Awakening

by S. C. Mitchell

  He entered the woods and found the clearing where he’d left the others. As he strode up to Nathan, the air in the glade shimmered. A circular vortex opened and people strode through into the glade. The assault force had arrived.

  Jack noted a dozen newcomers, and more coming through the portal. Men and women in robes, combat fatigues, and street clothes.

  “Ah, Jack,” Nathan Gray said as he approached, “I was just starting to get worried. Our forces will be ready to attack within moments. Did you find Anna?”

  Jack related his adventures in the compound and Anna’s plan.

  “Very good,” the old man said when Jack finished. “All the Demon Lords will be outside at the summoning when the power goes out. We should be able to secure the house and the slaves easily then deal with the Ballor once the people are safe. It’s a good plan.”

  Miss Grant, JJ and Salina joined them as Jack explained Anna’s plan. They all nodded in agreement.

  “Now we just have to wait until moonrise,” JJ said.

  Jack retrieved his clothing and slipped behind the cover of trees to shift back and dress. After that, there was nothing to do but wait. And that was the hardest part of the whole plan for him. He needed action to take his mind off Anna, but pacing was the only action he could find to fill the hours.

  * * *

  Evening finally came. Stars twinkled overhead as the top rim of the full moon crested the tree line. The glade was charged with magical energy Jack could feel tingling on his skin.

  “Alright, let’s get ready,” Nathan announced. Many of the Arcanists began chanting spells.

  How odd it was that such a thing no longer surprised him. Two months ago, he hadn’t even believed real magic like this existed and now it was becoming an everyday thing.

  Jack kicked off his shoes and shrugged out of his shirt. He’d planned to change back to Whargan form for the attack on the compound. He didn’t know any magic, and the claws, speed, and heightened senses would be a real help in a fight. He unbuckled his belt. If he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, he could slip out of them after he changed without too much embarrassment.

  Miss Grant motioned him over. “Jack, keep your shirt on.”

  “But Miss Grant,” Jack said, puzzled, “Mr. Grey said to get ready.”

  She chuckled and shook her head. JJ and Salina joined her. What was he, a peep show?

  “No, I mean really, put your shirt back on. We’re going to need a way to distinguish you from the other Whargan. You should still have enough freedom of movement, but as the other Whargan demons don’t wear clothing, we’ll know not to blast the one Whargan in the blue jeans and flannel shirt.”

  “Oh,” Jack blushed, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “I’ll go spread the word and make sure everyone knows,” Salina said trotting off.

  Miss Grant leveled her gaze at him. “And it’s Kelly, Jack. I’m not that much older than you.”

  He’d known her first name was Kelly, but somehow it just felt wrong to call her that. “You’ve been Miss Grant the librarian for so long, I don’t know if I can change. But I’ll try, Kelly.”

  She and JJ walked back toward the other Arcanists as Jack slipped back into his shirt and began his change to Whargan form. He ducked behind a tree for the privacy. Jack didn’t want the others to see the pain the transfer caused. It was becoming easier, and less painful, with each shift, but it still hurt.

  As he finished, his enhanced hearing kicked in and he could hear the tail end of the women’s conversation as they strolled away from him.

  “Pity about Jack, though,” he heard JJ say. “I wouldn’t have minded another gander at that heinie of his. I certainly wouldn’t have mistaken that for demon butt.”

  “JJ, you are awful,” he heard Salina respond as she joined the two, “but she’s right, you know.”

  Kelly sighed. “You two…”

  Jack smiled. Anna’s friends were quirky, but he was growing to like them.

  A circle of protection is only as good as its component parts. – Summoning, Enchanting, and You. Arcanist pamphlet (Author unknown.)

  Chapter 16

  Anna originally planned on doing just enough to make it look like she tried and failed to summon a demon. Then Jack showed up. After that, it became important for the incantation to succeed, at least up to a point. She needed to get to the point where the energy fluxed. And that meant a lot more preparation than she’d planned. But she could make it if she rushed.

  If she ended up summoning a demon, she’d try to send it right back, but if the Arcanists attacked and won, it wouldn’t matter either way.

  The demons put a full guard on her when she went outside to draw the protective circle and set up for the summoning. The ceremony had to take place out of doors under the full moon, so the demons were forced to give her that amount of freedom.

  As the sun sank below the horizon, lights around the complex came up. Huge spotlights illuminated the grounds around the mansion.

  For all the good it will do them tonight, she thought.

  As the moon rose over the eastern horizon, she began her final preparations. Behind her, demons gathered. They’d erected a small tiered platform and brought out ornate chairs for the Ballor, to mimic the throne room in the basement of the mansion. The Ballor Lord and his Lady occupied chairs on the top tier, with both sons taking their places a step lower.

  The entire Demon Lord family was in attendance. If all went as planned, this lair could be completely obliterated.

  The lesser demons gathered on either side of the platform, extending out at each side in a semi-circle around the area Anna had marked for the summoning. So many demons. The mansion had to be almost empty. It appeared that even the dumbest Drogga was interested in watching the summoning. The few guards left inside would be easily taken by surprise when the lights went out.

