by Megan Hepler
The Mythos Unveiled
By Megan A. Hepler
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Copyright © 2013 Megan A. Hepler
All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, physical, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, dialogues, locales, religions, or cultures is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
Cover Art by K. C. Designs
To Josh Hepler, my husband and best friend.
Chapter 1
Farthest from the End
A young woman and her four legged companion made their way down a dark path. Lamps dotted the trail, providing just enough illumination for the young woman to follow. A cool breeze blew through the park causing the leaves to rustle. The young woman shivered from the eeriness of the night.
Her four legged companion, Acadia, was a Bouvier. A large boxy body and strong muscular legs made anyone think twice about messing with either of them. The young woman found the dog adorable with her gleaming eyes and long shaggy, brindle fur.
“Demona,” a voice said. It sounded extremely close.
The young woman looked in search of the voice that had called her name. Upon seeing nothing, she returned her gaze to the dog. “I think I’m going crazy, girl. Let’s go home.”
Acadia glance up at her, head tilted, and wiggling her stub of a tail as if she were listening intently to Demona’s every word. They began making their way off of the path, when suddenly Acadia halted. Demona turned to look at her and Acadia promptly sat, dropping all of her weight.
Demona began to slightly tug on the leash and tried coaxing Acadia to continue on their way home. Acadia refused to move a muscle. She softly whimpered and her ears were folded back in distress.
“What’s wrong?” Demona asked.
Acadia began whimpering louder and she threw her head side to side, as if saying no. Demona began to approach the dog. Her hand was outstretched in an attempt to comfort her, but Acadia began to back away.
“Calm down. Stay,” Demona said.
Acadia would not listen and struggled even harder. Her collar snapped and she ran in the opposite direction.
“Acadia, come back!” Demona said. She ran after the fleeting form, but soon lost sight of the frightened dog. Enveloped in darkness, Demona began slowing to a halt. She placed her hands on her knees and waited to catch her breath.
“Demona,” a voice said.
As Demona spun to see where the voice had come from she saw the faded outline of a man. She forcefully slowed her breathing and gained some composure.
“Hey, did you see a dog run through here?” Demona asked.
There came no response from the outlined figure as it began to slowly approach her.
“Do I know you?” Demona asked. She tried to make out the features on his face, but the darkness was too thick. The man was growing closer and Demona became uncomfortable with his presence.
I’ve got to get away from this creeper. Demona’s body remained frozen in place as the man approached her. The last thing she remembered was staring into cold, emotionless eyes.
****
Demona Brennan came back to the present, sitting on her apartment balcony. The memory of that night made her shiver. She sat on the lawn chair, unwilling to move after the frightening memory. She stared at the waking town wondering how normal people were able to live their lives.
As the sun began to rise above the houses, the light brought life to her deep green eyes. Her features filled with color as the big golden ball rose into the sky. Her full lips became rosier and her black hair was bold against her porcelain skin. Demona felt the warmth of the sun’s rays dance across her hands.
I wish those stupid myths were true. I hate being a vampire.
Demona huffed as she rose from the chair and opened the door to her apartment. She walked into an open floor plan with a tiny kitchen and living room. She had two cushioned chairs situated on either side of a flat screen TV. Across from the chairs was a paisley sofa with a wooden coffee table centered among the furniture. A kitchen island with a couple of bar stools created a slight separation between the rooms. Several framed band posters hung perfectly from the walls.
Demona looked at the clock and knew she was already late for work. She walked through her bedroom doorway and grabbed a jacket from the coat rack just inside. She grabbed her keys and ran out her door, slamming it behind her.
“Hey,” Hannah said.
Demona turned to find her neighbor exiting her apartment as well. “Oh, hey. What’s up?”
Hannah had just locked up her apartment and readjusted the purse hanging from her shoulder. Her blonde, wavy hair fell in front of her face and she brushed it back. She was wearing a flowered sundress.
“Just headed to the animal shelter. It’s time to feed the dogs,” Hannah said. “Aren’t you late for work?”
“Yeah, again. I can only imagine what the consequences are going to be this time.”
“Well, good luck!”
****
Demona’s beat up sedan pulled into a parking lot that surrounded a large office building. She always thought that it was strange that the building was located in the middle of an industrial park. She exited her car and ran to the sidewalk leading to the building’s entrance.
Demona opened one of the large glass doors and entered into the lobby. A guard eyed her suspiciously and she looked at the shining marble floors as she rushed toward the cafeteria. She entered the large cafeteria and saw that a few stragglers were standing in line at the counter. Some still remained at the tables finishing their meals. At one table a werewolf gnawed on raw meat.
Demona tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited impatiently for her rations. She eventually proceeded down the line and approached an old woman. The old woman was hunched over the food as she worked. She slopped something foul looking onto a plate beside frog legs and fried worms and handed it to the witch in front of Demona.
