The Daemon Within

by Jeremy Croston

  “Be glad you don’t know his name. To know who he is means you’ve been marked an enemy of God.”

  Well crap, I guess I owed the Warg an apology next time we talked. Still, “Since you two know his name, does that mean?”

  “We’re marked as enemies? More than likely.” She said it like she was talking about the weather – nonchalantly. “The two of us have been off the grid for so long that I don’t even know if anyone really remembers us.”

  Hmmm, a question worked its way forward. “How did the Warg get captured in Drakel’s sword?”

  Her eyes danced and twinkled, as if that was something she’d wanted to tell me for a while. “I was curious when we’d get to this topic, Vic.”

  “It seems crazy to think that anyone would be able to trap a daemon’s soul in a sword.”

  Isa chuckled, like I was missing out on something. “Oh Vic, there used to be a time in this world where it was wild, where exploring the unknown was a person’s greatest joy.” She took her phone out of her pocket. “The internet and human expansion have made all of that virtually disappear.”

  She was reminiscing about old times and it was cute. “There are still wild places in this world.”

  “There are, in the more remote spots. And speaking of,” she added, “that’s where Drakel and I found that particular daemon. Of course, back then, northern Italy was considered remote.”

  Was this before or after your falling out with Liz?”

  “Well before.” She was ticking off numbers with her fingers for some odd reason. “I believe the year was 1034, A.D. We were in the midst of forming the council and word spread to us that a great warrior was protecting the backwater villages of the back country. Drakel was interested in this man, so we ventured up to find out.”

  I had a pretty good guess who this warrior was. “Baron Forte?” I asked.

  “Yes. He would go on to be the fourth member of our council. Lady Romina was the last.” The way she said Romina’s name, it led me to believe there was a story behind that, too. “I went off on a tangent, we’re talking about the Warg.”

  Speaking of the beasty, it seemed he was listening to the story from within. I felt a ripple in my gut which I knew was generated from him. “What was the Warg doing in Italy?”

  “Terrorizing the humans naturally.” Duh Vic, you should’ve known that. “When we reached the village where Forte was living, he told us about a great hellhound that was feasting on the men. He revealed that he encountered the beast, only to barely survive his onslaught.”

  “It’s hard to imagine a vampire like Forte having issues with anything really.”

  “He wasn’t a vampire yet. He was just a very talented human.”

  Whoa, I figured all the council members would’ve been born vampires. Forte must’ve been really special to be turned and then granted a seat. “That’s even more impressive.”

  “Unfortunately for him, he’d been clawed across the chest by the daemon. His death was inevitable.”

  As interesting as the story was, I didn’t feel right not breaking it up for a moment. The way she talked about the Baron, it was clear they were friends. “You know he didn’t die the night Liz and team stormed the fortress you were at.”

  She didn’t look even remotely surprised. “Forte was resourceful. After the loss of the three, he fled to Japan where he hid amongst the samurai. Eventually he became a Ronin, or wandering samurai, until Jonathan found him and brought him into his scheme.” Her knowledge of everything was a bolt from the blue. “Come now, Vic. If you thought I was in the dark after all these years, you sorely underestimate my abilities.”

  I needed to stop that. “Fair point; and sorry for interrupting the story.”

  “Where was I?” she asked herself. “Yes, with Forte so close to death, even though he was unaware, Drakel made the decision to go after the beast. He tasked me with siring Forte while he was on the hunt.”

  The Warg, who’d been quietly listening, decided to break into my mind. “The fight with Drakel was legendary. The vampire swordsman was very skilled, making me work for my meal. In the end, I was arrogant to think I could overpower him. As he stabbed me in the chest, I transferred my soul into his blade, so I could live on.”

  “Seems the Warg filled in the part of how he died,” I explained to Isa.

  “Can you ask him why he chose to take you on as his vessel?”

  I’d never thought to do that. I just figured it happened by accident or something. The Warg was still lingering around, so I posed the question to him. “After all those years, why leave the blade and team up with me?”

