Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3) (12 page)

Chapter 12:

Kerrick’s Story

Demona clutched her chest and waited to catch her breath. After not needing to breathe for so long, she forgot how hard it could be to fill her lungs after running long distances and also when fear threatened to consume her. She steadied her breathing, in through her nose, out through her mouth, and stood upright facing Kerrick. “Where did you come from?”

Kerrick smirked. “After the report came in this evening that one of our field-agents died on patrol, Darius called in all of the agents. He sent everyone into town to fight the demons.”

Why is he always doing that? Smirking, like he knows my deepest darkest secrets. Sometimes I think it’s all just in an attempt to look like he always knows what’s going on, a way to make him look tough.
“I’ve got to get back to the group, they need help. Felix is going to be worried if he can’t find me.” Demona turned to leave.

Kerrick chuckled at Demona’s comment. “Maybe separating you two will make you realize that you miss me. I doubt that guy has any idea how special you are.”

Demona spun and scowled at Kerrick. “You are one to talk. Felix treats me amazingly. Way better than you ever did. At least I can trust that his intentions are genuine, unlike yours.”

Kerrick waved a hand at her. “They are genuine.”

Demona rolled her eyes. “Right,” she said. “Why did you follow me?”

“We knew GLC would be in town doing their part and naturally I knew you would be with them. When we found your group battling the demons we decided to jump in and help out. I saw the demon try to isolate you and followed as you ran.” Kerrick shrugged. “What can I say, I like a good fight.”

“Why follow me then? You could have had a ‘good fight’ back there. Why are you trying to be a hero? I didn’t need your help, you know. I could have handled it on my own,” Demona said.

“Yeah, because you were doing so well,” Kerrick frowned, then looked at the sky, and back to Demona. “I know you hate me, but you know you needed my help.”

The sky grew darker as the crescent moon was veiled by thick rolling clouds. They moved above and a light drizzle began to fall. The droplets were freezing on an already bitter night. When they touched Demona’s skin they felt like ice running over her body.

“Psh,” Demona said. She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and turned to leave again.

Kerrick grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Look, at least let me walk with you back to the group. Who knows how many demons are in town right now? The only thing on their minds is finding a host. We definitely don’t want any of them getting a hold of you and completing a possession.”

“Like you care what happens to me.”

Kerrick kept a hold of Demona’s arm. “Believe it or not, I do care. Not just because you are some key to a prophecy, but because you were my friend.” Kerrick gripped Demona’s arm harder and shook her.

Demona ripped her arm out of Kerrick’s grasp. “Fine, if you say so. Somehow you never seemed so friendly.” Demona turned once more and braced herself for Kerrick to stop her again. She looked over her shoulder to find him following her. “It was either hot or cold with you—”

“You saw more of me than anyone has in the past fifty years,” Kerrick yelled to her retreating figure.

Demona did not want to hear Kerrick’s voice anymore.
I need to get away from this conversation.
“How did you know to avoid the lightning bolt? The demon was aiming it directly at you.” She shot a glance at him over her shoulder.

“I have that instinct about situations I’m in, remember? I sense when danger is coming.” Kerrick slid his hand over his head in an attempt to rid it of rainwater that was clinging to his hair. “I just knew I needed to step away from where I was standing. I was just lucky enough to listen to my gut when I did or I would’ve been toast.” Kerrick continued to follow Demona.

Demona was in such a rush that she failed to look where she was stepping and stumbled on the edge of a pot hole, which had filled during a previous rain storm. She regained her footing, but not quick enough to avoid stepping around the puddle of water. Her boot slipped into the water and filled the inside with dirty, icy muck. Demona pulled her foot from the puddle and shook it in an attempt to rid it of the freezing water. She gave up after feeling like she was doing the hokey pokey and marched on ahead with her cold soggy foot squeaking as she went.

“You know, now is as good a time as any to discuss what happened between us,” Kerrick announced.

No, no, no, no, no!
“I thought that discussion was over?”

The drizzle became a light steady rain that did nothing, but make Demona even more miserable with the situation. The rain was quickly soaking into her clothes and a chilly breeze began to flow down the empty street. She knew that it was only a matter of time before her teeth began to chatter.

“I’d rather not talk,” Demona said. “I just want to get back to the group before anything else happens and before I freeze to death.”

“Then, just listen to what I have to say,” Kerrick replied, “while we walk.”

Demona did not answer. Instead, she continued on her way down the road. While fleeing from the demon Demona lost her sense of direction, she looked for familiar buildings to determine where she was. The last thing she wanted to do was ask Kerrick for directions.

Then, she recognized the buildings she was walking past, but could not place them. That was until the buildings grew scarcer the more she trekked in that direction. Soon she came to stand in front of a single abandoned home situated on the block. It was the house she and Kerrick had gone to during a field-assignment, where she had injured her ankle after being careless. The townhome was menacing as it stood alone on the empty block.

