Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3) (19 page)

Felix must have sensed her anxiety. He kept a tight hold on her hand as they walked towards their tents, but when Demona went to stop so that she could say goodnight he kept on walking. Demona, with her hand still in Felix’s, allowed him to guide her wherever he was going. They walked through Roost Haven where the noises of restless people could be heard within their tents. They kept going until they reached the back gate of the base. The guard allowed them to pass, but warned that they needed to be careful. Felix nodded that they would and led Demona out into the darkness.

Demona quickly produced a small flaming orb that she sent out to light their way. She realized that Felix was following the path to the rocky outcrop. They walked silently following the glowing light that floated ahead of them. They were careful to step over the rocks as the path grew more treacherous.

It was too dark to see the valley below when they reached the outcrop. Felix led Demona to a large flat rock where they sat. Felix turned to her and took her in his arms. He leaned in and kissed her gently on her cheek. Then, on her nose. He brushed her hair over her shoulder and placed his hand on the back of her neck. He pulled her face towards his and kissed her deeply.

Demona had never felt Felix so passionate; it caused warmth to flood through her body in that very instant. The intensity of his kisses consumed her and she sank into the feeling. They laid back on the flat rock, on which they sat, and held each other tightly as their kissing grew more rhythmic.

Demona pulled Felix on top of her. She unzipped his coat and reached her arms inside and around his back. She grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him closer. She wanted to feel every inch of his body on hers and she pulled with all of her strength as if trying to crush herself with his weight.

Their breathing grew heavier and faster. Their kisses became harder and hungrier for each other. Demona opened her legs and brought her knees up, so that Felix could lie comfortably between them. He placed both hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him.

His body was warm and hard; Demona wanted to posses it, to be part of him. Her body was on fire and her breathing was rapid. The sensation, the desire, was overwhelming. It was suffocating. She pushed her hands upward on Felix’s chest and he pulled away from her slightly. Felix looked searchingly into her eyes and moved to lie beside her. He knew that now was not the right time for them to take the next step.

Felix pulled Demona toward him and she snuggled into the place between his arm and chest. She rested her head in the nook between his arm and chest and listened to his heart thumping quickly, his rapid breathing trying to slow itself down. He held her tightly on the bitter night and they stared up into the starry sky.

Chapter 19:

The Battle

The following morning, after Demona had a steaming cup of coffee on the snowy, cold morning, she made her way to the entrance of Roost Haven. She sipped her coffee as quickly as she could without burning herself. She daydreamed as she walked through the base. Her mind was on the previous night and how close she had come to truly being one with Felix. She was happy that she was able to spend alone time with him, before the upcoming battle, just in case one or both of them did not return. She took another sip of her coffee and almost choked, because of the distracting thoughts. Now, she just needed to clear her head of Felix and his magical touch.

It was Demona’s turn to take the lead with getting things going before it was time to leave for the abandoned portion of Route 61. She walked into the church and through the sanctuary and picked up a wooden box that contained about two dozen protection charms. She walked through the gathering crowd and found the people that she felt were vital to protect from magic spells.

Demona gave one to Molony, since they would need to keep him protected in order to make sure that things ran smoothly at the mobile medical unit. Then, she gave one to Ezekiel, just in case the headquarters was attacked while they were gone. She handed them to her friends Kaleb and Ileana who would both be out on the battlefield helping to keep formation, lead the others, and helps protect them as they faced the demon priest. She placed one around the neck of each of her fellow artifact wielders and reserved one for herself. The rest she handed to those in commanding positions with a vital role during the battle and she included some of the defenders that would be on the front line.

Everything was as ready as it could be for them to depart Roost Haven for their destination. The GLC defenders, volunteers, volunteer refugees, and other GLC reinforcements and allies had prepared themselves before they arrived. They were armed with weapons and protective gear. They had said silent prayers to
Aleph
and participated in any rituals their cultures performed before battle. They were working themselves up to be prepared emotionally for what was to come.

The GLC members, volunteers, and reinforcements gathered around in a tight group near Ezekiel. Despite his continued grief over the loss of his wife, he managed to speak an inspiring prayer over those going into battle. Demona herded the crowd through the base’s entrance and out into the lot where the dozens of cars, SUVs, and RVs were parked and waiting. They had already been preparing the vehicles to leave, by making sure that the engines were in working condition and the tires were sturdy. The drivers had parked in a line in front of the entrance and waited until they were loaded to full capacity before pulling away down the dirt road.

