Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3) (9 page)

Itzig looked shocked at first and then skeptical. “You’re crazy.” He was about to reach for his handcuffs, but hesitated.

Demona shook her head. “No, I’m not. You have to know what your uncle does for a living. That’s why I know him. I’ve consulted him on several occasions about demonic spirits. That’s why I know where he is. He’s with my people, safe, where he can help us do something about what’s going on. Just please, come with me.”

Demona heard a horn honking from behind them. She turned to see Felix’s red sedan waiting near the flagger. The fireman must have pacified the other drivers and convinced them to make their way back into town. Felix, however, must have refused and insisted that he wait for Demona.

“Look that’s my boyfriend there.” Demona pointed to the car. “Just get into your car and follow us. If at any time you feel threatened, you can leave. I promise you’ll want to hear what’s going on. We can help you save this town.”

Itzig pondered her words. “Fine,” he said. “Boys, let him through.”

One of the guys in the yellow suites came running over to him. “You’re breaking protocol. You can’t let them through!” His voice was muffled through the plastic face mask.

Itzig nodded. “I know I’m breaking protocol. If something happens it’s on my head, not yours,” Itzig replied. “If my lead is correct there may be no reason for your men to be here.”

The health officer turned to the other personnel. “Make note of that everyone. He said if anything happens it’s his fault. I wash my hands of any fallout from this breach of protocol.”

“Oh, get off your high horse, doctor,” Itzig said.

The man in the yellow suit stepped closer to Itzig. He narrowed his eyes at the detective through his clear mask. “You better hope that this isn’t a virus and that it doesn’t spread, because you let civilians through this roadblock.”

“Back off!” Itzig spat at the man.

Demona noticed the increased tension between the two men. She attempted to ease the situation. “Look if it makes you feel any better you can check to see if I’m exhibiting any symptoms of an illness.”

The man in the yellow protective suite agreed under the condition that Felix do the same. After Demona and Felix were found to have no symptoms of any known contagious illness, they decided to allow them to pass through the road block. The man in the yellow suit also insisted that they take a business card with his contact information just in case they notice any symptoms within the next week. The man advised them to isolate themselves from everyone if they noticed anything strange in their emotional response, because it could be signs of the illness.

Chapter 9:

Breaking Protocol

Demona held her cell phone to her ear as she sat beside Felix in the car. Felix waited for the police officers to move the metal “road closed” signs. He maneuvered his car around the remaining police vehicles so that they could finally exit town. The health officer in the yellow suit, that had had it out with Itzig, stood off to the side of the road and shook his head in disgust as they drove by. They were followed closely by a black unmarked police vehicle, where Eli Itzig sat in the driver’s seat.

The phone clicked as it was picked up from the other end.

“Hello,” Ileana said.

“Ileana, can you get a message to Ezekiel and Molony? Felix and I had a bit of trouble leaving town today. Can you tell them that we are bringing Barty Holmes’ nephew, Eli, with us back to headquarters?”

“Yeah, anything else?” Ileana.

“Just make sure Barty and Anne are ready to meet him when we get there,” Demona said. “He’ll want to see that they’re safe and alright.”

“Will do,” Ileana paused. “What’s going on?”

“Things just became more complicated. We’ll discuss everything after we have a meeting. For right now, just try and be patient.”

“Easier said than done,” Ileana replied.

“Try,” Demona said, “I’ll talk to you later.” She disconnected the call and stared out the window as Felix drove.

They entered the dirt packed road full of pot holes that led to the old brick church at Roost Haven. Demona peeked over the back of her seat to make sure that Itzig’s police car still followed. Demona noticed that flurries began to fall from a soft gray cloud covered sky. Demona and Felix remained silent as the headquarters began to grow larger in the distance.

Demona chewed on her lips.
This quarantine is going to complicate things.

Both cars pulled into the parking area in front of the GLC headquarters. Barty and Anne were waiting with the guards at the entrance of Roost Haven. Anne waved frantically with a smile on her face when Eli stepped out of his car. Eli walked to his aunt and uncle briskly. He embraced them both with a tight hug and relief spread across his face.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving town?” Itzig asked. He stood back and surveyed them both, to make certain that they were both fine.

