“Accept your fate, Maris,” Ethel continued. “Know that Finley and Jesse will be able to live without all the dangers you bring to them.”
“I have every right to live as you do,” I said with clenched teeth.
“A community is only as strong as its weakest member. You are that member, Maris.” She pointed to Finley. “He knows that I'm right.”
I turned to Finley who kept his eyes to the ground.
“He wanted your death back in London,” Ethel said. “He knew then that you were a liability. Now look at him. He goes and does crazy things just to protect you. Have you even considered that your choice to live is selfish on your part?”
It didn't matter what I said or what I saw in Finley's eyes. I wasn't going to survive the night. But I gathered my strength, and now standing on my feet, my eyesight began to blur and I felt my insides begin to contract. My mouth craved blood to heal my torn body.
“Tell her, Finley.” Ethel stepped forward. “Tell her that I'm right.”
“Don't harm her!” Jesse's voice managed to overshadow the crowd. His reply was met by a Deamhan forcing him on his knees.
“I'm an old Deamhan. I've been alive for over a thousand years before your human birth,” Ethel said to him. “Do you really think you have the strength to stop me?”
My hands balled into fists and I moved toward Ethel with the little strength I still had. She didn't have to avoid me in Deamhan speed. She just stepped back and I fell onto the ground.
“You couldn't take me on my worst day.” Her eyes turned black and she pulled me up from the ground with her right hand by my neck. The blood trying to exert itself from my body lodged in my throat and I felt it collecting to the point that my neck began to swell. My feet kicked underneath me, trying to find the ground and she enjoyed every minute of it. “Are you ready to die?” She looked at me with cold, fueled, dark eyes.
At that moment I heard Jesse's screaming voice in the background. Somehow he had gotten free and in Deamhan speed he rushed toward her, knocking her into the ground. What he did next stunned everyone. He tried to attack her and I couldn't stop it. God, I wished I would've stopped it. Finley also joined in the attack and he moved toward her. However, the other Deamhan stepped back and they didn't interfere. Still weak, I tried to move but I felt someone kick me from behind, knocking me back to the ground. They stepped on the back of my head, applying enough pressure that I heard my own skull crack underneath their boot.
From the corner of my eye I saw Ethel fling Finley back and he landed in a hard thud on the ground. She then had Jesse by his hair and she tilted his head back. “You would die for her?” she asked him.
“I would,” he replied in a cracked voice.
“Deamhan and their ridiculous bonds.” She raised her hand and she moved it in a quick motion, over his throat, from right to left.
I didn't see it at first but I could smell it all around me. It was a horrible scent, worse than the scent of a decaying human body. She let him go and I watched Jesse grasp his neck. His beautiful eyes moved back and forth and his lower lip quivered as he tried to keep his head up. Blood poured from between his fingers and that's when I suspected that somehow Ethel had slit his throat. What I didn't know was that she had sliced even further—straight through.
The skin around Jesse's neck became the first to crack and peel away like unwanted dust on a window sill. The discoloration traveled over his face, down his neck to his hands until it eventually covered his entire body. His face began to melt and as he opened his mouth, trying to speak, blood poured out of it like a river. Soon his remains fell in a bloodied and ash- filled puddle.
“And that is how you kill a Deamhan without a stake.” Ethel grabbed a white handkerchief from her pocket and she began to clean the blood from her fingertips.
Rage, anguish, sadness, and the need for revenge engulfed me until all I saw was red. I'd never felt any emotions like this, even with Anastasia. My darling Jesse was now gone and I had to avenge him. I screamed and released myself from the Deamhan that held me pinned to the dirt. I ran at her, lashing out with both hands. She grabbed me easily and pushed me back into the crowd. I heard Finley scream but they began to claw at him, digging their nails into his skin, pulling off flesh. A Ramanga bit into his back, yanking out tiny bits.
