“You should have thought about that” —he pushed her away— “before you decided to help her.”
Alexis stumbled back.
“I will keep in touch but sparingly.”
“Do me a favor and don’t.” Bloody tears streamed down her face.
Lambert ignored her reaction. He pulled out his cell phone and strolled toward the foyer where Enlai stood in silence.
“You heard him, Hallie,” Anastasia said. “Start packing and move your things into the foyer.”
“So you are going to stay after all?” she asked.
“Pack,” she replied through clenched teeth.
Hallie stomped up the stairs followed by Enlai. Now alone with Nathan, she wondered how he managed to sleep throughout their loud conversation. The blood from the vampire still remained on her index finger.
Anastasia eyed it. Just one drop. It was all that Nathan needed to heal. She wasn’t exactly sure what other side effects vampire blood carried. She’d heard stories from other Deamhan, but it was all hearsay. She attempted to push her voice into his thoughts, to reveal what she wanted to do, and he didn’t fight back.
She looked over her shoulder to verify she was still alone before placing her contaminated finger near his mouth. “You must get better.” She gently pulled his upper lip back and rubbed her finger on his gums. “This is for your benefit. That I promise you.”
1
DECEPTION. DEAMHAN CHRONCILES #3
CHAPTER nineteen
“Is this your first time at Dark Sepulcher?” Johanna stood extremely close to Kenneth while they both examined the exterior of the vampire club. He’d seen it from a distance and driven by the building when he first came to Minneapolis to bring Veronica back to San Diego. However, he refused to step inside, knowing all too well what dangers awaited him if he did so.
Now, he didn’t have to worry about Deamhan. Just Dorvo vampires who suddenly became the much needed muscle if he was to finally achieve what he wanted. He had to place his doubts aside and trust them. It was an uncomfortable thought.
The door opened and a tall male vampire greeted them in. “Ruby is waiting.”
He cautiously entered and Johanna followed him. They waited near the cashier booth for the stranger to close and lock the door behind them.
“You may enter.”
Kenneth sighed in annoyance. He pulled back the dark curtain, revealing the interior of the club along with a sight that brought a short-lived pleasure to his already damaged psyche. He saw Remy, tied to a chair in the middle of the dance floor among a pool of his own blood. The Lamia lifted his head slowly and struggled to look over his shoulder. When their eyes met, Remy sighed and turned back around.
“Not you too,” he exhaled.
Kenneth saw Ruby sitting across from him, wearing a thin black dress. Her hair moved slightly when she tilted her head, acknowledging and signaling them to approach her.
“Look at what I caught,” she said, speaking about Remy.
Avoiding the large pool of coagulated blood, Kenneth maneuvered around her captive. “You haven’t killed him yet?”
“Soon.” She stood up from her chair and held her arms out to Johanna. She reacted the same way to the welcoming gesture the first night Kenneth met Ruby. Johanna ran into her arms.
“We need to move. Now,” he said to her.
“Johanna informed me about what’s happened.” Ruby continued to pet her human companion. “You’ve lost your leverage.”
“Not exactly. I still have the piece of the tablet.”
She pulled away from Johanna. “You won’t have it forever.” She swiped the wild hair strands from her face. “There’s no need to hurry, Mr. Dearhorn. Everything is moving as expected.”
He let out an exasperated, loud sigh. “Mr. Alvaro isn’t anyone to fuck around with. He knows everything. He has that much pull.”
“I’m not afraid of an old man.”
“You should be.”
Ruby approached Remy and lifted his chin to gaze at his face. “I don’t like to be told to hurry.”
With his face fully visible, he saw the large gashes on Remy’s forehead and his cheek. He also noticed the Deamhan’s right eye was missing.
“Johanna told me that Remy did some awful things to her when he stopped by your Chapter. I made him pay for it.”
A devious smile overtook Johanna’s face while Remy groaned.
“No one touches my baby,” she said. “No one.”
