She heard Ayden and Maris behind her and she looked over her shoulder, watching them looking back at her. Regardless of what Ayden told Nathan, she expected that soon one of them would make the first move against her. After all, she didn’t know of any Deamhan who wouldn’t jump at the chance for revenge, especially if they had every right to do so.
She remembered every little detail about how she betrayed Maris for her own survival. But it was a different time. She wasn’t the same Deamhan and she didn’t know how to explain that to Maris. No one believed that she had the ability to change for the better. “If you’re expecting a formal apology, you’re wasting your time.” She concentrated her sight on Maris. “I can’t change the past, even if I want to.”
Maris placed her hand on the railing and looked off into the distance. “You were a bad sire.” She turned to her. “You don’t know how long I’ve looked for you to tell you to your face.”
“Well, you found me. Here I am.”
“After all of this is over, the gloves are coming off,” Ayden interrupted the conversation, “and I plan on keeping the promise I made.”
“What promise? To help her kill me?” Anastasia had no desire to fight her offspring, let alone two Deamhan at once. She knew Maris wasn’t any match for her and Ayden wasn’t as old as her. But each time she examined his face, he started to look oddly familiar to her. “Remy was right. You shouldn’t have brought Maris here,” Anastasia said to him.
“I can take care of myself,” Maris quickly spoke up. “Why are you worrying about my safety now? You never did in the past.”
“I couldn’t care less about your safety. I’m more worried about the safety of our kind.” Reading Maris’ thoughts, she continued, “You should have left your vengeance in the past. It’ll be the death of our species.”
“You betrayed everyone at the London sanctuary. Because of you many Deamhan died that night. It’s your fault that I was constantly on the run for over fifty years.”
“You’re the descendant. You’ll always be on the run.” She walked down the porch steps and into the front courtyard. Maris’ explanation did little to make her sympathize with her plight. Looking up at the star littered sky, she spoke again. “It’s the only thing you’re good at.”
“You sired me because you thought that you would have leverage over Silvanus and any other Deamhan.” Maris gripped the porch’s railing. “You didn’t do it for me or for anyone else. It was all about your survival.”
Ayden held up his hand to quiet them. “Kyra doesn’t trust you, Anastasia, and neither do I, for obvious reasons. I’m here to make sure that Nathan finds the missing piece and that it’s dealt with properly.” He looked to Maris. “I brought her into this because not only was this once her problem, but with her being here, we can make sure that you won’t do anything that’ll jeopardize what we have to do. We’re here to keep you honest.”
“Honest?” She quickly turned back to face them. “Do you think I’m an idiot? This proves how little you know about me.”
“I know enough about you Ramanga.”
She felt her stomach beginning to fill with butterflies. All the issues appearing in the small amount of time placed her in an uncomfortable position. The last time she stood on the offensive, Selene had attacked her days ago shortly before Lucius intervened. Now she had to deal with the idea of watching her back for the next few nights. “I’m done talking to you both.” She proceeded up the stairs to go back into the house but Ayden stood in her path. “Get out of my way,” she growled at him.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” he said to her. “You’re Anastasia, offspring of Lucia. You care for nothing and no one. You turn against those close to you. You’re a monster.”
She pushed him aside and continued up the stairs, only to be met by Maris who now stood in her way.
“You won’t get away with it this time,” she said. “You will pay for what you’ve done.”
She tilted her head slightly to the right. “Perhaps, but not today.” This standoff—this waiting for someone to make the next move—wouldn’t end up well. Any other time, she’d be up for the challenge, but this was one challenge she didn’t want, not yet. “I promise you. You’ll both die if you try to stand against me.” She moved around Maris. “Be smart for once and let the past remain in the past.”
“And if I refuse to?”
Anastasia let her fangs drop slowly from her gums.
“It’ll take more than showing your fangs to scare me. I’m not the little Ramanga you sired long ago.”
“But you know me well enough, Maris,” Anastasia replied. “My fangs aren’t the only thing that you will come to fear.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Anastasia opened her eyes.
