Deception (Deamhan Chronicles Book 3)

by Morrison, Isaiyan

  His question matched her own. Her eyesight saw blurs yet her sense of smell couldn’t decipher who had to come to their aid. This unknown and furtive individual took out three—sometimes five—Dorvo vampires at once. Quickly, Ruby’s ranks dwindled and, now on retreat, she moved back toward Johanna and Kenneth who remained frozen in fear.

  “Get the amulet from her.” Exhausted, Anastasia gathered enough strength to push Remy away and stand on her own. She then saw a group of Dorvo vampires suddenly disappear into the darkness. At first she thought her eyesight tricked her due to the growing pain inside her damaged body. However, another group also appeared to dissolve into obscurity.

  Remy moved quickly to grab the amulet but arrived too late. The amulet appeared to rip itself away from her neck and drop to the floor. Another unseen force tossed Kenneth and Johanna through the air. Remy dived to the ground and grasped the chain necklace. He then moved back along the mud and swayed his catch in the air at Ruby. “Oh, look how the tides have turned!” He teased her before this second unknown person ripped it from his hands. Startled, he snapped his head to the right and then to the left. Whoever had taken it from him was fast enough to fool his vision and to push Ruby to take flight, leaving Kenneth and Johanna behind.

  Anastasia saw this new blur using the shadows to their advantage. Their new rescuer yanked unsuspecting Dorvo vampires to their deaths. It moved swiftly, faster than she and Remy could move combined, leaving little remnants of Ruby’s once swollen army.

  Now on her feet, Johanna turned to escape and Remy threw himself on her, dragging her back into the mud. She screamed and struggled to crawl away. He placed his hands on the side of her head and, in one quick motion, he snapped her neck.

  Anastasia saw Kenneth to her right, crawling away from the chaos. Still woozy from her wounds, she tried to take Deamhan speed, but she stumbled and Remy caught her.

  “Who in the hell is here?” he whispered and searched around them.

  “There’re two of them,” she replied.

  Soon one of them appeared, standing in front of Kenneth. Her eyes were as white as snow and her face was pale and scarred. She noticed a thin piece of fiber threaded through her mouth, sealing her lips shut. Dirt and dried leaves peppered her shoulder-length and matted dark hair. Blood dripped from her elongated sharp nails.

  I’m ready to come out and play.

  Her voice rattled their brains, causing discomfort, and Remy to drop to his knees. The telepathic force was stronger than anything Anastasia had experienced. This weird looking Deamhan wasn’t Amenirdis. What kind of Deamhan had white eyes?

  “Don’t touch him!” Anastasia hobbled to them. But the white-eyed Deamhan didn’t listen. She raised her blood-soaked hands and prepared to strike when the other helper stepped out from the shadows.

  Her beautiful bronze skin contrasted the darkness behind her. She had long dark hair. Like the other, she also had a thin piece of fiber threaded through her face, but this time her eyes. She held the amulet in her right hand and lifted it toward the other. “Anzuna, stop this.”

  The white-eyed Deamhan lowered her body to the ground and crawled back like a spider. I just want to play. Sister, she said I could play.

  Again, her extrasensory reply seared in their brains.

  “You’re not wanted here.” Still holding the amulet, the beautiful woman walked toward her.

  Weak. Weak. Weak. Anzuna turned and took off in Deamhan speed.

  The woman turned around. “She won’t come back here. I promise you.”

  “Lambert. His chains.”

  Remy didn’t move. “What in the hell…?” He snapped his head to the left and then to the right. “Who was that?”

  “Remy!”

  Finally he jumped and rushed to Lambert’s aid and broke the chains free. He helped the vampire to his feet.

  “I concur.” Lambert rubbed his wrists. “Who was that and who is she?” He pointed to the beautiful woman.

  They all took a moment to glare at their savior. Even Kenneth appeared in shock. He turned to run, but she blocked his path. How she was able to move without her sight baffled them all. His eyes widened at the sight of her sealed eyes.

