Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) (24 page)

I stood awkwardly holding the rod. “Okay … what
do I do now?” I inspected the metal contraption at the end of the
long pole.
A reel,
Caden informed me.

“
Well, first, you put one of these
on.” Bishop picked something up off the ground beside him and
grabbed my free hand. He placed a six–inch leech into my palm. It
began wiggling and I shrieked, shaking the slimy thing off my hand.
“Poor little fella.” Bishop stooped down to pick the disgusting
thing up. Grabbing the end of my line, he jabbed the barbed hook
through its body several times. It writhed furiously, trying to
escape.

I screwed up my face in disgust.

Bishop snickered. “You’re such a
girl.”

Fiona glanced over. “Bishop, seriously, you are
so juvenile sometimes.” She rolled her eyes at me.
“Sorry.”

Bishop squatted beside Caden, who already had a
line in the water. Caden chuckled. “So
those
leeches are
terrifying.”

“
Not terrifying, repulsive. Two
entirely
different things,” I clarified, bending down to
wipe the leech gunk off my hand on some leaves. I straightened and
regarded my rod. “Okay, I’m in need of a lesson.”

Caden seemed happy to oblige, using his own rod
to demonstrate how to cast and reel in.

“
Looks simple enough,” I said and
got ready to cast. My bandaged hand made things
difficult.

Caden held up his hands. “Wait.”

I froze, assuming his vampire senses noticed
something in the water.

“
Wait … hold on … okay, now! And put
your whole body into it,” he commanded.

I complied with his instructions, swinging the
rod back over my right shoulder before casting forward with all my
strength. But my hook lodged in something behind me, at the same
time that a howl of protest made me whirl.

Bishop stood wincing, the sharp metal barb
through his left earlobe. I gasped, tears welling. “I’m so
sorry!”

Beside me, Caden and Fiona were doubled over in
laughter. Caden straightened and strolled over to inspect the hook.
“Nice catch!” he called back to me, winking.

I rushed forward with the intention of begging
forgiveness but stopped short, cringing, as Bishop yanked the hook
out of his ear, tearing a sizeable chunk of flesh out with it. I
expected blood to start gushing but the wound immediately closed
up, leaving his ear looking unscathed.

“
Pay more attention next time!”
Caden lectured Bishop, giving him a whack on his back.

“
Fiona was distracting me with—”
Bishop stopped, realizing he was the dupe in a joint effort by
Caden and her. “You’ll pay for that later, woman,” he threatened
Fiona, though he was grinning when he said it. “My new shirt’s
ruined now!” He rubbed the sleeve where a few drops of blood had
landed.

I stood there, wide–eyed with both amazement
and horror.

“
Don’t worry, Bishop’s fine,” Caden
said, strolling over to gently squeeze my shoulder. “It’s next to
impossible to catch one of us unaware like that.
Impressive.”

“
What was Fiona distracting him
with?” I asked, frowning. But then I saw the devilish smile she
gave him and his answering grin, and I had a good idea what it was.
I turned away, flushing.

Caden cast his hook into the water and seated
himself on a boulder. I followed suit, glancing around to check for
snakes. “So how long have they been together?”

“
They met during the war. Bishop had
just been turned and he was lost. It’s not a natural process, the
transition to what we are. He likely would have been killed in the
war, had Fiona not taken to him. She took him under her wing,
helped him. They’ve been together ever since.”

“
Wow. Seven hundred years? That’s a
long time to be with one person.”

Caden smirked. “For a human, yes. Human desires
change with age. People outgrow one another. It’s different with
us. Every day with Fiona feels like the first day Bishop met
her—the sparks, butterflies, all that.”

“
Butterflies … I thought that was a
chick thing,” I muttered.

“
No, definitely not,” Caden
murmured, glancing peculiarly at me before turning back to his
rod.

“
What about you and Amelie? Were you
… turned in the war?”