Kenneth turned curious about how deep Ruby’s estranged connection went with Remy. “Looks like you had fun.”
“Yes,” she replied. “It was extremely fun.”
“So when are you and your Dorvo vampires going to attack Blind Bluff Manor?”
“When the time is right.”
“And when will the time be right?”
“When I say it is.” She glared at him from her peripheral with dark eyes. “As I’ve told you before, I keep my promises. Make sure you do the same.”
“That won’t happen if The Brotherhood takes us back to San Diego.”
She laughed gently. “You aren’t going anywhere. Not until we have the piece in our possession.”
“Easier said than done. You don’t know what they do to those who betray the organization.”
“Johanna has told me.”
Annoyed, he slapped his forehead and walked toward the bar. He needed a drink or anything to calm his nerves. He walked around the sports bar and yanked a bottle of 100-proof Vodka from the shelves. “Mr. Alvaro has all the resources and manpower he needs to drag us back to San Diego.”
“And I also have the resources and manpower to keep you here.”
He downed a shot. “You really think the Dorvons you control can stop him?” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You know how The Brotherhood works. You were around when you worked with them.”
“My army is ready, Mr. Dearhorn. No need for you to be worried.”
“I hardly call thirty-plus idiots an army.” He couldn’t believe her cocky attitude.
Noticing his anxiety level straining at an all-time high, Johanna attempted to resolve the situation. “Ruby, Mr. Alvaro said he knows where Amenirdis is. He also said he knows how to get rid of all Deamhan without the Dark Curse. Is that possible?”
“Do you believe him?” she asked gently.
Kenneth poured himself another shot. “I wouldn’t put anything past that old fuck.” This time he savored the stinging alcohol. “You don’t know him like I do.”
“If there was a possibility that the Dark Curse isn’t needed,” —she folded her hands and treaded along the dance floor in thought— “we Dorvons would’ve found that out by now.”
“He’s not lying.” Kenneth poured another shot. “If he says they know, they know.”
“Maybe there’s something you’ve overlooked?” Johanna suggested.
“Ridiculous. We know everything about the Dark Curse. It’s impossible to get rid of all Deamhan in one single blow without killing the Pure Ones. That’s the only way.” She walked over to Johanna. “Sweetie, I never overlook anything.”
“You did.” Kenneth ignored his drink and walked from behind the bar.
Her deep-set eyes focused on him and he knew he had crossed the line.
Remy cackled loudly enough for them to hear. “Oh, you did not just do that.”
“I only tolerate you because of Johanna,” Ruby said. “But you’re wearing my tolerance thin, Mr. Dearhorn.”
“How about I make this simple and easy for you to understand?” He took a deep breath. “You don’t help me, you won’t get the piece of the Curse.”
Ruby’s fangs appeared in response to his threat and Johanna pushed herself in front of him.
“Please, don’t hurt him. He doesn’t know any better.”
She paused. “I see you’re fond of him.”
“Completely,” Johanna replied. “He’s right. We should move things quickly. They’re sending our re
placements by the end of the week.”
“Let them.” Ruby smiled. “I’ll send them a message that they won’t forget.” She sat in her chair. “There’s no one in the city that can threaten my coven. All the vampires are subservient to our might, including Lambert, who once stood as the leader here. Right now, I have him confined to his quarters to keep him from mingling with the Deamhan at the sanctuary.”
Kenneth rolled his eyes. “Great. So your big plan is tracking Lambert to Blind Bluff Manor? How’s that going to help anything?”
“He returned moments ago without his consort. I believe she has joined the Deamhan. But I have plenty more servants all willing to do what I tell them to do. My influence spreads out further than you both realize. Nothing gets past me now.”
Kenneth leaned against the bar, quieted. “So, why are you waiting for the right time to strike?”
Her right eye twitched. She finally conceded. “If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Dearhorn, I’ll make the preparations. We’ll move in on the sanctuary in two nights.”
