“But we do. We're here. You can't just annihilate us.”
“We can and we will and you, Maris, are the key to that,” she replied. “You have the ability to end or continue the madness that your kind creates by just being.”
I looked at Finley who continued his search in the distance, trying to locate the origin of her scent.
“I can prove it with just one question,” she continued.
“And what question is that?” I faced her.
“Are you happy?”
I shot her a confused stare. “What does my happiness have to do with this?”
“Are you happy?” she asked again.
My happiness didn't matter to me as a Deamhan or as a human. Before being sired, I didn't think about happiness as being something I'd take a special notice to. Sure, Samantha knew how to cheer me up on my down days, and we had joyous times together, but never did I make a mental note of it. Now as a Deamhan, I thought that Finley brought me that happiness. He filled my void and he did a great job in doing so. But being happy with him wasn't the same as being happy with Samantha. Suddenly, the taste of warm blood came to mind; not Finley, Samantha, and certainly not anyone else.
“Tell me, Maris. You must know your answer by now.”
“Blood makes me happy.”
“No, blood makes you content and satisfies your hunger,” she interjected. “What is the key to your true happiness?”
I thought again and this time I said Finley's name.
“Another Deamhan? No, that's a bond.”
“But he makes me happy.”
“He can only provide artificial happiness.”
“You're wrong.” I stared at her. “I am happy.” The words sounded archaic as they exited my mouth.
“Deamhan don't know happiness,” she said to me. “They can learn it but never achieve it. Anything created out of pure evil and wickedness can never know happiness. Deamhan only know darkness and hunger.”
“He loves me.”
“Love?” Her tone suddenly changed and she began giggling. “He loves you as much as he loves his next meal.”
“Enough of your trick questions.” I couldn't decide whether or not to continue along with her philosophical talk.
“Thus I've proven my point,” she replied. “You lost your ability to feel love, happiness, the moment they sired you. Look around you!” Quickly, she reached out and grabbed my hand. I tried to move but even in her weakened state, she was much faster than me. “You aren't normal. You and your kind are a plague in this world. You don't fit.” Her skin felt so soft and yet so cold.
I pulled back. “You're only saying this because you're my enemy.” I rubbed my hand as if it had been injured.
“I only offered you the truth.” She placed her hand on her chest.
I had enough and I began to decide her fate. She angered me and I wanted to slaughter her that very moment. However, I didn't want to fit into the stereotype. I didn't want to follow through in my nature and she had to see that I was different.
“You can go now.” I quickly glanced behind me.
She stood up but kept her body low enough to the ground to blend in with the bushes. “You know I will come back here with others.”
“Stop talking and just go.” I stared ahead, seeing Finley in the distance.
She took off and faded from my sight.
I waited a few seconds before I stood to my feet and walked out from the brush. I called Finley's name and he ran back over to me.
“Did you find her?”
I hesitated then nodded.
“Where is she?” He looked around. “Did you kill her?”
“I let her go.”
“You what?!”
“She's gone.” I saw disappointment in his eyes.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I had to show her,” I replied, not knowing if what I believed was the actual truth. “I had to make her see that we aren't the evil creatures that they've made us to be.”
“She's a Dorvo vampire!” He raised his voice at me. “She will come back with more of them!” He looked to our left. “Did she go this way?” He prepared to go after her but I gripped his arm, stopping him. He looked back at me. “What's wrong with you, Maris?” He rudely ripped his arm from my grasp.
“I'm Deamhan.” I turned around and began to walk away. “That is what's wrong with me.”
CHAPTER NINE
The Great Sanctuary Fire Of 1898
Two hours after the hunt began, a Ramanga had found the male and dragged him back to the sanctuary. They continued to search for the female until sunrise. Angered Silvanus killed the male himself and the next several nights they scoured high and low, trying to find the female.
