Demonicus (Overworld Underground Book 2) (19 page)

Tyler lowered it. "Yes?"

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you can't park here," the valet said.

"We're supposed to park here."

The other man waited expectantly.

I finally remembered the last part of the instructions. "Cold gravy."

The valet nodded. "Very well, you may proceed."

Tyler looked confused. "Proceed where?"

"Straight ahead." He pointed to the concrete wall in front of us. Large red letters proclaimed,
No Parking At Any Time.
"Just take my word for it, and drive forward."

"George is gonna be pissed if I scratch this car," Tyler muttered, but he eased forward anyway.

Much to our surprise, the nose of the car went straight through the wall.

"What the hell?" Tyler hit the brakes and stared at it for second. "Something tells me this is going to be interesting."

I knew without a doubt, he was right.

Chapter 16

We continued straight through the immaterial wall and followed a long winding ramp until we arrived at a parking deck hundreds of feet beneath the surface. A wild variety of vehicles occupied the parking spaces. Tyler slowed down to gawk at a dark yellow Bugatti speckled with black leopard spots.

"Please don't tell me you want one of those too," I said.

He shrugged. "I don't have enough garage space for one right now."

I looked around the vast cavern and felt my jaw fall open when they settled upon a giant black arch towering in the middle. "Look at the size of that thing."

Tyler whistled. "Must be one of those Obsidian Arches George showed us."

"And what's that doing over there?" I pointed to a huge wooden barn. Elephants, giraffes, and other animals wandered the confines of fenced-in areas around the building.

"A stable?" Tyler snorted. "I knew this was going to be interesting, but I feel like I just stepped into la-la land."

"Me too."

After parking, we walked over to an information booth.

"Where is the orientation class?" I asked the woman behind the counter.

"They're gathering at the stables," she said brightly, and pointed toward the barn.

I spotted a group of people with confused expressions meandering near the elephant pen. "Thanks."

A young boy at the edge of the crowd tugged on his mother's dress. "But, Mom, what if—what if—a vampire bit a werewolf? Would the werewolf drink blood then? Would he be a vampwolf?"

"I don't know, son." She blew out an exasperated breath and met my eyes. "My husband just had to go and get himself good and drunk and bitten by vampires." She threw up her hands. "Now look where we are."

The supposed husband looked down. "I swear, baby, It ain't my fault!"

The woman looked at Tyler, her expression turning a bit dreamy. "What did you do to end up here?"

"I'm possessed by a demon," Tyler replied with a deadpan look.

Her husband made a sign of the cross. "What in tarnation? This Overworld ain't no place for decent folk. Get thee behind me, Satan!"

"Shut up, Ellis." The woman cuffed him on the back of the head and smiled at Tyler.

"Mom." The little boy tugged on her dress. "Mom. Mom!"

"What?" she shouted at her kid.

"W-what if a demon got bitten by a vampire and a werewolf? Would he be a demon blood-drinking wolf? Would he be invulnerable? Would he be a vampwolfdemon?"

"He would eat the souls of little children." I smiled reassuringly at him.

The boy didn't seem the least bit worried. "Cool!"

"Can we leave?" Ellis asked his wife. "I don't want nothing to do with none of this stuff, least of all no demons."

I looked around at the other Overworld newbies. A man in an expensive business suit spoke with another fellow wearing a ragged T-shirt and cargo pants. A group of college-aged girls whispered to each other and looked around with wide eyes. It seemed there were people from every walk of life present here. I wondered if these were all the people in the Atlanta area who'd been exposed to the supernatural, or if they'd been sent here from other parts of the world as well.

A gentleman in a loose black robe approached the groups, a weary look on his face. He clapped his hands. "Welcome, everyone, I am Desmond, your guide to the Overworld."

Ellis raised his hand. "Do we have to do this? I swear I ain't gonna tell nobody nothing."

"If you think this will be too much stress due to religious objections, or a cognitive inability to process new things, then you are welcome to undergo our mind-wiping process." Desmond's lips curled into a faint smile. "There are only a few negative side effects of the process."

