Divination (Deamhan Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  “Eww, I definitely have to shower.” He wiped the remaining black goo from his lips and examined his hand. “Ruby… let me have a chat with her. She and I have history, as you all know.”

  “We need her to talk,” Anastasia replied.

  “She’ll talk. Where is she now?”

  “In the study,” Hallie answered.

  He nodded. “So, is someone going to fill me in on what’s happened since I’ve been out?”

  “I’ll fill you in upstairs.”

  He playfully rubbed his hands through Hallie’s hair. “I attacked you, didn’t I? You know I wasn’t thinking correctly.” He grabbed her hand as they headed for the stairs.

  “Yeah. You attacked me and…”

  “…Anastasia handed me my ass,” he finished her sentence.

  “If that’s how you’d like to remember it.” Anastasia found herself smiling. “Yeah, I handed you your ass.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  REMY

  Remy had never felt this much pain and embarrassment while chained like a wild animal next to a man he once tortured. He tried to keep track of the time but the constant passing out made that impossible. Sometimes the effects waned just enough for him to keep conscious for more than just a few minutes.

  In those sacred minutes that he kept his eyes open, he heard Hallie’s voice calling out his name. When he did manage to open them, he saw her standing there, looking back at him in silence. He saw the mixture of content and disgust in her beautiful orbs. He knew that look and he yearned to embrace her in a tight hug as an apology for his bad behavior. Now that Anastasia saved him, the time he’d lost while the toxins ravaged his body came back to him little by little.

  He remembered attacking her and he remembered wanting to eat her.

  And then there was Anastasia, the warrior and the savior of their little band of Deamhan. He could never thank her enough. She put her life on the line for him, and her body and face showed signs of the hell she’d been through. Bloodstains covered her cheeks and her hands. She walked differently, not like she knew her destination or what she wanted to do. Most importantly, she made no attempt to hide her thoughts from anyone who could read them. Remy took a quick peek. He saw death and he sensed fear.

  Before they entered the study, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside. “What happened when I was out? I overheard you talking a little about it.”

  “Nothing important.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “We’ll have time to talk about it later. Right now, we have other important matter.”

  “Like extinction?”

  “Yes.”

  “We face that on a daily basis. What’s new?”

  “This is different.”

  “So tell me.”

  She sighed. “Anzuna wasn’t pulling your strings when she told you about the Defiler. I saw her and what she did to Sia and I…”

  “What did she do?”

  She wouldn’t reveal the dirty little details, making him all the more curious. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her like this.

  “Ana, c’mon, girl. Tell me. What did she do to you besides roughing you up a little?”

  “She didn’t attack my body. She attacked my mind. She made me see and go through the pain of every person I’ve killed since I was sired. I saw their faces and I felt their pain and anger. I felt their fear.” She placed her face in her hands. “She overwhelmed my senses. She overloaded my brain and I still see them, Remy. I can still see and hear them, begging me to stop, begging me to spare their lives. I’m finding it hard to concentrate.”

  What she explained sounded like a fantasy, a weird mind trick that he didn’t know existed. In that moment, the Defiler broke her.

  “I saw Ayden’s sire. He was the worst. He… I never thought about what my victims feel or think. It’s never crossed my mind because as a Deamhan, I didn’t care. It was like, for a moment, the feelings we all had when human, came back and it hurt. All I wanted to do was say that I was sorry.”

  “You need to take a little break.”

  “No.” She lowered her hands. “There’s no time for a break.” She gathered herself. “We have to get Ruby to talk.” She walked away but he grabbed her again.

  “Let me handle Ruby,” he whispered. “You focus on getting back to normal, okay? You’re taking on too much.”

  “Someone has to. The Defiler is working for the Dark Mother. We can’t rest. No one can.”

  He took a long, hard look at her. “Ana, you’re scared.”

  “No.” She blinked twice. “I’m not scared of anyone or anything.”

