Deamhan (31 page)

“The last time I heard, she was in Europe,” said Anastasia. “If she is alive and she traveled to Minnesota, it would only be because of one thing.”

“To put someone in Limbo,” Remy answered. They stared at each other for what felt like minutes.

Finally Anastasia spoke up. “We’re no match for Amenirdis. Even her human servants are stronger than all of us.”

“So sorry, sweat pea.” Remy looked to Veronica.

“So that’s it?” Veronica replied.

Nathan rubbed his chin in thought. “If she is the one who did this to Lucius, then there may not be anything that we can do. And if Remy is working for her or with her, he is also too strong as well.” He walked toward his study. Veronica watched Anastasia walk down the back hallway and out to the backyard. She found herself alone with Remy still snickering at her. She contemplated her next move.

“I admire your persistence, Veronica,” Remy said to her. “But this isn’t one area you’d want to venture in.”

Veronica sighed. Not only did she have to deal with Kei but now Amenirdis, a Deamhan she’d never heard before until now and supposedly a Deamhan old and strong enough to scare Selene, her protector.

Hallie raised her hand slightly. “If you go, Veronica, I’ll go with you.”

Remy laughed under his breath. “You can’t protect her. You’ve never been past the front gates as a Deamhan.”

Hallie lowered her chin into her chest and stewed. “At least I have the balls to go.”

Veronica straightened her hair and she reached out her hand to Hallie. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Remy stood in front of her. “You can’t seriously think about going there, tonight.”

“Why not?” Veronica walked around him and she headed for the front door with Hallie following her.

Again Remy moved in front of her and he slowly licked his lips.  “You humans and kids are so alike; so naïve and eager for the thrill.” He opened the front door. “Before we go, I need to make a quick stop.”

Veronica looked at him, seeing the devilish spark in his eye.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Everything around Remy, Hallie, and Veronica moved rapidly as if it existed in its own realm. The stars streaked in the sky, and the lights from the city combined their glow. They moved faster than Veronica thought anyone or anything could move.

Remy tightly held onto her as he moved in Deamhan speed into downtown Minneapolis with Hallie close behind. They zigzagged around buses, cars and pedestrians walking down the street. Veronica felt her stomach churn, and throughout the whole wild ride, she closed her eyes, fearing if she’d open up, the images would add to her nausea.

The smell of car exhaust filled her nose, and she felt Remy slowing down, finally coming to a stop. Before leaving Blind Bluff Manor, he told her his speed would affect her. She didn’t know what that meant until she found herself on the verge of vomiting. He brought up the idea of driving, but Veronica wanted to get to the cave before Selene changed her mind and decided to find Amenirdis. Plus Remy made it clear that he wasn’t going to be caught in the middle of no man’s land during sunrise. He then mentioned something that would help her control the traveling aversion. Something that humans drank to experience what it felt like to be a Deamhan, minus the immortality; something that she had consumed before. Sensual Appetite.

She opened her eyes. They stopped near the University of Minnesota.  A snow plow drove by, pushing excess snow from the street onto the curb. Remy let go of her arm and watched Veronica slowly recover to her senses.

“Fucking epic!” Hallie cheered. “Wow, I can always run like that?”

“Keep your voice down,” Remy hushed her. “I don’t want him to know we’re coming.”

They stood in front of a white two level home with a waist-high wooden fence with a shoveled sidewalk. A small sign which read “Welcome to Our Home” was staked in the front yard. From the outside, the home looked nothing like a sanctuary.

“You’ve had Sensual Appetite before right?” Remy questioned Veronica.

Veronica nodded and tried to rid the memory of the taste from her mouth. She didn’t want to think of the repulsing experience.

Remy stopped in front of the steps, staring at the straw welcome mat in front of the door. He looked up and began to glance at the home like he’d never seen it before.  

“Is something wrong?” Veronica quietly asked.

He continued to observe. “New paint job.” He tapped on the siding of the house. He peeked through the darkened windows of the home and the white window shades that covered them on the inside. The house was completely dark with no movement. Veronica waited for Remy, who turned the knob and opened the door.

