Jonis by Rowan Erlking (free children's online books txt) 📖

showing me around.”

Jonis went back to searching the drawers.

He found a set of forks, an icebox full of sack lunches, and a bottle of spiced wine. Glancing at the captain, he shoved all those aside, took the wine, and shut the icebox door.

“Ok, I think you can go now. I’ll set up here,” Jonis said.

The captain walked back to the door. He paused, looking back at the young Cordril. “What are you going to do with the wine?”

Jonis tipped the bottle and smirked. “Well, if one comes to attack me early, I’ll douse him with the liquor and set him on fire. They don’t like that.”

Huffing, the captain turned the doorknob. “Who would?”

Shrugging, Jonis said, “Goles don’t feel it. They’re extremely difficult to kill.”

Deciding it was a bad idea to linger, the captain nodded and opened the door. “You’ll get your supplies soon. Wait right here.”

 

Jonis had to wait for about an hour before men started to come with the things he had asked for. When they brought them in, Jonis had them stay and move the tables, clearing the floor. He also checked their eyes to make sure they weren’t infected.

“What is this all about?” one of the corporals snapped. “How is this stuff going to cure the plague?”

“Did you eat your garlic?” Jonis asked, ignoring the question. He picked up the can of white paint and took the brush with it. He pried off the top and dipped the brush in.

“Of course. If the captain orders it, we do it. What are you up to?” that corporal shouted.

Jonis silently painted an enormous circle on the floor. When it was completed, he painted on the lines of writing, marking each of the cardinal points of the compass with a spell. “North.” He walked around the line edge. “East.” All eyes followed him. “South.” Jonis wrote as legibly as possible, considering his paintbrush was shabby and old. “West.”

He circled back to north. “Ward encircle and keep demons in.” He then walked to the center of the circle and clapped his hands together. “Wall!”

The men stared at him. Nothing had happened.

“What are you doing? You nut.” That soldier walked into the circle.

Jonis waved the rest in. “Come on in, and I will show you what I am up to.”

They all stepped in. Jonis smiled and walked out of the circle. “This is an exercise. Walk back out now.”

They all did, except one corporal. That one hit an invisible wall.

“I thought so,” Jonis said, drawing his sword.

Everyone stared at him.

“What are you doing?” that corporal asked, recoiling from the white line he was now trapped behind.

Jonis did not take his eyes off of him. “You didn’t eat the garlic, you liar. You can’t eat it. You have a demon inside you.”

The other men retreated from the white circle.

“Who brought in the demon chains?” Jonis called back to the other men.

One man raised his hand. “I did. He didn’t want to touch them.”

“That’s because he can’t,” Jonis replied. “A demon cannot hold the chain. Now you throw it over his neck.”

“Me?” The man pulled back. “I…I….”

“Quit being a coward and do it! He can’t get at you from in there. You are all perfectly safe.” Jonis stepped into the circle again, staring at the captured corporal’s eyes, which were getting increasingly yellow.

“Wait! You’re a demon! How come you can cross that line?” one of the men shouted.

Jonis kept his eyes on the one infected man. “Cordrils are not like other demons.”

The corporal inside the circle tore off his facemask. From his mouth, dribbled rancid foam and drool. The smell increased in the room to the point that it almost made their eyes water. The man holding the demon chains tossed the noose like a lasso. It tinkled as it flew, the bells at both ends of the noose-like chain sounding in the air. He missed. The chain struck the floor.

“Try again!” Jonis moaned.

The possessed man leapt at Jonis, opening his mouth for an attack. Worming out of his mouth, shot a long tongue-like protrusion coated with slimy ooze that dripped over the floor. The wormy shape convulsed, reaching out for Jonis’s face—but Jonis swiped at it with his sword. The tip of his blade barely nicked the worm. The thing quickly retracted inside the man’s throat.

“Come on! Try again,” Jonis called to him.

The soldier tossed another chain. This one looped around the corporal’s neck. It yanked him to the ground as if he had suddenly been tied there.

Jonis sighed with relief. He waited now with his sword.

The infected man struggled. The chain drew tighter and tighter, until it cut into his throat, strangling the sick man. The worm inside immediately shot out of his mouth, leaping for Jonis. In one deft slash, Jonis sliced that worm in half. Then, not taking any chances, he hacked the thing to pieces.

Relieved, the men sighed together.

“It’s over,” one of them murmured.

“Not yet,” Jonis said. He walked back over that line. “That corpse is now full of worm eggs. The body must be doused with alcohol and burned. No one must get close to it. Let me set up a fire ward.”

Immediately, Jonis drew an invisible line with his sword point, uttering the words of the spell. Then, taking the spiced wine, he dumped it on the dead soldier and the worm remains. Lighting a match, he dropped it on the corpses.

No one felt the heat. The floor did not even char. The men watched it burn, not even smelling the burnt flesh.

Jonis turned to them, whispering extremely low as the bodies broke down. “Secrecy is vital. You men are chosen to summon all the other soldiers to here. Every last man in our post must walk through that circle. It is the best test for demons, especially the ones that have infected this city. It is not plague we are killing, but a demon parasite infection. Any questions?”

