Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) (39 page)

“
So this family doesn’t know?” There
was no way that sweet girl was frolicking into a house of vampires
by choice.

Oh, they know
.

I did a double–take, my eyes growing wide with
shock, earning another deep grunt from Max.
And my stellar
intuition strikes out again,
I thought bitterly. “They must be
charming,” I muttered sarcastically.
A real bunch of
philanthropists
. But, whatever. They weren’t my problem. I had
enough problems.

I found a relatively hidden spot in the garden
beside a giant broad–leafed plant.
Not that I can hide from
vampires and sorceresses,
I mused.
But, still …
I sat
down on the low concrete retaining wall to replay those three
amazing words Caden had whispered to me before I disappeared.
Had I heard them right? And were they real?

Everything was happening so quickly. Just days
ago I was desperate to be in the same room as Caden and now he was
telling me that he loved me. And I could lose him forever if I
didn’t solve this curse. That awful feeling of dread flared up
again. I wrapped my arms around my body, hugging myself tightly. My
elbow rubbed against something bulky in my pocket. I reached in and
pulled out the digital camera. Amelie must have snuck it
in!

Butterflies stirred in my stomach. I hit the
power button and began flipping through the files. There were
hundreds. Amelie had filled the super–sized memory card. Their
beautiful faces were there, smiling and excited over the prospect
of being rescued from their hell. I scrolled to an image of Caden
and my heart started racing. He was as gorgeous as ever. I ran my
finger over his image.

“
Is that Caden?” Sofie’s voice
murmured in my ear.

I let out a small squeal and the camera fumbled
from my hands. Luckily Sofie, with catlike reflexes, caught it in
mid–air before it could smash against the cobblestones.

“
Sorry.” She took a seat next to me.
“Here. Delivery from Martha.” She produced a heaping plate of
waffles under an even bigger mountain of whip cream, along with a
bowl of fresh raspberries.

“
Isn’t there a fairytale about a
witch who fattens up children in order to eat them?” I mused
dryly.

“
These raspberries are especially
juicy. Eat up, Gretel … I mean, Evangeline,” she said, followed by
an exaggerated cackle. Despite my foul mood, I smirked.

While I ate my waffles—a bizarre meal to have
in the late evening—Sofie flipped through the pictures, snorting
and laughing frequently. A large part of me wanted to wrench the
camera away to protect my friends’ identities, but I restrained
myself. I was starving.

“
They seem like a fun group.” I
nodded. “Who’s this?” Sofie held the camera out to show me someone
tethered and tucked into a corner. The image was dark but I could
see the glow of hatred in the yellow eyes as if they were still
watching me.

I gasped and started choking on a piece of
waffle. When I had cleared my throat, I managed to croak, “Rachel.”
Amelie must have snuck back and taken a picture at some point.
“Erase it. Please.” I shuddered.

Sofie studied it for a moment longer.
“Deleting.” She pressed a few buttons and the horrible image was
gone.

I let go of the breath I had been holding but
that dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach was still there. I
was still afraid.
We
s
hould have burned
her.

There was a moment of awkward silence. “I’m
sure she deserved it,” Sofie finally said.

“
She did! We couldn’t have her
coming here. She’s a murderer.”
And she was hampering my time
with Caden,
I added silently.

“
No, you’re right. We don’t want an
ancient blood–crazy vampire here,” she said, adding under her
breath, “We already have two of them under this roof.”

A few more minutes of silence passed and then I
asked what I had been dreading. “They can do it, can’t they? Not
live off humans?”

Sofie’s hands dropped to her lap. It was a
moment before she spoke. “Some of our kind fight the urge right
from the beginning, isolating themselves from humans and feeding
only off four–legged animals. They convince themselves that this
makes them good and moral, not monsters. But all it does is make
them that much more uncontrollable once they’ve tasted human blood.
Somewhere along the way, every vampire will lose the battle. It’s
inevitable. And when they do … Evangeline, you’ve only ever seen
highly controlled vampires. Viggo … Mortimer … me. We’re
experienced. But the new ones … they’re … something else. It’s a
horrifying sight that will etch itself in your memory forever,” she
warned quietly, her jaw tensing. “It may seem contradictory but the
best way to control your urge for human blood is to, at first,
succumb to it. Then, if the resolve is strong enough, you’ll learn
to manage the craving. The downside is that the euphoria from
feeding off fresh human blood has a funny way of diminishing that
resolve. Like I said, it’s a vicious circle. That’s why there are
few vampires like me out there. Human blood is
addictive.”

My eyes widened with concern.
Did they
realize all this?
“Well, what about
my
vampires?” I
asked possessively.

Sofie shook her head slowly. “I don’t know,
Evangeline. It’s hard to say. I think their age and previous
experience will help, but,” she hesitated, “it would be safer if
they submit to it at first. If their resolve is strong enough,
maybe they’ll gain control quickly.”

“
And if it’s not strong enough?” I
asked, afraid of the answer.

Sofie smiled sadly. Very slowly, very
hesitantly, her hand slid over to pat mine. It stayed like that,
resting on top of mine, almost holding but not quite.

I didn’t pull away, finding the gesture oddly
comforting. “So they should kill humans again, whether they want to
or not, because it’ll be safer for everyone in the long run,” I
said flatly. I breathed in deeply and exhaled, waiting for myself
to truly comprehend this, to feel the revulsion and
heartache.

It didn’t come. Something else was there. It
felt like … acceptance? Was that it? Was I so quick to accept the
idea of feeding off humans because I cared about these vampires,
because I was in love with one of them?

I heard footsteps and looked over to see Viggo
strolling down the path, arm–in–arm with Valentina. Sofie’s hand
instantly slid away from mine.

