Penelope lowered her bow and tugged my coat.
“What?” I said, glancing over my shoulder.
“Maybe you should step back now?” she said. “Since I’m the Demon-hunter.”
“She doesn’t look like a—”
Abigail’s skin tightened on her face, splitting at her scalp and around her nose and ears. The illusion of what had been an old woman was actually something far worse. Her tongue lengthened, quite like a ghoul, but her eyes flickered like hot molten metal. She peeled her skin from her face, revealing scaly green skin like a snake.
“How?” I asked. My curiosity mesmerized me. I knew about shifters and Were creatures, but how did a woman become a demon?
Karl’s eyes pleaded for help. “It wasn’t my doing, Hunter. She’s the one. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Forrest, move!” Penelope shouted.
I stepped back and tried to pull Karl with me, but the demon wrapped her arms around him. Her strange tongue darted out and licked the side of his face, leaving a slick trail of viscous drool. She opened her mouth, revealing her jagged teeth and reared her head back. She was going to bite his throat. The old man trembled, closed his eyes, and screamed. He tried the wipe the saliva from his face where his skin was blistering.
Penelope fired an arrow, striking the demon in the throat. It rammed its sharply clawed hand through Karl’s back before releasing him and spinning around to flee. She clutched at the arrow.
Karl dropped to his knees, wept, and convulsed with pain. Blood soaked through the back of his shirt.
Penelope pulled her dagger and ran after the demon. She chased the demon past the quilting table where it grabbed sharp shears and turned, slashing wildly. Penelope dodged to the side to avoid getting cut. The demon pulled the shears close to its side. Penelope didn’t give the demon a chance for another attack. She lopped the dagger through the air, striking dead center of its throat.
Black blood dripped from its neck. It clutched the hilt, tugged, but failed to pull out the blade. It dropped to its knees. Panting through its open mouth, its eyes bore at her, and gurgling sounds rose in its throat. It uselessly tried to speak, but the dagger and arrow had severed those abilities. Using both hands, it gripped the hilt and slowly extracted the blade. Blood gushed out.
The demon sat for a few moments longer before dropping facedown on the floor. I kept my bow trained on it, just in case it bolted up to attack again. Some creatures were quite successful at faking their deaths as I had learned once before in a difficult situation. From that day forward, I made certain what I had intended to kill was actually dead before I turned my back on it.
Penelope walked to the demon and picked her dagger up off the floor. After kicking it several times, she joined me as I knelt beside Karl. He jerked in pain. His head tilted upward, and he looked to find me.
I glanced at Penelope. “How did she turn into a demon?”
“She was half demon,” Karl sputtered. Blood and spittle frothed in his mouth. He wheezed. “But she had the ability to present herself as either one whenever she wished.”
“Half demon?” I asked. “Were the ghouls really her children?”
Karl’s eyes dimmed. He was losing blood, but I believed she might have poisoned him with her claws. “She adopted them, after they became ghouls.”
“Why?”
He coughed. More blood dripped from the sides of his mouth. “For pets.”
“And the vampire bounty?”
“Her doing. The demon part of her hated humans but loved the undead ghouls. She chose them over our own people. The biggest reason most of this part of the city has vacated wasn’t because they had moved away.” He coughed violently. “She had beguiled most of them into going to the cemetery.”
“What about the thorns?” I asked.
Karl gasped, taking shallower breaths. “She foolishly bargained with a greater demon to fashion the vines to captivate humans into sacrificing themselves. I’m surprised you … got past them. Those … sacrificed, offered … blood, not only to her and the plants, but to the greater … demon she had summoned for … help.”
Penelope squatted down. “Why did you stay with her?”
Karl opened his eyes. A slight smile showed on his bloody lips. “It wasn’t love or devotion, as you can see. She didn’t hesitate to kill me, did she?”
“You’re not dead yet,” I said.
His body spasmed. “There’s nothing capable of mending me. I’ve lived … a full life. Not a life of freedom but it does no good to complain at this point. Sorry for the deception. Look … in the top drawer behind the counter. There’s … money to … compensate you for ridding my life of her agony and destroying her. It’s more money than the faux reward … covers other bounty, too.”
“What about the vampire in the Black Forest?” I asked. “Is that a misdirection, too?”
“No, Hunter,” he said weakly. His eyes dimmed, starting to glaze. “He’s very real and quite dangerous. One of the strongest … masters alive.”
Penelope leaned closer to him. “Is my father still alive?”
“Last I had heard, yes. He headed south. When he learned of our deceit, he never returned. Peace to you.” He lowered his head and became still.
“He’s dead,” she said.
I rose. “Are you certain the demon is? She didn’t dissolve into ash.”
“Not all demons do. The plague ones did because the arrows kill the plague, which causes them to self-combust. And she’s part human, so—”
I walked behind the counter and opened the top drawer. Neat stacks of polished gold and silver coins filled half of the drawer. Some were German coins and others French or Spanish. On the coins being worth far more than the bounties offered, Karl had not lied. I found a medium sized drawstring bag and stuck all the coins inside, and then I tied it shut. We now had enough money to travel extensively without worry.
