The Mythos Unveiled (Demona series) (7 page)

“Hannah,
Demona, this is my buddy—”

“Felix,”
Demona said. They shook hands and Demona quickly looked away.

“Well,
now that we have all met and that you two obviously know each other. We should
go,” Kaleb said.

Unbelievable!

They
headed towards Felix’s red sedan and took their seats. Demona was transfixed
with Felix. Felix's cheesy charm and sweet smile were especially hard to
ignore.

They
arrived at an Italian restaurant and took their seats at a booth. They hastily
ordered meals so that they could turn their attention to one another. Kaleb had
Hannah’s undivided attention, when she turned her attention to Felix.

“How
are you feeling?” Demona asked.

“Oh
much better, thanks. Just a little banged up, no broken bones thankfully,”
Felix said.

“That’s
good to hear!” Demona said.

“You
left without an answer. I thought I would never see you again,” Felix said.

Demona
fumbled with her silverware. “I know. I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t know what to
say. I’m not very good with people.”

“Well,
I guess you will just have to make up for it by answering all of my questions,”
Felix said. He smiled at her.

Demona
could not help but smile in return.

“So,
tell me about yourself,” Felix said.

“There
isn’t much to tell… I live in the same apartment building as Hannah and Kaleb.
I work five days a week at a really horrible job. My life is pretty boring,”
Demona said.

“It
can’t be that boring with you around,” Felix said.

Demona
avoided eye contact with him. “It is though.”

“Tell
me about your family,” Felix said.

“I
don’t have a family. I lived in foster homes.”

Felix
studied her. “Knock, Knock.”

“Oh
boy. Who’s there?”

“Lima
Bean.”

“Lima
Bean, who?” Demona rolled her eyes.

“Lima
Bean missing you,” Felix said. He smoothly reached across the table and laid
his hand on top of hers.

Demona
chuckled.

“We
don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. Just tell me when you feel
uncomfortable,” Felix said.

“Thanks.
By the way that joke was really cheesy!” Demona said.

“I’ve
got many more of those!” Felix said. He rattled off a few more cheesy jokes.

Demona,
Kaleb, and Hannah laughed hard. There was more trivial talk between the four of
them. They discussed books and movies and so much more. When their food was
delivered, Demona picked at her plate as she watched the other three eat. Soon,
Hannah and Kaleb returned to their own conversation.

“So,
now tell me about you,” Demona said.

“Okay…
I have a house just outside of town, with a roommate, my sister Rowena. I see
my parents occasionally. They retired and moved to Florida. We try to visit one
another as often as possible. That’s how I met Kaleb. His parents are my
parents’ neighbor. Oh, and I have a cat named Balthazar,” Felix said.

“It
sounds nice.”

“It
is. So, are you in a relationship?”

“I
wouldn’t be here if I was.”

“I
figured, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. I’d like to see you again.”

“I’d
like that,”
I’m going to regret this, but
there’s something genuine about him.
“Would you be okay with going for a
walk?”

“That
sounds great! It will give us a chance to get to know each other.”

“There’s
a park near my apartment. I love walking there, but haven’t had a chance to in
a while. Would you mind meeting me tomorrow?”

“I’ll
be there!”

Chapter 7

A Walk

Demona
woke up to a bright cloudless day. She stretched in bed and tossed the covers
off of her body.
Felix
. A smile
spread across her face as she thought about his dreamy eyes
.
She hopped out of bed and dashed to her closet. She searched
through it several times, and found nothing suitable to wear.
There is only one solution.
She threw on
the first clothes she came across in the closet and grabbed her things. As
Demona made her way to the parking lot Hannah was on her way in.

Hannah
wore a bright yellow sundress with a soft white sweater loosely over her
shoulders. Sometimes Hannah just looked too innocent to Demona.

“Hi!”
Hannah said.

“I’m
glad I ran into you! Are you busy?” Demona asked.

“No,
just on my way back from church,” Hannah said.

“Good,
I desperately need your help!”

“Sure,
what’s up?”

“I
have a date with Felix and I have nothing to wear. I was just headed to the
mall. I could really use a second opinion. It’s been forever since I went
shopping.”

“This
will be fun! But you have to fill me in on how you know him.”

Demona
grabbed Hannah’s hand and pulled her towards the car. Awhile later they arrived
at the mall and found their way into one of the several department stores.
Hannah helped Demona pick out a few outfits to try on and waited outside the
dressing room, while Demona tried them on. Demona was having a difficult time
finding something that was good enough for her date with Felix.

