“You know the marking, Anastasia. I belong to her.”
Anastasia removed her cap, and her dark hair fell to her shoulders. Her eyes studied the marking before she spoke. “Selene.” Her teeth retracted and her eyes slowly reverted back to its normal color.
Jessica stood to her feet, wiping the wet snow from her ruffled jacket. She kept her left arm exposed, giving Veronica a better view of her marking.
Her brand looked roughly the same as Murphy’s except the letters were vastly different. They were darker, and the calligraphy wasn’t modern but created in a penmanship from years past. For Veronica, they were unreadable, but for Anastasia it revealed the woman’s master.
“I belong to Selene.” Jessica regained her posture. She turned her attention to Murphy. “He belongs to Kei.”
“I know.” Anastasia tilted her head, staring at him. She quickly looked back at her.
“Selene has protected Veronica,” Jessica said.
“Who’s Selene?” Veronica looked at Anastasia, who didn’t respond to her.
“Obviously Kei has no intention of respecting Selene’s order, so he sent this minion.” Jessica pointed to Murphy.
“He said he has Sean.” Veronica turned to Anastasia but she shook her head.
“Unlikely,” Anastasia replied. “The Brotherhood has your friend.”
Jessica held out her hand to Veronica. “I came here to get you and take you to Selene’s sanctuary. We need to go now.”
“But I don’t know who Selene is.” Veronica stared at the snow on the ground and the numerous footprints they’d all made in it.
“Selene is the oldest Deamhan in the city as of now,” Jessica replied. “Older than Anastasia and like Kei, Lucius is her maker.”
Anastasia glared at Jessica. “Older doesn’t mean you can trust her.” She mocked her.
“She’ll have Selene’s protection.” Jessica turned to Veronica. “You’re not as old and as strong as her, Anastasia. You can’t control Kei.”
“She can’t control him either,” Anastasia said. “If she could, Kei would be dead and Lucius would still be here.” She turned back to face them.
Jessica returned her attention to Veronica. “Veronica, Selene knows a lot about your mother.” Jessica wiped the remaining snow from her forehead.
“What does she know?” Veronica began to push her for answers.
“It’s not my place to ask her what she knows.” Jessica shrugged. “But when you arrive safely, I’m sure she’ll tell you everything.” She held out her hand again. “But we need to leave, now.”
Veronica looked at Anastasia who still remained with her back to them, then at Jessica. Something wasn’t right. She could sense the hostility from Anastasia when it came to Selene. “I don’t know if Selene can tell me what I want to know. I know Nathan can.”
Jessica nodded. “Selene did warn me that it’d be difficult to get you to come with me.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a white envelope and tossed it at Anastasia. “That is for Nathan from Selene.”
Anastasia examined the envelope. It was bare except for Nathan’s name written in small handwriting in the upper left hand corner.
Jessica turned to look at Murphy. “He can’t stay here.” She looked back at Anastasia.
“You shot him, you dispose of him.” Anastasia turned to walk away.
“The Dictum forbids this.” Jessica’s brazen remark did little affect. Anastasia continued walking. Veronica watched puffs of mist exhale from the woman’s mouth.
“Anastasia!” Jessica now screamed after her. Anastasia continued to walk away, only halting in her tracks when Jessica screamed again. “Your sire Lucia didn’t teach you this?”
In Deamhan speed, Anastasia ran back to them and in seconds she stood standing face to face with Jessica.
“I could easily kill you and leave you right here with him.” Anastasia’s eyes were stark cold and her body was rigid.
Shaken, Jessica took a step back from her. “I belong to Selene.”
“I don’t fear Selene or any Deamhan human.”
Jessica readjusted her position and she now stood up straight, trying to hide her fear. “Selene told me stories about you, Anastasia,” she whispered. “You’d be surprised what I know about you and what you can and won’t do.”
“You don’t know anything about me.” Anastasia moved in closer and her fangs slowly dropped.
“Selene isn’t your enemy. You both want the same thing. You both want justice for Lucius. He is her true sire.” Jessica’s voice was shaky.
Slowly Anastasia stepped away, but her eyes continued to glare at Jessica.
