“I’m not letting you out.”
“Fine. I’ll settle for some fresh blood instead.”
“Let him go.” Ayden leaned against the wall with a mischievous smile on his face. “He can change, right? Just like Anastasia?”
“Shut up.” She lifted the vial over Kenneth’s opened mouth and tipped it, allowing the contents to drip from it. Once down, she placed the top back on the vial.
“I’m not Anastasia.” He licked his lips and his eyes fluttered. “You don’t know who the hell I am, boy.”
“Please, let him go,” Ayden said. “I’d like to see him try.”
“Why don’t you loosen these chains?” Kenneth smiled and revealed his bloodstained teeth.
“With pleasure.” Ayden stepped toward him but Hallie held him back.
“That’s not up to you.”
Kenneth leaned forward. “Listen to the little girl.” He grinned. “You don’t want your darling Maris to see you like she sees Anastasia, do you?”
“Please.” Ayden laughed at his threats. “She knows I’m nothing like her.”
“You couldn’t take me anyway.”
“I could, even if you had both of your arms.”
Ayden now stood in front of him with his legs spread apart and his arms folded across his chest. “How does it feel to be part of Anastasia’s demented family?”
“She isn’t my family.”
“She sired you. That makes you part of her family.”
“Hmm.” He rocked back and forth. “Does that include the fragile, scarred bitch you protect as well?”
Ayden’s snicker slowly dissipated.
“Stop talking to him,” Hallie spoke. “You’re giving him more attention than he deserves.”
“Yeah, stop talking,” Kenneth teased.
“Make no mistake, there’s nothing stopping me from staking you,” Ayden threatened him.
“Ayden, stop.” Hallie pleaded. “It’s what he does. He likes to get under your skin.”
Ayden pulled back. “Just like Anastasia,” he murmured.
Hallie exhaled. “Kenneth, who’s Lenore?”
“Hell if I know.”
“She’s talking to Nathan right now.”
“Must be the Head Master’s new lackey or somethin.”
“She’s not human,” Ayden added.
To that, Kenneth’s eyes narrowed. “Not human?” A mischievous smile slowly appeared on his face.
“Exactly what I said. She isn’t human.”
Kenneth whistled. “Damn, I didn’t think they’d go there.” He nodded to himself. “I guess the Head Master is either really desperate or the Defiler is a big problem.”
“Of course she’s a big problem. She’s a threat to us.”
“She’s not a threat to me.” He shrugged. “Personally I hope she kills every Deamhan she comes across.”
Remy moaned and suddenly, nothing that Kenneth knew or would say mattered to Hallie. Black ooze foamed in his mouth, and his eyes were half open. He mumbled incoherently. One second, he repeated something about his ‘precious jewel’ and the next, he moaned about his hunger.
“Remy, can you hear me?” She waited before speaking again. “Please, if you can hear me, nod your head.” At one point, she thought she saw him smile but it was nothing more than his lips fluttering.
“Uh oh, he doesn’t look so good,” Kenneth joked.
“Be quiet.”
“So, will I get that fresh blood or not?”
“She told you to be quiet.” Ayden balled up his fist and punched him across the face. Shattered teeth flew from his mouth and landed on the floor in front of a surprised Hallie. Ayden had knocked him out.
Hallie turned back to Remy whose head bobbed from side to side. “Hey, can you hear me?”
He moaned slightly and raised his head. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, revealing their warm, brown color that she missed seeing. The dark lines underneath his skin retreated. Soon, he appeared to come back to his senses and, upon recognizing her, he shot her a smile that signaled he was back for the time being.
“Why so… sad?” he whispered. “Do I look… that… bad?”
She couldn’t help but smile back. “You look like shit.”
“I’ll take that as… a compliment.” He looked to the chains on his right wrist, then his left. “I must have been… pretty bad.” He then turned toward Kenneth. “…to be placed down here next to this trash.” He focused on Ayden. “What in the hell is he doing here?”
“I told you earlier but you probably don’t remember. You were out of it. But don’t worry. Anastasia is out there with Sia, looking for Anzuna. They’ll find her and hopefully, they’ll have her blood when they get back.”