  His feelings were mixed. That was the thing; in certain situations we couldn’t hide anything from the other. “When the blade pierced you, I was curious about an anomaly such as yourself.”

  “I don’t know if I buy that.”

  “You were a werewolf without a wolf and I was a daemon without a body. It seemed to be a mutual arrangement.”

  So it was. “You’re just a big softie, aren’t you?”

  The Warg pulled back, but not before issuing one final, loving threat. “Do not tempt me to find a way to kill you, wolf.”

  Chapter 17

  You know what’s never a good sign? When the path you’re walking on gives out right before you take that one last step. Had Isa not grabbed the back of my jacket, I’d be still falling a good long ways down. Even still, we had a big problem. “How are we going to cross that?”

  It was at least fifteen, maybe twenty feet across the chasm. To make matters worse, the rain picked back up again. The slick rock would be hard to navigate, even with a complete path. Isa was on the same wavelength, as well. “I don’t know.”

  “This is our second task,” I blurted out. “Our first task was to overcome each other; our second task is to overcome the landscape.”

  She raised an eyebrow at my sudden burst of intuition. “Not that I’m doubting you,” it sounded like she was doubting me, “I’m just curious where this blossoming insight came from?”

  Just like the answer to this puzzle came to me, the answer to her question did, too. “The Teacher, we prayed together and he asked for God to bless me. That could be something, huh?”

  “He prayed with you?” she asked, quite stunned. “You’ve been blessed by The Teacher – oh Vic!” She took a step back like she’d burst into flames. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  I looked at her funny. “Would you relax, everything is cool.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  Grabbing her wrist gently, “See you’re fine, Isa.” Her shoulders relaxed, seeing how she wasn’t instantly vaporized by the power of Heaven. “If we’re going to do this, we’ll have to work together.”

  Isa surveyed the situation. If anyone was going to come up with a plan to make it across, it’d be her. She took a few paces towards the edge and looked over. “I have a crazy idea, one that I think you’ll have to execute.” I didn’t like the sound of that.

  I was worried to join her, but I sucked it up and did. “So, what’s your crazy plan? And could this plan kill me?”

  I noticed she skipped the second question entirely. “Have you ever heard the expression leap of faith?” Who hadn’t? “A philosopher once coined a phrase similar to it when describing Christianity.”

  “I think I see where this is going.”

  “You’ve been blessed by The Teacher and, with your strong convictions; I fully believe it is you meant to take the leap of faith, so to say.”

  Yep, she wanted to kill me. What a terrible way to go; I think I’d rather be attacked in full vampire mode. Looking down the abyss once more, “It’s not that I don’t trust your instincts-”

  Laughing, “I wouldn’t believe me, either, if that makes you feel better.”

  “It doesn’t, but thanks.” I looked up, almost hoping The Teacher would send me a sign. “Well, here goes.”

  “Wait Vic, we should talk-!”

  I did the unthinkable. Wi
th little more to go on than her hunch, I leapt off the slippery, wet rock and out as far as I could go into the great open space. As gravity took over and brought me back down, I was waiting for the eventual thud of my boots hitting something. When it started to seem like that wouldn’t happen, I privately cursed myself.

  Then I stopped falling. I was standing on air. “Ha… hahaha! Get a load of this!” I dropped to all fours and kissed the invisible ground. “Holy crap!”

  Isa was flushed. I was pretty sure she thought that I was going to end up as goo at the bottom of a very long drop. “I can’t believe you did that!” she exclaimed. “Oh my God,” lightning flashed overhead and thunder rumbled. “Sorry,” she said to an invisible force, “it seemed appropriate to say.”

  I hadn’t jumped all that far, so I slowly made my way across to the other side. Once there, I figured there was something, a lever or button perhaps, that I could push to restore the path. When I saw there wasn’t, I got a very bad, nagging feeling. Knowing it was safe for me, I went back about half way.

