The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (18 page)

“Interesting,”
Darius said. He leaned forward and stared at her. “This could be a good
opportunity for you to spend a lot of time with him and get into GLC. Do it.
Since Doyle is ready for field work and Persephone will be taking Agrippa’s
job. I want you, Kerrick, to take Doyle out in the field for the next several
days. I will talk to Agrippa about training Persephone to handle the reports.
Demona, your job is to get closer to Felix, by any means necessary.” Darius
shooed them away.

Demona
and Kerrick made their way outside to the parking lot. They stopped to talk
before heading to their own homes.

“I
don’t like you spending so much time with him,” Kerrick said.

“I
know, but there’s nothing I can do. You said yourself that Darius knows what
he’s doing,” Demona said.

“I
still don’t like it.”

“Well,
I have to. It’s my job. I better go if I’m going to give Felix a call and try
to meet up with him again tomorrow.”

“I
need a drink,” Kerrick said. He kissed Demona on the forehead before turning
and heading back into the building without another word.

Demona
walked into her car and climbed inside. Then she pulled out her cell phone and
dialed Felix’s number.

“Hey,
it’s me again. They gave me off work the next few days. Do you want to hang
out, or are you too busy?” Demona asked

“No,
that’s great! I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning,” Felix said.

“Sounds
good, see ya then.” Demona said. She hung up the phone.

Suddenly,
her eyes blurred.

****

Demona
woke to find that she lay on the ground. The sunlight shone through the trees
in the early dawn. Dew beaded up as it rested on the grass around her. At first
her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the light. She rubbed them in an
attempt to make them clearer. Her head was in a fog and she rose to her feet
carefully. Every muscle burned as she moved.

Demona
saw the blood stains on her shirt. There was no denying that she had been
injured. She reluctantly reached her hand to her neck, which seemed to be the
source of the blood stains and felt nothing. She felt around for a scratch, a
bump, anything. There was nothing to find. Demona doubted if she had even been
injured, but the stains seem to indicate otherwise.

Why am I here? I
need to get home.

A
few early morning joggers glanced at her as they ran by, but no one stopped to
see if she was okay. They probably thought that if she was moving, she was
fine.

Demona
was walking towards home, but then a thought crossed her mind.
Where is home?
She found a bench and sat
for a moment as she tried to remember where to go. Finally, a woman slowed her
pace when she spotted the blood on Demona’s shirt. The woman approached Demona
with look of concern on her face.

“Are
you okay?” the woman asked.

“I
think so,” Demona said.

“Can
I take a look at your injury?”

“If
you can find one.”

The
woman reached for Demona’s neck and pulled her hair away from the blood stained
shoulder. When she found nothing, she turned down the collar of Demona’s shirt.
“Hmm…Is this your blood?”

“I
don’t know. I thought it was,” Demona said.

“Where
do you live?”

“I
can’t remember. I was going to go home and clean up, but I can’t remember where
I live.”

“Let’s
get you to the hospital and have them check you for head trauma. I’ll also call
the police and have them come and talk to you, just in case.”

“Okay,”
Demona said.

“My
car is this way,” the woman said. She directed Demona off the path and through
some trees.

The
proximity of the woman made Demona uncomfortable. Her stomach felt strange.
Suddenly, Demona was on top of the woman, and she bit into her neck. The dark
crimson liquid ran down her chin. Demona pulled back. She looked at the
unconscious woman below her and the blood gushed from her wound.

What am I doing?
The question
that she had asked herself did not matter. Demona was hungry.

Chapter 19

Good Light
Council

Felix
pulled into the parking lot as Demona watched from a bench. She had been
enjoying the hot summer sun while she waited. Felix hopped out of his car and
made his way to Demona. She rose from the bench and walked towards him.

“Someone’s
in a good mood,” Demona said.

“Of
course, I get to spend the day with you,” Felix said. He smiled at her.

“So,
what do you have in store for me?”

“I’m
taking to you to GLC headquarters.”

“Okay,”
Demona said. She made her way towards the passenger side of the vehicle and
Felix followed. He bolted in front of her and opened the door.
He seriously is the only chivalrous guy left
in the world
. Demona slid into the seat and Felix closed the door behind
her.

Felix
got into the driver’s seat. “How was work?”

“You
know, full of drama.”

“Is
it that bad?”

“You
have no idea. Everyone is grumpy and stubborn.”

“Well,
hopefully what we’re doing today will take your mind off of it.”

“I
hope so, because it gets exhausting,” Demona said.

They
pulled onto a dirt road, where fields of hay towered above the car on either
side. Felix seemed to hit every rock and pothole as they drove along the
winding road. Demona watched butterflies of various colors fluttered around as
they passed by. The sky was bright blue with barely a visible cloud.

