“And she took you back here?”
Hallie laughed. “Not at first. She attacked me!” Her eyes lit up. “She dragged me into an alley, saying she was going to kill me, and that I was too young to be sired, and she kept questioning me about who did this to me but I didn’t know anything. After begging her to not kill me, she stopped. When she took me to Blind Bluff Manor I met Nathan and he talked to me for hours. That’s when I knew what happened to me and that I could never go back to my human family.”
“You’ve only been a Deamhan for a few months?”
“Yeah, and it sucks,” Hallie replied. “Oh my God, I just want to get the fuck out of here; just once!” She pouted. “I miss my friends, I miss my family. I even miss high school.”
Veronica scribbled vicariously in her notepad. “So, why can’t you go out?”
“Cause Anastasia always brings me back. I hate her so much. I can’t do anything around here without her watching me,” Hallie said. “Once, I got past the front gate before she dragged me back, threatening me with her fucking sharp teeth. I’d call the cops but . . .” She trailed off.
“But what?”
“Who’d believe me?” Hallie sighed. “Forever is a long freaking time to be here. I mean, how am I supposed to learn about what I am if they keep me prisoner?”
“It’s not safe out there, especially for a young Deamhan.”
“Yeah, whatever. I don’t care about Deamhan or other supernatural crap. I just want to get out of here.” She stood up. “Anastasia gets to eat whoever she wants. Why can’t I eat whoever I want?” Grinning, Hallie licked her lips. “The closest I got to tasting a human was with that guy she’s been playing around with in the basement.”
“Murphy?”
Hallie nodded. “Yeah, right before she . . .”
“What? Right before ‘she’ what?”
Hallie shook her head. “Never mind.” She got up from Veronica’s bed and turned to walk out of the room.
“Did she kill him?”
Hallie stopped and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll show ya.”
Veronica followed her down the hallway and down the stairs. They crept past Nathan, who sat in his study, reading, and then headed to a wooden door in the hallway near the back door of the manor.
“She’s down there with him.” Hallie smiled.
“He’s still alive?”
“If you want to call it that.” Hallie hesitated. “I used to go down there during the day when Anastasia’s asleep.”
The tiny hairs on the back of Veronica’s neck stood up followed by a small gust of wind and the smell of expensive cologne. She immediately turned around and jumped, bumping against the door and creating a loud thud. Remy stood with his brown eyes scanning her.
“Now, now Veronica,” he said as he leaned against the wall. “That would be prying.” This time Veronica forced herself to not back away. Unlike their first encounter, Remy’s appearance wasn’t intimidating. Dressed in a sleek black shirt with tight fitting blue jeans, he towered slightly over her. His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, just like the last time she saw him.
“Shouldn’t you be doing something angst related right now?” Remy questioned Hallie.
Hallie held out her hand. “Where’s my cigs?”
Remy looked at Veronica and smiled. His eyes were hollow giving her mixed signals. “Kids these days.” He reached into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes. “Always want, want, want, but never give, give, give.”
Hallie snatched the pack from his grasp.
“Now, off you go.” He patted Hallie on her head. “Move along now.”
Hallie gave him an evil eye before heading back up the stairs.
Remy leaned against the wall, continuing to gawk at Veronica. It made her uneasy and she looked away. She tried her best to ignore his intimidating and somewhat attractive stare by hiding her thoughts.
He smiled. “What can I say? I’m good with kids.”
She brushed off his remark and she began to fidget with the knob handle on the basement door.
“She’s been playing with Murphy for about a week now,” he continued. “She’s trying to get into that little brain of his. Gotta give that human credit; he’s stronger than he looks.”
Veronica tried pushing her weight against the door but it didn’t budge.
“So, Miss Austin. We never did finish that conversation.”
“What conversation?”
“Oh you know. The one where you blocked your thoughts, then ran off at the sight of me feeding.” He pouted. “You didn’t even say goodbye.”
“Look, I’m not some whore who’ll fall for your tricks.” Veronica faced him with her back to the door. “I know who you are and what you can do, so don’t try to insult my intelligence.”
In Deamhan speed, Remy placed his hand on the door near her head. “And that’s why you fascinate me. You’re like no other researcher I’ve ever encountered,” he whispered. “Plus you smell so good.”
“I’m not a researcher.”
His comments didn’t faze her. She moved his hand away and returned back to the door. The deadened noise from the other side became louder.
“What’s she doing down there?” Veronica probed.
“Questioning the human about Kei.” He moved in closer to Veronica. “Anastasia is a weird one. She’s what you call old school. She does things her way.”
“Open the door,” Veronica said.
“A little demanding, aren’t we?”
“I want to go down there.”
“I don’t think she’d appreciate that,” Remy replied.
Veronica turned back around. “I have a few questions of my own for Murphy.”
His eyes drifted to her chest. “If you ask nicely.”
Veronica folded her hands, covering her breasts.
Remy grabbed the knob and with his Deamhan strength, he yanked the door open. The door splintered and the metallic lock flew past his head, landing on the floor.
He stepped away and gracefully bowed. “Done.” He smiled.