  “What’s wrong, Vic?” Isa asked.

  “The leap of faith ain’t for just one of us. Both of us need to take it.”

  I’d never seen someone so crestfallen. “Vic, we both know if I jump out there, nothing’s going to save me from falling.” Looking even sadder, “I’m not like you.”

  If there was ever a time for one of Vic Inglewood’s impassioned speeches, now was the time. Digging in, “Who’s to say the leap of faith is based on just Christianity?” I realized that sounded crazy, all things considered at the moment. “Do you have faith in me, in us?”

  “Of course I do,” she snapped. “I just don’t think those are the qualities this test is looking for.”

  “Sure they are!” I wasn’t going to back down on this. “If you believe in me, that means you don’t discount the stuff I consider important, including my faith.”

  She backed away a step or two from the edge. “What you’re asking me to do…”

  “Is the right thing!” I reached my hand out. “I believe in you, it’s about damn time you believed in yourself. You’re not the evil lady you were a millennia ago. Trust that they know that fact, too.”

  Isa was going to turn around; she wasn’t going to do it. I saw the look of flight as she glanced at me. We’d just have to figure out another way to deal with the Chernybog.

  Then she jumped.

  It was like watching a television show in slow motion. She was coming right for me, and I rushed to get my arms up to catch her. As she landed on me, we collapsed to the path that no one could see. She didn’t fall and neither did I. We were safe.

  “That just happened,” she said lightly.

  Not fully getting how tight I was holding on to her, “I didn’t think you were going to do it.”

  That’s when she kissed me once again. “I believed in us. I had faith in you, Vic.”

  The two of us laid there for a few moments, getting soaked from the rain kept coming down. The one thing I did notice was that the lightning seemed to stop. Maybe the two of us were finally getting the tasks we were up against and what was at stake. When the moment to move came, Isa got up first and then helped me to my feet. Slowly, we finished crossing the second task together.

  Words don’t even describe how it felt to be able to see the ground you were standing on. With rock under our boots again, we started going up the mountain, knowing we’d finished two of the three tasks set before us. And thanks to the Warg, I had a pretty good idea what would be waiting for us at the peak.

  We wouldn’t be making it to the peak today. After another few hours of hiking, both of us were exhausted and ready to stop the insane trek. As if the mountain knew we needed rest, we came across another landing on the path. A tent was set up and a place for a fire was built. I was too thankful to question such gifts; good thing my companion invented suspicion. “This is a trap.”

  There went my idea of plopping down and enjoying myself. “Why do you have to say things like that?”

  “Because I want to keep us alive.”

  That’s when the rain stopped. The moment it did, a new scent opened my eyes. It was a mix of lavender and spices. From inside the tent came a woman, a beautiful woman who radiated love and tenderness. Her soft, brown hair shimmered in the darkness and her kind face with a gentle smile was more than inviting.

  She walked right up to us. I couldn’t help but notice she was dressed very old fashioned, like Old Testament style. She hugged each of us and then addressed us. “Victor, Izabella, The Teacher told me to expect you. Come, I have a place ready for the rest you will need to finish the quest.”

  I was fine with going along with this woman’s idea of rest, but Negative Nancy wasn’t. “I know who you are.”

  “I would hope so, Izabella.” There was nothing harsh about the woman’s approach to the vampire. “Come, that is all water under the bridge I believe the expression is.”

  “Excuse me,” I interrupted. “I have no clue who you are, ma’am.”

  “You know of me.” She offered me her hand which I took. “My title is The Loyal One, but I have no problem using my real name.” A real name, that was a first. “I am Ruth, wife to Boaz.”

  “Whoa,” I said like a fool. To dig that hole even deeper, “You got a Bible chapter written all about you!”

  “So I do,” she said with a smile. “Come, the time for discussion is over.” She ushered us together like sheep, leading us over to the camp. “After a good respite, we can talk some more before you two move on to your final task.”

