The Demon Realm

by Annette Morris

  Diego stepped away from the table and pushed buttons on his phone.

  I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to recover from the panic I'd been feeling. That vampire could have killed me. I would be dead now if Diego hadn't come in when he did. I shivered at that thought. I looked up as Diego came walking back.

  "I guess that's it," he said.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I've spoken with Serentis. He's said that you can't continue after this. It's just too dangerous here for you." Again, he was looking at the mess on the floor. "I don't know what your sister will say, when Serentis tells her what happened. I know she'll be furious with him."

  "Wait! What? I had to leave now? I shook my head in confusion. Why will Alex be furious with Serentis?"

  "While you're here, you're under his protection. He's the one in charge. This attack against you means he can't protect you. He'll not only get reamed by Alex, but some vampires may well challenge him, thinking he's too weak to be the leader."

  I gaped at him in horror. "But that's terrible! It's not his fault. He provided bodyguards for me. He couldn't do much else to protect me."

  Diego shrugged.

  "No!" I stood and yelled at him. "I'm not allowing Serentis to take the blame for this. Just provide me more bodyguards. When the other vampires see I'm still here and I'm still okay, they'll back off won't they?"

  Diego thought about it and then shrugged. "No idea. It's worth a try I suppose. But Janey… are you sure?"

  I was getting wilder by the second. "If you think for a minute I'm stopping this, you've got to alter your level of understanding. There's no way I'm stopping what I'm doing. These damn classes will go ahead. That's for certain."

  "It's your job to make sure the vampires don't kill me. I am not stopping this." I considered the problem and then asked, "What about some kind of alarm I can wear or something? I can then press it for help. And, some stakes. I could carry them too."

  Diego frowned. "I'll have to see what we have. The alarm could work. Let me make some calls. The stakes are a definite. You should wear them on you always. Again, I'm sorry. I should've thought about all this before now."

  "It's done. It's over now Diego. He tried, but didn't succeed. He did kill the guards though. We'll have to make sure that doesn't happen again. Is there some way you can protect the guards too?"

  He nodded as if he was talking to himself. "I'll talk to Serentis. See what we can come up with. In the meantime, let me make some calls. I'll escort you to the bathroom, so you can shower and clean yourself up first."

  I nodded. I was good with that. The blood was beginning to dry. I needed to get this off so I could go back to work. I still had a lot to do.

  Janey

  I pulled my books towards me again and began researching.

  I did my best to ignore all the conversations going on around me. Serentis and his guards had arrived. Him and Diego were murmuring.

  I'd showered and Diego had brought me clean clothes to wear.

  Both Diego and Serentis stepped outside the room. But, there were now four guards who stayed behind to watch me. They were all standing inside the door now, not outside.

  I heard a voice I knew well. I looked up to see Alex running towards me.

  "Janey," she squealed as she raced towards me. "Are you okay? I heard what happened."

  I stood up and hugged her. "I'm fine, Alex. Diego saved me."

  "What happened to the vampire that tried to kill you. If I get my hands on him..."

  I looked at Alex and said with a grin. "You're standing on him."

  Her head shot down, and she gazed at the dust around her feet. "Oh, I don't suppose I can do much with that."

  "No, Alex. I don't think you can." I laughed.

  "Are you okay though, Janey?" Alex looked at me with a worried expression on her face.

  "I'm fine, Alex. He didn't get me."

  "You're not going to continue though are you Janey?"

  "Alex… of course I will. I've already put too many hours into this project to walk away now."

  Alex walked around the table so she could see me better. "What if someone else attacks you?"

  "I don't think that will happen. Diego is already blaming himself enough over the last two attempts. I really don't think he's going to allow a third attempt. And look, now I have four guards inside the room with me at all times. And… I'm going to be armed with stakes. And an alarm if we could get one set up. I'm going to be fine Alex. Although, I'm not happy that the vampire killed my day bodyguards."

  "And, anyway it's not up to Diego… or Serentis. It's my choice. It's up to them to ensure I have adequate security."

  "Oh, Janey. I wish I could stay here with you. Unfortunately, I've got to be elsewhere. It's so busy at the moment."

  "That's okay, Alex. I'm fine."

  "Look, Janey. I don't know if they will allow you to continue or not. If they do, don't hesitate to contact me, for any reason. I'm just a phone call away."

  "I won't, Alex. Don't worry. When all of this is over, we'll look back on it and laugh."

  "I hope so, Janey. Because I'm the responsible for bringing you here. If anything happens to you…"

  I shook my head. "Alex… you're not responsible. You gave me the opportunity to come here. I was the one that decided to stay and take up that opportunity. It's not your fault."

  She nodded and turned away. "Okay. I have to go. Please take care of yourself."

  "I will. Now go. I need to get back to work too."

  She nodded, but didn't reply.

  I watched as Alex walked back towards the door.

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  Janey

  I took a deep breath and looked down at the papers in front of me. There was so much to do before Monday.

  I looked up as a vampire entered the room. He looked young.

  He nodded at me. "Sorry, ma'am. I'm here to clean up." He looked down at the mess on the floor.

