Awakening

by S. C. Mitchell

  After he’d left, JJ turned to Anna.

  “You better be hittin’ that,” she said, and the others giggled.

  She certainly wasn’t ready for their relationship to end with just that one glorious sexual encounter. First, she had to rid Jack of the demon. But once that was accomplished, she was looking forward to reconnecting with her old friend…in every way possible. But JJ and the others didn’t need to know that right now.

  “None of your business,” Anna answered, but she couldn’t hide her smile.

  “That looks to be one prime hunk of beefcake, from where I’m standin’.” JJ had a gleam in her eye. “If you don’t want him, toss him my way.”

  “JJ!” both Salina and Kim said at the same time. Anna just smiled, knowingly, and shook her head.

  “Hey.” JJ shrugged. “Just cause these bones are old, don’t mean they don’t enjoy a good stomp around the bedsheets. Every once in a while, this old girl needs a good—”

  Jack stepped through the front doorway. A big wooden crate in his arms.

  “—lay that thing right over here, Jack,” JJ continued without missing a beat. “Such big, strong arms.”

  Anna knew JJ wasn’t serious. At least she was pretty sure. It was just her old friend’s way of letting her know she approved of Jack. Still, a tinge of jealousy crept up her spine.

  “Actually, we should take everything right downstairs, Jack,” Anna said before he could set the crate down. “That’s where we’ll be needing this stuff anyway.”

  Jack swerved in his path and headed toward the basement stairway. Anna and the other women followed him down.

  “Holy criminy,” JJ said as she hit the last step. “What a great setup for studying demons. Can I use this? God, two cells.”

  Jack turned to her after setting the box on the floor. “You get this thing out of me and this place is yours whenever you want it.” he said, then headed up the stairs to get the other box.

  “Oh Anna,” JJ said, “I’ve been dragging demons to our upstate headquarters for years to study. Having something like this in my backyard will be heavenly.”

  “First things first, JJ,” Anna said. “Let’s get set up.”

  Anna started to unload the first crate. She pulled candles, potions, and paraphernalia from the box and started to organize everything on top of the washer and dryer.

  “He really changes into a werewolf?” Kim Wakefield asked.

  Kim was a recent member of their local group. The slim ebony-skinned girl was only sixteen years old and still awestruck with the Arcanists, and what they could do. She’d been working with JJ for the past two months.

  “It’s Whargan, honey,” JJ said. “There’s no such thing as a werewolf.”

  “But he changes into a hairy beast under the full moon, right? Doesn’t that make him a werewolf?”

  So full of questions. Anna was reminded of her time studying with JJ. The young woman’s vibrancy and inquisitive nature brought a smile to Anna’s lips. JJ would, no doubt, turn this into a teaching moment.

  “The full moon is when the connection to the demon realm is strongest, that’s why most of our demon-based spells need to be cast under one.” JJ said, and gave Anna a nod to jump in.

  JJ was more a general practitioner of the magical arts. Demons were Anna’s specialty. “If it were a different type of demon, though, we could probably exorcise it anytime,” Anna added. “But a Whargan exorcism must be performed under a full moon. They are unique that way, somehow more connected with the moon’s phase than other demons.”

  JJ nodded. “Now Anna, are you sure we’re not rushing this? This is a rather unique opportunity for us to study the Warghan. Maybe Jack would be open to waiting a month?”

  Anna needed to squash that notion right away. No one was using Jack for a test subject…well, no one but her.

  “No way,” Anna said sternly. “This demon goes tonight, as soon as possible. It won’t give us any more than I got last night and Jack has dealt with this thing long enough.”

  Anna saw Salina smirk behind JJ.

  “What?” Anna asked the young woman. She didn’t see any levity in their current discussion.

  “Oh girl.” Salina chuckled. “You should see your own aura. You really got it bad for this guy, don’t you?”

  The cold knot of determination in Anna’s gut turned all warm and squishy. Salina was so right. Thank goodness Jack couldn’t read auras.