"Like what?"

"Impairment of motor coordination and a possible loss of other brain functionality."

Ellis seemed to think about it long and hard. His wife rolled her eyes and knocked him on the back of the head. "We're not having our minds wiped, you moron!" She tapped a finger on her chin as if reconsidering. "Actually, can you make him forget we're married?"

There were quite a few chuckles and snorts of amusement from the group.

Desmond nodded seriously. "Oh, we can do all sorts of things."

"Fine, I'll go through the stupid classes," Ellis whined.

"In that case, let's get started." Desmond retrieved a long pointy cap from within his robes and put it on. "If you get lost, just look for my hat."

Tyler laughed softly. "I guess robes and wizard hats are in fashion in these parts."

"How unfortunate." I tried to imagine Tyler wearing something so outlandish, and had to admit he'd probably look rather dashing in just about anything.

Desmond stepped onto a podium. "You are now standing in the Grotto way station. It is called a way station because this large black arch behind me is a method of transportation here in the Overworld." He pointed to the yellow and black striped circle guarding the silver band surrounding the arch. "At no time are you to cross this barrier unless you are the one traveling."

"Why not?" the businessman asked.

"Obsidian Arches open gateways to other arches all around the world. Sometimes, cracks in the fabric of reality accidentally open, forming a rift into a realm we call the Gloom." Desmond paused as if to let that sink in. "Suffice it to say, you don't want to end up there. The only way out is for us to send in a Templar rescue team."

Several people tried to ask questions at once, but Desmond held up a hand. "Please keep the questions to a minimum. We have a lot to cover today. Now, if you'll please follow me." He stepped off the platform and walked toward a pair of large wooden doors several hundred feet behind us. "On the other side of these doors you'll find an entire city we call the Grotto."

"An underground city?" Ellis's little boy seemed really excited by the prospect.

Desmond continued. "This city exists inside what we call a pocket dimension."

Tyler and I exchanged confused looks. I resisted the urge to grill Desmond for more information. Other group members blurted questions.

Our teacher ignored them all. "We don't know who made the arches or the pocket dimensions. There are hundreds of them located all around the world, each with its own Obsidian Arch way station."

I tried to imagine so many worlds hidden within our world. How the Overworld had managed to keep them secret for so long was amazing.

Desmond opened the doors to reveal a cobblestone road leading past quaint shops. We followed him inside. Gasps took flight all around as people looked up to see blue skies overhead.

A group of well-dressed people with pale skin walked past.

"Fresh meat," one of them said with a laugh, and flashed fangs at us.

The young girls shrieked and jumped behind some of the men.

"Don't worry. Vampires aren't allowed to attack you," Desmond said.

"Yeah, because they all follow the rules," Tyler muttered.

I bared my teeth at the bloodsuckers and wished I could defang each and every one of them.

Desmond led the group along winding streets, giving tidbits of history like a tour guide as we passed different parts of the Grotto. We eventually ended up in a large grassy park in a more modern section of town. The glass on some buildings rippled like water, gaining the immediate interest of Tyler.

We stopped outside two large buildings. One was made of white glass blocks, which blinked into transparency at times like windows. The building across the street seemed to be made entirely of the liquid glass material. Two robed men shouted insults at each other in the middle of the street, while crowds of onlookers urged them on.

"How fortunate," Desmond said, stopping on the sidewalk near the altercation. "It appears MagicSoft and Orange have released their new flagship arcphones to the public today."

"Arcphone?" someone asked.

"Yes, much like the smartphones you use, but these incorporate magic as well."

"Well, now I know where to get one like George's," I murmured.

"Which is better?" asked the businessman.

"I think we'll find out momentarily," Desmond said as the two shouting men charged each other, fists flailing.

Within minutes, both men fell to the ground panting without a clear victor in sight.

"I suppose that means it's a personal preference," I observed dryly.

"More or less," Desmond replied. He stepped around the exhausted fighters and led us into a brown two-story building down the street. The first room, a small auditorium, seemed to be our final destination.

