Every light was off in his room, and he was doing his best to click as quietly as he could with the trackpad and type as silently as he was able on his keyboard, for fear that his dad would hear. He was as surprised as anyone when his parents bought him a laptop for his last birthday, but not surprised at all that his dad had put so many restrictions on his use of it. Joss couldn’t use it when they had company, or chores, or after lights-out. So pretty much, never. Unless, of course, he snuck some time in without his parents finding out. Which was exactly what he was doing. Plus, the Internet was a great substitute for sleep—which was something that he wouldn’t want to avoid at all, if Cecile wasn’t waiting for him inside his dreams with filthy claws for fingers and a hungry mouth. So his stolen time online served two purposes, really. He didn’t enjoy breaking the rules, but at times he was forced to—whether by his parents or by the Slayer Society.