  I nodded back. "That's fine."

  He swept up the dust and collected it in a dust bag. He nodded at me again as he left the room.

  I put my head back down and continued reading the material.

  I looked up as I heard a noise at the doorway. I saw Diego standing in the doorway. Serentis was still in the hall. They continued talking for a few more seconds, then Serentis left. Diego turned and walked into the room.

  I sat back and awaited his arrival. "What's the verdict?"

  "Serentis will allow you to stay." Diego sat down in the chair beside mine. "I will be with you as much as possible. If I'm not here, there will be guards with you, that can see you, at all times."

  I nodded.

  "As well," he put a small necklace in front of me. "If I'm not here, and you need me, for any reason, just push that button."He pointed to a small raised diamond at the bottom of the necklace. "It will send me a message and I will be here within seconds."

  I took the necklace, wishing I had it earlier. Not that it would've saved the guards though. They'd still be dead, regardless.

  "We've got four guards standing inside. They'll be replaced by four more later today."

  I nodded, then asked, "What about the guards. Are they going to get something?"

  Diego nodded. "Yes. We're going to buy some portable walkie talkies. Some with an emergency button. We're hoping that if something like this happens again… that the guards will get time to at least push a button to notify someone. That's the best we can do."

  I sat back in my chair and thought about it. "I've been thinking. Didn't you say the guards were shot with a tranq gun?"

  Diego nodded. "Yes."

  "Where did they get hit?"

  Diego thought about it for a few seconds. "I see where you're going with this. They were hit in their neck. So if they wore some kind of neck protective device. That might give them the opportunity to either defend themselves or to call for help." He thought about it for a few more seconds. "Actually, maybe we should create some kind of
light chain mail, so the guards could wear to protect themselves. Huh…" He sat there lost in thought for some minutes.

  I sat there waiting for him to analyse it and decide what was best. It was obvious the guards needed some kind of protection. Or the same thing could happen again.

  "The right material could deflect the dart, instead of allowing it through." He shook himself and turned to me. "Let me work on that. What are you up to with all of this stuff?"

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  Janey

  It was hours later when I surfaced again. I had put all the drama behind me and gotten down to business. The course had to take priority.

  Diego had stayed with me the whole time. He was working on collaborating some different bits of information.

  I had come up with essay questions for most of the subjects for the first year. All I needed was more background topic information, and I was good to go.

  I glanced down at my watch. I knew it was late, but I hadn't considered it to be almost midnight. There was so much more to do before Monday when the classes would start. There was no way we'd be ready by then.

  "Breathe," Diego's soft voice broke the silence in the room. My head jerked up and looked around.

  My eyes stopped on Diego who was sitting beside me. "Diego, we aren't going to make it in time. There is still so much to do and I haven't got the time to…"

  "Breathe," He repeated. He wheeled his chair closer to me.

  I stopped talking and forced myself to take a slow breath. Then, I took another one. The breathing worked. I felt calmer.

  "Feel better?"

  I nodded.

  He looked at me and frowned. "I know a lot happened to you today, but did you stop for a meal?"

  I stared at him blankly. Did I stop for a meal? That was a good question, and it threw me. I had to put on my thinking cap for that one. "Um… I guess I didn't." I frowned. "Did I even have breakfast?"

  Diego murmured something and grabbed me around the shoulders, pulling me up with him as he rose. "Come on then. Time for a meal."

  He pushed me towards the door. "No matter what happens, Janey. Remember to take regular breaks. You can't focus on anything if your system is depleted."

  "I know. But I get so involved with what I'm doing."

  He rushed me to the food area, before grabbing a plate and loading it up with so much food that I couldn't possibly eat it all.

  Surprisingly, I almost did eat it all. Afterwards, I could barely sit up at the table. Tiredness swept over me so fast, I was almost asleep. I didn't fight it. My mind was too exhausted to keep battling all the problems.

  Diego almost had to carry me back to his suite. My bodyguards were close on our tail the whole way.

  I didn't even remember laying on the bed… or undressing. I was already asleep when my head hit the pillow.

  Janey

  As I opened my eyes, I realised that it was Sunday. This was the last day before the classes began. I couldn't believe we only had this short amount of time left, to do so much work. I sat up in the bed panicking.

  A warm hand snaked out of the blanket and dragged me back down. "Enough, Janey. Stop thinking like that. It will all work out. Trust me. You'll see."

  "Yeah, okay," I watched Diego's fingers walking across my skin, as he spoke. Shivers ran down my body at his touch. Maybe we could afford a few minutes to take the time to…

  The peeling of a cell phone broke my contemplations. I wasn't sure if it was Diego's phone because it was a different ring than the one I'd heard previously.

  Diego reached over to his dresser and grabbed his phone. "Hello… Sire?"

  Huh! He must have different ring tones set for different people. At his words, I realised there would be no hanky panky this morning. Once he started talking to Serentis, I knew he'd be gone within minutes.

  I forced myself to get out of bed and into the shower. My mind drifted as it went back to what I was up to next with the course. I had one day left to gather any intel I could.

