The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (17 page)

“I’m
glad you wanted to talk,” Felix said.

“Why
didn’t you just tell me?” Demona asked.

“I
was afraid of what you would say. If I had known you were a vampire, I would
have risked telling you my secret.”

“I
kind of know how you feel. I was so conflicted about telling you my secret as
well. I can’t blame you for something I did myself,” Demona said. “And I have
to admit, I thought it was better the way it ended, because I knew it would
never work out. Because of what I am…”

“You
are a great person, Demona. I can’t imagine you to be anything other than just
who you are. After all of my GLC training and the things I’ve heard about your
kind, I can’t imagine that you are anything like the others of your kind.”

“Well,
I have always had a hard time fitting in.”

“Because
you are different?”

“I
guess.” Demona looked at her hands in her lap.

“You
are,” Felix said. “You are not like anyone I have ever known. You are so
insecure about yourself and lost. But I know you are smart, and beautiful, and
good.”

Demona
glanced at him and made the mistake of looking into his deep blue eyes. The
compassion that he held for her. A sense of longing gripped at her soul. Those
feelings had never gone away; they had only faded without his presence.
Remember Kerrick
.

“I
forgot how beautiful you are.” Felix stared back into her eyes. “I missed you.”

“I
missed you too.”
Ugh!
Did I just say that?

“What
about Kerrick?”

“What
about him?” Demona replied.

Felix
adjusted himself to a more relaxed position. “How serious are things?”

I’m not sure. I
don’t love him, I know that.
“It’s still new.”

“Oh…”
Felix’s eyes seemed to sparkle with hope. “So, tell me about the vampire thing?
How does it all work? Is it like the myths?”

“Yes
and No,” Demona said. “We turn by being bitten by another vampire, our master,
but as you already know we can walk in sunlight.”

“How
do you eat? I mean… I’ve seen you eat normal food. And when you guys saved me
the blood did not seem to bother you.”

“Ha-ha…”
Demona said, “If we feed twice a day we can fight our urges. If not, well it
could end badly. The whole point of TGHC is to provide us with the food supply
we need, in order to keep our kind from being exposed. We can eat normal food,
but it doesn’t do anything for us.”

“Well,
I have to admit TGHC is good for something. Otherwise, it would make our jobs a
lot harder. From what the elders have told me it was hard to keep protecting
the humans before TGHC. You know… from your kind,” Felix said.

“You
don’t have to tell me. We still have issues with people going rogue. My first
day as agent involved us tracking down a werewolf that had turned a whole
family. Ugh. And the demons are nothing but trouble!” Demona said.

Felix’s
brow creased. “So, your job must get pretty dangerous, huh?”

“Yeah,
isn’t yours?”

“Well,
since I am kind of new at it, I haven’t been in any dangerous situations. I
suppose that’s why they trained me,” Felix said. “Hey, I have a great idea; you
should come and visit the headquarters with me.”

“Why?”

“I
don’t know. I mean, I guess it would be cool to, you know, hang out now and
then. There are a lot of really cool people I think you should meet. You know,
get to know the other side. I think you would like them.”

“Sure,
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to hang out.”
I
feel like I’m betraying him with this stupid assignment.

“Did
they train you before you became an agent?” Felix asked.

“I
have only trained with sword and magic. What about you?”

“My
training was meditation and self-defense. I don’t have magic, well at least not
yet. I bet yours is awesome, you will have to show me sometime.”

Why couldn’t it
be this simple with Kerrick, he makes everything a challenge
.

“I
never thought to ask. How old are you really?” Felix asked.

“Twenty,”
Demona said. “I was turned when I was eighteen.”

“Really?
We are pretty close in age. I expected you to be older; you know the whole
vampire thing and all.”

Demona
looked at him. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Oh.
Do you know your master?”

“I
don’t, no. My whole existence as a vampire has been abnormal.”

“Why?”
Felix asked.

“When
I was turned, my master left me alone. I also had amnesia, so I can’t remember
my life before that.”

“Wow!
That’s crazy.”

