Deamhan Chronicles, Books 1-5: Deamhan, Kei. Family Matters, Dark Curse, Maris. The Brotherhood Files, Ayden. Deamhan Minion

by Isaiyan Morrison

  Silvanus followed in pursuit but stopped unexpectedly.

  “You’re letting him escape?” Lambert screamed out to him.

  Silvanus looked over his shoulder at Lucius. “Lucius is letting him escape.”

  “You want him to run?” Anastasia asked in disbelief while watching Lucius finish off his last victim.

  The room filled with an eerie silence.

  Veronica stepped out of the corner to watch Lucius lifting a Deamhan in the air by his throat. A loud crunching sound followed, and the victim’s body went limp. He dropped the Deamhan to the floor.

  “Lucius?” Anastasia approached him. “Why let Kei run?”

  He held up his hand and Anastasia immediately stopped her questioning. The chained humans still cowered in their small huddle in the corner but their presence was ignored. He slowly walked by them, stepping through the pool of blood and up to the stage. The bodies of dying Deamhan were strewn around the room. The smell of blood ravaged the air.

  Selene examined the long scratches and fight wounds over her forearms and watched them slowly heal. “Why did you stop Silvanus from catching Kei?”

  Veronica cautiously took a couple of steps forward and covered her nose and mouth with her hands. She too became curious as to why Lucius would mentally tell Silvanus to stop his attack.

  But Lucius didn’t speak. He slowly walked along the stage and he looked to the ceiling then to the back of the room at the remaining vampires who waited for Lambert’s command. “It’s not always about revenge . . . not yet.”

  “This is revenge,” Selene replied. “For what he did to you!”

  “Selene.” Lucius motioned for her to approach him. She stepped up to him and he placed his hand on the back of her head. “Don’t carry my hate for me.” He then motioned for Anastasia to also approach him.

  “Let us do this for you.” Anastasia walked over to him.

  He shook his head. “No, you won’t.”

  Veronica wanted to ask and she wanted to know what had really happened to her mother. Yet she remained afraid. She watched Lucius gently kiss Anastasia on her forehead followed by Selene. She understood somewhat why her mother researched him. He seemed different than any Deamhan. Besides his age and his attractiveness, he also showed the human trait of compassion.

  Thoughts about her mother filled her mind and she didn’t bother to block them. Picking up on these thoughts he turned to face her. “I will speak to her alone.”

  The vampires left the room followed by Lambert. Silvanus disappeared from Veronica’s eyesight in an instant. Anastasia hesitated but also left. Selene bit her lower lip before she walked out of the room.

  “You look just like your mother.” Lucius motioned for her to come up on the stage.

  Veronica haltingly stepped forward, stopping just inches from the stairs. She gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath. “My mother researched and followed you.” She climbed the steps and she walked over to him. Her nose caught the iron scent of blood still dripping from his clothing.

  “I remember your mother.”

  “What happened to her?” She felt her eyes beginning to tear and she looked away for a moment. She didn’t want him to see her crying.

  “I will show you.” He placed his arms on her shoulders.

  She felt her head beginning to tingle, and before she could stop him from piercing her thoughts, it was too late. She braced herself for the pain, but it never came.

  She then heard his voice in her mind.

  I loved your mother.

  Love? A Deamhan couldn’t love? Impossible. Yet she wanted to know more.

  What happened to her? She thought.

  He opened his mind and she began to see his thoughts and memories.

  They were brief and skipped frantically from scene to scene. Veronica saw her mother smiling and laughing. The scene changed and she now saw her mother standing on the shores of the Mississippi River, the moonlight glistening off the dark waters.

  It changed again. She saw her from a distance, the same way Lucius saw her, cautiously walking alone down a dark alleyway. Veronica sensed her panic and she smelled her lilac perfume. Something or someone was following her.

  Suddenly Lucius stood behind her mother and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and whispered his name.

