Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) (42 page)

Wait, not twenty. Nineteen.

I stood and turned to face Mage, fear making my
movements robotic. Swallowing the giant lump in my throat, I took a
deep breath. “I know how to do it. I know how to bring us all
back.”

“
No! Don’t! They’re monsters!
They’ll destroy your world!” Amelie screamed.

In the next instant I saw her folding over as
Jonah’s knee delivered a powerful blow to her stomach. Caden lunged
at the mutant, growling deeply. Jonah was ready for him, though,
easily sidestepping the attack and countering with a thrust of his
own, sending Caden flying backward into the throng of Council
members. Eyes lit with malicious pleasure, and seven sets of hands
reached for him.

“
Stop right now or none of you will
ever leave this place,” someone warned in a steady voice. As
nineteen pairs of eyes turned to regard me, I realized that
I
had spoken, drawing the courage to do so from somewhere
deep within myself.

The threat worked. They shifted away from
Caden, giving him plenty of space.

I turned back to Mage. “On one condition,
though, and it’s non–negotiable,” I stipulated, mustering as much
courage as possible, praying she couldn’t see past the mask of
bravado to the human who was about to pee her pants in terror.
Making demands on vampires was likely a fatal proposition, but I
had little to lose.

Mage’s eyes narrowed. “Continue,” she ordered
through a tight–lipped smile.

“
The only way I’ll do this is
without Rachel.”

Mage’s relaxed laughter echoed through the
barren room. “Is that all? Of course. She’s more trouble than she’s
worth.” She held out her hand and I shook it, feeling the
comfortable warmth of her delicate skin and wondering if making a
deal with the devil felt like this.

I glanced over at the motionless lump that was
Rachel, expecting to see her icy, penetrating glare still boring
into me. But she had turned her focus on Mage, her eyes filled with
hurt and shock. I guess she had never expected to be cast aside so
easily.

So it was settled …

I looked at Caden and the others then, and saw
eyes filled with trepidation.
It’ll be okay,
I tried to
convey with my expression.

“
So, how do you do it?” Jonah
asked.

I opened my mouth to explain and promptly shut
it. No, I wasn’t going to give them any more information than
necessary. That was one request Sofie made that I would listen to,
at least.

“
Everyone step forward and place a
hand on the statue,” I instructed.

All fifteen Council members instantly appeared
around the statue, eagerness shining in their vibrant eyes. Only my
four vampires dragged their feet as they moved grudgingly toward
us.

“
Hurry up, or we’ll be going without
you!” Jonah snapped.

“
No, we won’t,” I answered smoothly.
Where is this nerve coming from?

His cold white eyes darted to me and I saw
surprise flicker in his face before it smoothed over. With a slight
nod and a wink, he turned his eyes back to his hand on the statue.
Unease stirred in me, and not just because of his hideous face.
There was meaning in that wink. He probably wanted to kill me, but
he couldn’t. That knowledge brought me little comfort.

My four vampires finally reached the statue,
Jonah considerately shifting to make room for Caden beside me. I
reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, the need to be connected
with him uncontrollable. He leaned in. “Is there no other
way?”

I shook my head. “It’ll be okay,” I whispered
back. “Sofie’s prepared.”

“
I don’t think she’s prepared for
this …” he muttered, his apprehensive eyes flitting over the crowd
around the statue.

“
Don’t worry,” I offered feebly,
desperate to be done with all of this. I raised my voice again.
“Okay now, everyone just … stay right where you are,” I instructed,
my eyes on my four vampires to ensure they heard me. “Don’t move.”
I didn’t know if not moving was a requirement, but I wasn’t taking
any chances.

Nineteen vampires leaned closer toward the
statue, their palms splayed on the statue. They must have been
thinking the same thing. I could feel their anxiety and excitement
lying over me like a heavy blanket. After seven hundred years, they
would be in a world of humans again. My heart started pounding
against my chest as hysteria briefly overwhelmed me.
I can’t
believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m unleashing this on my
world!

“
You okay?” Caden asked. I glanced
over, finding calm in those spectacular jade eyes.

Everything would be fine. It had to be done.
With a nod and a smile, I knelt and inched the pendant I gripped in
my trembling hand toward the statue’s stone hand. Toward the
portal.

As it approached its intended resting place,
the heart of the pendant began shimmering a dazzling bluish–green,
like sunlight cast over tropical waters. Like Caden’s eyes. The icy
cold faded to a perfectly comfortable temperature. I fumbled as I
struggled to fit the pendant within the statue’s fingertips. It
didn’t want to fit. Maybe I had misunderstood somehow?
Maybe—

I heard a click.

“
Now what?” Mage asked in a whisper,
her eyes wide.

Frozen in a crouch so I wouldn’t dislodge the
pendant, I murmured, “Now we wait.”
Please let this work,
I prayed.
Don’t let there be any more pieces to this
puzzle.
This group didn’t seem like a patient lot. They’d be
peeling the skin off my arms soon if this didn’t work.

The seconds dragged on and my agitation
increased. I was all but convinced I had misinterpreted the
pendant’s message when a wave of fatigue hit me. Recognizing the
call back to Earth, I glanced at Caden, then at Amelie, Bishop, and
Fiona. I could see it in their eyes—they felt it! Glancing around
at the Council, I saw their confusion and panic; they’d gone too
many years without experiencing weariness. “It’s working!” I
whispered breathlessly.

Looking up at Caden, I saw his eyes fixed
adoringly on me. His lips moved as he mouthed,
I love
you
.

