Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3)

by Megan A. Hepler

  Felix held out the ring to her. “Demona Brennan. Will you be my wife?”

  Tears welled up in Demona’s eyes. She almost choked again as the emotions attempted to grip control of her. She nodded vigorously. “Yes!”

  Felix slid the ring onto her finger and they kissed passionately.

  Demona pulled back and admired the vintage Edwardian engagement ring. “This must have cost a fortune.”

  “It was Rowena’s. It’s a family heirloom. It may not have cost a fortune, but it’s priceless. It was our grandmother’s.”

  Demona looked astonished. “Rowena gave this to you? What if she gets married?”

  “She knows you’ll be good to it. Besides she says she’s destined to be a crazy cat lady.”

  Demona laughed.

  ****

  Darius had given Kerrick orders to escort the refugees back to Terra Hollow, since the threat had passed. The underground city was being repaired, although it would take months to have everything back to normal. In the meantime, shelters had been constructed for the refugees within a section of the market district, Bazaar Hall.

  After seeing the refugees back to Terra Hollow, Kerrick returned to the TGHC headquarters along with the reinforcements and field-agents. He made his way up to Darius’ office to deliver details of the victory.

  “The task is complete, the demon priest and the horde have all been destroyed,” Kerrick reported. “The battle ground has been cleared of light, dark, and neutral beings. The humans are aiding the hosts and disposing of the remaining bodies. There is no evidence that anything supernatural occurred.”

  “Good. Good,” Darius replied. He held out his hand for the artifact.

  Kerrick did not move and bowed his head down.

  “Give it to me!” Darius ordered.

  “I’m afraid I do not have the artifact,” Kerrick replied. He waited for Darius’ response, knowing that it would not be pleasant.

  Darius threw his fist onto the top of his desk. “Damn her!”

  Kerrick winced. It was not often that Darius showed emotion, and if he did show it, it did not bode well for anyone. Kerrick braced himself for Darius’ punishment for his failure to bring it back.

  “What did she say…what did she say when you tried to take it from her?” Darius asked.

  “It was not only her. Kearne Scary and Felix Fulbright were also involved. They refused to give it to me,” Kerrick said.

  “Scary. I should never have agreed to set him free,” Darius replied. “Now, sod off, before I decide that your descendant is no longer worthy of her life.”

  Kerrick did not need to be told twice. He turned and quickly exited the office. He was relieved that Darius had not decided to punish him or his descendent, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Darius had more of his dirty work for Kerrick to complete.

  Chapter 22:

  It’s Not Over

  Demona’s deep slumber was filled with nightmarish dreams of snake pits, volcanoes, and monstrously large mutated people. The fear gripped at her and made her feel like it was impossible to escape the terrors, no matter how fast her legs could carry her. She had tried to use her magic to fight the things that threatened to kill her, but something was wrong. Her power was nonexistent and her kataphraktos did not respond to the injuries she received. Demona thrashed around as the searing pain from the wound she obtained from a giant slithering human without arms or legs pierced her with its pointed tail.

  “Mona! Felix!” she heard a voice call in the dark realm beyond the dream. The darkness around her grew lighter and the nightmare that surrounded her began to fade away.

  “Wake up! Come on, you have to get up!”

  Demona heard the words while she was in the state between sleep and awake. Her mind knew the voice was real, but her body refused to relinquish its hold on the dream world. Demona struggled to lift her eye lids. She was so tired and groggy that it took all of her willpower to fight against the drowsiness that threatened to overcome her once more. Every time she managed to regain consciousness she slipped back into unconsciousness.

  Demona was shaking; someone was shaking her violently.

  “Mona, you have to wake up!”

  This time Demona managed to slowly open her eyes, but they felt so heavy. She rubbed them and waited for her vision to adjust to the light. “What’s going on?” She managed to say before yawning.

  The image of a face appeared in her field of vision. At first it was hazy and she could not make out its features. The voice sounded familiar, but her mind would not allow her to recall whose it was. Her vision finally adjusted and her mind registered the face as Rowena’s. Then, she turned her stiff neck to the side where she found Felix asleep beside her. In a moment of confusion, she tried to comprehend why Felix was sleeping there. Then she realized that they were still seated at the table in the RV. Demona watched as Rowena violently shook her brother out of his slumber. He opened his eyes reluctantly and yawned.

  “Sorry, we must’ve fallen asleep” Demona stretched. She noticed that her hand was covered in slimy moisture. “Eww, Grantly! No more licking my hand!” She looked around for the dog. “Where is he?”

  “I let him out. When I came in he was whimpering to go outside. He was licking your hand trying to wake you,” Rowena said.

  “What time is it?” Demona asked.

  Rowena’s brows were creased, as she waited for them to fully wake up. “It’s almost ten.” Rowena seemed impatient. She crossed her arms and tapped her right foot.

  “Rowena, what’s going on? I know that look. What’s wrong?” Felix said between yawns and he stretched his arms above his head.

