“So, you’re gonna kill me or what?” he snarled. “I’m tired of looking at your face.”
Anastasia slowed her walk. “I’m not sure.”
“Sire. How does that work again? Aren’t you supposed to teach me in the ways of Deamhan? Teach me how to kill, how to lie, and how to betray my friends?”
“You don’t need me to train you. You’ve already mastered those traits as a human.”
He pulled at the chains with his left arm. “Every time I close my eyes, I think about killing you, about killing all of you.”
“That’s sweet.”
“I’m gonna make you pay for what you did to me.”
“And about what you did to Veronica?” Anastasia argued back. “And anyone else who you had to step over to get what you wanted? What about them or don’t they matter?”
“You want to lecture me?” Kenneth’s eyes narrowed. “Not like your past is squeaky fucking clean.”
“It’s not and I never said it was, but at least I’ve come to terms with what I’ve done and what I’m about to do.”
“And what are you about to do?” he growled.
“Grant your wish.” She turned to Hallie. “You might want to go upstairs. I don’t think you should see this.”
“I’ve grown up a lot since you were gone. Believe me. I’ve seen a lot in two years. I’m not that fragile Deamhan anymore.”
Suddenly, Remy’s body jerked forward, catching them off guard. His eyes opened and he blinked a few times before whispering, “Hey, what’s going on?”
Confused, Anastasia spoke, “You don’t remember?”
“Should I?” His eyes moved to his chains.
“You tried to attack Hallie and we brought you down here, for your own safety.”
“Oh, is that why I’m chained?” He flashed Hallie a weak smile. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Hallie nodded innocently. “I’m okay. Don’t worry about it.”
He coughed and black goo spewed from his lips. “Are you sure?”
“She’s fine,” Anastasia answered. “I’m heading out to find Anzuna. We’ll fix you, okay?”
His head drooped forward. “I’m getting worse. I can feel it running through my entire body.”
Kenneth laughed. “This is great. This is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time!”
“You! Shut your mouth!” Hallie ordered.
He cackled. “I hope that Estrie Deamhan eviscerates you.”
“If you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll do it for you.” Growing annoyed Anastasia grasped him by the chin and placed her other hand against his chest. “One move and I can end you.”
“Then why don’t you.”
She couldn’t think of anything but forcing her hand into his chest and yanking out his heart. “My pleasure.” She pulled her arm back just as Remy spoke up.
“No, don’t do it. Not before he tells us what he knows about the Defiler.”
Anastasia stood down. “What would he know about the Defiler?”
“Anzuna mentioned her.” Remy’s voice wavered. His eyes fluttered and his head dropped forward.
“Remy?” She let Kenneth go and turned her attention toward him. “Hey, can you hear me? Remy?”
Once again, Kenneth let out a high-pitched laugh. “The Defiler? Really? What a name!”
She snapped her head at him and narrowed her deep-seated eyes at him. “Who is the Defiler?”
“How in the hell should I know? I’ve been down here, locked away for years, remember?” Kenneth shrugged. “Why don’t you go and ask that girl upstairs? Krerina, right? The one who says she’s a Kashshapu.”
“Remy’s right. All Brotherhood researchers learn everything there is to know about Deamhan, including the humans who used dark magic to create us. Anything they’ve collected throughout the centuries was placed in their Archives. Krerina thinks this Defiler individual is a Kashshapu.”
“Kashshapu don’t exist anymore,” Kenneth said. They’re all dead, thanks to a Deamhan like you. The Brotherhood searched centuries for one so we could have a disposable bomb in our arsenal in case you Deamhan became too out of control to tame. Our best researchers were never able to find one and all of a sudden, this girl just pops out of nowhere, claiming to be one, and she wants to help you? Are you Deamhan dumb or blind? Maybe you’re both.”
“Maybe no one could find them because they didn’t want to be found?”
“I don’t fucking know.” He pulled at his chains again. “Why don’t you call the Brotherhood and just ask them?”
She stepped back in thought.
“Oh, you’ll call them, won’t you?” A wide grin appeared on his face. “Have a little chat with them? Ask them for help? Or maybe you’ll give them something they want in exchange for their help? Tell me what you’re up to, sire! I’m just dying to know.”
Anastasia turned her back to him. Her desire to end his measly life had to wait. Remy’s recovery was her main priority, along with making sure Maris remained safe and their return to the city remained unknown. There wasn’t any time to dwell on the Defiler’s identity, for now. She motioned for Hallie to head to the stairs.
“Are you going to try to contact the Brotherhood?” Hallie questioned in a trembling voice.
“No. I’ll speak to Lambert first. He might know something,” she answered. Just then, she felt a tingling sensation in her brain, quickly increasing her anger. She looked over her shoulder at Kenneth who attempted to read her thoughts, just like any Deamhan would. She marched over to him and grabbed him by the neck.
“Don’t you ever do that again!” she threatened with her dark, menacing eyes gazing on him. When the tingling sensation stopped, she let him go and headed back for the stairs. “Hallie, after I leave, I need you to tell Nathan, and I need you both to see if you can find anything about the Defiler in his collections of journals. Can you do that for me?”