Veronica remained where she stood, then she cautiously followed Remy and Hallie into the home, hoping their presence was enough to ward off any danger they might encounter. Three men sat on a couch in the living room, facing a television. The first one who saw them enter immediately grabbed the remote and turned it off. He raised himself from the couch, nervous, and stared back at them. Veronica stood behind Remy, seeing the fear in their eyes.

Veronica assumed they were all minions and they belonged to someone. From the back room, another group appeared from the hallway and stopped where they stood. Used cups, old newspapers, and various other trash littered the floor. The yellow stained walls, also peppered with holes, contributed to Veronica’s stereotype of what a Deamhan sanctuary outside of Nathan’s looked like. The repugnant air filled their nostrils. Two piles of dust and blood forming the shape of two bodies, lay next to the television stand. The light fixture in the living room dangled from the ceiling by a cord severed at its base.

“Disgusting.”

Remy took one slow glance around the room and took a step forward.

“Smells like rotten fish.” Hallie covered her nose. A mouse ran in front of her and she jumped. “Fucking gross.”

Veronica watched two female children standing near the staircase. One of them, who looked fairly young, held a small tattered doll in her hand, and the other stood in front, blocking the other from her gaze.

“Where is he?” Remy asked them. A male minion pointed up the stairs. Remy glanced over the two piles of dust. “His work?”

The male nodded.

They headed up the stairs to the second floor of the sanctuary, which looked just as filthy as downstairs. Cardboard boxes crowded the hallways, some damaged from water dripping from the ceiling. The floor creaked as they walked. A cockroach ran in front of Remy, and he crushed it with his foot without interrupting his stride. An intricate cobweb spun above them from the left side of the wall to the right.

This couldn’t be the Deamhan The Brotherhood spoke about. They weren’t the harbingers of death and destruction anymore. They were squatters and out of control vagrants. These minions and their Deamhan masters seemed too busy dwelling in their own filth to concentrate on someone as puny as herself. Somehow, along in their history, they lost their spine-chilling image. It was sanctuaries like these that were being destroyed and burnt to the ground. Veronica began to think that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

“It’s the last door on the left.” Remy pointed. They came upon the door and without warning, Remy forcefully pushed on it. The door cracked, separating from its hinges and crashed to the floor.

A female and a male, both naked and startled from the noise, raised themselves from their bed. The female immediately covered her breasts and her crotch with her hands, and the short statured male, smiled at the appearance of Remy.

“Hey, Ollie.” Remy moved to the right side of the bed and Hallie moved to the other. The male laughed and raised himself up. Fully naked, he walked over to a pile of clothes stacked in the corner of the room. Veronica peered into the room, watching him dress himself in a faded shirt which read “Drunk on Duty” and white soiled shorts. An odor of sex lingered in the air. She wrinkled her nose at the appearance of this Deamhan who didn’t seem to care who watched him parade around unclothed.

“Still fucking your food instead of eating it, Ollie?” Remy briefly looked at the startled female.

Ollie smoothed back his short brown hair and shrugged his shoulders. “Best of both worlds.” His speech staggered with a prominent lisp. He whistled at the woman and harshly told her to beat it. She scurried out of the room with her head hung low. Now fully dressed, Ollie sat back on his bed and pulled a pack of cigarettes from underneath his pillow. He glanced at Remy before he lit his cigarette.

“You don’t knock anymore?” He inhaled.

“I’ve never knocked,” Remy responded back. Ollie’s eye focused on Veronica.

“She’s a cutie,” he muttered. “But I’m not buying today. Come back tomorrow.”

“She’s not for sale.” Remy brushed aside dirt particles from the bed. He sat down and crossed his legs. “I need some.”

“Need what?”

“Sensual Appetite, you twit.”

Ollie inhaled again but delayed in exhaling. “Don’t have any,” he replied, “I sell that shit like hotcakes. I get a new batch in tomorrow.”

Remy reached out and yanked the cigarette from Ollie’s hand. He crushed it in his grip and tossed it back into his lap. His reaction made Ollie jump slightly.

“Jeez, you didn’t have to do that,” he whined. Remy kneeled beside the bed, pulling out a small wooden box with a small lock from underneath. He placed it on the bed and yanked the lock and tossed the broken pieces on the floor.

