Deception (Deamhan Chronicles Book 3)

by Morrison, Isaiyan

  Amenirdis moved to Ayden. “I strike true and I offer you his blood, the blood of my dark son, in exchange for their freedom.” She raised her hand and in one swipe, she cut across his neck.

  ****

  It wasn’t the sound of Ayden’s neck being torn open that woke Anastasia from her surreal dream. She heard Remy’s hard footsteps tromping around in his room.

  She crawled out of bed, her body aching and her mind troubled. The dream left her anxious. It felt so real, down to the emotions she felt pouring from Maris. The metallic taste of blood still soured her mouth and its power elevated her body, making her feel stronger than normal.

  Her hunger also shocked her. She had the insatiable need to feed, and any victim would do. Human, vampire, Deamhan. I don’t eat Deamhan. Her appetite for one of her own had to be a side effect of the blood. Amenirdis was an Ekimmu, one of the Second Four Deamhan to be created. Not only could she feed on humans and vampires, they also had a strong appetite for their own kind. Because of this attraction, Deamhan wiped them out of existence.

  She stumbled to the front door, spellbound by Remy’s Lamia scent. She could also hear his crooked thoughts about San Diego. As she walked down the hall, heading to his room, she raised the closed curtains along the way. Since Nathan had become sick, Hallie took over securing the top floor from the bright, hot rays, making her rounds just minutes before she, too, would fall asleep.

  She stopped just inches from the door, sniffing his scent that seeped through the door. Again her pristine hearing picked up on his rough movements and the sounds of rattling bags.

  The door opened.

  “What do you want, Anastasia?” He stood in the doorway. His dark Deamhan eyes looked her over.

  She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. There wasn’t anything she wanted from him except for his blood.

  “What, Ana?”

  “You smell funny.”

  His signature smile appeared on his face. “That’s it?” He turned and walked to his closet. “We all smell funny. Sometimes you smell like dirt.”

  She watched him yank a few shirts from the closet and walk back to his bed. His room was in disarray, when he usually kept it tidy and nice. His bed was unmade, paper and other garbage were scattered across the floor. He shoved the shirts into an already full duffel bag and he stood back, staring at it like an artist would stare at his masterpiece.

  “So you’ve decided to go to San Diego after all.”

  “That’s none of your business.” He didn’t look at her.

  “You’re needed here.”

  “Needed? Oh, don’t tell me that you’re gonna’ miss me, because I’m not going to miss you.”

  “I told you, I would help get Veronica back, but right now is not the time.” Her stomach twisted and she leaned against the door.

  “I’m tired of waiting for the right time.” He finally looked up at her. “I told you that I would do anything to get her back.” He noticed her grunt. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing. San Diego is a decent-size city. You don’t know where The Brotherhood is keeping her.”

  “There’s only one place she could be.” He zipped his bag and pushed it to the floor.

  Anastasia thought for a moment. Besides their Chapters located in the cities across America, The Brotherhood’s main location was in San Diego. It was a long, dangerous trip for any Deamhan to make, especially a Deamhan like Remy who remained blinded by his lust for her. He called it love, but she knew better. They were incapable of such an emotion, no matter how hard they tried. Still, she had to appreciate Remy’s desire to get back what he considered his, even though Veronica hated his guts.

  “You’ll die if you go there.”

  “Look at it this way—if I die, you can have my fabulous bottle cap collection,” he jokingly replied. “And since when did you start caring about my well-being?”

  “I don’t.”

  “Well, then you can just turn around and head back down that hall.” He tapped his chin and glanced around his room. “Now, I don’t think I’m forgetting anything,” he said to himself.

  “I’m serious. You’re needed here.”

  “No, I’m not.” He laughed at her absurdity. “You’re on the case!”

  “Remy—”

  “I get it. You’re bonded to Maris in some demented way. You have this need to protect her from all the bad things that go bump in the night. I’ve sired humans before so I know how that feels. But she isn’t here. You sent her away. She’s not your problem anymore.”