She nodded.
“In the meantime, I don’t want you to come down here, at least not by yourself.”
“Believe me, I won’t,” she sighed. “Unless I decide to kill him myself.”
Anastasia watched her climb the basement steps to the main floor. She was used to her life being hectic and the threats looming over their very existence wasn’t anything new to her. However, Hallie wasn’t like her. She didn’t have the experience or the knowledge on how to deal with an environment so dark and disoriented like the one they lived in.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Kenneth said.
Her offspring’s voice caused her to lose her train of thought.
“You want to protect everyone. You actually want to do some good! Well… your version of good.”
“Just because I’m the one who sired you doesn’t mean you know me. We have nothing in common.” Anastasia opened the basement door.
“Aww, you know that’s not true. We have a lot in common, Anastasia. Like it or not, I’m bonded to you. That’s how this sire and offspring thing works, right?”
She closed and locked it behind her before realizing that Sia, Maris, and Ayden silently greeted her in the foyer. Their presence startled her for a second. “If anyone goes down there, go in pairs. Don’t go by yourself.”
“I’m not afraid of Remy.” Ayden disregarded the warning.
“I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about Kenneth.” She searched the area for Nathan and Krerina, but was unable to find them.
“How ironic.” Ayden crossed his arms. “You sire some poor guy so you can hold him hostage. How long you think you can do that before he escapes?”
“Not this again.”
“No. No one deserves to be chained down there, like an animal for years,” Maris replied.
“You don’t know what he’s done. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him that night.”
“I know but who are you to judge him, especially when you’ve done much worse in your past?”
Her response startled Anastasia. “Kenneth’s continued existence isn’t
my main concern. Remy is dying or is that something that slipped your minds?” She moved around them. “I’ll go out there and find Anzuna—”
“No, we need to interrogate the Dorvo vampire,” Sia interrupted her.
“Remy has more history with her than any of us combined. If anyone can get her to tell us, it’s him. So, as of now, his sickness is the first thing we need to deal with.” She walked by the study and saw Krerina and Nathan sitting at the table. “Hallie, remember what I said, okay?”
She nodded. “And you should remember what Remy said. You can’t go out there alone.”
Anastasia peered over her shoulder at her. “I’ll be fine.”
“And just how will you get her blood?” Sia asked. “My sister is no slouch. She’s a strong opponent. You need to be careful.”
“All I need to do is make her bleed. I can do that.”
“I will go with you.”
“Whatever.” Anastasia opened the door and made her way outside.
Finally out on the lawn, she took a few moments to gather her strength for the upcoming travel. The constant barrage of questions from the others, Kenneth’s meandering and ability to get under her skin, and Remy’s declining health all played a factor in how she felt when it came to what she had to do. On top of that, she knew that she was walking into a trap.
Anzuna was ten times her age and an Estrie to boot. They weren’t exactly known for talking out their differences. Not to mention that Estrie Deamhan were the equivalent of Ramanga Deamhan, minus the fact that Ramanga didn’t have long fangs and a toxic bite. If Anzuna’s fangs nicked her skin, she too would suffer the same fate as Remy. This made the situation deadlier than she could ever imagine.
The front door opened. “You have a lot on your plate.”
Anastasia’s reprieve was short-lived when she heard Sia behind her. “I can manage.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I have to. That’s who I am.” She faced her. “I don’t need you to go with me.”
“Someone has to go with you.” Sia held onto the railing. “I’m the better choice since I know how well the Dark Mother manipulates my sister’s behavior.”
“You and I don’t exactly do well together right now.” She made her way to the lawn. “Plus, don’t you have a Kashshapu to deal with?”
Sia carefully descended down the steps. “You still don’t trust Krerina.”
“That clearly doesn’t matter since you all seem to.”
In Deamhan speed, Sia placed herself in front of her. “We all want the same thing, Anastasia.”
“Let me guess… we want Maris to be safe?” she mocked. “But at what cost? Do we just believe anyone that we find who say they’re a Kashshapu? Do we just sit back and let Remy die?”
“If that’s what we have to do. So far, Krerina has done more than what we could on our own. We need help. Can’t you see that?”
“Like what exactly? All she did was to show us what was in that magical box of hers. That’s it!”
“You never told me what she did to you back in New York?”
“She didn’t do anything to me.”
“You’re lying.”
“Get out of my way.” She moved aside and Sia blocked her again. “I said move.”
“There’s no need to hide your thoughts behind a wall. Tear it down, brick by brick.”
“So I can let you, who purposely self-mutilates her own body to atone for her sins, into my thoughts? No fucking thank you.”
“How could you have existed all this time as Deamhan, unable to trust those around you?” She tilted her head.
“I survived because I didn’t trust anyone.”
“I don’t believe that. I see the fear inside you. It’s always been in you and it makes you easy to corrupt and sway. This is why you can’t face the Dark Mother alone.”
“I said move!” She pushed Sia back and the Adze Deamhan disappeared from her view.
Anastasia spun around, unable to find her. “Great. Using the shadows like all Adze would do.” Vexed at the situation, she turned tense. There wasn’t any time for this.