  “Get up and come with me,” Rowena said. “Now!”

  “I swear I didn’t touch your brother. He’s still an innocent,” Demona said sarcastically.

  Rowena marched out of the RV. “I don’t care what you two do in private. It’s none of my business.” She heard Rowena say from outside the door.

  Demona was confused and she still felt jaded from the nightmare she was pulled from. She dragged herself up from the bench and managed to stagger slowly towards the door. She hobbled sluggishly out of the door followed by Felix.

  “Ro, calm down! She didn’t mean anything by it,” Felix said.

  Rowena stood with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. “It’s neither of you that are bothering me.”

  “I must’ve slept wrong.” Felix rubbed the side of his neck as he followed Demona and Rowena. “Well then what’s going on?”

  Kaleb came running in their direction from his tent. “Sorry it took me so long.” He said to Rowena. “Were they asleep?”

  Rowena nodded grimly. “Nobody was awake when I came this morning. It’s unusual, especially considering how difficult it was to wake you three.”

  “Well we have had a long couple of days,” Felix said still rubbing his neck.

  “Where’s Hannah?” Demona asked.

  Kaleb shrugged. “She probably got up before me. I’d guess she’s in the church. Were you in there yet, Rowena?”

  “Nope,” Rowena replied.

  The group made their way towards the broken church. The old double doors were closed and silence came from the other side of it. They swung open the working door and stepped inside. They were met with darkness. Demona got an eerie feeling as she walked over the squeaky floor boards to where the light switch was and flipped it on. Nothing seemed to be disturbed in the sanctuary since the day before.

  “Hannah?” Kaleb yelled. “Ezekiel?” There was no reply to his calls. His brows furrowed with concern.

  Something is not right. Where’s Hannah? Why isn’t Ezekiel answering?

  Rowena peeked into Ezekiel’s office. She walked back and gave a deep sigh of relief. “I found Ezekiel, but not Hannah.”

  Ezekiel was sound asleep on the floor beside a cot. His soft snores were barely audible, but his chest rose and fell deeply. Rowena attempted to wake Ezekiel only to find it equally as diff
icult as it had been with the other three. She decided to allow the older man to rest where he lay awkwardly on the cold floor. Ezekiel had been through more emotionally in the past few days than anyone else. He deserved his peaceful, carefree, griefless sleep.

  “Something isn’t right.” Kaleb bolted through the doorway at the back of the sanctuary and ran down the metal staircase to the basement. They could hear his voice calling Hannah’s name from below their feet. He searched every inch of the church on both floors, but there was no sign of her. Hannah was not there. He peeked outside the church doors. “My van is still here. Hannah should be here too.”

  Concern overcame Demona. “Something’s going on. Let’s go check for her around the grounds.”

  The four of them exited the church and began searching the camp. Only, now that most of the camp had cleared out, there weren’t many places to look. They searched the vehicles. Rowena even took a jog through the frosty fields that surrounded the headquarters.

  “I’ll check the outcrop,” Felix told the three of them.

  Grantly came bounding in their direction, out of the frost coated field. He gave a determined yip and followed Felix as he jogged down the trail towards the outcrop.

  Demona knew Felix was trying to give his friend a piece of mind by searching every possibly place for Hannah. Dread filled Demona’s soul with the realization that Hannah had disappeared. The weight of that thought began to sink in and she also began to franticly search in even the oddest of places. Demona had exhausted her efforts and she went to stand beside Kaleb who now stood staring blankly toward the rocky path. They waited for Felix to return.

  “She didn’t leave a note. I searched everywhere in our tent and my van. None of her things are missing either.” He looked up at Demona. “Where is she?”

  Demona did not have an answer, so she rubbed Kaleb’s back and hoped that it would help to soothe him. She hoped that the gesture would calm his nerves, but in truth her nerves were no steadier. She stuck her cold left hand into her coat pocket and her fingers brushed against paper. She grabbed a hold of a piece of folded paper and drew it out for a better look. Demona could not remember placing anything in her pockets.

  I never put things in my pocket, because I’ll forget about them.

  She studied the paper before she began to flip the sides over and unfold it. Her stomach began to tie into knots; somehow she just knew that whatever she was going to find written on the paper was not going to be good news. Just as Demona was about to open the last fold, Felix and Grantly came trotting back towards them. Demona waited for them to draw closer.

  Felix shook his head. “No luck.”

  Demona had already known the answer. She took a deep breath and read the scribbled note.

  The charms were laced, didn’t know.

  Darius took the artifact.

  Hannah was awake, he took her too.

  Going to Dissium.

  -Kerrick

  Demona let her hand with the note drop to her side. I knew this wasn’t over. Darius made things too easy at the end.

  “What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Rowena asked when she saw the look of despair on Demona’s face.

  “Felix is the artifact still where we hid it?” Demona asked.

  Felix shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t checked on it this morning.”