Demona’s clothes were soaking wet and she decided not to linger by the strange house any longer. She continued on her way down the road now that she knew where she was and where she was going. She wiggled her toes as she walked. The cold water had begun to numb her foot to the point that her toes now seemed foreign to her as she moved them.

She just needed to find the rest of her group; she hoped that they were still at the same place she left them.
Hopefully Felix is okay
.
I just need to find them and we’ll end this demon problem. We’ll go back to headquarters and warm up. Everything will be fine!
The mood that Demona was now in after fighting the demons, listening to Kerrick, and dealing with the incessant rain, was nothing short of vehement.

Kerrick had been rattling on as they walked down the road. The street lamps reflected on the glistening road. The rain refused to let up. Demona knew that Kerrick was talking to her, but she refused to pay him any mind. Instead, she focused on finding her way through town and back to her friends.

“I’m sorry!” Kerrick shouted.

The words almost made Demona spin in his direction. “Shh! The demons will hear you!” She was so distracted by the words Kerrick had spoken and the urgency to make him be quiet that she almost tripped again. After processing what Kerrick had said, Demona was able to return her attention toward walking steadily down the slickening road once more, scanning every direction for movement.

“I didn’t want things to go that way between us. I know you know that Darius ordered me to keep you interested in the TGHC. I know you said that the demon, Abd al-Malik, showed you that vision,” Felix said. “But did the demon show you anything else?”

Kerrick waited for a response. Demona continued to pretend to ignore him.

“No, he didn’t, did he? Well, there is a little piece of information that you are missing,” Kerrick said.

Demona was so close to being fed up with him. “I didn’t need to see anything else!” She yelled a little louder than she had intended. She glanced around quickly making sure her voice had not travelled too far.

Kerrick sighed. “More of like a big piece, really. Remember I told you about Elisabeth, my wife? There’s more to the story. She had an affair while I was away with the militia.”

Demona’s teeth began to chatter. The rain had soaked to her bones and gave her what felt like a never ending chill. She was so irritable that for a moment it took everything for her to keep from turning around and smacking Kerrick in the face. She was tired of everything, and mostly she was tired of Kerrick.

“The vampire that she had an affair with was Darius,” Kerrick said.

Demona stopped in her tracks. “Darius…”

“Yes—”

“And what else did Darius do? Because if I know him like I think I do, he probably screwed up your life beyond repair.”

Kerrick caught up with Demona so they could continue their conversation, while they walked side by side. “Well yeah, other than turning my wife into a vampire, who then turned me… he has enslaved one of my descendants.”

“What?” Demona was not certain she had heard Kerrick correctly.

“Elisabeth and I had a child before we were turned. After she turned me I convinced her to leave our son. Having vampires for parents would have been no life for him. After Elisabeth and I separated, fifty or so years later, I found my son and have been watching his family grow from a distance over the years.”

The rain was coming down heavily and began to mix with sleet. The little pellets stung Demona’s face as they raced from the sky. She covered her head with her hands, but it did not help to protect her much more. Kerrick directed her to a bus stop, where they could wait under protective covering for the sleet to stop.

Demona studied Kerrick as he continued to tell his story.
Surprisingly, I believe him.

“Darius found me about twenty years ago and asked that I become his right hand man,” Kerrick said. “I refused. I knew he was the one responsible for my miserable undead existence. I wanted nothing to do with him!”

Demona shook her head with sorrow, knowing nothing good could have come from that. “I can’t imagine that he took that well.”

“No,” Kerrick replied. “In fact that’s when he informed me that he had my only remaining descendant captive. That if I wanted my lineage to continue I needed to do what he wanted.”

Demona shifted on her feet. “Oh.”

“I know you think I’m probably this cold, compassionless guy. I’m not. I love my family. I loved watching them live their lives. It broke my heart at the thought of my line ending, my last granddaughter dying.”

“It’s hard to believe,” Demona acknowledged.

“I am literally a puppet to Darius. I have been for the last twenty years. I want you to understand what happened between us,” Kerrick continued. “When Darius gave me orders about you, I had no choice. I had to do what he said.”

“That still doesn’t mean that because of what you went through that it makes me feel any better about what happened.”

“I know. But I need you to understand; at first everything I did I faked. I was pretending with you, but after a while I felt something. It has been decades since I felt something for anyone. I struggled with what I was doing to you, because I knew you would never forgive me if you found out,” Kerrick said. “I couldn’t forgive myself.”

“I’m still not sure if I can forgive you,” Demona said.

“I understand… After the demon gave you the vision and you confronted me at the hotel, I knew I couldn’t deny the truth. That’s why I acknowledged everything. I wanted you to know, in the hopes that maybe you could someday understand.”

“So, why are we having this conversation? It doesn’t change the way things are between us. I’m with Felix now and it’s not going to end.”

Kerrick placed his hand lightly on Demona’s forearm. “I respect your decision. I wanted you to know the whole truth, because you are the only person I trust with this information. If anything should happen to me… I need someone to know what Darius is doing.”