  Anastasia’s eyes turned to the silent Deamhan’s troubling appearance. Questions flooded her mind. How can you move in the shadows? How can you see? What do you want with the amulet? Did Amenirdis send you? But the woman ignored her telepathic questions.

  Anastasia forced Kenneth to his knees. She needed to know if the woman was against them, but first, she needed sustenance. “My wounds need mending.” She looked to Remy, who continued to remain shocked at what just occurred. She knew he wanted to be the one who ended the researcher’s life and she wanted his approval and his acceptance of what she planned to do next.

  “You think I’m scared of you?!” Kenneth looked up at Anastasia, his right cheek showing a red imprint of Ruby’s hand. “Killing me won’t end this.” He gargled and spat at her. She felt the cold, thick liquid slap against her chin, forcing her to turn her attention back to him. “The Brotherhood will send more researchers and more mercenaries.”

  “I doubt that.” She looked into his mind, seeing the familiar brick wall that many researchers trained themselves to imagine when under a mental attack. But this time, she also felt Remy’s influence along with the quieted Deamhan. Together they shattered his defenses and searched vigorously for any information he hid about the location of the tablet.

  They dived deeper into his thoughts, and images began to pour into her mind. She saw his meeting with Ruby at Dark Sepulcher, she knew about his plans to take over The Brotherhood. Most importantly, they saw what happened to Veronica, and Remy pulled himself out of the researcher’s mind. However, Anastasia continued to search, specifically looking for the location of the tablet piece. Suddenly she managed to stumble across the name of the woman who came to their aid along with what Deamhan clan she belonged to.

  She pulled out of Kenneth’s conscious. “It can’t be!”

  “What is it?” Remy questioned.

  She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

  “It sounds like it’s something,” he replied. “Did you find out where he hid the tablet?”

  “No. Ruby must have wiped his memory.”

  “Hmm. He still thinks he knows where he hid it.”

  Lambert spoke up. “Because she made him believe that he still knows where he hid it.” He rubbed his wrists and approached them. “If there’s one thing Dorvo vamps do better than us vampires it’s erasing human memories.”

  “I thought you can do that as well?” Remy tilted his head slightly to the right, amused.

  “We can influence them but not rid them of their thoughts.”

  “Doesn’t matter now,” Anastasia said. “What’s important is that Veronica is safe in San Diego.” She squinted at the woman and still viewed her as an oddity. There was only one type who could move within the shadows like she did. Your clan is extinct!

  “What about him?” Remy nudged Kenneth with the tip of his shoe. “Can I kill him now? Please!?”

  Anastasia let her fangs drop. She bit into his neck and pulled, tearing away a small chunk of flesh. Kenneth screamed and, in response, she placed her hand over his mouth. She refused to drink. Instead, she wanted to see the suffering in his eyes. She wanted him to feel every inch of pain.

  She ripped again, feeling the heat from his breath against her palm. Although his warm blood felt good grazing her lips, she refused to drink a drop. He didn’t deserve a quick death. He deserved much more.

  In silent agreement, Remy nodded and grabbed Kenneth’s right arm. He began to yank slowly until they all heard the sound of his shoulder bone pop from his socket. This time Anastasia wanted to hear his loud scream and she removed her hand. In one finally jerk, Remy tore his arm away from his body.

  Kenneth fell to the ground and slithered in agony. Blood began to pool underneath his body, which shook uncontrollably.

  Remy knel
t beside the dying researcher. “I wonder how long it’ll take you to die? Maybe I should pull off your other arm and lay it across your chest.”

  Anastasia moved back, giving him more room. His warm, flesh blood was going to waste and she fought against her urge to have a taste.

  “You took her from me.” Remy’s bottom lip trembled in outrage. “You brought her back to the one place she hated the most in her life.” He moved back.

  “I’ll die gladly, knowing that she will never love you.” Blood gurgled from Kenneth’s mouth. He smiled, showing his blood-stained teeth. “The Brotherhood won’t let you have her.”

  “They can’t stop me and you sure as hell won’t be alive to try.”

