She laughed. “Relying on a little kid’s belief in Santa Claus.”

“No. Relying on this.” And Kanesha threw something at the succubus. She screamed and…

…fell out of the window again. “We need to stop defenstrating demons,” I noted.

“You need to remember to bring holy water.”

I laughed. “She’ll be back.”

“Not right away. I nailed her in the face.”

I turned to the kid.

“Was that really a demon?” he whispered.

“Yes, but don’t tell your mom. Most grownups are really silly, you know, and don’t believe in these things.”

I knew she’d be back. Or she’d run to her boss for help.

“I want my mom.”

“Well, then.” I offered him my hand and we walked out of the brownstone…

…right as the police showed up. It occurred to me that without Mike, or his legacy, to protect us, we’d be in real trouble.

“Stop right there.”

“They saved me from the bad lady!” the kid exclaimed, then hid behind me. Probably because a couple of the cops were pointing guns.

“Bad lady?”

“Bad lady. And bad man. Don’t know where the bad man went.”

The kid, of course, didn’t know they were the same person. I raised my hands in surrender now he wasn’t holding one of them.

“We’ll talk downtown. Where did the bad lady go?”

“She jumped out the window.”

One of the cops headed for the back of the house. I stood there until he came back, lowering my hands just enough to be comfortable.

“There’s a roof out there, and I see footprints on it. Kid’s probably telling the truth.”

“Doesn’t mean these two young ladies don’t need to answer some questions.”

I resigned myself to a fun time “downtown,” but at least the kid was safe.

For now.