The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (14 page)

Demona
had just jumped out of the shower and change into shorts and a t-shirt before
going to bed for the night. Someone knocked on her door and Demona knew exactly
who it would be. Since Hannah and Kaleb had caught her and Kerrick she knew it
was only a matter of time before Hannah showed up asking questions. She was
surprised it had taken her a few days to show up.

“Hey,
Hannah,” Demona said.

“You
have a lot of questions to answer,” Hannah said. She walked through the door.

“I
was waiting for you,” Demona said.

“Just
start from the beginning I want to know everything.”

Demona
sat on her chair, looking at Hannah seated on the sofa. “He’s a coworker. It
kind of just happened one day. I didn’t expect it. It is thrilling, the man
drives me crazy!”

“Okay.”

“Okay?
That’s all you’re going to say?”

“I
don’t think you want to hear what I have to say.”

“No,
please, I do.”

Hannah
looked away. “Demona, I don’t want to make you angry.”

“Well,
obviously you have something to say, so you might as well say it.”

“Fine,
but remember this is just my opinion.” Hannah breathed deeply. “You are on a rebound.”

“So,
what if I am. Kerrick is there for me… Felix left and forgot about me
remember?”

“Felix
did not forget about you. Maybe he just had other things on his mind. This
Kerrick guy sounds like bad news. I don’t want to see you get hurt, you don’t deserve
it!”

“Bad
news? He’s been there for me since he found out how Felix had hurt me.” Demona
was on her feet pacing the living room.

“Demona,
the guy just suddenly takes an interest in you. You are coworkers. That alone
is a bad sign. Not to mention that it seems like your relationship is based on
physical attraction and that you have nothing whatsoever in common. Are you
sure he’s not taking advantage of your vulnerability?”

“Opposites
attract,” Demona said. “And what the heck, when were you and Kaleb even going
to mention that Felix was back?”

“See,
you aren’t even over Felix yet!” Hannah said.

“Don’t
avoid the question.”

“I
wanted to tell you. There are just circumstances that prevent me from doing
so.”

“You
have got to be kidding me! I thought we were friends and you can’t even tell me
when my ex is back in town.”

“Stop
attacking me for everything I say. I wanted to tell you… I want to tell you.
You have to understand I swore to keep silent. Felix has stuff to deal with,”
Hannah said.

“Fine,
if that’s how it’s going to be. You can leave now.” Demona turned her head away
from Hannah.

Hannah
stood and stared at Demona for a moment. Tears ran down Hannah’s cheek as she
paused a moment in hopes that Demona would turn back to her, but she did not.
Hannah made her way to the door and closed it firmly behind her.

Chapter 15

The Possession

Demona’s
phone rang. It had awoken her from sleep. She sleepily reached for the phone
and pulled it towards her face. She squinted as she glanced at the screen to
see it was TGHC. Demona wondered who at TGHC was calling for her at almost
three o’clock in the morning. She answered the phone.

“Demona,
this is Darius. We have an incident that I need you and Kerrick to help with.
Bergfalk and Foss are dealing with another situation at the moment and that
only leaves the two of you. Bergfalk and Foss will join you when they are able
to. Kerrick is on his way to pick you up, meet him outside. You should expect
him at your place in about five minutes. Good luck.”

Before
Demona could even ask Darius what was going on he had hung up. She jumped out
of bed and threw on the closest clothing she could find. She ran out the door
and headed for the lot.

Kerrick
was just pulling in when Demona had exited the lobby doors. She hopped in the
car beside him.

“What’s
going on?” Demona asked.

“Remember
when I told you that it was rare for demons to try to possess someone with a
pure soul?” Kerrick asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’s
even more uncommon for one to attempt to possess one of the ordained.”

“Are
you serious?”

“Unfortunately,”
Kerrick said. “A medium gave Darius directions to the home outside of town. We
have about a thirty minute drive to the location. And unfortunately it might be
too late by the time we get there.”

Demona
and Kerrick sat in silence for the remainder of the ride. Demona was still
trying to wake herself up and to process the thought of a demon attempting to
possess a member of clergy. The realization that someone might be killed in the
process was almost too much. She had not dealt with death before, other than
her own.

They
pulled into a development of largely constructed homes. If Demona had to guess,
she would say they were each worth about half a million dollars. The houses
were enormous, each built in similar construction, but different by several
characteristics. The lots were farther apart than the average development and
were tucked into groves of trees with long winding paved driveways. The moon
lit sky provided enough illumination to make out small features in the development,
such as shrubs in the landscaping.