  He knew that to be far from the truth. “You have blood on your face.” He tried to wipe it away but she moved back. “I’ll get Ruby to talk, okay?” He entered the study and straight into the middle of a heated conversation between the Dorvo vampire on one side of the room and Nathan on the other.

  “If you value your life, human, I suggest you keep out of this.” Ruby’s full lips pulled back into a smile. “That’s what I’d do if I were you.”

  “We won’t go down easily.” Remy cleared his throat to grab the attention of everyone in the room.

  Nathan’s tired eyes came back to life at the sight of him. “How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty damn good but let’s save the celebration of my return for another day.”

  “Oh, my bourgeoisie! You’re looking rather sexy and here I thought that you were as good as dead.”

  “Yeah, Anastasia managed to get some of Anzuna’s blood before she kicked the bucket. Lucky me.”

  “Yes. Lucky you.”

  He pointed at her. “Where are you hiding it, my precious jewel?”

  “Even you can’t get me to talk.”

  With Anastasia, Hallie, Nathan, Maris, and himself in the room, it felt crowded. Remy knew Ruby well enough to understand that she loved spewing her nonsense in front of an audience. She could go on all night. “Give me a few hours alone with her,” he spoke to them. “I’ll get her to talk.”

  “Oh, yes! I would love to discuss how the Defiler will finally end you. I can’t wait to watch your bodies melt into bloody puddles.” She glanced around the room. “Where is Sia? She’s missing out on all the excitement! Still mourning, I presume?”

  “Stop.” He wanted to wipe the smile off her face. “No more banter, no more threats. You’ll tell us where you hid the piece of the tablet or I promise you, I will kill you myself.”

  “As long as you die as well, makes no difference to me.” She leaned her body forward. “Your fates are sealed.”

  “Don’t worry about our fates. Worry about yours.”

  “Can you be so stupid?” Anastasia spoke up. “The Defiler is working with the Dark Mother, not against her.”

  Ruby’s smile withered. “It doesn’t matter. I’m still not telling you anything.”

  “She’s lost her damn mind, hasn’t she?” Hallie asked.

  Ruby fidgeted in her seat. “No, I’m perfectly sane, unlike you all.”

  “Come to think about it.” Remy examined her. “Maybe it was the Defiler who forced you to come back here. Now it makes sense! Amenirdis has everything she needs here, in the city, to start Revelation.”

  “Then I shouldn’t be here.” Skittish, Maris scooted her feet across the floor. “I need to leave. I need to get as far as I can away from here.”

  “Ohh, don’t go!” Ruby joked. “I still need you.”

  Remy grabbed her by the chin. “Enough!” He placed a little pressure and in response, she laughed.

  “Is that all you got?”

  He released her and stepped back. “I’ll torture her.” He nodded at his own affirmation. “Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do. Torture is fun. Torture is good. Maybe I should pull out the ten-pound caltrops.” He thought for a moment. “Naw, I think I’ll use the trusty ole’ pitchfork.”

  “Do your worst.”

  He licked his lips. “Oh, my darling, you have no idea.�
��

  “This isn’t working.” Anastasia leaned against the wall in thought. “If we can’t get her to talk by sunset, tomorrow, then we’re leaving.”

  “Oh, I’ll have her telling me all her secrets by morning,” Remy replied.

  “Darling, you know that’s impossible,” Ruby said. “I know what you’re capable of.”

  “No, no, you don’t.”

  “How many years did we roam the world together or have you forgotten? You were the one who taught me more about Deamhan than I could’ve ever learned on my own. You were the one who told me the secrets, the behaviors, the actions. For over a hundred years, I’ve built my own experience on that foundation. So, like I said, I’m more than aware of what you’re capable of and I also know that your queen won’t kill me.”

  “She’s not my queen. Also, what you and I had… that was a long time ago. Don’t think that you were the only one to get the most out of our relationship.” He leaned forward. “I know how you think, my precious jewel, and right now, you’ve backed yourself into a corner. How long do you think you can hold the piece of the tablet over our heads?”