Caden shook his head. “An attack about forty
years before the war.” He paused. “I was twenty–four. Amelie was
twenty–one. Our parents ran a horse ranch, thoroughbreds—The
Jennings Resort for Horses, some called it. One night we heard this
awful sound coming from the barn. My father grabbed his shotgun,
expecting to scare off some thieves. When we hadn’t heard from him
for too long, I grabbed another gun and headed out. Amelie and our
mother followed with flashlights. We got to one of the barns and …”
Caden’s voice fell; he stared out at the placid water. “There were
rumors of strange things happening at cattle and horse farms but
nothing could have prepared us … Every horse in that barn was dead,
their throats torn out, blood sprayed over the walls, the
hay—everything. Mom and Amelie ran to get the police while I
checked out the other barns, looking for my father …” Caden’s voice
drifted off and he sat for a moment, deep in thought. “I found him
lying beside one of his prize–winning stallions. And that’s where
they
found me—I never even saw a face.”

I noticed the tip of his fishing rod dip, but
Caden didn’t seem too concerned.

“
They decided Amelie and I were too
appealing to waste—we’d make good additions.” His voice was edged
with bitterness.

“
I’m so sorry, Caden,” I said
softly. And I was. It pained me to know that he and Amelie had
suffered so.

He gazed down at his hands, a haunted smile on
his face. “Do you realize that’s the first time I’ve ever heard
those words from anyone?”

My heart sank. I wanted to wrap my arms around
him, to comfort him, to take his grief away.

I glanced over to the others as Amelie leapt
into the air, squealing with excitement about the fish dangling at
the end of her hook.

“
So … Caden Jennings,” I said aloud.
Evangeline Jennings,
the voice in my head said. I shook my
head, feeling foolish.

He sighed. “In another time, yes. Amelie is all
that’s left of my family. At least we found Bishop and
Fiona.”

What about Rachel?

I noticed that the pile of fish had grown
quickly as we talked. There was enough there to supply a
supermarket. “So Bishop’s pet is going to eat all of those?” I
nodded at the silvery mound. “How big is this pet,
exactly?”

The end of my rod dipped, followed by a second,
then a third tug—the last one sharp. “I think I caught something!”
I whispered, as if speaking too loud would let the fish know he was
ensnared on a sharp hook.
Like he’s not already well aware of
that.

“
Reel it in!” Caden exclaimed. As if
in response, the tugging became fierce and frantic. It was all I
could do to grip the rod in my injured hand. Caden reached around
me and placed his hands over mine, helping me wind the reel.
“Almost,” he murmured, his mouth close enough that his voice
tickled my ear.

I’m going to pass out,
I thought,
feeling a strange excitement ripple through my body. By the time
the line was out of the water, I was too busy trying to stop my
hands from trembling under his to notice a fish three times the
size of the others dangling off my hook.

“
Big Brown’s gonna love that one!”
Bishop hollered.

“
Who’s Big Brown?” I croaked,
allowing myself to release the breath I’d unknowingly held during
the entire ordeal.

“
He is,” Bishop said, jerking his
chin toward someone behind me.

I turned, expecting to see another cat.
Instead, a grizzly bear with fur the color of milk chocolate
lumbered toward us, equivalent in size to a young elephant I’d once
seen at the Portland Zoo. It was eyeing the prize at the end of my
rod—or me; I wasn’t exactly sure which yet. My mouth opened to
scream but no sound came out.

“
It’s okay,” Caden whispered calmly,
pulling me closer to him, his other arm slowly wrapping
protectively around me. “No sudden movements and it’ll be
okay.”

I couldn’t move if I wanted to. Caden’s arms
were like a vise. “He’s big,” I managed to whisper. Big enough to
slice me into six pieces with one swing of his paw. The ground
shook as the bear neared us. I tasted bile in my throat. “I’m going
to be sick,” I groaned, wanting to give Caden some warning. I
turned my face, praying he was out of range. I’d rather be torn
apart by this beast than puke on Caden.