  “Doesn’t matter if you kill me. I still won.” He attempted to raise himself to his feet but fell back onto the dirt.

  Remy laughed. “Not so scary now, are you?”

  “You think if you kill me that The Brotherhood will just back down? It doesn’t work that way. They’ll come back in full force with mercenaries and other things at their disposal that you Deamhan have never dreamed off.”

  “I’m shaking,” Remy joked. He then tapped his chin in thought. “I should sire you, just so I can torture you for the rest of your life. Make you into the one thing you hate most in life.” He looked over his shoulder at Anastasia. “What do you think? Should I make him Lamia? Should I turn him into the one thing he hates the most?”

  At that point she didn’t care what he planned to do with the researcher. Her mind was still focused on the Deamhan woman and how she managed to see her enemies without her eyesight.

  “Naw, that’d be too good for you.” He grabbed Kenneth’s hair with his left hand and placed his right over his neck. “You’d make a horrible Lamia Deamhan anyway.”

  Anastasia watched him slowly begin to pull his head from his shoulders. Without so much as a thought, she rushed toward him and briefly halted the carnage. “No.”

  “No?” He eyed her wildly. “What do you mean no?”

  “He doesn’t deserve a quick death.”

  “Oh, believe me. This isn’t going to be quick.”

  “He needs to suffer for what he did…to her.” She didn’t say Veronica’s name. Something inside her prevented her from doing so. But Remy understood who she referred to and his confusion dissipated. “Let me do it…for you.”

  She didn’t wait for him to agree before she sank her teeth again into the open wound on his neck and began to suckle. With his left arm, Kenneth tried to push her away, but with each passing moment, his strength faded until he had no choice but to lay still on the ground.

  As the blood entered her mouth, she considered the psychic energy within it to be foul and disgusting. Her body convulsed and she ignored the sign. I will make this right. She repeated the phrase over and over again in her mind. When she took just enough, she pulled back, noticing that she had everyone’s undivided attention.

  “Ana, what’re you going to do?” Remy’s question sounded more like a plea.

  “I’m going to give you all the time you need. That is, if he survives the transformation.” The last human she made Ramanga, she did so in order to torture him for information. At that time, no one at Blind Bluff Manor objected to the idea, since they knew what was at stake. Killing Kenneth was a quick and clean interruption to the pull The Brotherhood had in the city. However, siring him was an even better and more construed way to hand down the punishment he deserved.

  She bit into her wrist and placed it over his mouth. The silent Deamhan moved as if to stop her, but Anastasia revealed her decision by making her eyes change color. Only one drop was needed to start the process. The weakened psychic energy within that drop would plant the seed that would replicate and warp, overtaking every cell within his body and replacing it with the dark magic that made all Deamhan who they were. He would die, but his death wouldn’t be permanent. If he survived, he’d wake up as her offspring—a Ramanga Deamhan.

  She stood to her feet. “If he survives, he will suffer for as long as you like.”

  Remy snarled. “Or he’ll spend eternity trying to kill you for what you did to him!”

  “Well, I guess you shouldn’t let him live longer than he should and set a date to give him the death he deserves.”

  “I did not see that coming.” Lambert had spoken up. “Not even from you.”

  “There’s a lot you would never see coming from me.” She wiped the blood away from her mouth with the back of her hand.

  Remy eyed Kenneth. “Man, I need to make a bucket list. There’s so much I want to do to this idiot.”

  “Good for you.” Uncaring, Lambert sighed. “Now. What about Ruby?”

  “She’s weak. She shouldn’t be giving any of us problems in the upcoming months.” Anastasia wanted to turn her attention to the mysterious Deamhan. “The amulet. Give it to me.” She held out her hand.

  The woman remained still and her voice reverberated inside Anastasia’s head. You sired him only to torture him?

  “That’s not your business. Now, give the amulet to me.”

  “You must come with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “How can she see?” Stupefied, Remy’s mouth opened slightly. “Who are you?”

  “Her name is Sia. She is an Adze Deamhan,” Anastasia replied. “Her kind should not exist.”