I begged Finley to not tell anyone about the vampire in fear of being reprimanded. Silvanus wouldn't kill me for my disobedience, I knew that much. However, the situation didn't help the predicament that we all faced. Some Deamhan still remained wary of their decision to stay at the sanctuary under the same roof as me. If they ever found out, they'd take their frustrations out on me or better yet, Finley. Against his better judgment, Finley agreed, but on one condition: after I left the sanctuary I would wait for him before boarding my ship.
It was an easy agreement. Of course I'd wait for him! Yet I didn't know how what would happen once we arrived in the foreign land. Though I broke my bond with my sire, the bond between he and I remained strong and Silvanus disapproved. I decided it was best that no one found out about it. We would act as if nothing changed and on the night of my departure he would meet me by the docks and we would be on our way.
There's this strange feeling, circling within the Ramanga blood in our veins, which must be the reason behind our addiction to betray our own. I believed that Anastasia had this disease. It made her rabid, uncontrollable, and it pushed her to do things that I would never think she'd do to our family.
The night before the trip, I awoke to the smell of smoke and to the sounds of screams. I felt Finley's body settled behind me and his arm draped over my side. I had no reason to suspect anything until my bedroom door came crashing down and Silvanus grabbed me by my arm, yanking me from my deep sleep.
“You must get up! Now!”
I opened my eyes to see his face covered in blood that wasn't his own. He pulled back my covers, waking Finley.
“What's going on?” I asked in my groggy state. We smelled burning wood, and thick white smoke billowed into my room. We heard the sound of kindling fire.
“Dorvo vampires,” he replied. “They're here.”
“How many?” Finley jumped out of bed.
“All of them.”
The female vampire had returned and she didn't come alone, just like she said she would. Almost immediately I felt solely responsible for what was occurring around us. I didn't bother to hide my thoughts about it from Silvanus.
“Don't concern yourself with that.” He tossed an envelope at me. “Maris, you must go back to London, to St. Katherine Docks. There is a human—Russell. Tell him that I sent you and he will get you on the next ship bound for New York.”
“Wait? I don't understand.” I stood up from my bed.
“Don't question me. Just go.” He eyed Finley. “Go with her. Do not stop along the way for anyone or anything. Do not trust anyone.”
Suddenly excitement replaced worry. I was delighted that Finley would accompany me to this strange, new world. However, I didn't know who would greet us there.
Silvanus answered my thought. “When the time is right, she will find you.” His voice filled with urgency. “Until then, be careful and trust no one.” He rushed out of my bedroom in Deamhan speed.
I looked at the envelope and opened it. Inside I saw more money than I'd ever seen in my life and I looked at Finley. “We have to find the twins. We must take them with us.”
“First, we have to get out of here.” He walked to the door and peered out. “We can't go down. We have to go up.” He urged me t
o get dressed and to leave all my belongings behind. “The sun has yet to set. We'll burn.”
I quickly looked out the window. “If the sun is still out, then how did they get here?”
“Someone, a human, must have brought them here.” He also looked at the window.
“But the sun!” I shivered at the thought. “They aren't immune to the sun, right?”
“Maris, I don't know. Now, get dressed.” He pulled the sheets from the bed. “We'll be fine. We can use these to protect ourselves.”
“Sheets won't stop the light.”
“Sunset is soon. Now, get dressed!”
His plan wasn't the best, but it was all we had. I grabbed whatever clothes I could and before I left my bedroom I grabbed my amulet and placed it around my neck.
We rushed up the stairs, passing by the bodies of dead and dying Deamhan. I heard a scream followed by the sound of bone crunching. I heard it over and over again. The disheveled thoughts of my brethren poured into my mind. Some of them had jumped out of the windows and into the sun in fear of being killed by the vampires that outnumbered us. Those who did jump didn't make it far.
The entire downstairs was engulfed in flames. We reached the top floor and ahead we saw Deamhan standing in front of a large paned window. I then heard the sound of another body jumping through a window, followed by Branda's frantic voice behind us.
