by Megan Hepler
Not long afterward people started pouring in through the multiple entrances and taking seats. The accumulation of voices seemed to grow louder as every minute went by. As soon as the seats had been filled and people were no longer entering the room Darius walked through a side entrance. He jumped onto the small stage in front of the audience and the room grew silent with his appearance.
“Welcome everyone. It is good to see you all today. We have some important issues to discuss. I will not waste any of your time,” Darius said. “Last night we had an unusual event take place. A demon risked possessing a priest.”
Murmurs filled the room.
“Please, quiet everyone. I understand your disbelief with this matter, but I assure you there is no other explanation. Two of our agents, Bergfalk and Foss, managed to track the possessed for some time last night. They were able to confirm our suspicions.”
Kerrick looked towards Foss and Bergfalk. He patted Foss on the back.
“However, the possessed managed to elude them. Since, something of this nature has never occurred before we wanted to inform all TGHC employees of the facts. We will be sending out a memo with pictures of the possessed following this meeting,” Darius said.
The projector lit up. It was the picture that Demona had found of the priest. The image appeared on the screen above them.
“Ah, it looks as though we have the picture available now,” Darius said. “If anyone sees the priest you are to keep your distance from him. When safely away you are to contact me immediately. The possessed has demonstrated excessive amounts of power and we want all of our employees to be cautious. We do not know what the possessed is capable of at this time.
“We will have two of our agents on this case, until progress is made in apprehending the possessed, or until the event of its destruction. Along with these developments we want to inform you that there have also been an increased amount of demonic possessions within the past few weeks. Therefore, I am going to be asking for any volunteers to submit their names for a candidacy to become new agents. Agents will receive training, and be selected based on how well they will fit the position.
“That is all for now. I will be keeping you up to date on developments. Expect the occasional memo in your e-mail updating you on the current information. Again, I ask you all to be aware of your surroundings and report to us immediately if the possessed is spotted. Thank you,” Darius said. He hopped off the stage and exited the room.
The people broke out into conversations. Many of the employees began to funnel out the doors. As Demona was leaving the room she heard pieces of conversations.
“What does this mean?” someone asked from behind her.
“There must be a mistake” another voice said.
“This has to do with the Mythos, I tell you. It’s the end times,” another voice said.
Chapter 16
Demonology
“Salina can you update us on the events of last night?” Darius asked.
All of the agents had been called into Darius’ office following the meeting. The five of them were sitting about the room. Kerrick and Demona had found seats on the leather sofa against the far wall from the desk. Bergfalk was sitting cross-legged on the matching chair. Foss and Agrippa sat at the two chairs placed before the desk. Darius sat in his high backed office chair with a very serious look.
“After we left the church last night we were able to track the priest for several miles. We followed him to an abandoned highway outside of town. It seemed odd, since the possessed would need to be near an energy source in order to maintain its strength. It did not realize we had followed him at first.
“Foss and I were prepared to deal with him. First, we attempted to bring him in by circling him and throwing Holy Water on him. We tried to scare him into submission, but before we were able to chant him into a vial he transformed,” Bergfalk said.
“He transformed? Into, what?” Agrippa asked.
“A giant snake,” Foss replied.
“Where did it get enough energy to withstand a transformation like that?” Kerrick asked.
“That’s what I need you two to find out. I am sending you into town to a Demonologist, a human. He does not know of our kind, but has his suspicions. I need you to make certain you do not give him any indication of what you are. It would only motivate him to hunt for us even more. You, Kerrick, will pretend to be writing a book and asking questions for research purposes,” Darius said.
“Is there anything else we should be aware of?” Kerrick asked.
“No, just that you should be heavily armed in case you run into the priest. After he transformed, he slithered away quicker than we could follow. We could have tracked him down, but we knew we needed to find out more information on what we might be up against,” Foss said.
“That is it, you know what you should all be doing. We will meet again when more information comes in,” Darius said.
The five agents made their way down the hall and into the elevator.
“Good luck guys,” Bergfalk said. “I think you will need it with this one.”
“Hopefully not,” Kerrick said.
After they exited the elevator Agrippa, Kerrick, and Demona headed back towards the office, while Bergfalk and Foss retired for the day. Agrippa veered into the office, but Kerrick continued past the entrance and entered a door down the hall.
As Demona entered she saw a room full of shelves. They were lined with weapons of all kinds. Demona saw daggers, sabers, swords, and knives. On another shelf were more ancient weaponry; such as a morning star, mace, pikes, and spears. Vials filled with differed colored liquids had labels that read holy water and antidote lined several shelves. In another area, display cases contained silver stakes and bullets. Next to those lay crossbows and shotguns.
Demona opened the closet along another wall and found it filled with a variety of clothing. Inside one was fencing outfits, bracers, and arm guards. Another housed various leather armors. Demona even thought she saw chainmail hanging inside one. There was one with a variety of colored camouflage clothing. Along the bottom combat boots of different sizes lined the inside closet floor. As she moved around the room a cabinet revealed tiny hooks with hundreds of different charms hanging inside.