“So,
how do you know Felix?” Hannah asked.

“Honestly,
I don’t know him well. I helped save him,” Demona said.

Hannah
laughed. “You are kidding right?”

“No,
seriously,” Demona said.

“Wow,
sounds like a great way to start off a romance!”

Demona
came out of the dressing room wearing a cute dark green sweater dress. “What do
you think?” She spun to show Hannah how it looked.

“Perfect.”

Demona
went back into the dressing room to change into her clothes. “Oh! Don’t tell
Kaleb or Felix I said anything. I think Felix is a little sore on the subject,”
Demona said.

“My
lips are sealed. Now we need to find shoes.” Hannah said.

They
made their way to the shoe aisle and Hannah grabbed a pair of dark brown cowboy
boots. “These will look perfect with that dress!”

“Okay,
I’ll try them on.”

“So,
you must have really liked him.”

Demona
slid her feet into the boots. “Yeah, it was strange. From the moment I saw him
and every moment since he has been on my mind… You are right. These boots are
cute!”
It’s nice having a friend who
actually asks me questions, for once.

“It
sounds intense. I mean you have only known him for like two days,” Hannah said.

“I
know! I can’t remember ever feeling this way. But, I’m nervous for so many
reasons too. I’m really afraid to open up to him. It’s all way too scary!”
Demona said.

“Well,
I hope it all works out. Felix seems like a really nice guy. I know you need a
good guy by your side. You have always been alone since I have known you. It’s
nice to see you smile for once.”

“It’s
a nice change. And he seems really nice. How’s Kaleb?”

“Actually,
he called me last night after he got in from dropping us off. We talked for
about two hours. He said he’d call me again tonight.
 
Now, I just need to wait until he asks me out
again.”

“I’m
sure he’ll ask you when you talk tonight!” Demona went to the cash register to
pay for her items.

****

Demona
was so excited that she waited outside the building for Felix to show up. His
car pulled into the parking lot and he exited the car. As he walked towards her
Demona thought she noticed a skip in his step. He smiled at her and she could
not help but return one as well.

“Hello,”
Felix said.

“Hey,”
Demona said.

“You
look amazing.”

Demona
looked at her feet. “Thanks. So do you.”

“Should
we walk?”

“Sure,
this way.”

Demona
directed them toward the path which led away from the apartment building. They
walked along the winding dirt trail. A gentle breeze tugged at Demona’s long
flowing hair and the scent of spring engulfed her as they made their way
through the park. The trees shone in the sunlight and blossoms popped with
color against the green backdrop.

“What’s
your favorite band?” Felix asked.

“So,
we’re doing this?”

“Doing
what?”

“The
normal date chitchat.” Demona giggled. “Hmmm…I would have to say, Muse.”

“They
are pretty good.”

“How
about yours?”

“You
are going to laugh,” Felix said, “Iron Maiden.”

“A
metal head, huh?”

Felix
held up the metal sign and did a fake head bang. “Yeah!”

Demona
giggled. “Well, at least we both know that good music comes from England.” She
watched a group of joggers ran past them in the opposite direction. “What about
hobbies? We can’t forget about those.”

“I’m
actually a musician,” Felix said, “I play guitar.”

“Really!
That’s awesome,” Demona said.

“My
sister, Rowena, she’s pretty cool. She lets me live with her while I attempt to
pursue the rock star dream. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“It
sounds like you have a great relationship.”

“We
do. My parents are great too. I miss them, being so far from them is hard
sometimes. But Rowena is like a second Mom.”

Demona
gripped her arm as she listened to Felix talk about his family. “You’re lucky.”

“Yeah,
I am.

They
continued walking through the park. The nicely manicured park held many
variations of flowers. The spring day was revitalizing.

“I
wish I knew my family,” Demona said.

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t think. It must be hard,” Felix said.

“I
think the hardest part is not knowing anything about my parents. And I don’t
have many memories of the foster homes. I guess most of it was forgetful.”

“It
couldn’t have been easy going through that.”

“Yeah.
Some families were okay, but we never bonded. There were some though,” Demona
looked away, “they just needed a babysitter or sent me away when they had their
own kids.”

Felix
directed them towards a bench and they both sat. “I don’t know how anyone could
send you away.”

Demona
listened to him; aware of how closely they sat next to one another. Her body
tingled every time Felix’s hand brushed up against hers where they rested near
each other on the bench between them.
 
She looked towards him intently, interested in every word that he spoke.

