The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (6 page)

Balen
was wrestling with Lilith. It looked like he was fighting to keep himself away
from her and at the same time wanting to give in.

“What
should I do?” Demona asked.

“The
holy water… show it to her!” Balen said.

“Hey,
Lilith I have some nice blessed holy water for you,” Demona shook the vial in
the air.

Lilith’s
eyes darted to Demona. She released Balen from her grasp. Lilith returned once
again to her human form.

“You
don’t want to hurt me child. I’m harmless,” Lilith said. She was completely
distracted by Demona and the holy water. Lilith turned her back to Balen and he
gained his footing.

Demona
could tell his will was failing, despite the resistance charm. The length of
time in Lilith’s presence was wearing him thin. Demona uncorked the bottle and
flung the water. Lilith quickly backed away.

“You
will not stop me!” Lilith said. She once more rose into the air and flew across
the room behind them.

Both
Balen and Demona spun in the direction Lilith had gone. She was already facing
them by the time they had turned around.

Lilith
raised her hand quickly and the door they had come through slammed shut.
“You’re not leaving here alive!”

“We
need to do something fast. I can’t take much more of this. She is so
beautiful!” Balen said. His expression was one of emotional agony.

“She’s
hideous!” Demona said. “Should I call for back up?”

“No,
we may still have a chance,” Balen went to the door and tried to pull it open,
to make sure their escape route was still available. “It’s jammed. Lilith just
cut off our exit.”

“Kerrick,
you can’t leave me. I want you!” Lilith said.

They
turned back to her.

Lilith
produced a fire ball in her outstretched hand. Then, she flung the flaming ball
on the ground and the fire erupted. It quickly spread on the old wooden floor
boards.

“You
may want to call for reinforcements now! That fire is coming closer. This old
wood is like kindling,” Balen said.

We’re going to
burn to death!
Demona
stepped in front of Balen. She closed her eyes and let her fear of the
situation flow through her. She put her hands outwards. Demona’s eyes flew open
as she began to feel the
mageia
surging and began to harness her emotions. The flames were within feet of
Demona and Balen. Her skin felt as if it would melt, so she pushed the flames
away with the
mageia
. The farther the
flames moved away, with the wind, the higher they grew.

Well, I guess
there is no denying it any longer.

A
look of panic spread across Lilith’s already hideous face. She had finally
realized that in blocking Demona and Balen’s escape she had also trapped
herself.

Demona
continued to push the growing wall of flames in Lilith’s direction.

Lilith
backed away as the flames pursued her, until she was against the wall. The blindingly
bright flames began to lick at her feet and her body quickly caught fire. An
ear piercing scream reverberated off the walls as her body was engulfed.

Demona
and Balen watched for what seemed like hours, as the body disappeared into the
towering inferno. Eventually, Demona managed to reduce the flames into a small
fire. Then there was nothing left, but charred smoking floor boards. Demona had
no idea how she had controlled the fire or put it out, but she was thankful to
be alive.

“What?”
Demona asked.

“Twice
you have saved my life. Do you believe you have a
mageia
now?”

Chapter 6

The Date

Demona
yanked at the charred door that had been stuck moments before. It fell from the
smoldering door jamb and she returned to the young man’s side. She grasped his
wrist to check his pulse again, when he began to stir. A groan escaped his
lips.

“It’s
okay, you’re safe,” Demona said. “Try not to move. I don’t know what kind of
injuries you have.”

The
young man’s eyes opened.

Demona
found herself looking into bright blue eyes that were staring right back at
her. A pang of longing went through Demona’s body. Demona shook her head in an
attempt to clear her mind.
What am I
thinking?
Demona looked back down at the man. She saw that he had not
looked away and she blushed.

He
smiled. “Are you an angel?”

Demona
giggled.
Stop it! You are acting like a
love sick little girl!
“No, I’m not an angel. I’m just your
average…person.” The young man had a gorgeous smile, and warmth spread through
Demona’s body as she looked at him.
Control
yourself, Demona.

“I’m
Felix Fulbright.” He groaned once more as he attempted to sit up.

“No,
lay still.”

“So…”
Felix said.

“So,
what?” Demona stared at the attractive young man.

“Well,
what’s your name?”

“Oh,
it’s D-Demona.”

“Is
that it,” Felix smiled a half smile, “just Demona? Interesting name… I like it,
very um…sinister.”

“Thanks.
Felix isn’t the most average name either you know.”

“You
have pretty eyes.”

Demona
rolled her eyes at Felix’s comment. “I think you were hit in the head one too
many times.”

As
Demona finished speaking Balen came limping through the door. She ran and put
her arm around him to help take some of the weight off of his right leg.

