“I just want all of this to stop.” Her voice cracked.
My green eyes filled with sorrow. “What happened to the strong willed Maris that wanted to fight back?”
“You’re the strong willed one, Ayden. You always have been.” She placed her hand against my cheek. “Don’t go back to Kyra. Stay here with me.”
While I wanted to and her suggestion seemed to be the easiest and less painful way out, I knew it was anything but that. I turned away from her, keeping my eyesight low. I wish I could stay with her, but I knew that it couldn’t happen as long as Nicias and Kyra wanted her dead. Why else would I advise her to run when I knew she didn’t want to ever again? How long would she last out there alone until either they would force me to kill her or they killed her themselves? However, I couldn’t think about it. What pushed me was the idea that what bound us together—our trust for one another—put her in harm’s way.
“You say that like it is easy.” Looking her in the eye wasn’t possible at that moment.
“Bonds can be broken. Break your bond with her.”
“Not this bond.” I gently pushed her away. “If I go back it’ll give you time to leave and disappear.” Still reeling from my wounds, my eyesight hazed over and my legs wobbled underneath me. I had to find some human to feed from if I wanted any chance at surviving the remainder of the night.
“You promised me Ayden! You promised you wouldn’t leave me!”
“I’m so sorry that I can’t keep that promise.” Without another word I turned and in a flash disappeared from their view in Deamhan speed.
8
A BOND MENDED
His name was Johnny. Well, that’s what I picked up from his thoughts before I began to feed. The next one, a girl no older than twenty one years of age, was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I quickly drained her body dry, getting all the psychic essence I needed to heal. However, I took in too much in a short period of time.
Standing near what I believed to be an abandoned junkyard near highway 35W, I hunched over and began to dispel what looked like black goo from my system. It poured out of my mouth like crude oil. Pools of it covered the ground in front of me and when I finished I stood up and wiped my mouth. My eyesight came back along with my other Deamhan senses.
Feeling destructive, I wanted to rip the head off any human who had the mistake of crossing my path. I lived for the moment, knowing that soon I wouldn’t be alive at all. Once Nicias found out that I disobeyed his order, he wouldn’t hesitate in ripping my heart from my chest. If he managed to let me live a few second longer he’d also find out that I didn’t get the tablet piece from Nathan either. That would make his night.
I approached the lavish hotel in downtown Minneapolis, stopping short of the entry way. Staring down the street I thought about continuing on and leaving the city, but I wouldn’t get far. It wasn’t like me to run from any situation. I met everything head on, but this was different. I had never felt so torn and defeated before. Either I could stand up to Nicias and pray that I’d make it out alive or I could just leave the city and deal with the consequences later.
Making my decision quickly, I walked through the entrance and like the first time I came into the establishment I again admired the glorious decor. I ascended the steps slowly, thinking about how I could overpower him if that was even possible. Yes, he used me and wanted me to kill Maris, but that wasn’t enough for me to want him dead. After all, he sired my maker, Oliver, which made Nicias the only connection I had to my once simple past.
When I reached the door of his room I stopped. Biddy’s scent was clearly undeniable along with another that didn’t belong to Nicias. Biddy somehow managed to survive the vampires at Dark Sepulcher! By now I had no doubt that she filled Nicias in on what happened.
I broke the handle and pushed the door slowly open. The inside was too dark for human eyes, but for my own I could see perfectly fine. The room was vacant. He wasn’t there. I walked to the couch and noticed that the bag full of weapons were gone. I headed toward the bedroom which was all but clean. Biddy’s odor was particularly strong in the bedroom I had slept in the night before. I searched the closets and pulled back the sheets.
“I know you’re here Biddy.” I heard was the sound of a panicked heartbeat coming from underneath the bed. I grabbed the mattress and yanked it aside. It hit the wall in a thud. I saw her in a fetal position, but something was amiss. Blood covered her face and there were two distinct puncture wounds in her neck. Her body shivered uncontrollably and when she looked at me with a wide eye stare, she began to whimper. I assumed that she didn’t make it out unscathed from the vampires at Dark Sepulcher as I previously thought.