  “This isn’t about her.” She leaned forward with her arms around her stomach. “Not this time.”

  His derisive behavior quickly changed. “What’s going on with you?”

  Anastasia shuffled her feet across the floor to his bed. She sat slowly and her hunger pangs subsided.

  He stood in front of her and spoke in a distressed voice. “What the hell, Ana? I’ve seen you this way before. When Lucius gave you his tainted blood.” He moved his head forward. “And that smell...”

  “She’s in my dreams. I can’t stop her.”

  “Who’s in your dreams?”

  “Amenirdis. She’s forcing me to drink her blood. It’s changing me. It’s making me—”

  “Ravenous?” He finished her sentence.

  “Yes. That’s why you’re needed here. I don’t know how long I can control the hunger before I—”

  “Take a bite out of Hallie or Nathan?” Again he finished her sentence. “Or me.” In one quick movement, he stepped back from her. “I’m flattered, but really, I don’t have time for this.”

  She stood up. “Make time.”

  “Dead Deamhan can’t make ‘the time’ and that’s what I’ll be if I stay around you.” After carefully scanning his room, he grabbed his bag and placed it over his shoulder. “If you can’t control your new appetite, then you should get out there,” he said, pointing to the window, “and lower the Dorvo vampire population a notch or two.” He proceeded to the door, but she positioned herself in front of him. “Really?” He tilted his head to the side. “What are you going to do? Eat me?”

  “No.” Her throat tightened. His aroma reanimated her thirst to feed. Her fangs began to drop from her gums and her eyes turned stark black. She fought against her change.

  “You’re not eating me.” He reached into his pocket. “Move or I’ll make you move.”

  “No.”

  He exploded into full-blown rage. He punched her in the face and then in her solar plexus. Anastasia took each hit—feeling her ribcage shake back and forth, then proceed to heal itself, only to crack again after another blow.

  “Are you finished?” she asked him.

  The question made him pause in his outburst. “Not close.” He punched her again in the face. “Now, I’m finished.”

  She felt her cheekbone crack and several teeth rip from their place. She spit them out along with globs of blood and her tongue glazed over the empty pits, feeling new teeth grow in their place.

  He then pulled out Maris’ amulet.

  Upon seeing it, she stepped back, assuming that the jewelry—a magical piece of jewelry that could kill any Deamhan with just a touch—had been lost at the warehouse. Seeing it made her switch over to a defensive mode. Remy had used it against Kei to make him pay for what he’d done to Veronica’s mother. After placing it on Kei’s chest, it melted his body from the inside out as if he’d been staked through the heart. Now he planned to use it against her.

  “You had the amulet this whole time?!”

  He eyed his weapon. “Yep. This whole time.”

  “And you didn’t think once about using it as an advantage against Amenirdis?”

  “Never crossed my mind. Although, I have thought about using it against you. First when you lied about helping me, and the second time...right now.” A dark flash overtook the color of his eyes for a brief moment.

  “You should’ve told Nathan. He thinks the amulet was lost.”
>
  “Why don’t you tell him? I gotta’ get going.”

  “But...” Her throat tightened. “You owe him that much. What’s with the lack of caring about his well-being now?”

  “He doesn’t want to be saved. I’ve accepted that and so should you.”

  “He welcomed you into his home when he didn’t have to.”

  “Fine. I’ll warn him that you’re out of control and you might sink your teeth into his neck.”

  “That’s not the reason why you should stay.” She regained her composure, subduing her Deamhan instincts for now. “If I cross the line, like Lucius, you’re the only Deamhan who can bring me back from that chaos.”

  “Not good enough.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, move out of my way.”

  She stepped to the side, allowing him to walk to the door. “Veronica doesn’t want you.”

  He looked over his shoulder. “You’ve lived long enough to know that you can’t stand between the desires of anyone, especially when it comes to love.”

  “You’re smitten with her. It’s dangerous.”

  He nodded. “Yeah... yeah, I think I am.”