After
what seemed like forever a building came into view sticking out above the sea
of grass. As they grew closer Demona saw a rickety old church with several campers
situated behind it in a grove of trees.

Demona
saw the church was made of red brick and mortar. The bell in the tower above
hung loosely and some of the broken stained glass windows had been boarded up.
A few people walked around the campers, but soon stopped and watched their car
pull up. Felix pulled off into a clearing where several other vehicles were
parked.

They
both exited the car. Demona followed Felix up to the church and in through the
only working door. As Demona’s eyes adjusted to the lighting change, she
noticed several other people standing around or sitting on the few remaining
wooden pews.

“Welcome!”
Molony said. He had recognized Demona right away. “Good to see you, Demona. I
knew I would be seeing you again.”

Demona
could not take her eyes off of his bright red hair.

“Hey,
Is Ezekiel around?” Felix asked.

“I
think he’s in the back,” Molony said.

Demona
followed Felix as several pairs of eyes followed them. Every step they took
resulted in squeaks from the planked wooden floor below. They entered a doorway
off to the side of the sanctuary. A long stairway descended down straight
ahead, but they entered another room to the right. Inside sat a plump man with
gray hair and rosy cheeks. His glasses sat on a swollen nose as he peered at a
book in his hands. When the two entered he looked up at them.

“Well
now, is this the one?” Ezekiel asked.

“She
is,” Felix replied. The man stood and walked towards her with both hands
outstretched. Demona extended her hand to him and he grasped it firmly in both
hands.

“It
is so nice to finally meet you, Demona. I am Ezekiel Holmes. I have heard
wonderful things from Felix. We are glad to have you anytime you wish to join
us.”

“Thank
you,” Demona said.

He
released her hand. “Will you be joining us for worship this afternoon?”

“Uh…
I don’t think so. I mean, you do know what I am right?” Demona asked.

“We
are all creatures of
Aleph
, Demona.
We are good and bad. We live and we die. Everyone is welcome to join us in
worship,” Ezekiel said.

“Maybe
some other time,” Demona said.

“I
will wait for the day that you come join us,” Ezekiel replied.

“Demona
and I are going to visit Preet and have him teach us some stuff,” Felix said.

“That’s
wonderful, enjoy your time. Preet is an amazing instructor,” Ezekiel said.

“Bye,”
Demona said. They turned to leave. Once outside the church Demona turned to
Felix. “Does everyone know about me? Do they all know what I am?”

“Yes,”
Felix said. He continued to walk towards the trees. They passed several campers
as they made their way through the grove.

“And
they don’t care?” Demona asked.

“No.
They understand that it was not your choice to become a vampire. They also know
that there are greater things in store for everyone,” Felix said.

“Who
is
Aleph,
exactly?”

They
continued to walk on a dirt path into a forest. Demona dodged the bigger
boulders and the trail became inclined.

“He
is our master, our creator.”

“Is
everyone so laid back and friendly?”

“Pretty
much.”

“Okay…
This is GLC? Definitely not what I expected. I was thinking it would be
something more along the magnitude of TGHC,” Demona said.

“I
know. There are not many of us. I think fifty at most in, or around town. We
don’t have the facilities of TGHC, and we don’t need all of that stuff,” Felix
said. “Here, we live off the land and support ourselves peacefully. Some, like
my sister, have normal jobs and provide GLC with funding. Some non-GLC members
volunteer to fundraise for us. Hannah is one of the newest volunteers.”

They
made their way through the forest until they came to a rocky outcrop. As they
climbed over boulders, Demona noticed the exquisite view. They must have been
several hundred feet up on a mountain side. She had not noticed the significant
increase in elevation. Demona had to stop a moment and take in the beauty of her
surroundings.

She
made her way a few feet to the edge of the outcrop, which seemed to drop
suddenly downward. There were trees as far as the eye could see. The green
mountaintops across the valley were serene. A red-tailed hawk flew overhead and
Demona admired it as it soared. It screamed as another hawk joined in the hunt.

Demona
soon noticed a man sitting cross legged on a large boulder to her side. He sat
silently, unmoving, and uncaring of her presence. Felix found a boulder and
sat. He instructed Demona to do the same. Demona was about to speak to Felix,
but he held his finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. They remained
that way for some time, before the man began to stir.

“Felix.
Thank you for your patience. I see that you have brought your friend to me. It
is very nice to meet you, Demona. I will teach you how to meditate.

“There
are many different ways a person can meditate. Some people use prayer as a form
of meditation, they pray to
Aleph.
They
give up all of their praises and worries to him. Others use meditation to find
a deeper meaning to life, they search for enlightenment. Others use meditation
as a way to release negative energy by focusing on positive things. Still,
others use meditation to find themselves,” Preet said.

