A Piedmont Porchlight Story

Carl Lilburn took pride in his work, which was unusual, considering his work did not officially exist.

If you asked Carl what he did for a living, he’d say he was between things. If you asked him what he really did, and you asked in a tone that suggested you could keep your mouth shut, he’d tell you he hunted demons. Not metaphorical ones. Not bad habits or poor decisions. He meant the old-fashioned sort, with grudges and opinions and an allergy to scripture.

Carl had a system. He had salt in his pockets, holy water in an old Mt Olive pickle jar, and a notebook where he ranked entities by temperament and persistence. He’d chased things out of barns, basements, and one unfortunate Merita Bread truck that never quite ran right afterward.

He was good at it.

Too good, as it turned out.

The trouble began when Carl noticed the demons weren’t fighting him like they used to. They weren’t scared. They were… familiar.

One of them squinted at him during a midnight encounter behind Watson’s Drug Store and said, “You know you got your mama’s eyes?”

Carl did not appreciate commentary during work hours.

Another one, holed up in a root cellar, refused to leave until Carl promised to tell his father hello. Carl didn’t have a father he spoke to, which he said out loud, forcefully, while shaking the salt and sprinkling the holy water.

That demon laughed so hard it left voluntarily.

Carl went home unsettled.

He pulled out the old family Bible, the one with births written in ink that had faded but hadn’t been forgotten. His mother’s name was there. His grandparents’ names were there. His father’s space, however, was occupied by a blotch and a nervous pen stroke that suggested haste.

Carl had always assumed that meant tragedy.

It meant omission.

He asked his mother the next morning, and she sighed the kind of sigh that rearranges furniture.

“I wondered when you’d figure it out,” she said, setting down her coffee. “You always did have a knack.”

“For what?” Carl asked.

“For not being bothered,” she said. “And for knowing when somebody’s lying.”

Carl sat down slowly.

She told him the truth plain. Not dramatic. Not apologetic. Just honest.

His father hadn’t been human, exactly. He’d been charming. Temporary. Helpful in emergencies. He’d also been from a lineage that didn’t stay long or pay child support.

Carl listened, nodding like a man being given directions he didn’t intend to follow.

“So, I’m half demon,” Carl said.

“More like part something else,” she said. “You got the better half.”

Carl thought about the demons he’d chased. About how they’d recognized him. About how the holy water sometimes tingled in his hands instead of burning.

“Well,” he said finally, “that explains a few things.”

“What are you gonna do?” his mother asked.

Carl considered this.

That evening, he went back out with his jar and his notebook. The demons noticed right away.

“You finally know, huh?” one said.

Carl nodded. “I do.”

They waited.

“I reckon I’ll keep hunting,” Carl said. “Somebody’s gotta do quality control.”

The demon laughed nervously and left.

Word spread.

Carl became known as fair. Firm. Hard to fool. Demons stopped arguing theology with him and started negotiating boundaries instead.

As for Carl, he stopped pretending he was something else. He learned that lineage doesn’t decide your work ethic, and knowing where you come from doesn’t excuse misbehavior.

Folks in Piedmont still don’t know what Carl does. They just know things have been quieter lately.

And if you ask Carl about his father now, he’ll shrug and say, “He gave me good instincts and left early.”

Which, when you get right down to it, is better parenting than some folks manage with a full toolbox and good intentions.

That’s the thing about truth.

Sometimes it don’t damn you.

Sometimes it just explains why you’re so good at what you do.

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And, you know, I ain’t about to leave you without the obligatory shameless self-promotion. New Yesterdays, an exciting time-travel tale, is available through Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, as well as your favorite bookshops. The Audiobook is available from Libro.fm, as well as Amazon.