The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (5 page)

“Save
it for next time. Who knows, maybe we can finish it when I arrange that double
date,” Hannah said.

“Ugh!”

Hannah
laughed at Demona’s expression, as she closed the door.

Demona
put the bottle of wine in her fridge and headed towards the balcony door.
Demona sat in the dark staring at the brilliant stars that sparkled above. She
could see the outline of the building around her in the moonlight. A couple of
windows were illuminated from within the houses.

Then
she remembered her earlier conversation with Darius.
I just don’t believe it. There’s no way that I’m this woman from the
prophecy.

Chapter 5

An Illegal
Possession

Demona
and Balen spent part of the day checking in on a witch who had broken
probation, as well as some other trivial matters. Needless to say it was an
uneventful day. Neither one of them had said much to one another. They finished
their work and returned to Balen’s junker car.

Demona
had been quiet all day and the silence between them continued. Demona stared
out the window watching the blossoming trees flash by as they drove. She turned
to look at Balen and studied him for a moment.

“I-I’m
sorry,” Demona said.

“For
what?” Balen asked. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“I
shouldn’t have been so rude to you yesterday.”

“You
just found out about your
mageia
,
that’s not easy. It was hard to control my feelings when I discovered mine. I
was in a huff all of the time.”

“You
have a
mageia
?”

“Yes,
I can sense the future. I can’t see what is going to happen like with people
who have premonitions. I get a sense about a situations I am about to deal
with. It comes in handy with the job. It isn’t always accurate, and it’s still
hard to determine what I’m feeling. It is easy to misread, but it gives me
enough to know when I’m going into a sticky situation or when something
dangerous is nearby. Like with Lobo, I could sense he was there and that we
were going to have a row. I don’t think there is a proper term for my
mageia
. I just refer to it as instinct.”

Demona
stared out the window as she listened to Balen. “That’s kind of cool.”

“It
was not cool at first. It was confusing with all of the new senses. I had no
idea where the
mageia
was coming
from, or how to shut it off. Have you had any problems controlling yours?”

“No,
I haven’t had any
mageia
uh…
symptoms. That’s why I don’t think Darius knows what he’s talking about. If I’m
so powerful, why don’t I experience it more? Why haven’t I destroyed stuff?”

“Well,
maybe it’s from your fear of
telos
that you simply had a power surge. Sometimes
mageia
can be connected to emotions. It’s important to learn to
control yourself and your
mageia
. You
have a newly developed power, it can only get stronger from here on out.”

“We’ll
see, but I still think Darius is full of it.”

“I
have known Darius a long time. Believe me; he would not be informing you of his
suspicions if he was not entirely certain. The evidence is against you. You
have
mageia
whether you want it or
not.”

They
stopped at the field agent office to check for new cases. Agrippa had a file
waiting for them and they returned to the car.

Demona
flipped the file open on her lap. “There’s no picture.”

“It’s
as impossible to take an image of a demon as it is a ghost. For one, they are
nearly impossible to capture in a picture. The reason is that if you take an
image of a demon it would only capture the form of the energy. Demons are not
corporeal, they have no body. It’s just concentrated energy that we see, unless
they have taken a human host,” Balen said.

Name:
Lilith Ewen

Age:
173

Species
: Lilitu Demon

Description:
Lilith is extremely beautiful. Her skin
is light with a pinkish tint. Her eyes are amber and her hair is black. She
stands about five foot tall.

In demon form,
Lilith is heinous, almost unbearable to look at. She stands no higher than
three foot tall. Her eyes are a fiery red and she has patches of white hair
growing at random lengths from her head. She has an unmistakable appearance.

Other Notes:
Lilith is a trickster. Men can be
seduced by one look at Lilith in either appearance; this makes the process of
possession almost instantaneous. All male soldiers are required to wear a
resistance charm when sent on a case involving Lilith. Females are a little
luckier, but Lilith can be very welcoming to the female gender. While in her
human form she can lure in anyone with her charm. Though, in her demon form
women will be repulsed and see her for what she is, making possession more of a
challenge for Lilith. Whatever your gender, Lilith is a deceiver. Do not be
fooled by anything she does!

Lilith sounds
like trouble
.

Demona
flipped through the other pages. She read that Lilith was to be brought in for
failure to register multiple possessions. Some resulted in the death of her
captives, by failed exorcisms. If it were impossible to bring her in alive,
execution was necessary. Under no circumstances was she allowed to escape.

“Where
is she?” Demona asked.

“Agrippa
said that there was a call from a witch about an hour ago. He said that he
walked in on a possession,” Balen said.

“Everything
I’ve heard about demons is bad. Is it true that they follow another type of
being? Do you think this will be dangerous?”

“Demons
work for a higher power; we don’t call it by any name. It is one that is far
more sinister than any of the dark beings working for TGHC, or those residing
in Terra Hollow. Assignments are always dangerous; you can never be over
prepared. Lilith is good at what she does and many agents have failed to bring
her in, losing their lives in the process.”

“Who’s
to say we’ll have any more luck?”

“I
have had a hundred years of field experience. You’re a young vampire who has
developed her
mageia
earlier than
most. Darius would not have sent us on this assignment if he didn’t think we
could handle it.” Balen turned the car down a desolate road.

Shivers
ran down Demona’s spine as she looked up at an abandoned building surrounded by
barren trees. The building towered over its surroundings in its forsaken state.
Bricks crumbled across the front and broken windows dotted the entire building.
It had clearly been abandoned for quite some time.

“I
was right to come prepared. Lilith is still here and it feels like she is
nearing completion of the possession,” Balen said.

When
they got out of the car, Balen handed her a vial full of clear liquid.

“What’s
this?” Demona asked.