I screamed for them to stop but they didn't listen. I couldn't make them listen. All I could think about was how I just lost Jesse and how I couldn't lose Finley as well. Ethel raised her hands and all the Deamhan stopped moving immediately.
“If you're going to kill me, then kill me!” I yelled at her.
“In time.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Pick her up.” She stepped back. “Take her to that tree.”
I felt cold hands underneath my arms as two male Lamia Deamhan dragged me into brush and to a large tree. One of them pulled out a long rope and began to wrap it around my body as the other held me still. I didn't bother to fight back. I looked up at the sky and all I could see was Jesse's face intertwined with the stars. Too weak to hold my head up, I let it drop forward and I stared as blood dripped from the wound on my chest and onto my bare feet. I heard their laughter around me and I could still smell Finley.
“In the past, Deamhan would sentence their own by taking them to the woods, and tying them up to the trees, letting the sun assume the role of executioner.” Ethel's eyes looked me over. “You remember, Maris. This was discussed back in Silvanus' sanctuary.”
“Let Finley go.” I managed to speak with a mouthful of blood.
“I don't know.” A small smile appeared on her face. “I do sort of like that one. He might prove useful.” A Deamhan pushed Finley toward me. “Say your goodbyes and make it quick,” Ethel ordered.
My eyesight wavered in and out but I could see just enough to watch Finley staring back at me. His thoughts remained absent. My body lurched as it expelled more blood from my mouth and it splattered onto my feet in huge globs.
“I want to die with you,” he said.
I shook my head.
He gently examined my wound. “I couldn't protect you, Maris. I should have been able to protect you.”
I remained silent.
“Say something.” He placed his forehead against mine. I saw hatred in his eyes and darkness growing inside him. “I will kill her for this.”
“No,” I said again. “You have to live.”
“Enough.” Ethel pulled him back from me. Finley struggled against her strength and she placed her hand on the side of his head. Suddenly his body went limp and he fell to the ground. A Deamhan picked him up and in Deamhan speed, they whisked Finley away from me and into the night.
“Believe me, I wish things could have been different.” Ethel eyed me for a brief moment. “But you understand that in order for our kind to survive, we have to make sacrifices.” She turned and walked away. “I hope the sun takes you quick, Maris.”
I watched helplessly as the other Deamhan followed her. They moved quickly and within seconds I could no longer smell them.
My eyes bore down on the open land in front of me. In the distance the sky brightened but not because of sunrise. The Chicago city lights worked that magic. I had time to ponder and to think; however, I didn't want my rage to consume me. I needed comfort, solitude—something that reminded me of the past, when my life meant something and was worth living. I thought about Brandy and Branda. I thought about the first day I saw Jesse in that boxing ring with Finley. My thoughts also included my first night with Anastasia as a Ramanga and my first feed. These memories, not those that weighed heavily on my shoulders, helped me survive until I saw the horizon turning from dark to light blue as the sun began to rise. I could feel its heat, even though I didn't see it. The blood in my veins reacted, my mind yelled at me to escape and seek shelter away from it. Yet I held back those feelings and every time my body tried to struggle, I shut it down.
Maybe Ethel spoke the truth. I was too dangerous to live. Since I had been turned, all
I experienced and witnessed were Deamhan holding onto the distorted dreams that I could either save them or kill them. They protected me and Jesse died for me. How long could they last contained in that bubble of revenge and murder before it busted at the seams? How long would they last before The Brotherhood found another way to end their existence? Most importantly, I wanted to know what would happen to my Finley after I died.
I chuckled to myself, hoping that Silvanus would strike them all down and soon.
I prepared myself to die. I wanted death to come, but it took its time. The sun finally revealed itself and almost instantaneously my skin began to boil and burn. I bit my lip, refusing to scream in pain. Little did I know that fate had something else in mind for me that bright morning.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Saved
I saw his outline in the shadow before he stepped out of the darkness. He stood there with his hands in his pockets and a wide smile. Strands of his brown hair fell in front of his face and he moved them back gently before he waved at me.
