by John Corwin
Karak motioned the man to silence.
"We also cannot give you a choice in the matter." George pointed to the large patches of yellowing grass in the field. "Do you see what effect your presence has on this world? We cannot allow you to summon Domathus with the daemonculus."
Even from this distance, I saw the surprise flash on Karak's face. "You're very well informed, Templar."
"We do our best," George said. "Now, if you'll kindly cease and desist, then remove yourself back to Haedaemos, I will consider the matter closed."
Karak shook his head. "Eden is diseased, Templar. The mortals have metastasized like a cancer, infecting it and making it ripe for conquest." His form seemed to grow slightly in size. "Soon this world will be overrun by Seraphim as it nearly was thousands of years ago." His voice deepened as he spoke. "If Eden is conquered, Haedaemos will be vulnerable."
I dared feel a spark of hope. If the demons were here to help, that couldn't be all bad, right?
"We gladly accept your help in the defense of Eden," George said. "But devouring the souls of the innocent to do so is unconscionable. Despite this, perhaps we can work out an arrangement to allow you to remain until the dangers to Eden are pushed back."
Karak laughed. "You misunderstand me, Templar. We alone will push back the Seraphim hordes should they dare encroach this realm again. First, we will possess all of humanity itself. Eden will be ours."
Chapter 26
That was most definitely not what I expected. I peered across the field in a vain attempt to see if Vallaena or the others were moving on the demons just yet.
"A most ambitious plan," George said. He scratched his neck. "I assume Atlanta is just the first city. Once the daemonculus is in place, it will allow Domathus to drain hundreds of souls."
"He will consume thousands," Karak said. "There will be no rival to his might."
Chilling horror consumed every last shred of doubt in my mind. We had to stop these creatures no matter the cost. Even if we had to kill every last host body, this couldn't be allowed to happen.
I felt something tingling in the distance. Something supernatural lingering at the edge of my vision. Try as I might, I couldn't glimpse it.
"Then I'm afraid this ends tonight." George ran a hand through his hair.
Dark figures blurred from the south. Mr. Sticks, Tyler, and my parents appeared at George's side.
Zad Kassus laughed. "You're gonna need a lot more Templars to take us on."
"That armor won't protect you for long." Martin Drang lifted his staff. "How'd you like a taste of hellfire?"
A black arrow whizzed through the air and pierced Drang's hand. He screamed and dropped the staff. Before his staff hit the ground, another arrow streaked toward Kassus. He spun his staff and the arrow glanced off a shimmering shield. He snarled and fired a searing bolt of energy back at my mother.
She threw up her arm as if to ward off the blast. I would have screamed if my heart hadn't choked me with fear. Miraculously, the deadly spell splashed around Victoria and dissipated harmlessly into the air, probably thanks to the armor. I ran from the cover of the trees and stared at my mother, hardly able to believe she was still alive.
Meanwhile, the possessed gathered in the middle of the field, lining up like a small army to protect their precious demonicus. Just as they braced themselves, the Daemos reached them. Vallaena leapt high through the air, casting her hood away and leaving only the sleek black outfit. Her body morphed, doubling in size. Horns sprouted from her head, curling up and her skin turned azure blue. A long tail with a pointed end lashed out behind her and brilliant flames flickered in her eyes.
My knees buckled. The sight filled me with terror and awe. Vallaeana was the loveliest monster I had ever seen.
When she and the other Daemos fell upon the enemy, they were no longer completely human, but part demon as well. I was so entranced, I almost didn't sense possessed coming from my side. I spun and saw a short man speeding toward me.
He must have seen me emerge from the trees.
I fired a lancer dart, but it flew wide. I dove to the side. His hand grabbed my foot and jerked me up short. I screamed, but he towered over me.
I felt the nauseating sensation of the demon's caustic nature before he even sneered at me. Thankfully, the martial arts training Tyler had forced me to endure activated a learned reflex. My foot swung hard and popped into the man's crotch. He howled and released my foot. I probably should have run, but Tyler and the others were busy fighting and I knew this man would catch me.
