The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (4 page)

Demona
noticed that he bled from multiple puncture wounds. “What?” Demona looked at
Lobo where he now lay in human form below his earthly cage. The other wolf had
also regained human form. She sat huddled near the shack.

“Are
you alright?” Balen asked.

Demona
nodded in reply. “What happened?”

“That’s
a reskinning charm; it’s used to force a werewolf to take human form,” Balen
said. “And this is a manipulation charm; it will subdue him and force him to do
what I tell him. His mind can think differently, but his body will obey.”

“I
meant with the tree,” Demona said.

“Help
me get them back to TGHC and we’ll pay Darius a visit.”

“What
happened?”

“I
don’t know. Maybe Darius will be able to give us some insight,” Balen said.

Chapter 4

Unwanted
Prophecy

Demona
sat in the chair waiting in the all too familiar place. She stared towards her
old cubical and tapped her fingertips together.

Balen
exited the office from giving his report to Darius and looked down at Demona.
His brows were creased. “Darius would like to speak with you now. I’ll wait for
you in the parking lot.”

Darius
was in the same place she had seen him the day before. He sat with his elbows
on his desk and hands collapsed just under his chin. His cold eyes watched her
carefully.

“Sit
down,” Darius said. He stared into Demona’s eyes capturing her with his gaze.

Demona
managed to find her seat and squeezed the arm rests.

“Kerrick
and I have discussed today’s events. The second wolf that you arrested is a
recently turned female. It looks as though Lobo was beginning to create a pack.
Well done on your first assignment. To say the least, I am impressed, even if
you did disobey orders. It seems that you have also found your
mageia
today,” Darius said.

“Excuse
me, what’s
mageia
?” Demona asked.

“Demona,
what do you think happened today?” Darius asked.

“All
I know is that Balen was in trouble. I know I shouldn’t have, but I did what I
could to help. Lobo was getting ready to attack me. One minute I was trying to
get away and bracing myself for death. And the next thing I knew I was staring
at Lobo under the tree.”

“With
the fear and realization of the end of your life your survival instincts took
over. You are one of a kind; there is no doubt about that.”

“Stop
with all the cryptics. I just want to know what’s happening!”

Darius
stood and walked around the office. He stared out the window as the sun began
to set.

“We
have a prophecy. This prophecy was foretold six millennia ago, by a witch.
Witches with the ability to predict the future were called oracles, then. We
have no written record from that time, so the prophecy has been passed orally.
According to what has been relayed through the millennia, the prophecy says
that a being will come into play that will affect the balance of dark and
light.

“She
will come as half of one and half the other, born from both death and life. A power
of great strength will rise within to conquer all who oppose her. Love and hate
decides her course. No two outcomes are there, but one. She will change the
world for one and the other she will smother.”

“What
the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It
means that a being will come into existence, a female being to be exact. This
being will contain an unimaginable
mageia,
of which no species has ever witnessed. She is often referred to as the
Mythos
. It is assumed that she will
determine the destiny for the entire world.”

“What’s
mageia
?”

“It
is the Greek word for supernatural powers, or magic. It is a term that has been
used to describe our supernatural abilities throughout time. It is suspected
that the
Mythos
will determine the
fate of all beings on Earth. Many beings, both dark and light, have speculated
over when this event will occur. Some argue that it will take place when a
great war between light and dark begins. Others wonder if she will cause some
cataclysmic event. No one knows for certain what will happen. There are many
theories and speculations about the prophecy. Even about its legitimacy.

“It
is also suggested that either the light or dark beings will be destroyed. One
thing is certain; she will be influenced by both sides. Depending on her course
of action either the dark or the light beings will feel her wrath.” He turned
back towards Demona.

“What
does this have to do with me and what happened today?”

“You
have shown a great power today, Demona.”

“So,
what? Other beings have powers. I’m not the first.”

Darius
took his seat once more. “Have you ever experienced anything like what
happened, before today?”

“No,
I have no idea. I’m just so confused! All these riddles are just making it
worse,” Demona said.

“I
believe you are the
Mythos
mentioned
in the prophecy.”

“That’s
insane.” Demona crossed her arms and looked away.

“Do
you want to know why I believe this?”

“I’m
not some powerful being! I don’t care what you say!”

“You
were only turned two years ago. All beings gradually come into their
mageia
after a few decades, if they have
one. A person’s
mageia
can increase
over the years with training. We learn to use them, strengthen them, and
control them. Never has a new vampire shown such strength upon discovering
their
mageia
. Never so early and
never so powerful.”

“I
think you are crazy! I don’t think I have any
mageia
. It was just the wind, not me.”

“No,
you are mistaken,” Darius said. “When Kerrick and I spoke earlier I asked him
about the incident. He informed me that he saw what had happened. He had
already subdued the female wolf and was getting ready to assist you with Lobo.
He said you were surrounded by a roaring wind, and he was unable to get closer
to you. The wind kept blowing him back.

“He
said after you put Lobo and his alpha in the car he went back to clean up the
area and he examine the fallen tree. The tree trunk was still alive; there was
no sign of rot. The roots were still firmly in the ground, no amount of erosion
or softened soil had affected it. The tree had broken in half. There are only
two ways I know of a healthy tree falling like that, and that is by being
chopped down or snapped by wind shear. There is no other rational explanation.
It had to be your
mageia
.

“The
amount of strength you showed, with the wind shear, gives me reason to believe
that you are the
Mythos
. The tree
breaking in half only goes to support my theory. You may have been experiencing
small forms of your
mageia
for some
time without realizing it, especially if you are controlling wind. You may have
become angry or afraid and then a slight breeze brushed by you. If outdoors you
would have shrugged it off as simply the breeze,” Darius said.

