046 BLUE BLOOD
The Deacon of Annubis staggered back, clutching her head as if two wills were warring inside her.
Damen didn't press the advantage.
Something deeper was happening here. He glanced from the snarling creature to Eryn, his gut telling him there was a secret between them.
"Mother… I found you at last!" Eryn cried. She dropped the force field and rushed forward.
The Deacon's clawed hand shot up to stop her. "Don't—stay back. My mind… it isn't fully mine yet."
Eryn froze, her eyes trembling with worry.
"Mother?" Damen blurted. "You're saying this thing is your mother?"
"Yes. Look at the amulet around her neck—it's hers."
"That's not proof," Damen argued. "The Blue Blood could've taken it from your real mother."
"No," Eryn whispered fiercely. "I can see her in those eyes. She's my mother."
Before Damen could reply, the Deacon's aura shifted. Her massive frame shrank, her jackal visage dissolving into the face of a woman.
"Mother!" Eryn sobbed, throwing her arms around her.
"Eryn, my dear… I'm so sorry I left you." Zalira Veyran's voice was soft, weary, and human.
"It's alright—I found you now."
Damen stared, dumbfounded.
Never in his wildest imagination did he expect Eryn's missing mother to be a Blue Blood monstrosity.
"What the hell is going on?" he demanded.
Zalira steadied herself and turned to him. "My name is Zalira Veyran. Eryn is my daughter."
"Madam Zalira… you were thought dead. Why are you here?" Damen pressed.
"Yeah, Mother—what happened to you?" Eryn added.
Zalira sighed, her eyes clouded with memory. "Years ago, during an expedition in this same mountain, we killed a Deacon of Annubis. On her corpse we found a gem—the Eye of Annubis."
"What about it?" Eryn asked quickly.
"At first, it seemed inert. Then I discovered that when fed with blood, it awakened. Wearing it granted me strength beyond human measure—faster, sharper senses, flesh that healed faster than it could be torn."
Damen's eyes narrowed. "That sounds like his experience with the Eye of Ra…", he thought.
"That sounds like a blessing," Eryn said hopefully.
Zalira shook her head. "At first, yes. But I grew greedy. Every fight, I fed it more blood. It awakened a hunger in me. A lust for blood and kill. Eventually… it twisted me."
Damen's stomach turned. "Twisted you how?"
"My body began to change. I could still return to human form at first… but with each transformation, it became harder. Your father covered for me, Eryn, whenever I lost control and went on rampages—when the monster's bloodlust consumed me."
"You… went on rampages?" Damen asked quietly.
Her voice broke. "Yes. So, I came back to this mountain, desperate for answers. My team followed me, but the hounds descended on us. One by one, they all fell. Only I survived… but only by drawing on the power of the Eye of Annubis. I began killing more, and drinking more blood. Until I couldn't turn back anymore."
"Couldn't turn back?" Damen gulped.
Her shoulders sagged. "That's when I became the Deacon of Annubis. I was not just wearing the Eye… but my body was consumed by it."
Damen's skin prickled.
He wanted to ask more about the Eye but held his tongue. If becoming a Deacon was considered a crime, that even the Veyran heiress's mother hadn't escaped it, what chance would he have if anyone discovered his secret?
He would be paraded as a freak and Inquisited like witches.
Eryn's sobs broke the silence. "Mother… I came here so many times. Why didn't you come out to see me? I thought you were dead. I was so sad and alone."
Zalira's face softened with pain. "I knew you were searching for me. I felt your expeditions enter the mountain. But I couldn't risk meeting you, Eryn. At any moment I could have lost control… turned into the Deacon and torn you apart."
Eryn fell to her knees, crushed.
"Why don't you care about me… do you know what I've been through looking for you?" Eryn cried angrily.
She had endured years of ridicule, called a fool for her obsession with these expeditions, and all the while her mother had been here.
Zalira lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry dear but I care for you… whenever I could. When you were most desperate, when you lost your teams… I was there. I carried you back toward the rescue parties, or to the portals. You never knew it, but I saved you in the shadows."
Eryn's eyes widened. "So that's why… every time I was left alone in this mountain, I somehow made it out alive. It was you who saved me?"
The truth settled over her like a weight and a balm at once.
Damen finally broke in. "So, what happens now?"
Zalira straightened. "Eryn, you must return to your father. You cannot remain here with me."
"But, Mother, I'll miss you…"
"I am not gone. You know that now." Her voice trembled with resolve.
"But I need time—to find a way to break free of this curse. When I can truly return to myself, I'll come back to Melrose City. Until then, you must go. The Veyran expedition will be leaving soon."
"How do you break free of the curse," Damen asked Zalira suddenly.
Zalira's sharp gaze lingered on him. "Come closer, boy."
He obeyed. She leaned in, her words a whisper only he could hear. "You've consumed the Eye of an ancient alien god, haven't you?"
Damen stiffened. "How… how do you know?"
Her lips curved in bitter knowing. "Your Blue Blood was raging during our fight and your Annunakin form was manifest. It was impossible not to sense it."
"Blue Blood?" Damen echoed.
"Yes. The source of all these powers. The blood of the Annunakins and the gods who walked the other worlds. It flows in you now."
"I don't understand…"
"Your strength, your speed, your healing… they are gifts of your Blue Blood. But those gifts come at a cost. Left unchecked, the blood will consume you. You'll become like me. A monster in service to your hunger."
Damen's throat tightened. "Then how do I control it?"
"Your blood bond is shallow still. Its hold on you is weak. But the more blood you feed it, the deeper its roots will run. One day, it won't be you controlling it."
"So, what then? I should avoid fighting altogether?" His voice was half anger, half despair.
"If that's what it takes to survive," she said, sorrow in her eyes.
Damen clenched his fists. "Damnit… this Eye of Ra isn't a blessing. It's a curse."
"There must be a way to control the Blue Blood," Damen pressed. "You've changed back before—from Annunakin form to human… I've seen it. Tell me how."
Zalira's expression dimmed. She hesitated, then exhaled slowly. "There is a way," she admitted.