The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series)

by Megan Hepler

  “Hey,” Demona said.

  “Uh-uh, hi,” Kaleb said. He cleared his throat and awkwardly greeted her.

  “Hello,” Hannah said. She was unable to meet Demona’s eyes.

  “What’s up?” Demona asked.

  “Not much,” Hannah said. “Just getting in.”

  Demona winked at Hannah. “Awfully early.”

  “Yeah.” Hannah’s hand rubbed her neck.

  “Hey, Kaleb have you heard from Felix?” Demona asked.

  “Eh, no. I haven’t heard from him lately,” Kaleb said.

  “Oh, okay. Well I have to go to work. I’ll talk to you guys later,” Demona said. Something is up.

  “Alright,” Hannah said.

  “Bye,” Kaleb said.

  That’s got to be the most awkward conversation I have ever had. I wonder what’s going on with Felix. Well whatever it is, I want nothing to do with him anymore.

  Demona hopped in her car and drove across town to Kerrick’s house. She pulled up to his house on the corner of a street lined with homes. The houses lined one against the other; all built in a similar style. Kerrick’s house looked a little less cared for than most of the homes on the street.

  Demona checked her face in the mirror and made sure she looked okay. Then, she stepped out of the car and closed the car door behind her. She approached his door and raised her fist to knock, but it swung open.

  “Come in,” Kerrick said. He stood in the doorway and opened the creaky screen door for her.

  Demona stepped into the house and the screen screeched to a close behind her. When she adjusted to the dim lighting and she noticed that Kerrick did not have a shirt on. Her eyes lingered on his abs as he turned to walk away. She followed him through the house admiring the way his muscular body moved as he took her into the living room. She found herself noticing his scars less and the rest of him even more. Kerrick turned towards her and she quickly averted her eyes to the next closest thing.

  “Have a seat. I’ll only be a minute,” Kerrick said. He exited the room and jogged up the stairs. Demona glanced around the room. He had a small TV, a coffee table, and the sofa. No pictures or decorations were scattered about the room, not even a pillow. A few magazines littered the table. The lack of personal items did nothing to help give many clues to the real man behind all the brawn.

  Geeze, talk about your typical bachelor. He hardly has anything in this house.

  Kerrick slowly walked back down the stairs, this time in a thin gray t-shirt. It did nothing to hide his muscles and only made her want to stare harder, to remember what he looked like underneath. Demona chewed her lip. When Kerrick was ready, she rose to her feet and they made their way out of the door to the car.

  “I’m driving,” Kerrick said.

  “Fine,” Demona said. “I’m not going to argue over it.” She tossed the car keys over to him.

  ****

  They arrived at the same location as the days before, and made their way towards the creek bed. Demona noticed Kerrick had not brought the swords this time. When they arrived Kerrick stopped in the clearing and turned towards Demona. She had halted also, waiting to see what kind of training was in store for her.

  “Today… we are going to work on controlling your mageia. Stand here. Close your eyes, don’t open them. React to the feelings inside you,” Kerrick said. He pointed at the ground in front of him for Demona to stand in that spot.

  Demona waited patiently feeling nothing, but boredom. Then, whack. Kerrick had struck her with a stick on the back of her legs. Demona’s eyes flew open as her kataphraktos formed on her skin.

  “Hey! That was not fair, I wasn’t expecting that,” Demona said.

  “It doesn’t matter what you were expecting. Try and find your emotional response. Take it and use it to control your mageia. Now, close your eyes. Keep concentrating, no matter what I throw at you. When you learn to control it this way, then you can begin practicing with your eyes open. You will be able to bring up the emotional triggers yourself.”

  Demona closed her eyes and waited for Kerrick to whack her again. Instead, she felt something small hit her back. Her kataphraktos rippled with the impact.

  “Owe. What hit me?”

  “An acorn,” Kerrick said. “Concentrate.”