Ignoring her state, I asked, “Where’s Nicias?”
“Help me.”
“Help you?” I didn’t understand her.
With her arm shaking, she pointed behind me. “Keep her away from me.”
I turned around, seeing no one. Biddy had tricked me. I turned back to face her just in time to see her reach into her purse and pull out a gun, aiming it at my chest.
At first I laughed at the thought, but when I took a closer look I noticed that the gun wasn’t a gun at all. Still, her threat didn’t frighten me. My eyes transformed color to give her a little scare. In response she reaffirmed her grip.
“I’ll shoot.”
I could’ve killed her at that moment without any remorse or sympathy for her pathetic existence, but curiosity about this weapon overcame me. “Is that a stun gun?”
She pulled the trigger and small wires shot out, embedding themselves into my chest. At first the bolts did nothing. However, within seconds my legs began to wobble and I collapsed onto the ground in a complete state of shock. I’d never been electrocuted before and I didn’t know what to expect. Now, I understood why a stun gun was a preferred weapon of choice over a crude stake.
She then reached into her purse and pulled out a can of mace. I didn’t realize that she had other weapons at her disposal.
Biddy reverted her aim at me. I felt the cold droplets smack against my face followed by a searing pain. I couldn’t see and I didn’t know how long my sight would remain afflicted, but once I healed I planned on disemboweling her. I grunted in sheer pain and I hissed.
“I told Nicias that you wouldn’t do it.”
My eyesight slowly began to return and I could only make out a blurry image of her with the phone placed up to her ear. “Who are you calling?” I asked in pain, yet I already knew the answer. She was calling Nicias.
“Shut up.” She waited a few seconds before speaking into the mouthpiece. “Hello....yes...this is Biddy...Nicias, you told me to call when he returned. He’s here.”
As soon as she realized that I was healing, she sprayed me again and again.
In my painful state, I decided to give her an ultimatum. After all, she still belonged to me. “Let me go or I will kill you.”
“I told you to shut up.” She kicked me in the ribs.
“I have nothing against you so let me go and I promise you that I won’t harm you.” I didn’t want to deal with her and Nicias. I would have let her go, but I could tell that she didn’t trust anything I said. She must have learned that lesson a long time ago when dealing with other Deamhan.
She spoke into the phone. “No, I don’t think he has that tablet thingy...can you hurry? I’m running out of mace.” Her lips formed into a solemn frown. “He left me at that vampire club. He abandoned me there...I barely escaped...yes...yes Master. I-”
Another scent entered the room. I turned around seeing Anastasia standing in the doorway. Her surprise appearance made me scoot back along the floor. I didn’t know how I missed her scent, but her age allowed her to sneak up on me in a stealthy manner.
She moved quick, snatching the phone from Biddy’s grasp and throwing it to the ground. She grabbed her by the back of her neck and threw her to the couch, all while I still remained on the floor, my body shaking uncontrollably. I tried to yank th
e wires out which only made the pain worse.
“Is she your minion?” Anastasia pounded her foot on the cell phone and shattered it.
“No.” I struggled to speak as the electric charges continued to travel through my system. Now in a fetal position, still on the floor, I struggled to raise myself to my feet. “Did you follow me?” I wasn’t ready so I pretended that the stun gun had did more damage to me than she realized. She pulled the wires from my chest and the pain stopped.
Biddy ran for the door and again Anastasia pushed her back to the couch. “Where’s Nicias?”
She snickered and crossed her legs. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Wrong answer.”
“She was on the phone with him.” I blinked my eyes in order to clear my vision. “He’s probably on his way here.”
“He wouldn’t come here.”