  He lifted her in his arms, staring into her eyes and wiped the sweat from her forehead. A sense of compassion overcame him, and he stood silent and confused. For the first time in centuries, he was beginning to love again.

  He fed her and made it quick and painless as possible. When she was barely on the edge of death he cut himself on his forearm and he placed his wound close to her mouth. He then dragged her further into an alley and placed her body on the wet concrete, watching his blood beginning to turn her.

  But something happened. He grew weak and Veronica felt it. His senses grew numb and he failed to detect them as they came from all sides; behind, in front, and above. He struggled against them but the humans dressed in black trench coats managed to hold him down. Their smell was strong and reeked of The Brotherhood. They were there to take him but they didn’t expect Veronica’s mother to be in the alley with him.

  Kei stood over her, glancing at Lucius’ new creation. His hair was much longer then. He mocked his sire and he leaned over Veronica’s mother and gently placed his mouth over her own.

  Veronica pushed herself away from Lucius’ thoughts. She took a step back, leaning against the wall for support. She didn’t want him to continue, she didn’t want to see anymore. She knew what happened next.

  Her eyes slowly filled with tears and she felt her feet falter under her. She couldn’t comprehend that Lucius had tried to sire her own mother. She feared her mother lost everything that made her human, especially the ability to love Veronica as her own flesh and blood, but Kei made sure there was no time for that. He killed her right there, in that alley. They were all responsible.

  “You both killed her!” she cried, holding her face in her hands. She felt his thoughts pushing again, but she turned her head. Nothing he could say or show would make up for what they both did.

  Her mother was gone, truly gone.

  Veronica held her head low in silence.

  EPILOGUE

  The office was small and confined. Frost covered the corners of the glass windows due to the Minnesota winter. Nothing on the outside of the building signaled that The Brotherhood had set up shop in this location except for Anastasia’s keen sense of smell.

  She described it to Veronica as a bland odor mixed with human blood, deodorant, and surprisingly, ink and coffee. The aroma tingled her nose, like a sneeze that had not manifested itself yet. It was milder than the other smells of Deamhan, vampires, and demons. It was also more pleasurable to inhale.

  The front door was unlocked, and it didn’t take much force for Veronica to push it open. The sound of bells clinging echoed through the front room signaling their entry. The waiting area was vacant. The red carpet brightened from underneath them and a huge welcome sign nailed to the wall, surrounded by scenic pictures of Minnesota, seemed almost too much to bear. Veronica’s eyes glowered over the room.

  Near the receptionist desk, a group of young researchers gathered around a computer, but their attention now focused on them.

  “Lambs for slaughter,” Anastasia uttered under her breath.

  The researchers reacted to their sudden appearance by remaining quiet. Two males standing next to each other appeared less timid than the female, whose eyes focused on Anastasia.

  Veronica saw Kenneth seated at a gray desk behind them. She recognized him immediately and cleared her throat to get his attention.

  He looked up from his desk and smiled. He straightened his white buttoned shirt and khaki slacks and slowly stood up from his feet. Looking more like a businessman than a researcher, he approached her and held out his hand. “Veronica.”

  Her eyes scanned him from head to toe. She still couldn’t grasp
the fact that he was now Region Leader of the Midwest Division. It made her sick, and she wanted nothing more than for Anastasia to rip his throat out. But she wasn’t here for that. She just wanted to give her father a message.

  “You’re going to get them killed.” She pointed to the researchers.

  Kenneth lowered his hand. “I don’t think that concerns you.” His eyes drifted to Anastasia, who stood a step behind her. Anastasia kept herself busy by slowly opening her mouth, with her fangs extended as she took in the scent of the humans around her. “Don’t you think you’re disrespecting your mother’s image? You’re now running around with them. You’re living with them.”

  Veronica turned her head slightly to the researchers. Their posture now changed. They stood erect with their shoulders back and head slightly tilted up. They masked their fear by their non-fearful stance, yet in their eyes, Veronica still saw their fear of Anastasia. “My father disrespected my mother’s image. But I’m not here to argue about that.”

