Page 70 of Demon Unleashed

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Enya closed the heavy book she’d been studying. The knowledge base that Charles and Wesley had accumulated in their little vault underneath Scanguards headquarters was quite impressive, and included books detailing the history of the Stealth Guardians and tidbits of what was known about the Demons of Fear. She had found nothing in the volumes she’d been perusing that gave any indication that a demon could be turned back into his original form.

“Okay,” Charles said, and rose from his chair, pointing to an entry in the book he was reading. “This could be something.”

Enya eagerly looked at the paragraph. “Sorry, but my Romanian is pretty much nonexistent. Can you translate?”

Wesley joined them. “Nothing in any of the books I looked at. What’s this?” He leaned over the entry. “Hmm. Something about a demon and the heartbeat of blood tears? What?”

“No, no,” Charles said. “You’re translating it wrong. Here: When the demon swallowed the life, or it could also mean heartbeat, of his own innocent blood, his soul shed tears, or wept, and gave him back his true… uh… identity… or maybe self. Yeah, I think that’s it.” Charles looked up.

“What does it mean?” Enya asked.

“Not sure. This is a gypsy tale from the eleventh century. And those stories are notoriously vague in their retelling. So it could mean that somehow the demon has to take an innocent’s blood to wash himself of his sins and turn back into what he was before.”

Wes shook his head. “Sacrificing an innocent? That doesn’t sound right.” He bent over the book again and pointed to a word. “That’s not just blood. It’s flesh and blood, which means a descendant.”

“What if it doesn’t mean descendant? What if it means ancestor? Like his father?” Enya asked. What if Zoltan’s father could somehow redeem him?

“Hmm,” Wes said, and glanced at Charles. “But it says innocent here, and let’s face it, anybody over the age of five is hardly without sin.”

“I agree,” Charles said. “So let’s assume it means descendant, then the translation would read: When the demon swallowed the life,or heartbeat, of his innocent descendant, his soul wept and gave him back his true self.”

“That’s not much to go by,” Enya said, deflated. “How can a demon swallow somebody’s heartbeat? That doesn’t sound right.”

Charles sighed. “I’m sorry. I wish I could be of more help.” He motioned to all the books they’d pulled off the shelves. “But I’ve got nothing else. This is the closest we’ve gotten to any reference about a demon being redeemed.”

Enya nodded. Had she really expected that Wes and Charles would find something in such a short time frame? Not expected, but hoped. “What about spells?”

Wes shook his head. “Already thought about spells, but any transformation spell that I could do would only be temporary—you know, like making a person appear like another preternatural creature to fool somebody. But those spells only work for a very short time. We’re talking minutes or hours. So that’s of no use.”

“I heard you did turn somebody into a rat once,” Charles said.

Wesley grimaced. “Don’t remind me. But seriously, no spell can permanently alter a person’s self. Not the way you want to.”

“I understand,” Enya said. “Thanks anyway. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“It wasn’t a waste,” Charles assured her, “and if I can figure out what that gypsy story really means, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, both of you.” She turned to the door.

“I’ll see you out,” Wesley offered.

“Thanks, I know the way.” She turned the handle and left the laboratory.

Outside in the bright corridor, she walked in the direction of the elevators, wanting to get as far away from where people knew her as possible. But she didn’t get far. Halfway down the corridor, she had to snatch a breath of air, and with it, a sob tore from her chest. Another worked its way up her throat before she could force it back down. Tears were filling her eyes, and it was no use to try to stop them.

“Enya?”

She spun around and recognized Maya, a vampire physician dressed in a white doctor’s coat, standing in the door to a room. Enya hadn’t even heard the door open.

She tried to wipe away the tears that had already stolen down her cheeks, but it was futile. Maya was already pulling her into her arms.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

Enya tried to pull away, but the arms of the compassionate vampire felt too comforting to retreat from. “It’s nothing.” Because how could she explain what she was going through? How could she confess that she was in love with a demon who couldn’t be saved?

“Come on into the medical suite. My patient is already gone. We’ll be alone there.”