Deamhan

by Isaiyan Morrison

  They continued their journey. Veronica hoped they’d reach the cave before her fingers froze. She feared getting frostbite and her toes began to feel numb. While walking, Anastasia continued her story to Hallie about Amenirdis. According to Anastasia’s story, Amenirdis had no sides and no boundaries. She cared little for right or wrong. Those who respected her as a goddess, Lucius included, feared her. Anastasia found it ironic that no one knew her of origins, except for the fact that she was the oldest Ancient and she practiced Dark Magic. No one knew what Deamhan type she was or how she became the Queen of Limbo (even the creation of Limbo remained an obscure thought.) The main ideas surrounding Amenirdis was that she was all powerful, all knowing, and a Deamhan that you did not cross.

  Ahead, Anastasia noticed a small overhang of rocks and an entrance to a cave. She lifted her head slightly, trying to inhale any scent in the air.

  “I don’t smell anything,” she said.

  Remy sniffed and he too shook his head. Hallie even tried and she came up empty.

  “Just tree sap and fish.” Anastasia adjusted her eyes to look into the cave. “Even my eye sight won’t allow me to look in there. It’s too dark.”

  “Dark magic,” Remy suggested. “Must mean we’re here.”

  “Hallie, wait here with Veronica.” Anastasia moved forward but Veronica stepped in front of her.

  “I’m not staying out here.” Veronica’s stern approach caused Anastasia to snarl.

  Remy snickered. “Anastasia, she’s going in there, no matter how sharp your canines are.”

  Veronica stepped over a splintered branch and she approached the cave. She swallowed her fear hard enough to feel her throat throb. This was it. This was the reason she came to Minneapolis.

  A group of bats flew over her. The sound of their wings flapping uncontrollably didn’t startle her. When she took her first step into the cave, the area somehow suddenly came to life. The interior lit up and Veronica could now see the rocky cropping ahead of them.

  The sandy dirt floor, littered with bat droppings, made Veronica pause for a quick second. A square rock sat in the middle of the cave and on top of it, a small lit candle flickered. But the cave was extremely bright and Veronica couldn’t understand how one small flame could give off so much light. Boulders lazily stacked upon one another blocked the end of the cave.

  She turned back, watching Anastasia, Hallie, and Remy enter the cave cautiously. For Deamhan, they seemed more scared than she was. But if what Anastasia said was true, they had more to fear than she did.

  “Hello?” Veronica called out in a trembling curious voice. She waited for a reply yet instead she heard the soft footsteps of Anastasia behind her.

  Anastasia sniffed the air again. “Stale and empty,” she said to herself as she walked forward.

  Suddenly the figure of a bald woman, dressed in a white flowing gown materialized from the side of the cave. Three other female figures dressed and looking exactly the same, manifested from the back and the right wall. They looked young; barely teenagers. They had to be Amenirdis’ minions, the ones that Remy mentioned back in Blind Bluff Manor. Their appearance startled Veronica and she wondered why someone as powerful as Amenirdis needed humans to do her bidding in the first place.

  This time Anastasia made the approach. “We’re here for Amenirdis.” Anastasia lowered herself onto her knees followed by Remy, who forced Hallie to follow. Witnessing this, Veronica followed their behavior.

  The triplets didn’t speak. Instead, they remained still with their shiny, soft looking immaculate skin. They stood near the rock, and one of them blew out the candle.

  The cave went dark, but their robes pulsated in the darkness. Veronica stood up and she stepped back. The power exerting from them was staggering and just enough to make Veronica rethink coming to the cave in the first place.

  “We seek Amenirdis’ wisdom.” Anastasia remained on her knees with her head lowered. “Is she here?”

  The triplets turned their white hollowed eyes in Veronica’s direction.

  “She is everywhere,” the third triplet replied.

  “Offspring of Lucia,” the first triplet said. “Amenirdis knows why you’re here.”

  Anastasia stood to her feet. “I no longer consider myself her offspring. The last time I was called that was centuries ago and that human priest didn’t live to see another day. Is Amenirdis here?”

  “She’s here,” the second triplet replied. Anastasia looked around and behind her, seeing nothing to indicate that Amenirdis was in the cave.