“I'm here, Maris,” he said. “What would you like to do now?”
Thinking he had to be a figment of my imagination, I closed my eyes and slowly reopened them. Realizing that he wasn't fake and that he wouldn't go away, I walked over to him slowly and he held his arms out to me.
“You need to wake up.”
I fell into his arms. “Wake up?” With my ear planted firmly against his rock-solid chest, I heard his heartbeat. “What do you mean?”
“You need to wake up. Now.”
Hearing his continuous heartbeat, I looked up at him, surprised. “What is wrong with your heart, Jesse?”
Jesse looked down at me.
“It's beating. Our hearts don't beat.”
“You're dreaming, Maris, and in your dreams I can be whomever you want me to be.”
I didn't understand my surroundings and at the same time, I didn't care. He looked beautiful—perfect, and I didn't want him to go away. I also didn't want the dream to end. “I saw you die,” I said to him. “You did die, didn't you?”
He nodded.
“What is it like?” I questioned.
“What is what like?” He smiled.
“Death. The other side. Is there life after death, even for creatures like us?” I envisioned Jesse, in true perfect form. This was how I wanted him to be.
Then I pulled back, suddenly realizing that my mind was playing tricks on me. I wondered why I dreamed about him now when I never did in the past. I then remembered the horrible night among the trees, the feeling of tree bark scratching along my back, and the rays of the sun burning my skin. I recalled observing Jesse frantically grabbing onto his neck, trying to stay alive after Ethel had sliced him through. The pain I felt watching him wither and die in front of my own eyes and the resentment of not being able to save him.
“You have to wake up.” He began to walk back into the shadow from where he came.
“Wait.” I reached out to him. “Where are you going?”
“I'll always be here, in your mind and in your heart.”
I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a concrete ceiling. Little by little the feeling in my body returned along with my other senses. The smell of steel replaced the smell of grass and wet concrete. I turned my head to the right and when my vision came to, I found myself staring at metal bars and a human sitting in a chair next to them, sleeping. Sunlight blazed through a small square-shaped window, hitting the floor just inches from me. Using what strength I had, I raised myself up, hearing my bones crack and splinter underneath my skin. I realized that I was in an unfamiliar place.
“Is this hell?” This couldn't be the apocalyptic afterlife that most Christians believed in. The words escaped my lips easily and without pain in my chest. I wore a long white shirt that extended down to my knees. I lifted it slightly and I let my hands examine my body. I found nothing relating to being burned by the sun. I touched my lips and looked at the small amount of blood on my fingertips.
Had I somehow freed myself just in time to avoid the sunlight? How could my wounds have healed unless I fed? The last thing I remembered was my skin blistering under the hot rays of the sun. How did I come to this place?
My stirring grabbed the human's attention and he immediately awoke and stood up. Upon seeing that I had awoken, he hurried over to me and placed his arms on my shoulders. “He said you wouldn't wake up until at least tomorrow.” He gently made me lie back down. I had nothing in me to fight him. I was weaker than I had ever been; so weak that even he could restrain me if he wanted.
His blurry face pulled together in my eyesight and at first his appearance didn't remind me of anyone I knew. He had gray strands of hair intermingled in his brown mane. Crow's feet extended from the outer corners of his eyes. But I never forgot a scent and I realized that it was Butch, the human who spoke to me in the alley. Why did he look so much older? I spoke out his name in a soft voice, and to that he smiled.
“You remember me,” he spoke. “Just relax. I'll get Ayden.”
I reached out and grabbed him, pulling him down and close enough so that my lips touched his neck. My fangs nicked his skin and my blood rage consumed me. I needed his energy to get me back to health. He pushed me back and I released my weak grip. Butch moved against the wall and he screamed out Ayden's name.
