Deamhan (34 page)

“And after I rip his head off and devour his blood, you can thank me later by throwing some praise my way.”

Selene tilted her head. “When Kei is nothing but dust and blood, then we can all rejoice.”

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The limo arrived in the warehouse district, located in what once was the thriving center of the city. Extraordinary in their day, the tall, now gutted brick buildings had a history filled with competing businesses, factories and living spaces. Buildings like the one used for Kei’s macabre parties, still had their use.

They exited the limo. Veronica stayed close to Selene, following her to the front door guarded by two large male bodyguards dressed in long, black robes with expressionless masks. The masks resembled the legendary Moai; frozen forever but still guarding their sacred space.  

When Silvanus reached the door, one of the bodyguards greeted him by name. However, they stood still with no intention of moving aside.

Selene looked to Silvanus, who smirked. “Out of my way,” she demanded. The bodyguards remained in their position.

“Kei gave strict orders barring you from his Congregation ma’am.”

“You heard her,” Silvanus interrupted the bodyguard. “And I suggest you listen to her and step aside.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but we have to follow Kei’s orders.”

Selene easily pushed the bodyguards aside, showing her brute strength. “Tell him I don’t listen to his orders, especially when they come from the mouths of human bodyguards.”

Veronica waited for the bodyguards’ reactions, but they did nothing. Instead they stared as Selene pushed open the front door and proceeded inside.  

“After you,” Silvanus said chivalrously to Veronica.

They walked ahead, seeing a flight of stairs leading to a lower level. They reached the bottom platform and two more human bodyguards also wearing masks, stood in front of another door. They didn’t question Selene, nor did they say anything. They voluntarily stepped aside and opened the door allowing them to walk through.

Bright flashing lights blinded them, giving Veronica only seconds to adjust her eyes. The room, filled with Deamhan socializing and loud, thumping music, filled the once gutted out space in the basement of the building. The smell of dampness, clove cigarettes, and cologne filled the air. Bright purple, white and red couches packed with seated Deamhan, dressed extravagantly, lined the peeled and chipped paint walls. Chandeliers and numerous disco balls hung from the ceiling, along with flashing strobe lights. The packed dance floor soon filled with the onset of a new song.

“Wow, this is a change,” Silvanus said to Selene.

“This is his doing,” Selene muttered.

“Oh, live a little, Selene. You can at least pretend to fit in.”

“I don’t want to pretend,” she replied, her voice filled with anger.

They walked through the crowd. Veronica made every effort to stay as close to them as possible. They approached a long table, covered in black satin positioned on a black stage. Two chalices sat on the opposite ends of the table, and she saw three huge wooden chairs, decorated with blue, red, and black jewels. One chair, bigger than the rest, caught Veronica’s attention. Kei sat there probably, to bask in his immoral debauchery. But who else was allowed to sit at the table?  

Veronica froze in her steps, horrified at what she saw ahead of her.

A grotesque set up of five naked men hung a couple of feet in the air over a huge cauldron. A rope fastened to a large metal hook was wrapped around their wrists.  Around the cauldron five more naked female victims with their mouths gagged and their wrists tied, sat on the floor. Veronica covered her mouth in shock and turned away, hearing their muffled cries and moans. A part of her wanted to run, to find help. She forced her body to turn back around.

“Stay calm,” Selene whispered to her.

Her suggestion seemed ill. Veronica couldn’t understand how she could remain calm while staring at something this barbaric. She wanted to help but she couldn’t risk it. She wiped her face, clearing out any hint that was distressing and she placed the victims out of her mind.

A Deamhan woman and man holding hands approached Selene. “What a nice specimen.” The woman’s eyes danced at Veronica’s appearance. “Is she yours for the evening or are you going to share?”

Veronica moved behind Selene in an attempt to hide her from the Deamhan’s prying eyes.

Selene’s eyes fiercely locked onto the two Deamhan. “Choose your next words wisely.”

The couple looked at each other and the male laughed. “Excuse us, then. You could’ve just said no.”

Selene immediately reached out, grabbing the male by his neck. In a quick blur, Silvanus jumped onto the female.