“We left a note at the house in case you stopped by,” Anne replied.

Itzig looked disapprovingly. “I haven’t been able to get over there lately, things have been too crazy in town,” Itzig said. “I tried calling and when I didn’t get an answer yesterday I began to worry that something had happened.”

Barty looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, Eli. We left on short notice, otherwise I would have taken the time to call and let you know.”

“Well at least I know you’re safe now. I probably would not have known what happened to you if I hadn’t met Demona at one of our roadblocks.”

“So, they started the quarantine?” Barty asked.

“Yes, so you all better have a good explanation as to why I broke protocol and allowed two civilians to leave town. What’s this about demons?” Itzig waited impatiently for a reply.

Barty nodded unhappily. “It is true. I should have put two and two together earlier and realized that this was a demon outbreak and not an epidemic, when you mentioned the health inspector’s concerns,” he said. “Now we know what’s taking place, or at least what’s causing the horrific events in town.”

“Why don’t we take this discussion inside, where it’s a little warmer,” Felix suggested. “There are too many ears to hear the details at this moment. I’d prefer if we informed all of our residents of the situation after we have discussed it with our elder and pastor.”

Itzig gave a single nod. “Understood. No need to start a panic.”

The group went into the church and seated themselves around the sanctuary before beginning to explain the situation. Demona knew that Itzig was going to have many questions.

“I’m sorry Uncle Barty,” Itzig said, “I never really took your job seriously. I always just thought it was like folklore type stuff. I know you are an expert in your field, but have you ever performed an exorcism?”

“To be honest, no.” Barty looked sorrowful. “Exorcisms have technically gone out of practice, except for the occasional one performed by the Catholic Church or some other isolated Christian sects. Though, I have been a witness to an exorcism. In truth, my job is more information based; it’s very similar to those of mythologists and folklorists.”

“Do you believe that this stuff is real?” Itzig asked his uncle.

A slight grin spread across Barty’s face at the question. “Demons, yes, always. Until recently I speculated on the existence of vampires. Now, I’m a believer in all things paranormal. Since I came here, my mind has been opened to so many new species, races, realms, and all kinds of exciting things.”

“I still can’t wrap my head around this whole demon thing,” Itzig said.

Demona shook her head. “If only they didn’t exist…”              “Why not just shoot them?” Itzig asked.

Felix pressed his lips together. “We’ve found that guns are useless in destroying the demons. When we were on patrol recently Demona and I discovered that after a period of time, after the hosts have died, the demons will seek fresh bodies. If we use guns to shoot to kill, we are pretty much just speeding up the process.”

Barty sniffed and wiped his nose with a handkerchief. “By killing the hosts you are just rereleasing the demons into the town to possess more innocent. In order to destroy the demons, they must be exercised and banished.”

“So why not just injure them, not kill them?” Itzig asked.

Demona shrugged. “A bullet wound can slow down the host body, but for the living possessed, it will not stop them from using their demonic powers. As for the dead possessed, it might help in keeping them still long enough to perform an exorcism.” Demona sighed. “We have captured one of the possessed in order to try and figure out a way to put an end to their leader.”

“Come on, we’ll show you.” Felix beckoned for Itzig to follow. “According to one of our prophets an artifact that we found should help us destroy the demon priest, their leader.”

They made their way to the back of the church and down the metal staircase into the basement. Ezekiel and Molony were busy trying to find a way to operate the artifact, while Kerrick stood against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. He seemed interested in what the two light beings were doing, but kept his distance. He quietly observed the two older men and then those that had followed Felix and Demona toward the cell.

Kerrick had brought restraints for the possessed. The restraints reminded Demona of the strait-jackets that you often saw in movies, but instead of having his arms wrapped around his body, the possessed’s arms were stretched out towards the ground and connected to chains that were anchored to the concrete floor below. The possessed was able to walk around within the cell, and even lean against its bars. He was not, however, able to use his arms for the safety of anyone who might be in the cell with him. His mouth did pose a problem for anyone that came within biting distance.

