Deamhan (27 page)

Veronica struggled, but he pushed her wrists further into the snow.

“No more humanity, no more living in this shit world as a human. Immortality as a Lugat.”

“You’re crazy.” Veronica grunted. “You can’t trust them.”

He grabbed his pipe again and lifted himself off her. He glared down at her, taking a moment to speak again. “If you run from me again, I’ll cut off your fucking head and give it to him as a gift.”

Veronica remained on her back, frozen in fear. She wanted to call Nathan, but it was impossible. He squinted with the look of a mechanical deviant. She knew she was going to die, right there, in the park.

An unusual clicking noise broke their conversation. Then silence. Murphy looked over his shoulder.

They heard a quick, loud noise.

Murphy dropped to his knees next to Veronica, clutching his lower stomach. She lifted her body, staring at a sudden rush of blood coming from a dime size hole in his abdomen. Veronica’s eyes moved to a woman wearing a thick blue winter jacket with blonde hair. She lowered her 9mm, placing it into her purse, and she walked over to Murphy. It took only moments for Veronica to realize that she’d seen the woman before, at the burnt sanctuary home.

Veronica slowly stood up and watched the familiar woman gently kick Murphy onto his side with tip of her boot. She then knelt down next to him and began to search his body. Still alive, he moaned in pain with his body curled into a fetal position. The woman reached her hand under his sweater and to his shorts. She then proceeded to search his sneakers.

Veronica wiped the snow from her clothes, still flabbergasted. The snow underneath Murphy’s body began to turn red, soaked with blood. He moaned again, and she pulled back the sweater on his left arm, revealing his tattoo.

“They usually don’t get branded anymore.” The woman didn’t look at Veronica. She remained attentive on Murphy. “It makes them harder to find.” She stood up, readjusting her blue jacket. Veronica wiped the water and wet snow from the cell phone.

“Veronica, I’m not here to harm you,” she said. “But you must trust me and listen to me.”

“I’m not falling for that.” Veronica took a couple of steps back from her. “Not anymore.”

“If his markings are what I think they are, then you’re in serious danger.”

Veronica stopped. The realization of being close to death finally struck her. The Deamhan twins and the van, that was nothing compared to what Murphy might have done to her. The palms of her hands were sweaty in the cold winter wind, and her legs began to feel weak and unstable. The woman didn’t move. Instead, her blue eyes drifted to the body then back to Veronica.

“Are you from The Brotherhood?” Veronica coldly asked her.

“No, I’m not a researcher.”

“You’re a minion?”

She nodded. “Yes, I’m a minion. My name is Jessica.”

“Who is your master?”

Before Jessica could reply, Veronica felt a cold rush of wind behind her.  In an instant, she saw Jessica on the ground with an unknown assailant straddling her. Gripping Jessica by the neck, the assailant’s moves were quick. A Deamhan.

Veronica reached for Murphy’s pipe, still keeping her eyes on Jessica and her attacker. The assailant’s black cap and the fabric of a long black dress flipped around during the struggle, hiding the assailant’s identity from Veronica’s view.

Veronica raised her hand in preparation to strike, when the assailant turned and faced her.

It was Anastasia who glared back with black pupils and her fangs extended. Her face was blotched with chunks of snow, and the sight frightened Veronica to the point that she dropped the pipe. She didn’t have the time to think twice. If she didn’t do anything, Anastasia was going to kill the woman who had just saved her life. There wasn’t any time to explain to Anastasia. Veronica opened her mind and consciously invited Anastasia to read.

Anastasia accepted the invitation.

The front part of Veronica’s brain began to burn. She closed her eyes. A feeling of extra weight overcame her senses. It wasn’t like the time Remy read her thoughts. This pain was prominent, almost to the point of being insufferable.

Suddenly Anastasia pulled out from Veronica’s thoughts and she raised herself from the ground, allowing Jessica to slide a couple of inches away from them. Jessica placed her hands on her chest, trying to catch her breath while staring wide-eyed at Anastasia.  She then pushed back the sleeves of her jacket, revealing her minion marking on her left wrist.

“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 home 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.