“Let me see!” Sam screamed from the table.

Mo’Lock lifted Sam’s head and hoisted him for a look, but something caught his eye before he saw the photos.

“Wait!”

Mo’Lock stopped at the open front door where Sam was looking outside at the dirt-covered yard.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Not much,” he said, “but last time I was home I had a fucking lawn.”

We were all outside looking at the raked dirt surrounding Sam’s house, but beside the inarguable fact that someone had stolen Sam’s lawn, there wasn’t a lot to see. I recalled my earlier thoughts of Dawson. With the flying demon added to the mix, I had an angle.

“Sam, you have a ladder?”

“Yeah, it’s in the gardening shed with my other supplies,” Sam spat. “No, you stupid fuck, I don’t!”

I ignored the sarcastic head and asked Shooter to give me a leg up to the porch overhang. From there I could get to the roof. I had a hard time climbing at first, until I remembered the little bug I’d picked up. I concentrated hard, seeing if I could transform only a little. I didn’t want to become a full werewolf and ruin another set of clothes, but I needed the added strength and agility. It worked. My body stayed the same, but my teeth and snout turned slightly doggish. Thank God nobody could see me.

Once on the roof, I looked down at the dirt and my hunch bore fruit. There were markings in the dirt, strange lines and squiggles going all the way around and forming a circle. Suddenly my current run of bad luck began to make sense.

“Hey Sam, what did the kid use to trap you?” I yelled down.

Sam paused. “I told you . . . a magic circle.”

“Well, one guess what’s surrounding your house.”

We destroyed the circle. Hamm and Shooter worked side by side with Mo’Lock and me as we kicked and spread the dirt, destroying every last symbol etched into the earth. Sam rested on the porch by the door.

When we finished the yard, I started giving orders. I told Mo’Lock to go to the observatory with the LAPD ghouls and see what could be done about the tear in the air. “At the very least try to capture or kill whatever comes out of there.”

“We’ve been trying,” Shooter said.

“Try harder.”

Mo’Lock stepped up. “What about you?”

“The head and I are going to pay a visit to Billy’s house.”

“What if he isn’t the cause of all this?” the ghoul asked.

“I can smell his stinky teenage sweat all over this dirt. It’s him all right, and I’ll lay money that he’s behind the tear. Looks like devil boy isn’t just happy messing with this dimension. Now he’s breaking into others.”

“He might destroy Sam’s body if you get too close.”

I smiled. “At this point, that’s a gamble I’m willing to take.”

From the porch Sam yelled, “Hey, fuck you!”