Veronica found their accelerated speed to be confounding and horrid; something she could never get used to. Silvanus had the female by the neck and he pinned her to the floor. She hissed and squirmed, showing sharp Ramanga fangs. Silvanus looked up at Veronica, smiling with his eyes widening in a cold, hungry stare and his fangs protruding in a wrathful angle.

Selene also had the male pinned to the ground. “I am Selene, offspring of Lucius, and an Ancient. You Deamhan show no respect.”

The male retracted his fangs and his eyes widened.

“And I am Silvanus, offspring of Anora and also an Ancient. But I don’t really care about your respect. ” He violently sunk his teeth into the soft tissue of the female’s neck and he closed his eyes as he began to drink, suckling like a baby feeding from its mother’s breast. The woman’s quivering ceased slowly, coming to a final stop as the sucking paralyzed her. After he finished her off, Silvanus licked the excess blood from his lips and motioned for Selene to release the male. Selene released his grip and the male tried to crawl away, but in moments, Silvanus was on top of him and he sank his teeth into his neck. He finished his meal and stood up, wiping a small trail of blood sliding down the corner of his mouth. Their act went unnoticed.

“You aren’t hungry?” Silvanus looked back at Selene.

“No,” she answered calmly.

Veronica felt herself wanting to vomit. Silvanus regained his posture and stared at her. His skin tone slowly turned from pale to a darker shade as the fresh Deamhan blood worked its way through his veins. The two bodies slowly began to dissipate, turning into an outline of brown sand and finally into a pile of dust and blood.

“Did you have to kill them?” Veronica somehow found the nerve and bravery to ask.

Silvanus smiled. “No.”

“His scent was all around them,” a voice behind them stated. They turned around to see Lambert dressed in a bright white dress suit and black silk tie with polished shoes that gleamed under the falsified lights. His appearance rocked Veronica who’d thought she’d seen the last of him when she left Dark Sepulcher a while ago.

“They smelled like Kei.” Lambert looked at Selene. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Selene.”

“Yes, they smelled like him.”

Lambert looked at Veronica. “Veronica, happy that you were able to make it.” He held a chalice in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Veronica asked, straightening her posture.

“I invited him,” Selene answered. She stepped closer to Lambert. She was taller than him, yet her presence did little to intimidate him.

He smiled, unbothered by her threatening stance. “Yes, Selene and I go way back. Plus I couldn’t miss this for the world.”

Silvanus held out his hand to Lambert. “We haven’t formally been introduced, vampire.”

“And tonight is no different.” Lambert turned around and slyly walked away.

Silvanus stared at his hand. “Vampires can be so supercilious.”

“Yes we can.” Lambert looked over his shoulder. “However, we can also be helpful.” He walked onto the stage and stood in front of the long table.

They followed him cautiously and Silvanus walked around the table, examining one of the two chalices on it. He slowly seated himself in a chair and peered into the chalice, smiling. “Very comfy,” he said, squirming around in the chair. He looked out to the dance floor. “This is a nice view.”

“But this is a better view.” Lambert pointed to the cauldron spectacle Veronica saw earlier.

Silvanus looked at the human victims. “I have to agree with you. That is a better view.” He picked up his chalice in rejoice and placed it back on the table.

Veronica turned around, staring at the crowds of Deamhan enjoying their environment. She sensed Selene’s agitation. She didn’t care for anything mildly associated with Kei. To Selene, this wasn’t what the Deamhan were about. The modern, out in the open, careless environment wasn’t what the older Deamhan like Lucius, Silvanus, and Selene wanted.

“I didn’t invite you here to gloat about the best views, Lambert.” Selene placed her hands on her hips.

“Yes, yes.” Lambert waved her worries away with a flick of his wrist. “My vampires are outside, waiting on my command. All you have to do is tell me when.”

The music died down and the crowd began to hush.

“Come with me.” Selene gripped Veronica by her arm and she led her off the stage and to the side with Silvanus following behind them. It grew quiet in the large room. The human victims silenced their cries. Suddenly a door creaked open from the far back of the room and footsteps approached the crowd in an eerie silence.

Throughout the crowd the name “Kei” floated in the air like an arcane name. Veronica looked back at Selene, who remained stern and unmoved by the crowd’s actions.

