Dating for Demons by Serena Robar

existence.”
    “Why?”
    “It’s their home, of course. It’s where they live, play and exist. But occasionally, a demon comes along who wants more. Who dreams of conquering others. He rallies his fellow demons and uses something like the Prophesy as an opportunity to further his cause. These demons are rare. That’s why you don’t see a lot of demon possessions.”
    “But you think that such a demon might be making a play now?” I was catching on.
    “Yes. Tell me, Colby, what do you know about demons?”
    “Oh well, I know they—that is to say they, honestly, I don’t know anything, sir.”
    He walked to his whiteboard and picked up a marker. “There are seven kinds of demons, Colby. Some are of no consequence; they are harmless or uninterested in possession. The one we need to be concerned with is an Avarice Demon named Barnaby.”
    I looked at the names he wrote on the board. Seven in total. “Avarice Demon? You mean greed? This demon is greedy?”
    “Not exactly. This demon is greed. Do you get the distinction?”
    I really wanted to be head pupil on this one but I still needed a little more help. I shook my head.
    Mr. Holloway sighed. “It’s not your fault, Colby. You’re young and only in your first year, right? It’s no matter. Barnaby, that’s the name of this particular Avarice Demon, wants to take over our world. To do that he needs to get as many demons to follow him as possible. They can’t possible infiltrate enough humans in a short period of time without an epidemic or a war. Those are difficult to predict and frankly, humans are too fragile. Barnaby is not a patient demon. Instead, he will use vampires.”
    “But how do you possess something that is Undead?”
    “By replacing the missing part of a vampire’s essence with themselves. They can only enter slowly, through dreams and unguarded moments. The vampire suspects something is going on, but demons are smart. They tend to choose vampires that isolate themselves from others and then drive that vampire crazy with paranoid delusions and irrational thoughts. Haven’t you wondered why there is so much rogue activity lately?”
    I jumped out of my chair. “You mean all those vampires going rogue are really becoming possessed by demons? How do we stop it?”
    “By stopping the leader, my dear. By stopping Barnaby.”
    “Tell me where to find him.” I had no idea how to fight a demon but I was mad enough to wing it.
    “You can’t kill a demon in his own dimension, Colby. You can’t reach him, nor could you survive there. He must cross over. It is only when the demon is fully ingrained that it can be annihilated. The biggest challenge is not destroying the vampire to kill the demon. Physical signs alert us when a vampire has been fully possessed: completely irrational behavior, putrid, decaying flesh. By then it’s too late.”
    “So demons possess the Undead and they, in turn, attack other Undead. We are killing ourselves, making the Prophesy come true. And I get the blame.”
    “I’m sorry, my dear, but I believe that is what’s happening.”
    “But I’ve got to stop it!” I certainly wasn’t a huge fan of vampires in general but I didn’t want the entire species wiped out because some greedy demon wanted a new plane of existence to hang out in.
    “I fear the only way to stop it is to destroy Barnaby—but no one knows where he will strike next.”
    There had to be a way. If Barnaby was using the Prophesy to achieve his endgame, then I needed to use it to beat him.
    “I need access to the vampire library and everything in it. Restricted or otherwise.”
    “You have a plan?” He seemed surprised by my rally.
    “Beat the bad guy, save the world.”
    He looked at me.
    “Well, it’s more of a mantra than a plan. But I do think I can figure out Baranaby’s next move with a little research. Know thy enemy and all that stuff.”
    He nodded in agreement and picked up the phone. I now had full access to the