“This
is ridiculous, I’m just me! Clumsy, forgetful, and lazy! I’m not special and, I
refuse to believe that I’ll be some destroyer of beings!”
How can he think this about me? I don’t want a responsibility like
this! I just want to be left alone! I never asked to be a vampire!

“Get
yourself home. Take tomorrow off. I want you back to work on Monday with a
clear head. Prophecy or not, you are Kerrick’s partner now. Do you understand?”

Demona
did not respond, she turned and stormed out of the office. She marched out of
the building. Someone grabbed her by the arm and she went to swing a fist in
the direction of her captor.

“Take
it easy,” Balen said. He released her from his grip and held up his hands in
surrender.

“What
do you want?” Demona asked.

“Darius
told me about his suspicions. I can tell you are huffy about it, but I want you
to know that I think his theory may hold some truth.”

“Great
another psycho that thinks I’m something mythical!” Demona started to turn away
from him.

“Calm
yourself! Regardless of what we believe I wanted to tell you that you did well
today. And congratulate you on your first day as an agent. I appreciate you
stepping in despite my orders.”

“Who
cares?” Demona said. She continued down the sidewalk towards the parking lot.

“I
will see you tomorrow,” Balen said.

“No,
you won’t. Darius gave me the day off,” Demona said. Demona walked away down
the sidewalk.

“Oh,
looks like someone had a bad day.” It was none other than Persephone leaning up
against the side of the building.

Demona
approached Persephone who, oddly enough, was without her sidekick. Demona
slammed the palm of her hand into Persephone’s chest forcing her against the
wall.

“Back
off!” Demona stared Persephone straight in the eyes. Then, Demona turned and
walked away.

****

Demona
slammed her apartment door closed and began to pace around her kitchen.
They can all just go to hell! First, they
turn me into a monster, and then they stick me with a crappy job. Then, they
put me on an even crappier job and now I’m supposed to believe I’m some all
powerful being?

A
knock came from the door.
Now what!
Demona
peered through her peep hole. There stood her neighbor, Hannah. Demona unlocked
her door and opened it.

“Hey,
I was just wondering if you were alright,” Hannah said. Hannah had long, wavy,
blonde hair that had been pulled back in a ponytail.

“Yeah,
why?” Demona asked.

“Well,
you sort of stomped past me in the hallway and ignored me when I said hello. It
looked like you were pretty angry about something, but I thought I would check
to see if you are okay.” Hannah looked at her feet as she rubbed her arm.

“Oh,
sorry. I’ve just had a bad day. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“That
is okay. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“Thanks,
yeah I’m okay,” Demona said. She began to thirst for blood and Hannah smelled
good.
Oh no! I forgot to get dinner
rations!
“Hey are you doing anything tonight?”

“Not
much, just making dinner and watching some TV.”

“Well
do you want to come over? I was going to order a pizza.”

“Sure,
do you want me to bring anything over?”

“Yeah,
do you have any wine?”

“Sure,
I’ll just go grab some real quick.”

Demona
closed the door behind Hannah. She was glad that Hannah had wine in her
apartment, it would make the night bearable for her. Since human food held no
sustenance for vampires Demona had been placed in a difficult situation.
Luckily, one of the first things vampires are taught is to drink wine to
prevent starvation. The wine acts as a blood thinner, to hold off the thirst
before it becomes uncontrollable.

Demona
went to call in an order of pizza. She remembered that Hannah’s favorite was
pepperoni. Human food did not have any nutritional value for Demona anymore,
but she liked to eat it and try to imagine what it tasted like. Just as she
turned off her phone, Hannah was back with a bottle of white wine.

“Is
this okay?” Hannah asked.

“That’s
fine,” Demona said.

Demona
opened the bottle and poured some wine into glasses for both her and Hannah. As
they waited for the pizza to arrive they sat around the kitchen island chatting
and sipping wine.

“Did
you see the new guy who moved in on the fourth floor?” Hannah asked.

“No,
but it looks like you did. Give me details,” Demona said. She rested her elbows
on the kitchen island and she waited for Hannah’s response.

“He
is so gorgeous!”

“And
did you talk to this Mr. Gorgeous?”

“Not
yet, but I’m going to. He also had a super cute friend helping him move some
stuff in. Maybe I can arrange a double date?”

“Oh,
no. I don’t date.”

“Come
on, you need to get out. I never see you do anything, but work and sit around
your apartment.”

“I’ll
think about it. But, you need to talk to Mr. Gorgeous first. How do you even
know he’s single?”

“You’re
right… But I will find out.”

The
pizza arrived and they made plates and went to sit on the sofa. Demona plugged
her mp3 player into her laptop so that they could listen to some music.

“How
are things at the animal shelter?” Demona took a gulp of wine and a nibble of
the pizza.

“Pretty
good, we had a really sweet black and white dog come in today. I wanted to
bring her home so badly. It’s disappointing that we can’t have dogs here.”

“Yeah.
I had this pretty realistic dream the other night about a dog. She was large
and muscular. She had long, brindle fur. She was beautiful and powerful, with a
big nose and floppy ears.”

“Awe.
That kind of sounds like a Bouvier, not too many of those around.”

           
“Hmm…If you ever get one at the
shelter would you let me know? I’d love to see if a Bouvier is like the dog
from my dream.”

“Sure.”

Demona
and Hannah talked a couple of hours longer before realizing the time. Hannah
got ready to leave as Demona cleaned up from dinner.

“Don’t
forget your wine,” Demona said. She grabbed the bottle as Hannah was about to
walk out of the door.