Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3) (17 page)

“Okay, so this isn’t working,” Demona said.

“There has to be something we are missing. Like what is it about you two that makes it glow?” Molony pondered.

The group remained silent for a time, each trying to think of what made Demona and Felix special.

“Maybe it is because they are in love, but that wouldn’t explain why it isn’t doing anything else,” Ezekiel said.

“It is a possibility. I had originally thought that because of Demona’s unique position as the chosen one and her connection to
Aleph
that it would explain why it began to glow for her. Though, that doesn’t help explain its response to Felix,” Molony said.

“Ileana, go get Kearne,” Demona said. “I think I know what we need to do.”

Several minutes later Ileana returned with Kearne. He entered the basement with a curious look on his face. “What’s going on?”

Demona pointed to the spot beside her. “Come stand beside me.”

Kearne took his place inside the cell on the opposite side of her from Felix.

“Now put your hands on the artifact,” Demona said.

Kearne did as instructed. As his fingertips put pressure onto the artifact the object glowed even brighter. This time, all of the etchings lit up with Demona, Felix, and Kearne each touching the artifact.

“Huh,” Demona said.

“Man, did you guys feel that?” Felix asked.

Kearne and Demona nodded. The power of the artifact had coursed through their bodies when each had placed a hand on the object.

Hannah stood on tiptoes trying to see over the people blocking her view. “What is it?”

“I think it’s because we each were at the Tomb of Beginning. We sacrificed something of ourselves in order to take the artifact. Maybe we are connected to it somehow. It must give us the ability to use it, but only together,” Demona said.

“It’s smart when you think about it,” Kerrick said. “Without a single person able to use it, it prevents any one person from becoming too powerful.”

Demona nodded. “I think the fact that we each had to make a sacrifice as a light, neutral, and dark being means something too.”

“Yeah, but I’m not a fairy anymore,” Kearne replied.

“Maybe not, but you’re still a neutral being if you are human. And remember there needed to be a sacrifice from each a dark, light, and neutral being,” Demona corrected.

“But you aren’t a dark being anymore,” Hannah said.

“I’m not one or the other anymore, I don’t think. I’m more of like all three, which I think makes me still enough of a dark being to get this to work. Think about it, I still have my fangs, but don’t need them now. I still have my
kataphraktos
, but it appears to be different.” Demona replied. “Let’s see what happens when the three of us try it.”

The three wielders stepped towards the possessed. Without any other action the artifact glowed brighter as the light extended toward the possessed. Suddenly the misty form of the demon within the possessed was expelled from the body and into the air. As quickly as it had exited the body, the glow from the artifact seemed to burst forward and struck the demon mist. The demon exploded with a blinding light. When the light faded the remnants of the demon’s misty form dispersed into nothingness.

Kearne nodded with excitement. “Nice,” he said. “This is going to be great for dealing with the others.”

Ezekiel stood up from a chair he had been seated on. “There is only one thing left to do. Now that we know how this thing works, we have to prepare for war. I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait till the day that that demon is no longer present in this world. I won’t let my wife’s death be in vain!”

Chapter 17:

Plans For War

After Ezekiel had made everyone aware of the fact that it was time to face the demon priest, they stood in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts about what the future would hold. Demona, Felix, and Kearne stepped out of the cell. Demona almost closed the door and locked it, but she realized that there was no longer any need.

She looked back at the cell, empty of the demonic presence. The demon’s rotted host now lay crumpled on the basement floor.

That’s when the weight of the situation truly hit her. The thing that they had been working toward for so long was finally going to happen. They would be able to defeat Abd al-Malik.

Demona, like the others, stood in silence thinking about how things were going to be different.
Without the demon priest, will I be done with the prophecy? Will this be the end of my destiny? Will I have to make a final decision, or is my path already set? What about the demon priest’s master? I should just focus on one thing and worry about the rest after the demon priest is destroyed.

Ezekiel’s voice cracked when he interrupted their thoughts. “I’ll contact Gleannbroch to see if I can get any extra support,” he said. “I think it’s time for one last parley with Darius, to coordinate our efforts.” He looked at Demona expectantly.

How does he keep going after everything he’s been through?
Demona turned to Kerrick. “Can you make arrangements to meet with him?”

Kerrick nodded and immediately walked towards the stairway.

“I’ll start getting our defenders and any volunteers ready. I also want to finish assessing the damage to the base and make any necessary fortifications before we leave for battle,” Kaleb said. “We don’t want to leave this place defenseless.”