  “Yeah.” Anna admitted. She couldn’t lie to these women. “I do.”

  Transform from within. – Seeking Oneness by Ebar Zbignzie, 1861

  Chapter 9

  Jack stood naked in his bedroom, listening to the women chatting excitedly in his basement. Kelly Grant had joined Anna, JJ, Selina, and Kim after her shift ended at the library.

  How incredible that Miss Grant was an Arcanist. He’d known her for so long, and yet, maybe, he hadn’t known her at all.

  Rummaging through his dresser, he found an old pair of cut-off blue jeans. He held the shorts up, looking at them. They were worn and stained but really comfortable on hot summer days. He knew the beast was going to rip them to shreds.

  “Oh well.” There was no way he was undressing in front of Anna’s four friends. Of course, the beast would probably do that anyway, but he’d like to at least start out with a little modesty.

  Outside he could feel the moon starting to rise. It was time. He slipped the shorts on, grabbed up a pair of blue jeans, so he’d have something to put on after, and headed through the small house toward the basement door.

  Yeah, five women staring at his naked butt was going to be awkward, but if they could rid him of this thing, they’d be welcome to gawk all they like.

  All talk ceased as he hit the bottom step. Expectancy hung thick in the air. Well, he was the main attraction after all.

  “Don’t worry, Jack, we’ve got this,” Miss Grant said, shooting him a wink.

  He handed his jeans to Anna for safe keeping, then walked into his cell, pulling the door shut behind him. They’d assured him, time and time again that they were completely safe so he’d switched off the electronic locking system. Anna said that the creature would be gone long before sunrise and he wouldn’t want to be trapped in the cell after that. Still, he wound the chain around the door and locked the padlock. That, he could open at any time.

  It didn’t take long for the tingles to start. Then the pain. Jack held it all in, refusing to let the beast have any satisfaction.

  The demon lurked at the edge of his consciousness. They will fail. I will not release you. But Jack noted worry in the demon’s tone.

  The women scampered around the basement readying jars of strange substances and chanting words that didn’t make any sense. Was it a different language, or was he too far gone to comprehend what they were saying? Candles burned throughout the basement and an earthy scent, rich with herbs, mingled in the air.

  They will not have me. The transformation almost complete, the beast moved forward in Jack’s mind to take control. I will feast on their flesh.

  Jack’s essence sucked away to that small, closed-in part of his mind. Dark and numb. A deep sense of nothingness all around him. He could only wonder at what was happening in his basement. Time passed, as it always did when the demon was in charge. It was like being tied up and locked in a dark closet. Only occasionally did something leak through the gloom. A flash of a scene, a smell, a sound.

  But he could feel the demon’s anguish as it fought against the Arcanists. He had quick glimpses, shadows in his mind, of the women chanting, weaving tendrils of power around the demon, followed by a pulling sensation in his gut.

  Light.

  Starting as a pinprick in the darkness then rushing toward him as his consciousness returned. He stood naked, hands on the bars of his cell. The tatters of his shorts lay on the floor around him.

  Jack turned away embarrassed.

  Anna’s friends gasped, oohed and aahed. Even Anna stifled a giggle as she handed
Jack his pants through the bars.

  “Why don’t you ladies head over to my house and start compiling your notes,” She said as she ushered the women toward the stairs. “I’ll finish things here and join you as soon as I can.”

  “Take your time, dearie,” Joyce said to her. “Heaven knows, I would if I were you.”

  Their voices grew dimmer as they exited the basement. Though they were fading fast, Jack still had some of the residual senses of the Whargan demon—including its keen hearing.

  “I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on that cute little heinie of his,” he heard someone say.

  “JJ!” two, or maybe three voices answered in unison.

  “I’m just sayin’…”

  Anna returned, smiling and looking entirely too smug. Okay, maybe she deserved the look and the feeling

  Jack fiddled with the combination lock, reluctant to open it. The moon was still out and full in the night sky.