  “Well, if what this note says is true…it’s gone.” Demona looked at her feet and shook her head in dismay.

  Felix ran back into the church with the others close behind. He stopped in front of a lose flap of wallpaper hanging from the wall. He pulled it back to reveal a hole in the old wood and slat wall. He reached inside and pulled his hand back through, empty handed. “It’s gone!”

  “What? Who could’ve taken it?” Kaleb asked. “You don’t…Do you think they had Hannah under some kind of spell to steal it for them? Maybe that’s why she’s gone.” He looked uncertain.

  Demona shook her head. “No. It looks like Darius was here and we didn’t know it.” Demona replied. She read the note aloud.

  A look of horror spread over Kaleb’s face as Demona read the last two lines. “No!”

  Ezekiel entered the sanctuary from the back of the church. He, Kaleb, and Felix instinctively placed a hand on the protection charms that they had been given from Darius and promptly removed them. Demona did the same. Ezekiel remained quiet while he tried to wake himself up enough to comprehend what was taking place.

  “There must have been a second spell placed on the charms. Maybe a sleeping spell?” Demona suggested.

  Rowena nodded. “That would explain a lot.”

  Demona walked towards the doors. “Kerrick must have been with Darius and who knows how many others. We were none the wiser. There had to be a sleeping spell of some sort on these.” She held her charm up to study it. “That would definitely explain why it was so difficult to pull ourselves from sleep.”

  “Why would Kerrick leave you a note? He’s Darius’ right hand man,” Felix said. He was clearly skeptical. “How do we know that this note isn’t just some way for Darius to draw you out, back to Dissium for some reason? How do we know that Hannah isn’t bait?”

  Demona shook her head. “Kerrick is not as loyal to Darius as you might think. In fact, the only reason he does anything that Darius tells him is to protect his descendant.”

  “His descendant?” Ezekiel asked.

  Demona nodded. “Don’t get mad,” she said to Felix. “Things have been so crazy I haven’t had much of a chance to fill you in on what happened when I got separated from you in Melville. Kerrick followed me and saved me from the iya demon. On our way back, to you guys, he told me what was really going on.”

  Felix did not look pleased by the news. “How do you know it wasn’t just some ploy? It wouldn’t be the first time he tricked you.”

  Demona was hurt by Felix’s words. “I may have been naïve, back then, but not anymore. You should know me better than that.”

  Felix closed his eyes a moment. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to insult you. I was just trying to make a point.”

  “And you did, but I’m positive it wasn’t a lie. The only explanation for him leaving this note,” Demona held the paper up, “was to let me know what had happened. He was taking a big risk by betraying Darius at the expense of his and his granddaughter’s life.”

  Felix held up his hands. “All right,” he said. “If you trust Kerrick, then I will too.”

  “Thank you,” Demona replied. She turned back towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” Ezekiel asked.

  Demona looked back over her shoulder. “To pack. Whatever Darius has planned can’t be good. He took Hannah, not because she was the only witness…he could have killed her, but he didn’t. He doesn’t keep people around without a reason, so he needs her for something. If it had not been for Kerrick’s note, we’d have no idea what happened to her and the artifact. So, I have to go to Dissium to get Hannah and stop Darius from doing whatever it is he’s about to do.”

  ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

  I could not have made it this far in the series without the continuous support from my husband, Josh Hepler. Thank you for being a continuous inspiration and providing helpful, constructive criticism. Thank you for being my first reader, as always. Thank you for discussing the problems that you find during your reading, so that I can make the story as perfect as possible. I could not do this without you. Thank you to my son, Saxon, for being the source of happiness, when I am surrounded by the darkness and demons while writing the story. Your smiles and cute actions have given me the motivation to keep going.

  Thank you to Joey Krick, for giving me an insight on the use of last names when referring to military or military-like personnel. Thank you, Adam Robles and Greg Blankenship Jr., for answering my many questions on police protocol. Thank you, Kurt Reinert, for providing information on Firemen, EMTs, their gear, and where to find information on protocols during specific situations. Thank you, Jeremy Fegley
, for discussing hypothetical situations in which the National Guard would be called in to maintain order. Thank you to Ben Cohick for giving me the idea, during our conversation, to explain why guns are useless against the possessed.

  Thank you, Mary Clayton for proofreading and editing the manuscript, and also writing the back cover blurb. Thank you to my beta readers: Lichelle Moyer, Sue Delp, Steve Young, Laurent Lorent, Eli Frey, and Stefani Wilmoth. Thank you to Kate Cowan at K.C. Designs for another amazing cover design, which fits perfect for the book.

  I want to thank the American Public University System and my professors for helping me to expand my mind and give me inspiration. I must also thank my blog readers and social media friends/fans for showing your support. Thank you to all of my readers for taking the time to read my first and second novels. Thank you to all other friends and family for your continuous support and encouragement through this process. I could not have done this without you all.