“I
want to know more about GLC. What do they do?” Demona asked.
Maybe I will get a straight answer from him.

“GLC…
Well, we are basically protectors of the supernatural and human world. We fight
against those who might harm beings that are innocent or neutral. We believe in
Aleph;
he’s a god of goodness and
justice.”

“So,
you really are the good guys?”

“Yeah,
we are. I mean we are good, but not perfect we make mistakes also. I better get
going, I am keeping you up. Or am I?” Felix asked. He studied Demona.

“Yes,
we sleep,” Demona said. “And yeah, I better get to it. I have work in the
morning. I get to train some new agents. Oh, so much fun!”

“Really?
Why do you need more agents?”

“Probably
for the same reason your GLC branch got you.”

“Yeah,
lots of activity lately. I get that. Have you guys found the priest yet?”

“No.
Night shift is hunting, while day shift trains the newbies. We have an idea
where it is, but we are still trying to figure out how to stop it. Have you
guys been trying to find him?” Demona asked.

“I
think so. Since I am new they don’t really give me too much of the important
stuff to do,” Felix said.

“It’s
probably better that way,” Demona said.

“Yeah,
I guess,” Felix said.

They
rose and made their way towards the door and stopped just in front of it.

“So,
how about this weekend?” Felix asked.

“Oh,
right, hanging out. Yeah, that works.”

“Okay,”
Felix said. He leaned in and kissed Demona gently on the cheek. He pulled back
slightly and gazed into her eyes. “Goodnight.”

Chapter 18

Revenge

Demona
walked into the office.

“We’re
going to the gym again,” Balen said. Doyle and Black were listening to him
speak.

“Persephone,
today you begin training with weapons. This will not only be beneficial to you,
but Demona can use the leadership training as well,” Kerrick said. “Now that
Demona is here we will head down to the gym.”

Persephone
was giggling at Kerrick’s comment. They walked down the hallway towards the gym
entrance. Once inside Kerrick turned towards Doyle and Persephone. Demona stood
in an awkward position facing directly between Kerrick and the other two. She
was uncertain what Kerrick was expecting of her.

“Demona,
I want you to take Persephone and train her with the sword. You can find
equipment in the armory down the hall,” Kerrick said. “Make sure you don’t pick
anything with a sharp edge for the first day. I will work with Doyle on other
things since he is already proficient with weaponry.”

Kerrick
and Doyle walked over towards the gym equipment leaving Demona and Persephone
to stare awkwardly at one another on the mats.

“Wait
here,” Demona said.
And the nightmare
begins.

Demona
exited the gym and after finding the armory again she started to search for
gear. Demona found a leather vest for Persephone, she was about to put it back.
Nah, I’m not that mean.

Kerrick
had been right. By the end of the day after testing the candidates, it was all
over TGHC how Claudia had thrown a fit.

Demona
searched around and came across two wooden practice swords. She thought about
grabbing some more protective gear for Persephone, but figured that a vest was
more than enough. After Demona had everything that she thought she needed to
begin training she returned to the gym.

“Let’s
practice here,” Demona said. She threw the vest and one of the practice swords
on the gym mat.

Persephone
made her way over to Demona in a deliberately slow pace.

“Put
that on.” Demona pointed to the vest.

“No
way, that thing is hideous. Besides you aren’t wearing one,” Persephone said.

“This
isn’t a catwalk, this is training. You’ll want the protection. You’ll be sore
after being hit with a chunk of wood over and over,” Demona said.

“Nope,
I’m fine.”

“I’m
not going to argue with you. Pick up your sword and stand like this.” Demona
demonstrated the stance that Kerrick had once taught her. Her legs were
slightly parted, and her right leg was placed a little more forward than the
left. “Bend your knees a little,” Demona said. “Okay, now extend your arm with
your sword out.” Demona demonstrated once more.

Persephone
copied her.

“Now,
try to hit me while I block your attack,” Demona said.

A
couple of werewolves entered the room and made their way for the gym equipment.