“Uhh, hi,” Demona said.
“You’re an ungrateful child, coming in here late all the time. In my day we would’ve been hung in the dungeon for such disrespect. I hope they make you scrub toilets tonight. You should be proud to work for TGHC!” Marcie said. She bared her yellowing false teeth. The old woman poured some red sludge into a cup and handed it to Demona.
I should’ve skipped work today.
“You need to show respect to Darius and show up on time!” Marcie said.
“Yes, I know. Darius is wonderful for creating this place.”
“Get out of here, before I curse you!”
Demona worked for The Greir Hemo Co., also known as TGHC. TGHC was a secret organization run by supernatural beings with an evil nature. TGHC’s cover was a blood bank. Demona’s job was to forge paperwork, so the humans would not ask where the blood supply was going.
TGHC was formed twenty years ago by Darius Grier to cover up unexplained deaths when human officials had started asking too many questions. TGHC was formed to prevent any unwanted attention being drawn towards the supernatural. Nobody wanted to be put in a situation where they needed to explain numerous deaths, blood loss, and the occasional mutilation. The growing number of supernatural beings added to the demand for a company such as TGHC.
Demona stood in the elevator and dreaded what was to come. It was the same thing day in an
d out. She exited the elevator and threw the empty cup into the trash. Demona snuck through the rows of cubicles to her desk in an attempt to avoid Marc, the floor manager. She sat on her computer chair and proceeded to unpack her things for the day.
Claudia a burly werewolf in the cubical to the left rolled towards Demona. She was monstrously large and hairy, for a woman.
Ugh! Stay over there Claudia and keep your mouth shut! Just do your work for once and leave me alone! Demona began sorting through a few papers on her desk.
“Again?” Claudia asked. “Hey Demona, I’m talking to you!”
“Yeah! You better listen to Claudia,” Persephone said. Persephone was a dark skinned witch from the cubicle on her right. She also rolled towards Demona. Persephone may have been tiny in size, but large in personality. The witch was a nightmare for Demona to work with. She even invaded Demona’s dreams. Demona sometimes suspected that Persephone may have cursed her.
“What are we going to do with this pathetic vampire?” Persephone asked.
“Oh, I know! We could pretend to be her friend, until she trusts us and then make a fool of her in front of everyone,” Claudia said.
“Ha-ha, good one!” Persephone said. “I still can’t believe you fell for that, Demona.”
Their bullying could make one day at work seem like a lifetime. Demona had been trying to block them out by focusing on work, so she continued to type up falsified forms. She got up to go to the printer, where a stack of forms had been freshly printed. She returned to her cubicle, setting the stack of papers next to her keyboard.
“I know! We are going to tell Marc that she’s not doing her work again.” Persephone reached across to Demona’s desk and plucked up the freshly printed papers. “Looks like you still have a lot of work to catch up on.”
“Come on guys, just give the papers back. Leave me alone!” Demona said. She attempted to grab the papers out of Persephone’s hand.
Persephone held the stack just out of Demona’s reach. “I don’t think so. I’m having way too much fun.”
“I said give them back!” Demona made one last attempt to grab them away from her.
“Ha-ha, Marc heard you. You’re in for it this time,” Claudia said. She and Persephone rolled back over to their cubicles and made it look as if they were hard at work.
“Gee, thanks a lot,” Demona said. She turned back to her desk and quickly tried to look busy by sifting through some papers on her desk as Marc passed by. To her displeasure he stopped next to her desk and faced her. He peered at her for long moments, making her feel uneasy before he spoke.
“What have you been doing for the past half hour? I don’t see your completed forms. Are you slacking off again?” Marc asked. He stood for a long moment staring at Demona.
“I did some. Persepon—”
“She’s just been sitting there the whole time, while we work our butts off,” Persephone said. She smirked
It was hopeless for Demona to argue, those two could do no wrong. This was not the first time Persephone had taken her work and passed it off as her own, leaving Demona to be scolded by Marc.
“Don’t think that I didn’t notice your absence this morning,” Marc said.
“Okay, you got me. I had a flat tire,” Demona said.
“I know you’re lying. You’ve been late one too many times!” His eerie stare continued.
“I guess I’ll be staying late, again?”
“Not this time, Darius would like to see you in his office,” Marc said. “Now!” He walked away from her towards his desk.
“Ouch!” Claudia said.
“Have fun,” Persephone said.
“Thanks, guys,” Demona said. She rose from her desk and made her way to the office in the corner of the room. She stopped in front of a door and stared at the plaque reading: Darius Greir, President and Founder. She raised her hand to knock, but before she could do so she heard a voice.
“You may enter, Demona.”
Demona thought the accent seemed strange, older somehow. She had only seen Darius as he passed through the office. She had never been asked to visit his office, or even spoken to him. The voice that had come from the other side of the door sent a chill up her spine.