Jessica breathed in deeply before speaking again. “There’s a small lake that way.” She pointed to her right. “You can kill Murphy and get rid of him over there.”
Anastasia didn’t reply. Instead she approached Murphy, lifted him from the ground and she placed his body over her shoulder.
“Fucking bitch.” Murphy’s curse had no effect on the conversation.
Jessica then turned to Veronica. “Veronica, we have to leave now.”
“I’m going back to Blind Bluff Manor.” Veronica shook her head. “Tell Selene that I do appreciate her protection, but I feel safer with people I know.”
“I’ll tell her.” Defeated, Jessica slowly nodded. “Selene knew your mother and promised her that you’d always be protected.” Jessica placed her hands in her pocket. “She is just making sure she lives up to her end.”
Before Veronica had a chance to speak, Jessica turned and walked away.
Selene knew my mother?
Veronica looked back and watched as Jessica zipped up her jacket and covered her neck with a scarf. She briskly crossed the street and disappeared around the corner.
Anastasia stopped walking and turned to face Veronica. “This way.” She began to walk the opposite way from the lake.
Veronica followed Anastasia out of the park.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Anastasia dumped Murphy in the backseat of a parked black Oldsmobile hidden in an alleyway nearby. Reluctantly, Veronica climbed into the vehicle on the passenger side. Anastasia started the car and pressed her foot firmly on the gas. The tires screeched and they took off.
Anastasia drove violently, swerving in and out of traffic. She kept only her right hand on the wheel and she rolled down the drive side window. Cold wind blew into the car. Veronica shivered. There was no way she could ask Anastasia to roll up the window.
Veronica looked around in the car at the interior. It was spotless; no dust on the dashboard, no garbage on the floor of the car. The rear view mirror was missing and so was the passenger side mat for the floor. Other than that (and the fact that there was a cassette player, instead of a CD player) the car looked in pristine condition.
Murphy moaned and several times he cursed under his breath. Veronica wondered what Anastasia planned to do with him if he survived the trip to Blind Bluff Manor since she didn’t finish him off at the park. She turned around to look in the back seat. The leather seats were covered with blood.
Murphy looked up at her. “Fucking bitch,” he whispered.
Veronica turned back around, looking at Anastasia from the corner of her left eye. Anastasia’s look contained distain, and was unimpressed by Murphy’s constant spiel. Every so often she adjusted her hand on the steering wheel or she brushed back her bangs from her face. Even when Murphy’s moans turned into screams, she didn’t look in the back seat to see if he was stabilizing or slowly dying.
Veronica kept quiet for the rest of the ride. They sped down the streets and past the orange tinted lights. Away from Minneapolis, the roads became dark and the stars were visible in the clear sky.
They reached Blind Bluff Manor before midnight. Anastasia drove up to the front stairs where Nathan waited in the front doorway, dressed in a white night robe that extended slightly below his knees. Before Veronica closed the passenger door, Anastasia sped off and disappeared behind the hom
e with Murphy still in the back seat. Exhausted, Veronica slowly walked up to Nathan. He placed his arm around her and helped her into his home. He walked her into his study, which was warm from the fireplace. She sat, and he poured her a cup of tea.
“Are you hurt?” He sat across from her in another chair.
“No, I’m alright. Thanks.” She sipped the hot tea. “My father is in Minneapolis. I guess he’s helping set up the new Chapter.”
“Anastasia told me about Selene’s minion and the note.”
Veronica jerked her head back, surprised. “When?”
“She told me in my thoughts,” Nathan answered. “I didn’t know Selene was in Minneapolis.”
“You know her?”
“Yes, I know her,” Nathan replied. “But I didn’t know that she had her minion follow you.”
“Or that Selene promised my mother that she’d protect me,” Veronica added. “Who is she?” It bothered Veronica that she wasn’t able to know more about the promise Selene made to her mother. She felt the lack of distrust pointing directly at her and infiltrating the air around her. Part of her wished she’d gone with Jessica.
“Selene is a very old Deamhan, older than the majority of Deamhan living today.”
