Demonicus (Overworld Underground Book 2) (27 page)

"How quaint." Vallaena smiled. "I'd forgotten what it was like to deal with caustics. You're so base and unimaginative."

He roared and charged her once again. She gripped him by the throat and held his struggling form off the ground. He tried to tear her fingers from his throat, but she didn't even seem to notice. Choking and blue faced, Xasha's bloodshot eyes bugged from his head.

Vallaena casually tossed him across the room again. It took him a lot longer to recover this time. He eventually staggered drunkenly to his feet.

"Perhaps I should rip off your testicles and make you eat them," Vallaena said in a calm cold voice.

"What the hell are you?" Xasha asked.

"I am Daemos."

His eyes flew wide with fear. "W-what? Why are you here?"

"To get answers, you insignificant little bug." She strode forward. "Where will the next demonicus be?"

He shook his head. "I swear I don't know."

"Perhaps you'd like to meet my pet crawler. He does so enjoy demon souls."

"For fucks sake, lady, I'm a demon like you!" He backed up to the corner. "I don't know anything."

"You are nothing like me." Vallaena looked at the floor. It bubbled like black oil, forming a black ball. Legs sprouted, and the creature strained free from the tarlike substance around it.

Within seconds, a new monster was born.

Chapter 23

"Good lord, it's like that creature we saw at the blood bank," I said.

Tyler stared at it for a while. "She summoned it so easily. I wonder if that's something I can learn to do."

"Obviously, Daemos have no problems whatsoever."

The crawler shrieked and leapt at Xasha. He screamed and a dark wet stain formed at the crotch of his pants. The monster jerked short of the possessed, as if secured by an invisible rope.

"All I know is they plan on doing two more at the same time," he cried. "I swear, I don't know where!"

A very good question occurred to me. "If that thing eats him, it'll devour his soul, right?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Tyler said. "I know crawlers can eat human souls, but demons might be different."

Vallaena hurled more questions at Xasha, but he didn't seem to know much. "What was your next destination?"

"We were supposed to meet on the west side of town, but they hadn't given us directions yet." Snot poured from his nose. "If you let me go, I'll find out anything you want to know, I swear it, Mistress. I will be yours."

She seemed to consider his request while the crawler chittered and jerked on its invisible leash. "Perhaps." Vallaena left the room, leaving the crawler with the terrified possessed. She came to me. "Mr. Walker told me you could get this creature's true name. I'll need it to banish him."

"Why not let the crawler eat his soul?" I asked.

She tutted. "The crawler would devour the human and demon soul. Unless you wish to condemn the host, you will give me his true name so I can perform the banishment."

"Oh, I guess I didn't think of that." I didn't want to harm the host. "I'll need to touch him."

"That's it?" She raised an eyebrow. "Can you see my true name simply by touching me?"

I wasn't sure what I should tell her, so I left it unclear. "Something like that." I looked uneasily at the crawler. My skin crawled at the thought of going near the huge demon bug. "Will your pet hurt me?"

Vallaena shook her head. "I have it under control. Follow me in. I'll restrain him if need be."

Tyler put a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful."

"I will."

The Daemas looked from me to Tyler. "You are every bit as infected as my brother—
our
brother."

Tyler's forehead pinched. "Infected?"

She laughed. "With
love
." Vallaena's lips turned down. "I find duty is a far greater calling."

"Sorry, I'm just a weak male." Tyler looked deep into my eyes. "Life would be dull and meaningless without Emily."

I nearly giggled at the thrill he sent across my skin with that look.

"Daevadius says the same about his beloved Alysea." Vallaena let out a long sigh. "Come, Emily. Let's get this done."

I followed her into the room. Xasha cowered in the corner. He looked at me and his eyes burned with hate. "You're Grim's woman. Is he here?" His fear abruptly dissipated. "I'll tear out your beating heart, Grim!"

Vallaena blurred across the room. She lifted Xasha by his neck and slammed him against the wall. I skirted the crawler by walking along the opposite wall and touched Xasha's hand. He struggled and knocked me back. I stumbled and hit the window with a thud. Tyler appeared at my side and helped me up.