The space was dark and Veronica reached her arms out to the side, sliding her palms against the cold concrete wall. Remy watched her while she proceeded down the steps cautiously, trying to not make a noise (she was sure that Anastasia knew someone was lurking on the top steps) and at the same time trying not to fall.
Reaching the bottom steps, Veronica smelled the stringent scent of a damp basement. A candle with a flickering flame gave off an eerie glow. She swallowed and walked alongside the concrete wall. She felt herself step on a soft object, but she continued forward. Her foot stepped onto a lower portion of the floor and she lost her footing. She tumbled forward slightly and caught herself, but not in time to feel her hip brush against another table. The table shifted and a small box filled with debris fell to the floor.
She felt a brush of wind, and in front of her she saw Anastasia’s face outlined in the dark.
At first Anastasia didn’t say anything. Instead her eyes darted to Remy who smiled briefly.
“She wanted a tour, Anastasia,” he replied.
Anastasia reached out to the side and flicked on the light switch. The room lit up. Ropes and chains hung on the opposite end of the wall. The floor was spotless and the area opened. Veronica saw Murphy, naked and chained against the far end of the wall. She watched as Anastasia walk over to him. Small tiny cuts covered his chest and his legs. His mouth was swollen and his teeth were covered with blood.
Veronica also noticed something else; something that jolted her. His skin showed no signs of being shot and wounded. His brown eyes were now dark. He had the eyes of a Deamhan.
Upon seeing her, Murphy began to struggle in Deamhan speed. He moved rapidly in accelerated convulsions; too fast for her eyes to focus on. Her head tingled as if someone attempted to scour her thoughts. She immediately blocked them. He smiled at her but his lips were too swollen to form the shape.
An
astasia swiped Murphy across the face with the back of her hand, and the tingling sensation in Veronica’s brain immediately stopped.
“What did you do to him?” Veronica asked Anastasia.
“You can see for yourself,” Remy, who stood behind Veronica, answered.
Anastasia hit him again with a closed fist. His head plopped to the side and he turned back, giving her an evil look. Anastasia sired him. She had made him a Ramanga and Veronica wanted to know why.
Murphy tilted his head back and laughed, revealing his new fangs. Veronica walked over to him, stopping within a safe distance.
“I gave him what he wanted,” Anastasia said.
“Oh,” Murphy replied. “And what is that?”
“Immortality.”
“As a fucking Ramanga?” He laughed sarcastically and this time Anastasia aimed her punch for his stomach. He bent over in pain and she grabbed him by the hair to lift his head.
Anastasia’s actions surprised Veronica, yet it wasn’t enough to cease her questioning. Like Anastasia, she also wanted to know where his master was. “Where’s Kei?”
Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. “Like I fucking told her,” he spurted. “Fuck off.”
“Where is he, Murphy?” Veronica asked again.
“Your mother is long dead.” Murphy huffed between his words. “And so is your fucking researcher friend. Kei drained him dry. You should have heard him cry for his life. It was beautiful.”
“Don’t bother asking. He doesn’t know anything about your mother,” Anastasia said as she walked to the back of the room and later returned with a small butane blowtorch in hand. She turned the knob and Murphy stiffened. A blast of hot fire exploded from the barrel and he screamed.
Veronica quickly looked away from the torture. She found herself disgusted, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell Anastasia to stop.
“And he doesn’t know where Kei is.” Anastasia turned the knob and the flame extinguished.
“If he doesn’t know anything then why are you still torturing him?” Veronica asked.
Anastasia placed the blowtorch on the ground and she viewed the dark splotches of burnt skin covering Murphy’s chest heal themselves. “Because I can, human.”
Murphy puffed. “He’ll come for you both.” He continued his threat. “Kei will come for me and he’ll make you his bitch.” He looked at Anastasia and chuckled. “And he’ll drain you dry.”
“Kei isn’t coming for you.” Anastasia walked to a nearby table and grabbed a wrought iron poker. She calmly approached Murphy and quickly jabbed the metal piece into his stomach. He screamed in pain, and she held onto the knob and began to twist.
“Now this is the Anastasia I know.” Remy’s mouth opened and he began to rub his forearms.
Veronica saw his excitement in Anastasia’s torture. He enjoyed it. She turned away, disgusted at the horrific display. She never imagined being an eye witness to a Deamhan torturing another Deamhan. It was like nothing she’d read in researcher manuals and books about the Deamhan.
Anastasia tilted her head to the side in amusement at Murphy’s screams of pain. “He’s no longer your master. I am.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and raised his body upright. “And you, my dear Ramanga, I have for eternity.”
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Veronica walked through the front yard of the sanctuary, observing the frozen pond and the trail that circled through it. Dressed in a winter jacket that Nathan provided for her, she went exploring, staring at the stars in the sky and the thin clouds hovering in front of the moon. Her thoughts circled around Anastasia’s continuing torture of Murphy and what he blurted out to her. She didn’t believe a word Murphy said. However, the thought of Kei coming to Blind Bluff Manor to rescue his servant was still a possibility.