I rolled my body onto the side until I fell off the slab, landing on the floor. Using the wall around me, I stood up and dragged my feet to the bars, placing my hands over the cold, thick steel. I pulled at them but they wouldn't budge. My nose picked up unusual scents around me. Just then I heard what sounded like a rusty door opening slowly then slamming shut followed by Ayden's voice.
He ran toward the cell, unlocked it, and opened the door. He pushed me against the wall and glared around the room. “Are you okay?” he asked Butch.
“Yeah, I think so.” He touched his neck and examined the small drops of blood on his fingers. “You said she wouldn't be strong after waking up from Hibernation.”
“Yes, I know. I was mistaken.”
Butch gathered himself. “Your mistake almost cost me my life.”
“I said I was mistaken,” Ayden repeated. “Go. Get yourself cleaned up. I'll take care of this.”
Butch walked to the door. “I'm getting too old for this,” he said. “I have a family now. Tell Kyra that I can't keep doing this.”
“We'll talk later,” Ayden replied. “Now please, go.”
Butch nodded and walked away and down the hall.
Ayden let me go and he closed the door, locking himself in the room with me. I moved back like a scared, cornered animal.
“Hibernation?” I questioned frantically.
“I know you have questions and I'll try my best to answer them,” he replied. “But first you need to relax. You don't have enough strength to over exert yourself.”
“What did you do to me? How did I get here?” I pushed my body to move toward him, but I found myself stammering forward over my own feet. He grabbed me before I could fall and he sat me on the slab. I looked down at my hands, noticing that my skin was wrinkled and gray. Sunlight couldn't do that to me.
“You've been asleep for a very long time.”
“How?” Wearily, I looked at him. “Did Ethel do this to me?”
“No. She isn't capable.”
“How long have I been asleep?” I screamed my question at him.
Again he placed his hands against my chest to calm me down. “You'll find out soon.”
However, I didn't want to wait for answers. I slapped his hands away from my body. “I want you to tell me now.”
“Twenty years,” he replied.
“Twenty years?” I repeated in awe. “That's impossible.” I searched around my neck for my mother's amulet but I didn't find it.
“After Ethel left you to die, Butch saved you from the sun and brought you here to this sanctuary. You were near death. Hibernation was the best option at that time.”
He blinked rapidly and took a deep breath. “You need blood.” He walked over to the cell and yelled out, “Bring her some blood!”
“I don't want blood.” I stood up and walked toward him. “Where's my amulet and where is Finley?”
“Maris, reserve your strength.” He forced me to sit again and soon a Deamhan that didn't look or smell familiar to me appeared at the bars holding a cup. Ayden handed it to me and without a thought, I began to drink it. At that moment, he could have asked or told me anything and I'd listen to him in a heartbeat as long as he continued to feed me.
“Right now Finley and your amulet aren't important.” He looked back at the Deamhan. “Bring some more.” The Deamhan nodded and scurried back down the hall, leaving us alone again.
“It is important to me.”
“You have a lot of catching up to do.” I saw the twinkle of revenge and distaste in his eye. “The world isn't the same as you remember it. The city has changed.”
“I'm still in Chicago?” I rubbed the inside of the cup with my finger and sucked the blood from it. “What has changed? Did Ethel kill Finley?” My body absorbed the psychic energy from the blood and I felt my skin slowly returning back to normal.
“Ethel asserted herself as the leader of all Deamhan in Chicago,” Ayden replied. “Right now she leads a large group of our kind against The Brotherhood.” He cleared his throat. “It's a bloodbath out there, Maris. Both sides have lost many. I, too, have lost people. I lost Bianca.”
“You didn't answer me. What happened to Finley?” I expected him to lash out at my lack of caring for what he just explained. The Deamhan returned with another cup and I drank that too. After five cups, I then had had the energy to stand on my feet.
Deamhan Chronicles, Books 1-5: Deamhan, Kei. Family Matters, Dark Curse, Maris. The Brotherhood Files, Ayden. Deamhan Minion Page 68