“How
will any of this help me?” Demona asked.

“Good
question. You must meditate on this. You will understand it if you focus on the
question. Try,” Preet said. “Sit and clear your mind.”

“For
how long?” Demona asked.

“As
long as it takes,” Preet said.

Demona
felt like she was getting nowhere with this Preet guy.
I guess I better give it a try just to make them happy.
She closed
her eyes and attempted to clear her mind.

Her
mind was quiet. Her mind was calm. A hawk screamed in the distance. She tried
to focus, be calm, and quiet. She fought her thoughts as they kept trying to
invade her cleared mind. It seemed useless to Demona. Her thoughts started to
seep through.

Why am I sitting
here? What can I possibly gain from this that will be useful to Darius? How
long am I supposed to sit here? Ugh, is it over yet?

I wonder what
Kerrick did last night. I bet he went to Club Chamber, and I bet Bergfalk was
there. I know there is history between them, I wonder how recent of a history.

I wonder what
Felix is doing next to me. I wonder if he is trying to do this meditation thing
too. This is such a joke. It was nice talking to Felix the other night. He’s
always been so easy to be with. He’s funny too. Kerrick never made me laugh…at
least not often.

Kerrick said to
remember who I am. Who am I? I’m a vampire, I hate being a vampire. Being a
vampire makes me a dark being, but I don’t feel like a dark being. Then again,
I don’t think they ever felt like I was one of them either.

Maybe Felix is
right...maybe I am different. Maybe being a vampire is only part of me. I
wonder what this prophecy really means. If being a vampire is only part of who
I am, then what other parts of me are there? This prophecy doesn’t help. I feel
like these things are making me who I am, but what if I’m not supposed to be a
dark being or this Mythos? I wonder if a dark being has ever chosen light
before.

GLC seems nice.
TGHC never seemed to have a valid reason to dislike them. I haven’t found
anything wrong so far. In fact, I like them way more than I do my kind. They
know about the prophecy too. I wonder if they know I am the Mythos. Would they
ask something of me if they knew?

D
o I belong with TGHC? Do I belong anywhere?
How do I pick a side if I don’t even know where I fit in? How can I ever
destroy any of these creatures, on either side? How could I ever make that
decision?

 
Her eyes popped open and she noticed both
Felix and Preet staring at her.

“I
think I understand something. I notice in my life, that everywhere I go I face
some form of conflict, stress, or inner turmoil. My life is full of these
feelings. Life as a vampire will always be full of these feelings,” Demona
said.

“Good.
Keep meditating on these things,” Preet said. He rose to his feet and carefully
made his way through the boulders and down the dirt path towards the forest.

Felix
came to sit next to her on the rock she had chosen. They pivoted themselves so
that they could look out across the tree tops. Demona rested her elbows on her
knees and her chin upon the palms of her hands. Felix sat beside her in
silence.

“I
think I learned something today. Something more than just what Preet was trying
to teach me. I learned that I’m unhappy with my life,” Demona said.

“Why
are you unhappy? You have a second chance at life,” Felix said.

“I
don’t know where I belong in this world. I’m always conflicted. I feel confused
and uncertain about every decision I make,” Demona said. “I need to tell you
something and I need you to listen and try to understand.

“I
wasn’t going to speak to you after Hannah gave me your letter. I was going to
forget, or try to forget, you ever sent it. We have a problem at TGHC and
Darius wanted me to use you to get close to GLC, to gain your trust and help. I
hate that I went along with this and that I called you for all of the wrong
reasons,” Demona said. “I’m sorry. I realize now that even if we aren’t
together, I still want to be friends.”

Felix
was silent for a few moments. Demona turned towards him. She was afraid that he
would be angry at her after her confession. He just stared straight ahead for a
while. A few times it seemed as if he was about to speak, but he stopped
himself.

“Apology
accepted. I am not happy with your reasons for calling me, but I am happy that
it brought us together again. Even if it’s not in the way I want it to be. I
told you before, I’m always here for you and I meant that. Now, what’s this
problem you were talking about?”

“The
demon priest... Kerrick and I visited a demonologist and found out information
that will help us defeat the demon. The only problem is that this demon is very
powerful. The only way to defeat him is to get GLC involved. Apparently none of
my kind can do this, because we don’t have faith in
Aleph
.”

“Interesting,
dark and light working together. I’m sure that Ezekiel will have no problem
giving you the support you need. This priest does pose a danger to humans and
GLC members as well. I’ll discuss this with him later and see if he agrees to
it,” Felix said.

“Thanks,
Felix. You are an amazing person for wanting to help TGHC.”

“I’m
not doing this for TGHC, I’m doing this for you.”