“Finley!” She came running over to us with Brandy close behind. “They’re here! What do we do?”
Along with the smell of burning wood, I also managed to acquire another familiar smell, which I didn't question at first. However, my footsteps slowed when I felt that we were being watched by a Dorvo vampire.
We all turned around. On our left I saw a man with short blond hair, blue eyes, and a smooth face wearing a dark suit with a white waistcoat and a dotted black and white necktie. A thick cloud of smoke blocked the image of a person standing next to him, but not their scent. Instantly, every inch of me froze. I tapped Finley on his arm to get his attention.
“It's her,” I whispered.
The cloud lifted and I saw the female I had let go standing vigilant with her legs spread slightly apart. She held a long, sharp machete in her left hand. The other male held a stake in his right. They didn't flinch as a piece of wood, burning from the fire, fell from the ceiling and landed beside them. Suddenly we heard more sounds of shattering glass behind us as a few Deamhan jumped through the window to escape.
“Maris.” She called out my name. “I told you I'd come back with others.”
I heard the jumbled thoughts of my brethren—some surprised and some angry at the revelation. I betrayed them for letting her survive and now we were all paying for my grave mistake.
Finley showed his fangs, trying to place their anger and doubts to rest. Even the twins, who now looked at me as if I were unknown to them, wondered why I had done such an awful thing.
“Ruby, is this the Deamhan who let you go?” her male friend asked.
She nodded. “Yes, it's her.”
“The other Ramanga wasn't lying when she told us that we would find all her offspring here. How ‘Deamhan’ of her.”
I tried to keep as calm as possible while Finley slowly stepped forward. “What Ramanga told you this?”
“Your sire, Anastasia,” the male replied.
“You're Ruby!” Finley snarled. We all knew the name quite well. I covered my mouth, marveling at how stupid I was to have let her go. If only I had known that this was the very same vampire Anastasia spoke about, I would've killed her on sight.
“Anastasia would never do that,” Brandy barked at him.
“Foolish Deamhan. Of course she would,” Ruby said.
None of us could imagine it. Even fearless Branda seemed taken aback by this startling realization that our own sire would betray us. I could feel Finley's anger rising and I grabbed onto his arm to comfort him.
“Ruby has told me much about you, Maris.” The male vampire smiled. “Like how you saved her in your little vampire hunt.”
“Let's get this over with,” Ruby spoke.
“Why hurry?” he asked. “We have all the time in the world.”
The fire continued to rage and flames ate away at the ceiling above us and the walls around us.
“We came for her.” Ruby pointed at me. “Step aside and let us have her.”
Finley placed himself in front of me.
“You don't have a choice, Deamhan,” she said to him. “You can either die for her or leave. We'll even give you all a head start.”
The twins made their choice. Branda grabbed the bed sheet from Finley and covering both herself and her sister, they ran for the broken window. Ignoring the head start offered to them by Ruby, the male moved just as quickly, placing himself in their way. He swung with his stake, missing Branda's heart by inches. Finley went in on the attack and he tried to grab the machete from Ruby. Before the twins could jump through the glass, the male grabbed the sheet, pulling it away from their bodies, and he pushed them both, uncovered, out the window and into the sunlight. They screamed on their way down but I heard nothing after that. He'd killed them, right in front of everyone without breaking a sweat. I didn't dare imagine what he'd do to the rest of us, especially my Finley.
By now Finley's brown eyes turned full blown dark. Upon seeing what happened to the twins, he turned his anger toward him. I also wanted to kill this monster but we couldn't fight him and Ruby both and we couldn't rely on the few Deamhan who remained. They too ran for their lives, some out the window, and others out the room and back into the fire.
“Don't fight, Maris,” Ruby said to me.
“I let you go!” I yelled at her. “That should mean something!”
“It means that you're gullible and weak.”