"You okay, babe?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"I'll kill you, Grim!" Xasha struggled. "Let me eat his heart!"

"You'll do no such thing," Vallaena replied in a calm voice and squeezed his neck.

He rasped in pain.

Gritting my teeth, I walked back over to Xasha and gripped his hand. A pattern blazed into my mind and with it, the name,
Xashabyullwt
. I turned to Vallaena and spoke the name with precise pronunciation.

The fear returned to Xasha's eyes. "How does she know my name? That's impossible!"

Vallaena slammed his head against the rock wall and dropped the senseless man to the ground. The ground around the crawler bubbled like tar and the creature melted back into it with a loud, protesting screech. She turned to Xasha, eyes glowing brightly azure.

Without saying a word, she lifted her hands. The ground beneath the woozy man turned inky black. Dozens of arms and hands rose from the tarlike ooze and lifted the man while simultaneously seeming to pull him down. Haunting wails rose from the dark pitch. Some of the extremities bore resemblances to claws, pincers, mouths, and other disgusting shapes. My legs backed me away of their own accord.

Xasha howled in agony. He struggled and tried to escape, but the hands had him. Yellow mist began to separate from the physical body, like peeling off a layer of grime from the man's skin. Xasha's cries of agony and despair never ceased until the final moment when something else came from the pool of pitch.

The creature had a humanoid torso, but its lower body was a dark vortex of sullenly glimmering energy. It had a glowing red light where an eye might be, but no other facial features. Even so, it spoke.

"You are not the one," the demon said, looking at Vallaena. Its voice was a collective of many voices, all speaking in monotone with deep timbre at the foundation.

She grew a bit pale. "The one?"

The demon ignored her and turned back to Xasha. "The Abyss awaits, Xashabyullwt." It wrapped its arms around the glowing yellow mist. "Welcome to your eternity." With a final ghostly shriek, the ground seemed to suck in the new demon, the groping hands, and the yellow mist that was Xasha's demon form. The host body dropped to the bare floor.

For the longest time, I couldn't move, couldn't think, and couldn't stop staring at the ordinary looking floor where that monster had manifested.

Vallaena stared suspiciously at the bare spot, then wearily sank into a chair. "I will need some time to recover."

"What was that thing?" Tyler asked.

"An Abyssal." She slumped.

"You actually summoned an Abyssal demon?" Tyler looked like a kid who'd just seen a cool skateboard trick. "That's amazing."

Vallaena offered a weak smile. "I didn't summon him. I held a bit of chum over a shark pit and waited for him to bite, though it took far less time than I'd imagined."

"What were the hands for?" I asked.

"Other demons trapped in the Abyss. Some believe they are trying to escape through the portal. Others claim they only want to drag other souls down with them." She motioned toward a water bottle. "Could someone fetch me a water, please?"

I obliged, removing one from the cooling cabinet, unscrewing the lid, and handing it to her. She gulped a third of the bottle and put it down. "I certainly hope the other demon knows more than this one."

"He said Karak planned to do two demonicus at the same time." Tyler rubbed his chin. "That's an awful lot of preparation, but with two demon lords, it won't be as difficult to pull off."

"This entire situation is unprecedented." Vallaena ran a finger down the bottle. "I'm not certain how powerful Karak and Abaddon will be with their new forms, but we must be very careful."

"We?" I raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to help us too?"

She nodded. "I must. The future is already dangerous enough without Domathus rallying his forces in Eden."

"You must be talking about Daelissa," I said.

Her lips quirked. "You believe in the threat the Seraphim pose?"

"Um, I don't know a lot about them, but yeah." I shrugged. "The Exorcists are following her now, so she must have a lot of clout."

"If I'm to prepare my nephew for the dangers ahead, I must do what I can to pull this weed before it grows any larger." She placed her hand over mine. "Your gift is truly remarkable. Do you have any supernatural strength or other attributes?"

I became distinctly aware of the low simmering heat of the demon presence inside her. She felt nearly identical to Tyler though her spiritual spark seemed to resonate at a different frequency. Her vibes were nothing like the putrid sensation from the caustic demons. I abruptly realized she'd asked me a question and shook away thoughts. "No, aside from my ability to sense supernatural abilities and in some cases, remove them, I'm quite ordinary."