"For the rest of this week, we'll meet here," Desmond informed us. "If you have any trouble finding it, simply get on one of the town trolleys I showed you and instruct it to take you to the Overworld Orientation Complex."

Tyler and I took seats near the back of the room. Ellis's wife gazed longingly at Tyler, but thankfully sat down near the front.

"I'll begin the class with basic terms that will help you adjust to your new life," Desmond said. He laid a tablet computer on the table in the front of the room. A few flicks of his finger later, it projected the three-dimensional words
Overworld Orientation
into the air, drawing gasps and looks of disbelief from most of those present.

I felt a bit smug, having already seen my father's phone do the same thing.

"How many of you here have supernatural abilities?" Desmond asked.

Tyler made as if to raise his hand, but I stopped him.

He wrinkled his forehead. "Why not?"

"I don't want to talk about our private business in front of these people." I shrugged. "Besides, George wants to keep my ability secret."

One of the college girls raised her hand, a sad look on her face.

"What's your name, young lady?" Desmond asked the girl.

"Angela."

"What's your supernatural ability?"

"I got turned into a vampire."

Desmond nodded. "Was it personal choice, or were you turned against your will?"

"Someone gave me this stuff to drink at a party, and it turned me into a vampire." A tear trickled down her cheek. "Then they tried to kidnap me and take me to Colombia, but my friends tazed him and sprayed his eyeballs with pepper spray and saved me."

I scowled. It sounded like the potion vampires had used in high schools to turn the students.

"Anyone else?" Desmond said, looking around. When no one answered, he swiped his hand across the holographic image to display two words and went on to explain them. "Supernatural beings are sometimes referred to as supers. Normal people are often referred to as noms."

"Noms? What kind of stupid name is that?" Ellis asked.

Desmond didn't answer him, and moved on. "There are many kinds of supernatural beings in the Overworld. The most common by far are vampires. Contrary to what you've read, vampires will not turn to dust if staked in the heart, nor do they burst into flame in the sun. They do drink blood, and they easily sunburn." He looked at the girl. "I'm afraid you'll have to wear plenty of sunblock during sunny days."

Her eyes flared. "I can't go to the beach anymore?"

"I'm afraid it just won't be the same."

She burst into tears.

"I feel awful for the poor dear," I told Tyler.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Well, why don't you offer to help her?"

I felt a smile stretch my lips. "Oh, Tyler. That's such a sweet and wonderful idea."
He is nothing like Barboar.

Despite the crying girl, our teacher pushed on. "Other supernatural types are lycans, often referred to as werewolves, felycans—feline shifters—Daemos, demons, and Arcanes." He switched to images of the various kinds, and showed videos of a man changing into a large wolf followed by images of a woman turning into a black panther. Everyone was absolutely enthralled by the spectacle.

"Daemos, or demon spawn, are something of an enigma," Desmond said. "They are able to shift into demonic forms, and can also summon minions from the netherworld." The image of a huge black dog with glowing yellow eyes appeared. "Hellhounds are the most common form."

"What's the difference between a demon and a Daemos?" someone asked.

"Excellent question." Desmond tapped a finger on his chin. "Daemos are part demon, part human. As such, the human half of their soul is rooted here while the demon half resides in Haedaemos—the demon realm. They are something of a hybrid creature. Daemos must also feed on the soul essence of humans to maintain their supernatural attributes."

Ellis scratched his head and looked ready to ask a question, but a stern look from Desmond kept him quiet.

"Demons, on the other hand, have no physical body. They are, in essence, a soul or spirit being." He flicked to an image of a creature with a massive deformed mouth and abnormally short body standing on a pattern drawn on concrete. "This is a summoned demon in its natural form. The pattern allows an Arcane to summon a demon."

I shivered. "Looks awful."

"Do they possess people too?" a woman near the front asked.

He nodded.

The woman asked another question. "Wouldn't that make them like Daemos?"

Desmond shook his head. "No, because the possessing demon isn't combining its soul with the human's—it's simply taking control. They also don't need to feed on soul essence like Daemos, but they do corrupt the body they're in. Demons are parasites, no matter the form."