“Holy
water, it won’t hurt you. Demons or any other dark creature cannot be harmed by
holy water, but demons fear the idea of it. It’s a phobia. It may help to stop
her from continuing the process,” Balen said. Then, he pulled out several
charms and put them in his pocket and he placed one around his neck.

“Is
that a resistance charm?” Demona asked.

“Yes,
it helps to resist her influence. Try to stay calm while we are in there, don’t
do anything irrational and try to listen to my orders. There will be no need to
be quiet. Lilith will be too busy controlling her victim to hear us coming. Do
not believe anything she says, no matter what.”

They
entered the building through a side door which led to a stair well. They
climbed up the creaky wooden stairs, until they reached the third story. Balen
stopped in the stairwell before continuing any farther.

“One
more thing, if I would happen to fall under her control call for
reinforcements.” Balen tossed her a cell phone. “One is speed dial to Darius’
personal phone. Tell him we are in trouble and he’ll know what to do.”

Balen
started through the door with Demona close behind. They stood in the large
gutted room. There was nothing in sight. Balen pointed to a doorway on the
other side of the room. “They are there.”

They
proceeded across the room and into the next. Demona spotted a young man’s body
that lay askew on the floor. He was bleeding and bruised.

Lilith
hovered over him in her demon form. Her bright red eyes were open wide and her
lips moved as she worked to posses the young man.

“I’ll
distract her. Try to drag him to safety,” Balen said. “We need to break the
spell first. Use your
mageia
.”

“Are
you insane? I don’t have a
mageia
.”

“Demona,
think about that boy laying there. If we don’t break this spell he is going to
die. You need to use your
mageia
!”

I guess I have
to prove that the powers don’t exist
. “Fine, what do you want me to do?”

“Concentrate
on Lilith. Look at what she has done. Think about how you would feel if he
died, because of her. Use those emotions to push Lilith with your
mageia
.”

Demona
put her hands out in Lilith’s direction as if wind would shoot out of her
palms. After a minute she dropped her hands to her side. “This is pointless.”

“You
are not trying! Close your eyes and concentrate! We are running out of time!”

Demona
closed her eyes and stuck her arms out once more. In her mind, she visualized
the man lying on the floor. She could not allow someone to die, because she
chose not give her
mageia
a chance,
even if it was not real. After minutes of silence, Demona heard a roaring wind.

“Good!”

Demona’s
eyes flew open. It was just in time to see Lilith’s body being slammed against
the wall by a forceful wind. The possession had been broken.

Lilith
rose back into the air where she floated and regained her composure. Her head
turned in their direction and she focused her eyes on Balen. Her form began to
change. Her skin smoothed and new black hair fell from her scalp. Her body
filled out in all of the right places. Lilith had taken the form of a beautiful
young woman. Lilith was physically perfect in every way, and it made Demona
feel homely in comparison.

“Why
don’t you come a little closer, Kerrick? Together you and I can do anything!”
Lilith said.

“No,
Lilith. You need to stop attempting this possession and come with me. Under
Darius’ orders, I am to bring you in,” Balen said.

“But
Mr. Balen, I just want to have a little fun. Don’t you?” Lilith asked.

Demona
could see that even with the resistance charm Balen was fighting against
Lilith’s siren. His
kataphraktos
rippled across his body, but never fully took hold. Balen struggled against the
temptation and he reached into his pocket and brought out another vial of holy
water.

Lilith
spotted it and shrieked. Her human form lowered towards the ground and she
backed away from him.

“Kerrick,
my love I know you are in pain, I know you are lonely. Throw that vial away and
come to me I will make it all go away. Let me help you. Just come to me and
everything will be okay, the world will be yours,” Lilith said. She reached for
Balen to embrace her.

Balen
moved toward Lilith and made a signal with his hands for Demona to go to the
young man. He kept the vial of holy water in his hand outstretched.

As
Demona reached the young man she saw he was unconscious. She checked to see if
any bones had been broken before grabbing both of his arms and began dragging
him away.

Lilith
suddenly shot into the air, once again in her demon form. “NO! The innocent is
mine!” She rushed at Demona and knocked her across the room.

“Are
you okay?” Balen asked.

His
fangs and nails had lengthened with his rage. The silvery metallic
kataphraktos
quickly took hold this time
and coated his body where his pale skin had been. Balen threw the vial of the
holy water in Lilith’s direction. She quickly moved out of the way.

“Fine,
get her under control or I won’t be able to get him out!” Demona said.

Balen
approached Lilith as she spun to face him, once again in her human form.

“I
know what you desire, Kerrick. I can make your dreams come true,” Lilith said.

“You
are only making this more difficult for yourself. I will be forced to destroy
you if you do not obey the orders,” Balen said. He faltered. His
kataphraktos
rippled as if it were
uncertain of being in fight mode or not.

“I
do not follow Darius. Kerrick, my love, don’t you see. I follow someone more
wonderful and perfect. He can give you anything and everything you desire.
Embrace me and I can show you his wonders. Come to me and you will never have
to fight again. You can have your body back the way it was long ago. You can
have me,” Lilith said. She rubbed her hands up and down her body.

Balen
reached to embrace Lilith.

Demona
took advantage of the opportunity. She was across the room and next to the
young man within a second. She grabbed both of his arms and dragged him out of
the room to safety. She managed to get him to the top of the stairwell, when
she heard screams and crashes coming from behind her.

Demona
knelt beside the man protectively. She was not sure what was happening in the
other room, but she hoped that Balen was able to resist Lilith. She looked at
the young man; he was exceedingly handsome. His dark brown hair was a mess and
she found herself sweeping it away from his face. Demona reached to check his
pulse, his heartbeat was strong. She studied his face for a moment, while
listening to the crashes coming from the other room. It did not look like he
would wake up anytime soon, so she left him to return to Balen’s aid.