I felt guilty in a way for taking the coins, but since Karl and Abigail had betrayed us, and they were now dead, I didn’t consider it robbery by any means. However, I was still bound by the contract, and my honor, to kill the vampire in the Black Forest. Since we’d cut directly through the forest to get to the Archdiocese, it wasn’t out of our way.
I dropped the hefty bag of coins into my coat pocket. Penelope knelt beside the demon. It was making odd grunting sounds. Was the demon still alive and had attacked her?
I rushed from behind the counter to where she was. Her arm moved like she was using a handsaw. Before I reached her, she stood and held the demon’s head in her hand.
“The demon is dead,” she said with a sly grin.
“You mean that it wasn’t?”
“You wanted me to make certain.”
I’d yet met a creature that could survive without its head. Ghouls were an exception; only decapitated ghouls weren’t really capable of inflicting much harm to a human, unless the human was foolish enough to pick its body up. The hand of a ghoul was still capable of strangling a person to death, but that required someone placing the hand to his throat. Appendages couldn’t hunt for prey and were unnerving to behold.
Penelope chunked the demon head to the floor.
“So you get no reward for killing that one?” I asked.
“It’s half human, so the only way I would have been compensated for killing her was if she had a bounty placed on her by another. As far as I know, no one has posted a reward.”
“In a way, Karl paid us, but I never knew such a possibility existed where a demon and human produced a child.”
She wiped the blood off her dagger on the quilt Abigail had been sewing. “The child you’re protecting is half vampire and half human. If that’s possible, why couldn’t there be a hybrid between human and demon?”
She made a logical point. I had just never considered it.
Penelope smiled. “In fact, offspring between humans and demons is probably more common than we even know.”
“Why?”
“Som
e demons are seductive and easily tempt humans into relationships, at least for a while, until they produce children.”
I shook my head. “I’ve heard of exorcisms performed by priests, supposedly the priests cast out demons. But all the demons I’ve seen have been in physical form. How does a demon possess a human?”
Penelope sheathed her dagger. “They can’t. Those aren’t demons. Those are evil spirits. Huge difference and a dangerous feat to perform. Not my calling or duty. I will never attempt to drive one out.”
I frowned. “But priests … do they really excise them?”
“Not like they think they do. Most people who have been possessed die when the evil spirit leaves the body. It rips and tears its way out, causing as much damage as it can. They want to inflict pain. They thrive on it.”
“But only priests can do that?”
She shook her head. “Priests have the person bound when they begin their exorcisms. It’s not because these clergy are holy that the spirits tear out of the human body. Most likely the priest has agitated and annoyed the spirit until its rage can no longer be controlled. All the more reason they kill the ones they possess. If ever you’re in the room where someone is trying to excise these spirits, run.”
“Why?”
“They will seek another host,” she replied. “But generally not a priest. What a lot of people don’t know is almost as many priests get killed as those who have spirits cast out of them.”
“Because the priest is supposed to be holy?”
She shook her head. “Revenge. They turn their aggression toward the priests and kill them. Then they will seek another human that’s close by. That’s why you don’t want to be the only other person in the room. It’s actually safer if the spirit stays in its host.”
“Won’t the possessed person kill others?”
“Not always, but if the spirit is actually detected, measures can be taken to prevent evil deeds.”
“Like what?”
Her face became grim. “Asylums, unfortunately, are often filled with those who suffer possession.”
“Won’t the spirits simply leave the host and pursue someone not locked away?”
“They’re content inside the people’s body because they can torment their minds endlessly without fear of the host killing himself.”
“So those aren’t demons?” I asked.
“No.”
“Good to know. Let’s go back into the room where I got the vials. I’d like to get more supplies from the room where I found this bow, and then we need to hurry.”
She nodded.
Chapter Twenty
After rummaging through the various weapons and equipment, we returned to the counter half expecting Abigail to have somehow arisen even though she had been decapitated. However, she and Karl were still dead and their bodies had not been disturbed. As strange as it sounded, I felt like we were being watched. The atmosphere thickened and became colder. The chill in the air was suddenly disrupted by a wisp of air that slithered past me, brushing my face.
Penelope stood still near the quilt. Her eyes became troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Do you sense it?”
“I felt it, actually.”
She glanced toward me with apprehension. She eased her way toward the quilting table, peeled back the quilt in progress, and found a pentagram drawn in faded blood. Beside this was a leather-covered spellbook. She took the book and slipped into her coat pocket.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” I asked.
Penelope shrugged. “I think the healer I trade with will like this.”
She took the bottle of blessed salt from her pocket and sprinkled salt over the pentagram. The tabletop burst into flames. She tried to put out the fire with the quilt, but the flames shot even higher.
“I think we’d best get out of here. Fast,” she said.
No argument from me. I grabbed the large crate filled with glass vials, dried herbs, and wooden stakes I had packed in the supply room. Penelope had found a quiver filled with arrows and slung it over her shoulder. She took new bowstrings and a leather pouch to tie around her waist. We hurried to the door and exited.
Father was halfway across the square coming toward us. “Well?”
“It’s a long story,” I said. “One that will help pass the time once we start traveling again.”
