by Megan Hepler
There was so much activity in the cavern; people walked in front of her as she tried to trail behind Balen. On one side of the aisle a man taught children how to cast spells and on another a woman gave psychic readings. Farther down were cages full of creatures that were unfamiliar to Demona. Some looked like giant insects with faces, while others resembled moving plants.
She continued to walk as a man shouted to all within earshot. “The time is near. The prophecy is being fulfilled, the Mythos has come. To our knowledge she is of immense mageia. She has come at last. Demons are coming out of the woodwork. Be prepared for the end times!”
“Ignore him. There are always idiots here that have a theory on the Mythos, if only they knew the truth of that prophecy was walking right past them,” Balen said.
“So, they don’t know about me?” Demona asked.
“No. Darius would never reveal you to the masses. He knows what’s at risk. If someone were to try to sway your decision he would be furious.”
An explosion came from ahead of them and the commotion in Bazaar Hall seemed to momentarily freeze. Then, everything resumed as if nothing had happened. They continued on their way towards the center of the cavern where the hustle and bustle increased.
Straight ahead of them were numerous stands filled with a variety of magical items. At each stand shop keepers were shouting advertisements to entice customers. Demona saw that some were even attempting to sell animal organs for spell casting. At one cart she noticed a giant cauldron bubbling with a thick, gooey substance.
There were many species of dark creatures walking through the stands. She saw ogres, cyclops, imps, and ghouls. She also saw the typical werewolves, witches, and vampires. A ghost fluttered nearby and Demona stopped in her tracks and watched it pass by.
Balen had moved farther ahead. He finally noticed that she was not trailing behind him and went back to find her. He found her frozen as she watched the ghost.
“First ghost?” Balen asked.
“Yeah. Of all the supernatural creatures I’ve heard about, the ghost is the only one I haven’t seen. I thought they stayed near the place they died,” Demona said.
“They do, usually. Willow has been around for a very long time. She has discovered tricks to transport herself to different locations. She comes here to socialize,” Balen said.
“Amazing, she looks like she’s made of glowing spider webs.”
They finally continued on their way to their destination. Balen stopped at a stand and gave a witch a list of supplies he needed. She gathered the items and packed them into a burlap bag.
“Is there a name for this chamber?” Demona asked.
“Bazaar Hall,” Balen said.
Balen tilted his head downward. Demona walked around him to see what he was looking at. Logan, the imp, stood tugging on his pants leg. He was so short that if Balen had not been looking down, Demona would have never noticed him. Balen bent down and the imp whispered into his ear. Afterward, the little man quickly disappeared into the crowd.
“What did he want?”
“Payment for helping us with Lobo.”
As they made their way back to the entrance of Bazaar Hall a fight broke out between two merchants. Several bystanders were caught in-between.
“Someone call the nurse witches!” a man yelled.
Demona saw fists flying in every direction. Then, a foul smell rose into the air as someone’s hair caught fire and a shimmer from a spell casting went through the air. The fight began to quickly spread as the opponents ran into the other creatures standing nearby. More and more seemed to join in the brawl.
Balen grabbed Demona by the wrist and pulled her through the crowd of onlookers. “Let’s get out of here before all of Terra Hollow is at war.”
They passed a flaming cart and then a fairy huddled on the floor nursing her broken wing.
“Does that happen often?” Demona asked.
“At least once a day,” Balen said.
I’d love to come back and explore Bazaar Hall more, but I’m not so sure I want to come here alone.
****
Balen pulled the car onto a small gravel lot on the side of the road. They stared out at fields of towering grasses; timothy, clover, and alfalfa. What are we doing here? She followed Balen a way into the field. Then, they walked even farther through some trees, until they came to a small grove of oaks beside a babbling creek.
The water moved swiftly down the banks. Demona saw little minnows swimming against the current. Robins sang in the tree nearby and the sweet smell of pollen filled the air. The sun was bright, but the trees provided the perfect amount of shade, keeping the morning sun from blinding them. Balen moved to a spot where the creek bed had dried to provide a flat section of sand, clay, and pebbles.
“What are you doing?” Demona asked. She crossed her arms as she observed Balen.
“First, we are going to cast a spell to bring out your kataphraktos,” Balen said.
“Why didn’t we do this before?”
“Because I wasn’t certain you would last. Darius seems to insist that this is what you were meant for.” Balen placed several white candles in a circle. He lit a bundle of sage and made sweeping motions to remove any negative energy. Demona watched him as he moved around grove. Balen then lit the candles one by one.
“Stand in the circle. First, we will invoke the spirit of the warrior and then proceed with the spell.”
Demona did as asked and stood in the center of the circle awaiting further instructions.
“Spirit of warrior, spirit of valor, send us your power, send us your might, aid us in our task, forever we now ask,” Balen chanted.
Demona felt a chill in the air. Balen seemed to respond to one as well. He continued with the process. Balen stepped forward and lit a black, blue, and red candle.