My sight returned just in time to see Biddy pull out another can of mace from her pocket. She raised it in an attempt to harm Anastasia, but she didn’t have a chance. Anastasia moved within the wind and traveled so fast in Deamhan speed that all I saw was Biddy’s head break free from her body. It came to a rest in front of me. Blood poured from her neck and her lifeless body fell onto its right side.
Anastasia went in at the remains. She ripped at the body and left nothing but chunks of flesh scattered around the room. Her devastation was just too much, even for me. It was nothing compared to my previous desire to disembowel that human.
I rose to my feet and watched her walk over to the windows and close the blinds. She headed toward the bathroom and pulled out the trashcan. Remaining silent she began to place the biggest parts of the body into the can. It didn’t take her that long to gather what she could, tie the bag shut, and drop it to the floor.
How easily she killed her. How easily she could kill me!
“I hate minions.” She sat on the couch.
I was left tongue tied and speechless. I glared at the remaining pieces she missed and at that moment, I decided to conserve whatever energy I had left inside me for a fight that was soon to come.
“She belonged to Nicias.” The idea of revenge came back at me and it felt like a large electric bolt. My eyes returned to their dark nature and I wanted to kill Biddy all over again.
“Now she belongs to no one.”
I figured that now was the right time. I went in to attack her but found myself with my back to the floor and her foot on my chest. I was still weak from the stun gun and I hadn’t thought the attack through.
She leaned over me and applied more pressure that I felt my ribs crack underneath her weight. “Have you made up your mind?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Maris doesn’t want me to harm you.” She placed her hand underneath my chin. “But I will if I have to.”
“Doesn’t surprise me.”
“You told her that you would protect her with your life.” She dropped her hand, removed her foot, and stepped back.
“Yes I did.”
“So follow through on your promise.”
“Why are you trying to help me now? You don’t fear anyone or anything. Are you now afraid of Amenirdis?”
“Aren’t you?” Her tongue protruded slightly from her mouth.
For the first time I saw fear in her eyes. This made me curious and I didn’t like it.
“A Pure Deamhan is nothing like we’ve ever experienced. If Amenirdis gets what she wants, we’re all dead.” She looked at me as if somehow I understood her. “She’s more of a threat than I could ever be to you.”
“You helped free her. It’s your responsibility to put her back in her cage.”
“You’re acting like a conceded brat. Your self-angst is annoying. It’s time for you to grow up and keep your promise.”
“Who are you to tell me to keep my promise?!”
She rubbed her palms together. Her mind searched for a simple solution to how she could convince me. How badly I wanted to see her try.
“Don’t give me that bullshit. Just because you want to help Maris, you think that’ll exonerate you? Not in a million years.” I rolled my eyes at her.
“This isn’t about me. It’s about the future of our species.”
“You’re still a habitual liar. That’ll never change.”
“Say what you want about me.” She moistened her lips and her mouth opened slightly. “Even though every part of me wants to end you I won’t because I know you’ll protect her.” Her eyes stared deep into my own.
“You have no idea how much she is to me,” I spoke with clenched teeth.
“No, I don’t. I’ve never had that bond with any Deamhan. Not with my own sire and not with my offspring. That isn’t important now.”
I shook my head. “I would never betray my family like you betrayed yours.”
“You haven’t lived long enough to be given that option.”
“So, just because you had relationship problems with your sire, you decide to take it out on your offspring? You have no idea about the hell you put her through—what you put her siblings through.” I stomped toward her. “Like Finley and Jesse. You remember them, right?”
She remained quieted.
“I asked you a question,” I said again.
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know what Maris told me. I was there for her when you weren’t. I comforted her when she mourned for Jesse. I was there to protect her from Finley.” I jabbed my finger into her breastbone. “He was your offspring. He took on the role that you were supposed to fill. He sired Jesse for her. For the first time in her life she was happy.”