  Simultaneously, the triplets looked in Veronica’s direction. “Humans are not allowed here.” They spoke in unison.

  “Look who’s talking.” Remy stood to his feet. “Since when did Amenirdis rely on her minions to speak for her?”

  Wind rushed past them and all of a sudden Remy found himself on his knees again. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body convulsed. Hallie jumped up in Deamhan speed and she screamed, jolting out of the cave and disappearing into the cold night.

  Veronica saw that Anastasia was also taken back. Her fangs dropped and she barked.

  “Offspring of Julian Endor,” the first triplet said with her eyes still glued on Veronica. “Did you not learn your lesson the last time we let you go with your life?”

  Remy gripped at his throat and his body flew back into the cave wall. His hands contorted and his head shook violently.

  “We didn’t come to fight,” Anastasia quickly offered. “We came for Lucius. We aren’t foolish enough to challenge Amenirdis.”

  “Please,” Veronica begged.

  The first triplet raised her hand. “You aren’t allowed to speak.”

  Suddenly Remy fell face first into the dirt floor. Seconds later he lifted his body, using the wall as leverage. His dark, pupil free eyes reverted back to normal.

  “I guess not.” He stepped forward and fell again, but Anastasia caught him in mid-air. She gently laid him back against the wall.

  “Humans aren’t allowed in Deamhan affairs,” the first triplet said again.

  Veronica stepped forward. She chose her words carefully, realizing that if they had that much power to harm Remy, they could do much worse to her. “Please, can I speak?”

  The first triplet lowered her hand. “No, you cannot.”

  Veronica looked to Anastasia.

  “The human came here to seek Amenirdis’ wisdom regarding her mother.”

  “Her human mother is not our concern.”

  “Yes, but her human mother was with Lucius who was placed in Limbo by Amenirdis. I came here seeking Lucius’ whereabouts and to plead with your master to free him from Limbo.”

  “While your strength and determination is admired —” the second triplet started.

  “No human is allowed here.” The third triplet finished the sentence.

  “It’s against—” the first triplet continued and then fell silent.

  “The rules,” the third triplet concluded.

  “She speaks through you, but I don’t want to speak with you. I want to speak to Amenirdis,” Anastasia insisted. “I want to know what she did with Lucius.”

  The triplets turned to one another. Anastasia glanced at Veronica, who remained assertive, staring at the triplets ahead. Again she risked unknown determination. The triplets could do to her what they did to Remy or Amenirdis might appear and kill them where they stood. If it came down to a confrontation, she hoped that Anastasia was strong enough to hold them off until she escaped.

  “Why are you helping this human?” The first twin asked, looking at Anastasia but she was hesitant to answer.

  “What makes this human different, offspring of Lucia?” The third twin continued the questioning.

  This time Anastasia replied. “Does it matter? You already know what I’m going to say. You know the real reason I’m here.”

  “Yes, but does the human know why you traveled to this domain?”

  Suddenly a strong force slammed into
Veronica and she saw Anastasia’s thoughts thanks to the Sensual Appetite she devoured earlier. Pictures of her human life as a farmer’s daughter in the late 1500’s England and her strict Catholic parents appeared in crisp images. She saw Anastasia’s maker; a dark haired woman who laughed like a jackal while watching Anastasia, drained of blood, lying helplessly in a bale of hay. Then the images of death and murder. A group of robed men, staking Anastasia and placing her in a metal coffin. That was soon followed by the image of a man who Veronica somehow knew to be Lucius, freeing Anastasia from death. Veronica sensed Anastasia’s strong loyalty to Lucius. She would do anything for him. In Minneapolis she stood by his side. The images changed and Veronica saw through Anastasia’s eyes when she confronted Branda and Brandy in the bathroom at Dark Sepulcher.

  Veronica’s eyes watered. The information became overwhelming and she wanted the projections to stop but they continued. She sensed Anastasia’s regret and hatred for her own sire and being made a Ramanga. She felt that Anastasia wasn’t bounded by human emotions, but she strongly wanted to be. Somewhere, inside her Ramanga soul, hid the sympathetic, caring and loving farmer’s daughter by the human name of Auerelia who desperately wanted to help Veronica, not the iniquitous Anastasia who wanted to bathe in human blood.