He has no idea
what I am. If he ever finds out…
Demona turned and admired the rays of
sunlight that shone through the trees. She stared at the brilliant green grass
that was blowing in the soft breeze. Then, she became painfully aware of where
she was. Demona sat up rigidly. A lump rose in her throat as she remembered the
pure fear of that night. Then, her eyes glazed over.

****

Darkness
surrounded her and she felt a searing pain in her neck. She could feel that she
was sprawled out on a hard surface. She tried to move her arms, but only her
left responded. She felt damp grass on her finger tips as she swept her hand
around. Her arm was cumbersome and lifted awkwardly towards her neck, towards
the pain.

The
pain continued to shoot through her. Her hand touched a smooth round surface
which Demona came to groggily identify as a head. It moved at her touch, while
another searing pain shot through her neck. She heard her attacker’ noises, it
sounded as if gnawing and feasting.

“Get
off!” Demona said. She used what little strength she had to try to force the
head away from her neck. She hit the man and tried to pivot her body away. The
pain only increased with her efforts and she weakened with every attempt.

“Help!
Hel—” Demona struggled to breathe. She was mentally and physically exhausted.
She tried to scream, but it hurt too much to move and she did not have the
strength to struggle any longer.

She
was aware that she was going to die, paralyzed by her attacker. It was too hard
to move, too hard to fight any longer. She soon accepted that this was the end.
That it would be easier to just let go. A sigh escaped her as she gave into the
pain, a moment later her body was drained and her heart ceased to beat.

****

“Demona!”
Felix said. He was shaking her.

Demona
came back to the present to find herself seated on a bench beside Felix. She
trembled and crossed her arms as if hugging herself.

“Demona,
what’s wrong?” Felix asked. He looked into her eyes.

“N-nothing,”
Demona said. She began to regain her composure and the shaking started to pass.
She looked up at Felix.

“Don’t
tell me it’s nothing, something is definitely wrong!” Felix said. His brows
were creased and brooding. Somehow his concern for her only made him more
attractive.

“It’s
just… I just realized we’re sitting somewhere that brings back bad memories.
Just forget about it, it’s nothing,” Demona said.

“No,
I want to know what happened. You don’t ever have to hide things from me. I’m
not going to judge you. I know we have only known each other a short time, but
I care about you. I am here for you, whenever you need me.”

Demona
sat there a few moments.
What am I doing,
I can’t get attached to him.
She gazed up at him.

“I
think… I just had a flashback. Sometimes, I get these flashes of what
happened,” Demona said. “A couple years ago… I don’t really know what happened,
but someone attacked me. They said I have amnesia from what happened and every
now and then I get pieces of the past.

“And
with each memory all of the feelings come back, too,” Demona said.

“Wow,
I am so sorry that that happened to you. I am glad that you made it through,
okay,” Felix said.

Psh, if only you
knew.

“It
must have been a very traumatic experience if it is making you feel this way
now,” Felix said. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to
him.

“It’s
not your fault. I just haven’t been back here since. For some reason I felt
like it would be safe having you with me,” Demona said.

“Well,
I am honored,” Felix placed his hand over his heart, “that you chose me to be
your escort through this.” A smile spread across his face.

As
Demona looked at Felix she could not help but smile. She was aware that his arm
rested across her shoulders.

They
sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Both Demona and Felix gradually
leaned against one another. Demona rested her head on Felix. She listened as
his heart thumped and the blood rushed through his veins
.

He is alive, He
is here with me. I wish things could always be this perfect.

“I
want to do this again,” Felix said.

“Okay.
I have work all week, but maybe next weekend.”

“That
sounds great.”

After
a few more moments had passed, they made their way back down the path towards
Felix’s car. They stood on the sidewalk facing one another. Felix reached for
Demona’s hand, and caressed it with his thumb. They stared deep into one
another’s eyes. In the setting sun, Demona could not quite make out the
brilliant blue eyes of his, but a smile shown on his face as he looked back at
her.

“I
really enjoyed the walk,” Felix said.

“Me
too. Well… except for the whole flashback thing. I’m happy you were here with
me,” Demona said.

“Anytime,
I am happy that I could be here for you when you needed me. I’m already looking
forward to our next date.” Felix smiled.

There it is
again, he’s killing me with that smile. Good thing I’m already dead.

“Well
I better get going.” Felix let her hand go.

“Yeah,”
Demona said. “I’ll talk to you later.” She placed the hand he had held around
her waist.

“You
bet.” Felix turned towards his car.

Demona
waited until he was ready to pull out of the parking space to wave goodbye.