Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(8)

I watched the werewolf march past to stand behind Sofie.

“Someone is one step ahead of us with the blood,” Lilly mused. “The question is, who? The Sentinel? The witches? The fledglings certainly don’t need it.”

A second of worry flickered across Sofie’s face. “Please take that back to the haulage tunnel,” Sofie ordered Bishop and Fiona. “We have it set up with a small generator to keep the refrigeration working, should it last long enough. Evangeline,” she turned to me, “go with them.”

I nodded but stayed my feet as they passed by, my interest in the dire situation more compelling than a cooler of blood. If Sofie noticed, she was too preoccupied to say anything.

“Is nuclear warfare even an option?” Sofie asked.

“Galen, how long would it take for Isaac and the others to get into a missile control center?” Lilly asked quietly, her baby-blue eyes darting back to meet mine for a mere second. Sofie had alluded to Lilly’s stealthy connections in the past but it still baffled me how the little vampiress—a thirteen-year-old child to anyone who didn’t know better—and her group had ways to get into the most highly classified areas in the world.

Her military advisor didn’t miss a beat. “There’s a ballistics submarine a few hundred miles off the coast. It’s fully loaded. They can appropriate it within four hours.”

Four hours. We could blow up New York City in four hours.

A hiss from Caden had me glancing down to see that my nails were embedded in his forearm. “Sorry,” I mouthed, rubbing the wounds away until they healed.

Sofie paced. Though I couldn’t imagine her giving Lilly the go-ahead to destroy the entire city of New York, Mage was adamant, and Sofie seemed to trust Mage’s opinion.

“The Fates have the power to stop this at any time but they won’t. They want the human world to fall, they want their game to play out, so they can move on to the next world, the next source of entertainment.” Her lips furled with disdain. She had remained silent about her encounter with the Fates but, from the hardened glare every time they were mentioned, I quickly deduced that Sofie’s meeting was far more confrontational than mine.

“And they will get what they want, if we wait any longer, Sofie,” Mage reminded her.

Sofie’s deceivingly dainty hand pushed through her mane of wild red hair, the weight of this decision visibly wearing on her. I’d never seen her look so anxious. “Where are the witches?”

“There’s a faction in Boston but they’re harmless,” Lilly answered.

Kiril’s gruff voice filled the room, the words lost to me in his native tongue. They weren’t to Sofie, though. “Apparently not so harmless after all … The Witches Order boarded planes yesterday from London and St. Petersburg. They might cause additional problems.” I’d never heard of this “Witches Order” before but I assumed they were the more powerful ones. Sofie snapped her fingers at Kiril. “Send ten wolves down there and put a tail on them. I want to know what they’re up to at all times.”

The tall blond werewolf nodded curtly and marched away, his thumb already punching numbers on his cell phone.

Watching him disappear, Sofie’s jaw tightened with resolution. “We go in. We exterminate every single one of these fledglings. Burn their bodies and all evidence, without pause, without mercy.” Her nostrils flared. “And without worrying about collateral damage. They will still be traveling in packs. If we have not stopped the spread by sunrise …” She turned cold eyes on Lilly. “We eliminate the city.”

A rash of nerves fluttered inside my stomach. Was I ready for this?

Lilly nodded curtly. Though she had pledged her allegiance to me, I had in turn demanded she follow Sofie’s guidance as it related to this war.

I hoped Sofie knew what she was doing.

Sunrise couldn’t be more than twelve hours away.

“Let’s get ready. It’ll take at least an hour to get to the city on foot.” Everyone mobilized.

“Wait …” Kait and Galen stepped forward, exchanging hard glances. “There’s a matter of a deal,” Galen said.

“Oh, for God’s sake! We don’t have time for that,” Mortimer objected harshly.

“It takes seconds,” Galen insisted.

“And what will they feed on? We don’t have enough to feed five fledgl—”

Kait’s shrill screech drowned out Mortimer’s objections. “I’m not leaving here until I know Brian is safe!”

Brian?

Sofie’s eyes flickered to Mage, who shrugged and said, “A deal’s a deal.”

Sofie heaved a sigh. “Where are they?”

“At an inn, in town. Ten miles away. We didn’t want to bring them near with the fledglings,” Kait explained, throwing a look of disdain my way, as if I were leprous.

“Bring them here and Mage will do it. But you and Galen are coming with us and we are leaving immediately after.”

“And what? Leave them unguarded? No,” Galen argued.

“They will not be unguarded,” Sofie snapped. “But we cannot lose time waiting for their transformation. I need every able body.”

“We’ll come after they’ve transformed.”

“You will come immediately after and that is an order!”