  “Go ahead, open it,” Anna said. “It’s over. You’re free of the demon.”

  Jack spun the lock to the last digit and opened it. But the moon still pulled at him, as if his body wanted to change. Could it happen, even without the demon inside him?

  As the cell door swung open, he hesitated. “You’re sure?” He looked deeply into Anna’s wonderful green eyes. She was so beautiful. He wanted her in his arms. Yet the moon was out, and old instincts died hard.

  Anna walked over to him and grabbed his hand. She pulled him out of the cell. Her arms wrapped around him and she brought her lips to his. He allowed himself to believe, drinking her in as the world spun around him. Was he truly free?

  Free to live a real life—perhaps pursue a girl like Anna? What would it be like to be normal, with a wife, maybe kids…a career?

  The kiss was long, passionate, and when it ended, he ached for more.

  “I’m sure,” she answered, and he couldn’t remember the question he’d asked. But he knew exactly what he wanted.

  ***

  Anna’s heart warmed at the look of hope in Jack’s eyes and the broad smile on his face. His arms around her, he pulled her in for another kiss. They were both breathing hard when they finally separated.

  He ran a finger down her bare arm then clasped her hand. His eyes sizzled with desire. “If you need to join your friends, I understand, but I’d love for you to stay.”

  Anna reached up and ran fingers through the course, shaggy hair on the side of his head.

  “There’s no rush,” she answered.

  Jack pulled her in for another embrace…another toe-curling kiss.

  He released her and drew back. “Last time I didn’t give you much chance to say no,”

  “And yet, my answer is still yes,” she said, smiling. She ran a finger suggestively down his chest, then hooked that finger in the waistband of his jeans and gave a slight tug.

  Passion blazed in his eyes. He swept her back into his arms. His lips found hers once again. Long, hard and passionate, she didn’t want this to end.

  It appeared that Jack didn’t want it to end either. His right hand swept down and around, catching her under her knees as he lifted her up. His lips traveled passionately up the side of her neck and his tongue caressed her earlobe, sending shivers down her spine, as he carried her up the stairs and back toward his bedroom.

  He laid her on his bed, all the time teasing and tempting her with lips, teeth and tongue. “You are absolutely enchanting.”

  The thrill that coursed through her, sent warmth rippling through her core. If she could bottle this moment, she’d have the most powerful potion on the planet.

  The demons lair is filled with torture, pain, and death. Those dragged within must abandon all hope. – A Concise Demonology by Ben Lupo, 1927

  Chapter 10

  Cliff Paulson lounged in the back of his limousine and watched the city fade into countryside as his driver took him home from work. A sob escaped the woman sitting beside him. He glanced over.

  Betty Sheldon was his secretary. Well, she used to be. Today was her last day in that capacity, and they were already a half-hour past quitting time. She was done being his secretary and about to become something more important. But there was no way she was ready for the surprise that awaited her at his home.

  Cliff’s home was a multimillion-dollar compound, carefully hidden deep in the woodlands on the outskirts of Sheboygan. His office building in the city was only a front for the real business he conducted here. Business that Betty was about to get very involved with.

  The poor girl’s breakup with her boyfriend the night before had left her in quite a state the whole day through work. He’d taken time out of his busy schedule to comfort her as best he could from time to time, and to give him the opportunity to invite her to his home tonight for a conciliatory dinner. It would be so much more than that.

  He fought back the smile that threatened. The woman’s life was about to change drastically, but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

  “There, there, my dear,” he said, patting her hand. “None of that. That boy is not worth all those tears.”

  She sniffed as she applied the tissue to her eyes. “I’m sorry, Mr. Paulson. It was just so sudden, so unexpected.”

  It hadn’t been, really. Cliff had paid the boy handsomely to romance and then dump the perky blonde.

  “I understand, Betty,” he said. “It’s a very hard thing. That’s why I didn’t want you to go home alone this evening.”

  No family and few friends in the city, were factors that made Betty the perfect target. She was also easy on the eyes—quite pretty, for a human. Omixron would like her.

