“You look well Anastasia.” Maris walked into the foyer.
Nathan watched as Anastasia quickly sped down the stairs and toward Maris. Within moments she had the Ramanga by the neck and seconds after that Maris grabbed onto Anastasia’s wrist, yanking herself free.
“What are you doing here?” Anastasia remained glued in her stance.
“You know why I’m here.”
Remy folded his hands. “You two know each other?” He studied Maris’ face then Anastasia’s. “Oh, I get it. I get it. Anastasia is your sire, isn’t she?”
To end the confrontation Ayden placed his hands on Maris’ shoulders and forced her toward Nathan’s study. “You’re not here for vendettas, Maris. Not yet.”
Nathan motioned for them to follow and they walked into his study. He immediately noticed books strewn about the room, on the floor, on his chair, and tables. His bookcases, once neat and filed in order, now looked disheveled and out of place.
“So you sired that one?” Remy stood next to Anastasia and whispered in her ear. “Oh my, I’d love to hear that story.”
“No, you really don’t,” Anastasia said in a hardened voice.
Nathan took a step forward and he felt his stomach beginning to turn, a side effect from the shadowed ride. He leaned against the wall and said, “I guess you all know what we need to find.”
“Are you all right?” Hallie’s eyes filled with concern.
“I’m fine. Just a side effect from the travel.”
“You should rest,” Anastasia said to him. “You’ll need your strength.”
Maris said as she looked at Anastasia, “You have changed. I don’t remember you being so caring for humans.”
“Why is she here!” Anastasia pointed at Maris. “She shouldn’t be here!”
“My descendant status used to be so important to you,” Maris replied as she folded her arms. “Now that you can’t use me anymore, you don’t want anything to do with me.”
“That was the past. I’m different now.”
“But you’re still the bloodthirsty bitch who only looks out for herself.”
“Enough of this.” She stepped toward Maris. “Leave or I’ll make you leave.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Ayden replied. “Not until this is over.”
“She isn’t here to help us,” Anastasia replied. “She’s just here for revenge.”
“Maybe you’re just scared that your past is finally catching up to you?” Maris walked further into the study, approaching a bookcase. “That’s it, isn’t it?” She pulled out a leather covered book bounded by glue. “You’re afraid that your friends will find out about the real you.”
Again, the tension in the room began to mount and Nathan, too weak to control it, exhaled loudly. “I don’t know the bad history between you two but it ends here and now.” He turned to Maris. “If you two can’t do that, then you both can’t be here.” He then made eye contact with Anastasia and he heard her mixed thoughts flow into his head. I don’t trust her. I don’t trust Maris.
“Nathan, I assure you. We will all work together,” Ayden replied. “We will place our differences aside.” He also turned to Maris who nodded lazily in acceptance.
“Good, because I don’t have the time or the patience for squabbles,” he replied. “Lucius and Selene are the real threats.”
“Of course.” Maris slowly paced around the room, staring at the pictures hanging on the walls. She grabbed another book and gently flipped through the pages. “These are researcher journals, centuries old.” She looked to Nathan. “Your ancestors?”
Nathan nodded.
“Well there’s nothing in these books that can help us locate the piece that Lucius and Selene are looking for,” Remy replied.
“We need to look through my father’s journals that are in the basement.”
“So exactly how are you connected to this?” Remy turned to Maris. “What does being a descendant have to do with it?”
She nodded. “My ancestor was the Kashshapu who created Deamhan.”
“So you know the spell?”
“No, I never knew it but apparently the incantation is handed down generation to generation. Only the ritual and blood can activate it.”
“Your blood?” Confused, Remy shook his head in thought. “So, it’s a blood ritual? If that’s the case then why the fuck are you here? You should be hiding on an island in the middle of the ocean or something and not be in the same city with two out of control Deamhan who’ll drain you dry.”
“Lucius and Selene think that Kyra is the key,” Ayden added. “They believe that Maris is no longer connected to it.”
“But they will find out.” Remy continued with his questions. “And when they do, they’ll come for her.”
“Hopefully, by that time, we will have stopped them.” Ayden stood up straight and he lifted his head slightly, sniffing the air. “Kyra can decipher the incantation and Maris’ blood puts it in motion.” He lowered his head. “Right now Lucius and Selene are tracking Kyra. It should give us enough time to find the other piece.”
“This is one big clusterfuck,” Remy said slowly.
“Tell me about it,” Ayden replied. “This will only work if we find it and Kyra believes that the location of it is somewhere in the journals that Nathan’s father used to keep.”
“And he had tons of boxes full of journals, so we have a lot to cover.” Nathan stood slowly to his feet.
“Brotherhood knows that your father was the last person with the piece,” Anastasia added. “And they want to join with us in hopes of finding it before Selene and Lucius do.”
****
Anastasia stood on the front wooden porch of the sanctuary. Stars dotted the clear sky and a few high clouds partially blocked the full moon. Crickets chirped and a small breeze ruffled the wild strands of her dark hair. She pulled them back, tucking them behind her ears.
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 she 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, Anastasia continued, “You should have left your vengeance in the past. It’ll be the death of you.”
“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.” Anastasi
a 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 Maris 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?” Anastasia 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.”
Anastasia 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.”
Anastasia pushed him aside and she 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.”
Anastasia 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.”
1
DARK CURSE. DEAMHAN CHRONICLES #2
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?” Anastasia’s question put a halt to their conversation.
“I was invited,” Kenneth replied calmly.
Anastasia 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 he 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.”
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?” Remy 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.
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