Anomaly (Causal Enchantment) (18 page)

I admitted to something that I knew I
probably shouldn’t, even as the words tumbled out. “And she isn’t feeding anymore.”

“What do you mean?”
Mortimer turned completely in his seat.

“
She wasn’t feeding when I left. She said she was satisfied.” I wasn’t lying, technically.

Mortimer’s eye
s flared with a mixture of shock and disbelief. “Like him?” He jutted a chin toward Julian.

“Yeah, basically.”

“That means …” I knew what he was thinking without the need for him to speak the words. That meant the feral woman he left hours ago was sitting in a dark mine, waiting for him. “I can’t wait around here. I’m going to her,” he announced, standing.

“You
need to stay here for now, Mortimer,” Sofie insisted without turning around. But Mage was moving in, taking slow, even steps into the sunken living room.

“Veronique
needs me!” he argued.

“We need you more right
now,” Mage said.

“
To do what?” He threw his arms in the air. “To sit around here, waiting? I can do that as well over there.” Mortimer reached down to collect his jacket. Even on the brink of a human apocalypse, the nine-hundred-year-old vampire still made an effort to minimize unsightly creases in his clothing. He would never survive the world we were heading into.

Sofie
seemed too absorbed with the skyline to pay attention to Mortimer. Watching, waiting. For what?

“No, you must
stay.” Mage stepped forward, her own black eyes shimmering. “I insist.”

Mortimer’s head fell back with a bitter laugh. “
What are you trying to do, compel me? You can’t, remember? Because I know about your secret.” The words had barely left his lips when his giant frame went sailing backward, crashing into the flat screen television.

“You’re right. I can’t compel you,” Mage admitted, not a hint of humor on her face. But she could physically keep him here if she needed to,
and she didn’t need to admit that out loud. We all knew her power was unrivaled.

With a roar, Mortimer fl
ew at Mage. She easily sideswept him, sending him careening through the opposite wall. He picked himself up and brushed the drywall dust from his chest.

And then, in a move so fast
my human eyes would never have seen it, he bolted for the door.

Unfortunately for him, Mage was faster.

“Why … are … you … fighting me?” He pushed out through clenched teeth as Mage shoved him to his knees.

“Because you must stay here, with us. For now,” Mage hissed, her naturally serene demeanor
cracking as her death grip on his neck prevented him from fighting back. Her black eyes shifted to Sofie and then to Lilly. “How much longer will this take?”

I had to believe
that Sofie and Mage were keeping him here for good reason. I stood and calmly strolled over, kneeling in front of him. “Mortimer, Sofie has our best interests at heart,” I began, hoping I didn’t sound like an idiot. More importantly, if this didn’t work, I hoped no one would figure out what I was trying to do. “You need to listen to Mage and stay here for now. You’ll see Veronique soon.” I could see the tension in his shoulders release, Mage’s fingertips relaxing their grip.

Until there was no fight left in him.

With wary eyes, Mage released him. By her stance, I knew she was ready to spring again, if this was some tactic on Mortimer’s part. Not until he made his way over to the couch and laid down his jacket did her stance loosen.

That’s when
her black eyes shifted to me.

I ducked
my head to keep my secretive smile from showing. Had she figured it out? Would it matter if she had?

These questions were floating around in my head when Caden, Bishop, and Fiona barreled through the door, their clothes covered in blood and ash
, their eyes quickly marking every figure in the room, as if suspicious of a threat.

I didn’t falter for a second, meeting Caden halfway
. I launched myself into his arms and pressed my face against his chest. For just a few moments, I pushed all my worries and fears away and reveled in his presence, in the feel of his strength against me.

“
Are you okay?”

I closed my eyes. “Yeah.”

His grip tightened. “You shouldn’t have come. But I’m glad you did.”

I
peeled myself far enough away to tip my head back so I could peer into his curious jade-green eyes. I’d rather die than lose the feel of them on me. “It wasn’t exactly my choice.”

Before
I could explain, Julian was next to us. “Where is she? Have you found anything useful?”

Caden’s brow arched
at me, a silent reprimand.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I defended. “It’s a l
ong story.”

With a heavy sigh,
Caden dug into his pocket and tossed a simple pink leather band to Julian. I recognized it immediately. Amelie was wearing one just like it. “We found it on the sidewalk outside the subway station where she went missing.”

“Is that it?
There’s nothing else?” Julian pressed.

“
It’s hard to find anything down there. The place is swarming with cops.”

“
Plus the army’s in full force now,” Bishop added. “They’re using bullets that ignite. Burning up the fledglings. It’s nuts.”

“We saw those
,” I said.

“
I referred to those earlier,” Mage said. “Highly effective.”

“
Then let the army chase after the fledglings. Why are we fighting?” Mortimer grumbled.

“Because
the fledglings are evolving too fast, and they’ll figure out the threat quickly. You can’t shoot a target that you can’t see,” Mage answered.

“
Fine. Whatever. Let’s go find Amelie. And don’t any of you dare tell me that I can’t handle it!” Julian exploded, his voice cracking with heavy emotion as he clutched the bracelet.

Caden’s questioning
eyes shifted to me. “He can handle it,” I mouthed in confirmation.

“
Okay.” Caden nodded.

“I’m
going with you,” I said, squaring my shoulders, ready to put up a fight. I knew Caden. He’d want me to stay put, to stay safe. He was so used to me as a fragile human, he had yet to accept me as something else. But after what I’d seen out on the streets, no one was going to make me stand here and watch Caden’s back as he walked into that. I didn’t care what anyone, including him, had to say.

