Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) (26 page)

When I learned that “stretching” meant doing a
swan dive off a twenty foot–high boulder into a shallow part of the
pool where jagged rocks peppered the bottom, I politely declined. I
instead dove under, swimming toward the center of the
lake.

Something brushed lightly against my leg. I
turned to see Caden beside me, giving me an open–mouth grin,
reminding me that I was the only one who had to resurface for
air
.
We both surfaced.

“
Follow me. I want to show you
something,” he said. I nodded eagerly, willing to follow him into
the pits of hell. “Big breath, okay?”

I nodded again. We dove under and Caden grabbed
my hand and began towing me, swimming effortlessly. Down, down we
descended, flying through the water at high speed. As the lake
floor dropped beneath us, swallowing us whole, I began to think the
pits of hell was exactly where we were headed. Soon I couldn’t even
see my arms in the darkness enveloping me. Caden must have sensed
my agitation because he drew me closer, one of his arms wrapping
around my waist to pull my back against his chest. Now I had two
things to freak out over—the paralyzing darkness and Caden’s
proximity.

I sensed a directional change. And then we
finally surfaced. Spent air burst from my mouth and I inhaled
loudly. Luckily I had been so focused on his hand against my
ribcage that I forgot about panicking over my need for
air.

“
Too bad the pendant can’t breathe
for you,” he said into my ear, still holding me tightly.

“
Yeah, that’d be helpful.” My voice
broke. “Where are we?” I looked up at moonlight shining down
through a circle of night sky—a gaping hole, I realized—to
illuminate the placid lake and a powerful waterfall maybe thirty
feet high, far down on the other side of this particular
spot.

“
We’re on the other side of the
mountain, near the ocean.”

Caden’s arms slid from my body. I turned to see
him already out of the water, standing on a rock ledge that
extended the full length of the cave wall. The black and gray swim
trunks that Sofie had chosen for him sat low on his hips, revealing
the defined, muscular shape of his abdomen and pelvic bones. A fine
line of hair crept all the way down his stomach, disappearing under
the waistband of his trunks …

“
Evangeline?” The sound of my name
snapped me from my blatant gawking. I turned away quickly, heat
crawling up my neck.
You’re such a pervert, Evangeline.
It
took a moment to regain my composure. When I finally felt brave
enough to look back, Caden was grinning at me, not the least bit
uncomfortable. He offered his hand. “Here.”

I took it, and he effortlessly yanked me out
into icy air. My body tensed with the cold. I briefly considered
jumping back into the water but Caden’s grip on my hand tightened.
“Come on.” Caden began walking briskly along the ledge, tugging me
along.

“
Where are we going?” I
asked.

“
I want to show you
something.”

We walked to the other side of the cave and
stopped by the ferocious waterfall, the sound of its rushing water
reminding me of Viggo and Mortimer’s jet engine. Caden turned and
said something.

“
Pardon?” I yelled.

He leaned in close, his mouth next to my ear.
“You need to hold on tight.” I nodded, squeezing his hand.
Chuckling with amusement, he yanked me toward him until our chests
were touching. My heart started pounding. I heard myself suck in
air as he again moved his mouth next to my ear. “Close your eyes
and put your face against my chest.” The vibrations from his words
tickled my skin, making my heart pound harder. “You feeling okay?”
His voice was innocent enough.

“
Yup,” I said, annoyed with the
telltale thumping in my chest.
How can he not know
? Could
this vampire be
that
oblivious? Maybe he could be, thanks
to my necklace.

“
Are you sure?”

More vibrations causing more tickling causing
more pounding. My breathing became raspy. Unable to speak, I
instead nodded and buried my face in his chest, expecting to pass
out.

His body shook. Was he laughing? He leaned in
to speak to me again. “Wrap your arms around me.”

I locked my arms around his back, feeling his
smooth skin and rigid muscles. His strong arms lifted my body,
squeezing tightly. The ground suddenly disappeared from beneath us.
And at that moment I realized Caden’s intention. We were jumping
through
that giant, ferocious waterfall.

The torrent of water hit us, beating down on
every muscle in my shoulders and back and effortlessly driving my
hands apart. Thankfully my bare feet were touching hard ground
before I had a chance to panic.

“
You can come out now,” Caden
whispered.

I pulled my face away from the comfortable nook
I had located in his chest.

“
I figured it was best not to tell
you what we were doing,” he explained, looking sheepish.

“
Good call,” I muttered, allowing
only a fleeting scowl.
I can’t be mad at you.

He smiled—such a sweet, genuine smile—then
nodded to something behind us. I turned. And squinted at a sea of
silver, thousands of metallic, ropelike vertical strands glowing
brilliantly in the darkness of a wide tunnel. They swayed
gracefully back and forth as if being coerced by a gentle breeze
that never touched my skin. They had to be at least three feet
high, growing in round clumps right out of the bedrock.

Stepping forward, awe slowing my feet, I
reached out to touch one of the strands. It was soft and pliable,
like yarn. My eyes widened. I knew what it was.

“
T
his is how
Merth grows?” I whispered, turning to Caden.

He shrugged. “Guess so. None of us have ever
seen it like this before. It’s next to impossible to find. The
Council’s been hunting for it since the war. We knew Jethro had
some, but didn’t know where he got it from. It’s why he was so
territorial about this place. I’ll bet there are groves of this
stuff in these mountains.”

The mention of the Council reminded me of
Rachel. “So … will Rachel tell the Council about it?”
And about
me?

Caden sighed loudly. “We’re not telling her
about this.” He closed the gap between us, his expression serious.
He reached up to delicately touch my cheek. The gesture made my
heart begin hammering erratically in my chest. “She’s not going to
tell them about you. I’m making sure of that.” I caught the sudden
twitch in his cheek, like he was trying not to wince.