“Hopefully? Eh,” Ayden moaned. “Probably, not likely.”
“Ugh, I’m sweating.” He coughed. “Why am I sweating? Should I be sweating?”
“It’s the toxin. You have to fight it.”
“That’s easier said than done, my littlest Deamhan. I can feel it running through my veins.” His eyes turned upward. “Is that Kashshapu girl still here?”
Hallie nodded. “Don’t worry about it. We got it covered.”
Remy’s behavior changed like a light switch. The dark trails underneath his skin returned and he lashed out more violently than before. He jutted his entire body forward at her. The chains locked and pulled him back. His eyes darkened and his toxic state returned. “I’m hungry! Just let me have a taste!” Like a mad, wild dog, he thrashed and pulled at his chains. “I’ll rip your heart out. I’ll snap your neck.”
Hallie moved back. “Remy, relax. You’re sick.”
He lashed out at her as the sound of metal tenaciously rattling filled the air. “Typical little brat. You’re nothing but a waste of space. Anastasia should’ve killed you the night she ran into you.” His screams traveled through the air. “You’re like an annoying kid, always complaining, always crying… You’re too scared to go out there and face the real world. You don’t deserve to be one of us.” The black ooze was more prevalent. It stained his shirt and drops of it landed in another small puddle at his feet.
“I wouldn’t stay down here if I were you.” Ayden whistled as he headed back for the stairs.
Hallie reluctantly followed.
“Come back here!” Remy’s harsh words stung her ears and with each step she took, his chant grew louder until they left the basement.
Now upstairs, Hallie closed and locked the door behind them.
“I bet you believe he changed as well, don’t you?” he mocked her.
“You need to stay out of my business. I mean it,” she spoke in an exhausted voice.
“Sorry, but as long as Maris and I are here, your business is our business.” He pointed to the study. “Having a secret chat with the Brotherhood was stupid. Keeping a violent Ramanga in the basement is stupid…”
“Like I said, stay out of my business.” She turned around and found Krerina standing in the foyer, homing in on their conversation.
She held a piece of the tablet in her right hand. A look of shock appeared on her smooth face. “You talked to the Brotherhood?”
“Nathan’s talking to them right now.” Hallie felt her eyes darken. “But you,” she pointed at her, “and we,” she pointed at herself then Ayden, “will have our own conversation.” She approached Krerina who took a step back.
“A conversation about what?” she asked.
“Who you really are and what you’re really here to do.” Hallie ripped the tablet from her hands. “I’ll hold onto this, if you don’t mind.”
Her green eyes shifted to Ayden. “What’s going on?”
Hallie made eye contact with him.
“We need to clear a few things up.” Finally, he joined with her. “If you’re who you say you are, then you wouldn’t mind.” His eyes also turned dark. “Right?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
ANASTASIA
You can open your eyes now.
Appreh
ensive, Anastasia lifted her right eyelid, noticing the darkness that had surrounded her now cleared. Blind Bluff Manor slowly materialized in front of them and she felt the hard ground beneath her feet.
No words could describe how it felt to travel through the shadows after escaping the Dark Mother’s wrath by the skin of her teeth. As a Deamhan, she was partially predisposed to be a killer—an animal with no compassion for anyone or anything. She accepted the evil and demonic side of her but what she couldn’t accept was fleeing from a fight, regardless of who the enemy was.
“Have you healed yet?” she asked Sia who gazed up at the sky in silence.
“I’m healing slowly.” Small blood trails from her sewn-free eyes traveled down her cheeks.
“Then you aren’t fine.” Deamhan excelled at the ability to heal quickly from almost any wound as long as it didn’t involve a stake through the heart, sunlight, or decapitation.
“I said I’m healing slowly.” She rubbed her eyes. “And you?”
“I’m good,” Anastasia lied. Her head still felt as if it had split wide open.
“I killed her,” Sia whispered. “I can’t believe I killed my sister.”