It just so happened that Ezekiel was standing in the cell with the possessed when they arrived. The possessed struggled against the restraints with all of its physical strength. Ezekiel dodged the creature’s attempts to bite him as he wielded the artifact. Demona could tell that he was growing impatient with the situation.

It’s frustrating for all of us.

“Any progress?” Felix asked.

Molony scratched his head and brushed his fingers through his red hair. “Not so far.”

Itzig turned his head as a smell drifted in his direction. “This guy is decomposing.”

Demona raised an eyebrow. “So, now you believe us?”

“He definitely exhibits many of the symptoms that the CDC is associating with this epidemic,” Itzig said. He was disgusted by the situation, but determined to verify that the possessed was not an infected person. He pulled a pair of blue latex gloves from his pocket and slipped them on over his hands.

Ezekiel stood back and let Itzig step into the cell. Ezekiel cleared out to give Itzig more room to examine the possessed. He shone a light into its eyes and forced its mouth open difficultly, while making sure that his fingers were away from its teeth. Itzig felt for a pulse, first on the wrist and then the neck.

Itzig shook his head and stared in disbelief. “Well, no pulse. This man is definitely in advanced stages of decay. It’s kind of hard not to believe the demon thing, especially when a dead man is still up moving around. But are you sure they aren’t like zombies or something, instead of demons?”

“Well in some ways, they are sort of like zombies, but he is definitely possessed by a demon. By the way zombies are one of the few supernatural creatures that don’t actually exist,” Molony replied.

Itzig leaned in to get a better view of the possessed’s face and looked for any signs of a human personality. He looked into the man’s eyes to find them hollow. The possessed held a bleak, blank expression. Despite the lack of humanity within, the possessed was still able to control some of the bodily functions and motor skills. The demon flung itself forward, but the restraints kept him from getting to Itzig. Itzig jumped away startled, and quickly scrambled from the cell.

Itzig pulled the blue gloves from his hands. “So what kind of danger does this guy pose?”

“From what we can tell these types of possessed are mostly capable of physical violence. They can hit, kick, push, and bite. Be particularly careful of the biting; it’s the way that they can drain your energy and feed on it in order to sustain themselves within the host,” Ezekiel explained.

“I guess I better learn as much about what’s happening so that I can use the knowledge to deal with the situation back in town,” Itzig said. “What about the other kinds of possessed that you spoke of earlier?”

“They’re a little more dangerous. They have more of an energy source since their hosts survived the possession, which means they can do certain things. Some of the demons within the hosts have the ability to transform themselves into a completely different being, the demon priest is the most powerful of this kind and can turn into a serpent or mist form and reappear in human form. Mostly, the others are stronger than the dead, they can wield weapons, cause more deadly physical violence, and can use some basic destructive demonic magic,” Kaleb said.

“Good to know, but I’m not going to be able to convince my superiors or the CDC that this is a demon infestation as opposed to a viral outbreak. They’d probably quarantine me on suspicion of exhibiting some of the psychotic symptoms. Though, now that I know what’s really going on, perhaps we can work together to deal with the demons,” Itzig said.

Ezekiel clasped his hands together with a clap. “Thank you
Aleph
. What we really need, now, from you is to be able to get in and out of town without any issues. It would also be helpful if we can have direct contact with you, so that you can inform us of any demon activity within town. This way we can address the situations as quickly as possible.”

“I can do that,” Itzig agreed. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you special privilege to enter and exit the quarantine zone. I can’t guarantee that I will have any legal options available, but I’m not opposed to breaking a few laws to solve this problem.”

“Can’t we just go into town without a problem? Wouldn’t it just be when we exit town?” Anne asked.

“It doesn’t work like that Aunt Anne. If they allow civilians to enter town after knowing that there is a potential health risk, the police department, CDC, or whoever is in charge at the time can be held liable,” Itzig said. “They’d be looking at a pretty substantial law suit if the people in charge knew they were allowing a civilian to enter into a hazardous environment. Even if the person knew that they could become sick, it is still our jobs to protect them from themselves.”