I watched Finley launch his body, with his arms extended at the male; however, his enemy was a lot faster and more skilled than he could ever be. He grabbed Finley's throat with his right hand and a fistful of his hair with the other. He began to pull and I heard Finley scream in pain. In breakneck speed, I rushed over to help him but Ruby, who proved to be just as fast, caught me and pushed me to the floor. Pain seared through the right side of my head yet I managed to stand to my feet.
“Make no mistake,” she said. “You are coming with us.”
I rushed as quickly as I could, gnarling with teeth exposed, trying to get back to Finley but the faster I moved, the faster she blocked my path. Eventually, I managed to get past her, making my way to him. I jumped onto the male's back, sinking my teeth into his neck. He twirled around, trying to throw me off. At the same time, he managed to avoid Finley's attack with godlike precision. I lost my grip and fell onto my back. He then jumped over me, tucked and rolled, grabbed his stake, and aimed at Finley's stomach. I watched in sheer terror as Finley grunted and dropped to his knees in agonizing pain.
I felt Ruby's arms pinning my own from behind. “Don't kill him, Boyd.”
Helpless, I watched Boyd push the stake further into Finley's stomach.
“Not yet. Make him suffer first,” Ruby said.
Boyd stood over Finley. “I'd rather put him out of his misery.”
I struggled and Ruby quickly forced my head to the right. “Continue to fight and I'll snap your neck.” She shook me again.
I searched around trying to look for anything I could use to free myself from her and to get us both out of there, but the only thing I saw was the stake in Finley's stomach.
“We should kill them both,” Boyd said to her.
“We need her. She's the descendent,” she replied.
“Please,” I pleaded with them. “Please, let us go.” Finley looked up at me with weak eyes. I had to do something and fast.
“A Deamhan begging?” Boyd laughed. “You're right. This one is different.”
“Take me and let him go!” I cried and continued to beg. “You have me. You have what you came here for. He's done nothing to you.”
“There is always so
mething that Deamhan have done.” Boyd hounded me. “Do you know how many families he's harmed? How many of your own kind he's slaughtered?” He stood close to me and I saw another stake in the inner pocket of his jacket.
A burst of wind interrupted our fight and Boyd and Ruby immediately looked around the room. The wind picked up again and suddenly we saw Silvanus standing behind Boyd. I acted quickly. I grabbed Boyd's stake and drove it just below his solar plexus, driving it upward until it pierced his heart.
I didn't know much about Dorvo vampires but I assumed that, like Deamhan, they could also be harmed with a stake. I remembered how Anastasia killed the vampire the night I was sired.
Whatever the case, Boyd let out a terrible banshee scream. Ruby pushed me to the floor and she ran to his side. I didn't look back to witness his body melting. I removed the stake from Finley's stomach and he bellowed in pain while I lifted him to his feet.
“I thought I told you both to go,” Silvanus said as he helped me by dragging Finley to the window. We were three stories up and the sight of the still-bright horizon scared me momentarily.
“We will die out there,” I said to Silvanus.
“You will die here if you don't leave. Now go!”
Finley drifted in and out of consciousness and I slapped the side of his face. “We have to run.”
A trickle of blood traveled from the corner of his mouth to his chin, dripping to the floor. “I can run,” he said between grunts.
I looked to Silvanus. “We will wait for you at the pier.”
“Maris, you get on that ship and you will go.”
Just then he pushed us out the window. I held tight onto him as I felt my skin beginning to heat up. I landed first on my back and I heard my ribs crack. Finley landed on top of me seconds later. Our skin began to boil and bubble and dark smoke rose from our faces. Dragging Finley along, we made it to the shade of a tree. My uncovered legs started to blister and bubble like liquid metal.
“Leave me,” he whispered.
Deamhan Chronicles, Books 1-5: Deamhan, Kei. Family Matters, Dark Curse, Maris. The Brotherhood Files, Ayden. Deamhan Minion Page 61