She lifted her body from the cold wooden floor in a room that looked unfamiliar to her. She slowly stood to her feet and she felt a stark tingle on her forehead. The dark room she awoke in showed no signs of forced entry. She stumbled to a white opened door near the back of the room and glanced to the right and to the left. Eventually her location came to her memory. She was at Nathan’s sanctuary but this wasn’t her room.
She opened the door and she heard several voices coming from Nathan’s study room on the lower floor. She slowly paced herself in that direction, picking up on the familiar scents of Nathan, Remy, Maris, Ayden, and Hallie. But one scent didn’t belong and that scent made her move even faster to their location.
She briskly headed down the stairs to the study. When she reached the doorway, she peered in. The crackling of embers in the fireplace didn’t come close to blanketing the sounds of the voices inside. Nathan sat on his chair in front of the fireplace with Ayden and Maris standing near the fireplace mantel. Remy and Hallie stood on the other end of the room. All of them remained quiet while Kenneth Dearhorn, who sat on the opposite end of the room, spoke to them.
Maris was the first to see Anastasia from the corner of her eye. Dressed in light blue jeans and a loose fitting blue shirt, she eyed Anastasia as she entered the room.
Remy became the second person to see Anastasia and the first person to greet her by speaking. “You’re awake.”
Dressed in typical researcher clothing, Kenneth’s eyes locked onto Anastasia and he smiled while leaning back in his chair.
“What is he doing here?” Her question put a halt to their conversation.
“I was invited,” Kenneth replied calmly.
She kept her distance, eying Kenneth, as she heard Nathan’s thoughts speak to her.
Patience.
She cared nothing for patience. Kenneth didn’t belong and she didn’t trust him.
Nathan sipped from his coffee mug and swallowed the contents before speaking, “Remy will catch you up to speed, Anastasia. We were just discussing the last piece of the Dark Curse. We might have located it last night.” Anastasia opened her mouth to speak but again she sensed Nathan’s thoughts moving into her mind, quelling her. Again, he called for Anastasia to be patient. “This time our goals are the same,” Nathan said out loud.
“I doubt that,” Anastasia replied.
“Yes, they are.” Kenneth stood up from his chair. “Mr. Austin needs to be returned safe. To do that Selene requires that The Brotherhood hand over their piece, and as you know, we don’t have it thanks to Nathan’s father.”
Anastasia turned and walked over to the nearest wall. She leaned against it with her arms folded across her chest. Her lips scrunched and she waited patiently to see who was going to attempt to calm the tension next. She could never agree with anything regarding The Brotherhood. They helped Kei capture Lucius to place him in Limbo. Their history with the Deamhan wasn’t the best and she’d be foolish to join with them without thinking of what they truly wanted to do.
“You must understand that this goes beyond your feelings for The Brotherhood,” Kenneth said.
Remy stopped the conversation by whispering in Anastasia’s ear. “I know it’s hard but just play along.”
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Kenneth clapped his hands together. “Let’s stay on track.” He looked to Nathan. “So, you’ve located the piece your father took from our Archives?”
Nathan raised his chin slightly. “Yes but first we have a few things that need to be cleared for us to move on.”
Kenneth’s eyes narrowed.
“Veronica.”
“Veronica is doing well in our care,” Kenneth answered. “I don’t see how she has anything to do with our current situation.”
“When she’s recovered, you will give her a choice if she wants to return or not.”
“I can’t make that promise. It goes way above my head, Mr. Tiernan.” Kenneth tilted his head to the side. “Shouldn’t we be talking about her father instead? He’s the one in danger.”
“Who cares about that old prick.” Remy’s outburst caused everyone in the room to turn their attention to him. His eyes had turned completely black.
“No Mr. Austin, no deal,” Kenneth replied firmly. “You Deamhan fail to realize that The Brotherhood can go in this alone if we have to.”
“And so can we.” Remy folded his hands across his chest.
“She and her father are part of the deal, Kenneth,” Nathan replied. “We can both agree to that, right?”