  Again, Kerrick whacked her with the stick across her upper arm. Demona’s arm stung from the impact. This time she did not make a noise. She tried to feel the power, but felt nothing. He struck her twice more, quickly. He hit again. Soon, a rushing noise sounded close by.

  “Good! Keep going, feel the anger inside you. Now, take it and gain control over it by forcing your anger at the wind,” Kerrick said.

  Demona opened her eyes. Kerrick stood hand raised in front of his face blocking the wind and debris that circled around Demona. She faltered and almost lost control, but quickly focused on her anger at Kerrick and used it to manipulate the whirlwind.

  Demona held her hand out pushing the whirlwind towards her left away from Kerrick and toward some weeds. The whirlwind swept through the trees sucking up branches and twigs as it went. She then caused the whirlwind to dissipate as it grew farther away from them. It traveled a few more feet and fizzled out into a mere gust.

  “Good start! Next time, instead of just moving the wind away, try to bring it to certain locations and hold it. Then, try moving it again,” Kerrick said.

  They repeated the steps once more. Kerrick struck at Demona, until her anger rose within. She opened her eyes and grabbed the wind with her mind. She forced it into the creek where it began to change into a small waterspout. She then moved it towards the creek bed and up against a tree. There she released the mageia allowing the water to fall on the roots.

  “What are you doing?” Kerrick stood leaning against a tree one foot propped behind him against the trunk. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face had an expression of pride.

  “Playing. I watered the tree.”

  “Very funny, but this is not for entertainment, it is training. It is interesting to see how you can manipulate the elements around you by controlling wind and water,” Kerrick said. “Good work. You never know when skills like that could come in handy. Let’s try again.”

  Demona stood, eyes closed and concentrated. She waited for Kerrick to begin whacking at her or throwing acorns at her again. It didn’t come. She remained still and focused on her emotions. She heard the creek babbling beside her.

  Demona thought she heard some rocks move ahead and waited longer still. Instead, she felt Kerrick’s hand rest on her waist. He pulled her up against him and wrapped his other arm around her in an embrace.

  “Concentrate,” Kerrick said.

  Demona felt his lips brush against her ear. He never tried to throw her or push her. They just stood like that for a long while. Demona felt the fire inside her build because of his proximity to her, the same one that rose suddenly while training the day before. She took it and used it. No sound of rushing wind came and Kerrick did not yell.

  She opened her eyes to see if it had not worked. She looked past Kerrick’s suddenly close face, out into the trees. Droplets of water hovered around them.

  “Did I-I do that?” Demona asked.

  “Yes,” Kerrick replied. He leaned into her and planted a firm kiss upon her lips.

  Demona’s blood boiled and their kiss intensified. Kerrick pressed harder into Demona and she kissed him fiercely in return. Demona felt the mageia surge through her and as they kissed she tried to concentrate with little effort. Her mind was absorbed into the moment between them.

  Kerrick pulled back and gazed into her eyes as if trying to make sense of everything. Then, he took a look around. “Wow.”

  “What?” Demona took a lightheaded step backwards and glanced around. All of the water that had been running through the creek now floated mid air. Minnows swam around frantically as if confused by their new surroundings. She returned her attention to Kerrick who looked at the floating water.

 
“Never in all my life have I ever met a being as magnificent as you. I think your training is complete. I can’t teach you any more than I have. I taught you the basics of harnessing your mageia, now it’s up to you to learn to control your emotions. We should go back to TGHC, Darius will want to hear about the latest development.”

  The water which had been floating momentarily before crashed down to where it belonged.

  “Wait. You’re going to tell him?” Demona asked.

  “Don’t be stupid. He would give us new partners.”

  “I think we should talk about this.”

  “Talk about what?”

  “This…us.” Demona looked at him intently.

  Kerrick turned from her. “There is nothing to talk about, it was just a kiss.”

  “Don’t lie to me. You have to feel something. Not that long ago I was devastated because I lost Felix. Now, every second we are together we can’t keep our hands off of each other.”