“Why us?” one of the officers asked, gaping at him.

Blinking, Jonis answered frankly, “Well…because you are alive.”

“What about the rest of the city?” another officer asked.

Jonis looked directly at him. “That is the next step. Soldiers first, the city next. We need to know whom we can trust. Any other questions?”

One man nodded. “Are you going to do this to every demon we find?”

“No,” Jonis replied. “You will. I showed you how to kill one. Now you have to do it. I’m going out into the city and paint demon circles at every gate. That way none can get out unless they either fly out or climb the walls. Any other questions?”

One more man drew in a breath and asked, “Would that garlic we just ate protect us at all, or was that just a ruse to make them believe that you don’t know what they are?”

“Yes to both questions,” Jonis answered. “It will help, but it won’t work perfectly. Facemasks do help, but those earplugs are also protection for you in case they try to get in that way. Learn to communicate by hand signals, if necessary. Any more questions? Because I need to hurry and finish the job now for the gates.”

A lieutenant raised his hand. “What happens if one escapes and you aren’t here to stop it?”

Staring, Jonis shook his head. “For heaven sake! I’m only a kid. Don’t expect me to do everything for you! Be men and don’t let any one escape. Now, who can drive a motor bike? I need someone to take me to the nearest gate.”

The soldiers glanced at one another. One man offered to go. It was plain that he didn’t want to be there when the other soldiers arrived to walk through the circle.

Jonis headed to the door. “Now remember, you want all men to walk through. Say nothing about what really is going on until all the men have passed through the circle. Those that pass the test, just escort them to the next room. Pretend to be offering a drink. I don’t know, make up a concoction from what you can find in the fridge. Force them across the line if necessary. Everyone must pass the test. Even the captain.”

“You suspect the captain?” the lieutenant asked, his face going white.

“I suspect that the worms will try to get to him if they can.” Jonis opened the door and said loudly. “Now call in the men and administer the antidote to them” then he whispered, “And clean up that burnt mess. Those worms are dead by now. Don’t touch it though. I could be wrong.”

He left, taking the corporal with him.

Descending the stairs, Jonis nodded to the office crew. “You had better go up and get the treatment first. Where is the captain?”

One of the orderlies glared at Jonis, looking as ready to attack as the worm in the circle had done. Perhaps it could detect the smell of its dead on Jonis. “He decided to take a nap in his office and said he would not like to be disturbed.”

Nodding slowly, Jonis smiled. “Alright. We’ll give him his cure later.”

They marched out into the street. The corporal with him glanced back and whispered at Jonis, heading towards the military issue vehicles. “That man has one, doesn’t he?”

Pretending not to hear, Jonis patted the nearest bike. “This one will do.”

Shaking his head, the corporal climbed on and turned the ignition switch. Jonis took a seat after him. They gunned off into the street, riding fast down hill.

“Yes,” Jonis at a last said. “He is infected, probably with multiple worms by the smell of him.”

Shuddering, the corporal hurried faster.

 

The military soldiers heard the call around the city to return to the main office. Only the gate officers remained, which was fine for Jonis. He handed them a copy of the orders from the captain for them to do as he commanded, and proceeded to make demon circles at each of the gates. Out of all the gates from the city, only one soldier was infected by a demon. That one they killed while his partner sobbed.

The men did exactly as Jonis ordered. Taking the spiced wine, they made a simple cocktail and served them in shots. Only six men could not leave the circle. The gate guards were the only ones unaccounted for until Jonis and the corporal returned. But by the time Jonis returned and fetched the captain from the demon shield in his office to walk through the circle, all the men were accounted for. Now only the task of slaying the possessed men lay before them.

The soldiers stared at the faces of their friends. Jonis walked around the painted ring, reminding them that the soldiers inside were already dead.

“Remember, Brein Amon law states that murderers are punished by death,” Jonis said.

“But what about mercy?” one officer cried, staring at his old partner’s face. “I’m sure Commander Hundres is still in there somewhere.”

“Commander Hundres is dead,” Jonis replied, pointing his sword at that man. “And that worm inside of him will kill you too if it could. I think it more merciful to put your friend’s body to rest.”

“By burning it?” That man wept loudly, shouting.

Jonis’s face was like stone. He remembered too well how disastrous it could get if they spared a demon worm. “Better that than letting his body become a hatchery for more worms.”

“What do you care? You bloodthirsty demon! That is my friend there! I can’t just chop him up like that!” The man sobbed, glaring at Jonis.

“Then look away,” Jonis said. “You don’t have to help.”

“You have no heart,” Lt. Laslow declared, shaking his head. Not one man was dry-eyed there. The comradery in that post had been strong. “Don’t you understand how painful this is for humans?”

Jonis flinched, pulling back as those verbal barbs stabbed at him. “You think I don’t know your pain? When my father died, they burned his body. I had to watch. All I wanted to do was bury him…. I know this is painful for you. It hurts me. My first post, and I have to