  ****

  Two shadows in Nathan’s study moving in the glow of the fireplace caught Anastasia’s vision. She approached the door, watching Hallie standing near the wall, examining the old research journals that they had pulled out months ago while they looked for information to stop Lucius from freeing the Pure Ones.

  Nathan remained seated in the comfort of his chair, his tired eyes engaged in a research journal that sat open on his lap. Anastasia studied him carefully, noticing his weathered-looking skin and how pale the whites of his eyes had become. His sickness, or whatever he had, consumed his entire body and the scent of it drowned out the scent of his blood pushing through his veins. She found both fragrances somewhat appealing.

  She didn’t consider his state of health having any priority over the matters at hand, but she wanted to know exactly what ailed him. What disease invaded his body, causing him to be dependent on Hallie? She saw her walk over to him and sit on the floor by his feet with her left arm draped over his legs. Her eyes stared at the ceiling and whenever he coughed, her face showed distress.

  When she asked if he needed anything to drink, he waved her off and went back to his journal. Not in a hundred years did Anastasia believe she’d feel so much concern for a human’s health. She did change but only for those she strongly felt were worth changing for. She remembered the first time meeting Nathan and wanting to rip his throat out. It took months to become comfortable around him and, in return, he kept his distance and his opinions about her behavior mostly to himself. He did offer suggestions, telling her to think before she acted instead of just acting. In the end he turned out to be one of the best things to enter her disdain of an existence in over two hundred years.

  Before grabbing their attention, she leaned against the doorframe and knocked on the wall. The noise made Hallie quickly turn her head.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.” A feeling of resentment of what she had done to the young Deamhan flooded her mind. She wanted to correct that wrong.

  Nathan closed his journal. “Is that blood on your lips?”

  She wiped her mouth and examined her hand. “Yes. I fed.” She lied to avoid telling him about her altercation with Remy.

  He coughed and Hallie immediately turned her attention to him. “Are you okay?”

  He bent forward and covered his mouth. With each cough his body shook and when his fit finished, he leaned back in his chair to catch his breath. “I’m fine.”

  Anastasia had enough of his lacking explanations. What sickness do you have? She decided to ask him in his mind, thinking that he didn’t want Hallie to know the truth.

  It’s nothing.

  You’re lying. What is it, Nathan? What human disease do you have?

  “You’re doing that mind thing again, aren’t you?” Hallie asked them. “What are you saying? Tell me. I want to know.” After no response, she cautiously headed toward the door, keeping as much distance as she could from Anastasia. “I’ll get you some water.”

  “She’s been on edge tonight,” Nathan said as Hallie left the room. “What happened when you two went to Minneapolis?”

  “Nothing.” Anastasia made her way over to the table. “I just showed her the reality of our nature. She had no idea how hazardous the city is for us now. Maybe she’ll listen to you?”

  “What can I say that you haven’t said already? You know more about that than I do.”

  “Do I?” She questioned herself. “I just found out from Remy that the Dorvo Coven is in town.”

  “Dorvo vampires?”

  She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “Kenneth did tell us that The Brotherhood was going to join up with them again.” Her hunger toyed at her body and again she ignored it.

  “I thought you already fed. Are you still hungry?”

  “No.” She moved farther into the study, attracted to the journals lining the bookcase. She calmly picked one up. “The Dorvo Coven.” She focused on the situation at hand. “If they are here, that means that Ruby’s here as well.”

  “Yes.” He drummed his fingertips together. “There was so much animosity between them and The Brotherhood. There still is. It couldn’t have been this easy for them to ignore it.”

  “Perhaps they used their hate for my kind to ignore the hate they have for each other. Either way, with Ruby here, we have to be extremely careful. She isn’t any Dorvo vamp to mess around with.”

  “Who’s Ruby?” Hallie stood just outside the room, holding a glass of water.

  Anastasia watched Nathan situate himself in his chair.

  She walked into the room. “Is she like Amenirdis?”

  “No.”

  “Is there a journal about her?”

