Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) (34 page)

“
No, you’re different,” I whispered
with stoic conviction.

“
That’s because this pendant is
protecting you, Evangeline,” Caden lectured softly, reaching up to
run his finger along the silver chain, grazing my collarbone and
sending shivers through my body. “Believe me, things would be
different otherwise.”

“
You’d be fine,” I said firmly,
closing the gap between us. I slowly reached up to touch the tips
of my fingers to his chiseled jawline.

“
Evangeline, please, don’t make this
harder than it already is,” he pleaded, but then he leaned in,
letting his lips tenderly fall onto mine. My knees buckled, but
Caden’s arms were there to grip me firmly. I wasn’t going
anywhere.

It wasn’t until he pulled away that I managed a
breathe again. He rested his forehead against mine, closing his
eyes.

“
What if we find another hiding
place? Move the statue there? Rachel won’t know where we went,” I
suggested.

“
You’re brimming with ideas today,
aren’t you?” he retorted sarcastically. “Then there’d be no
incentive to keep Rachel quiet. Besides, it wouldn’t take long for
the Council to track us down.” He stepped away from me again, a sad
smile on his face. “Come on. We should get back to the
others.”

We stepped into the main cave as Bishop made a
loud crashing sound, evidently enjoying a board game Sofie had
included in the bag. And seriously annoying Fiona, based on her
irritated frown.

“
Battleship?” I asked. “Sorry. A bit
lame.”
What was Sofie thinking?

“
You’re kidding, right? This is
awesome!” Bishop countered. “If you haven’t figured it out yet,
things get boring around here.”

“
I hadn’t noticed,” I murmured,
stealing a glance at Caden.

“
Stay awhile,” Fiona muttered
absently, concentrating on the game.

“
How long have I been here now,
anyway?” I suddenly remembered that I didn’t have much control over
that.

“
Not sure, but it was morning when
you came and it’s dark now,” Amelie responded. “Tired? Hungry?” She
tapped the top of the cooler that Sofie had packed for me, full of
bottled drinks and food. Scattered untidily about the cave was
everything I had ever brought for them. The portable speakers were
perched on one of the benches, playing music softly in the
background. My mattress and sleeping bag were laid out. The two
giant Merth–stuffed mountain bags rested on the far side of it, as
far away from the group as possible without being out of
sight.

Now that Amelie mentioned it, I realized I was
both starving and exhausted from the day’s events. Rooting through
the cooler, I grabbed a chicken salad and sat down on the bench
beside Amelie. “Is the Merth bothering you?”

Her curls bobbed as she shook her head. “I
can’t sense it at all. Must be the canvas liner.” Suddenly she
hugged me. “I
so
wanted to tell you, but I was sworn to
secrecy!”

“
You knew?” I whispered.

Amelie rolled her eyes in response. “Of course
we knew.”

“
How could you keep that a secret?”
I asked, mildly irritated.

“
Oh, I’m the one keeping secrets?”
she retorted dryly, and I averted sheepish eyes. “Because Caden was
right—you were better off not knowing,” Amelie answered, showing no
sign of remorse.

Caden sat down beside me, cutting our private
conversation short.

“
Rachel should reach New Shore by
noon tomorrow if she runs,” Amelie said, fiddling with a digital
camera. She hopped to her feet. “Smile!” The flash went off as the
camera captured a picture of me with my mouth full of food. “I
wonder how long before she gives up and comes running back to her
‘Smoopy Woopy,’” she teased. Caden glared at her. I didn’t find the
reminder too amusing either. “Oh, come on. I’m your baby sis. I’m
supposed to be a constant thorn in your side,” she said
matter–of–factly, then snapped another picture.

The giant cave reverberated with another of
Bishop’s obnoxious explosion sound effects. Fiona jumped up and
whipped the small plastic boat at his face. “Have fun playing with
yourself!” she announced, adding in a spiteful tone, “In
every
way.”

“
Oh, come on, Fee! It’s not my fault
I’m just better than you at everything,” he responded in mock
innocence.

His cockiness infuriated her more. Fiona
marched over and sat down on the bench across from me, arms crossed
and brow knitted as she glowered at the fire.

“
Those two should be banned from
competing against each other,” Caden observed, smirking. “It’s the
only time you’ll see Fiona angry. I’m afraid she’ll claw his eyes
out one day.”

“
What’s the point? They’d just grow
back,” Fiona grumbled.

“
Cheese!” Amelie called cheerfully,
snapping a picture of Fiona, Caden, and I together. Likely not a
flattering snapshot.

“
Pictures usually turn out much
better when your subjects aren’t eating or brooding,” I said
casually.

“
I figured you’d want some pictures
of us to admire when you’re home,” Amelie said, then promptly stuck
out her tongue at me.

Caden laughed as he rose to go and join
Bishop.

It was my chance to pick up on the previous
conversation. “Then you also know that we’re apparently
‘impossible’ and he wants me to pretend I don’t care when Rachel is
climbing all over him,” I whispered harshly.

“
Yup!” Amelie chirped. “Don’t worry,
though. It will all work out.”

“
Well … what am I supposed to do
until then?” I asked the two female vampires.

“
Convince him otherwise,” Fiona
responded in that sultry voice.

“
What do you—” Her impish smile
silenced me. Instantly grasping her meaning, I felt myself
flush.