Before the attacker recovered, I rolled to my feet, grabbed the back of his head, and smacked it hard against my knee. His pattern and true name flash into my mind. Something wet sprayed my face. Blood pouring down his mouth, the possessed snarled and lunged.
"Gingrichkchta, you will halt!" Either my command worked, or the demon was so surprised to hear his true name, he tripped over his own feet and fell.
I used the opportunity to do what I should have done before kneeing him in the face, and pierced his neck with a lancer. He moaned and went down.
Panting with fear and relief, I turned toward the shouts of battle. Many possessed lay prone, but Karak and the two battle mages were holding their own. I spotted the unmoving demonic forms of at least four Daemos.
Vallaena drove her fist into the ground. A massive flaming hand sprung up and engulfed a screaming possessed. The hand simultaneously squashed and roasted the man. The other Daemos followed suit. Stone hands ripped from the earth, killing and maiming the possessed. My mother's arm was a blur as she fired arrows toward the enemies. Possessed and humans alike fell as her precision strikes hit them in the chest and throat. George had obviously decided saving Eden outweighed preserving the possessed hosts.
Victoria had little luck against the battle mages. Kassus and Drang took turns shielding each other and firing their deadly attacks at the Daemos. Patrick fought off possessed as they tried to reach my mother.
I looked desperately for Tyler and finally found him battling alongside Mr. Sticks. The pair dispatched several possessed in a matter of seconds.
Kassus slammed his staff into the ground and shouted a word. A brilliant meteor streaked through the night sky and slammed into earth. Daemos bodies flew in all directions. Kassus sneered. "You think Daemos can defeat battle mages?"
Only Karak, the two battle mages, and four possessed remained. The possessed, however, were demon knights. Judging from Vallaena's struggle to subdue Astra, these would be far more difficult to handle.
My mother had only a handful of arrows left. My father stood next to her, a bloody sword in his hand, and bodies at his feet. My father was apparently no one to be trifled with. Impressive as it was, I still felt a bit sick at the sight. I can't believe he's so good at killing.
The Daemos engaged the demon knights. Kassus and Drang ceased their attacks, obviously afraid to hit their own people.
Karak unleashed a primal roar and waded into the conflict. His body swelled and a nimbus of orange flames flickered around him, burning his clothes to ash. He gripped a Daemos by the horns and hurled him away. His flaming fist caught another in the face, and the Daemos's skull erupted in blood and brains.
Vallaena snapped the neck of her opponent and turned toward Karak.
A shriek from the very bowels of Hell erupted from her throat. Her body surged in height and mass. Shredded clothing fell away revealing scaled flesh and massive black-clawed hands. She dwarfed her fellow Daemos who immediately retreated when she achieved this new form.
"Bloody hell," I whispered. Was there no limit to this woman's ability to surprise me? I had a feeling Karak was about to meet his match. "Kick his ass, Vallaena."
A demon knight flew at her. He met a swipe of her claws and his head rolled to the ground. Karak roared and lunged. Vallaena rammed her horns into him, but he seemed unfazed. She slashed him, but his cuts refused to bleed. It was then I remembered how Abaddon had bound himself with the souls of mortals. How c
an you hurt something that is mostly soul essence?
A van drove onto the clay track encircling the soccer field. The side door slid open and a man in a white robe stumbled out of it. As he raced for the soccer field, I realized he wore the robe of the anointed. The demons had so far protected the pattern from damage. No one but me could stop the anointed from sealing the demonicus.
I ran toward him, firing lancers, but my accuracy from such a distance was awful. Eyes wide, he dove for the pattern. I reached the outer edge and thought about trying to break the line, but it was more like a small trench painted with blood.
I can't break the pattern before he seals it.
The man reached the diagram, dropped to his knees, and pressed a thumb against it. I slammed into him. He rolled backward. Before he could recover, I jumped on his chest and pounded his face with my fists. He struggled weakly, probably because so much of his blood was on the demonicus. I aimed the lancer at him and fired. Nothing happened. Oh no! What a time to be out of darts!