With Murphy being sent to watch her closely, it only meant that Kei knew she was in Minneapolis. She wasn’t afraid. In fact, she wanted Kei to find her. Maybe he’d tell her about her mother or Lucius. Either way, she couldn’t just stay in Blind Bluff Manor and do nothing. Her search had to continue, regardless if it put her back on a dangerous path.
Veronica prayed in front of the small frozen pond. She wasn’t overly religious and her parents never forced religion on her. There was always the notion of good and bad; something that allowed Deamhan to live in this world, and for her mother to be taken by it. If anyone deserved life beyond death, it was her mother.
Her hair swayed at the cold rush of air and she no longer felt alone. The change of environment didn’t startle her. It was either Anastasia or Remy who now stood next to her.
“Every Deamhan can smell each other.” Anastasia spoke slowly.
Above, the clouds began to break and the moon finally showed off its glistening tint, adding dark shadows to the bushes and the trees below.
“I smelled them with you outside the door.” Anastasia slightly turned to look at her with disturbing eyes. Her dark hair was loose and it fell over her shoulders. She wore a long black dress, which flapped in the wind. “Don’t think what I’m doing to Murphy is because of you.” Before Veronica replied, Anastasia spoke again. “It’s not.”
“I don’t think you’re doing it for me,” Veronica replied. “You’re torturing him for your own amusement. That’s what Deamhan do, right?”
“You know the answer, why question?” Anastasia took a couple of steps forward. “You were taught that all Deamhan are evil and you believe Deamhan killed your mother.”
“You were evil enough to save me from the Deamhan sisters,” Veronica said. She saw Anastasia’s shoulders jump slightly as she laughed under her breath.
“I’ve been trailing Branda and her sister for years,” she said. “I sired them and I released them. It just so happened that they were in the city when I arrived and that they attacked you when they weren’t supposed to.” Startled at what Anastasia just told her, Veronica looked away. It was the opposite of what Deamhan did; saving a human over another Deamhan they’d sired. A slight breeze blew through the courtyard and Veronica felt the wind underneath her jacket. She noticed Anastasia looking up at the sky with her eyes fixed on the moon.
“Selene is the one who placed the protection on me,” Veronica said. “And you don’t like her so why did you follow it?”
“I’m not stupid,” Anastasia answered. “I’ve lived for a long time to realize that sometimes, you have to obey the rules to survive.”
Anastasia continued to gaze at the moon. “I was alive when men worshipped the moon and the stars were thought to be gods. I know humans and Deamhan better than you could imagine. I’ve seen what happens when our kind becomes uncontrollable and how humans react. I lived through the rules of the Malleus Maleficarium, the Plagues, and humans reacting to the dangers Deamhan have placed upon them. I’ve witnessed tortures, hangings, murders and deaths in the name of your god and superstitions, researcher.”
“I’m not a researcher.” Veronica watched Anastasia move in closer to her with her eyes now tearing into her soul. Veronica looked down but found herself looking back at her. What Remy said about her was right. She fit the type who did what she wanted. Veronica didn’t know if she could trust her.
“I’ve killed plenty of researchers.” Anastasia returned her gaze to the moon when she continued. “One more would be nothing to me.” The atmosphere became thick and almost unbearable for Veronica. She found it extremely difficult to breathe. Anastasia’s warning seemed self-explanatory enough. She didn’t like her and didn’t trust her.
“So saving me from Murphy? What was that?”
Anastasia lifted her head to the sky. “Mercy for Nathan.” Suddenly her eyes darted back and forth and they narrowed. She became completely transfixed on their surroundings. Something wasn’t right.
“What is it?” Veronica whispered.
“Q-quiet,” Anastasia stuttered in the continuation of her dark lecture. “And remain still—” She stopped again in mid-sentence, but this time she sniffed the air. S
he took off in Deamhan speed back to the manor, leaving Veronica alone.
Veronica ran after her through the front door and stopped in the den. Pictures on the hallway’s walls were crooked. The table cloths on the small tables were scrunched, and a broken vase lay on the floor. She continued down the hallway, following the clues that Anastasia had come down that way and out the back.
When she reached the backyard she saw Nathan, dressed in a brown robe with his smoking pipe in his hand, standing near the small empty garden, leaning against one of the many beautiful marble statues in the yard. Standing next to him was a woman with red hair braided into a long ponytail, dressed in a fitting red dress with Jessica standing next to her. Veronica looked to her right, seeing Anastasia with fists clenched and her eyes glaring at them with Remy and Hallie only a few feet away.
The red haired woman slowly turned around, followed by Nathan. Her face was rough, her cheekbones sharp, and her lips thin. Her bright, green eyes were bright and penetrated through Veronica. She was Deamhan.
“Yes, I am Deamhan,” the woman answered Veronica’s thoughts in a thick accent. “You look just like your mother.”
Fascinated with her appearance, Veronica didn’t reply. This woman; she’s Selene! Her presence awed her.
Selene held out her hand. “I’m Selene. I’m the one that called for your protection.”
Deamhan Page 23