Despite the current circumstances, my heart
skipped a few beats. I opened my mouth to return the
sentiment—

And watched in horror as he flew backward to
crash into the rubble a hundred feet from me, hurled away from the
statue by a still smugly grinning Jonah. Hurled away from
salvation. Away from me.

“
No!” I shrieked as Amelie dashed to
her brother.

They weren’t going to make it back in time.
Within every fiber of my being, I knew this. None of this was worth
it if I didn’t have them.

I groped frantically for my pendant, intent on
yanking it out—

A cloudless blue sky hung beyond the glass
ceiling above me. I was lying on the cobblestone path in the
atrium, beside Veronique’s tomb, the dreadful image of Caden flying
away and Amelie chasing after him still vivid in my mind. I
clambered to my feet, needing to see those two faces. Knowing I’d
want to die if I didn’t.

I found Viggo and Mortimer first. They were
sitting at their bistro table, motionless, their eyes round with
panic. Sofie was standing beside them, her pale, minty eyes darting
about wildly. I followed her gaze.

There were bodies everywhere.

I had wanted four. I had expected nineteen. But
there were more. So many more. Creamy pale, beautiful faces lay in
repose on the cobblestone paths and in the flower gardens. There
had to be a hundred, at least, and none of them were moving.
Yet.

“
What have you gone and done?”
Mortimer whispered slowly, clearly in shock.

“
It wasn’t supposed to be like
this,” I stammered, shaking my head shaking back and forth in
vigorous denial.

“
I warned you two about unexpected
outcomes, didn’t I?” Sofie muttered, her tone surprisingly calm,
given the disastrous situation. The four of us were standing in a
minefield of comatose vampires.

The sound of shattering glass drew my attention
upward in time to see a sleek black body sailing through the air
from a fifth–floor balcony. Max landed beside me with the agility
of a cat. The other dogs tore out the door of the mansion and
surrounded me in seconds. Leo rushed out close behind
them.

“
I’m not sure how much help you’re
going to be, Maximus,” Mortimer murmured.

So many vampires. So many vampires who might go
ballistic as soon as they caught a whiff of my blood.

“
Sofie, the talisman?” I reminded
her in a sharp, desperate whisper.

She faltered, anguish in her eyes. “You weren’t
supposed to be back yet,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry,
Evangeline.”

My jaw dropped.

“
Evangeline, come here—now,” Viggo
hissed, his voice revealing fright for the first time
ever.

“
No! Don’t move. Not an inch,” Sofie
immediately countered, her hand held out to stay me, her eyes
riveted on a stirring body.

Bodies began to twitch and jerk then, gradually
rising like corpses coming to life in a cheesy horror flick. Their
vivid eyes darted wildly about—surveying; orienting
themselves.

A low murmur rose from Sofie. A
chant.

“
What are you doing?” Mortimer
hissed, frowning.

She ignored him.

Someone else joined in, amplifying the low
chant—a male voice, from somewhere behind me. I turned to see who
it was but a body lying bound by silvery cords on the cobblestones
distracted me. Rachel. How did she get here? She hadn’t been
anywhere near the statue! If
she
made it …

My heart started racing as I scanned the
crowd.

I found Caden and Amelie ten feet away—the two
faces I feared I would never see again. Fiona and Bishop were close
by as well. I cried out, and tears of joy began streaking down my
face. They had made it! Caden and my three dear friends had been
rescued from their hell. At that moment, I didn’t care about the
other hundred vampires. Viggo and Mortimer could deal with
them.

I heard the sudden rush of flames as a ring of
fire erupted around Veronique’s statue. Sofie must have started it.
I didn’t care. They could deal with that too.

I watched Caden’s eyes hopefully, waiting
impatiently for him to fully comprehend where he was. They were
wild with confusion at first, but then I saw the glimmer of
comprehension. He smiled as his eyes fell on mine. His smile grew
wider. I exhaled heavily, relief flooding my body. I wanted to run
toward him, to leap into his arms, to feel his body pressed against
mine again.

His nostrils flared as he inhaled
deeply.

An inkling of fear stirred …

I watched as his lips curled back in a snarl,
then his face contorted into a horrific mixture of pleasure and
anguish. He was gritting his teeth tightly, as if fighting an
unbearable urge. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut. When they
opened, his beautiful jade eyes were gone, swallowed by fully
dilated pupils, with only a narrow rim of jade around those giant
black circles. The whites of his eyes had turned crimson, the tiny
white veins in them pulsating. They were the eyes of a thirsty
vampire.

Max’s responding growl raised the short hairs
on my neck.

Caden didn’t even acknowledge the threat of the
dog. Those demonic eyes locked on me. He took a faltering step—and
then he lunged.

Max intercepted, leaping for Caden’s chest at
the same time that I screamed, “No!”

M
y earsplitting scream faded
to a dull moan as I glanced around, bewildered by my new
surroundings. I was sitting in a large, comfortable chair in front
of a bay window. Everything outside was white and green—snow and
trees. Towering snow–capped mountains and an endless ocean of
evergreens. No atrium. No friends. No pit of vampires, ready to
tear me into a million pieces.

No Caden.

“
Not again, Sofie!” I wailed,
flopping back into the chair. I felt my forehead crease and I
squeezed my eyes tightly shut, but the tears still found a way out,
rolling down my cheeks in a steady stream.
Another world,
another twist to this never–ending curse
.
Is this another
one of Sofie’s unexpected outcomes?