by Megan Hepler
“Someone’s in a good mood,” Demona said.
“Of course, I get to spend the day with you,” Felix said. He smiled at her.
“So, what do you have in store for me?”
“I’m taking to you to GLC headquarters.”
“Okay,” Demona said. She made her way towards the passenger side of the vehicle and Felix followed. He bolted in front of her and opened the door. He seriously is the only chivalrous guy left in the world. Demona slid into the seat and Felix closed the door behind her.
Felix got into the driver’s seat. “How was work?”
“You know, full of drama.”
“Is it that bad?”
“You have no idea. Everyone is grumpy and stubborn.”
“Well, hopefully what we’re doing today will take your mind off of it.”
“I hope so, because it gets exhausting,” Demona said.
They pulled onto a dirt road, where fields of hay towered above the car on either side. Felix seemed to hit every rock and pothole as they drove along the winding road. Demona watched butterflies of various colors fluttered around as they passed by. The sky was bright blue with barely a visible cloud.
After what seemed like forever a building came into view sticking out above the sea of grass. As they grew closer Demona saw a rickety old church with several campers situated behind it in a grove of trees.
Demona saw the church was made of red brick and mortar. The bell in the tower above hung loosely and some of the broken stained glass windows had been boarded up. A few people walked around the campers, but soon stopped and watched their car pull up. Felix pulled off into a clearing where several other vehicles were parked.
They both exited the car. Demona followed Felix up to the church and in through the only working door. As Demona’s eyes adjusted to the lighting change, she noticed several other people standing around or sitting on the few remaining wooden pews.
“Welcome!” Molony said. He had recognized Demona right away. “Good to see you, Demona. I knew I would be seeing you again.”
Demona could not take her eyes off of his bright red hair.
“Hey, Is Ezekiel around?” Felix asked.
“I think he’s in the back,” Molony said.
Demona followed Felix as several pairs of eyes followed them. Every step they took resulted in squeaks from the planked wooden floor below. They entered a doorway off to the side of the sanctuary. A long stairway descended down straight ahead, but they entered another room to the right. Inside sat a plump man with gray hair and rosy cheeks. His glasses sat on a swollen nose as he peered at a book in his hands. When the two entered he looked up at them.
“Well now, is this the one?” Ezekiel asked.
“She is,” Felix replied. The man stood and walked towards her with both hands outstretched. Demona extended her hand to him and he grasped it firmly in both hands.
“It is so nice to finally meet you, Demona. I am Ezekiel Holmes. I have heard wonderful things from Felix. We are glad to have you anytime you wish to join us.”
“Thank you,” Demona said.
He released her hand. “Will you be joining us for worship this afternoon?”
“Uh… I don’t think so. I mean, you do know what I am right?” Demona asked.
“We are all creatures of Aleph, Demona. We are good and bad. We live and we die. Everyone is welcome to join us in worship,” Ezekiel said.
“Maybe some other time,” Demona said.
“I will wait for the day that you come join us,” Ezekiel replied.
“Demona and I are going to visit Preet and have him teach us some stuff,” Felix said.
“That’s wonderful, enjoy your time. Preet is an amazing instructor,” Ezekiel said.
“Bye,” Demona said. They turned to leave. Once outside the church Demona turned to Felix. “Does everyone know about me? Do they all know what I am?”
“Yes,” Felix said. He continued to walk towards the trees. They passed several campers as they made their way through the grove.
“And they don’t care?” Demona asked.
“No. They understand that it was not your choice to become a vampire. They also know that there are greater things in store for everyone,” Felix said.
“Who is Aleph, exactly?”
They continued to walk on a dirt path into a forest. Demona dodged the bigger boulders and the trail became inclined.
“He is our master, our creator.”
“Is everyone so laid back and friendly?”
“Pretty much.”
“Okay… This is GLC? Definitely not what I expected. I was thinking it would be something more along the magnitude of TGHC,” Demona said.
“I know. There are not many of us. I think fifty at most in, or around town. We don’t have the facilities of TGHC, and we don’t need all of that stuff,” Felix said. “Here, we live off the land and support ourselves peacefully. Some, like my sister, have normal jobs and provide GLC with funding. Some non-GLC members volunteer to fundraise for us. Hannah is one of the newest volunteers.”
They made their way through the forest until they came to a rocky outcrop. As they climbed over boulders, Demona noticed the exquisite view. They must have been several hundred feet up on a mountain side. She had not noticed the significant increase in elevation. Demona had to stop a moment and take in the beauty of her surroundings.
She made her way a few feet to the edge of the outcrop, which seemed to drop suddenly downward. There were trees as far as the eye could see. The green mountaintops across the valley were serene. A red-tailed hawk flew overhead and Demona admired it as it soared. It screamed as another hawk joined in the hunt.
Demona soon noticed a man sitting cross legged on a large boulder to her side. He sat silently, unmoving, and uncaring of her presence. Felix found a boulder and sat. He instructed Demona to do the same. Demona was about to speak to Felix, but he held his finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. They remained that way for some time, before the man began to stir.
“Felix. Thank you for your patience. I see that you have brought your friend to me. It is very nice to meet you, Demona. I will teach you how to meditate.