  “It’s just training. Things happen,” Kerrick said. He kept his back to her still.

  “Look at me!” Demona marched over to Kerrick and grabbed him by the shoulder. She spun him around to face her. Within seconds they were back in each other’s arms.

  Demona pushed him away. “Kerrick! You can’t tell me that that kiss was just because of training.”

  “Fine! Okay, what do you want from me?”

  “I want you to admit it. Admit that there’s something, anything going on here.”

  “I can’t admit it, because I don’t know what it is.”

  Demona began stomping back to the car. “Let’s just go back to TGHC and tell Darius the news.”

  Kerrick drove her car into the parking lot at TGHC. They had not spoken the entire ride back. They walked quietly side by side into the building and through the lobby towards the cafeteria. They stood in line together for rations, still silent. Demona ignored Marcie, the witch, behind the counter, and her attempts to provoke her.

  After she gulped down her food, Demona went up to Darius’ office alone. She informed his secretary that she and Kerrick needed to speak with him. She sat against a wall and focused on her hands, while she waited.

  Kerrick arrived only moments before they were called into his office. Kerrick closed the door behind them and they both took seats in front of the desk. Darius sat in his high back luxury desk chair with his hands folded. A copy of Plutarch’s Lives sat centered on his desk. He made no sound, he just sat and observed the pair of them.

  “I suspect that you are here, because you have news for me?” Darius asked. His cold eyes looked back and forth between the two waiting for a response.

  “Yes, sir. While training the past few days we have discovered that Demona possess multiple mageia,” Kerrick said.

  “Really?” Darius asked. His mouth drew up into a grin.

  That has to be the scariest smile I have ever seen.

  “We found that the different mageia are connected to different emotions,” Kerrick said.

  “For instance?” Darius asked.

  “For instance, anger and fear create wind. She can also affect water with, for lack of a better word, flirtation,” Kerrick replied.

  Demona turned to glare at Kerrick.

  A sly smile crossed Darius’ face. “Hmmm…interesting. Tell me more about this element manipulation.”

  “While training, she created wind gusts, whirlwinds, mini water spouts, and water levitation,” Kerrick said.

  “You do know that I am sitting next to you, right?” Demona asked.

  Darius turned towards Demona. His eyes bore into her with such intensity. “Good work Demona. It sounds like Kerrick has trained you well in such a short amount of time.”

  I wonder if he can read minds.

  “I have never seen anyone learn the basics of swordsmanship or how to use their mageia in such a short time,” Kerrick said.

  Darius’ gaze returned to Kerrick and then to Demona. “My dear, I don’t think there is any denying that you are the subject that the oracle spoke about in her prophecy.”

  “Unfortunately, I think I agree,” Demona said.

  Darius sat back in his chair. “I appreciate the report. I am glad that you finally decided to give her some training. All that is left is experience. I believe Demona has demonstrated enough skill for you both to return to field work tomorrow. I have just the assignment for you.”

  Darius placed a file on the desk. “It seems we have been getting a high volume of demon activity lately. I am not certain of why the increase, but we will need all hands on deck until further notice. You may go.” He returned to his book and shooed them away with his hand.

  Chapter 12

  The Assignment

  Demona sat next to Kerrick, as was the usual work day ritual. She began to flip through the case file and did everything she could to avoided eye contact with Kerrick.

  ALERT: High volume of possession attempts by various demons. Luckily each has been stopped before it could be completed. Most of the demons have been destroyed for their unsanctioned activities. Be advised, if any possessions are in progress they become top priority. If demons are sighted take precautions, but do your best to bring them in.

  Name: Kearne Scary

  Age: 312

  Species: Gancanagh Fairy

  Description: Kearne is blonde haired and blue eyed. He stands about 5’ 8” with slender delicate features.