Persephone
raised the sword above her head and charged at Demona. Demona dodged out of the
way as Persephone ran past her. Demona chuckled. Persephone skidded to a halt
after she realized that Demona had moved out of the way.

“You
can’t hit me like that. How are you going to see what you are doing, if your
arms are in the way?” Demona asked.

“Shut
up,” Persephone replied. She returned to her previous position.

“Try
again,” Demona said.

This
time Persephone swung the sword in a large arch from side to side. Demona
dodged the swing and hit Persephone’s sword knocking it from her hands.
Persephone went to retrieve it as Demona tapped her foot.

Demona
noticed some of the werewolves that had entered the gym earlier were watching
them. “You need a firmer grip on the hilt. You need to think about the way
you’re trying to hit me. You’re putting too much force into your swings and
it’s slowing you down. You would’ve been dead twice already.”

Persephone
scowled at Demona.

“Try
again,” Demona said.

Persephone
swung the blade to her side, trying to hit Demona. She had put so much force
behind her attack that her sword’s momentum caused her to spin.

The
werewolves had stopped working out to watch her train Persephone. Demona
noticed a few of them chuckling. A slight giggle escaped Demona. Persephone
scowled at Demona even more.

Persephone’s
attempts were not better during remainder of the day. Several times Persephone
attempted to jab at her and Demona dodged the blade each time. Every now and
then, Demona threw a strike of her own in just for some laughs. They had the
werewolf audience roaring with laughter.

“If
you hit me one more time, I am going to curse you!” Persephone said.

“I
wouldn’t do that,” Demona said.

“Try
me!”

“If
you lose your temper you might end up losing your position as agent.”

Demona’s
words hit harder than any strike with the practice sword could have made.
Persephone seemed to finally realize that her future was in Demona’s hands. She
stared at Demona for a long time, as if trying to decide if it was worth the
risk.

Two down
.

The
look on Persephone’s face was enough for Demona. She knew that she had finally
one-upped Persephone. She did not need to hurt Persephone and Claudia
physically or emotionally to exact her revenge, Demona was smarter than that.
They had managed to humiliate themselves and all that Demona did was let things
take their course. Persephone had managed to get herself into a position where
she did not have the ability to insult or hurt Demona in any way. Demona felt
satisfied.

****

After
work, Kerrick stopped by Demona’s apartment before heading to his house.

“I
think she’s going to need lots of training. Either she doesn’t want to learn or
she’s just really that slow,” Demona said.

“Work
with Persephone again tomorrow. After that we can decide if she needs more
time, or what the next step will be,” Kerrick said. “How did things go with
Felix last night?”

Demona
shrugged. “Eh, you know.”

“No…
tell me.”

“He
wants to hang out this weekend. He said he has some GLC members he wants me to
meet.”

“I
would rather have you all to myself.” Kerrick grabbed Demona around the waist
and pulled her into an embrace. “But this is what Darius wants. Go with him,
learn what you can. You never know what information we can use in the future,
but don’t give him too many details about the prophecy and TGHC.”

“I
know,” Demona replied.

Kerrick
bent down to kiss her.

Demona
hesitated for a moment.
What is wrong
with me? Any other time I want to be touching him every second possible.
She
kissed Kerrick back, but she was not into it.

Kerrick
pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m
just tired from training,” Demona said. She tried not to look Kerrick in the
eyes.

“Alright,
get some rest. I will see you tomorrow,” Kerrick said. He kissed her once more
and exited the apartment.

Demona
plopped down on her sofa.
This isn’t
good. I don’t know what I’m feeling right now. Why did Felix have to come back
and mess everything up?

Demona
decided to turn on her music player. She listened to the music as she walked
out onto the balcony. Demona had not had much of a chance to sit there for
quite some time. Things had been too hectic for her to relax. She was always running
around with work and spending time with Kerrick. Her apartment balcony was the
one place she liked to sit and think.

She
watched to sun setting over the rooftops. The sky was a multitude of colors. As
it set behind the building a bright orange light shone against the clouds
above. The rippling clouds reflected hues of pink, purple, and blue.

