The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (12 page)

Reduce thy
strength and condense thy form.

Fill the bottle,
thy force will conform.

As
she finished reading the incantation, a monstrous being thrashed through the
trees. The ground shook with every impact of his feet. The giant’s arms flailed
and sent splintered branches flying across the already demolished forest. The
creature stood as tall as the trees and as wide as three people. It looked almost
human, but his head was wider than a human’s. It wore an animal fur loin cloth
and leather sandals. A stench filled the forest fouler than that of the rotting
flesh.

The
giant froze as it emerged into its clearing. A dead deer was slung over its
shoulder. It searched for Kerrick in the dim lighting. The giant had not
noticed Demona yet, but it focused its attention to Kerrick who now stood only
a few yards from its left.

Kerrick
limped to a tree in an effort to hide. The giant roared as he moved away. It
crouched as if ready to spring in Kerrick’s direction. Demona hastily looked
down at the incantation and began to read. With the sound of her voice the
giant became aware of her presence. In a rage the giant charged in her
direction when it saw Demona as a new threat.

She
finished the incantation as the giant grew closer and began to slow its
strides. Demona thought something was wrong with her eyes as the giant began to
fade into a gray swirling mist. When the whole figure of the giant was gone and
the swirling mist was left it flowed in her direction. Demona backed away, but
soon realized that the substance began to fill the vial in her hand. With the
last of the swirling mist in the bottle, Demona placed the cork in place.

She
looked at Kerrick slumped against a tree and ran to his side. He peered up at
her through one eye while the other was swollen shut.

“Thank
you for the help,” Kerrick said.

“What
the heck was that?” Demona asked.

“That
was a
nephilim demon. I wasn’t expecting to find something
like that hiding in a national park. Can you help me up? I’m tuckered out.”

Demona assisted Kerrick back to his feet
and they made their way slowly to the parked car.
Demona and
Kerrick approached the vehicle to find Kearne still inside. He was in the same
spot she had left him.

“My
beautiful lady has returned,” Kearne said.

“Shut
it, Kearne!” Demona said. She aided Kerrick to the passenger side of the car
and helped him slide into the seat.

Chapter 13

Testing

Demona
pulled up to TGHC’s back entrance. Kerrick had fallen asleep and she decided to
let him rest. She ordered Kearne out of the car and to follow her into the
building. They walked past the cafeteria and into the lobby. She stood by the
elevator doors and waited for it to arrive. Kearne stood silently behind her
without any argument.

“Hi
Demona, is that your boyfriend?” Persephone asked. She and Claudia had just
emerged from the stairwell.

“Awe,
he looks like a lost puppy,” Claudia said. She poked Kearne in the stomach.

“I
wouldn’t do that,” Demona said. “We wouldn’t want to have to call a nurse witch
for you.”

“Why
would you need to do that?” Claudia asked.

“This
gancanagh fairy secretes poison. One touch of his skin and you’ll fall
helplessly in love with him. You will think of nothing else, but him, and
eventually waste away to nothing. We wouldn’t want to have to call the nurse
witch and explain that you had been harassing a field agent and a prisoner
would we? Do you think Darius is going to approve a cure for you after such
stupidity? You may be Marc’s favorite people, but I doubt Darius will permit
your idiocy,” Demona said.

Claudia
and Persephone stared at Demona with their mouths open.

Wow, they
actually shut up for once.
“Come on Kearne, get in the elevator,” Demona said.

They
walked inside the elevator. Demona turned around to see Claudia and Persephone
still staring at her.

Demona
walked through the office as her former coworkers looked on and she puffed her
chest out. She noticed a few people whispering as she passed with Kearne following
behind.

I should come in
here with a prisoner more often. Maybe this field agent thing is good for
something after all.

Demona
knocked on Darius’ door. She entered before she heard a response and Kearne
tagged along behind her.

Startled
by her abrasive entrance, Darius’ head shot up from his work. Darius’ usual
calm and cool composure was not in check.

Demona
thought she saw a look of annoyance and disapproval on his face. Demona
strolled around the room. She peeked at the books neatly placed on the shelves
along the side of the room. She read the names of authors that meant nothing to
her. There were names such as Herodotus, Livy, Appian, and Xenophon. The
collection of books seemed endless.

Why did it take
me this long to realize that he needs me. Without me the dark beings are done
for as soon as the prophecy is fulfilled. I’ve got to find out my worth.
She turned back
to Darius at his desk.