“There are many different ways a person can meditate. Some people use prayer as a form of meditation, they pray to Aleph. They give up all of their praises and worries to him. Others use meditation to find a deeper meaning to life, they search for enlightenment. Others use meditation as a way to release negative energy by focusing on positive things. Still, others use meditation to find themselves,” Preet said.
“How will any of this help me?” Demona asked.
“Good question. You must meditate on this. You will understand it if you focus on the question. Try,” Preet said. “Sit and clear your mind.”
“For how long?” Demona asked.
“As long as it takes,” Preet said.
Demona felt like she was getting nowhere with this Preet guy. I guess I better give it a try just to make them happy. She closed her eyes and attempted to clear her mind.
Her mind was quiet. Her mind was calm. A hawk screamed in the distance. She tried to focus, be calm, and quiet. She fought her thoughts as they kept trying to invade her cleared mind. It seemed useless to Demona. Her thoughts started to seep through.
Why am I sitting here? What can I possibly gain from this that will be useful to Darius? How long am I supposed to sit here? Ugh, is it over yet?
I wonder what Kerrick did last night. I bet he went to Club Chamber, and I bet Bergfalk was there. I know there is history between them, I wonder how recent of a history.
I wonder what Felix is doing next to me. I wonder if he is trying to do this meditation thing too. This is such a joke. It was nice talking to Felix the other night. He’s always been so easy to be with. He’s funny too. Kerrick never made me laugh…at least not often.
Kerrick said to remember who I am. Who am I? I’m a vampire, I hate being a vampire. Being a vampire makes me a dark being, but I don
’t feel like a dark being. Then again, I don’t think they ever felt like I was one of them either.
Maybe Felix is right...maybe I am different. Maybe being a vampire is only part of me. I wonder what this prophecy really means. If being a vampire is only part of who I am, then what other parts of me are there? This prophecy doesn’t help. I feel like these things are making me who I am, but what if I’m not supposed to be a dark being or this Mythos? I wonder if a dark being has ever chosen light before.
GLC seems nice. TGHC never seemed to have a valid reason to dislike them. I haven’t found anything wrong so far. In fact, I like them way more than I do my kind. They know about the prophecy too. I wonder if they know I am the Mythos. Would they ask something of me if they knew?
Do I belong with TGHC? Do I belong anywhere? How do I pick a side if I don’t even know where I fit in? How can I ever destroy any of these creatures, on either side? How could I ever make that decision?
Her eyes popped open and she noticed both Felix and Preet staring at her.
“I think I understand something. I notice in my life, that everywhere I go I face some form of conflict, stress, or inner turmoil. My life is full of these feelings. Life as a vampire will always be full of these feelings,” Demona said.
“Good. Keep meditating on these things,” Preet said. He rose to his feet and carefully made his way through the boulders and down the dirt path towards the forest.
Felix came to sit next to her on the rock she had chosen. They pivoted themselves so that they could look out across the tree tops. Demona rested her elbows on her knees and her chin upon the palms of her hands. Felix sat beside her in silence.
“I think I learned something today. Something more than just what Preet was trying to teach me. I learned that I’m unhappy with my life,” Demona said.
“Why are you unhappy? You have a second chance at life,” Felix said.
“I don’t know where I belong in this world. I’m always conflicted. I feel confused and uncertain about every decision I make,” Demona said. “I need to tell you something and I need you to listen and try to understand.
“I wasn’t going to speak to you after Hannah gave me your letter. I was going to forget, or try to forget, you ever sent it. We have a problem at TGHC and Darius wanted me to use you to get close to GLC, to gain your trust and help. I hate that I went along with this and that I called you for all of the wrong reasons,” Demona said. “I’m sorry. I realize now that even if we aren’t together, I still want to be friends.”
Felix was silent for a few moments. Demona turned towards him. She was afraid that he would be angry at her after her confession. He just stared straight ahead for a while. A few times it seemed as if he was about to speak, but he stopped himself.
“Apology accepted. I am not happy with your reasons for calling me, but I am happy that it brought us together again. Even if it’s not in the way I want it to be. I told you before, I’m always here for you and I meant that. Now, what’s this problem you were talking about?”
“The demon priest... Kerrick and I visited a demonologist and found out information that will help us defeat the demon. The only problem is that this demon is very powerful. The only way to defeat him is to get GLC involved. Apparently none of my kind can do this, because we don’t have faith in Aleph.”
“Interesting, dark and light working together. I’m sure that Ezekiel will have no problem giving you the support you need. This priest does pose a danger to humans and GLC members as well. I’ll discuss this with him later and see if he agrees to it,” Felix said.
“Thanks, Felix. You are an amazing person for wanting to help TGHC.”
“I’m not doing this for TGHC, I’m doing this for you.”
Chapter 20
Negotiations
Demona’s phone rang, as she entered the TGHC lobby.
“Hey, Felix,” Demona said.
“I’ve got good news!” Felix replied.
“Really?”
“Ezekiel, Molony, and I talked it through last night. They are willing to cooperate with TGHC. But there are two conditions,” Felix said.
“And those are?”
