Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 14

Ashtyn had helped them move Bobby back to his room, but once things were settled she headed straight for the nearest computer.

He had said something in his sleep.  A name, over and over again.  She couldn’t be entirely sure of what it was, but she knew that it was a big piece to the puzzle they were trying to solve.

“What the hell was it?”  She was mumbling to herself.  “Goop?  No.  Grack... Grath!”

That was it!

“Shit.”  She glanced around her.  Every hallway in the lab looked the same.  No markers, no nothing.  She was completely and totally lost.

“Can I help you?” A familiar voice came from behind Ashtyn.

Elizabeth.  Had she been following her this whole time?

“I need to look something up.”  Ashtyn turned, facing the young doctor.

“Anything in particular?” Elizabeth was smiling, but her eyes seemed cold.

Ashtyn had to admit that she was starting to get sick of the cute act.  Sure, she had bought it at first, but the girl had gotten a little too bipolar for anyone to be buying it anymore.

Still, she was the only one there, and the only who had any idea where anything was, so she didn’t have much choice when it came to asking for help.

“Well,”  Ashtyn took a deep breath, “I need a computer with internet access.  Unless you have any books on pre-history demonology, religious practices or holy legends just lying around.  Those could be helpful as well.”

“I didn’t realize that your field required such extensive research.”  Elizabeth looked genuinely surprised.  “I don’t know about actual books, and internet access is fairly limited in the building, for...”

“Security reasons, I know.” This was going to be a royal pain in the ass.  “I thought you said they would supply research materials.”

“We tend to think more along the lines of lab equipment.” Elizabeth lowered her head.  “Just like you, we are a little out of our element here.”

“Oh, no.  This is exactly my element. Anything that could knock Bobby and Juktha back like that is no virus.”  Shit! She shouldn’t have mentioned Juktha.

“What is a Juktha?” Elizabeth took a step towards her.  The look in her eye suddenly made Ashtyn very uncomfortable.

“Long story.”  A nervous smile spread on Ashtyn’s lips.  “So, about that internet connection?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”  Elizabeth started walking down one of the long white hallways.  “Follow me.”

She knew she had to, but at that very moment, after seeing the way Elizabeth’s ears had perked up at the mention of Juktha’s name, following that girl was the last thing Ashtyn wanted to do.

Ashtyn did her best to keep up, but Elizabeth was hustling down those hallways as fast as she could.

“There is one office in this particular part of the lab that does have internet access.”  Elizabeth never looked at Ashtyn as she spoke.  “We very rarely allow contractors to use it, but in this case, I think we can make an exception.”

“Thanks.”  Ashtyn was doing her best to keep calm, but the complete personality one eighty that Elizabeth was pulling was starting to really creep her out.

Without warning Elizabeth stopped, turning towards the wall.  She produced a key card from her pocket, and pressed it against the wall.

A red outline lit up around the card, and suddenly a section of the wall pulled back, then smoothly slid to the side, revealing a doorway.

“This way.”  Elizabeth smiled and motioned for Ashtyn to enter the room.

“Hidden doorways?” Ashtyn knew she looked like a wide eyed idiot, but she didn’t care.  “This place is just jam packed with secrets.”

“Yamada Labs specializes in secrets.” Elizabeth smiled, bowing her head slightly as if embarrassed.

“Listen, Elizabeth, drop the shy girl bit.”  Ashtyn crossed her arms.  “You’ve dropped character way too many times for it to still work.  I know Kurt and Bobby stopped buying it a while ago.  I, on the other hand, wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt.  But come on...”

“What are you...” Elizabeth shook her head when she saw the look Ashtyn was giving her.  She removed her glasses, and rubbed the bridge of her nose.  “Whatever.”

“Good.”  Ashtyn walked into the computer lab.

Elizabeth caught up, leading the both of them to a computer terminal.

“So, you going to tell me what a Juktha is?” Elizabeth sat down in front of the computer and started typing in a series of passwords.

“Yamada Labs isn’t the only one with secrets, sweetie.”  Ashtyn couldn’t help but smile.

After a few more keystrokes Elizabeth finally handed control of the computer to Ashtyn.