“We
need to talk in private,” Balen said.

“Uh,
Felix, I’ll be right back,” Demona said. She helped Balen limp back into the
smoky room. Once inside he turned to look her over.

“Are
you hurt?” Balen asked.

“I’m
fine. Are you going to be okay? You look pretty banged up?” Demona asked.

“This
is nothing,” Balen said.

“What’s
wrong then?” Demona asked.

“Something
still feels off. I need you to take care of the human for a little while. I
need to rest; I’ve been through the mill. This is not going to be an easy scene
to cover up. It is a good thing you controlled that fire or it would have drawn
the wrong kind of attention,” Balen said. “Now, help me back in there so I can
sit.”

She
walked Balen to the top step and assisted him as he sat down. His pants were
ripped above his knee, and there was a red stain on his jeans around the area.
By that time Felix had already propped himself up against the wall.

“My
name is Felix.” He stretched his hand out in Balen’s direction for a handshake.
When Balen did not take his hand Felix let it drop it to his side.

Balen
briefly looked at Felix, and then returned his gaze to his wounded leg. He
began applying pressure as the red stain spread across his jeans.

“His
name’s Balen,” Demona said. She turned to give Balen a stern look.

“Thank
you both for your help. Is that woman or whatever she is okay?”

“I
managed to knock her out after Demona pulled you out of the room.” Balen looked
at Demona. “Are the police on the way?”

“Uh...
yeah. I called from my cell phone before Felix woke up,” Demona said.

“Felix,
do you think you can walk?” Balen asked.

“Yes
sir. I can manage with some help,” Felix said.

“Demona,
help him down the steps. You can take my car and go ahead to the hospital. I
will wait for the police to arrive. Oh, can I have my cell phone back?” Balen
asked.

“Sure,
I’ll come back to get you,” Demona pulled the phone from her pocket and tossed
it to him.

“Don’t
worry about me. I’ll get a ride home,” Balen said. “Just make sure you bring my
car to me tomorrow. I’ll fill Darius in on tonight’s events.”

Demona
would meet him again tomorrow at the same time as always. Her questions would
have to wait until then. She returned her attention to Felix.

“Hey,
do you mind if we exclude my name from the records? It’s a bit embarrassing
that a woman attacked me. No offense,” Felix said.

“Understandable.
I will come up with a story,” Balen said.

“I’ll
just tell them in the emergency room that I fell off a motorcycle or
something,” Felix said. “I really appreciate everything you’ve both done for
me. I’m still not completely sure what happened.”

Demona
helped Felix to his feet and they walked down the steps. They sat quietly in
the car, both still reeling from the previous events. They made it to the
hospital and sat briefly in the emergency room, until Felix was called back to
a room.

“Stay
with me,” Felix said.

“I
can’t. I need to go,” Demona said.

“Please,
I’m terrified of hospitals. If you leave, paranoia will get the best of me!”

Demona
stared into his puppy dog eyes. “Fine.”

Soon,
Felix was laying on a gurney with stark white sheets pulled up around him.
Demona sat by his side in the sterile room. Doctors and nurses had been in and
out of the room checking his vitals. In the background machines beeped noisily.

“So,
what happened before I woke up?” Felix asked. “How did you find me?”

“Uh…
Balen has this weird obsession with investigating abandoned buildings, so we
were checking out the warehouse. It’s a good thing we happened to choose that
one. We found you lying on the floor.” Demona looked into the hallway as she
finished the story. “You must have been knocked out. It looked like that woman
had attacked you and she was acting crazy. Balen tried to restrain her and I
pulled you from the room. Then, like Balen said, he had to knock her out before
she could do any more damage.”

“I
was lucky to have such a beautiful woman save my life,” Felix said.

Before
Demona had a chance to blush a nurse walked into the room. “You are scheduled for
an x-ray in ten minutes. I’ll be back with a wheelchair for you,” the nurse
said. Then, she turned and walked out of the room.

Felix
returned his attention to Demona. “Can I see you again? I fear I’ve developed
somewhat of a crush for my heroine.”

“Good
thing you are getting that x-ray, I hope they take one of your brain.”

The
nurse returned to take Felix, before Demona could give an answer. “Will you be
here when I get back?” Felix asked.

“Sure,”
Demona said. As soon as the nurse wheeled him around the corner Demona watched
him from the doorway.

Goodbye, Felix.

****

Demona
walked into the field agent office to find Balen waiting for her. He was
filling out a report from the day before when she arrived.

“Bergfalk
and Foss had a run in with GLC last night,” Agrippa said.

“What
happened?” Balen asked.