Eventually Kenneth nodded. His body relaxed and the tension of the room dissipated.
“We’ll get the piece by tomorrow night,” Nathan replied.
“I can’t tell Selene without any proof of that,” Kenneth replied. “I need some assurance.”
“Absolutely not,” Anastasia objected.
“He wants another sign of good faith.” Remy rolled his eyes. “How about allowing you to walk out of here with two feet? That’s a sign of good faith.”
Kenneth snickered. “Right now I have fifty mercenaries at my disposal. I can snap my fingers and they’ll come in and do what they’re trained to do.” He looked back to Anastasia.
Anastasia and Kenneth went silent in their stare down and the tension returned in the room.
Eventually Ayden spoke out. “Your mercenaries wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“You’d be surprised,” Kenneth replied to him.
Nathan raised his head. “There is no need to fight among ourselves. We’re all on the same side.”
Kenneth’s snicker turned into a smile. “Good. I’m glad you see it this way Mr. Tiernan.”
“However, we won’t have anything by tomorrow night,” Nathan added. “You just have to trust us.”
“Okay. So when you get the piece, you’ll hand it over to me?”
Nathan nodded, which made Remy snap his head in his direction. “If you weren’t my friend, I’d eat you right now.”
“Remy, there aren’t any other options on how to approach this,” Nathan replied.
“You aren’t thinking about actually giving it to him?” He shook his head in disbelief.
Anastasia had heard enough. Still weary of Kenneth’s true agenda, she decided to remain silent in the conversation and come up with her own plan.
“We will have a hundred of our best mercenaries standing outside the warehouse,” Kenneth said. “I’ll give them the signal and they will lead the attack, allowing all of you to go in afterwards.”
Anastasia spoke in Nathan’s thoughts. He’s hiding something.
Still loathing, Remy asked, “Lucius can read the minds of all your human mercenaries in seconds. He’ll know we’ll be right behind them.”
“I will go in first, shortly followed by the mercenaries. They’ll be too concerned with the piece to sense you all coming.”
Ayden shook his head. “You don’t understand, human. Ancients can break through your thought barriers.” He added, “Lucius will know you are lying before you walk in.”
“If you don’t like this plan then maybe one of you should accompany me into the warehouse. How about you?” Kenneth looked at Ayden. “Or maybe you?” He then turned his attention to Anastasia.
She opened her mouth, unable to hold herself back any more about speaking against the plan.
Kenneth spoke. “I’m sure they’ll welcome her with open arms.”
Being volunteered to go first with Kenneth was the last thing she expected. Out of everyone in the room, she still remained the only Deamhan Lucius trusted; somewhat. She felt her shoulders relax and she looked to the floor. “True but it doesn’t mean that I’m the better choice. I’ll go in with you but not because you want me to.”
Nathan looked to Anastasia. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I don’t trust Kenneth with the piece. I’d rather be there to make sure things go as planned.”
Nathan then turned to Kenneth. “Your mercenaries will meet us on the rooftop across the street from the warehouse.”
Kenneth smiled. “All I need to do is make one phone call.”
“Make your phone call.” Anastasia left the room and headed outside. She placed her hands on the wooden railing and she stared out at the landscape in front of her. Her mind went over the future meeting she’d have with Lucius and Selene tomorrow night. She would face Lucius’ wrath but deep inside, she wanted to believe that there wasn’t any way in hell the Pure Ones controlled Lucius as much as she was led to believe. When they freed Lucius from Limbo, she grew to like the new fragile, scared and weak Lucius (or so she thought.) But she missed the old Lucius; the Lugat whose voice brought fear into Deamhan, the man who kept those under him in line. The chaotic but fair Lucius, the Deamhan whom Anastasia considered to be her true sire.
