by Megan Hepler
Break time rolled around and since there was no activity; Demona decided she would get her dress fitting over with and get to Lady Merriam’s shop. She did not want Darius to get angry with her for disobeying him.
Demona descended the stairs to Terra Hollow. By the time she was half way down she heard the thumping bass from Club Chambers. She took the tunnel to the side towards Bazaar Hall and the commotion of the market instantaneously filled her senses.
Every time Demona made it down into Terra Hollow she was completely amazed at all the sights and sounds. She did not know where the shop was so she decided to wander around the Hall and experience everything. She had seen most of the lower markets when she had visited with Kerrick previously, so she decided to venture higher into the stepped levels and check out the shops and stands.
Each shop had a wooden sign hanging outside. She walked passed alchemists, apothecaries, and various other shops each specialized in something unique. She passed butchers, and bakeries, with smells ranging from absolutely mouth watering to something that smelled as if it came from the sewer. She even found a library full of old scrolls and hand bound books.
Eventually, Demona found her way to the Lady Merriam’s Dress Shop. She entered and found herself surrounded by beautiful dresses made of all colors and materials. A little elf, no more than three feet tall, stood in front of Demona when she entered.
“Demona Brennan, it’s about time. Follow me,” Lady Merriam said.
Demona followed the little elf to a clearing among the racks of dresses.
“Stand here,” Lady Merriam said.
Demona stood in the spot as instructed and let the little elf take her measurements. When it came to reaching up higher, Lady Merriam brought out a step stool to stand upon. She even requested that Demona bend over so that she could measure her head. Demona complied with the elf’s wishes and soon she was finished.
“Is there a specific dress color you would like?” Lady Merriam asked.
“Not really. It doesn’t matter.”
“Your dress will be delivered when it is finished.”
“Don’t I need to pay you?”
“Mr. Grier has taken care of it,” Lady Merriam said. “I will have it sent to you when it is completed.”
Demona turned and made her way out of the store. She decided to wander around Terra Hollow awhile longer. She took in all of the sights and sounds. On one side of her a man and woman shouted about the prophecy.
“We need to be prepared. The end times are near! Our fate is being decided at this very moment,” the woman said.
“The Mythos walks among us. It could be you.” The man pointed directly at Demona as she passed. “It could be you.” He pointed to another woman. A few of the onlookers glanced at Demona as she passed by, but soon returned to watching the man and woman.
Demona was not paying attention to where she was walking when she looked inside shops as she passed them by. She accidentally bumped into a particularly beautiful fairy in a long white dress.
“Watch where you are going!” the fairy said. “I will not have a fool running into me!” The fairy reached her arm out and sent a gust of wind at Demona. As the wind swept over Demona it threatened to knock her down. Everyone in Bazaar Hall froze and turned their attention to their confrontation.
The wind blew Demona’s hair away from her face and it streamed in the air behind her. Demona knew she needed to put a stop to this quickly before something worse happened. Confrontations in Terra Hollow had a way of being blown out of proportion and turning into mass brawls. Demona concentrated and stuck her hand out. She took control of the wind gust the fairy had forced on her. Then, she made it dissipate.
The fairy’s eyes were like daggers pointed at Demona. “Who are you that you have elemental magic?”
Demona gulped. “I’m Demona.”
“How is it that you control elements? Answer me!”
Every creature in Bazaar Hollow tensed as they watched the confrontation escalate.
“I’m not sure what you are asking.”
“Vampires do not control elements!” the fairy said.
“She’s just a vampire with rare mageia,” Kerrick said. He stepped between Demona and the fairy.
Where did he come from?
“Well, this special vampire better watch where she is going. You never know who you could be running into,” the fairy replied. With that the fairy turned and huffed. She stuck her nose in the air as she walked away.
Bazaar Hall instantly turned back into a noisy chaotic market as if nothing had happened.
Kerrick grabbed Demona by the arm.
“Ouch, that hurts,” Demona said.
“Let’s get out of here. Now!” Kerrick said.
They made their way through the market district. Demona did not have a chance to look at anymore of the Hall as Kerrick drug her out of the cavern.
“What the heck, Kerrick!” Demona said.
Once they made it outside Kerrick walked her to the car. “Get in.”
Demona did as she was instructed.
“What do you think you were doing?” Kerrick asked.
“What are you talking about?” Demona asked.
“You used your mageia in front of all of Bazaar Hall!”
“So, what’s the big deal?”
“Don’t you realize how special you are? Darius has kept you a secret for a reason,” Kerrick said.
“I used my mageia before.”
“Yes, but never in front of half of Terra Hollow. Vampires don’t get elemental powers, Demona. Didn’t you ever realize that?”
“No, I didn’t,” Demona said. “Why not?”
“Because elemental mageia is something only certain creatures possess. Vampires only possess powers of the mind. Like premonition, telepathy, and precognition. That kind of thing,” Kerrick said.
“I never realized… Why didn’t you guys ever tell me?” Demona asked.