Veronica unfolded her arms and began to rub her fingers into her sweaty palms. A weird image of what Kei looked like flashed in her mind. He had to be tall, broody, and unafraid. He had to have a stare that could gaze through her soul. She heard the faint footsteps coming from behind the stage, and she turned to look at the Deamhan who last saw her mother alive.

A man of average stature casually walked toward the table. He wasn’t lavishly dressed like many of his attendees. Instead he wore a black leather jacket with blue jeans and a faded white shirt. His greasy, brown hair was slicked back; his jaw round, and his sunken eyes accentuated his prominent brow. He held a half-smoked cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other.

His appearance caught everyone by surprise, even Selene, who remained still yet alert. To Veronica, Kei didn’t represent the image of someone who could take down Lucius. He looked assimilated into human culture and society; like an anti-Deamhan representation. Kei inhaled his cigarette and took a sip from his beer. He gulped the last of it and crunched the can, tossing it over his shoulder. The clinking noise of it hitting the floor acted like the bell, beginning round one in what was to be the fight for control of the city.

Kei raised his hands and everyone in the room went quiet. His display of control was unfathomable.

“Welcome,” he said in a loud, commanding voice. The crowd repeated their welcome back to him. He glanced at everyone in the room before he climbed the stairs onto the stage. He slowly walked over to the jeweled chair and he sat, kicking his feet onto the table. He inhaled and flicked the ash of his cigarette onto the floor.

“I have to find better bodyguards.” His steel cold eyes turned to Selene and Silvanus. “And you brought that?” He pointed at Veronica. Veronica felt the piercing glare of the crowd and she slightly turned her head to look behind her, nervous that at any moment a Deamhan would rush from the crowd to attack her.

“It’s been decades, Kei,” Selene said.

“Not long enough,” he replied back. “Why are you here anyway? I don’t remember inviting you.”

The eerie silence of the crowd became more uncomfortable by the minute. Veronica gulped and closed her eyes. She felt the tingling sensation start in her head and she immediately reopened her mind. He tried to read her. This time she had no intention of hiding her thoughts from anyone.

“You know what happened to my mother, you son of a bitch!” Veronica lashed out at him. The burning sensation stopped and he cocked his head to the side with a defined smirk on his face.

He leaned back in his chair with his eyes locked onto Veronica. “Silence your minion, Selene,” he said coldly.

“I’m not her minion.” Veronica wasn’t ready to silence herself. Kei flicked the cigarette toward Veronica, landing just inches in front of her on the floor.

Suddenly the crowd began to mumble and a voice within the crowd spoke out.

“Kill her!”

The mumbling continued, growing louder. Kei raised his hands for quiet. “No one touches her.” A wide grin appeared on his face. “She’s mine.”

“She’s protected,” Selene bellowed.

Kei laughed. “In my city, I determine who’s protected and who’s not.” He raised his chalice to the crowd and they cheered. “I don’t give a flying fuck about your protection.” Kei turned his head slightly to the right, glaring at Silvanus. “You think bringing another Ancient”—he then looked to Lambert— “and a vampire here to plot against me, would actually work? I own this city and every Deamhan in it.”

“Lucius is head Deamhan in Minneapolis,” Selene replied. “Not you.”

“And where is our beloved maker?” Kei jokingly looked around the room. “He isn’t here. Oh yeah, that’s right. He’s dead.” The Deamhan in the crowd laughed at his comment.

“You never were the brightest one, Kei,” Selene responded.

“True, but I was his favorite.” Kei clapped his hands. From the back of the stage, two scantily dressed females appeared. They rushed to his aid, removing the chalices from the table. These minions hurried over to the cauldron and dipped the chalices in the blood collecting below the human bodies.

“But before I allow my followers to tear you both apart slowly”—Kei stood up from his seat—“you’ll watch me torture, maim, and kill your human.” He then raised his chalice in the air.  “A toast!”  Everyone in the crowd raised their chalices in the air. “To our species. To our survival. Let no one, human, vampire or Ancient, stand in our way!” They devoured their drinks from their chalices in unison. Kei wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled wickedly.