“
Ew … That’s my brother you’re
talking about,” Amelie moaned, feigning disgust. But then she
winked at me.

Fiona leaned back on the bench, her dour mood
giving way to uncharacteristic giddiness. “I’m still having a hard
time believing this is all happening. Where will we go? What will
we do?”

Panic set in.
What if I can’t bring them
all back?
No, I wouldn’t even consider that. It was too
painful. I brushed my fears aside. “Well, I’m sure you can stay at
Viggo and Mortimer’s. They’re quite accommodating when they need
something from you,” I said wryly. The mention of Viggo reminded me
of my mother—of her death.

“
What’s wrong?” Amelie
asked.

Caden was sitting beside me in a flash, a
concerned look on his face.

“
Well, I learned a few more things
while I was back …” I started filling them in on Ursula’s attack,
Sofie’s confession, and Max being able to talk to me. I ended with
how Viggo murdered my mother. The cave fell to silence then. “So I
guess Sofie will release her sister, one of you can bite her, and
then everyone lives happily ever after.” I smiled sadly.

“
Not a chance in hell!” Bishop
erupted.

“
There’s no way we’re helping Viggo
after what he’s done to you,” Fiona agreed, her voice
ominous.

I was already shaking my head. “I just want to
be done with all of this. With them.”

“
And you will be,” Caden’s low voice
was menacing.

I glanced at him. “I don’t want to help Viggo,
but—”

“
Then we don’t help him!” Amelie
announced firmly.

“
And what, be hunted? I’ve already
got that lunatic witch after me. I don’t need two vampires hunting
me too,” I said. “I thought the same, but it won’t change
anything.”

“
He can’t hunt you if he’s dead,”
Caden said with icy determination.

“
No! I’m not risking it. I’m not
going through all of this only to have one of you killed when we
get there.” I was almost screaming now, desperate for them to
understand how serious this was.

“
Okay, okay.” Caden’s arm went
around me.

“
I just want to be done with all
this,” I mumbled, feeling tears welling in my eyes.

“
And will they be done with you,
after all this?” Fiona asked quietly.

I shrugged. “I mean, what else could they want
with me? They’ve already murdered my mother and ruined my
life.”

“
And Sofie? You don’t seem to be too
angry with her anymore,”

A sad smile pulled at my lips. “I’m not sure,
but I think she’s been played in this mess as much as I
have.”

“
I don’t know, Evangeline,” Caden
said softly. “Sometimes I think you’re—”

“
Too trusting. I know.” I smiled.
“Sofie said the same thing.”

He nodded. His hand slid tenderly down to the
small of my back, where his thumb drew tiny circles. My appetite
for food instantly vanished, shifting to desire for something
entirely different. I gave my head a slight shake. When had I
turned into such a hormonal maniac?

The camera flashed as Amelie snapped another
picture, lifting the somber cloud I had dropped over them. “Do you
think I could pass for a high school student?” she asked
innocently. “I had so much fun in high school.”

“
That’s because you spent your days
seducing the football team and making their girlfriends jealous,”
Caden joked.

Amelie smiled smugly at him. “Well, I
am
going to do some stage theater. It’s more discrete than
film. I’ll likely have to travel around the world so I don’t have
to take fifty–year breaks. And I’ll wear wigs and contacts so I’m
not recognized,” Amelie said confidently. “You can come with me,
Fiona, be the voice behind my lip synching.”

“
Gee, that sounds like loads of fun
for me,” Fiona drawled with exaggerated annoyance, but she was
smiling.

Bishop walked over to sit beside his
girlfriend, draping his arm affectionately around her shoulders.
“She’s not going anywhere without me, and I’m sticking to the
mountains and the ocean for at least a hundred years, showing up
all those humans with my mad skills,” he announced. Fiona leaned
over to rest her head on his shoulder, all signs of anger
gone.

“
What about you?” I asked Caden
timidly, hoping his answer would be “I’ll be wherever you
are.”

He smiled wistfully. “Something
productive.”

“
And what about your … diet?” I
asked quietly.
Your desire to murder humans
.

He and the others shared glances. “It’s going
to be hard at first,” Amelie said. “But we’ll manage.”

“
Right. You’ll feed off animals,
right?”

“
Right,” Fiona said
confidently.

I exhaled in relief. “So you’ll be
fine.”

Caden chuckled wryly. “Not quite.” My brow
creased with worry, and he sighed. “Imagine the smell of ground
beef frying in a pan on the stove. It’s edible enough, right? You
can survive off it fine. You may even convince yourself that you
like
it.”

I did like it, actually, but I decided now
wasn’t the time to divulge that.

“
Now, imagine walking down the
street on the first warm day of spring, only to catch the aroma of
a big, fat, juicy steak grilling on a barbeque.”

“
Oh,” I moaned, recalling the
countless times I had been tortured with that exact mouth–watering
situation.

“
Now multiply that by about a
million,” Caden added, not a hint of exaggeration in his
voice.

“
How are you going to fight that?” I
whispered.

“
That’s what I’ve been trying to
tell you, Evangeline,” he said softly.

“
Rachel!” Bishop hissed, flying off
the bench.

I blinked, startled by the sudden change of
topic.

“
How?” Fiona asked, shock in her
eyes.

Caden’s hand moved from my back a second before
I caught sight of raven black hair flying into the cave.

Rachel was back.