Anathema (Causal Enchantment #1)(92)
“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!”
25. Exiled
My 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?
“Is everything alright, Evangeline?”
I bolted out of my chair, startled by the male voice—the tone familiar but the accent, a thick Irish brogue, new. Whirling, I found myself opposite a wall of faces. Leo stood closest to me. Behind him were eight other people that I recognized as Viggo and Mortimer’s staff, as well as Julian and Valentina Forero. In the far corner stood two men with enough facial hair that they could be mistaken for a pair of mountain yetis. One of them must be the Irishman. But why did the man speak to me as if he knows me? Save for Leo and the yetis, everyone looked as confused as I felt.
Max came trotting in from the hallway to stop at my side, followed by his pack mates. “Max?” I croaked with relief, throwing my arms around him. He responded with an affectionate nuzzle against my cheek.
The Irish voice spoke again. “No doubt you’re all confused right now …”
I gasped when I saw whose lips were moving: Leo. His grandfatherly demeanor and distinguished British accent had vanished, replaced by a leprechaun–like Irishman. “I’ll explain everything later, but know it was either this or death. Darlene?” He addressed one of the older maids who stood in a daze, dripping yellow latex gloves on her hands. “There’s a clipboard on the table out there in the hall, with instructions.”
Darlene stared at him for a moment longer, bewildered. Obviously I wasn’t the only one shocked by Leo’s dual personality. That, or she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she had been scrubbing a toilet only a few seconds before and was now in a log cabin in the mountains. Finally she nodded and, slowly peeling off her gloves, shuffled out of the room. The other seven staff members trailed close behind her.