  “Well, why are you here?”

  “I have a message for him. Tell him I know.”

  “Know what?”

  “Tell him.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll never forgive him for what The Brotherhood did to my mother.”

  “Your mother over stepped her bounds,” he replied. “She knew the risks that came with the job.”

  Anastasia rushed forward, grabbing him by his collar. Veronica jumped slightly at her unexpected movement, and the researchers gasped. She slammed him onto his desk, pinning him by his shoulders. She leaned over him with her mouth opened and her fangs fully extended. “And what about Lucius?” She sniffed his face then growled ferociously.

  “You don’t scare me,” Kenneth replied.

  Anastasia cocked her head to the side. “I sense different.” Her teeth slowly retracted. She let go of his collar and slowly backed away from him.

  “Tell my father to not come looking for me,” Veronica said. She turned and walked back to the front door.

  “You’re turning your back on your family.” He rubbed his throat and lifted himself from his desk. “Like it or not, we’re your family, Veronica. Not those Deamhan.”

  She opened the front door and waited to hear the bells clink before she spoke again. “Goodbye, Kenneth.” She headed out into the sub-zero winds of Minnesota, followed by Anastasia.

  Kenneth stood to his feet and straightened his shirt. His hands trembled slightly, and he took a deep breath, trying to relax his body. He looked at the researchers, who remained still in their position. Now their eyes were on him and his next movement.

  “Get back to work,” he blurted out. He placed his hands on his hips and took another deep breath. “I’m going in the back,” he said. “If they come back, ring for help.”

  He headed toward the back room. He continued to catch his breath, realizing how close he had been to death. It felt exhilarating.

  He stopped in front of a black door and wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked himself over again, making sure that his clothing wasn’t scrunched or ripped. He lifted his arms to check if the sweat under his armpits moistened his shirt. He knocked gently and turned the knob, pushing the door open.

  Samuel Austin sat on a two seat leather couch with his legs crossed and his pipe dangling from the right corner of his mouth. He exchanged a warm smile with Kenneth, but upon noticing the sweat dripping down his forehead, his smile changed to concern.

  “You had company?” Mr. Austin asked slowly.

  A half-cocked smile appeared on Kenneth’s face. He walked over to a long desk, waving off any assumption of his encounter. He didn’t want the old man to worry. Instead, he wanted Mr. Austin to feel comfortable with his decision of making him Region Leader of the Midwest Division.

  “Just your daughter, sir.” He leaned against the edge of the desk. He began to fiddle around with the cluttered objects: pens, pieces of papers, a stapler. His jumpy behavior drew Mr. Austin to grab onto the edge of the couch and lift himself slowly to his feet.

  Mr. Austin raised his hand before Kenneth could move to assist him. He then grabbed his cane and puffed on his pipe before walking toward him. “Did she come to talk to me?”

  “Apparently she knows.”

  Mr. Austin puffed. “I knew she would eventually find out.”

  “Sir, if you ask me, your daughter is all words. She brought that Deamhan with her too, just to make it look like she meant business.”

  “Well. Obviously she got her point across.” He referred to Kenneth’s rattling behavior. He walked to a large five shelf bookcase at the opposite end of the wall. He remained quiet, examining the books stacked neatly against one another. Every book significant to The Brotherhood rested on the top two shelves while anything else less important, magazines and personal reading books on the other shelves.

  “How long is this going to go on for?” Kenneth felt the question escaping his lips was wrong, and he immediately wanted to recant.

  “Plans have changed.” He continued to admire the bookshelf. “I’ve told you that you have to be flexible if you eventually want to lead this organization.”

  He remained unsure but nodded anyway, trusting Mr. Austin’s plan—whatever it was. He didn’t know the intricate details, but he knew just enough. “But your daughter, sir.”

  “My daughter is like her mother.” Mr. Austin turned to face him. “Never backing down, never accepting the answers to her questions.”

  A female giggle exploded from the corner of the room.