“How
do I know I want to be on this side?” Demona asked.

“Why
not? TGHC can offer you everything you ever wanted,” Darius said.

“Can
they?”

“Certainly.”

“What
about GLC? I’m sure they could too,” Demona said.

Darius
grinned as he looked up at her. “I doubt that.”

“Kearne
sit down,” Demona said. She sat in the chair across from Darius. Demona placed
the vial containing the giant demon on the desk in front of her. “Maybe I
should go meet them to find out for myself.”

“That
lot is boring. All they do is worship their
Aleph
and spread joy. Let’s not forget that you are a dark being and that means
you have a dark nature. You belong here, with TGHC.”

“What’s
Aleph
?”

“
Aleph
is an imaginary god. Trust me when
I say that you will find nothing of interest with them.”

“You
know, the more I hear about GLC the better it sounds,” Demona said. “Everyone
keeps trying to convince me that they are horrible, but all I am hearing is
that they are good and peaceful.”

“That
is exactly what GLC wants. They would absolutely love to steal you away from
me.”

“Then
give me a good reason why they should be my enemies,” Demona said.

“There
are things you do not understand, Demona.”

“See,
you can’t give me a reason. All I know is that right now I have very few
friends at TGHC. I don’t…have never fit in here.”

Darius
sat like usual with his hands folded and expressionless.

“I’m
starting to see that you don’t have a choice. If you want me on your side
you’re going to have to make me happy, or I’ll go find this other side and see
what they have to offer,” Demona said.

“Be
careful Demona. Even I have limited patience. Do not get cheeky with me,” Darius
said.

“Psh.”
Demona said, “Anyway, I’m here to give my report.”

Darius
leaned back and waited for her to begin.

“Kerrick
and I were investigating that assignment you sent us on. You know the one with
the fairy.” Demona pointed back to Kearne. “We separated, because Kerrick’s
mageia
was giving him a feeling. He sent
me to take care of the Kearne while he went on ahead. Then, I captured him.”
She was slouched in the chair. As she sat there she inspected her nails.

“Subdued
me, she did,” Kearne said. He nodded his head.

“Shut
it, Kearne,” Demona said. “I waited for Kerrick to get back, but he never came.
So, I went looking for him. A nephilim demon attacked Kerrick. When I found
him, he was barely able to get to his feet. As the demon was about to attack
Kerrick for a second time I was able to read the incantation and trap it in the
vial.” Demona pointed to the one she had put on the desk.

Darius
glanced in its direction then returned his gaze to her. “My, it seems as if the
once young uncooperative girl from the office has become an able field agent.
Nice one, Demona. Where is Kerrick now?”

“In
the car resting. I’m going to get our rations and take him home,” Demona said.

“Good.
See that he has what he requires for healing tonight.” Darius’ usual sly smile
had returned by now. “I will have Kearne taken to lockup and the demon dealt
with. You may go, Demona. Have a good night.”

Darius
pressed a button on his phone as Demona rose from her seat to leave. “Mara,
have Agrippa come and get a prisoner from my office.”

“Yes,
Mr. Grier. I will call down right away,” his secretary said.

****

Kerrick
had slept the entire drive back to his house. Demona glanced at him slumped
over in the passenger seat. Kerrick was badly injured, but a night of healing
was all he required. They pulled up in front of his home and Kerrick woke. He
groggily straightened himself in the seat.

Demona
helped Kerrick to his door. The door creaked as it slammed behind them. Then,
she helped him into the house and onto the living room sofa. She went back
outside and grabbed their rations from the car. She returned to his house and
closed the front door behind her.

Kerrick
was seated in his living room; Demona handed him the rations. His face was
mostly purple now and his swollen eye had only enlarged. After, Kerrick choked
down his rations.

Demona
watched him. “Okay... How much damage did it do?”

“I
think I have a few broken ribs. Help me up to my room so we can wrap them,”
Kerrick said. He groaned as he tried to stand. He had injuries just about
everywhere.

Demona
imagined that he was pretty sore by now. She stood and promptly assisted him to
his feet.

They
slowly made their way up the steps, while Kerrick groaned each step of the way.
They entered his bedroom and Demona helped him ease onto the bed. His room was
just as sparsely furnished as the first floor. His double bed was without a
headboard. There were no sheets covering the mattress, just an unzipped
sleeping bag and a few pillows tossed on top. A wobbly night stand stood on one
side of the bed and was stocked with copies of hunting magazines.

