I am relieved as we pull up to our house.

It feels divine to finally be home. My energy is positively drained. I successfully dodge all of Sierra's questions with a half-hearted questioning of my own body.

I can still smell the rotting smell of Anarch's skin in my nose.

Sierra questions me one last time and I sidestep her questions in favor of a nap. I slyly slip out of the conversation and head up to my room to get some rest.

For the first time in months, my sleep is not plagued by the demonic presence. I am aroused out of my nap by loud voices coming from downstairs. My pillow is wet with drool as I groggily roll onto my back, staring up at the growing shadows on my ceiling.

I sit up when something falls in my closet.

I clumsily roll off the bed and stumble over to the closet. A terrifying feeling rises from the depths of my being as I approach the closet. It feels as if I am not alone in the room. I stop halfway to the closet, trying to will myself forward.

A deep, calming breath relaxes me enough to march forward and wrench the door open.

Nothing is there.

The only thing on the floor of my closet is a shoe box. It has fallen from the stack in the back of the closet. I bend down to pick up the box when something moves in front of me.

I stumble backwards, out of the closet, and stare into the darkness. Rushing to the light switch, I turn on the light to reveal that nothing is there. My mind is unable to reconcile what I feel and what is real.

Anarch's presence in the waking world has given me a case of the hibbies.

My phone beeps on the end table behind me, alerting me to a new message. A quick glance at the empty closet settles me enough to assure myself I am being paranoid. The message is from Archer. He asks if he can see me tonight.

My entire body stiffens for a total of three seconds before I respond that he can come over. The truth is that I need to see him. I have questions only he can answer. My feelings for him have grown but so has my suspicion.

I beam down at the phone as I reply. It is almost enough to forget about my hallucination in the closet. I close the closet before leaving the room entirely and head downstairs to find Sierra sitting in the living room with Mor, Diego and Leon.

I lean on the doorway until Mori notices me.

"What's going on? Are we partying again?" I ask.

"We were worried after today. You looked like crap after you guys left." Mori says. "How are you feeling now?"

I snort at her honesty and smile, even though the thought of Anarch breaking into our reality unsettles me. "Fine. I just had a panic attack. Nothing major. It's been happening since I was a kid."

"Right. But you looked like you saw a ghost." Diego says.

"I'm fine. So, party, or no?"

"Well, Eric invited me over to go over some case stuff. Mori and Leon werew already here when I got here." Diego says. "I texted him about five minutes ago. He says he's stopping to get a few pizzas."

"Best news I've heard all day. I'm starving. Did he get--"

"Ground beef and black olives? So disgusting and yes." Sierra says.

There is a knock on the door. The knock is suspiciously hard, almost as if someone is pounding on the door. I wonder out loud if Sierra called Audrey, to which she confirms she is not expecting anyone else. Diego makes a joke that if it's Eric, he moves faster than a speeding bullet.

I open the door to find no one standing on the porch. A sense of Deja Vu gnaws at me. Something moves across the lawn in the darkness as a stray car light passes, highlighting dark shapes on the front lawn.

I slam the door and press myself against it as Sierra exits the living room with a look of confusion. "What's going on?" she asks.

"I need you to get everyone to the basement."

"Wait, what? What's going on. You're scaring me."

"That's good. Follow that feeling down to the basemen--"

The door jumps behind me as something heavy slams against it. I tumble forward, stopping with Sierra's intervention. She is shocked as she backs away from the door.

The sound of glass shattering brings us to the living room where we find Diego, Mori, and Leon staring down at something huddled in the middle of the floor. The huddled mass of black unfurls itself to reveal it is a demonic in the likeness of Anarch.

Slimy black skin, razor sharp teeth, and fearsome claws.

The demon growls, showing its teeth as something crashes against the front door again. Sierra sways as she grabs her head.

Diego rushes past me, aiming a black pistol at the demon. A snarl escapes its lips. Something hits the front door again, startling all of us.

"What in the Hell is that? El Diablo?" Diego asks without taking his aim off the demon.

"Listen to me very carefully, all of you. We need to get to the basement and barricade ourselves in." I say.

"Or I could shoot until I empty the clip."

"Then what? Guns don't work well against demons."

"Demons?" Leon asks.

"And it isn't alone." I say.

The timer on my patience is drawing ever closer to zero. Thunder rumbles in the chest of demon as his slitted eyes narrow.

"Diego, listen to me. I know you're afraid, but your gun isn't going to kill it." I say.

"Listen to him, D." Sierra says. "We need to get to the basement. Now!"

The front door is struck again, this time it sounds closer to collapsing. Sierra looks to me with a concerned expression as the demon stretches its claws. I nod to Sierra as I throw my hand forward.

The demon is taken off its feet and thrown into the fireplace.

The others, except for Sierra, are flabbergasted by my sudden display of magical power. Sierra calls for them to follow her as she heads for the basement. I follow them and shut the door behind me as the demon steps into the hallway.

The front door splinters off the wall behind it.

"You pissed the wrong witch off, demon. You're trespassing in this world and I am in no mood."

The demon answers with a snarl as it takes a step forward. I lift my hand to my waist and curl at the wrist. A list of offensive spells run through my mind as the demon takes another step. My wrist snaps and pictures fly off the wall and pelt the demon.

The door finally flies off its hinges and slams to the floor. The demon barely dodges the door as I press my fingers to the floor, sending a wave of fire forward towards the door. The demon, as well as the one who has appeared at the door, is sent flying out of the door in a burst of fire.

The demons are a distraction. I sense something behind me. A demon, not unlike the others, with red skin grabs me by the throat and slams me into the wall. I fight against his grip as he tightens it around my neck.

A wave of light breaks through the darkness on the front porch. I press my hand against the demon's chest, muttering a curse that sends a beam of light through its chest. The demon howls as it combusts.

The door to the basement opens as Diego rushes into the hallway and pulls me to my feet. He helps me into the basement and Leon locks the door behind us.

Diego steps in front of me, examining my neck. "Are you okay?" He asks.

"I just got strangled by a demon. No, I am unequivocally not okay."

Sierra and Mori appear at the bottom of the stairs. Behind Diego, the doorknob rattles. Diego aims his gun at the door and I prepare myself to use my powers on whoever is on the other side of the door.

Someone pounds on the door and Diego aims his gun where the intruder's head would be.

"Parker? It's Archer. The demons are gone. You can open the door now."

I push past Diego, guiding his gun to the floor. He stares at me questioningly as I open the door. Archer is a sight for sore eyes. He waits for me to move first. I wrap my arms around him.

But I can't help but wonder how he dispatched the demons so easily.