Kerrick
pulled into a driveway and ascended towards an old stone church. It was
complete with Romanesque style buttresses. A large stained glass window
shimmered in the moonlight. The round window centered directly below the
steeple and above the entrance seemed to stare down at them like a giant
watchful eye. Old twisted maples swayed in the wind on either side of the
towering cathedral. Demona noticed that one of the double doors stood ajar and
dim light poured through the opening.

“I
want to prepare you,” Kerrick said. “I don’t sense a demonic presence. I don’t
know what we might find here.”

“I’ll
be okay, I’ll manage,” Demona said.
Please
let him be okay, Please let him not be dead. Everything is going to be fine
.

With
that Kerrick went through one of the doorways with Demona following behind.
They rounded into the choir section of the church and found nothing.

Demona
glanced up at the ceiling high above. She admired the architecture inside. The
ceiling was made of multiple arches which seemed to connect in the center and
begin all over again. As they moved along into the church a chill ran through
her as she took in the magnificence of the domed ceiling directly above.

The
two entered into one of the rooms to the side of the sanctuary where a bright
light spilled onto the pews. Demona was terrified at what they would find
inside, even though she was trying to prepare herself for anything. It must
have been the priest’s office. A chair was turned over to Demona’s left and
papers were scattered about the floor. Demona was relieved that they had not
found a body inside.

“I’ll
search the building.” Kerrick proceeded to search the rooms adjacent to the one
they were in, and carefully scoped out the rest of the wide open building.

Demona
stepped over a lamp and picture frames that had been knocked off of the desk
onto the floor. She bent down to pick up a broken picture frame that lay face
up with a photo of a man in clerical clothing. On either side were people of a
similar age. Demona wondered if they were siblings, because of their
resemblance to one another.

Kerrick
reentered the office. His head hung low. “Nothing.”

“Then,
where is he?” Demona asked.

“My
guess is that somehow the demon was able to complete the possession.”

“You’re
telling me there’s a demonic priest running around out there somewhere?”

“That’s
exactly what I am telling you.”

Before
they were able to continue their conversation footsteps and hushed voices came
from outside the church. Kerrick pulled his dagger from its sheath and they
entered the sanctuary.

Demona
steadied herself for whatever was about to walk through the door. She wondered
if the demon had returned or if it was a church member. Neither of her
assumptions were the answer.

An
older man, tall and lean with red hair walked through the open door. The second
person was a woman with brown wavy mid-length hair. She was pretty, tall and
thin, and seemed to be in her thirties. The two had entered followed by a third
person Demona could not make out who, since they were hidden from her view.
They had not noticed Demona or Kerrick, but that changed quickly.

“Kerrick,”
the red haired man said.

“Molony.
What do you think you are doing here?” Kerrick asked. He scowled.

Well, I guess
these are not friends of TGHC.

“I
could ask you the same question,” Molony replied. The old man stood with hands
collapsed.

As
they were talking the third person came around from behind the man and woman to
join in the exchange. Demona’s heart dropped. The man halted in mid step and
almost tripped over his own feet. It was Felix.

When
Kerrick noticed who it was he instantly stiffened. Nobody spoke a word for what
seemed like an eternity.

Demona
had unintentionally let out a hissing sound and promptly clamped both hands
over her mouth.
Where did that come from?

“There
is nothing here for you, Molony. Go back to your headquarters,” Kerrick said.

“I
have every right to be here. This is holy ground. What took place here is our
concern as much as it is yours. It looks like Grier has lost control of his
followers. We have noticed an alarming increase in possessions, most on the
pure hearted. Our kind will suffer if these attacks keep happening,” Molony
said.

“This
is not holy land anymore. This church has been desecrated. Less GLC is always a
good thing,” Kerrick said.

“You
would feel that way. Your kind should be equally as scared by this,” Molony
said.

“You
think so old man?” a voice said coming from the entrance. It was Foss. He and
Bergfalk had entered the choir.

“Bergfalk.
Foss, just in time,” Kerrick said.

Bergfalk
and Foss came to Kerrick’s side. Everyone was on edge, even more than they had
been previously.

“We
have nothing to fear. We have the
Mythos,
”
Kerrick said.

Bergfalk
gasped from the other side of Kerrick.

Demona
looked at Kerrick.
I thought Darius
didn’t want anyone to know?

“Do
you? Can you be certain of that? Good always prevails, Kerrick. Who is your
young friend? I do not believe we have met,” Molony said.