  Then the image of Nathan, surrounded in white light gave off a sense of relief. Veronica felt Anastasia’s respect and admiration for him, even though the Deamhan part of her wanted to rip his throat out. She saw Anastasia in her room at Dark Sepulcher, pacing back and forth in Deamhan speed, ripping her hair out from its roots just to watch it grow back again. She then saw Anastasia watching Nathan from a distance in his study, glaring at his mannerisms and hoping to copy them to perfection one day. She longed for her humanity and she fought her dark desires and urges and in her brain, she repeatedly told herself that she would do anything to protect Nathan from harm.

  Anastasia envied Veronica’s humanity.

  “Lucius must be freed from Limbo,” Anastasia demanded.

  The pain stopped and Veronica opened her eyes. The feeling of remorse engulfed her.

  Anastasia quickly looked over her shoulder, past Remy and at the dark entrance of the cave. The smell of Selene circled in her nose just in time to see Selene walking toward them from the shadows with Hallie close behind her. She made no attempt to hide her approach. Frost covered the top of her reddish hair, glistening in the darkness of the cave. Her eyelids were also covered in frozen perspiration, and she wiped them with the back of her hand, clearing almost all of it away.

  She kneeled and lowered her head. “I come as a servant of Amenirdis,” she announced humbly. “And as the offspring of Lucius.”

  The triplets nodded and Selene stood to her feet.

  “Offspring of Lucius,” the third triplet said. “You also seek Lucius?”

  “Yes, and I implore you to free him,” Selene replied. “Kei had no right to seek Amenirdis’ help in placing Lucius in Limbo.”

  “Her favor—” the first triplet started.

  “Does not come without a price,” the third triplet finished.

  “And what price is that?” Anastasia argued back.

  “A price that only Amenirdis knows,” the second triplet answered.

  Selene looked to Anastasia. “I accept the price,” she stated.

  “As do I,” Anastasia also said.

  “Only one must accept the price,” the second triplet said.

  Veronica swallowed and she gathered her wits to speak. “And my mother?”

  “Quiet!” Anastasia looked back at her. “You aren’t allowed to speak.”

  “She should be allowed,” Selene replied. “She came with the same reason we’re here. Being human shouldn’t hold any weight in that.”

  The first triplet raised her hand. “Will you accept the price offspring of Lucius?”

  Selene nodded but suddenly Anastasia stood in front of her. “No, I will accept the price.”

  “You have no right!” Selene quickly grabbed Anastasia by her arm and she tossed her aside. Anastasia landed on her feet and in breakneck speed she launched herself at Selene. The triplets intervened and with a quick swipe of their hand, Anastasia found herself pushed against the cave walls.

  “Offspring of Lucius has accepted the price.” The triplets spoke in unison. “The deal has been made.” Their clothing became brighter, illuminating the surrounding area. They watched as the effulgent light blasted into Selene, turning even brighter. Veronica covered her eyes, followed by Remy, Hallie and Anastasia, who found the light too strong for their Deamhan eyes. The glow seeped between the cracks of Veronica’s fingers, and even when she closed her eyes, the darkness illuminated, making it impossible to block it. The light gravitated, and the intensity of it decreased until darkness overcame the room and the small candle reappeared, kindling on the surface of a rock.

  Veronica cautiously opened her eyes.

  The triplets were gone. In their place, lying on the floor in front of the huge rock, was the body of Lucius.

  His long light brown hair gracefully lay across his chest, covering his nipples and part of his stomach. His distorted skin looked like leather; a sign that he hadn’t fed in a long time. His eyes were closed and his lips were partially opened. Anastasia rushed over to him and she knelt over his ravaged body.

  Veronica saw that Selene was also lying on the ground. She slowly stood to her feet, wiping the dirt from her clothing. She looked at her hands then she felt her face. Her eyes riffled through the cave and when she made contact with Veronica, she smiled.

  “That was easier than I thought.” Remy watched as Anastasia turned Lucius’ body on its side. When she gently touched the side of his cold face, Lucius opened his hazel eyes.

