Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3)

by Megan A. Hepler

  Hannah looked up at Demona with her lips scrunched together as if she knew what the far away daze in Demona’s eyes meant.

  Demona shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I think being able to eat real food has to be my favorite part of being human again…or whatever Aleph made me, whatever it is that makes me alive again,” Demona said.

  Barty quickly swallowed the food in his mouth. “Is it true you were once a vampire?” He and his wife, Anne, were seated on the opposite side of the picnic table.

  “Yeah.” Demona said between bites.

  “How did this come to be, that you’re a living, breathing being again?” Barty asked.

  Demona shrugged. She was still trying to figure out how Aleph had changed her into what she was now. A miracle was what she chalked it up to. “I’m not entirely sure how it happened. An archangel, Fotos, delivered a message to me…us, during my initiation as a GLC member. Afterwards, he placed his hand on me and I went through some sort of transformation.”

  “It was pretty intense,” Hannah said. “She was wrapped in this brilliant white light and it became like a cocoon around her. Then, after it was gone you could see her kataphraktos change. It was amazing, beautiful.” She played with the end of a strand of her long blonde hair.

  “What’s a kataphraktos?” Anne asked as she scooped up a fork full of potato salad.

  Demona tried to figure out the best way to describe it. She decided she better give a quick run through of how and what a kataphraktos was. “Agents of TGHC, vampires specifically, go through this ritual that invokes a warrior spirit to help protect them. After the spell was completed it makes their skin as tough as armor when danger is imminent,” Demona said. “My kataphraktos used to remind me of a scale-like texture and would protect me against any superficial wounds during a fight. After my transformation it took on an ivy-like appearance. I haven’t really tested it out yet, to see if it’s changed in any other ways.”

  Barty’s chin rested on his thumb and pointer finger. “Intriguing.” He stared blankly as he absorbed the new information.

  “That’s not all that changed though, your other abilities have changed,” Felix added.

  Demona nodded and swallowed her food. “Yeah, my mageia has changed.”

  “Mageia?” Barty questioned.

  “It’s the mental powers of a vampire,” Demona replied. “I used to get these post-cognition flashbacks from events in my past. But since my encounter with Aleph, I haven’t had any.” Demona looked down at her food.

  “What were they—” Barty began.

  Felix held up his hand at Barty and shook his head. Barty instantly understood that the topic was off limits.

  “My other mageia has intensified. I can control the elements with a lot less effort,” Demona said. “The magic seems to flow through me. Maybe, I now have a direct link to Aleph’s energy, like the ordained do, but I’m not entirely sure.”

  Ezekiel shook his fork in Demona’s direction. “I wouldn’t consider it mageia, though, considering those abilities came from your Elvin father.”

  Demona tossed her hair over her shoulder. “True, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all these things.” Demona shrugged. “All part of the prophecy I guess.”

  Barty instantly perked up. “There’s a prophecy?”

  Demona laughed inside. This guy just can’t get enough of our supernatural world. He might think it’s so interesting now, but we’ll see how he does after meeting his first demon.

  Ezekiel nodded and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “Yes, two actually,” Ezekiel replied. “The dark beings have their prophecy about an all-powerful being that will destroy one kind of being and aid another; they call this being the Mythos. We, the light beings have been promised that Aleph will send his chosen one, the Tzadekas, who will lead us to victory over evil.” The two were quickly engrossed in a conversation about the technicalities of the prophecies.

  “Hey, maid of honor,” Hannah said trying to change the subject, “what color dress do you want to wear for the wedding?” Her eyes shimmered as she spoke about the upcoming wedding.

  Demona shrugged. “Whatever you pick will be fine,” Demona replied. “I’m not picky.”

  “I was thinking pink.”

  Of course you would choose pink... “If that’s the color you want me to wear, I’m cool with it.”

  Hannah’s face brightened and a smile spread from ear to ear. Demona never loved the color pink, but she knew that it was Hannah’s favorite color. She was not about to let her opinions influence Hannah, especially when it came to her wedding. It was, after all, going to be Hannah’s special day.

  “How are the plans going anyway?” Demona asked. She was only mildly curious, but knew she had to show some interest in her best friend’s wedding. Demona always tried to focus on the wedding planning conversations she had with Hannah, but her mind often drifted to more unpleasant thoughts.

  “I’m wrapping things up. If I could only get Kaleb to commit to a location, we’d be all set.” Hannah turned to Kaleb. “Speaking of which, have you thought any more about where you want to get hitched?” She drummed her fingers on the wooden table top as she waited for Kaleb’s answer.

  Demona turned to Felix as the soon-to-be married couple bickered about wedding plans. “Hey, did you notice that Kearne and Ileana aren’t here?” Demona was concerned that Kearne may have been using his seductive charm. She hoped that he had not used it on Ileana, but thought it might be a good idea to check on her.