  Other Notes: Gancanagh are known to lure women with their charming ways and smooth talking. Do not allow a woman to touch the skin of a Gancanagh, it is poisonous. The skin secretes a poison that causes the victim to become obsessed with him. If not cured in time the woman may lose sight of sanity and search endlessly for the fairy ignoring all basic needs such as food, water, and shelter. It usually results in the victim’s death by starvation, dehydration, or exposure. Ganacanagh are known to live in wooded areas.

  Kerrick pulled the car into a parking lot surrounded by trees. At the trunk of his car he brought out several charms and iron stakes, as usual.

  “Fairies are allergic to iron; prolonged exposure can eventually lead to death,” Kerrick said. Then, he threw Demona a charm. “Put it on.”

  “Why do I need it?” Demona asked.

  “This is the only charm you will have to help you from falling for Kearne. There have been several reports of women found dead in the area from exposure. We don’t need you turning out like them.”

  “What happened to them?”

  “If you fall for his glamour you’ll fall in love with him. That would make my job a lot more difficult. The charm will help you resist him. It’s the same charm that helped me to resist Lilith.”

  That worked out oh so well.

  They made their way to the entrance where Demona read a sign identifying it as a national park. They followed a trail some ways, until they came upon a lake. They continued to walk along the path as it followed the lake’s shore line. The calm water sparkled as the sunlight shimmered across its surface.

  Bull frogs croaked all around them. They walked along and a few startled frogs leapt into the water sending delicate ripples across the surface. The birds and crickets chirped all around them as if they were singing in harmony.

  “Something is up ahead. We should be cautious the closer we get. Try not to make any loud noises,” Kerrick said.

  They continued farther along the shoreline.

  Kerrick abruptly halted. “We have a problem.”

  “What?”

  “Kearne is up ahead, but I’m getting the feeling that something else is happening farther down the path.” Kerrick stood there a moment debating on what to do. “Well, here is what is going to happen. I’m going to take care of what is farther ahead of us. I’m going to leave you to deal with Kearne.”

  “Wait, What? You can’t just leave me,” Demona said.

  “You can handle him. You would have an easier time dealing with him than I would. Kearne is going to want to get close to you in order to touc
h you. Play into his game, get close to him and slip this charm around his neck,” Kerrick said. He handed Demona a manipulation charm. “It is similar to the one we used on Lobo and the female wolf.”

  “After you are done take him to the car and tell him to stay. I’ll meet you there when I deal with whatever is up ahead,” Kerrick said.

  “I don’t know,” Demona said.

  “I do. You will be fine... One more thing, chances are that he is going to touch you. Drink this immediately after you get the charm around his neck. It will cure the poison that he secretes.” Kerrick handed her a vial with rosy colored liquid inside and then took off down another path.

  Demona waited until he disappear into the trees. I guess it’s now or never. Demona placed the manipulation charm in her pocket and headed in the direction Kerrick had led them. She continued a little farther when she thought she heard a man singing.

  What an amazing voice. She started walking in the direction of the voice. Suddenly, she felt lightheaded and tingly. The voice she had been listening to moments before now sounded normal; there was no compulsion to follow the voice. That must have been the charm working. She placed her hand on the charm around her neck and felt the hard, smooth surface in her hand. She tucked it under her shirt so that the fairy would not notice it.

  Demona walked a little farther ahead to find a young man seated on a rock in the forest. He was singing without a care in the world. Demona approached cautiously. As she grew nearer, she noticed that his skin was flawless and smooth. His blonde hair was lush and thick. His blue eyes pierced her soul. Luckily for Demona, she was able to control herself with the help of the resistance charm.

  As Demona approached Kearne she noticed that he had become aware of her presence. Kearne continued sitting there singing his song. Demona stopped a few feet from him and watched. When Kearne finished his song he flashed Demona his gorgeous smile.

  “Hello,” Kearne said.

  “Hey,” Demona said.

  “Please excuse my singing. I like to come out here sometimes where I can be away from it all,” Kearne said. He stood and slowly circled around Demona. He watched her closely.