Ashtyn sat down and instantly began her search.  Most of the information she needed was buried in digital archives that most people didn’t even know existed.  If a person went in blind, they would probably need months to even find a sliver of information.

Ashtyn, on the other hand, had learned the various systems fairly quickly.

“So, what was with the whole playing acting bit?”  Ashtyn never took her eyes off the screen as she spoke.

“Nomi thought it would easier to get you guys to work with us if I played it a little more sweet and innocent.”  Elizabeth did her best to scan the information on the screen, but Ashtyn was moving through documents too quickly for her to keep up.  “You bought it, so I guess she had the right idea.”

“You really that guy’s fiance?” Ashtyn glanced at the ring on Elizabeth’s finger.

“Which guy?  Andrew? No.”  Elizabeth laughed, “screwed around a few times, but he was always more focused on his work then on people.  Amazing scientist, crappy human being.”

“What can I say, Demon Slayers Inc. is a sucker for a damsel in distress.”  Ashtyn started to slow her search.  “I think we are getting somewhere.”

“What are you looking up, any ways?”  Elizabeth leaned in, trying to read  the document pulled up on the screen.  “How the hell can you read this?  I don’t even know what language this is.”

Ashtyn looked at her, confused.  “What the hell are you talking about?  It’s in English.”

“No, it’s not.”  Elizabeth reached out and began to trace the letters on the screen.

Ashtyn watched, shocked.  Even though the text she was looking out seemed to be spelled out in perfect English, Elizabeth’s fingers were moving in odd lines and circles.

“What the hell are you trying to pull? Stop that!” She gently smacked away Elizabeth’s hand.

Ashtyn shook her head, trying her best to focus.  She rubbed her eyes, and for a brief second, as her vision began to clear, she could swear the words on the screen changed.

She started reading again, but then suddenly she froze.

“What?  What’s the matter?”  Elizabeth stood up straight, a touch of fear entering her voice.

“We aren’t dealing with a demon.” Ashtyn’s voice was flat, emotionless.

“I could have told you that.” Elizabeth crossed her arms, looking smug.

“No, you don’t understand.”  Ashtyn turned towards the other woman.  “We are dealing with a god.”

***

Nomi sat at her desk, watching the monitor on her computer intently.

The incident in the lab had been more then informative, but now, listening to Asthyn and Elizabeth talk, she could barely contain herself.

Her brother was a god?  Her mother had always treated him like one, but now he actually was one, and Nomi had him under her control.

Screw the army, she thought.  Whatever power that thing possessed, if she could harness it, then she could do more then just rule this tiny little lab.

She sat back, closing her eyes. She smiled, imagining that she could feel the power coursing through her veins.  It was so close.  All she had to do was reach out and grab it.
There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”  She sat up, doing her best to compose herself.

The door swung open and Steven stepped in.  His expression was his usual scowl, but she wasn’t paying attention to his face.

Most people had found her choice of uniforms ridiculous, but for Nomi they were one of the few sources of joy in her life.  She had made sure to hire the most attractive people she could find, and if they were intelligent, then that was just a plus.

Steven was no exception.  Her eyes followed down his lean, muscular torso towards his form fitting pants.

She smiled.  She couldn’t help it.

“You wanted to see me?”  He had caught her looking, his usual scowl now a sly smirk.

“Close the door behind you.”

Once he had, she motioned with her hand for him to step around the desk.  As he did, she turned so that she was facing him.

“Get on your knees.”  Her voice was low, seductive.

With no complaint Steven complied.  As he knelt before her Nomi uncrossed her legs.

“Worship me.” She reached out and gently ran her fingers through his hair.

“Yes ma’am.” Steven leaned forward, his head guided by Nomi’s hand.

As Steven went to work a plan started to formulate in Nomi’s mind.  If that thing in the cage was still her brother, at least in some part, then maybe he would still have a few of Andrew’s interests.

She smiled, looking down at the top of Steven’s head.

High sex drive ran in her family, and after the way she had caught her brother looking at Megan, she realized she had the perfect bate to attempt to tame the beast.

She leaned back, letting her mind wander back to the task at hand.

It’s good to be queen, thought Nomi.  Even better to be a goddess.