“
Lovely evening, isn’t it, ladies?”
he called with his typical false charm. “I’m just showing dear
Valentina here the grounds.”

Valentina giggled in response, unable to peel
her eyes off of Viggo’s face long enough to acknowledge our
presence. I couldn’t blame the silly girl for being completely
enamored with him. I had been that stupid fawn and bought the
Academy award–winning act not long ago.

“
See you later! Well, maybe …” Viggo
winked knowingly at Sofie before leading Valentina away.

Sofie muttered something under her breath
before saying, “That is Valentina Forero. She’s—”

“
Part of Viggo and Mortimer’s beard
family. I know,” I finished.

My knowledge caught Sofie by surprise. “How do
you—oh yes, of course,” she muttered, glancing at Max. “You have a
tour guide.”

Max snorted
. Hola!

“
Yes, it’s nice not to be left in
the dark sometimes,” I said sardonically.

“
I didn’t think it was worth
mentioning,” Sofie retorted. “But if you’re eager to know, Viggo
and Mortimer imported Carlos and Camila from Columbia about
twenty–five years ago. They come from old money—lots of it—so it
wasn’t too difficult to convince people they could afford a square
block in Manhattan. Mortimer has been using them as a cover, but
they’ve outlived their purpose.”

I frowned. “So what happens with them
now?”

Her eyes flashed toward me, the look revealing.
“Dinner … or perhaps breakfast. Or several snacks. Whenever the
mood strikes them next, I would suspect. Oh, don’t feel too sorry
for them,” Sofie added when she saw the horror on my face. “Dear
Mr. Forero comes from a long line of Columbian drug lords—what a
stereotype, right?” She chuckled wryly. “He wouldn’t think twice
about having you disposed of because you glanced at him
disrespectfully.”

I pictured the arrogant man who had strolled
past me earlier.
Okay, but …”
Well, what about his wife and
his children?”

“
They’re not much better. Camila has
a stake in a diamond mining operation—a family inheritance—that
employs children as young as eight. Viggo said the working
conditions are atrocious, at best.”

“
Maybe she doesn’t know?” I
offered.

“
Oh, Evangeline …” Sofie chuckled.
“She visits the mines regularly.”

“
Well, his kids can’t be that bad.
They’re still young enough, right?”

“
Julian is twenty–one and Valentina
is your age,” she confirmed. “I suppose I wouldn’t call them
evil
yet. Julian hasn’t done anything too horrendous. They
may have had a chance if they’d been separated from their parents,
but look at their role models! As close–minded as it may sound,
they’re doomed to go down the same path as their parents. It’s too
bad, though. Julian is handsome.”

I had to agree, recalling the young man’s Latin
good looks, his thick, dark hair and ebony eyes. He was ordinary
next to Caden, but still definitely handsome by human
standards.

“
Well. Can’t they kill the parents
and set the kids free? Give them that chance?” I
wondered.

Sofie turned to stare at me in surprise. “They
could—but they won’t.”

“
Well, can’t you say
something?”

A noncommittal shrug, then a contemplative
expression flitted across Sofie’s face.

I glanced at my watch.
Getting close …
Excitement stirred in my stomach; I’d see Caden again soon! But
that was followed by the sickly dread that my time with him—with
all of them—could be drawing to an end.

“
Evangeline,” Sofie said, suddenly
serious, “what if you can’t have everything you want, all at
once?”

“
What do you mean?”

She hesitated, her eyes darting to the balcony
windows. When she spoke again, her voice was barely audible. “What
if getting Caden and your friends here means you couldn’t see them
for awhile because it’s not safe … for a long while. Would it still
be worth it?”

“
Of course. Yes. Absolutely. Without
a doubt,” I answered with grim resolution, though the idea of being
away from Caden for any length of time tore at my insides. But at
least they’d be on the same planet and this curse would be
over.

“
You should think about that for a
moment before you answer, Evangeline,” Sofie warned.

“
No. I’m certain. Things can’t be
much worse than they are right now. He’s living in another
universe
. If I can get him here, everything will work out.
But you’re working on that talisman, right?”

Sofie nodded. She remained quiet for a moment,
her eyes focused on the cobblestone path. “I’m going to tell you
something but you absolutely
must
promise me, first, that
you’ll do as I ask, okay?”

“
Yeah, sure, I guess.”

“
Promise. Pinky swear.” She held out
her slender pinky finger.

I hesitated. The pinky swear was ironclad and
uncompromising, an unbreakable pledge. It had been a tradition
between my mother and me—one I wouldn’t tarnish frivolously. But my
gut—as blind as it was—told me this wasn’t such a case. “Swear,” I
agreed, hooking my finger around hers, a wave of warm and fuzzy
running through me.

Sofie nodded, then said, “When you get to
Ratheus tonight, take a closer look at the statue. At the woman’s
hand. I have a feeling … Well, anyway, take a look.”

“
Okay,” I said, frowning. “That’s
what I had to pinky swear to?”

“
No.” She shook her head. “You have
to promise you won’t do anything yet.”

My eyes widened. Did she think that was the
portal? “But—”

“
No,” she quickly interrupted. “I’m
not ready to release Veronique yet.”

I frowned. “I don’t get it. I thought that
spell was already cast and you just had to complete it.”

“
In theory, yes. However, there is
one … complication that I’m still figuring out. Hocus–pocus stuff,”
she said, waving her hand dismissively.

My frown deepened. “But what if I run out of
time and I can’t come back or I die, like you said?”

“
You’ve got some more time,” she
answered, winking.

“
But what if—”

“
No! You promised,” Sofie reminded
me sternly.

I nodded, grimacing. I looked around for Viggo
and Mortimer again before whispering, “Sofie, they think I’m coming
back with vampires next time. What happens when I
don’t?”

“
You let me worry about that.” She
patted my knee gently.