“I’m going with Kaleb.” Felix turned and gripped Demona’s hand tightly and kissed her cheek. He let her hand drop to her side and stared into her eyes. “Come find me when you’re done.”

Demona nodded in response. She gave him a small smile in return.

“I’d better prep one of the RVs for a mobile medical unit. I have a feeling we are going to need somewhere to provide healing to the injured,” Molony said.

Molony promptly made his way back to the ground level of the church. Kaleb and Hannah made their way in the same direction hand in hand. Felix followed the others to the surface.

“What about us?” Demona asked, referring to herself, Kearne, and Ileana.

“Demona, you could help clean up camp until you hear from Kerrick about meeting with Darius,” Ezekiel said. “Kearne, Ileana, you two help around Roost Haven wherever needed. We have a lot to get ready before we make our move. I’ll arrange for the demon’s husk to be buried.” Ezekiel said. He had already been through one funeral that day. They could not help but notice the sorrow in Ezekiel’s eyes.

Ileana shook her head. “No, I will do it. You’ve dealt with death enough today.”

Demona walked to Ezekiel. “Why don’t you join us? It might be a good thing to keep your mind from thinking of, you know, other things…”

Ezekiel allowed Demona to direct him towards the metal staircase and up into the sanctuary. He made it only half-way through the large room when he collapsed on a pew. Ezekiel’s grief had finally taken over and he held his face in his hands as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Demona was uncertain of how to help the man that had always appeared content. “Will you guys stay with him a moment?” She asked Ileana and Kearne.

They nodded as Kerrick walked past them and out of the entrance. Demona went in the same direction and promptly began searching for Rowena and Hannah. She found Hannah with Felix and Kaleb.

“Hannah, would you mind going into the church and sitting with Ezekiel?” Demona asked.

“Sure, is everything okay?” Hannah asked as she twirled a strand of her blond hair in her fingers.

Demona stared at her feet. “No. Ezekiel needs company. I think he’s having a breakdown. I think that the loss of his wife has finally sunk in,” Demona said. “I thought you and maybe Rowena would be the best people for the job. You both have that knack for sympathy and empathy that I sometimes lack.”

“Sure. That poor man, I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose your soul mate.” Hannah turned and watched Kaleb at his task. “I’ll give Rowena a call and see if she wants to be the back-up support.”

“Thanks,” Demona said.

After Hannah had made her way back to the sanctuary, Demona began to work around Roost Haven. She was joined by Ileana and Kearne after Hannah had relieved them from comforting Ezekiel. Many of the refugees pitched in to help fix the fence and barbed wire that had been damaged. Others helped to set up tents that had been knocked down and began putting items back into place.

The volunteer refugees and several defenders were busy at work. Several of the non-GLC allies had volunteered to go with them when it was time to face the demon priest. Kaleb left Felix in charge of supervising the repairs and took the volunteers out into the training field. He gave them a crash course on self-defense and weapon use in the hopes that it would be enough to save their lives during the upcoming battle.

The sun had almost set while everyone in Roost Haven was busy at work. It had already been such a long day, but there was much more that still needed to be done. The base was almost back to how it had been before the demon priest’s attack. The steeple on the church had been removed and the wood was piled near the burn barrels for firewood. A few volunteers from Gleannbroch argued over the best way to rig the now homeless church bell, so that it could still be used as a warning bell if Roost Haven was attacked again. The fence had almost been repaired, though in order to fix it properly they were going to need to attach a whole new roll of chain link fencing where the serpent tore through it earlier.

The number of tasks to be completed finally began to dwindle as the evening continued. Roost Haven’s residents were restless as they tried to push memories of the giant serpent from their minds as they began to settle down for the night. It was impossible for many to forget the recent attack and their concerns about the impending battle. There were some people, however, that had fallen asleep quickly from physical and emotional exhaustion. Ezekiel was one of those. He had passed out after Rowena calmed him down.

Demona’s cell phone rang as she lay in her cot. She answered without looking at who was calling. “Hello?”

“Sorry it took so long. We’re still recovering from the attack in Terra Hollow. Plus, Darius wanted to get some plans in motion to prepare for battle,” Kerrick said. “We’ll meet at dawn at our old training ground. It’s the familiar and neutral location outside of town.”

“Right. We’ll be there.” Demona hung up the phone.