Many of the defenders they sat calmly and stared out the window as the vehicles pulled away. The defenders were the least anxious of the group, because most had been in battle before. Others, especially the volunteer refugees from Terra Hollow were clearly nervous. Some chewed their fingers and nails, others wrung their hands, and some chewed on their lips. Demona hoped that they could find the courage to make it through the battle and home safely. She tried to brush the thought out of her mind that some of these people might not return.

Demona and Felix made their way to his red sedan after seeing that everyone was loaded into the vehicles. Grantly trotted happily, in their direction, from the entrance of Roost Haven. He gave a single woof to get Demona’s attention. Demona turned to the large furry dog and gave him an instruction to sit. The dog promptly listened.

Demona bent down to look in the dog’s eyes. “I need you to listen carefully boy. You need to stay here. I know you have a habit of following me around, but I don’t want you in any danger. You might be my spirit animal, but I’d like to keep you alive instead of having a spirit ghost following me around.”

Grantly yipped in response.

“Now, I don’t want to hear any back talk. I’ll see you when I get back.” Demona stood and patted Grantly on the head. He looked up at her with an expression that almost seemed depressed. Then he whimpered as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

Demona sat beside Felix in his car, their hands clasped together tightly. Kaleb sat in the back with Ileana and Kearne. Hannah had remained at Roost Haven to assist in preparing for their return. Only a few people remained at the base; mostly humans, women, children, the elderly, injured, and those who remained behind to guard the base.

They were just outside of the section of the abandoned road when the motorcade pulled off onto an unmaintained gravel lot. The militia spilled out of the vehicles and gathered together waiting for their orders. Molony and the other faith healers remained at the RVs where they could assist any of the injured parties. Barty had also joined the team in case his expertise could be used against the horde. He remained with Molony by the RVs, where he could also assist in helping the injured.

The large gathering waited as patiently as their nerves would allow, when many large black vans arrived carrying the TGHC members and their reinforcements. Demona had attempted to count the number of heads in the large crowd, between the GLC and TGHC. She lost count after reaching approximately two hundred and fifty and gave up trying to keep track of the crowd.

Kaleb stood on a large boulder so that all could see him. “Before we get started I want to say a few words. Looking around, I see a vast number of people prepared to battle this evil. I want you to keep in mind that while there are fewer demons and possessed, than there are of us, it doesn’t give us the upper hand. It is going to take working together in small groups to eliminate a single threat. We saw how successful the small group was in Melville a few days ago, but we also saw how easy it was for the demons to gain control and isolate members of the group.

“TGHC field-agents will be coming in from the north. Their reinforcements will be stationed to the west. GLC’s defenders will be to the south with their reinforcements to the east,” Kaleb continued. “The two main groups will move in simultaneously, leaving the reinforcements to take out any possessed or demons that attempt to flee. If things go badly you will be called to step in and fight along with the main groups.

“Our goal is to first separate the demon priest from the rest of the horde. Everyone should be keeping an eye on these three people.” Kaleb pointed to Demona, Felix, and Kearne. “They are the key to defeating the demon priest. If you see a threat to them, eliminate it immediately. Once the demon priest has been destroyed it should break the hive mindset of the possessed and help us to finish them off.” Kaleb paused. “One more thing, I would expect that any outside demons will be called back here when the battle begins. They’ll return to protect their leader, so keep an eye on your backs as well.” Kaleb stepped down. Afterwards, he relinquished control to two of the highest ranking defenders sent by the Council. Their expertise would certainly be helpful, while Kaleb would be off defending the wielders.

Before anything else could happen, Kerrick took the spot where Kaleb had been moments before. “My fellow TGHC coworkers, Darius wanted me to remind each of you that the GLC members are not to be harmed and are to be allowed to leave peacefully after battle. Darius will not be joining us, but asked that I remind each of you what punishment awaits if you disobey his orders.” Kerrick stepped down and gave leadership over the field-agents and the reinforcements to Agrippa, since he would be accompanying the artifact and the wielders.