  She moved toward him. “Then you know better than anyone here that I can hold it as long as it takes.”

  “The truth is, darling… you don’t have any more cards to play.”

  “Oh, Remy, I always have good hand and time on my side.” Her sultry, multicolored eyes scoured them. “As we speak, there are other supernaturals out there who are tired of Deamhan and their antics. They’re ready for a revolution and I’m the one to lead it.”

  “We’ve heard this before.” Remy didn’t understand her confusing speech. “Supernaturals don’t like us… blah blah blah.”

  “They all hate you.” Her multicolored eyes danced. “But don’t worry, I won’t kill you outright. I’ll invite you to an extravagant Deamhan going away party!”

  “Oh, I never thought I’d see you so desperate like this.” He turned his back to her just at the time that Ayden appeared in the doorway with Krerina. He pushed her forward and followed her into the study.

  “Sia told me to bring Krerina down here,” his voice interrupted their discussion. “But I see you all have already started.” In his hand, he held the tablet piece which he then placed on the table.

  “Where is Sia?” Anastasia asked.

  “She said she’d join us shortly. But in the meantime,” he pushed Krerina forward again, “she’ll tell you all what she told me.”

  Looking distressed, Krerina swallowed hard and, with all eyes on her, she spoke, “I haven’t been exactly truthful to you all.”

  “No shit,” Ayden commented.

  “I’m not a Kashshapu.”

  “But you practice dark magic.” Anastasia crept toward Krerina. “I know that firsthand. You used it on me when we were in New York.”

  “I do and before any of you try to rip my head off, I’m not here to betray any of you. I came here so to help you put Amenirdis back in Limbo.”

  They glared at her as if she’d just spoken a foreign language.

  “Are you sure, because if you’re lying, you won’t like what I will do to you,” Anastasia warned her.

  “I am! I’ll tell you everything.” Krerina held her hands up to surrender. “Just promise you won’t try to kill me.”

  “From what you told me, I don’t think we could if we tried.” Ayden walked over to Maris. “I suggest you better spill the details. We aren’t a patient bunch.”

  Krerina eyed the tablet on the table. “Sia said the Defiler wore a mask. She does that to hide her face. The Dark Mother doesn’t want anyone to know her identity until the right time.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She’s my twin sister, Lavinia. We, with another sister, served Amenirdis.”

  Remy quickly placed the pieces of the puzzle together, making him take a step back from the situation. He knew exactly who Krerina referred to. It wasn’t hard to forget his experience with Amenirdis’ triplets which went far back. It was a moment in his history that he tried to erase from his memory. He thought he knew the triplets well enough to pick them out from a crowd, but with Krerina claiming to be one of them, his fears and anxiety rose tenfold.

  As soon as Anastasia realized, she groveled, “You’re one of her triplets? The humans we met in the cave when we went to free Lucius from Limbo?”

  “I was but not anymore. I forced myself away from her after she was released from Limbo.”

  “No.” Anastasia refused to believe her. “I know what the triplets look like and you look nothing like them. They were identical and bald. I never forget a face, especially theirs.”

  “You have because I used dark magic to make you all forget. I’m not lying. Not this time. I’m who I say I am. I was at the cave when you came with Remy, Hallie, and the other Deamhan. I remember seeing Veronica there…”

  “I need a break.” Remy rubbed his neck. The room suddenly felt more crowded than it had before.

  “Are you okay?”

  He felt Hallie place her hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, just a little uncomfortable that one of Amenirdis’ servants is standing right here, in our sanctuary.”

  “He has every reason to be uncomfortable,” Krerina replied.

  “If you did serve her, you deserve death.” Angered, Anastasia pushed Krerina back against the wall and held her there with her hand.

  “No,” Nathan quickly interjected. “We need to know what’s going on and how she and the Defiler play into this.”

  “And I say we already know what we need.”

  “Anastasia, back down.” Maris approached the situation in a calm manner. “I also want to know everything.” She stared at Krerina. “Right now, we don’t have any other choice.”