A cool breeze brushed up against the back of her neck, lifting her dark hair, and she spun around, finding Sia facing her. Suddenly, a murky cloud opened up behind her and Anastasia found herself sucked into it. Blind Bluff Manor disappeared, replaced with nothing but total darkness. It surrounded her—above her head, to her right, to her left, and beneath her feet. Sia had pulled her into the shadows, leaving her alone.
Fear replaced her enmity. Frozen, she didn’t want to take a step forward or a step back. A noise, quiet at first, became louder. The sounds of cries and screams overcame her hearing, turning into a loud jumble that forced Anastasia to cover her ears. The noise was all around her and the smell of decomposing flesh soon followed. This place, where Sia often resorted to when she traveled, was short of eerie.
“You can’t keep me here!” Anastasia tried to scream above the racket. “Let me out!” But the noise and the smell around her overwhelmed her senses. Her fangs released themselves from her gums and she went on high alert.
The bellowing stopped abruptly, replaced by the images of dead and dying humans at her feet. They covered every inch of the darkened ground and expanded into the horizon. She couldn’t walk without the fear of stepping on them.
“I can keep you here.” Sia appeared in front of her. “This is my world and this is my darkness.” She held her arms out to the side. “All Adze have their own darkness in which they travel and keep their prey in.”
“So now I’m your prey?”
“Or I can force you into Hibernation. Your choice, Anastasia.”
Hibernation wasn’t anything to take lightly. She’d experienced it before when she was trapped in a coffin for over a hundred years. It was a state that Deamhan placed themselves in during long periods of rest. It was voluntary but there were some Deamhan out there who could force it upon others, at will. She took Sia’s mention of it as a serious threat. “This is insane and absurd. Let me out.”
“Your pride is strong but you’ll need more than that to face my sister and the Dark Mother. You’ll need your family. You’ll need your friends.”
It soon faded and Anastasia heard the movement of animals running from them, the burrowing creatures beneath their feet digging for their lives, and the sound of birds flying overhead. She found herself lying on the ground with Sia standing over her. It took her a moment to realize what she’d experienced.
The darkness opened up behind Sia again and she stepped back, allowing the right side of her body to disappear within it. “Perhaps it’s you and not me who needs to atone for their sins. Perhaps you see your actions as the only way to do so.”
“Are you done?” She stood to her feet.
“I’m going with you. This isn’t up for debate.” Sia held out her hand to her.
Anastasia spun around on her heels, and took a step forward. While she could go on all night, fighting against Sia, it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. “Whatever. Just don’t get in my way.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
ANASTASIA
Anastasia never imagined she’d walk back into the same establishment where all of the Deamhan problems in this city started. Before, Dark Sepulcher was one of the best clubs in the city to frequent if you were looking for a good, drunken time. As a Deamhan, it was the only place to go to if you wanted to eat in private and if possible, have your food disposed of in a proper manner. The only downside to the avenue was the high attendance of vampires.
That was the past. Now, from what she could gather, most vampires avoided the club in fear of what was currently happening, and whatever Deamhan remained in the city didn’t dare take the risk to go there in fear of being exposed on the streets at night. This crippled Lambert’s pockets and it also left his already fragile relationship with Deamhan more unstable than it had ever been.
She knocked on the front door and waited. Sia stood behind her, silent and nerv
ous. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the building and the few humans who walked down the sidewalks.
“This establishment operates right in the middle of a business district?” she questioned. “How?”
“Lambert is pretty sufficient when it comes to business,” Anastasia said as she knocked again. “He has many connections in Minneapolis with his own vampires, Deamhan, and humans.”
“So, they know what he is?”
“If they didn’t, then they do now.”
She grunted under her breath. “What are we doing here? I thought you were going straight to where my sister was last seen?”
“And I thought I told you to not ask questions.” This time, she knocked harder and eventually the door unlocked and opened.
“We’re closed.” It took Alexis, Lambert’s consort and all-around complainer of Deamhan a few seconds to realize who stood in front of her. “Anastasia?” Dressed in a long, tight, black dress, she resembled a woman out on the town rather than just another vampire at Dark Sepulcher. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun. “When did you get back?”
“Is Lambert here?”
“No. No. No.” With her arms spread out to the side, she converted her body into a barrier in front of the curtain that blocked the inside of Dark Sepulcher from the outside world. “What in the hell do you want now?”
“I need to talk to him about what happened at the Wabasha Caves.”
“What happened? My hubby almost died! That’s what happened!”
“Alexis, is he here?”
She lowered her arms. “You’re not coming in here. My babe has done more than enough to help your people. You got your sanctuary back; your baby Deamhan, Hallie, is off the hook, and you have Ruby. What more do you want?”
“I heard what you did for Hallie. Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t want to do anything but somehow you Deamhan still have a hold on Lambert,” she complained. “And I don’t even fucking know why.”
“I just need to have a little chat with your consort.”
Her eyes moved beyond Anastasia. “And who’s that with you?” She pointed to Sia who stood behind her. “And what in the hell is wrong with her face?”
Divination Page 8