  Felix nodded after taking a mouth full of potato salad. He swallowed. “Yeah, Ileana’s probably hunting. I think she likes the thrill of catching her own meal sometimes. I haven’t seen Kearne lately; he’s been sulky ever since we brought him back here.”

  Demona self-consciously rubbed her left forearm. “I feel guilty. He wanted to talk to me the first day he arrived, but I haven’t had a chance to since everything has been happening so quickly. I should see if I can find him.” Demona stood from her seat and bent down to place a kiss on Felix’s forehead. “I’ll check on Ileana while I’m at it and I’ll find you later.”

  Demona hesitated for a moment, as she stared at Felix’s breathtaking smile. His love for her shone in the way he looked deeply into her eyes as she spoke. Not only do I not have time to deal with important things, but I haven’t had a real moment alone with Felix in…god knows how long… She made a mental note to make sure that she found some alone time with him. It had been too long since they had had an intimate moment and Demona longed to feel his arms wrapped around her and taste his sweet lips.

  Felix grinned at her. “Okay.”

  Demona had the sudden urge to grab him and drag him somewhere private that very instant, but instead she just sighed. If only I had time to act on my impulses. She turned and walked away from him, stopping only to glance back at him for a moment longer before giving up on her desires and focusing on the task at hand.

  Demona walked through camp in search of Kearne. She checked in his tent, but he was not there. She asked the defenders on guard if they had seen him. They had not. Then, she was informed that one of the defenders had seen him take the trail to the back of the base. Demona knew the trail too well; it took her to a place where she often found solitude. It was also a place where she and her friends had had many deep conversations or just plain fun around a campfire.

  Demona walked through the cleared field past the training grounds and through the back gate into the freshly harvested field. Then, she followed the path through the hay field and up a slightly rocky incline. She admired the changing leaves with their new hues of red, orange, and yellow. It was beautiful now, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the bitterness of winter settled in. Many dried leaves had already settled on the ground and crunched beneath her feet as she continued down the path. The Roost Haven would be in desperate need of heat sources as the temperatures cooled.

  She saw the rocky clearing up ahead and prepared to take
in the beautiful view of the autumn valley below. The outcrop, filled with large boulders, provided the ideal place to view the scenery. She walked past the last few towering oak trees and came to a halt. There, sitting side by side and locked in an intimate embrace, were Kearne and Ileana. Demona’s head cleared from the initial shock, at finding them in such a position, when she realized what it meant.

  Demona rushed forward. “Stop! Kearne! Stop! Get away from her!” Demona yelled. She harnessed her elemental magic and produced a small flame that floated above her palm. She hurled the flame toward Kearne.

  The two quickly separated from their embrace when the flame came crashing down at Kearne’s feet catching the hem of his pants on fire.

  Ileana quickly smothered the flames with her hands and then spun to confront Demona. “What are you doing?”

  “Saving you from this idiot.” Demona turned to Kearne. “You promised to keep your distance. Now we have to see if we can find an antidote, so Ileana won’t end up like your previous victims!”

  “I’m not his victim,” Ileana yelled.

  Demona held out a hand to Ileana.” Come on, Ileana, let’s go. You don’t know what you are saying; he’s got you under his control.”

  “It’s not what you think.” Ileana tried to reason. She approached Demona ready to defend Kearne if needed. Her hands were placed on her hips in a way that made them bow like wings.

  “I should send you back to Darius for this!” Demona yelled in Kearne’s direction.

  “Back off!” Ileana said. Her red eyes seemed to spark with fire.

  “Wait! Wait! Both of you! Stop!” Kearne inched his way between Demona and Ileana. He turned in Demona’s direction. “I can explain!”

  “Explain what? That you probably just sent one of my best friends to her death?” Demona yelled. She was furious with the situation.

  Kearne shook his head. “No, she’s not in any danger. I tried to tell you before. It was part of my sacrifice at the Tomb of Beginning!”

  Demona stopped at his words. “What? What was part of your sacrifice?” Demona asked puzzled.

  “I’m not a gancanagh fairy anymore. Remember that I was the last bachelor of my kind? Meaning that I could never find a partner, a female gancanagh, which could withstand my touch…” Kearne lowered his head. “My sacrifice was giving up my race to become human. I can’t hurt Ileana; I’m just a human now.”

  Demona’s mouth hung open. “Why would you sacrifice that?”

  Kearne seemed to slump forward more. “Do you think I wanted to live my life alone? Never being able to touch a woman without sending her to her doom. I gave up a huge part of who I was to find happiness. And love,” Kearne explained.

  “You did this for Ileana?” Demona asked.

  “Well no. I mean, I wanted to find someone to spend my life with. I didn’t have my eye on Ileana or anything. I don’t know what this is yet.” Kearne turned to look at Ileana. He smirked. “Though, I have to admit, when we met in Dissium, her fieriness made me attracted to her. No pun intended.”

  Ileana smiled at that.

  Demona held her arms out with exasperation. “You two were practically at each other’s throats.”