“
What’s wrong?”

He dropped his hand, moving away from me.
“Being around this much Merth is painful. But I wanted to show you.
If we can figure out a way to get some out, you should take it back
with you … for protection.”

I suddenly remembered. “Sofie asked me to bring
back as much as I can. I don’t know why,” I added when I saw his
questioning look.

His jaw tightened. “What is that witch not
telling you?”

Probably as much as I’m not telling
you,
I thought guiltily. Watching him wince in pain just so he
could show me a way to shield myself from him and his kind, my need
for secrecy and protection vanished instantly. “I can bring you
back with me,” I blurted.

Caden’s eyes widened in alarm. “What? You
said—”

“
I lied! But I’m telling you now.
There is a way to take you back.”

“
How do you know?”

“
Sofie told me.”

Caden sneered, his doubt obvious. But then he
must have had a thought, because his face turned grim. “Take who
back, exactly?”

They really don’t miss anything, do
they.
I swallowed. “Well, that’s the problem; I don’t know how
or who I can bring back—”

Caden cut me off. “Don’t say a word to the
others about this.”

“
Because I may not be able to bring
them back with me?”

“
Yes, exactly. It wouldn’t be
fair.”

“
But if I can figure out how, then
you can come back with me.”

“
No!” Horror made it a shout. I
jumped back, and he softened his tone. “I mean, it doesn’t matter
if one of us goes or all of us go
…”
He chewed his lip as
if deliberating what to say. “We haven’t been exposed to human
blood in over seven hundred years,” he began, then paused to clear
his throat, which had turned hoarse. “That necklace disguises what
you are here, right?” I nodded. “But you said that, in your world,
it’s useless. These vampire friends of yours can smell your blood,
sense your emotions, all that.”

Again, I nodded and his jade eyes locked with
mine, turning hard as he spoke again, slowly and deliberately.
“What do you think will happen when one of us is exposed to the
scent of human blood—a scent that drives us to kill with more
intensity than you could ever possibly imagine—for the first time
in seven hundred years?”

I pursed my lips, beginning to understand where
the conversation was going.

He didn’t stop there, though. “And which human
will be in close proximity?” His left eyebrow arched, and I
swallowed. “You wouldn’t stand a chance. You’d be dead before you
knew what was going on.” Caden grimaced.

“
But you could control yourself,
couldn’t you?”

“
No, Evangeline.” Caden shook his
head, dismissing my faith in him. “You don’t understand how
powerful this need for blood is.” He stepped away from me and began
pacing. “When Amelie was still human, she had a boyfriend. They’d
been dating for three years. She loved the guy. He was a bit of a
wanker in my opinion, but … I’m her older brother so I’m supposed
to be hard on boyfriends. Anyway, when she was turned, she made the
mistake of going to see him. I don’t know what she was thinking.
Well, I do. She wanted to see him. She
had
to see
him.”

“
What happened? Was he scared off?”
I asked.

“
No … Well, he might have been if
she ever had the chance to tell him. Between her thirst for his
blood and her overwhelming desire for him, she couldn’t control
herself.” Caden looked down at his hands. “She killed him. Drained
him of every last drop of blood.”

I gasped. “Poor Amelie!”

Caden barked laughter, shaking his head at me.
“Poor Amelie? What about poor wanker?” He sighed, stopping in front
of me. “Amelie lives with that guilt every day, as strong now as it
was seven hundred years ago. I couldn’t live with myself if I did
that to you.” His fingertip brushed my cheek, raw pain momentarily
flashing in his eyes.

I swallowed and—I don’t know where the bravery
came from—timidly moved my fingertips up to touch his, where they
rested on my cheek. Or tried to, anyway. My hand was trembling
enough to mimic a Parkinson’s patient.

He abruptly grabbed my hand, panic marring his
gorgeous features. “Oh God! You’re freezing! Why didn’t you say
anything?”

I
was
freezing, I realized—but that
wasn’t why I was trembling. Either way, I wasn’t going to admit
it.

“
Let’s go.” He tugged me after him,
his jaw taut.

“
Go” meant jumping through the
waterfall again, something I didn’t exactly enjoy, but I was easily
mollified by burying my face in Caden’s chest again. Once through,
he swung me up into his arms with ease, cradling me like a small
child. “There’s another way,” he murmured and began running down an
unseen tunnel—completely dark—at warp speed.

It took only minutes to get back to the others,
but my teeth were chattering uncontrollably by the time we arrived.
Caden leapt into the natural hot tub where we had started, me still
snug in his arms. At first the shock of the heat felt like a
million tiny prickles against my skin, and I winced with the sting.
When I saw Caden’s pained expression, though, I fought hard to
smooth my face.

Caden refused to let go, holding me tightly as
he apologized repeatedly, “I didn’t realize how cold the air was
for you. I forgot about—I’m an idiot!”

“
It’s ok–k–kay, I’m warming up–p
now,” I said between chattering teeth, trying to ease his
conscience.

“
No, it’s not okay! You’re stiff as
a board!” he exclaimed.

A burst of laughter escaped before I sucked it
in. It was the feel of his bare, muscular abs against my ribcage
and
something else
against my hip that was preventing my
body from relaxing.

“
I should have known better,” he
continued. “It’s bad enough that you have to worry about being
attacked by vampires, now you may die of hypothermia.” His hand
furiously rubbed his brow.

“
Thanks for showing me th–the Merth.
It’s b–beautiful, even though it’s d–dangerous to you,” I
continued, attempting to distract him.

He heaved a huge sigh, then frowned at me.
“You’re allowed to get angry.”

“
It won’t accomplish anything,” I
answered, smiling at him. “B–besides, it was fun.” I averted my
gaze shyly.