She didn’t know how to comfort her. “You did it to save me.” She examined Anzuna’s blood dripping down her fingertips, down her palm, and to her wrist. She had to get to Remy. “Let’s get inside.” They stood on the front lawn just a few feet from the front door of Blind Bluff Manor.
“Save him.”
“I’m not leaving you out here alone.”
“Go.”
Anastasia looked above at the thin clouds. The sky turned lighter in the distance. They had to hurry. “Sunrise is soon.” She held Sia by the wrist and hurried toward the manor but the Adze pulled away.
“I need some time alone.”
“Look, there will be time to mourn for your sister but right now, we need to move. The Dark Mother and the Defiler are working together and we’re not strong enough to stand up against them. When they come, and they will, we have no way to stop them.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t.” She rubbed her eyes again.
“Yes, we should. We can’t allow any more Pure Deamhan to be released from Limbo.”
“Why us?” Sia asked. “Why just us? Where are the other Deamhan?” She raised her voice. “They’re out there, right now, cowering in their sanctuaries or Hibernating, thinking they can escape the bleak future that awaits us when the Dark Mother succeeds and she will.”
“Stop talking like that.”
“But you’re right, Anastasia. We can’t stop her. No one can.” Sia bit her lower lip. “She’ll release the Pure Deamhan from Limbo. All she needs is the tablet and…”
“The blood of the descendent. Maris’ blood.”
“Yes. She’ll kill Maris and there’s nothing we can do about it. You were right. We should’ve never come back here. We should’ve kept running but we listened to Krerina.”
Anastasia held up her left hand for Sia to stop. “Krerina isn’t a Kashshapu.”
“Yes.” Sia nodded. “You’ve made that abundantly clear.”
They marched toward the sanctuary and before they reached the front door, it opened.
Hallie stood in the doorway. “Did you find Anzuna?” Her eyes narrowed in on the faint trails of smeared blood on their faces.
“Where’s Krerina?” Anastasia squeezed by her.
“Ayden’s watching her in a room upstairs to make sure she isn’t going anywhere.”
She paused. “You secured her?”
Hallie nodded. “Yes. Anastasia, Krerina isn’t a Kashshapu.”
“We know,” Sia replied and immediately rushed up the stairs in Deamhan speed.
Anastasia didn’t have time nor the patience to explain any details to Hallie. She headed downstairs with the intent of giving Remy what he needed to get well. Surprised, she found him conscious and in a state of frenzy. He pulled at his chains, growled, cursed, and ordered to be released. His tattered clothing and disheveled hair made her appearance all the more threatening.
“Remy, it’s me. I’m back.” She cautiously advanced toward him. “I have what you need.”
His behavior changed and he mumbled loudly. “Precious jewel… precious…” His eyelids fluttered and a large clump of ooze dangled from his chin.
So much was going on that Anastasia failed to notice her offspring, Kenneth, stirred awake.
“My prodigal maker has returned.” He raised his head and, with dark eyes, he opened his bloodied mouth to reveal his Ramanga fangs. “You look like you just went to hell and back.”
“Be quiet,” she snarled with the same darkness in her eyes.
He ignored the warning. “Make me.”
“Let me go!” Remy screamed again. The black ooze became more prevalent. It stained his shirt and drops of it landed in a small puddle at his feet, making Anastasia move away from him.
“You’re too late. He’s as good as dead,” Kenneth joked. “Face it. You failed.”
Remy mumbled again, but this time, his chest heaved and his eyes sprang open. His cough was deep as if he was trying to clear out his lungs. Dark lines appeared underneath the skin on his arms as the toxin punched its way into his bloodstream.
“Veronica?” His cracked voice broke the silence in the air and his wild behavior subsided.
“Veronica isn’t here.” Anastasia touched his cheek, finding it cold. “It’s me.”
“Oh.” His taxed eyes stared back at her. “Where are we? Is this Dark Sepulcher?”
“No, we’re at the manor. Hey, you’ll need to swallow this.” She showed him her bloodied hand. His head drooped to its side and, fearing that he was one step closer to death, she grabbed his chin and yanked it back in her direction. “Stay with me. I mean it.” He didn’t respond so she smacked him across his left cheek. “Remy! Look at me.”