  “Adze?” Remy repeated in awe. “But aren’t they supposed to be, you know, extinct?”

  “That’s what I just said.”

  “What about that other creepy-looking one?” he asked.

  “She called you ‘sister.’ Did Amenirdis send you?” Anastasia asked.

  The sound of distant emergency sirens stirred in the air. She concentrated her hearing, picking up the exact location. She heard the sounds of tires screeching and coming to a halt near the front gate of Blind Bluff Manor. Then the noise of guns being pulled from their holsters, car doors opening and slamming shut, and footsteps, which signaled three cops encroaching upon them.

  “No, she did not send me, but she did send my sister,” Sia replied. “Please. We don’t have much time. Maris asked me to come and retrieve you.”

  “Maris?”

  “Yes. Your offspring.”

  “Where is she?”

  Sia held out her hand. “I will take you to her.”

  “Like hell you will,” Remy spoke. “Ana, she can’t even see where she’s going!”

  “Look around you. You really think she needs her eyes?” Anastasia protested. “She killed most of those Dorvo vamps without her sight.”

  “I don’t care. You still shouldn’t go with her.”

  The woman pushed herself in Anastasia’s mind, thwarting any breaking down any barriers she came across. A clear image of Maris appeared, as if she stood in front of them, making Anastasia jerk back.

  The illusion spoke.

  “If you see this image of me, then Sia was successful. She will take you to me. I know this is hard for someone like you, but you have to trust her. And please, don’t try to fight her. I need you in one piece.”

  The illusion then disappeared, leaving Anastasia shell shocked.

  “What is it?” Remy questioned.

  “I have to go.” She looked at him. “Tell the others that I went to Maris.”

  “Wait. What?”

  “Take Lambert,” —she pointed to Kenneth— “and that one with you. Tell Nathan and the others about what’s happened.”

  “Tell them what? You left with a Deamhan who’s supposed to be extinct? Not to mention, she’s blind as a bat?”

  “I don’t care. Tell them everything.” At first she hesitated to take Sia’s hand. I still don’t trust you.

  “I don’t trust you either,” Sia responded back.

  “Where exactly are you going?” Irate, Remy raised his voice. “What about Ruby? What about what’s going on here?”

  Anastasia didn’t answer his concerns. Knowing what kind of Deamhan Sia was, sh
e held on tight, afraid that if she didn’t, she would lose herself as they traveled away in the shadows.

  1

  DECEPTION. DEAMHAN CHRONCILES #3

  EPILOGUE

  Glimmers of light followed darkness. Anastasia felt her body moving; however, her eyes told her that she wasn’t moving at all. Only when she felt concrete beneath her feet did she realize that somehow, she safely accompanied Sia in her darkened travel.

  When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in front of the home from her last dream. Everything looked the same, including the broken roof and the decrepit look of the place. Her wounds, still burning, took an even greater toll and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

  Anastasia expected to see Amenirdis. She didn’t move as Sia ascended the stairs and walked toward the front door. “I’m not going in there.”

  She looked back. “Maris. Yes?”

  “Maris is in there?”

  Sia nodded.

  “Who else is in there?” Anastasia lifted her head, trying to take in the aromas in the air. She begin to think that Sia really worked for Amenirdis and that everything was a trap to finally take her to where she didn’t want to go. However, she was unable to find the Pure One’s scent in the air. She cautiously moved forward and entered the home.

  They walked into the room to their left. “How can you see with your eyes sewn together?”

  Sia didn’t answer.

  “I want to know how you’ve survived after all this time.”

  She continued her silence.

  It was impossible that an Adze Deamhan still walked among them. For centuries she and other Deamhan were told that the other four clans: Adze, Ekimmu, Empusa, and Estrie, were hunted down and killed because of their innate ability to feed off not only vampires and humans but Deamhan as well. It made them a serious threat.

  Yet here was an Adze who helped her and easily killed off Ruby’s army like it was nothing. Anastasia sensed Sia’s strength and power, which rivaled her own. She was also positive that the white-eyed Deamhan also belonged to an extinct clan as well.