  Ileana rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I have to admit that Kearne’s stubbornness kind of turned me on.” She kicked a small stone near her feet. “Even more so now that he has no effect on me. Plus, that makes me the special one in this relationship now that he’s human… and helpless.” She gave Kearne a big grin.

  Demona hesitated to give a response for a few moments as the new revelation sank in. “Well, as long as you can’t hurt her or anyone anymore…I don’t have a problem with this.” I think.

  Kearne and Ileana nodded in thanks.

  “I guess I’ll leave you two alone,” Demona said.

  Kearne and Ileana smiled at one another as Demona made her way back down the trail.

  Demona was consumed by her thoughts as she followed the rocky path back to Roost Haven. This day has been weird. She was not opposed to the new relationship, or whatever it was, that was budding between her two neutral friends. She was confused by it. They had been almost hostile towards each other in Dissium and now they were sneaking off to make-out. The world has gone crazy.

  Before she knew it, Demona was walking up the rickety steps into the headquarters. Felix was standing with one of the defenders looking over a map of the town. He looked up as she walked across the creaky planked flooring in his direction. He excused himself from the conversation and approached her.

  “Ezekiel and Molony are downstairs with Kerrick and our captive. Do you want to see if they’ve made any progress?”

  Demona nodded. She was afraid that if she spoke at that moment the scene she witnessed between Kearne and Ileana would spill out of her mouth. Demona wasn’t sure that this was the time or place for anyone to learn about Kearne’s sacrifice, or what was taking place between the two neutral allies. She followed Felix through the back doorway of the sanctuary, where they descended a set of metal stairs into the darkened basement. The air was thick and damp from the continuous moisture that seemed to seep through the fractured concrete walls.

  They walked past the food storage to the far end of the area where a make-shift cell had been created. The cell was made of steel fencing that had been gathered from a junk yard and welded together. The fencing formed a four sided cage with a top, which sat alone in the basement. It was approximately six feet by six feet wide and nine feet high. Inside stood their captive; a newly possessed man. The man had clearly died during the possession and the demon had continued the process to inhabit the body. Demona caught a faint whiff of decay as the possessed seemed to stagger aimlessly into the cell wall.

  Kaleb was with the other three men in deep discussion. He always seemed to take his position among the GLC seriously and even more so now that he had become master at arms. He stood holding onto his forearms across his chest. When things had not been quite as intense, Kaleb had had a very relaxed surfer vibe about him.

  “What if we tried to hold the object near him and see if there’s a reaction?” Ezekiel suggested. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his reddish nose and waited for someone to respond.

  “It’s worth a try,” Molony said. “Kaleb?”

  Kaleb nodded and went to the cell, carefully unlocked, and opened the door. The possessed lunged forward in an attempt to escape. Kaleb shoved back, but it made a second attempt to escape. The possessed attempted to bite Kaleb and suck the energy from him in an effort to become more powerful.

  Demona held out her hand and pushed a wind gust in the direction of their captive, forcing him against the back of his cell. The possessed gave up its attempts to drain Kaleb’s energy and focused instead on fighting the wind that pinned him in place. He struggled against the gust, but was unable to move from the spot. It was almost comical to watch the “zombie” struggle helplessly.

  “Thanks,” Kaleb said.

  Kaleb stepped into the cell, prepared to force the possessed back if need be. Demona, however, continued to hold the possessed in place with her magic. Ezekiel entered into the cell carrying the artifact and held it near the possessed. He moved it over the possessed’s heart first and then waved the artifact over each part of his body. They all waited for a reaction. Nothing happened.

  “Try praying with it,” Molony suggested. He shrugged as he spoke the words with uncertainty.

  Ezekiel bowed his head in prayer. Demona could not make out the words, but he murmured a prayer and continued with his efforts of moving the triangular artifact around the possessed. Still, nothing happened. After what seemed like an hour, Ezekiel stepped back out of the cell, followed by Kaleb. Demona released the possessed from the gust of wind after Kaleb latched the cell door and locked it.

  “Well, I guess that’s enough for today,” Ezekiel said.

  “I’ll bring some items with me tomorrow to help control this thing while you work. We don’t need anyone getting injure
d, or killed, while trying to figure this out,” Kerrick said.

  Demona was surprised at Kerrick’s words. He seemed genuinely concerned that someone could be hurt by the possessed. She was not certain what to make of his sudden compassion for others. Is this all just some ploy to regain my trust?

  Chapter 6:

  The Wedding

  Hannah and Kaleb stood hand in hand at the front of the sanctuary. They looked deeply into one another’s eyes as if peering into one another’s souls. Demona studied the two from her position off to the side of Hannah. Hannah’s long blonde hair fell around her face with a Baby’s Breath wreath situated on top. The white bohemian style dress paired with her soft skin gave her the appearance of complete purity. Her eyes sparkled as she stared into Kaleb’s and repeated the words that Ezekiel spoke.