  “I doubt it,” Anastasia replied.

  Hallie handed Nathan the glass of water and she looked back nervously at her. “What’s a Dorvon?”

  Anastasia placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, just before she heard Remy’s voice coming from the foyer.

  “Yeah, Anastasia. What’s a ‘Dorvon?’ ” He stood at the edge of the steps, holding his bag in his right hand.

  “I thought you left already,” she replied.

  “I was going to, but I don’t want to miss this. Please, don’t let my appearance stop you. She needs to know who you’re dealing with.” He looked to Nathan for clarification. “Am I right?”

  Lost, Hallie repeated her question.

  “Dorvon or ‘Dorvo vampires’ are descended from a vampire by the name of Dorvo,” Anastasia finally answered her.

  “Go on.” He continued to mock her. “Don’t forget to tell her about Ruby. Don’t hold back.”

  Yet she didn’t see the point in telling Hallie about her history with Dorvo vampires. It had very little to do with what was taking place in the city.

  She paused in a menacing gaze and Remy walked into the study.

  “If you won’t tell her, then I will.”

  “Ruby is the least of her concerns.”

  “Ugh.” He pouted. “You really hate talking about your history, don’t you?” He brushed past her. “Fine. I’ll tell her for you.” He winked at Hallie. “Most Deamhan know the story between Ruby and Anastasia. It goes way back. You see, my littlest Deamhan, centuries ago, Anastasia and her sire killed Ruby’s sire. Ruby chased them to the ends of the earth until she found Anastasia’s sire, who betrayed her to save her own skin. Ruby locked Anastasia in a coffin” —a wide grin appeared on his face— “and buried her alive for a hundred years until Lucius freed her.”

  Hallie reverted her gaze in Anastasia’s direction, revealing not only horror but revulsion. “I remember hearing about the coffin thing.”

  “Yeah, hence why she was so loyal to Lucius. More than her own offspring,” he replied. “You’d think, after all that, Anastasia would have a new outlook on life, but no. Years later she sired Maris, which she wasn�
��t supposed to do. But you know how Ana is. If she sees an opportunity to help herself, she’ll take it.”

  Anastasia rolled her eyes. “There’s a lot more to it.”

  “Well, fill me in. What did I miss?”

  “You forgot to explain that times were different, crueler than it currently is. Deamhan betrayed Deamhan. It was normal behavior.”

  “Yeah, I’ll give you that,” he agreed. “I mean, I have some cobwebs in my closet that need to be cleaned out too.”

  “You can start now with your plan.”

  “What plan?” Nathan questioned.

  “He’s going to San Diego to get Veronica back.”

  “Exposin’ secrets now, are we?” Remy’s eyes grew steadily dark. “Maybe now’s the right time to tell them about your affair with Amenirdis.”

  Her fangs unfurled from her gums. “Maybe we should speak about—”

  “Stop. Both of you.” Nathan spoke up to ease the tension. “You’re going to San Diego?” He looked at Remy. “And what is this about Amenirdis?” He turned to Anastasia.

  Her eyes reversed back to normal along with her fangs. “She’s in my dreams, just like Kyra was before.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  She couldn’t remember. “A few weeks after the warehouse incident.” She shrugged. “She’s forcing me to drink her blood and when I wake up, I feel it inside me.”

  Remy pointed to her. “She wants your blood.” His playful antics didn’t sway Nathan.

  “What exactly is she making you do in your dreams?” he asked her.

  Her eyes constricted. “So far, from what I do remember, I’ve watched her go after a minion. I also saw Maris and Ayden alive but staked.”

  “Do you know if this has happened?” Curious, Nathan sat up in his chair.

  “I don’t know. What I do know is that she wants me to serve her. She said I made that promise when we freed Lucius from Limbo. There has to be something in those journals about how this connects with Revelation.”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t found anything so far.” He held up his hand to signal his slight pause. He suddenly coughed and placed his hand over his chest. Hallie rushed to the table across the room, grabbing a paper bag.