The man squirmed and turned onto his belly. His outstretched arm reached for the pattern. Using both fists, I pounded him in the back of the head until he stopped moving. Panting, I stood, vaguely aware of other people shouting somewhere behind me.
When I turned toward the noise, I saw other white-robed people leaping from the van and running my way. I had seconds to do something and it left me with no alternative. Gritting my teeth, I drew the dagger George had given me and held it above the unconscious man.
I have no choice.
I plunged the knife into the man's chest and felt it slide with sickening efficiency inside him. Blood welled. The man jerked and gasped, but didn't seem to be dying quickly enough. I couldn't chance leaving him.
"God forgive me!" I cried, and slashed his throat. Blood sprayed and his cries turned to horrific gurgles. The other people were nearly upon me. I jumped up and ran, crazed zealots close behind.
Tyler flashed past me and rammed into my pursuers, bowling them over. Before they could stand, his whirling nun chucks cracked against their skulls and sent them right back down again. Eyes burning with rage, Tyler savagely twisted each of their necks. The air echoed with the sound of crunching bones.
I winced at every crackle.
Many of the demon knights were down. Kassus and Drang had fled. But the battle between Karak and Vallaena raged on. Though their strength seemed evenly matched, Karak showed no sign of slowing despite Vallaena's vicious attacks.
I had to learn his true name. It was the only way for her to banish him.
"I need to touch Karak," I told Tyler.
"No!" He slashed the air with a hand. "You can't risk it! He's not even in pain."
"I've got to do something or we lose." I raced toward the melee.
My parents and the others slew the last of the demon knights then stood helplessly by as they watched the fight.
"Pin him to the ground!" I shouted.
Vallaena didn't seem to hear me over her roars of pure rage, so I continued to shout at her. Finally, she seemed to register my words. She gripped Karak's arm and twisted him around. Grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into the turf.
I stumbled forward and touched his arm.
A nauseating feeling overwhelmed me and I nearly lost consciousness. George and Sticks appeared at my side and plunged blades deep into the demon lord.
Finally, he bellowed in pain.
A large pattern flashed in my head—the same one at the center of the original demonicus. The name thundered through my consciousness.
Karak-ta-thul-shrokcanthuliostomentoman.
Karak's arm shifted and for an instant, I was airborne. The ground jarred my shoulder so hard it popped loose from the socket. I rolled and tumbled, crying with agony at every bump. Blackness overcame me like the blink of an eye. I drew in a ragged breath and felt arms gently caress me. I looked up into Tyler's face. Lips pulled back in a snarl of rage, skin crimson, he cuddled me in his arms like a babe.
"Em, are you okay?" A tear coalesced in his eye and tumbled down his cheek.
I nodded weakly. "I have the name."
Shouts echoed and Tyler spun. Pinpricks of heat touched my senses and I glimpsed another demon-possessed horde coming our way.
The others seemed to see it as well.
"Retreat!" George boomed. "Retreat!"
Tyler cradled me in his arms and we plunged through the forest. The pain in my shoulder stabbed relentlessly like a knife in the wound. I felt leather beneath me, heard car doors slam. Gravity tugged on me as George's car took flight.
I passed in and out of consciousness. Lights flashed overhead. I heard voices murmuring and peeled open my eyes. A woman stood over me, a concerned look on her face.
"You're going to be fine," she said, and waved a wand over my face.
Darkness fell.
I woke up feeling rather sprightly. Sitting up didn't hurt in the least and neither did rotating my shoulder. The room, a rather white and spartan affair, evoked memories of a hospital room. When I turned and faced the door, I saw the rock wall in the corridor and knew I was in the Templar compound.
A figure slumbering in a corner chair turned out to be Tyler when I tugged the blanket down off his face. He mumbled something about bran muffins and jerked awake. Not a word was out of my mouth before he held me tight in his arms and then just as abruptly apologized and backed off.
"Sorry, babe, I forgot about your shoulder. How is it?"