I can only imagine what they use this stuff for. Maybe I don’t want to know.
Kerrick had grabbed a duffle bag located inside the bottom drawer of a table in the center of the room. He was moving quickly around the room and grabbing different things off the shelves. He threw handfuls of items into the bag, then grabbed a vest out of one of the cabinets and handed it to Demona.
“What’s this?” She asked.
“Kevlar. We are going prepared,” Kerrick replied.
****
They had pulled up to a house on the other side of town. It had been nicely kept with beautifully arranged flower boxes hanging below the first floor windows. The yard was meticulously landscaped with bushes and brightly colored flowers that popped up all over. Hummingbirds buzzed at a feeder and several robins hopped about in a bird bath.
What a cute house! It’s so, normal. She followed Kerrick to the front door. He knocked. A grey haired man answered the door in khakis and a polo shirt. A little woman around the same age stood behind him wearing a mid length flower print dress.
“You must be Kerrick Balen and Demona Brennan. Come, come in.” The man ushered them inside.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs,” Kerrick said. He played his part perfectly.
Why can’t he be so normal around people I know?
“Please, call me Bartholomew, or better yet, Barty.” Then he shook Kerrick’s hand.
“And Anne” Mrs. Jacobs said. She entered the room bringing a tray of coffee and cookies. “Please, have some.”
Demona smiled at her taking a cup, playing her part as well. They sat in the parlor and Demona sipped her tea. She looked around at the outdated pink and green wallpaper and the animal figurines that line
d the TV stand.
“So, Darius tells me you have some questions for your research,” Barty said.
“Yes, I was hoping you could tell me if there are any demons that are able to transform?” Kerrick asked.
“Well, all demons can transform from one form to another. This is what they do when taking possession of something. Do you want a more specific transformation? Some can take the shape of dogs, some snakes…” Barty said.
“Oh, the snake transformation sounds interesting. Can you tell me more about it?” Kerrick asked.
“Certainly, the demon that takes the form of a snake is a djinn demon. This specific djinn is called an afreet. All djinn are given the choice of good and evil just as we are.” With his comment Demona and Kerrick both gave each other a knowing look.
If only he knew. Demona took notes on information that might come in handy later.
“Okay. Please go on. Could you focus on the evil side of this afreet?” Kerrick asked.
“The malevolent afreet can be destructive. They can take human form or transform into multiple creatures, but they prefer to stick to the snake form more often than not. These particular beings face the same consequences we do upon death. Their actions determine if they go to heaven or hell,” Barty said.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, that the afreet happened to possess a human, what characteristics would it take on? Would they develop new aspects when joined with a human body?” Kerrick asked.
“Interesting question… I suppose the possibilities are limitless. I would think that after a successful possession, the afreet would cause the human body to have symptoms of a fever,” Barty said. “Since the afreet are capable of being one of the most evil natured demons it is important to have faith in an all powerful being, such as God. Prayer and possible exorcism are the only ways to drive these demons away.”
“Thank you,” Kerrick said.
“Is that all?” Barty asked.
“Yes, you have given me great inspiration,” Kerrick said. “Again, thank you for your time.” Kerrick rose from his seat and they exited the parlor.
“Anytime, and good luck with your writing,” Barty said.
“Thank you for the coffee,” Demona said. She waved and said her goodbyes before they headed back to the car.
“Great,” Kerrick said.
“What?” Demona asked.
“Didn’t you hear what he said?” Kerrick slid into the driver’s seat.
“Yeah, but why are you upset, he gave us as much information as possible.”
“I know, but the problem is that we have no ability to defeat this demon.”
“Why not?” Demona asked.
“We are dark beings; we don’t have faith in all powerful beings. We cannot perform exorcisms. It needs to be a faith based exorcism on the possessed,” Kerrick said.
“Oh…” Demona replied.
****
That night Demona had a visit from Hannah once again. Demona sat on her sofa staring across at Hannah seated on one of the chairs. Demona found it hard to look her in the face.
“Felix sent me,” Hannah said.
“I figured,” Demona replied.
“At least I no longer have to keep my promise. You don’t know how badly I wanted to tell you what happened.”
“It explains all of the strange pieces of conversation I caught you and Kaleb having over the past several weeks. I take it Kaleb is one also? And you?”
“No, not me. Yes, Kaleb is a member of GLC. I only found out about it recently. I threatened to break up with Kaleb over it. That’s when he finally gave in and told me.”
Demona tucked her legs under her. “I suppose you are going to become a member?”
“I can’t. You have to be born into it.”
“Oh…”
“About all I can do is just help out with the little things within the organization. You know, like volunteering, which is great because I volunteer already. I just wish I could do more.”
“Uh-huh… You realize this makes us enemies, don’t you?” Demona asked.