The new Lucius probably wanted nothing but her death. If there was one thing that she loathed it was knowing that she might have to take him out, if she could. Her doubts and questions pounded throughout her head to the point of a small migraine. She drummed her fingers on the wooden railing and she watched the clouds cascading through the sky. The moon was nowhere to be seen. Whether the light from the stars above would assist them didn’t matter to Anastasia. She liked it dark. Behind her she heard the noise of wooden planks creaking under someone’s weight and she looked over her left shoulder. Ayden stood just in front of the doorway, wrapped in a thick ruffled white blanket. “What do you want now?” She turned back to the stars.
“A little of your time.” Ayden cautiously stepped forward and the boards again moaned under his weight. He saw Anastasia jerk her head slightly to the left at the sound and he stopped.
“You had my attention last night.”
He waited for a moment before speaking again. “Yes, but this time it’s just me. Maris is still inside.”
She inhaled deeply, taking in his Metusba scent. “So what do you want?”
“To talk...about you.”
“I’m not in the mood to hear your threats. You’re just one of the many people who want me dead, Ayden. That’s nothing new.”
“Well this might sound new to you.” He stood beside her. “My sire told me stories about the Ramanga that decimated entire sanctuaries throughout Europe and northern Italy. This Deamhan killed whoever stood in her way, human and her own alike, and she did it without remorse. Deamhan feared you. Even my sire, who was much older than you, feared you.”
She quickly turned to face him and her eyes grew dark. She felt her fangs beginning to move into place.
But he didn’t jump back. Instead he continued to speak. “Anyone who stood up to you met their deaths.”
“You’re telling me something that I don’t already know.” She growled. “Now let me tell you something.” She moved in, standing inches away from him. “I’m older and stronger than you and Maris combined. You can’t take me on my worst day. I’m giving you the option to accept that and to leave the city with Maris once this is all over.”
“I’ve killed Deamhan older than you,” he replied, unmoved by her threat. “Your age doesn’t scare me.”
Anastasia felt her fangs retreat and her eyes turn back to normal.
“When you least expect it, Maris and I will come for you.”
Any oth
er time she wouldn’t sit and listen to the threat. She knew that she could kill him without breaking her stride, but part of her wanted to know exactly why he wanted her dead. It couldn’t be because of her past. Even though he looked familiar, she still had problems figuring out why. She understood Maris’ rage but Ayden’s own made her question. “Why do you want to kill me? Is it because of Maris? Do you...like her?”
He turned away slightly. “But I understand her and we share the same hatred for you.”
“So how did I cause this hatred you have for me?”
“You kill indiscriminately without remorse for those left behind.”
“That’s it?” she snarled. “This is what I do, what I am; what we are. I kill. You kill.”
“Yes, but the difference is we don’t do it because we can.” He moved slightly toward her. “We do it because we have to.”
Suddenly she gripped him by his shirt collar and pulled him in close. He reacted quickly, catching her off guard. Placing his hands over her wrists, he pulled them outward, twisting her arms. He continued and she lifted onto her toes as he used his grip to gain the upper hand. Her eyes turned and she fought back, trying to maneuver against his strength but again, he countered her. She felt her arms beginning to strain and he pushed her again, this time bringing her to her knees.
Her eyes widened. Ayden’s sudden control over her made no sense. Never in her long life had any Deamhan younger than her overpowered her. He had her in a position in which she couldn’t escape. She waited helplessly for his next move. He could kill her, if he wanted to but instead he let her go.
She rubbed her wrists and slowly stood to her feet.
“Like I said. I’ve killed Deamhan older than you.” He stepped back. “You don’t scare me.”
Paranoia consumed her and she searched his face, looking for some sign that’d reveal the answer to her. Suddenly it hit her. Deamhan remained loyal and bonded to their sires, even in death. If the sire bond wasn’t broken, an offspring did whatever they needed to do to protect the one who sired them.
He picked up on her thoughts and turned back to the house. “There. You have your answer,” he said, before walking back into the house, leaving her to marinate in her realization.
Deamhan Chronicles, Books 1-5: Deamhan, Kei. Family Matters, Dark Curse, Maris. The Brotherhood Files, Ayden. Deamhan Minion Page 50