“That’s my personal stash.” Ollie stood up. The box was filled with small glass vials stacked gently next to each other. The liquid contained in these vials varied from orange to blue to bright red.

“What’s that?” Hallie questioned.

“Human blood in a bottle, manufactured by Deamhan for Deamhan. It’s like heroin for our kind,” Remy answered. “It’s made so that any Deamhan can devour it and experience the taste of a meal, with additives added.”

“I’ll pass.” Hallie’s nose scrunched.

“That isn’t cheap, y’know.” Ollie inhaled.

“How much?” Remy held the small vial between his thumb and forefinger, examining the reddish bubbly fluid.

“Five hundred,” Ollie replied. “And I’m being generous.”

“Oh, Ollie.” Remy grabbed the liquid. “You’re funny, did I ever tell you that?” He tossed the vial to Veronica. Remy patted the bed and stood up. “It was nice seeing you, Ollie.” He walked toward the door.

“You can’t take that!” Ollie rushed after him.

Remy turned around. “Why not?”

“I’ll be short, and my supplier will kill me.”

Remy snickered and patted the top of Ollie’s head. “Well, that’s your problem.”

“C’mon, Remy. My supplier isn’t going to sit well with this.”

“I wouldn’t worry about your supplier.” Remy watched Veronica put the vial in her pocket. “I’d be more worried about Anastasia. She knows you’re selling.”

They walked out of the room.

* * * *

“It’s better than a taxi.” Remy opened the vial.

They stood on the corner down the street from the sanctuary. The cold affected Veronica and she began to shiver. The coat Remy gave her off his back helped a little, but she wasn’t sure if it was going to help her while traveling in Deamhan speed.

The Deamhan felt the cold, but it was nowhere near the way a human felt it. The human heart worked harder at maintaining body temperature. As far as she knew, they didn’t have a body temperature nor did their heart beat at all.

Remy sniffed the liquid and handed the vial to Veronica.

“Are you sure?” She hesitated.

“You can’t continue to travel in our speed. Your heart can’t take it,” he replied. “But this will help you tolerate it.”

Veronica glanced at the vial then looked up at them. For mother, she thought to herself. She dreaded tasting the same icky taste when she first had Sensual Appetite. She also feared what this amount would do to her. The drink she was given in Dark Sepulcher was mixed with alcohol, but this wasn’t mixed with anything.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, feeling the warm liquid ooze down her throat. She dropped the bottle, and it shattered on the pavement. Immediately she felt the effects of the drink. Her sight became blurred, and it was a challenge just to keep her eyelids from closing shut. Her head became too heavy to lift. She felt the cold of Remy’s palm against hers.

“Whatever happens”— he pulled Veronica closer to her— “don’t let go.”

Veronica grasped him tightly and closed her eyes, hearing the wind rush in her ears. Her hair flew uncontrollably, and her legs no longer touched the ground. She felt dizzy while they constantly moved. Her body jerked to the left and to the right and the cold breeze blew down her shirt.

They traveled in Deamhan speed.

For a moment, she felt a part of their world. She attempted to squeeze Remy harder, afraid of what’d happen if she let go. She heard the frequent stomps of his feet hitting the ground and he was in mid-air again, taking uncanny strides; strides unfathomable for a human.

This experience felt nothing like she’d felt before and nothing she’d ever feel again. Their speed increased, and the wind’s cold chills brushed against her skin. She had no fear and no pain.  Only the feeling of floating and a sense that she was invincible.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

They came to a sudden halt, and Veronica felt her body jerk forward. She attempted to open her eyes, but her eyelids remained closed.  Pressure throughout her body increased and she fell to the floor, feeling the liquid expel from her mouth.

Remy straightened his clothes. “It’s breath-taking, isn’t it?”

Their surroundings matched exactly what Anastasia described. They saw the tilted abandoned shack with its broken windows. Dead cornstalks dotted the landscape along with patches of snow and dirt.

Veronica remained on the pavement, moaning in pain. Hallie bent over to help her but Remy stopped Hallie.

“I got her.” He placed his arms around her waist and lifted her to her feet. “Don’t pass out on me now,” he whispered as he placed her right arm over his shoulders.  They slowly walked into the cornfield, heading toward the stream.