  The moon was fully above the trees. Anna felt the magic-blocking shield come down. It was show time.

  She reached out to the mystic wells and filled her pool with arcane energy, then began the incantation of summoning as, one by one, she lit the candles on the small altar she’d set up that afternoon. She risked a quick glance at the Demon Lord, who sat smugly watching her. She would be so happy to wipe that arrogant smile off the demon’s face. The Arcanists had worked hard to find and destroy demon lairs like this. Still, the demon population and influence continued to rise around the world. At least this one would soon be eradicated.

  The sky remained clear, and the rumbling thunder created by her incantation caused a stir in the throng around her. Demons murmured and looked to the skies. Some of them crowded closer around the protective circle to get a better view. The lesser demons couldn’t enter the circle, but Anna didn’t want them knowing that until she was ready.

  “Don’t get too close,” she cautioned, and they all took a step back away from her. Some moved farther around the circle, so that she was almost surrounded by lesser demons. Magical energy and some control over the lesser demons. Things were looking up.

  The circle of protection was so much a part of the ritual that it had never occurred to the demons that she’d erected the perfect protection against them right under their noses. Even with so many lesser demons around her, she should be safe in the protective circle when her fellow Arcanists attacked. That was, unless one of the Ballor tried to break it.

  Any of the Demon Lords, including the Lady, would probably have the power to breach the protective circle. They were so much more powerful than the lesser demons. Hopefully they would be too focused on saving their compound to even think about her.

  The group of demons in front of her jumped, as the first of the lightning bolts burst from the ground. All around the lights flickered. Anna heard the complex’s generator kick in, and the lights were once again shining brightly.

  A second bolt erupted from the ground, followed shortly by a third. The generator sputtered, then went silent, as the complex and grounds were plunged into
darkness. The only light in the entire area shone from the candles and small flaming brazier on the altar in front of her. The Arcanists couldn’t have asked for a more perfect signal to start their attack.

  Anna heard nothing at first, of course. Her friends would be sneaking into the mansion, taking their time to clear the few demons inside and rescue the slaves. But Anna could sense their presence in the big building behind her. The plan was working.

  For her part, she kept the summoning ritual going, slowing it down and adding unnecessary chants and dramatics, to keep the demons’ attention focused on her. A Falgolite demon took shape out of the nothingness. It began to cackle with glee when it realized it had been brought over into a demon army on earth.

  “Good work, witch,” the Demon Lord said. “Now bring me another.”

  A window on the third floor behind her shattered. A black-winged Falgolite flew out as the glass shards tinkled to the pavement below.

  “We are under attack!” the demon shouted before it was struck by an arcane bolt of power and plummeted to earth, dead before striking the ground.

  Chaos erupted as demons hurried toward the mansion. A gang of Falgolites flew up toward the shattered window, as most of the other demons rushed for the doorways.

  “Secure the witch,” Anna heard the Demon Lord shout and a group of demons started to close in on her, led by the Ballor who’d captured her.

  “If you had anything to do with this, witch,” the Ballor said as he approached, “I will take great delight in teaching you the error of defying us.”

  The lesser demons hit the edge of her protective circle and could not advance, but the Demon Lord was another issue all together. Though slowed by the barrier, the Ballor continued to advance on her.

  “What crap is this, witch?” the Demon Lord growled.

  “It’s a necessary part of the ritual,” Anna lied as she backed away from him.

  She pulled what power she could find into one bolt of arcane energy and sent it hurdling toward the Demon Lord. “Or not.”

  She was all in now.

  The blast staggered the Ballor, pushing it back a few feet, but the demon just shook its head and started right back toward her. The spell had drained the last of her magic energy. She had nothing left for another bolt.

  “That does it,” the demon spat. “Father can find himself another summoner. You’re dead!”

  * * *

  “Embrace the beast. Be the beast.” Jack chanted to himself. He had to tap into the power of the Whargan form. Use its instincts and battle sense. Let this body do what it did best. Kill. Even with the demon gone, there was something of the beast buried deep within.

  Jack had been with the Arcanists when they’d silently stormed the mansion. He’d wanted to rush to Anna, but the plan was to clear the mansion, and rescue the humans inside first, while Anna kept all attention on herself.

  They’d methodically worked their way through the building, using greenish globes of power to light their way. Wherever they found a demon the Arcanists would slay it with beams of arcane power. Quickly and precisely, they went through the mansion.

  Jack was impressed. This was a well-trained and efficient strike force.

  They’d found their way into the harem—those poor women, impregnated by the Demon Lords and forced to bear constantly to supply the Demon Lord’s army of lesser demons. Some looked to have been there for many years—their eyes glazed; their minds broken.

  They’d also located the slave quarters. These wretches, men and women deemed unsuitable for the harem, were starved, worked hard, and beaten often. The young man he’d seen before was there. Jack was grateful the boy had survived.

  “We’ve a facility to treat them,” JJ had said. “Their lives will be better now, though it’s a rare one that recovers fully from this.”

  A thirst for vengeance burned inside him, as Jack thought of all the cruelty the demons had inflicted on humanity over thousands of years.