It was time to go to war.

Agrippa led those under his command to the north and sent the others to the west. One of the high ranking defenders led a group to the east and another moved forward into position. A third small group made up of Demona, Felix, Kearne, Ileana, Kaleb, Kerrick, and a few others moved behind the main GLC troops.

When everyone was in place, the signal was sent out to prepare their march on the horde. The GLC group in front of Demona moved forward. Within minutes sounds of battle could be heard ahead. There were clangs, blasts, shots, and screams as the defenders and field-agents beat back the possessed, clearing a path. Soon the sounds of chants were heard as defenders began reciting the words to exercise demons from their hosts and the witches uttered spells to aid in the process.

Demona watched ahead in astonishment as the demons swirled throughout the chaos. Some knocked GLC and TGHC members to the ground as they sped past. Others solidified and attacked the forces, of the dark and light beings, using their powers. Demona caught a glimpse of the demon priest in serpent form as he reared high above the battle and his large serpentine body crashed down upon his enemies.

The GLC defenders moved onward. Demona’s group inched their way in the same direction. Their wait to join in seemed to be taking an eternity. Her heart began to pound as adrenaline rushed through her body. Demona wished she could be part of the fight, but knew that her task was vital. The allied groups split the horde in two. They had formed lines to push the possessed back and leave an opening so that the key members could make their way towards the demon priest. GLC members fought side-by-side with TGHC members in an attempt to separate the two groups of possessed, those living and those that were dead.

As their group made their way through now clear passage. Demona watched them hold the line as the demons and possessed pushed back in response. Occasionally, someone would lose their footing and the passage would be temporarily blocked, until they were able to reform the lines. She caught glimpses of people she knew, Salina stood gracefully as a possessed charged at her and she opened her mouth and spewed flaming liquid onto the possessed. Demona momentarily wondered if she would have a chance to catch a glimpse of her in dragon form.

The farther through the passage they moved they found more and more fallen soldiers. Demona tried not to lose hope. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that the line had collapsed behind them. Persephone and Claudia were standing side by side forcing the possessed backwards. Persephone’s hand was outstretched and she cast an invisible force field against several of the possessed that attempted to hurl themselves forward. Claudia lunged forward and her head went from human to wolf form and her long sharp teeth took a bite out of one of the possessed’s shoulders. There was only one way to go, forward.

Demona muttered a quick prayer to
Aleph
that would have been impossible for others to hear over the chaos. She prayed for strength, courage, and patience during battle and for the protection of her friends.

Demona and her group continued forward. Soon she caught a glimpse of the demon priest ahead. It seemed that he had become more distant than the last time she had seen him among his enemies. Demona’s group continued to march forward through the split in the horde and they noticed that the fighting was beginning to thin out.

“We must be getting closer to the other side of the horde,” Demona yelled to Felix.

Felix nodded in response. He pointed ahead to open space.

When the group broke through to the other side of the horde they found that a small group of field-agents had isolated the demon priest and continued to force him away from the horde. Demona was relieved to see that she would not have to worry about any interference from the mob of the possessed. Just before turning her mind off to focus solely on the demon priest, she caught a glimpse of Lobo Blake lunging into the air and transforming into wolf form.

What the hell is he doing here? What would possibly possess Darius to release him? Has he gone mad?

Lobo had been the werewolf that she and Kerrick had to apprehend on her first field-assignment as a field-agent with TGHC, the day she found out about her
mageia
. He was one of the most dangerous rogues that TGHC has ever had to deal with, and this particular werewolf almost got one over on Kerrick. Back before Demona was even a vampire, Lobo had killed Kerrick’s former partner and severely injured Kerrick. Darius had made it a point to make sure that Lobo was off the streets, but Demona could not figure out why he would release him to fight the demons. He may be a good fighter, but the threat that he posed, being out to run free, was not worth the risk.

Demona was unable to spare Lobo anymore thought before what lie ahead demanded her undivided attention. Her small group continued forward much more easily now that they had passed through the thick of the battle. Those that accompanied Demona, Felix, and Kearne formed a circle around them facing outwards, away from the wielders. Their job was now to defend the three from any outside attacks. The field-agents that were pushing the serpent back halted and instead held position in order to keep the demon priest from moving in any direction.