  Kenneth stood up. He hadn’t seen her before, and she seemed to appear out of nowhere.

  He watched Selene standing in the corner, partially hidden in the shadows. He wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there, watching him ease his nervousness. Mr. Austin didn’t flinch when she giggled, nor did he seem surprised by her interruption.

  Her tight hip hugging jeans revealed her flat and smooth midsection. Her red hair nestled comfortably on her shoulders and slightly covered the outline of her breasts. She was barefoot, and her toes were painted with bright pink nail polish. She walked out of the shadows, moving her hips from side to side, her lips puckered and her eyes fixed on Kenneth. It was enough to make any man, Deamhan or human, swoon. He also noticed that something was different about her. She looked renewed since the last time he’d seen her.

  Kenneth’s infatuation with her first grew when she pinned Sean on the pool table at the bar located just down the street from Veronica’s apartment. That was a sight to see. He liked her style. She was cunning, and neither Lucius nor any of those damned Deamhan knew what she was truly up to.

  But he did.

  “He’s lusting after me.” She stood next to Mr. Austin, still keeping her licentious eyes at Kenneth.

  “No.” He wiped his mind free from his thoughts.

  “You worry too much.” She flipped her long red hair to her back. “The plan worked. Kei is out of the way.”

  “But Lucius is not in Limbo anymore,” Kenneth added. “Thanks to you.”

  “A last minute decision that I had to make.” She shrugged her shoulders innocently. “Besides, Lucius is no concern to you.”

  “How is breaking him free going to help us reopen the Chapter in this city?” Kenneth asked.

  “The Deamhan have no choice but to obey us now,” she answered. “Lucius rules this city once again.”

  Kenneth nodded unsurely and watched Mr. Austin nod to Selene’s statement. Getting Kei dethroned was part of the plan. In his departure, Selene would take his place and not Lucius.

  “Why so uncertain?” She snickered. “Are you frightened?”

  “Lucius was supposed to reign. Not you.”

  She slowly walked over to him and placed her cold hands on his chest. “It’s okay to admit that you’re afraid,” she whispered in his right ear.

  “I’m just cautious.” Startled, Kenneth moved away from her.

  “As am I.” Mr. Austin grabbed firmly on the tip of his cane. “I’m also c
urious on this deal you made with Amenirdis. She is a Pure One and not to be taken lightly.”

  “She’s in Limbo with the rest of them.” Selene sat on the edge of his desk and she crossed her legs. “There’s no need to worry about what she wants.”

  Kenneth didn’t believe her. She was hiding something. “Kei thought the same thing and look what happened.”

  “But I am not him.”

  Mr. Austin stomped his cane on the ground to gather their attention. “We’ve managed to restart the Minnesota Chapter along with protecting my daughter to the best of our ability.” He puffed on his pipe and released the smoke in a long exalted breath. “Regardless of the change of plans, we’re on the right path and we hope that you keep your end of the deal Selene.”

  “You can be assured that I will.”

  Mr. Austin pointed his finger at her. “Believe me when I say this. Any Deamhan that attempts to harm my daughter will be met with brute force. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to happen to my baby girl.”

  Kei. Family Matters

  Deamhan Chronicles #1.5

  For decades, I singularly helped strengthen the Deamhan in Minneapolis, and made sure that all the vampires feared us. Ramanga, Lamia, Metusba, Lugat - I looked out for everyone. No one before me had the guts to stand up to the humans and vampires like I did. If it weren't for me, Deamhan would've left that city in fear a long time ago.

  Everything was fine until my sibling, Selene, arrived. She released my sire, Lucius, from Limbo, and all hell broke loose. They massacred my supporters and dethroned me. Now, with his minions rallying behind Lucius like he's their messiah, Selene and he chase me to the ends of the earth. They erroneously believe that by capturing me, they will exact justice from me for my crimes.

  Little do they know that nothing can keep me away from Minneapolis, the city I built from the ground up. I'm going nowhere. The city belongs to me, Kei; and only I can redeem it.

  The Dictum