Asylum (Causal Enchantment #2)(54)

I locked eyes with my canine protector. Do something! I silently pleaded.

“He can’t help you,” Ursula said. “None of them can move. I’ve made sure of that.”

“What do you want?”

Ursula chuckled. “Many things. For one, I want out of this godforsaken hellhole, and this bastard won’t give me any clues as to how and when I can do that.” She kicked him again, earning a groan.

“Please stop doing that,” I pleaded, tears welling up in my eyes.

She continued on as if I hadn’t spoken. “And then I want to see the pain and suffering in Sofie’s ugly green eyes when she watches me kill you.”

My breath caught in my lungs. I barely felt Julian’s hand settle on my shoulder.

Evangeline, run—both of you. Get as far away as quickly as possible. She’ll need to break her spell to stop you and then we’ll have her. Run.

“Get behind me.” Julian’s voice was barely audible.

All we had to do was run and this would all be over. I shifted my weight.

“Stop!” The shrill scream froze me in my tracks. “Try to leave here, and this place goes up in flames. Everyone dies. Not as poetic as my original plan, but . . . ” her lips curled into a bitter smile, “Sofie will suffer, all the same.”

Everyone would die because of me. I couldn’t have that.

I gave Max my best “what now?” look, wishing I could communicate telepathically to him.

I guess she’s smarter than I gave her credit for. An exaggerated sigh followed. There’s one other way . . . Throw something at her.

What? My confusion must have played across my face, because he continued.

Injure her, and whatever spell she cast will break. Witches can’t hold their spells when they’re attacked. I’ll reach her before she can recast. I hesitated. Look at Leo! He’s too hurt to use his magic to protect himself! Hurry!

My eyes darted to my gravely injured guardian. His eyes were now closed. Was he dead? Desperation washed over me. I scanned the area nearby for objects, and my eyes settled on a jagged antler by my feet. If I could impale her with the sharp end . . . Taking a deep breath and summoning every last ounce of courage, I psyched myself for the drop and the precise throw I’d need to execute, one I doubted I could do with accuracy. I tensed, preparing for the dive—

And went sailing away from my target to land several feet off to the side, broken glass crunching under my weight. I was now level with Leo, lying only ten feet away from me. I glanced back to see Julian charging toward Ursula, a jagged piece of the chandelier held out in front of him.

Her eyes widened in surprise, then immediately narrowed. With a quick glance down at the unconscious Leo, she decided something. Her hand lifted toward Julian, her lips moving.

Oh, shit! Max moaned. Tell him to throw it. Now!

“Throw it!” I shrieked, echoing Max’s command. From the corner of my eye, I saw Leo’s lids flash open, his eyes now bright, alert. His lips were moving quickly but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of rushing blood in my ears.

Julian roared as he swung his arm back to launch the antlers at her—just as a purple light shot out from Ursula’s outstretched hand, heading straight for his chest.

I stopped breathing altogether and squeezed my eyes closed, waiting. Expecting the shriek of pain, the thump of a body hitting the floor.

Instead, I heard a drumbeat.

7. And So It Begins

“Do you feel that?” Mage hissed as the six of us made record time back to our Fifth Avenue base, distancing ourselves from the ring of suspicious ashes and incoherent babbling of rave attendees at the underground club. It would certainly make the news later today.

I did feel it; it was impossible to miss. An awesome amount of magic was being channeled somewhere nearby, more than anything one witch could summon. It only strengthened my concern that this went beyond Ursula’s meddling. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but we need to get inside now, and scaling the wall with each of you will take too much time.” Everyone nodded their agreement. With that, we headed straight for the main door.

Getting back into Viggo and Mortimer’s fortress was easy. I punched in the code—Evangeline’s birthday in two different formats—and ran in, Mage’s limp body draped over my shoulder. I didn’t give a second’s consideration to leaving her within the Merth this time. We had bigger issues than a vampire with magical abilities.

Mage was alert and dropped to her feet as soon as I stepped into the atrium. We found Viggo and Mortimer in their customary warding positions on either side of Veronique, but their normally controlled expressions gave way to shock as they watched us enter from the outside. It was such a rare sight. “What the . . . .” Mortimer began.

“Hold on a sec,” I called, already on my way out.

In seconds I had Evangeline’s friends safely inside. It took only that long for Viggo and Mortimer’s shock to disappear. Now they wore glares that could have incinerated me, if they had any sorcerer magic in them.

“In private?” Mage suggested before Mortimer could explode. She accentuated the suggestion with a pointed stare at the horde of Ratheus vampires surrounding us.

The anger slid from Viggo’s face immediately, replaced by a fake grin and a polite gesture toward the library door. “Certainly. Right this way . . . ”