“About fucking time.”
“You’re without your organization.” Her demeanor reverted back and, when she spoke, her fangs clanked. “You have no friends here except for me. I suggest that you tighten your lips and speak only when spoken to.”
1
DECEPTION. DEAMHAN CHRONCILES #3
CHAPTER twenty
Anastasia picked up the scent of three humans before they knocked on the manor’s front door. She remained in the study until sunrise with Hallie, packing Nathan’s journals. She also moved boxes from the basement. The remains of the Dorvo vampire in the foyer had darkened and when she opened the door to let the humans in, sunlight blasted into the interior, hitting them and making them burst into flames. Seconds later, the fire dissipated and left a blackened spot on the floor.
The sunlight pushed her in Deamhan speed back to the dark corners of Nathan’s study. The humans walked in, sliding their bodies between the stacks of packed boxes. Soon they began to move them out one by one. Anastasia closed the door to the study where Hallie remained asleep. She returned to the table, using her hearing to keep tabs on Lambert’s humans.
Nathan hadn’t moved a muscle. She wondered how long it took vampire blood to work. Did she give him enough? Did she give him too much? She still heard his slow breathing. At least he was still alive.
When they finished, one of them knocked on the door. “Any more boxes?”
“That’s it,” she replied.
“Okay. We brought a few coffins. He didn’t tell us the size—”
“Coffins? For what?”
“He said that we were to move…”—the human paused and Anastasia heard the sound of scrunching paper— “one human, one vampire, and three Deamhan.”
She opened the door, grabbed the human, and yanked him into the study. He screamed, waking Hallie who jumped to her feet. With one hand on his shoulder, she pushed the human against the wall. “During the day?”
“Y-yes, that’s what he said,” he stuttered. “Please, don’t kill me.”
Anastasia gently let him go.
“What’s going on?” Hallie asked.
“They’re going to move us during the day.” She didn’t believe it herself.
“Do we have to?”
Going anywhere during daytime in coffins placed them in harm’s way. “No. We move tonight.”
The human forced a weary smile on his face. “We need to have the truck back by six. We can’t move you all at night.”
Fucking Lambert. Anastasia sighed. “Where’s the human doctor?”
“Doctor?”
“Yes, Lambert said that he’d send a doctor.”
“Oh...um, the veterinarian? He’s in the truck. He’s driving.”
“A veterinarian?” She opened the door slightly and watched the other humans close the front door, blanketing the foyer in darkness. “I’m going to wake Enlai.” In Deamhan speed she climbed the stairs and headed toward Hallie’s old room.
She knocked and waited. After a while and with no response, she twisted off the door handle and pushed it open. In the darkness she saw him on Hallie’s bed, on his back, sound asleep.
“Get up.” She spoke loudly enough to stir him awake.
He opened his eyes and turned to look at her. “Now?”
“Yes. Now.” Already leery of his arrival to Blind Bluff Manor in the first place, she didn’t understand why Hallie gave him permission to sleep in her old room.
He pushed himself from the bed and pointed at the closed window blinds. “You do know it is day, right?” He sniffed the air. “Just a little after sunrise.”
“Apparently Lambert didn’t think about that when he made the call.”
“Why during the day?” His response mimicked her previous reply. “Does he expect us to just walk out?”
“Coffins. Typical vampire shit.” She had one more visitor to wake. “Where’s Alexis?”
“I don’t know. She’s your vampire friend, not mine.”
Anastasia lifted her head slightly in the air. Underneath all the scents fluttering in the vicinity: Deamhan, the dead vampire, the scared humans, Nathan’s sickness—she carefully made out Alexis’ tangy odor. Following it, she walked out the door and down the dark hall, stopping in front of her own room. Her mind created plenty of ways to punish Lambert’s consort for having the nerve to go into her domain without asking. What in the hell is this vampire thinking? She opened the door and turned on the light.