“Grier must agree that GLC members will be unharmed afterwards. The second condition is that you act as the future liaison between our two groups.”
“Okay, I will head over to TGHC and talk it over with Darius,” Demona said. “Thanks, Felix.”
Demona made her way over the smooth marble floors towards the elevator doors. She waited, rocking back and forth on flats of her feet. When the doors opened a few people walked out and she stepped inside. Before the doors could close, Claudia joined her in the elevator. Demona stiffened.
They rode up the elevator in silence. Then, the doors opened and they both exited the elevator. Demona stopped a moment and watched as Claudia made her way through the rows of cubicles. She could not believe that Claudia had wasted the chance to say something snide to her. Maybe the humiliation she had faced after her incident during candidate selection had truly been enough to change her. Maybe without her leader, Persephone, Claudia was lost.
Demona waited outside the office as the secretary informed Darius that she was there to see him. She entered the office to find Kerrick already seated in one of the chairs.
“Ah, Demona. Just who I was waiting to hear from,” Darius said. He followed her with his eyes as she crossed the room and in the chair next to the one Kerrick was sitting in. “Do you have news for us?”
“I do. Ezekiel and Molony discussed the issue with Felix. They’ve agreed to help, under conditions,” Demona said. She glanced at Kerrick who seemed to be avoiding her gaze. Something is wrong.
“And they are?” Darius asked.
“They said that they’ll help if none of their members are harmed and are able to leave peacefully. The second is that, they want me to act as liaison between GLC and TGHC.”
“Those conditions seem reasonable. I see no reason to decline them,” Darius said. “Have they indicated how much time they need to prepare for the task?”
“No, but I can check,” Demona replied. “Just give me a minute, I’ll be back.” Demona exited the office and before she was able to close the door she thought she heard Darius and Kerrick speaking in raised voices. She figured it was none of her business and went to find a quiet location to call Felix.
After finding peace and quiet in the women’s bathroom, Demona checked the stalls to make sure she was alone. She pulled out her phone and dialed Felix’s number.
“Hey, what’s up?” Felix asked.
“I just talked to Darius. He’s good with the conditions. He was wondering how long you guys think you’ll need before you are ready to deal with the priest?” Demona asked. She listened as Felix mumbled to someone else on the other end of the line.
“Okay, Ezekiel says that if you can hold the priest off until the next week, that they should be ready,” Felix said.
“Thanks, I’ll let them know,” Demona said. She hung up and returned to Darius’ office.
As she opened the door she found Kerrick half raised out of his chair pointing at Darius and Darius showing his subtly stern face. Kerrick sat back down as she made her way to the chair. This is awkward!
“Felix says they should be ready by next week, if Foss and Bergfalk can keep the priest occupied till then,” Demona said.
“The priest seems to be maintaining his location at the abandoned motorway. As long as we keep checking in on him we should be fine until then. It is also perfect timing, since it will not interfere with the Masquerade Ball,” Darius said. “My designer is expecting you, Demona.”
“What? Oh, I’m not going,” Demona said. She waved her hands.
“Yes, you are. My agents are my most prized TGHC employees; you are everything a dark being should be. Particularly, my lovely female agents. I suppose that Persephone Black will be one as well, but she will be occupied elsewhere that night,” Darius said. “I make certain my agents are always the best
dressed for this affair. You will go to Lady Merriam’s shop in Bazaar Hall sometime this week so that she can take your measurements.”
“If I have to,” Demona said.
“Now, sod off, you two. I have work that needs to be done,” Darius said.
Kerrick and Demona made their way out of the office. They entered the elevator alone.
“What’s going on?” Demona asked.
“Nothing,” Kerrick said.
Demona turned to him. “I’m not stupid, Kerrick. I know something is going on with you and Darius.”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about. It is confidential.”
“If you say so,” Demona said. Something serious is happening. “Are you stopping over tonight?”
“No. I can’t,” Kerrick said.
“Why not? I barely see you anymore.”
“I know. I just, I have some stuff I need to do at my house.”
“Then, I will come help you.”
“No,” Kerrick said. When the elevator doors opened he stormed out. Demona watched him make his way to the stairway that descended towards the agent office. Demona had not eaten breakfast, so she joined the line in the cafeteria.
This is not like Kerrick at all. He’s been really inconsistent with his behavior recently.
****
Demona tried to focus her attention on meditation, as she and Felix were instructed by Preet again. Demona thought she was starting to understand how meditation could help her in life, but sometimes she was not so certain. Though, it did give her a lot of time to spend with her thoughts and figure things out.
She and Felix had had more long talks and laughs that day, on many different topics. Demona was starting to feel more at home with Felix. Yet, something nagged Demona about Kerrick and she was not certain what it was. Demona tried to brush it off. She knew that Kerrick was his own man and that by smothering him, he would only pull away more. She let him have his space. He’ll come to me when he is ready.
Demona sat in the office at one of the desks watching Agrippa instruct Persephone on how to fill out the reports for field work. She was much better at this than she had been at training. Persephone barely had a moment to spare a look at Demona. Demona was grateful that it was the case. Less interaction with Persephone was always a good thing.