****

“Come
on Persephone. Are you even trying?” Demona asked. She stood with one hand on
her hip and the wooden practice sword dangled from the other. There were no
werewolves to witness today’s practice.

“Shut
up!” Persephone said.

“How
hard is it to understand that you don’t jab or slash with the sword? At this
rate you’ll never complete your training,” Demona said.

With
Demona’s response Persephone stomped her foot and glared at Demona. Persephone
held her sword out. She swung the blade, but instead of striking Demona’s it
just flew over top of it.

“Do
you have any hand-eye coordination? I give up trying to teach you. I’m just
going to stand her and hold this sword until you can actually strike it without
missing,” Demona said. “At least you finally understood that you can’t make a
strike like you were doing yesterday.”

Kerrick
walked over to the two. He watched them for a moment. Persephone seemed to be
even more embarrassed in his presence and it seemed as if instead of just
barely missing Demona’s practice sword, she missed it by feet.

“Let
me take over for a while. Demona, can you sit with Doyle and explain to him how
mageia
can be harnessed?” Kerrick
asked.

“I’ll
try,” Demona said. She handed the practice sword to Kerrick and walked to where
Doyle sat on one of the benches. His feet barely touched the ground, in fact
only the tips of his boots were placed on the floor. Demona sat beside him and
watched as Kerrick tried to instruct Persephone in swordsmanship.

“Hey,
Doyle,” Demona said.

“Lass.”

“Balen
wants me to explain
mageia
. What do
you know about it?”

“Not
much. Dwarves have no use for magic. We rely on our physical attributes.”

“Okay.
Well, I don’t know much myself, but I’ll try to explain it to you,” Demona
said.

“
Mageia
is an ability that vampires have.
They usually develop it many years after they are turned. It can come in
different forms. Some people can control minds. Others can sense things.

“It
takes time to learn to control the new abilities. Sometimes they are connected
to emotions, so it can be difficult to control them unless you are able to
control yourself.” Demona watched Persephone attempt to strike at Kerrick’s
sword.

“Okay,
that’s enough for today,” Kerrick said.

Demona
rose and walked towards Kerrick and Persephone. Doyle waddled behind her. “You
two can have the rest of the day off. I will see you again in the morning.”

Persephone
drug herself out of the gym and Doyle followed. When they were out of the room
Kerrick turned to Demona.

“You
are right. I think she is just that bad, and a very slow learner. We should
discuss this with Darius. I think it is time for an update with him anyway,”
Kerrick said.

Kerrick
and Demona walked down the hall. After they stopped to drop off the practice
swords at the armory, they made their way up the flight of stairs to the first
floor. Demona spotted Persephone and Claudia standing off to the side of the
lobby whispering to one another. They both turned and looked at her as she and
Kerrick made their way towards the elevator doors.

 
Any other time they would approach me. This
would have been an opportunity for them to find some way to humiliate me.

Kerrick
walked up to the secretary. “We are here to speak to Darius.”

They
sat in the chairs outside of Darius’ office and waited patiently. Someone
exited the door and Darius called for them to enter. They found seats at the
two chairs positioned before his desk. Darius sat in his usual spot and leaned
against his chair with his hands folded.

“I
presume that you are here to give an update, or that you have some other
information you want to share?” Darius asked.

“Yes.
Training is going well with Doyle. I don’t think it will take much more for him
to be ready to go on a field assignment. As for Black, I can’t say the same,”
Kerrick said.

“What
is the trouble?” Darius asked.

“She
either has horrible hand-eye coordination or she just doesn’t want to try.
Demona spent a day and a half trying to get her to swing properly and then
attempt to hit a stationary practice sword,” Kerrick said. “I spent some time
attempting to do the same. She seems hopeless.”

“We
have already filled her position; I cannot send her back to the offices,”
Darius said.

“Can’t
you just have her take Agrippa’s place? And instead take him out in the field,”
Demona said.

“That
is a good solution, Demona,” Darius said. “How are things progressing with
Felix?”

“Fine,
he wants to hang out and introduce me to GLC,” Demona said.