She expected to see Alexis fast asleep. Instead, she sat in the middle of the queen-size bed with her legs folded and her arms snuggled around her midsection. Dried blood that once ran from her eyes now stained her cheeks. She raised her head and upon seeing that Anastasia found her, she looked away.
“This is my room. You aren’t allowed in here.”
“There wasn’t any other place to sleep”
“Remy’s room is empty. You could’ve slept there unless your conscience didn’t allow you to.”
Her eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t have a coffin.”
“Deamhan’s have no use for coffins.”
“You should. They’re quite comfy.”
“Been there. Done that. It’s time to go.”
“Now?!” She turned toward the window. “Isn’t it morning?”
“Yes. Would you like to see?” She approached the window to pull back the blinds, but Alexis scampered toward the door.
“Of course not. I’m not crazy.” She straightened her clothing and flattened her stringy hair. “I just didn’t think that Lambert would want us to move during the day.” She peered down the hall. “I can’t believe he left me here...surrounded by Deamhan,” she mumbled under her breath.
“That’s right. It’s not every day that you find yourself in the company of others not like you.” Anastasia tittered. “Especially if they have the ability to eat you.”
Alexis waved her finger at her. “I don’t need to be present to understand how ridiculous your nature is.”
“Sure.” She walked out of the room. Before passing Alexis she paused. “You should clean your bloody tears from your face before you head down. It’s early and all Deamhan wake up hungry. Don’t want to entice us, do you?”
Alexis wiped her face and examined her hand. “You don’t know what it’s like. You’re not a vampire.” With each wipe, she smeared her stains further.
“And for that, I’m grateful.”
****
While sealed in coffins, the humans drove them to Renville County. To Anastasia, the ride felt like forever. Unable to sleep, she stared at the fluffy ceiling of her enclosure. When they arrived, she heard the voices of the humans followed by her box being lifted and carried. She then heard the sound of a door opening and a few seconds later, she felt her coffin being lowered.
One of the humans knocked. “It’s safe for you to come out.”
She lifted the lid. The large room reeked of dust and old air. On her right she
noticed a switch. She flicked on the light.
What she saw around her reminded her of homes she’d visited in the past. The room stood large, five times the size of Nathan’s study. White sheets covered various pieces of furniture. In the corner she saw an old piano. Above her hung a large chandelier. She meandered around the room, gazing at large vases nestled on wooden perches. A tall and wide bookcase sat near the opposite wall. A red rug covered the majority of the floor, and near the blind-covered window sat a large flat-screen television. Vampires and their astonishing indulgences.
Once the humans carried in all the caskets, they turned their attention to the packed boxes. Carefully Anastasia opened the door and, feeling safe from the sunlight, she stepped out and opened each coffin one by one.
Hallie was the first to exit followed by Enlai and Alexis. As the two Deamhan marveled at the pristine interior of their temporary home, Alexis headed toward the staircase. Underneath it sat a storage door and she opened it.
“Don’t break anything,” she said before retiring into her cubby hole.
Hallie remained stupefied at the fancy rail system staircase, made out of white marble, that spiraled to the top. She climbed it slowly, rubbing her hand on the railing’s smooth surface before reaching the top step.
She smiled. “This place is awesome!”
Anastasia wasn’t so quick to become attached. She saw Lambert’s secret home as nothing but temporary until things became safer for them. She still planned on leaving the city.
The front door opened and they scattered into the dark and untouched spaces. To her surprise, Nathan walked in, carrying a small brown suitcase. He closed the door behind him.
“Nathan!” Hallie descended the stairs quickly and rushed at him, falling into his arms. He returned the hug and kissed her on her forehead. She jumped back, giving him the once over before jumping back into his arms.
Anastasia had never seen her this excited since she came to know the young Deamhan. Deep inside, she also felt relief that the vampire blood had done its magic, reviving Nathan to the man she had come to know. She wondered what other magical gifts the blood also had.
Deception (Deamhan Chronicles Book 3) Page 19