"This makes you very brave indeed." She kept her hand on mine and looked at Tyler. "I can understand your fascination with this one."

Tyler beamed. "She's pretty great, Anae Vallaena."

"Pssht." Vallaena backhanded the air. "When we are in private you may simply call me Vallaena. You have earned the right."

"Well, you've earned the right to call me Tyler, and her Emily." Tyler winked at me. "I'll admit I wasn't sure what to expect from a Daemos. I've heard a lot about your kind, but never met one until you."

"We have a simultaneous connection to this plane and Haedaemos. Our souls are both human and demon, bound into one." She drank more water. "It was a very difficult achievement, but well worth it."

"You intentionally bonded with humans?" Tyler looked confused.

"During the First Seraphim War, Baal saw the dangers the Seraphim presented." Her eyes seemed lost in the distant past. "Demons are masters of the spiritual world. Mortals are masters of the physical. Seraphim are masters of both. Baal surmised that by perfectly combining a human soul and a demon spirit, we would be as powerful as the Seraphim."

"Are you?" I asked.

Vallaena's gaze returned to the present. "Physically, yes, but demon magic does not translate well to this realm. We can connect to other spirits, namely, elementals, and gain their help. We can summon creatures from Haedaemos and control them. But we cannot compete with the Seraphim when they turn their destructive magic upon us."

Tyler leaned on his elbows, as if enjoying a good nighttime story. "Are they like Arcanes?"

"If you were to combine the might of a dozen Arcanes into one being, then yes." She turned her eyes on him. "Arcanes draw magical energy into an internal reservoir and cast spells. Seraphim channel the same energy directly from the source, giving them raw destructive power."

I grimaced. "No wonder you want to get rid of Karak first. Dealing with him and the Seraphim would be quite a nightmare."

"Especially if he were to join Daelissa."

Tyler's mouth hung open. "You really think demons would help Daelissa?"

"Domathus has long been Baal's greatest rival." A small smile touched Vallaena's lips. "There are many who would rejoice at his fall."

"Is Baal evil?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Who is to say? He does terrible things and he does wonderful things, but he does nothing without reason."

"You talk about him almost like he's a god."

"There are no gods, child." She finished the water and crumpled the bottle. "Only powerful entities who pull at the fabric of the universe and try to mold it into what they wish. Baal is one such being. So far, he has kept chaos and order in balance in Haedaemos. Otherwise, this world would be rife with caustics and possessions."

"I can agree to that," Tyler said. "Baal doesn't respect weaklings like me, but he also doesn't interfere much either. He's like the perfect absentee father."

"Daevadius feels much the same," Vallaena said. "Yet, I think it was no accident he found his cause here in the mortal realm."

Tyler met her gaze. "I'd like to meet him sometime."

"Soon, perhaps." She stood and drew in a deep breath. "He still has a role to play and I don't want him distracted."

"You must be Baal's number one daughter." I gave her a pointed look. "You seem to know what's coming, and you seem to know what Baal wants."

She met my statement with a smile and a shrug. "Let us just say I am very devoted to my duties—a trait my father admires." Vallaena walked out of the door and looked into the room where Vatna waited. "I feel much better now and would like to move to the next prisoner."

"Just let us know what you want us to do," Tyler said.

Vallaena entered the room and closed the door behind her. Vatna's eyes wandered up and down the woman's body. His lips stretched into a leer. "Well, well, well. I guess they sent me a little gift to enjoy." He walked to her and reached a hand toward her breasts.

"Unless you enjoy pain, you will control yourself." Vallaena's eyes glinted.

Vatna squeezed her breast. There was a flash of movement and the snap of bones. The possessed screamed and fell to the ground clutching his arm.

Tyler chuckled. "It's like watching a rerun."

"Were you like that when you hung out with Vatna and the others?" I asked.

"I mimicked them a lot." He blew out a breath. "I just wanted to be accepted and have lots of fun."

"You and every other adolescent in the world." I pressed my hand to his cheek. "I'm glad you grew up."

His hand covered mine. "You've helped me in that journey. Oh, by the way, the answer is yes." He winked.