"It feels perfect." I raised my arm above my shoulder and lowered it. "Whatever that woman did to me, it worked."
"Magical healers." Tyler grinned and assaulted me with hugs and kisses. "Please don't ever try to take on a demon lord again, babe."
I savored every second of his attention until grim memories intruded. "Tyler, what happened last night after I glimpsed Karak's true name?"
"He got reinforcements." Tyler sat back down, pulling me into his lap in the process. "The other demons must have finished their demonicus, because they had a whole lot of people with them."
"I felt them coming." Closing my eyes, I recalled the sensation. "Abaddon was there with another demon lord." I squeezed my eyes tighter but couldn't recall any other details.
"Vallaena lost most of her people." Tyler's voice was grim. "George, Sticks, and your parents all needed healing. They were pretty banged up."
"How is Vallaena?"
"I don't know." His eyes looked into the distance. "That creature she transformed into was so incredibly strong, and even then she could barely contain Karak."
"Why didn't the rest of the Daemos turn into demon beasts?" I asked.
"You'll have to ask her." He ran a hand down his face and shook his head. "The bottom line doesn't look good."
He didn't have to say what he meant. We'd lost last night, even if by the narrowest of margins. If someone as powerful as Vallaena couldn't handle Karak, how in the world would we handle Domathus?
Chapter 27
Thousands of souls.
I couldn't stop thinking about how many people would perish if Domathus were allowed to come into this realm.
Tyler and I found George and Sticks in the conference room. They spoke with a man whose stiff posture and stern countenance immediately gave the impression he was in charge. His eyes lit on me the moment I stepped into the room.
"Miss Glass, I'm Commander Thomas Borathen." He shook my hand. His eyes seemed less friendly when they settled on Tyler, but he offered a curt nod. "Mr. Rock."
"Commander." Tyler seemed to switch into business mode. "I hear you've been busy."
"The same could be said of you." Thomas turned back to George. "I have thirty soldiers I can spare. From what you've told me, they can handle the normal possessed, but the demon lords are going to be the problem."
"Sir, a fully manifested Daemas was barely able to fight him." George took out an ASE and played back the battle.
"Do you record everything?" I asked.
He didn't reply.<
br />
Watching a replay was almost an out-of-body experience. The point of view hovered just above the tree line. I saw Kassus and Drang retreat when the demon knights began to fall. I hadn't seen them run because right then, I saw myself dash toward the man in the white robes. I didn't want to watch the next part, but couldn't help it.
Tyler hissed when he saw me plunge the dagger into the man's chest. His hand tightened on mine when I slashed the anointed's throat. In the recording, Tyler was already racing to my aid. I turned away when he broke my pursuer's necks. I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment. The anointed chose their path, I reminded myself.
Thomas didn't seem the least bit fazed by the violence. When it was over, he regarded me appraisingly. "You've had no formal training, Miss Glass?"
"Emily, please, and no, sir." I nodded my head at George. "Agent Walker has taught me a few things about protocol."
"You performed well."
"Agreed," my mother said from behind me. She entered the room with my father. "I'm very proud of her."
Her appearance and praise caught me off guard and I stumbled back a step. From the proud gleam in her eye, her words were genuine. I repressed the gleeful smile that tugged on the corners of my lips.
"Miss Glass exceeded expectations," George said. "Though her attempt to gain Karak's name was ill-advised, I cannot fault her for trying."
Emily, you are the cock of the walk today. I handed them another nugget of pure gold. "I have his name." My words caught the attention of everyone in the room. "Unfortunately, with two more demon lords in this realm, I don't know what good it will do to banish one."
"It might do more good than you realize," Victoria said. "When a demon's true name is used to exorcise him, it also invokes his pattern."
That didn't sound right to me. "I didn't see a pattern when Vallaena exorcised Astra and the other demons."
"It is drawn from the very soul essence of the demon itself," she replied. "It is invisible, but it is there."
"I fail to see the relevance of the pattern," Thomas said. "Why does it matter if the pattern is there or not?"