  I couldn't hear Diego speaking on the phone while I was under the spray of water. The warm water pounded hard on my back, taking all the kinks out. The pain of hours sitting on a chair leaning over a table reading, just about killed my back. I could imagine the hours I'd be spending, doing the same thing today.

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  Janey

  By the time I'd showered, and dressed, Diego had gone. I figured he would be, so it wasn't a surprise.

  My next mission was to get food. One of my new bodyguards was waiting for me inside the bedroom, near the door.

  He opened the door for me and I saw the other three guards standing waiting. We all headed for the lift and then to go upstairs.

  With our plates piled high, we sat and ate our way through a mountain of food. Once everyone had finished, I rose and headed back to my room. I had a lot to get through today.

  It wasn't long before I had my head buried in the books, trying to decipher the true meaning of certain parts.

  "Hello!" a voice called out.

  My head jerked up, towards the voice. Two of my bodyguards were standing inside, beside the doorway. I presumed the other two were outside the room.

  Another man had taken a few steps into the room. My bodyguard didn't seem concerned with his presence, so I figured he was okay. But I wasn't a hundred percent, so my hand reached up and fingered the necklace. I hesitated in pushing the button, though. I needed to make certain this vampire was a danger first.

  "Hello," This new vampire repeated as he stepped closer. "Are you Janey?"

  I nodded as my hand took a firmer grip on the button. I coughed to clear my throat. It had been a while since I'd used it today. I took another second to glance at my watch. I'd already been here for hours. It was now afternoon. I panicked at that thought. Tomorrow was getting too close for my comfort. I looked up to see the man still standing there waiting patiently. "Oh, sorry. Yes, I'm Janey."

  He nodded as he walked up to the table. He pulled out a chair and sat. This seemed to be a strange action if he was planning on attacking me. I calmed down a little. "Diego said you might have questions for me? I am Keogh."

  In relief, I let go of the button. Diego had mentioned Keogh several times when he was speaking with me. "Oh, yes. You were the previous Keeper. The one before Serentis. Is that right?"

  He nodded. "Yes, that is correct. How can I be of service to you?"

  "Um…" Straight to the point. And… I wasn't ready for him. I had no idea what I'd wanted to talk to him about. I flicked through several pages on the table. "Well, I'm trying to put together a course. They want it to start tomorrow." I laughed as I continued shuffling through loose pages.

  "Yes."

  Right… a man of few words. Then I recalled what I'd wanted to talk to him about. "Well, as the previous Keeper I assume you know about the demon realm. Would you be willing to answer questions in that regard?"

  "Of course, Janey. I'd be happy to help."

  "Great." I got a blank sheet of paper and my pen ready. "Could you tell me what it's like there? The history of the place? Where it is? Anything like that?"

  My fingers had already got into position to write, before he spoke.

  He nodded. "Well, for starters, it is much like here. It is a warm place to live. There are many demons who live there. There are lakes, mountains and a general landscape like ours. The living arrangements are not like here, though. There are no houses. They all live in caves. These caves are massive with different levels. Most demons live with their family."

  "Wait!" I put my hand up to stop him. "Do you mean family as in mum, dad and the kids?" Did demons have a family?

  He chuckled as he put his hands together and leaned on the table. "No, not at all like that. More like brothers in arms. There are few women in the demon realm. And hardly any children."

  "Why is that?"

  "The atmosphere of that realm doesn't favour them."

  "Sorry, what? The atmosphere? What do you mean the
atmosphere doesn't favour them?"

  He ignored that question and went off on a tangent. "The Demon Realm is situated in an alternative dimension. There is a barrier on the edge of the realm. It separates their realm from here."

  I gaped at him. Alternative dimensions?

  He continued talking. "The barrier is like a massive flame that covers the entrance. No-one can move through the Flame unless the barrier is down."

  "Okay. I got that." I nodded as I scribbled down notes on what he was saying. "Because if they went through the Flame, they'd burn."

  "No!" he said. "Burn is the wrong word. This flame I'm talking about doesn't burn hot. It burns cold."

  I gaped at him. The flame burns cold? "Cold? How do you mean it burns cold?"

  He shrugged. "Cold as in ice. Someone made this flame of ice, and it flows like water. Once the barrier is up, there is no way to walk through. Many have tried. All have died."

  I gulped. Okay, that was a new one for me. There is a cold flame that can kill demons and any other race of being. Good to know. "Why would the demons want to leave that realm, anyway? I mean, don't they have food and everything they need there?"

  He shook his head. "There are hardly any women there. Hardly any children. Little to no prospects for advancement. There is nothing there to look forward to. Why wouldn't they want to leave?"

  I gaped at him. "If it's that bad, why would they even go there?"

  "They have no choice. They are born there. Demons are not created from birth as you or I may know it. They are born from fire."

  I frowned. "The demons are born from fire?"

  He nodded.

  "So… are we talking hot fire here… or cold ice?"

  He didn't reply.

  He just stared at me as if I'd asked a stupid question and it was beneath him to answer it. "Right. Okay. Next question," I mumbled. "So, who is it that makes the demons?"

  "Lucifer, of course."