  With a little help from Jack, the Arcanist strike force cleared most of the compound. Only the upper floors remained. Still, the bulk of the demons were outside, oblivious to the goings on in their own mansion. Anna was with those vile creatures. A foreboding sense of danger crept up his spine. Not for himself, but for Anna. He needed to find her. Now.

  He plunged through the darkness of the mansion, leaving the Arcanists behind. As he wove his way through the dark web of hallways and stairwells toward the back entrance of the complex, his enhanced vision gave him just enough sight to avoid hitting walls.

  Embrace the beast. Be the beast.

  He bounded down the final set of stairs on all fours, letting the beast take over. Jack exited the complex just as the third story window exploded, and their covert operation was revealed. Anna! He had to get to Anna. She was in trouble.

  He avoided the mass of demons that surged toward the building. His eyes were drawn to the only spot of illumination in the darkness. Demons surrounded Anna, held at bay by her ring of protection. But the Demon Lord managed to advance past the barrier.

  Anna blasted him back with a burst of magical energy.

  “You’re dead!” he heard the Ballor say.

  Embrace the beast. Be the beast.

  It was the last thing he wanted, but the only choice he had. Somehow, he needed to find the essence of the demon inside him and become that demon. He had to…for Anna.

  * * *

  The ring of demons around Anna left her no avenue to run and the angry Ballor advancing on her was more than she could hope to handle. There was no escape.

  “Get away from her,” a rough, guttural voice rang out from behind the Ballor.

  Anna could just make out the form of a Whargan loping toward the demon. The Whargan grabbed the Ballor by its wings and hurled the Ballor away from Anna’s protective circle.

  The Demon Lord lay on the ground a moment, his body shaking in laughter. “My father sent only one, puny Whargan to protect his witch?”

  But this was not a normal Whargan. This one wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt. Could it be?

  * * *

  Jack growled as demonic force rose within him.

  A dozen lesser demons gathered around him, blocking his pathway to the Ballor.

  “Kill the Whargan,” the Demon Lord commanded. “I will kill the witch.”

  Jack surrendered everything he had left to the beast. He took the fight to the demons. Instinct, agility, power, and concentration melded into a battle frenzy that swept over Jack. His claws pierced and slashed, ripping through his foes. Demon after demon fell before his powerful attacks, then he pounced over the bloody remains toward the Demon Lord.

  “You’re no Whargan,” the Ballor hissed, scrambling back. “What are you?”

  “Your worst nightmare,” the beast growled.

  A single leap closed the distance and the beast sunk its claws into the scaly flesh of the Ballor. The demon’s huge hands pounded and pulled on him, but the beast did not relent. This bastard wanted to kill Anna. And even as the beast, Jack still loved her with all his heart.

  He fought, rending huge chunks of flesh from the creature. The haze of battle lust blurred his vision. He couldn’t stop. They’d have to kill him first.

  “Come back, Jack.” A familiar deep voice commanded, but the beast fought on. He would fight until he dropped. No one would harm Anna ever.

  “It’s over, Jack. Let the anger go.” Nathan Gray’s voice pierced Jack’s mind, invaded his soul. Hs core recognized the voice as that of a friend. Soothing tones brought him out of the battle frenzy. He was not the beast, he was human. The change started and Jack felt himself drawn into a calming embrace.

  “Oh Jack. Jack.” Tears were streaming down Anna’s beautiful face.

  As his mind cleared, he became aware of the warm woman in his arms. Around him was carnage. Hacked pieces of demons, dark blood, and gore.

  Still, his final image was of Anna—safe and in his arms. Her green eyes staring deeply into his, co
ncern etched her face.

  Why is she so worried? was his final thought before the blackness closed in on him, and he collapsed.

  Interlude 2

  Nathan’s crystal ball cleared on a vision of devastation. A young woman stood in the ruin of the Sheboygan Public Library building. Fire-blackened volumes filled singed shelving. Ash covered the floor. Through blasted holes in the walls, he caught hints of skeletal remains of other buildings in the downtown shopping district.

  Gloom and ruin dominated the scene, but the girl radiated hope. Tawney-haired and green-eyed, she strode through the broken doorway under the stairs into the room that held the secret elevator down to the Arcanest’s storage vault.

  She forced open the elevator doors and eyed the cable hanging there. The car must have been down below. Sighing, she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Then she changed into a Whargan.

  “No!” Nathan shook his head, denying the vision. But deep down, he knew.

  She’s our hope. She must survive.

  He bent down, leaned his cheek against the cool glass of the crystal ball, and took a deep breath as mists swirled within to cloud the image.

  It had been a gift, of sorts. A vision of the future, or at least a possible future, from Gaia herself. Even a goddess couldn’t predict events with one-hundred-percent accuracy. Still, this one felt right.

  How much of all this had been part of Her plan in the first place? Gaia had always been good at playing the long game.

  Warren Hughes? Jack? Anna? All pawns in another of Her games. And he hadn’t even suspected.

  Damn, he hated being used, especially by Her.

  He’d been content to let Anna and Jack determine their own futures, and that of the babe, but now he’d have to step in.

  There was too much at stake here and if he fumbled, if he let his personal battle with Her turn into a distraction, the demons would win.