“Hopefully nobody will read too much into your mageia.”
“Why am I so different from everyone else?” asked Demona.
“You know the answer to that.”
Long moments passed before another word was said. They sat in the car and stared out the windshield at the other vehicles.
“We need to talk,” Demona said.
“Now what?” Kerrick asked.
“Something is up with you. You keep denying it, but I know something’s up. I know you and Darius were arguing,” Demona said. “Plus you have been all weird lately. You skip work and then show up in Terra Hollow. I barely see you or hear from you anymore.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kerrick said.
“You can tell me not to worry, but I’m still going to!”
Chapter 21
The Masquerade
Kerrick and Demona waited in line outside of Club Chamber as they waited to get into the Masquerade. The music poured out of the entrance. Demona could make out the music; it was slightly different from the time she had been there before. Instead of the heavy bass thumping through the air she could make out what sounded like a musical mix of classical and techno. She thought she heard a violin and other string instruments.
In line were men and women of different species dressed in formal attire. The women wore beautifully designed dresses of different colors and hues. The men wore suites or tuxedos, usually in a darker color. Some of the men wore top hats as well.
Each person wore a mask, as was the requirement to get in. There were so many different masks. Some reminded Demona of something you would see at Mardi Gras. Other masks covered entire faces with large jester-like patterned cloth pointing out of all sides. Some looked like they had been created from lace, others from wood. Many of the women wore masks with gems and feathers. The men wore more simple designs or with long pointed noses. Each mask was unique in its own way.
Demona’s dress had been delivered to her apartment the night before. She had unwrapped it and found something magnificent inside. The bod
ice was a tight fitting strapless corset made of black satin. More black satin material fell from her waist and extended to the floor. Off of her waist cascaded silk royal purple ruffles that were drawn together with white pearl accents. A mask had come with her dress made of precisely cut black metal which formed a butterfly wing over each side of her face.
“I cannot wait until this is over with,” Kerrick said. He wore black dress pants, a dress shirt, and tie. Over it he wore a sleek black and silver paisley dinner jacket. He wore a silver metallic gladiator mask, which was simply shaped to fit across his eyes. Etched into the mask were some geometric shapes.
“Hey, we’re here to have fun. Besides you look pretty hot in a suit,” Demona said.
“Alright, I must say that I can’t wait until this is over,” Kerrick said. He eyed Demona hungrily.
“Is that all you think about?”
“I am a man, you know.” Kerrick shrugged.
He had not bothered to comment on Demona’s dress, but she knew he was enjoying her costume. He kept peeking at her cleavage when he thought she was not looking.
They finally made it to the entrance and waited for their turn to enter. The cyclops, Golias, was acting security. He eyed Kerrick carefully as they made their way into the tunnel entrance.
Demona was taken aback by the magnificence of the decorations. The club looked completely different from what it had when she was there before. In the vast chamber colorful decorations glowed under black lights. People laughed and danced everywhere she looked. Tables were set up with various drinks, desserts, and appetizers.
One of the bars had been turned into a stage where women in tutus and men in leotards danced together to the music. On the stage behind them were the DJ and orchestra. On one side of Demona a man, probably a dragon, stood on a platform performing fire breathing tricks. From the ceiling hung women from cloth streamers, they weaved themselves in and out of the fabric eloquently with the music. Fairies, the kind with wings, weaved in and out of the different colored cloths strips that hung above. It was as if their fluttering movements were done in sync.
It was nothing that Demona had ever seen before and she soaked it all in. She was captivated by all of the commotion around her and everywhere she turned there was some new and exciting thing to look at.
Kerrick pulled Demona along through the crowd, until they found Darius seated at one of the reserved tables towards the back of the club. He watched and admired the entertainment around him. Darius’ mask began just under his eyes and extended just above his head in the shape of a crown. It looked as if it had been made of gold and stood out perfectly against his black and gold pin striped tuxedo.
Bergfalk sat at his side. She wore an elegant black strapless dress. She stood to greet Kerrick and Demona admired the form fitting dress that ended just at her thighs followed by a long flowing train. Her mask was made of black lace that fit snuggly against her face. She wore bright blue eye shadow beneath that made her amber eyes pop with color.
Darius had the two of them sit in the other seats at his table. After she was seated, Demona noticed that Agrippa stood at the bar. He wore a simple black suede suit and solid black half mask. After awhile a server brought champagne to them.
Bergfalk gulped hers down in one sip and went to stand near Kerrick. She bent to whisper in his ear. “I believe you owe me a dance.”
“Alright,” Kerrick said. He stood and walked Bergfalk to the dance floor.
Demona secretly hoped that someone would ask her to dance. She looked at Darius who was already preoccupied with greeting newcomers. She watched as Bergfalk danced a little too slowly and a little too closely to Kerrick, considering the fast pace of the music that blared around them. Demona turned away before she grew too jealous.