“Now close your eyes and repeat after me three times,” Balen said. “Life of the immortal dead, protect the agent of darkness, when danger does threaten, from harm by piercing of skin, change the texture to strength, producing the warrior’s armor.”
When they were finished Demona lifted her arms and looked at them as if expecting her body to have changed somehow. She pinched herself to see if her skin would take on the kataphraktos characteristics, but nothing happened.
“How do we know it worked?” Demona asked.
“We train. If the warrior spirit and the spell worked the kataphraktos will appear when needed. Take this. This is your weapon,” Balen said. He grabbed two thick sticks that lay nearby, one in each hand. He handed one to Demona.
Demona rolled her eyes. “Yes, sensei.”
“Not funny. Pay attention.”
Demona tried to focus. Balen took a battle stance, his feet spread slightly apart. They were planted firmly on the ground with his right foot positioned slightly to the front and the left slightly to the back. In his right arm he held the stick outstretched, while his left arm was raised slightly to the side for balance. Demona tried to mimic his stance.
“Pretty good. Bend your knees a little; it will help with your balance. Now, swordsmanship takes patience and skill. It is not a brutish sport. We are not clobbering our opponent to death. We are aiming for a killing blow. You cannot expect to survive with only speed and strength. You will need to anticipate your opponent’s moves, so that they don’t kill you first. At the same time you are trying to prevent harm to yourself you will also need to determine the swiftest and most fluid response you can make to block or strike first. Now, let’s try it.”
Balen advanced toward Demona striking at the right side of her abdomen with the stick. Demona tried to block his blow, but he was too fast. Her skin instantaneously began to ripple with the kataphraktos. She poked at the silver metallic looking skin on her arm. It felt almost scaly or shell like.
“I thought that I would feel restricted, or metallic, or something,” Demona said.
“It worked. Good. Now, you need to try harder to block my advances,” Balen said.
> “Does it look like I’m just standing here? I tried.”
“Had you been trying you would have realized that each time I struck at you I was using the same method. You would have been able to make a move in response. If you want to block or strike back you need to alter your movements to mine in order to gain the advantage. Anticipate my move and respond to it. Now, let’s try again.” Balen tried to strike the right side of her abdomen again.
Demona missed the block and his stick struck her. He made the same move again. This time, Demona stepped towards him and her right arm came up. Their sticks met with a crack. Balen responded by twirling his stick around hers in an attempt to throw Demona’s away from her. Demona kept her grip on the stick and returned to battle stance.
This time Balen struck for her left arm, but Demona blocked his attempt to strike her. Demona soon found herself able to block almost all of Balen’s attacks, but still unable to make a blow of her own.
“You will be able to strike back, when you get better at anticipating my moves, and the faster you become. That’s enough practice for today. We will train again tomorrow,” Balen said.
I’m so sore! I’m definitely not looking forward to tomorrow.
****
The summer’s hot sun beat down upon the green tree tops. Beneath the trees Balen and Demona stood in their battle stances. Their silver kataphraktos gleamed in the sunlight. They stood facing one another with sticks raised. Balen struck at Demona, but she blocked his move. Balen forced her away and she twirled. Quickly she turned and felt their sticks unexpectedly meet.
It’s kind of fun hanging out with Balen, instead of always watching him in action from a distance.
Balen’s eyebrows raised and he smirked at Demona. His brown eyes sparkled as he tried to anticipate her next move. They went at it again. This time Demona was able to strike him first. His smirk faltered, but he was enjoying himself as well.
“What’s so funny?” Demona asked.
“You’re a quick learner. Let’s continue for a little longer,” Balen said.
They danced around the creek bed, jabbing at one another back and forth.
“Is there a reason we keep coming here?” Demona asked.
“I have my reasons.”
“And they are?”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?”
“No, but apparently it makes people think I’m creepy when I do,” Demona said. “I can’t help that I’m a curious person.”
Balen laughed. “I don’t think you could ever be creepy. Maybe annoying, but not creepy.”
“So, are you going to tell me why it’s so special?”
Balen paced a moment. Demona saw an advantage and struck Balen across his lower back. He ignored her.
“It’s where I was turned,” Balen said.
Demona’s eyes grew wide. “I…I’m sorry, if I had known I wouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s alright. I never regretted what happened to me. That’s why I come here,” Balen said.
“Can I ask what happened?”
Balen sat on a large rock. “I had just been released from duty after a being sent to Antietam.”
“Wait… Antietam, you don’t mean like the Battle of Antietam, do you?”
“Yes, though I saw little action, because by the time I reached there the battle was over and we were sent home. As I was saying, I had just arrived in town by rail and met my wife, Elisabeth, at the station. Elisabeth was as beautiful as ever.
“We had walked a few miles towards home and it began to grow dark. We had been talking as if nothing had changed in my absence. We stopped to rest for a moment before continuing on our way. I turned to give Elisabeth a proper kiss, since no one was around.
“I noticed she felt very cold in the July heat. Before I knew what happened she had pinned me to the ground and was biting me. It happened right over there in the field. I had attempted to get her off, but she was too strong and I couldn’t reach my saber,” Balen said.
