Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(54)
“If vaporizing an entire city didn’t change this world’s fate, then nothing will. We won’t risk losing any more of us trying,” Evangeline offered softly, reaching out to grab on to Caden again.
Despite myself, a sad smile curled over my lips. Evangeline had changed. Yes, she was no longer human, but beyond that transformation, she had matured. She was no longer the naïve eighteen-year-old, accepting a waitressing job from a complete stranger out of desperation, having nothing left to lose.
She now had something to lose.
It wasn’t me, though.
I watched her beautiful, youthful face—changed and yet not changed, still her but no longer her.
“We just need … peace. We need to be away from this,” she said, voice drifting. The real words need not be spoken; I knew what they were. Away from me. I had pushed her away. Now that no one needed me to solve a problem or cast a spell, I was nothing but a hazard.
And it clicked. This is what Viggo wanted. This was the true catalyst behind his plan. It wasn’t enough to take Veronique or hurt Evangeline. He wanted me abandoned. Unloved. Alone.
Like him.
And I had lost them all—their trust, their support.
Their love.
And after what I’d done to them, I probably deserved it.
Chapter Eighteen – Evangeline
“Devastation brings out the best humans, does it not?” Mage murmured, her voice thick with sarcasm, as we stood in a Wal-Mart parking lot and watched a few dozen darkly dressed people—men and women both—climb in and out of the gaping windows, arms loaded.
“Do they need these supplies?” Fiona asked.
A moment later, as a man struggled with a flat-screen television, we had our answer.
“The police will be here relatively soon,” Lilly said. “Relative” was the operative word. I imagined they had their hands full. This wasn’t the first department store we’d seen looted and we hadn’t reached the real devastation yet. Here, people could still walk outside without fear of their skin and lungs burning.
“Come on, then. Let’s go,” Sofie said.
We slipped through the opening like eight shadows. Max stayed outside. After all, what did the werebeast need? Some of us, on the other hand, could use a change of clothes and a shower.
The place had already been pillaged, a free-for-all to grab what one could. Based on the sparse canned goods and battery shelves, at least some were concerned more about survival than high-ticket items.
“Five minutes,” Sofie said, “and let’s stick together, please.” Since our confrontation, she’d leveled no more orders, though I knew she had to bite her tongue countless times. With that, she took off. I doubted she’d ever shopped at a Wal-Mart before in her life.
Grabbing knapsacks, we flew through the basic grooming and clothing aisles, each grabbing a change of simple black clothing and toiletries. It seemed rather trivial, given everything else that had happened, but I couldn’t blame Caden for wanting a shower and something clean to wear.
I knew I’d prefer him in clothes that weren’t covered in ash and blood.
It wasn’t until the shoe section where Bishop showed us his split heel that it hit me. “This is our new life, isn’t it?” It wouldn’t be long before the broader society would deteriorate to match this small section of the country. Until we were stealing everything that we wore. Only it wouldn’t technically be stealing because there would be no one left to pay. Infrastructure would crumble, currency would hold no value. Civilization as we knew it would cease to exist. The only answer I received in response was a sympathetic smile.
*
“We’ll have to wait until nightfall tomorrow to go in to the city,” Lilly explained, leading us up the creaking old steps of the farmhouse porch. It didn’t matter that she kicked open the door. Most of the old windows were already shattered from the blast.
“The owners?” Sofie asked as her sharp eyes surveyed the darkness within. Even with nightfall, I sensed the thick, dirty air, the dust and radiation particles floating through the atmosphere, creating a toxic blanket for any mortal. My skin tingled with a slight burn.
“Gone,” Lilly confirmed. I wondered if “gone” meant abandoned or dead as she led us farther in. My nose picked up the faint odor of cattle.
The back of the eerily quiet home opened up into a sprawling kitchen. Open loaves of bread and a carton of milk still sat on the counter. It was obviously an unplanned exit, one way or another.
Using her tiptoes to reach over the stove, Lilly flicked a switch and a light came on. “We’re on one of a few grids still working,” she explained. “But we should probably keep the lights to a minimum. Just in case anyone’s watching.”
“Anyone” wasn’t anyone. She meant Viggo. It didn’t seem likely that Viggo would trail us so quickly, Veronique in tow, but this was Viggo we were talking about. What sounded irrational was exactly what he would do.
“Good pick, Lilly. It’s nice and remote,” Bishop murmured. “Smart call on the cattle farm.”
“They’re contaminated,” Mage was quick to point out, running a hand along the kitchen counter. She inspected the sooty film on her fingertips.
“So? Radiation can’t kill us.”
I often had to remind myself that Bishop had been created after the war had already started and was whisked away by Fiona soon after. Of all of the Ratheus vampires, he was the only one not familiar with the downfall. And of all of the Ratheus vampires, Mage was the only one acutely aware of how it unfolded from day one.