He blinked. “Ouch.” A weary smile appeared on his face. “Did you have to do that?” He coughed and the dark glaze dribbled down his cheek. Once again, the Remy she knew disappeared, replaced with a ravaging Deamhan who wanted nothing but to see her dead.
“I’ll kill you!” he screamed at her.
She held him still by the neck with her left hand to keep him steady. Maybe, somewhere in his troubled mind, by seeing her, she hoped he’d come back to reality. “Hey, I’ll fix you now.” She moved her hand close to his mouth, hoping that there was enough blood on it for him to swallow. As he struggled, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Hallie.
“I’m almost done.” With his teeth now touching her skin, she hoped that some of the blood would make its way into his mouth.
Eventually, Remy’s struggling ceased and stopped.
“Did it… work?” Hallie asked out of hesitation. “All he needed was a drop, right?”
Anastasia unlocked his chains.
“Maybe we should wait to make sure it worked.”
“No time.” She ignored him and after releasing the final chain, she caught Remy’s body as he fell forward.
“He’s not moving.”
She laid him gently on the ground and exhausted, she stepped back and placed her hands on her knees.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Hallie asked.
“You first. How did you find out that Krerina isn’t a Kashshapu?” She placed her hands on her hips, expecting the worse.
Hallie scratched the back of her head in thought. “Lambert called and said that you went to visit him about the Defiler.”
“Yeah.”
“He told Nathan to call the Brotherhood and he did.”
“What’d they say?”
“They do know all about the Defiler and they think she’s connected with someone who has access to dark magic, or something like that.”
“She does. It’s Amenirdis. What else did Nathan and the Brotherhood talk about?”
“I have no idea. He kicked me and Ayden out during the middle of his call. But befo
re he did, the Brotherhood told us they wanted the Dark Curse tablet. Apparently, they’re the only people who can keep it safe.”
She didn’t expect Nathan to go as far as to contact their sworn enemies but she understood. If any group had the most insight into anything dark magic related, they would. “Good.”
“What?”
“Good,” Anastasia repeated. “As of now, they’re the only ones who can safeguard it. We can’t keep it here. Not anymore. Think about it, Hallie; we have two of the required things for Amenirdis to start Revelation: Maris, and one piece of the tablet. Once we force Ruby to tell us where she hid the other piece, we’ll have the entire thing and that’s what they want.”
Kenneth exploded in laughter. “Uh oh! Looks you’ve ran out of options. Hopefully, she’ll rid the world of your menaces.”
“That includes you too, idiot,” Hallie said.
A smug looked appeared on his face. “This is perfect! Ha! This is amazing!”
Anastasia did her best to ignore him. “So yeah, I think we should hand over the tablet to the Brotherhood as soon as we get it.”
“But can we trust them?” Hallie asked.
“It’s a chance we have to take. Either we hold onto it and wait for Amenirdis to come, kill us all, and use it to start Revelation, or we hand it over to the Brotherhood so they can protect it.”
Kenneth rattled his chains. “Ha! I’m starting to love Amenirdis and after all this time, I thought she was nothing but a—”
Tired of his snarky comments, Anastasia punched him swiftly across the face, knocking him out. “I won’t let Maris die.” Darkness filled her eyes. “I’ll get Ruby to talk, even if I have to torture her myself.”
All of the sudden, Remy sat up from the ground. He blinked a few times before speaking. “Did someone mention my crazy ex-girlfriend’s name?”
Anastasia held out her hand for support. “How are you?”
“Aww thanks, but I’m good.” He stood to his feet. “My body feels a little sore, like I just woke up from Hibernation.” He stretched his arms over his head.
She wanted to smile. She saved him, which was an act that she didn’t do often for Deamhan in general. His quick recovery surprised them all, even Hallie who embraced him in a tight hug, but then she quickly pulled back.
Divination (Deamhan Chronicles Book 4) Page 13