Her eyes darted to the floor. It felt good seeing her on the weaker end of things, but nothing I could do or say could compare to how Maris felt her entire life. I knew everything; every dark and dirty detail of their relationship. I knew about how she failed Finley, the Hartley twins... not only them, but every Deamhan she sired. Perhaps, having and expressing sympathy for Maris was the first step in mending the deep rooted problems they had with one another. Then again, this was Anastasia. She wasn’t known for showing her feelings.
“You killed my sire.” I jutted my chin. “You killed him out of sport just because you could.”
Her mouth dropped open. “There’s no point to apologize.”
“Oh c’mon. Don’t think I’d ever expect one from you.”
Suddenly, the Anastasia I knew returned. Her eyes darkened and with her shoulders back, she stood and waited for what I decided to do. I couldn’t take her, not like I could back at Blind Bluff Manor weeks ago. I didn’t know what changed since then, but I hesitated and questioned myself about making another move. Instead I said the only thing I could say.
“I never made her feel like a pet project. I became the only person she could trust. That says something... a Ramanga putting her trust in a Metusba. How often do other Deamhan place their trust in one of their own, let alone, one who’s not of their clan?”
She shrugged.
“I made sure nothing happened to her body after Kyra forced her into Hibernation. I stayed with her. I protected her. So I’ll say it again. You have no idea how much Maris is to me. I would do anything for her because we have a bond created out of our hatred for you.”
“If she really means this much then take her and get the hell out of this city. Tonight!” She turned around and headed for the door. “Forget your petty vendetta against me.”
“Forget it?”
“Yes or I’ll rip your throat out.” She opened the door. “She’s waiting for you at the manor. If you decide to continue this quarrel and stay, I will kill you. But if you leave now you can uphold the promise you made to her decades ago. Don’t wait too late to make your decision.” She closed the door.
I was never good at handling ultimatums. Not from Nicias, Kyra, and especially not from Anastasia. For now, I decided to play it safe. If I could place my desire aside for Kyra, I could do the same for Maris. It was up to me
to make the decision and in no way in hell would I allow Anastasia to be Maris’ protector.
But to ask me to forget? That was a request that no one could ask of me, especially her.
For as long as I lived, I would never forget. Anastasia, the Ramanga, would be on my death list until either I or she met our maker.
Glossary
Ancient Deamhan - a Deamhan who is over the age of 500. These types of Deamhan are rare since many of their kind don't survive long.
Adze - Part of the “Second Four” of Deamhan created by the Kashshapu, these Deamhan fed by using their hands and consuming the psychic energy of their victims like Lugat Deamhan. They were also called “shadow walkers” because of their ability to travel in the shadows. Adze were excellent assassins. They are now considered extinct.
Bond - A mental attraction usually associated with a Deamhan and those they've sired (offspring.) These bonds can also be broken and on rare occasions they can be created between Deamhan from different clans and/or Deamhan with no relation to one another.
The Brotherhood - Created in 516 A.D. by locals in peasant villages throughout Europe, their main goal was to study, research, and document Deamhan. As centuries passed, this group transformed from a secret society to a worldwide organization. There are two known positions for members: Researchers and Mercenaries. Researchers are assigned to specific Deamhan to gather intel from a distance while Mercenaries are trained to protect the organization. Other members can also hold high positions in the organization such as Region Leader and President of certain geographical areas in countries around the world. The American capital of their headquarters is located in San Diego, California. This location holds the most valuable historical artifacts relating to the Deamhan in the Archives, a secured location in the basement that is kept under heavy guard and protection.
Dark Curse - The Dark Curse is a tablet that holds the written spells used to create Deamhan and Limbo. The original tablet was lost to time, only to resurface years later, broken into two pieces. Currently one piece is held in The Brotherhood archives and the other is still missing.
Deamhan Chronicles, Books 1-5: Deamhan, Kei. Family Matters, Dark Curse, Maris. The Brotherhood Files, Ayden. Deamhan Minion Page 80