Big Brown stooped to sniff the fish on my line
and then, with one lightning–quick chomp, bit the thing right off
the line and swallowed it whole—hook, leech, and all. He continued
on to the pile of fish behind Amelie and devoured it in mere
seconds. No one moved.

With that pile done, he ambled over to stand in
front of Bishop, stooping so that their eyes were level. After a
minute–long menacing stare–down, Big Brown simply turned and
barreled away, disappearing within seconds.

“
No signs of anyone coming,” Bishop
said. “He can tell you’re not one of us,” he added, looking at
me.

“
So he’s like Scout. And Max,” I
confirmed.

“
Yes, only less predictable,” Caden
answered, his arms dropping from their protective embrace around
me.

I took that as my signal to slide away from
him, to allow for the appropriate amount of space. I began inching
away.

“
You seem cold. If you’re warmer
next to me, you should stay put.”

I bit my lower lip. Before catching the fish, I
had been contemplating taking off my pink fleece hoody. Even in the
shadows of the trees, the air was muggy. “I
am
a bit
cold,” I lied, faking a shiver. Caden turned his attention back to
the river, a knowing smirk on his face.
Could he tell I’m
lying?
“So …
that’s
Big Brown,” I said, changing the
topic.

Caden chuckled. “It’ll take some time before he
lets you rub his belly.”

“
And he eats fish? He’ll need a lot
more than that pile.”

“
That’s just it. He’s a bottomless
pit. I think he’s devoured half the deer population around here in
a few weeks; we’ll be fighting with him over food soon enough.
Bishop didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He should have
stuck with wolves; even a cougar would have been a wiser choice.
This one’s a lot more work to feed and
much
more difficult
to convert.”

“
Really? Don’t you just have to bite
them?”

Caden chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s the
same process as converting a human—with venom—but grizzlies fight
back and they’re vicious. More than likely, the animal will rip you
to shreds before you can pump enough venom into him. You’ll heal,
of course, but … It took Bishop three tries. You should have seen
him.” Caden released another chuckle. “He was practically naked
when he stumbled into the cave, his clothing bloody and shredded to
pieces.”

My eyes went wide. “Well, why would he do it,
then?”

Caden paused, choosing his words. “Cougars and
wolves make fierce allies. They’re quick, fierce, and follow
command like a programmed soldier. They usually travel in packs,
making it easier to take down a vampire if they have to. Their
teeth are strong enough to tear him or her apart and then carry the
heart to us so we can burn it.” He stopped talking, a funny smirk
on his face. “You’re looking at me like I have two heads,” he
commented.

“
I’m sorry … heart?”

He grinned. “Yes, we still do have hearts in
here.” He thumped a fist against his chest. “All of our organs are
still there. I guess they’re basically ornaments now, though.
Useless. Except our heart.”

“
Don’t forget to tell her about that
other organ that still serves a useful purpose,” Bishop boomed.
“You know, our—”

Fiona cut him off with a swift whack across the
chest. “You’re a regular Casanova,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Behind her, Amelie was giggling.

“
So, your heart still works?” I
blurted, getting flustered as I realized what Bishop was about to
say.

Caden was shaking his head, eyes downcast,
smiling to himself. I wasn’t sure if it was at my loss of composure
or at Bishop’s brazenness. “
Our heart
,” he began again,
glancing over at Bishop, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat,
“still beats and pumps blood through our veins. As long as our
heart remains within our bodies, we can regenerate. And it’s
strong. Piercing it with a wooden stake or a sword won’t kill us,
unless the weapon is on fire. That’s the only definite way to kill
one of us—burn our heart, either with our body or on its own. If
you can get it out of us, that is.”

“
Once,” Amelie spoke up, “I saw a
vampire’s head get cut off and thrown aside. A few minutes later,
the body stumbled around, looking for it. When it picked it up and
‘plugged’ it back in, all the flesh mended itself. Good as
new.”