“There
are bandages under the bathroom sink,” Kerrick said.

Demona
went to the bathroom to search for them. The search did not take long, since
they were the only things underneath the sink. After she found the bandage she
returned to Kerrick’s side.

“I’m
going to need you to wrap my chest, so that the bones will grow back properly,”
Kerrick said.

Demona
helped Kerrick remove his shirt. He groaned as she aided him in pulling his
arms through the sleeves and pulling it over his head. His chest was bruised in
several locations. Despite the bruises she could not help but admire him as she
had done before. The scars did not even seem as predominate as they had when
she first met him. Demona began to wrap Kerrick’s chest as he raised his arms
slightly.

“This
is a change,” Kerrick said. He watched Demona closely. “Usually, I am making
sure you didn’t break anything.”

“Yet,
I’m the one always saving your butt. It looks like my teacher needs a lesson on
how not to leave your partner,” Demona said. She continued to wrap the bandage
around his chest.

“Yes,
I know,” Kerrick said.

“You
aren’t invincible. We aren’t in some fantasy novel where vampires have super
speed and heal immediately. You could’ve met
telos
.”

“I
realize that. I have been doing this a lot longer than you have.”

“Do
you? Sometimes I wonder. I know you’ve lost a lot of partners, but do you
realize that you can die too? Just because you’ve made it through every other
encounter with minor injuries doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to escape
telos
forever,” Demona said. “Yeah, I’m
new to this stuff; at least I have an excuse for being careless.”

“I
know!” Kerrick said. “I do!”

“Good.
Next time don’t think you can go off and handle a demon on your own.”

“I
didn’t know it was a demon at that point.”

“I
know. I’m just saying. I might be ready to take more responsibility, but that
doesn’t stop me from being your partner. We’re partners for a reason, to help
each other and protect each other,” Demona said. She tied off the bandage. “Do
you have ice?”

“In
the freezer,” Kerrick replied.

Demona
helped him lie back on the bed. She left the room and came back moments later
with an ice pack for his face. She wrapped the ice in a towel and sat on the
edge of the bed. Demona partially lay down next to Kerrick and placed the ice
on his face. She held it there firmly.

“Thank
you,” Kerrick said.

“You’d
do the same for me.”

“I
would.”

Demona
found it hard to turn away when their eyes met. Kerrick was focused on her and
she gazed back at him. Before she knew what had happened she had leaned down to
kiss him. Kerrick tried to wrap his arms around her, but found that his ribs
would not allow it.

Their
intensity grew as that spark of lust ignited once more. This time Demona was in
control of the situation. She passionately kissed him and bit his bottom lip. A
moan escaped Kerrick’s lips.

Demona
pulled back slightly. “You like that?”

“You
know I do,” Kerrick said.

Demona
gave into her burning urge to feel his lips on hers again. For an indefinite
amount of time they remained like that. Demona found herself lost in him.
Kerrick was helpless to Demona’s passion. Demona felt as if every atom in her
body began to radiate. Without conscious thought she tried to roll on top of
him. Kerrick groaned.

“I’m
sorry!” Demona rolled back off of Kerrick. “I forgot.”

“It’s
alright. I wish I was not in so much pain.”

“Me,
too.”

“I
have a hankering for what we were doing before,” Kerrick said.

“I
should be keeping this ice on your face.” Demona felt the pack. “I need to go
get fresh ice. Be right back.” Demona returned in moments and resumed her
position next to Kerrick. She placed the pack on his face once more and held it
there firmly.

Kerrick
looked up at her. “You know that I will be healed by tomorrow.”

“Yeah,
I realize that.”

“What
is that look?”

“Nothing.”
Demona looked away.

“You
are lying. Now, tell me,” Kerrick said. “What?”

“What
are we doing, Kerrick?”

“Here
we go again.”

“Stop!”
Demona said. She turned and swung her feet off of the side of the bed. “I’m
tired of you avoiding the question. What are we doing? Where’s this going? I
can’t just play along with your games anymore. I’m not some sleazy girl you can
just go to for your entertainment. I’m your partner, and I’m not going to stand
for anything other than some type of commitment. I don’t mean long term. I
mean, just see where it goes. It’s either that or this ends now.”

“I
don’t do relationships.”