****

Demona, Molony, and a few high ranking defenders walked through the snow covered field to the barren maple grove. Darius and Kerrick were waiting for them. Several other field-agents had accompanied them for the meeting. A folding table holding a map of Melville and the surrounding areas had been erected on the flat section of the dried creek bed.

Darius rubbed the palms of his hands together. “Let’s jump to it, shall we,” Darius said.

Kerrick, Darius, Demona, and Molony gathered around the map. The accompanying GLC and TGHC members gathered around behind them. Darius had placed three markers on the side of the map. The markers were each a different color; they most likely represented the GLC, TGHC, and the demon priest’s army.

“I think we should attack the demon priest and the horde here,” Demona pointed to the spot on the map where the abandoned highway was. “It’s where Abd al-Malik has been hanging out. Plus, it is away from town so there will be less chance of civilian casualties. It will prevent the CDC and National Guard from interfering too. The demons won’t have any unsuspecting prey or additional energy sources.”

Darius looked at Demona with his emotionless expression. “Wise choice.”

“When our team followed the demon priest back to this area the possessed were gathered in the center here.” Demona once again pointed to an area on the map. “The demons were acting as a defensive patrol around the perimeter.”

“Our team reported the same. The reports also suggest that the priest is never in one location within the horde. He’s constantly on the move,” Kerrick replied.

“It will make separating him from the horde difficult without knowing his exact location. We’ll be going in with the hope that he is not surrounded by the possessed,” Molony said. “But with our numbers it shouldn’t make it impossible to do.”

Kerrick crossed his arms over his chest and gave a single nod. “Right, we will need to separate him in order for Demona, Felix, and Kearne to do their job.”

Darius had remained silent, observing the exchange of plans between Demona, Molony, and Kerrick. He had clasped his hands in front of him as he stood motionless. “I suggest we attack at two points, one on each side of the horde. My team will come in from the north, yours from the south,” Darius said as he placed the markers on the map in the locations he had indicated. “My reinforcements will wait here in the east in case they are needed.”

Molony ran his fingers through his hair. “We’ll put our reinforcements to the west, that way we’ll have the horde boxed in.”

“Our teams should focus on removing the possessed as a threat, while the artifact wielders separate the demon priest. I’ll personally accompany them to make sure they’re not attacked in the process,” Kerrick replied.

Molony nodded in agreement. “We’ll send Kaleb to assist you with their defense,” Molony replied. “Maybe a few others should accompany them? They are the key to this whole thing, after all.”

Darius clasped his hands behind his back and seemed to momentarily rock back and forth on his feet. “I agree,” Darius said. “Does everyone understand their roles?”

Everyone that was assembled for the meeting nodded.

Molony raised his hand as he spoke. “We should attack tomorrow at noon,” Molony said. “This gives us a few hours to prepare tonight and get into formation in the morning without being careless. It should also give us enough daylight hours to get this finally done and over with.”

Darius studied Demona and Kerrick for a moment. “So we have a plan at last.” He moved his hands back in front of him and clasped them once more. He slowly nodded his head in approval. “We shall get to it. Kerrick will deliver the artifact to the three wielders at the time of the battle.” He turned and walked through the field. The snow covered grass crunch beneath his shiny black dress shoes.

Why does he always leave before a discussion is over?

The GLC members returned to their car to warm themselves from the brisk late autumn air. The TGHC field-agents, most of whom Demona did not recognize, straggled behind a few moments before trickling off in the direction that Darius had gone. Demona watched the last of them leave.

Kerrick placed a hand on Demona’s shoulder. “Before you go…” Kerrick handed Demona a small cardboard box.

Demona looked lifted the lid and looked inside. “Protection charms?”

“Yes, Darius has had the witches laboring throughout the night. You shouldn’t need them, but just in case,” Kerrick replied.

Demona was astonished by Darius’ generosity, but she knew better than to forget his past actions. “Thank you,” she said to Kerrick.
Can I trust that these were made with good intentions? Or is this going to bite me in the end?

Kerrick gave a single nod and returned to the table to pack up the map and markers. Demona and Molony turned to their car and the waiting GLC members. Before making it back to the car, they watched as two black limousines drive past. Demona could not see the passengers through the dark tinting on the windows, but she knew who sat inside. Each vehicle contained a small decal on the back of the trunk with the letters TGHC.

Of course, Darius can’t do anything modestly. He probably has a limo waiting for Kerrick to take back too. He just loves to flaunt that money and power.