She entered to find Darius sitting behind his desk in a high backed office chair. His office was large and comfortably furnished. Two cushioned chairs sat before his desk, and off to the side of the door were a few chairs, a leather sofa, and a coffee table. There was a large window directly behind Darius providing a nice view of industrial park. On the other side of the room were shelves lined with what looked like old books and artifacts.
After she had quickly glanced around, Demona returned her gaze to Darius. Not only was he intimidating by appearance, but his reputation preceded him. Darius was a widely feared man, by all. His head was shaved, he had a pointed goatee, and his skin was so pale it was almost translucent. He had an average build and looked to be in his mid forties, even though it was rumored that he was turned sometime in the 1760s, during the Seven Years’ War. Most of what anyone knew about him was hearsay. Mystery surrounded him.
Their eyes locked. Demona noticed that his eyes were the blackest of blacks, with no hint of compassion or mercy. She could not look away as if she had lost control of her mind and body.
Demona had regained control of herself as Darius released her from his gaze. At first, she was confused by her location when she found that she was already sitting in the chair across from him.
Was he controlling me? “Y-you asked to see m-me?” Demona asked.
Darius folded his hands and took a long moment to look over her. “You have been with us for two years now. Marc tells me that you are continuously late for work, and that you have been ignoring your responsibilities. I regularly receive reports about how disrespectful you are towards other coworkers. Just today, I received one from our cafeteria worker, Marcie.”
“But—”
“It seems as if you have no regard for our rules, or your position here at TGHC. Your continuous slack is backing up the work for your fellow employees. I am aware that you have not had proper combatant training, but I am going against policy. You will from this moment on, be a field agent.”
“But, I didn’t do anything. And I can’t defend myself!”
“I cannot keep you in the offices any longer. You have disrupted the work of your coworkers for too long. These are the consequences of your actions. I have assigned you a partner, Kerrick Balen. He is an exceptional agent. Do as he says and learn from his example. If you do so, you just might learn something,” Darius said.
“You can’t do this! It’s not fair!”
“Control yourself Demona. You brought this upon yourself. Meet Balen tomorrow morning. Be on time. Now, you may have the rest of the day off. Goodbye.”
Demona rose from her chair and walked to her desk in a daze.
“Hey, Claudia. I think Demona is really in trouble this time,” Persephone said.
“Yeah, she looks pretty upset,” Claudia said.
“Shut up! Shut up, you two! I am so sick of it!” Demona said.
“I think someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin,” Persephone said. She and Claudia giggled at the joke.
“I am glad I’ll never have to deal with either of you psychos again!” Demona said.
“Oh, you broke my heart!” Persephone said.
Demona grabbed her things and made her way out of the office.
Chapter 2
The Tour
Demona stood in the lobby, staring at the glossy marble tiles below her feet. She glanced up as more people began to come in through the lobby doors and take their place in the growing line at the cafeteria. She had been one of the first in line and had already finished her meal. Now, she waited.
A human walked in and she stopped to ask the security guard for directions. The TGHC employees avoided any form of contact with the human. If the woman had been watching, she would have noticed how they tried to av
oid even looking at her. At TGHC, employees were instructed to avoid talking to any humans that entered the building. Nobody wanted to let slip something that would reveal the true nature of TGHC. It would mean big trouble for everyone.
As soon as the lady had turned towards her destination, the security guard reached for his walkie-talkie. Demona watched the guard give a report over the walkie-talkie as a shimmer rippled through the building. It was a shimmer that only Demona’s kind could sense, it was the sign of a powerful magic spell being cast. The human would be completely oblivious to it.
The shimmer disguised everything that might seem unusual, to humans, and changed them into something that would seem normal. The blood rations appeared as tomato soup, the raw meat appeared as spaghetti, and fried frogs appeared as fried chicken wings. An angry vampire was in a confrontation with his coworker, the vampire’s fangs instantaneously appeared to be normal teeth. The werewolves looked less hairy.
Persephone and Claudia walked in through the double doors at the entrance. They had spotted Demona before she could avert her eyes. She had hoped that they would not notice her standing there. Both of the girls approached her in fits of giggles.
“Hey Claudia, I bet Demona is going to meet her telos today,” Persephone said.
“What are you talking about?” Demona asked.
“Hah, the stupid vampire doesn’t know that telos means death,” Persephone said.
“I know what telos means,” Demona said.
“Oh. You were the big talk of the office yesterday. After you left, everyone was taking bets on how long you will make it on your first field assignment,” Persephone said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Demona said. She tried to turn away from them, but they kept moving to stand in front of her every time she moved.
“I bet you won’t make it until the end of the day,” Persephone said.
“I told them you’ll probably run and hide after you’re out in the field for one day. Either way it’s a win-win situation for us,” Claudia said.