“Money?” he asked.
I nodded. “Lots of it.”
“Then we should head into the city to get supplies before we cross the Rhine.”
A hot whooshing sound hissed behind us. The fire shot through the chimney and crawled across the wooden shingled roof.
“You set the place on fire?” Father asked with a stern frown.
I shook my head. “No, sir.”
“What do you call that?”
“No denying it’s fire, Father, but we didn’t start it.”
Penelope said, “The woman had some sort of protection spell hanging, I suppose, so when they died the shop went up in flames.”
“You killed them? Son, we needed the money, but—”
“Again, it’s a long story. One we can tell on the way out of the city. But we did nothing except defend ourselves.”
“Ah, very well,” he replied.
“Still it’s best we leave before we are actually accused of burning the shop down.”
***
Thomas drove the coach into the city. The architecture of the cathedral was the most spectacular building I had ever seen, holding me in awe of its beauty and its haunting carved statues and gargoyles. These intimidating stone creatures overlooked the streets and were mirrored images of the ones in the cemetery, but thankfully, not alive. Of course, that was merely speculation on my part, and I was about to climb the towers to see for myself.
After Father and I bought essential food items that could be stored in the storage compartment of the coach, Thomas drove across the Rhine River. Dependent upon the terrain and weather we should reach Freiburg in as little as a week. But that didn’t take into account how long it would take for us to seek out the vampire inside the Black Forest and slay him.
Penelope and I told Father what had happened with the shopkeepers. He sat stunned and in disbelief, but never argued that we had done anything inappropriate. He did offer the occasional question to draw out more information, but he, like me, had never heard of someone who was half demon and half human. The thought alarmed him, and he was less cordial with Madeline and kept more distance from Varak, even though the child had taken quite a liking toward him.
For me, I could never get past looking at the child’s strange sky-blue eyes that often seemed to be trying to search into my mind and look into my soul. The strange aura that surrounded him brought chills to me, and I constantly reminded myself that getting the child to the Archdiocese was my responsibility.
With daylight hours fading she suggested that she and I nap until after the sunset, just in case more plague demons tried to kill Thomas. As long as the coach kept moving, it was unlikely we’d have to protect him, but with a week more to travel, we’d have to find a place to stop. The horse needed to eat, drink, and rest. At least we had gold and silver coins to find a decent place to stay during the night and hopefully one with a stable.
Chapter Twenty-One
The first two nights that we had stopped in a town or village, no plague demons had come to attack and kill Thomas. Penelope and I had stood watch. I wondered if she had killed all of the ones Albert the Were-rat had sent, or if this was an attempt to get us to let our guard down.
Penelope had suggested that perhaps when we had crossed the Rhine, the demons somehow were not permitted to pass over the water or had lost their ability to track Thomas. While it was a hopeful thought, I still didn’t think it was the last we’d encounter those demons.
As the third morning arrived, she and I were exhausted. The thick overcast morning indicated snowstorms were fast approaching. Thomas decided to get an early
departure for the day in case the weather made the roads impassable. I didn’t mind so long as Penelope and I were allowed to sleep.
Staying up throughout each night had not been the only reason I felt overly exhausted. My disturbing nightmares prevented me from restful sleep. The closer we got to our destination where we’d encounter the vampire, the worse the dreams became. I held the impression that he knew we were coming for him, and he didn’t fear us. In fact, he was eager for our arrival.
Dreams of blood and slaughter caused my heart to race. At times, these visions seemed to be the vampire’s vivid memories being displayed into my mind, as though he was boasting of his prowess, and indicating with an arrogant dominance that I was incapable of slaying him. Seeing these things disturbed me on a deeper level. He was trying to get inside my mind, and I suppose, in a way, he had because I had never received memories from a living vampire. I received portions of the memories of a vampire I had slain, soon after it was turned to ash, but for this vampire to prick his way into my mind from such a far distance was frighteningly impressive.
The only thing that had prevented me from rising in screaming fits was Penelope’s arm draped across my chest. I sensed her warmth and closeness, even in the depths of these horrid nightmares, and a part of me knew the dreams weren’t real. However, during my waking hours, my mind recalled and dwelt upon some of the worst incidents in those dreams. I wondered if these were premonitions.
Several times I had wanted to share these nightmares with my father. Perhaps I should have, but I expected his advice would be to avoid slaying the vampire at all. In many ways, realizing the power this vampire held, not entering his lair was the most solid suggestion for me to take since he knew we were coming.
Penelope and I slept for the better part of the third day while we traveled. When Father awoke me, the temperature had plummeted and the coach was moving at an abnormally slow place.
“Is something wrong?” I asked Father, rubbing my eyes. Penelope slept with her head against my chest. The peaceful look on her face made me not want to awaken her. I wondered how a lady who killed wicked demons rested so well. She half smiled in her sleep. Even though I’d rather leave her sleeping, I gently shook her. She pulled away, opening her eyes. I glanced at Father. “Why are we traveling so slow?”
Forrest Wollinsky: Predestined Crossroads (Forrest Wollinsky: Vampire Hunter Book 3) Page 13