“Jessica, her minion, mentioned that,” Veronica replied. “But who is she? I felt like Anastasia doesn’t like her.”
“No, Anastasia doesn’t, but that’s a story for another day,” Nathan answered. “Selene was sired by Lucius in the late 1700s. From what I remember, her human family and clan were slaughtered by a rival clan and she was saved by Lucius who sired her. She was a brutal Deamhan according to old research documents. She slaughtered human and Deamhan alike. However, she was loyal to Lucius, like Anastasia is loyal to Lucius now.”
“But Anastasia isn’t a Lugat. Why is she loyal to him?”
Nathan tapped Veronica on her shoulder, signaling her that he was finished answering her questions. There was so much to learn and Veronica wanted to know all of it. Instead, he changed the subject back to her father.
“They won’t come for you here, Veronica.” As he continued to speak, Veronica didn’t hear a word while she contemplated her next move. His words were clouded, but his offer for her to stay in Blind Bluff Manor while everything blew over was free from any intrusion.
She agreed, but on one condition.
“Murphy,” she said. “What’s Anastasia going to do with him?”
Nathan looked to the floor of his study for a moment before looking back up at Veronica.
He avoided the question. “You must be tired. I’ll take you up to your room.”
She agreed and decided to leave her questions for tomorrow.
She followed him out of his study and they walked to the den just in time to see Anastasia walking through the front door, closing it behind her. She stood off to the side, her eyes fixed on Nathan and her hands firmly on her hips.
Anastasia placed the note in Nathan’s hand. He thanked her, and with Veronica in tow, they headed up the stairs.
Down the hall they turned right and walked down another hallway. Veronica didn’t recognize this part of the sanctuary. It wasn’t the same hallway from earlier. The windows weren’t blocked from the sun. In fact, they weren’t covered with curtains of any kind. She looked out, viewing the back yard of his home and the dark sky and the full moon. This wing of his home, his mansion, was his own personal space. The walls were bare and lacked any detail. The hallway contained plenty of low dimmed lights spaced feet apart.
“What did she look like?” Nathan said to Veronica.
She snapped back into reality. “Who?”
“Jessica, Selene’s minion who gave Anastasia the note.” He referred to the note. “What did she look like?”
Veronica described every detail she could remember about her, down to the way she reacted when Anastasia confronted her. Nathan nodded while she spoke and at the end of the hallway, he stopped and faced a brown door.
“This is your room.” He pulled out a ring of keys and began to unlock the door. He opened and motioned for her to walk in.
The room was bare except for a queen size bed with white sheets, two standard size pillows and a black comforter to her right. A huge window sat opposite the other side of the bed covered in thin see-through white curtains. In one corner was a make-up counter with a table mirror and a cushioned chair. Unsure of this new environment, Veronica took her time to look around.
Nathan walked in after her, standing partially in the doorway. “I hope this room suits you.”
She looked around another time before finally facing him. “I’ll manage.” Who was she fooling? She missed her apartment, she missed her personal things, and most importantly, she missed Sean. It didn’t matter what room Nathan chose for her; she wasn’t going to get any sleep with these worried thoughts on her mind.
“If you need anything, please let me know,” he assured. “You can find your way back to my study?”
“If I have to.” Veronica nodded. He stepped out, closing the door behind him. She walked over to the bed, falling into it and letting her body sink into the cushioned layers. She needed to familiarize herself with this room and her new living conditions. She was going to be here for a long time.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Veronica spent the following week relaxing in Nathan’s sanctuary. Nathan gave her complete access to his late father’s Deamhan research, and his own research. She ransacked complete historical documents, learning everything she could on Lucius and Kei.
She pushed The Brotherhood’s resurgence in Minneapolis to the back of her mind. Worried about Sean, she assumed that her father had taken him back to San Diego where he’d be reprimanded with disobeying orders. It wasn’t the end of the world for him. She knew plenty of researchers in her past who were reprimanded. Plus he was safer in San Diego anyway. But she couldn’t help but think about Murphy. Even though he tried to kill her, he was still human and Anastasia had him alone, locked up in the basement for her heinous pleasure.