I’d compel them all if I had to.

I don’t know if it was the determination on my face or that Caden felt the same way as
I did—that he was tired of saying goodbye—but he acquiesced. I smiled.

Julian was
already halfway to the door. “Let’s go!”

It wasn’t C
aden who deterred us. Mage’s hand flew out with the speed of a viper, seizing his forearm. “No one’s going anywhere.” Her calm tone was back but it still sent shivers down my spine.

What were they planning
?

“Sofie, this is ridiculous!” Caden yelled.
“I told Lilly we’d come back because Evangeline begged me to, but then I’d go back out. We only have a few hours left!”

“
Begged? I didn’t beg for you to come back,” I said slowly. All eyes shifted from me to Lilly, finally resting on Sofie.

And
then I saw it.

The pink gl
ow surrounded her body, like a growing bubble. The long, tentacle-like arms reached out, eight of them, drifting toward us. Her focus remained on the skyline.

“Sofie?”
My eyes widened as pink bubbles cocooned first Lilly, and then Mortimer, and then the rest of us. A quick glance around showed me that everyone’s focus was still on the redhead by the window. I was the only one to see it. No … Mage’s eyes drifted over the edge of her own shell. She could see it too.

“What is that?” Bishop hissed.

Could Bishop see it too?

I checked
his gaze. No, he was focused on something in the night sky, his arm outstretched and his finger pointing. A glowing bulb approaching from the distance. Closer … and closer … and …

Snowflakes tickled my nose
as the mine’s entrance came into focus. It took me a moment to feel Caden’s arms still wound tightly around my body. It took me another moment to realize that we weren’t in Manhattan anymore. That Sofie had used her magic to transport us back here, as she once did when sending me into the Siberian Mountains to protect me from Caden. Then, a blinding flash of light in the sky pulled my attention to the south for a brief second before I was forced to duck against the brilliance. With another glance, I saw the orange glow overtake the skyline. Even in the black of night, I could make out the large cloud rising into the atmosphere.

“What was that?” I whispered. If anyone had an answer, it was easily drowned out by a deafening sound
. The ground rumbled. It raised the hair along my neck.

“Was that
…?” The pieces began to click. “Did someone just blow up New York City?” Who? The Sentinel? The witches? Viggo? Who was crazy enough?

“No, not
someone
.” Caden stared at Sofie. “You did it anyway.” I’d never heard his voice so hollow before.

“No! That wasn’t Sofie,
” I quickly jumped in. “She didn’t do it. She was waiting until sunrise.”

I watched the stunning vampiress’s face, waiting for her
to defend herself, to deny the accusation. But she stood stock-still, a hard look planted on her jaw, her eyes unreadable.

“Tell them Sofie!”
I finally yelled.

Mint-
green eyes settled on me with a look that explained everything.

The whispers, the urgency, the distracted demeanor. Sofie had not waited
.

“Did you know? When you promised me, did you know?” My words were barely above a whisper but she flinched all the same.

Yes. She had known all along. Right to my face, staring me in the eye, Sofie lied to me.

Amelie.

My gasp came only a second before Julian lunged at Sofie, his hands gripping her neck. “You killed her!” he screamed.

She didn’t even attempt a fight
as a loud crack filled the otherwise serene nightscape.

I stared
, mouth agape, as Sofie’s body dropped to the snowy ground. She landed on her back as if asleep. One … two … three … Her eyes flickered open but she did not move. She simply gazed up at the night sky.

Mage, on the other hand, was not as lenient, charging for Julian
.

“
Stop,” Sofie’s deadpan voice called out just before Mage’s fingers wrapped around Julian’s neck. Sitting up robotically, Sofie muttered quietly, “I deserved that.” There was no mistaking the sorrow in her voice.

C
aden stood silently beside me, arms at his side. I’m not sure when I lost the comfort of his embrace. He faced southeast, to where he last saw his sister alive. Grief tightened its suffocating grip around my chest.

Sofie slowly
stood. “I had no choice,” she said. “If we waited any longer, there would be no chance at all. I’m sorry, but Amelie was collateral damage to the greater cause. So was Kait.”

A glance Lilly’s way told me that she had been in on the plan, though by the pained expression
on the child vampiress’s face, sacrificing Kait must’ve been a difficult decision.

I could only assume that Mage was in on it as well, because Sofie didn’t do anything without consult
ing her. I glared at the tiny, pragmatic woman, wondering how difficult it was for her to coach Sofie, if she’d even blinked before uttering the words.

H
ow could Sofie have looked directly into my eyes and lied about something so important?

Silence hu
ng over us like a thick cloud. Did I dare hold out hope that Amelie wasn’t in the city anymore?

“
Maybe Amelie wasn’t even in Manhattan,” Fiona offered hesitantly, as if reading my mind, her pretty violet eyes alight with new hope. “Maybe she saw Jonah, and then chased him into the other areas of the city. Maybe—”

“
New York City is gone,” Lilly cut in, her voice hollow. “All of it. Isaac made sure of it. The surrounding area as well. We’re protected by these mountains but beyond them is ruin. Amelie is gone.” After a pause. “Kait is gone.”

“Well
…” Fiona’s husky voice wobbled, a lost look in her eyes. “Maybe they both got out of the city. Maybe they’re on their way here.”

“
Yes, maybe,” Sofie whispered, her eyes locked on a spot on the snow.

Not likely.

Once the initial shock had faded, Mortimer didn’t waste another minute, disappearing into the mine after Veronique, his only real concern.