  “Lucius,” Anastasia whispered.

  Lucius’ eyes jumped to Veronica. Anastasia turned around, seeing the effect of Lucius’ return in Veronica’s watered eyes. Tears began to stream down her face, and her mouth quivered. Yet a hint of anger hid behind her sorrow. She still held onto the thought that her mother would reappear with him.

  Anastasia gently placed her hands under Lucius’ body and she lifted him to his feet. He slightly opened his eyes, letting out a grunt when he felt the hardened soil underneath his feet.

  “What was the deal you made, Selene?” Remy asked.

  “I don’t know and I don’t care.” Selene approached Lucius. “My beloved, my sire. Welcome back.”

  Lucius turned his head slowly to look at her.

  “Am I the only one who cares about this deal?” Remy spoke again. “Any deal made with Amenirdis can’t be good.”

  Ignoring Remy’s statement, Selene whispered softly into Lucius’ ear. “Kei will suffer for what he’s done to you. And you will be there to witness his death.”

  Lucius looked up at Veronica, and in his eyes she saw his strength slowly regaining. Without notice, he pushed both Anastasia and Selene violently away. He took a step toward Veronica then stopped, trying to focus his eyes on her. He held out his wrinkled hand and spoke only one word; Caroline.

  “She is not Caroline.” Selene jumped to her feet. “She is her daughter.”

  Sensing an opportunity, Veronica spoke. “Do you know what happened to my mother?”

  Lucius calmly lowered his hand. In a gust of wind he ran past her and toward the entryway of the cave knocking Remy and Hallie against the rock wall, disappearing from their sight.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  Veronica heard Nathan’s footsteps pacing back and forth in the foyer of Blind Bluff Manor. She stood near the window, watching a black limousine drive up the path and stop in front of the door.

  Since the night of Lucius’ release from Limbo, everything in and around the sanctuary came to a complete stop. Veronica could barely sleep and her appetite was close to nonexistent. As far as she was aware, no one else knew about Lucius’ release and Selene wanted to keep it that way. After Lucius ran from the cave, Anastasia followed and had tried looking fo
r him, but his scent became lost among the vampires and Deamhan in the city.

  Veronica also became intrigued with Anastasia after the fiasco. She knew exactly what thoughts Anastasia kept hidden. They weren’t normal thoughts for a Ramanga, but it proved to Veronica that underneath the Deamhan persona, Anastasia still had human tendencies. She decided to keep what she knew to herself but it made her view Anastasia in a whole new light.

  A few days passed and Veronica grew impatient. Selene promised that she would keep in touch but she’d sent no word after the night in the cave. When she finally sent word, it wasn’t on the location of Lucius but an invitation to a Congregation that Kei was throwing.

  “She’s here,” Nathan announced to Veronica. He walked to the front door and turned the knob. “Are you sure you want to go, Veronica?”

  Veronica waited before nodding her head.

  Nathan opened the door, standing face to face with the human limousine driver.

  Before she left the sanctuary, Nathan whispered in her ear telling her that she had nothing to worry about. Veronica let out a sigh and closed her eyes, picturing an image of her mother in the dark, looking back at her.

  “This is for you, Mom,” she whispered as she exited the sanctuary into the cold air. The driver followed her and made his way around to the back passenger door. Veronica approached the limo cautiously, staring at her image in the car window.

  The driver opened the door and Veronica caught a glimpse of Selene, who motioned for her to get in. Veronica glanced back at Nathan before entering the limo. She gave him a soft smile as she climbed into the back seat.

  Once inside, she smelled lavender. Small wine glasses were stacked near the floor, next to the opposite door. The cushions, made of velvet material, gave the limo an elegant almost expensive look.

  “It’s good to see you.” Selene wore a red, short dress with red high heels. Her red hair sat on the top of her head in a neatly formed bun.

  Veronica turned around and found herself looking into the eyes of an attractive male dressed in a tuxedo. Like all of The Deamhan, his light brown eyes were pupil free and his smooth, pale skin lacked any blemishes. His short, dark brown hair contrasted, fooling her eyes into seeing his skin glow under the light in the limo. Veronica felt totally underdressed.