  Her soft voice pushed Anastasia to drop her hand and back away. Remy barely noticed Ruby who pulled at her restraints while still confined to her chair. The sly smile no longer accompanied her looks. Instead, her eyes filled with rage and disbelieve and to that, he couldn’t help but smile. At least he wasn’t the only one in the room who felt used.

  “How did you break away from her?” Anastasia asked.

  “Probably just like how Sia broke away from her,” Maris responded for Krerina.

  “It wasn’t easy. My twin sisters and I served the Dark Mother for over a hundred years. In return, we had immortality and access to dark magic, through her. You all may not know but when human, she practiced dark magic like her father, the creator of Deamhan. Her hold on my sisters and me was strong. Only two of us managed to break away from her. Lavinia, on the other hand, viewed us as weak. She killed my other sister but I managed to survive.”

  “And somehow, all of this escaped your mind? You didn’t have a need to warn us?”

  “What better way to tell you than to show you through my actions.”

  Still upset, Anastasia didn’t back down. It took Maris, who persuaded her, for the Ramanga to finally settle.

  “Can you or can you not decipher the tablet?” Maris asked.

  “Yes, but not as fast as I could if I still served the Dark Mother.”

  “But you can.”

  Krerina nodded.

  “Then do so.” Maris then pointed to Ruby. “We need to get her to tell us where she hid the other piece before we run out of time.”

  Ruby’s fangs appeared from her gums. “This is what happens when Deamhan are allowed to run out of control for thousands of years, and I will finally put an end to that. Even in this city, Deamhan have brought nothing but death. Your kind killed each other, burned sanctuaries, killed humans and others just for sport, and now we’re all faced with a bleak future.”

  “Screw this.” Hallie also approached the table. “Let’s just destroy the damn thing. Problem solved.”

  Krerina swept the piece into her arms. “You can’t destroy it.”

  “Yes, we can.” She pulled it right from under her arms.

  “Seriously, you can’t.” She moved to retake it but Anastasia plac
ed herself in her way.

  “So what? We destroy it and leave Amenirdis out in the world with us?” Maris asked.

  “I’d rather deal with her than some magical human triplet on dark magic steroids,” Remy replied.

  “Easy for you to say.” Ayden joined in with Maris. “You’re not the one who’ll be chased to the ends of the earth.”

  “You also forget that the Dark Curse tablet contains incantations that are important to Deamhan,” Krerina said. “You can’t destroy it.”

  “Watch me.” Remy took the piece from Hallie and he tossed it into the fireplace. “To hell with incantations. It’s not worth allowing that bitch to release her partners in crime.”

  They all stood and watched as the flames appeared to swallow the tablet piece whole. Remy didn’t know how long it’d take for the damn thing to melt from the heat and he didn’t care. As long as it met a fate it should’ve met thousands of years ago, he was content with the outcome.

  “You can’t destroy it,” Krerina said for the final time. “It’s protected by dark magic. It’s invulnerable.”

  “Can’t be that invulnerable. It’s in two pieces.” He continued to watch.

  Ruby threw her head back in laughter. “You’re all so clueless. Even I know that you can’t destroy it.”

  “Remy, get her to talk, even if you have to rip every organ from her body to do so.” Anastasia then pointed to Krerina. “If you really have turned over a new leaf, you’ll use whatever incantations you have to make sure your sister and Amenirdis can’t step one foot inside this sanctuary, and you’ll give us whatever weapons there are in that gold box of yours for our protection.”

  “Like the knife,” Ayden said. “It drains dark magic. It could drain the dark magic from your sister as well.”

  “Let’s go, my jewel.” Remy untied Ruby from the chair.

  “So what now?” Maris asked.

  “You can’t stay here.” Anastasia kept her eyes on the fireplace. “You have to leave the city as soon as the sun sets.”

  “My sister will find her,” Krerina spoke. “Your best bet is to let me try to decipher it. I can do it.”