“Your wife is your master?” Demona asked.
“Yes, that is what I said.”
“Where is she now?”
“This is the last question I will answer and then we go back to training. She met her telos about a century ago.”
They were back for training the next day, on a day with weather similar to the two before. Demona stood in the dried portion of the creek bed trying to ignore the cackling crows perched above.
“Today, we will use silver blades,” Balen said. He unsheathed the swords he had brought with them and handed one to Demona. “You shouldn’t worry about the silver, since we don’t actually view each other as evil. But keep in mind that cuts still hurt, and too many can begin to weaken you. Your kataphraktos will help to prevent superficial cuts, things like scrapes or scratches. When it comes to deeper cuts by swords and daggers your kataphraktos is useless.”
They returned to their positions and continued the dance of swordsmanship once more. Demona struck and the blade tore at Balen’s stomach ripping the shirt as she withdrew her sword. The tear revealed his rock hard abs and a small red scratch. Demona was more startled by the glistening sweat on his perfect muscles than by the mark she had left. She was distracted for a moment as she admired him as a man, not as a coworker.
Balen smiled at her success in training. He returned the favor by sliced through part of Demona’s shirt revealing her bra strap.
“Balen! You did that on purpose!” Demona glared at him, her mouth hung open. “That’s it, I’ve had it!”
“It’s Kerrick,” Balen said. “You don’t have to call me Balen all the time.” A grin spread across his face.
Does he consider me an equal?
They danced longer, blocking each other’s blows. They both struck at the same time locking swords. This brought them within feet of each other, their swords locked and eyes met. Each of them was determined to outdo the other.
Kerrick threw Demona’s sword out of the lock and she stumbled. She just barely caught herself and swept the blade towards Kerrick’s legs. He jumped in an attempt to avoid the sword’s edge, but he stumbled as he landed.
Demona lost her footing and fell into, the already off balanced, Kerrick and they both fell to the ground. Demona landed on top of him, but before she could respond to the awkward position they were in, Kerrick pushed her off of him. In the process Demona’s sword flew out of her hand.
Kerrick quickly rolled into an offensive position. She felt the sharp of his blade that was pressed against her throat. Demona looked up to find Kerrick’s face only inches from her own. Exhausted they both remained in position and tried to recover their strength from the fight.
Demona looked into his eyes and found a flicker of excitement. Before she knew what she was doing she reached up and pulled his face towards hers. Their lips met fiercely and a fire burned within. There was no passion there, only pure lust.
Kerrick returned her kiss with a forcefulness of his own. He pulled himself away only slightly to withdraw his blade and threw it off to the side. He met Demona’s lips again eagerly. Kerrick rolled onto his back and brought Demona to rest on top of him.
This was new for Demona, this was a fully fledged fire. They could not get enough of each other. Demona bit down hard on Kerrick’s bottom lip and a moan escaped him. He gripped Demona closer.
“Wait,” Demona said. She managed to pull away. She sat near him and looked in his direction. With a shudder she tried to bring her brain back to life. The intensity had forced all conscious thought out of her mind. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. “I can’t do this right now. You’re my partner. I think I still have feelings for Felix. This can’t happen.”
“It was nothing. Sometimes it happens after a fight. Don’t get yourself all in a huff,” Kerrick said. He got to his feet and brushed himself off.
“I’m sorry,” Demona said.
“The frustration and intensity of the fight can sometimes manifest into other fo
rms of emotion. No big deal,” Kerrick said. He turned to pick up their swords and began walking back to the car.
Demona got to her feet and began to follow. Okay, what was that about?
Chapter 11
Emotional Trigger
The phone rang. Demona untangled herself from her covers and groggily threw her arm towards her night stand. With her eyes still closed she felt around for the phone. After she found it, she peered through squinted eyes at the name flashing on the screen. Kerrick. The feeling of butterflies grew in her stomach.
“Hello,” Demona said. She tried to hide a yawn.
“Demona, I need you to pick me up. Darius gave permission to take the day for more training,” Kerrick said.
“Okay, where are you?” Demona asked. She threw the covers off of her.
“Home.”
“Why can’t we meet at TGHC?”
“My car isn’t working.”
“Give me half an hour.” Then, Demona hung up the phone.
Demona stretched and drug herself out of bed. As she changed she noticed multiple bruises on her body from the past few days of training. Demona threw on a pair of black yoga shorts and a light purple tank top. She quickly pulled her hair up in a bun, so that it would not fall into her eyes. Then, she ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth before she headed for the door.
Demona headed down the hall for the stairway where she heard voices coming from ahead.
“…Felix…”
“She can’t know.”
“…tell her…finds out…be mad at…”
Demona rounded the turn into the stairwell towards the voices. What are they talking about?
“You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me.”
Is that Hannah and Kaleb?
“I can’t. Not now anyway,” Kaleb said.
Demona made her way down the stairwell and finally came upon Kaleb and Hannah going in the opposite direction. They had been so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice her coming down the stairs. Both Hannah and Kaleb looked up unexpectedly.