  “It’s so nice of you to invite me to dinner at your home,” she said, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

  “It’s the least I could do, dear. I don’t want you thinking of me as your boss. Right now, you need a friend.” Pity there isn’t one around.

  The car pulled up to the front of Cliff’s mansion. The huge complex, out in the wooded hills, was secluded and perfect for his purposes.

  A hint of pine and leafy decay tinged the light breeze that filtered through the open window. The stately three-story compound was so much more than a home for him and his family. He’d built the place himself—secret and secluded.

  His doorman came down the front steps and opened his car door for them. Cliff offered Betty a hand up, out of the limo. None of his usual guards were in evidence, so he assumed everything was going ahead as planned.

  “I know it’s too soon, after your sudden breakup, but I’d really like to introduce you to my son,” Cliff said. “I know he’s anxious to meet you.”

  Yes, Omixron would be anxious. Betty would be his first.

  They entered the home and were greeted by Cliff’s young son.

  “Father,” his son said, bright-eyed and smiling.

  Yes, the boy was ready for this. Only sixteen, yet in full command of his human illusion. Sandy hair, handsome features, and a sturdy frame. And completely realistic down to the thin stubble lining his jawline.

  “Robert,” Cliff said, using his son’s human name. “I’d like you to meet Betty Sheldon.”

  “I’m charmed.” Omixron took Betty’s hand and kissed the back of it. There was a gleam in his eye. “It’s so wonderful to meet the woman who will be the first of many in my own, personal harem.”

  Betty’s eyes narrowed. She shook her head. “Harem?”

  Omixron dispelled his human illusion, growing to his full seven-foot height as large wings unfurled from his back. His shirt fell in shreds to the floor. His skin darkened to deep orange and his fanged mouth spread into a leering grin at the shock and horror on the girl’s face.

  Betty’s expression was priceless. Her scream echoed in the large foyer.

  Cliff chuckled as Omixron grabbed the girl’s wrist and dragged the whimpering girl off toward the newly remodeled suite of rooms designated as his pleasure harem. He considered going to the observation deck in case Omixron got confused in the pr
ocess.

  Bah, the boy knows what to do.

  And Betty Sheldon wouldn’t be missed. So many of her coworkers had seen how upset she’d been all day. When she didn’t show up for work the next day, no one would question it.

  Cliff dispelled his own human illusion, becoming Quexlon, Demon Lord supreme, at least in his own lair. The slightly balding, overweight executive in the business suit that had entered the home was no more. Cliff Paulson was an illusion that Quexlon put on and took off at will. It was convenient in the world outside, but unnecessary at home in his domain.

  He stooped to pick up Betty Sheldon’s dropped handbag.

  “Kxzon!” he shouted.

  A Falgolite demon appeared almost instantly from a side doorway. “Master?”

  Quexlon handed the handbag to the creature. “Find out where she lived and clear out her apartment. Hack into her phone and computer, leave the usual depressing messages on her social media, and send an apologetic resignation email to our HR department from her. You know the drill.”

  Kxzon smiled as his demon form morphed into human. “Yes, master.”

  By the time anyone thought to check on the girl, it would look like she’d packed up and gone home. Oh, there’d be some inquiries eventually, but by then all trails that led to Cliff Paulson would have been scrubbed clean. Betty Sheldon would be just one more missing person.

  Quexlon entered the great room of his extensive one-hundred-twenty room home-compound. There was nothing understated about the opulence here. Quexlon enjoyed living within and showing off his great wealth. And there was much on display. Gold and silver glittered on furnishings throughout the compound. Only the best, the finest, and the richest, ever came through his door.

  In his compound his power was absolute. His Lady knew her place and his sons vied with each other for whatever scraps of his powerful empire he deemed to throw their way. His lesser demon army was legion and his slaves lived in fear of him or they didn’t live long. He’d amassed power and wealth in abundance, though never quite enough to satisfy himself.