“It doesn’t have to be like that. I don’t see a problem with it. I trusted you before and I trust you now. You were always so nice to me. Why does that have to change?”
“It just has to. I don’t make the rules,” Demona said.
“If that’s how you feel I’ll leave now. First, Felix wanted me to give this to you.” Hannah handed Demona an envelope. Shortly afterwards she left the apartment. Demona sat reluctant to open the envelope, but decided she had to know what was inside. He wrote her a letter and she hoped that she would find answers to the many questions she had.
Demona,
Please, let me explain. First, I owe you an apology. Believe me when I say that I’m sorry for how things have gone between us. I came to your apartment a few days ago to try to do that, and I realized you had to move on.
When I left for Florida to take care of my mom I had every intention of making it back here as soon as possible. Not a moment passed where I didn’t think of you. I didn’t want to hurt you, but at the time I felt it was best to just let things go.
While living with my parents, I was informed of a family secret. I was shocked that they had kept it from me all of these years. My sister Rowena, you sort of met her the other day at the church, became a member of GLC years ago. Rowena is here, because she is supposed to help this branch of the organization.
I had no idea that any of this was happening. I guess this was part of the reason for my sister sending me Florida, so that my parents could tell me about the family tradition. Apparently, twenty-one is the age of initiation. After I found out I was put into training to learn all of the important things I needed to know. They sent me here, to be a member with this branch, after training. They said it was because something big is happening in the vicinity and they needed all the help they could get.
I planned to come see you. I was just waiting to figure out how to do it. I made Hannah and Kaleb swear not to tell you, so that I could be the first. Please don’t be mad at them for it. It’s my fault.
Kaleb knew what you were since the moment he met you, but didn’t think anyone was in any danger, so he kept it to himself. Well, until he was certain he could trust Hannah, and after I became a member.
I want you to know, that what you are changes nothing. Please, remember that when you think of how, or if, you respond to this letter.
I want to see you, please give me chance to explain better than in a letter. Please, let’s meet and talk. I’ll answer any questions you have for me. I know you are with him now, but just give it some thought. My feelings haven’t changed and I hope you still feel the same.
Felix
Demona was not certain how she felt. She knew that since Felix had been back and since she saw him that night in the church her emotions were a whirl-wind.
Felix hurt me. It won’t do any good to see him. Besides, I’m with Kerrick now.
****
Bergfalk and Foss were hanging around the hallway when Demona and Kerrick arrived the next morning. Bergfalk leaned against the wall while she talked to Foss and Kerrick. Demona walked towards them. Foss stood in his usual position arms crossed and feet slightly spread.
“How was your night?” Kerrick asked.
“Pretty eventless,” Foss said.
“We found signs of the priest at the same location we had found him the other day. He seems to be sticking close to the same area,” Bergfalk said.
“Interesting, I wonder what is attracting him to that spot,” Kerrick said.
“Oh, Darius wants to see the five of us again before Foss and I head out for the day,” Bergfalk said.
“I guess we better head up,” Kerrick said.
Agrippa, having heard the conversation, joined them before making their way to Darius’ office. Once inside the office they resumed similar seating positions as they had the previous day for a meeting.
“Let us get all of the facts out before any discussion. Y
esterday, Kerrick and Demona were able to get some information out of the demonologist. It seems as if our possessed can only be captured or destroyed by those who have faith in an all powerful being. This means that we have a difficult task ahead of us all. We need to find a way to form a temporary alliance with GLC in order to deal with this matter,” Darius said.
“Last night, Salina and Foss were able to track the possessed to the same location where they had seen him transform into a serpent. At this point it is safe to assume that he is not venturing very far. I think this buys us some time to gain an alliance with GLC and prepare to deal with the situation.
“Foss and Salina, you two will be in charge of watching the possessed at night for any change in behavior. We want to make certain that we are keeping track of him. Kerrick and Demona will be in charge of sorting through the field agent candidates and scheduling a preliminary training. Now, let’s discuss this alliance, any thoughts?” Darius asked.
“This will not be an easy situation; we are on opposite sides here. There needs to be a common ground, other than the possessed that will create this alliance.” Agrippa said.
“He’s right, we need to get close to them,” Bergfalk said.
“Anyone have an idea on how to accomplish this?” Darius asked.
“I have an idea,” Kerrick said. He had spoken through gritted teeth. “Demona.”
“What? Why me?” Demona asked.
“Because of Felix,” Kerrick replied.
“Who is this Felix?” Bergfalk asked.
“He’s a kid we saved awhile back. Demona ended up dating him then he disappeared for a while. Come to find out he is GLC,” Kerrick said.
“Ahh,” Darius said. He leaned forward on his desk with eyes focused on Demona. She had not seen him do that creepy stare of his in a while. Demona wanted to shiver, she felt as if he was picking at her brain with his stare. After a few moments he sat back in his chair once more. “Demona is our key. Do you think you will have any issues getting involved with this Felix and getting close to the GLC?”