Their rations had been served and everyone had completed their meals. The dancers that provided entertainment during the meal had left the dance floor. The music grew louder once more and people returned to dancing, this time having had much more to drink than before. The room thumped and bodies melded.
BOOM!
Dust from the cavern ceiling fell upon the guests below. Pieces of the stalactites broke and spiraled downward, injuring a few unlucky people below. The chamber grew frigidly cold. Screams came from the outside of the club entrance.
Several black masses flew through the entrance. People were knocked over and others flung clear across the club. The mists zoomed around the club leaving a path of destruction as it went. People screamed, some ran and others hid.
Demons.
“I want to know what is going on right now!” Darius yelled.
“I’m calling security,” Agrippa said. He picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number as he ducked when debris fell his way. “Someone released the demons from the demon vault!”
“Damn it! Get them to safety!” Darius pointing to the guests.
Kerrick and Bergfalk helped get people to protected areas. Agrippa sent shimmering defense spells through the air. Several other people attempted to fend off the demons. With the amount of demons in the club and the close contact of the guests, fighting was useless.
Some of the more adept witches shot spells at the demons only to miss and injure bystanders. A few fairies crawled up walls or flew above to stop the demons, only to crash down to the ground. A group of vampires joined hands and attempted to use their mental abilities to control the demons. They were flung backwards and knocked unconscious. The club was in chaos and everywhere Demona looked people screamed and panicked.
One of the demons stopped before the table where Demona had taken cover. The demon began to take form. As it grew in density the clerical clothing of a priest became visible and Demona recognized him as the priest from the photo.
Demona found herself standing face to face with the demon. People screamed all around as the remaining demons continued to create destruction around the club.
The demon priest lower himself to the ground and he approached Demona. Demona blocked out the chaos around her and focused solely on the demon before her. Her body refused to obey her and she froze as the demon approached.
“Who are you?” Demona asked.
“I am Abd al-Malik,” the demon said. The demon continued to approach Demona.
“What do you want?” Demona asked.
“Your power!” The demon’s hand reached out and touched Demona’s head. Everything went black.
****
The room was dimly lit. Darius sat back against his office chair and stared across his desk at Kerrick.
“Kerrick, you are my best agent,” Darius said.
“Thank you, sir,” Kerrick said.
“I have a very important task for you. One that needs your upmost devotion.”
“It is an honor, Darius.” Kerrick was on the edge of his seat.
“I am assigning you a new partner. Her name is Demona Brennan. I need you to watch out for her, protect her, and gain her trust.” Darius leaned forward as if stressing the importance of this assignment. “She is the Mythos. I need you to get close to her, woo her. Make certain she stays on our side.
“You and I both know the many theories about what the future holds, now that she is here. I have been watching her for quite some time and I would hate for all of my efforts to be for naught. We must make certain that she stays on our side!”
“How do you know she’s the one?”
“Because, I have watched Demona for a long, long time. She possessed the proper qualities that we have expected to find in the Mythos. I made certain when I created her. I am her master.”
“Why would you do that?” Kerrick asked. “How do you know she will not destroy us? Shouldn’t you have just made sure she stayed human or killed her?” Kerrick looked unhappy about this news.
“I needed to make sure that we had a large influence to play in her life. I needed to keep her under our control. We can use her against GLC and take control of the world,” Darius said. “She is the one, you will see.”
“This is risky,” Kerrick said.
“That is precisely why I need you. You will make certain that she does not receive any outside influence.”
“I will try.”
“You will do this.”
****
Demona came back to the present. Screams and chaos whirled around her. The priest stood before her and Demona stared back. Kerrick and the other agents were now fighting the more concentrated forms of energy. They were gaining form by feeding off of the beings around them. It was only a matter of time before this masquerade turned into a blood bath.
Demona was irritated. She knew the demon had just showed her a memory from the past. It was definitely something real. Demona was confused, and upset. Most of all she was angry. The more she thought about it the angrier she became.
Her anger was growing more and more unstable by the second. Kerrick… You lying asshole! You used me, both of you used me!
BOOM!
A sonic boom bounced off of the walls. It had emanated from Demona. Demona’s sonic boom was equally as destructive as the previous explosions and demons combined. Dust and debris fell onto the helpless people below. The impact of the sonic boom shook the cavern knocking over people and objects with its reverberation. Stalagmites and stalactites crumbled all around.
BOOM!
A second blast emanated out from Demona. The demon priest returned to his mist form once more and sped out of the chamber. The remaining demons followed close behind. People screamed as chunks of the chamber ceiling began breaking lose and falling to the floor below. As the ground continued to shake around them people fled the chamber seeking solitude outside. Soon, the chamber was filled with dust and Demona heard people choking all around her.
A shimmer rippled through the air. The shaking stopped. The falling debris and dust ceased to fall. A voice chanted a spell nearby. Demona’s anger was still explosive and it was only a matter of time before it took control and created another boom. Nearby, Agrippa had been chanting a spell which created the shimmer.