“Not
much. They were trying to investigate a demonic presence in a graveyard.
Bergfalk said they were trying to bless the site. Ha!” Agrippa replied.

“Why
is that so bad?” Demona asked.

“Not
bad, just pathetic. GLC always thinks they can save the day,” Agrippa said.

“I
still don’t see what the big deal is,” Demona said.

“I
guess it’s time we had a history lesson,” Balen said. “Since the beginning of
time there has been a division between dark and light. Though, there are some
species of supernatural beings that are able to choose a side, or choose to
remain neutral.

“Our
kind does things a little more aggressively. We’re not afraid to get our hands
dirty and fight for what we want. Even if there is collateral damage at times,”
Balen said.

“GLC
thinks that we are taking unnecessarily risks. They try step in and save lives,
but they escalate the problem. Sometimes it results in war between us and
them,” Agrippa said.

“Uh-huh…”
Demona said.

Afterwards,
they made their way back to Balen’s beat up car.

“Looks
like your leg is healing pretty well,” Demona said.

“Yeah,
another day and I’ll be good. Vampire healing comes in handy with this job,”
Balen said.

They
took their seats in Balen’s car and exited the parking lot. Demona looked at
the cloudy sky as a breeze pushed against the car.

“What
happened with the human?” Balen asked.

“I
took him to the emergency room, and stayed until they took him for x-rays,”
Demona said.

“There
is one thing I don’t understand,” Balen said. “The human is an innocent. Demons
don’t usually choose to possess someone with such a pure soul. The possession
would take longer and drain her energy quicker. Hence, why we were able to get
to him before the possession was completed. His soul’s purity would have caused
Lilith great pain to possess, and it most likely would have destroyed her after
some time.”

“Strange.”

“Yeah,
I don’t understand it.”

“Did
you talk to Darius?”

“Yes,
he seemed to be unconcerned by it. He also said he was continuously impressed
with our success.”

****

Not
long after Demona had returned to her apartment, she received a knock at the
door. She peered through the peep hole to find Hannah standing with a huge
smile on her face. Demona opened the door.

“What’s
up?” Demona asked.

“We
have dates!” Hannah said.

“You’re
kidding me!”

“Nope!
His name is Kaleb and he just moved into town from Florida. Be ready at five!”

“I
really didn’t expect this.”

“I
know, I know. But you can’t back out on me! He’s already arranged everything.”

“I
won’t, but I’m only doing this for you.”

“Thank
you!”

“Now
I’ll have to find something to wear… See ya later.”

Demona
walked into her bedroom and decided to take a shower. She dried and
straightened her hair. Afterwards, she went to her closet to find an outfit.
She sifted through her clothing, having difficulty figuring out what to wear.
Usually, Demona threw on the first thing she pulled out of her closet. Tonight,
however nothing seemed suitable. She finally settled on black, white, and teal
plaid v-neck and a pair of distressed skinny jeans. She applied some eye shadow
and mascara that made her green eyes pop. She looked in the mirror and felt
satisfied. Then, she grabbed her purse and keys, and headed out the door.

Demona
knocked on Hannah’s door and she quickly answered. Demona stepped inside as
Hannah finished getting her things. Hannah’s apartment had the same layout as
Demona’s, but she decorated with a lot of pink and light blue colors. She had
floral print curtains hanging over her balcony door; everything in the room was
color coordinated.

“I
am so excited!” Hannah said. She was dressed in a cute purple tunic and some
black patterned tights. Her wavy blonde hair was pulled back and rosy cheeks
glowed.

“So,
what are we doing?” Demona asked.

“We
are going to meet Kaleb and his friend in the parking lot.”

The
girls made their way down the stairwell and talked idly. They exited the
apartment building through a set of double doors and continued on their way.

Demona
spotted two figures standing at the end of the walkway, but it was difficult to
make them out. Demona continued to grow more nervous with each step. She
glanced back at the large brick apartment building.
What am I doing?

When
they neared the two men, Demona’s jaw dropped. There standing next to a
stranger was Felix. He beamed at her in recognition.

“Are
you serious?” Demona asked.
This isn’t
happening.

“What?”
Hannah asked.

“I
know him.”

They
stopped in front of the men. Kaleb had medium light brown, wavy hair and a dark
tan. He pulled off that laid back surfer look perfectly. Kaleb wore a t-shirt
under a light tan suit jacket and a pair of jeans.

“Demona,
this is Kaleb,” Hannah said.

Demona
shook his hand almost as if her body were on autopilot. She continued to stare
at Felix and his wonderful smile.

Felix
wore a red plaid long sleeve shirt rolled up to the elbows and with loose
fitted jeans. His brown hair was slightly messy and he had a few purple bruises
on his face.