“And
you won’t,” Kerrick said.

“Demona,”
Felix said.

“Don’t
speak to her.” Kerrick stepped in front of Demona.

I am not so sure
I like this situation.

“Who
are you to tell me I can’t speak to her,” Felix said. He took a step around the
brown haired woman.

The
brown haired woman thrust her arm out in front of Felix to keep him from taking
another step. “Now is not the time—”

“Her
boyfriend,” Kerrick said.

Felix
was taken aback by Kerrick’s words. All he could do was to continue to stare at
Demona, who wanted to run from the whole situation.

“Boys,
boys. Settle your quarrels another time, we have more important things to fight
over than the sidekick,” Bergfalk said.

Hey, who’s she
calling a sidekick!

“Another
time, Felix,” Kerrick said. He inclined his head.

“Where
is the priest?” the brown haired woman asked.

“Gone.
Come on Demona, we have work to do. Let the good Samaritans attempt to do
something productive, there is nothing left for us to find here,” Kerrick said.

“Miss
Demona, we will pray for you,” Molony said.

Demona
followed Kerrick towards the door. Bergfalk and Foss eyed up the three GLC
members before trailing behind. When the four were finally outside they stood
between the cars for a moment.

“So
where is he?” Foss asked. He stood with arms crossed leaning up against his
black utility vehicle.

“It
looks like the possession was completed,” Kerrick replied.

“Is
that even possible?” Bergfalk asked.

“Looks
that way. I am not certain what this means either. Whatever is happening
doesn’t bode well for any of us,” Kerrick said.

“You
two go get some sleep. This is our shift, we will start the hunt. If we do not
find him it will be up to you two to continue the search,” Bergfalk said.

“We
need to find him fast. There has never been a possession of a clergy member
completed in history. There is no telling what might happen. We’ll check up
with you in the morning. Good luck,” Kerrick said.

Back
in the car Demona shook. Kerrick grabbed her and held her firm against him as
she began to sob in his arms. She buried her head against his chest.

“I’m
sorry,” Demona said. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

“No
need. I know he hurt you. Let’s get you home,” Kerrick said.

After
they arrived at her apartment Kerrick accompanied her back inside. Kerrick
walked beside her in silence down the long hallway. When they entered the
apartment Kerrick dialed a number on his phone.

“The
priest is gone,” Kerrick said.

Demona
heard mumbling on the other end of the line.

“Bergfalk
and Foss are searching,” Kerrick said.

More
mumbling came from the phone.

“Understood,”
Kerrick replied. Then he hung up.

“Who’s
that Molony guy and that woman?” Demona asked.

“Alastair
Molony is one of the leaders of GLC. They say he is a faith healer. The woman,
Rowena, don’t let her silence fool you, she is extremely intelligent. Did you
know Felix was GLC?” Kerrick asked.

“No,
I was just as shocked as you were,” Demona said. “Wait, you said Rowena. That’s
Felix’s sister’s name.”

Kerrick
stared at her.

“So,
what now?” Demona asked.

“We
get rest,” Kerrick said.

Demona
grabbed Kerrick’s hand and led him to her room. Together they climbed into bed.
Demona cuddled up against Kerrick and they fell to sleep.

Moments
later Demona was startled awake by someone pounding on her door. Kerrick
climbed out of bed in nothing but his boxers. Demona stood in her bedroom
doorway with her pajamas on, waiting to see who was who it was.

“Demona.”
It was Felix, there was no denying who the voice belonged to.

Kerrick
let the door swing open.

Felix
was about to step inside, until he realized who had opened the door. He stood
speechless. He looked at Kerrick who stood there with hardly any clothing.
Then, he saw Demona standing by her bedroom doorway.

“Demona,”
Felix said.

“Goodbye,
Felix,” Kerrick said.

“I
need to talk to Demona!”

“No
you don’t.” Kerrick slammed the door in his face.

Demona
stood there feeling guilty. She knew how it had looked to Felix, considering
that the two of them were barely clothed. She knew that in this moment, right
now, that it did not matter what Felix thought. The only problem was that her
heart kept telling her otherwise.

****

Kerrick
and Demona had just entered the field agency office to find Bergfalk and Foss
sitting at desks in the cheap computer chairs. Bergfalk sat with her arms
crossed and leaned against the back. She was blowing bubbles with her gum. Foss
stared at the clock on the wall as if it were hypnotizing. Agrippa was where he
always was, at his desk working on forms.