She didn’t understand how Nathan wasn’t affected by Anastasia’s actions. He rarely left Blind Bluff Manor, opting to conduct his business by phone in his private study. Veronica didn’t question who he was talking to or where his information came from. She assumed his connection was within The Brotherhood because he knew their every little detail. The new Chapter had set up shop in downtown Minneapolis, only blocks from Dark Sepulcher under the disguise of a local bookstore. The researchers, including Kenneth, were seen frequently on the streets during the day and at night. However, her father had already left the city.
When Veronica finally saw Anastasia, she was with Nathan in his study usually during the early hours of the morning. Her responses were fierce and quick to his questions. There was a friendship between both of them, a Ramanga and a human, that was more than just living in the same sanctuary. It was deeper than that, much deeper, and Veronica remained confused by it.
In a bigger library on the second floor, Veronica occasionally ran into Hallie but still kept her distance from the Deamhan teen. That soon changed when Hallie began to open up to her. Hallie acted like a normal teenager; staying in her room, blasting techno music from huge stereo speakers Nathan had bought her. Sometimes she played video games and when she got bored, she’d run down the hallway, yelling at the top of her lungs that she wanted to leave the manor. One night, just after sunset, Hallie stood in the doorway of Veronica’s room, secretly watching her.
“Don’t you get tired of reading all the time?”
Hallie’s remark startled Veronica who jumped from her chair. She watched as Hallie skipped over to her bed and purposely fell face first into the mattress. She then rolled onto her back and pulled out her iPod from her pocket.
“No, not really,” Veronica replied.
“Reading is so boring though,” Hallie said. “Unless it’s like gossip magazines and stuff.”
Veronica closed her book and she turned her undivided attention
to her. “You haven’t read a good book.”
“What you’re reading aren’t books. They’re researcher manuals.” Hallie pointed to the leather bound book in Veronica’s possession. “Nathan told me about those. I wonder if I’m like, all old and stuff, will I get a human to follow me around and write about me?”
“It’s possible.”
“Well it won’t happen now. I can’t even leave this place.” She stared at the ceiling. “I’m like a fucking prisoner.” She turned to Veronica. “I had way more freedom as a human.”
Veronica knew a little about Anastasia and Remy, but she knew almost nothing about Hallie. She grabbed a pen and her notebook from the desk drawer and started to write. “Let’s start by telling me your name.”
Hallie raised herself from Veronica’s bed. “Seriously?”
Veronica nodded. “We can start off with your name, a little about your history, like if you attended high school when you were human.”
Hallie’s face beamed with curiosity and she moved to the edge of the bed with her elbows resting on her legs. “Okay. My name is Hallie Martensen.”
“Is Hallie your human name or Deamhan name?”
“What?”
“Some Deamhan choose to get another name after they’re sired. It’s like a sign of rebirth.”
“I like my name when I was human and I like it now,” Hallie answered. “It’s not my real name though. I don’t know my real parents. I was adopted.”
Veronica jotted down her name in her notebook and she continued. “How old are you?”
Hallie rolled her eyes. “Human or Deamhan years?”
“Both.”
“Well, I was sixteen when I was turned. That was a few months ago.”
“Do you know who turned you?”
“Nope and nor do I care,” she replied.
Veronica paused. “You don’t know who sired you?”
Hallie shrugged. “It was at a rave. All I remember is taking the best pills in my life there. I was with my best friend and I lost her in the crowd.” Hallie closed her eyes in thought. “Then I met this boy and his friends and they gave me more pills. I just remember being outside, under the stars drinking, then when I woke up, I was covered in dirt and it was dark.” She opened her eyes, which had turned from brown to the Deamhan trait of black. “I dug myself out of the ground and there was no one around. I was alone. I didn’t even know where I was and how long I’d been there. I was hungry and I felt strangely strong.” She stood up from the bed. “I could hear everything around me and people in the distance. I walked down the freeway, trying to find my way home. Before I reached my house, I saw a cop and I told him I was lost. But before he could help me, I had this urge to eat him.” Her eyebrows shifted. “It scared me, so I ran. And that’s when Anastasia found me.”
Deamhan Page 22
