ripped her apart. Kara shivered and ran up the stairs.
    She flew over the last step and turned right. Her footsteps reverberated in the dingy hall, and she rocketed towards her apartment door.
    Kara stopped and stared at the door. Its white paint was cracked and pealing, just like she remembered. Dirty hand prints circled around the door handle. She blinked as Tom popped beside her.
    “Is this it?” He glanced up and stared at the black metal numbers resting above the door frame. “Four B...this is it, right?”
    “Welcome to the Hilton, my friend.”
    She rolled over the doormat with her foot and grabbed a silver key. Clenching her teeth, she grabbed the cold metal knob, stuck in the key and turned. There was a click , and Kara pushed open the door. The skin on her mortal suit prickled. She crept past the foyer and disappeared behind a doorway towards the kitchen.
    She looked around frantically. The place looked deserted, as though no one had lived there for days. A feeling of dread overwhelmed her.
    “M—mom?” she croaked. “Mom! Are you here? MOM!”
    Kara ran from the kitchen and stormed in the living room.
    “Mom!”
    It was empty. The cushions on the sofas lay unspoiled, perfectly placed. Soft light spilled from the large window behind the sky-blue loveseat, reflecting off the polished wooden surface of the coffee table. There wasn’t a speck of dirt in sight. Kara felt something was horribly wrong.
    Frantic, Kara ran to her mother’s bedroom. She pushed her way in and stopped. A chill ran up her back. It was empty. The room seemed untouched. She ran to her mother’s bed and grabbed a pillow. Pushing it against her face, she tried to find her mother’s smell. Nothing. Just the general detergent smell. What had happened?
    With her head swarming with questions, she walked out of the room and stopped. She leaned against the door frame. Her world was crumbling down.
    “Maybe she’s working or buying groceries or something?” said Tom. He smiled and tried to do his best to comfort her. “I’m sure she’s okay—I mean, why shouldn’t she be—right?”
    Kara realized that Tom had no idea who she was, and what had happened ten months ago. He didn’t know about Asmodeus or the higher demons. He was brand new, fresh out of the box.
    She cringed. Her mother worked from home and only did groceries on Tuesdays and Fridays. Today was Wednesday.
    “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
    Kara walked slowly towards the couch and let herself fall into it. She felt numb all over. Where is my mother?
    She glanced at her watch. It was 10:05am. They had less than ten minutes to get back to Cavendish Boulevard and save Monica Smith.
    “We should get going. Let’s finish our assignment, and I’ll come back later for my mom.” Kara pushed herself off the couch reluctantly. “And we better hurry. We have less than ten minutes to get there. You ready?”
    “Okay.” Tom made his way towards the door. “I’m sure you’re overreacting. I’m sure she’s all right.”
    Kara followed closely behind. She couldn’t shake off the awful feeling that something was wrong. Could her mother be out on an errand? She watched Tom reached for the door knob—
     

Chapter 4
    New Breed
     
     
     
     
     
    SPLINTERS OF WOOD FROM THE DOOR exploded as though a