  Chapter 18

  Ruth was outside the tent, doing whatever it was she was doing. She’d said something about getting a fire going and cooking food; how was beyond me. I hadn’t seen anything on the mountain so far that could be burned or that was edible. Still, we were dealing with some pretty mystical beings on Sinai.

  While I was sitting up in the tent, unable to really get comfortable, Isa was lying down with her hands behind her head. “I don’t like this.”

  “One – we don’t have a choice. You made the deal with that devil,” I said, referring to the Chernybog. “Two – you haven’t liked anything about this adventure yet. C’mon, we’re climbing Mount Sinai! Just how cool and amazing is that?”

  She rolled her eyes at my enthusiasm, but couldn’t help loosening up at the same moment. “You have a zest for life that I hope you never lose.”

  “I can’t imagine being any other way.”

  She patted the cot for me to join her. As I did, she wrapped an arm around me. “When this is over, Sinai and Chernobyl, I promise we’ll be able to settle into the kind of life that you deserve, that we both deserve.”

  Truth be told, I’d forgotten what was awaiting us once we finished our expedition here. “I hope everything with Gregory is okay. I feel bad that we left him to hold the fort down.”

  “He is a good and honorable man. He’ll keep the wolves safe, for the time being.”

  Yeah, she was right. “In the meantime, I guess we need to rest up for the final ascent. If the Warg’s right, there’s going to be one angry angel waiting for us.”

  “Speaking of the daemon you share a body with,” she said, seriously. “I know you feel as if you can trust him, but are you sure giving him total control is a good idea?”

  This whole conversation was one I’d been having with myself since the moment we finished the second task. The Warg hadn’t ever given me reason not to take his word, but as she mentioned, he was a daemon. He may’ve been trying to lull me into a state of complacency.

  I guess he’d decided to listen in from his deep, dark dwelling someplace near my soul. In more of an echo, “You would be an even greater fool than I thought if you stopped trusting me.”

  Yeesh, he had quite the disappointed timbre going there. Thinking it’d be best not to engage him, I acknowledged Isa. “I guess that’s just something we’ll have to worry about once we’re up there. Maybe the angel will be friendly. I
have a way with people, you know?”

  She snorted which was really cute. “You most certainly do.” I felt a ‘but’ coming. “But,” yep, here it was, “we’re trying to take an artifact that was created to keep a very dangerous creature imprisoned. We could be selling cookies for all he cared; he won’t give it up without a fight.”

  “Good on you for knowing about selling cookies door to door.” My mouth started to water for some of those chocolate covered mint cookies. “How about you be the pessimist and I’ll be the optimist. Until I have reason to think he’ll attack us, I’ll believe we’ll be okay.”

  “Don’t mind me when I get to say I told you so.”

  There was a soft knock on the fabric door. It was Ruth letting us know she was about to come in. Not that we were doing any funny business mind you. “Dinner’s ready,” she said in a soft, yet sweet, voice.

  I was starving (I’m always hungry, mind you), so I busted a move to get outside to see what she made. Isa, who was on that vampire liquid diet, was less excited about the meal.

  An odd thought crossed my mind, why didn’t I smell anything cooking? Sure, there was the smoky smell of the fire filling the air, but nothing food wise. As I looked over into the fire and into the copper pot, I saw nothing. “I don’t mean to be ungrateful, ma’am,” I said. “I just don’t see anything to eat.”

  “Oh?” She reached into the kettle and pulled out a loaf of bread. Instantly, the smell of freshly baked bread hit me. “There seems to be plenty to me.”

  Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I reached into the kettle and felt something at the bottom. Reaching back out, “A perfectly cooked drumstick.”

  I looked at it curiously, almost in awe of what just happened. Isa, who by this time was out of the tent and beside me, chided, “Would you eat that thing already?”

  Carefully, I took a taste test first. Hot damn that was good. With my worry satisfied, I began to tear into it, chucking the bone away when I tore off all the meat. I plucked another one out, much to the disgust and chagrin of my companion.