by K. A. Tucker
“Aren’t you hungry? Or thirsty? Or whatever it is you call it,” I asked, peering at Caden.
“I’m okay until you leave.” He nuzzled his cool nose against my neck, causing another stirring deep within me.
I slid over to rest my head on his chest, my hand creeping to glide down the ripples of his stomach muscles.
“They’ll be back soon.” Caden’s hand clamped over mine, holding it in place.
I groaned in frustration but stayed my hand. “They’ve been gone awhile,” I suddenly realized. “How many animals can they possibly kill in one night?”
“It’s the hunt as much as the kill,” Caden answered, chuckling. “As a human, Amelie condemned flyswatters as cruel. Once, when she was seventeen, she was driving along the road when a chipmunk darted in front of her. She swerved to avoid it, slamming into a giant oak.”
I gasped, but he shook his head dismissively. “Oh, she was fine, surprisingly. Only a couple bumps and bruises … She was driving one of the big pickups that we used to transport horses. The truck and the tree were goners, though.”
“Was the chipmunk okay?” I heard myself ask with grave concern.
Caden laughed, the deep vibrations tickling my eardrum. “Yes, I believe he made it. Amelie swore the rodent waved at her from a tree.”
I giggled. “I don’t doubt she did.”
“She explained it all to my parents later. I thought my dad was going to wring her neck.” He chuckled again.
I raised my head and propped myself up on my elbows so I could see Caden’s face. “Do you still miss them after all these years?”
The seconds ticked by before he had an answer. “Being what we are, it’s easy to lose yourself in the moment, in your immediate desires, as overpowering as they become. But there’s always downtime, when that hunger is satiated and you have time to think. Maybe minutes, maybe hours. Or years. And in that time, your memories—which are never–fading and vivid enough that you could relive them just by closing your eyes—can overpower you. If you let them.” He rolled over to press his lips against my folded hands. “I wish I could get that last image of my father out of my head. But every time I think of him, that one shows up. Like a parasite attached to my brain.” He began playing with my fingertips.
“Well, hopefully we can fill your head with lots of new memories—ones without wars and jungles and mountains.”
He turned to look at me with a grim expression. “There are so many things that can go wrong with this—with us. I want you to understand them all before this goes any further.”
“Like what?” I asked warily, though inside, my heart was doing a full acrobatics show because he said “with us.” It sounded positive, as if he was finally coming around, as if he might stop using the word “impossible.”
“Like, if we figure out how to get back to your world with you and if none of us attack you—those are already two massive obstacles—I’ll be focused with fighting the urge to feed off humans, regardless of whether it’s what I want. We all will be.”
“That’s okay,” I murmured.
He snorted, shaking his head. “No, you don’t understand what that means. We won’t be the same, Evangeline. This isn’t a minor inconvenience, a slight discomfort. It could take years—decades, even—before you see Amelie waving her pom–poms around. Fighting that lust, that urge—it’s all–consuming. It takes all of our energy and focus. You could be ninety years old before we resemble who we are today. You could be dead.”
That image of the wrinkled old lady in the string bikini burned in my head again. I shook my head, frantically trying to drive it out.
Caden propped himself up on one elbow. “And none of that will be an issue if one of us kills you the second we smell your blood.” His face contorted with horror. “I will throw myself into a flaming pit if that happens.”
“Well, maybe …” I grasped for some hope as the picture Caden painted turned grimmer by the second “… maybe Sofie can do something to extend the power of this necklace?”
Caden’s eyes dropped to the pendant dangling from my neck. “Maybe … Otherwise, you and I can’t be anywhere near each other. It was hard enough not killing every human that crossed my path for the first fifty years after I was converted. But you—the feelings I have for you make the urge that much more impossible to resist. Hugging you could turn deadly.”
Those giant bat butterflies began thumping around in my stomach again. I took a deep breath. “You’re focusing on worst–case scenarios. I’d prefer taking a page out of Amelie’s book of optimism. It’s much more pleasant.”
“Amelie also killed her boyfriend, whom she was madly in love with,” he reminded me in a flat voice.
“Good point,” I muttered, sighing noisily and rolling onto my back.
Caden took that as his cue to sit up. He reached for his pants, lying in a tangled heap next to everything else I had ripped off him. “I’m more concerned about you not lasting long enough for us to find this portal.” He stood up to dress himself.
“That makes two of us.” I averted my eyes, heat creeping up my neck. Would this be my last trip here? Was hope for solving this curse’s riddle fading as I lay here, enjoying Caden’s company, oblivious to how close the end was? How could Sofie ask me to just sit around and wait for the portal to grace us with its presence?
I couldn’t.
Scrabbling for my clothes, I dressed in record time—crossing my fingers that Caden wasn’t watching me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he called, an amused look on his face as I headed toward the cave entrance.
“Oh, right!” I ran back and grabbed one of the mountain bag straps. I yanked as hard as I could, with little result. “Help me!” I cried.
“Okay, okay,” Caden said calmly, grabbing both bags and slinging them over his shoulder. They were so big that, as strong as he was, they were awkward to carry. “Can you tell me where we’re going, at least?”
“To find this damn portal!” I announced, running out the cave entrance.
A torrential downpour greeted me, soaking my clothes in seconds.
“You can’t go out in this, Evangeline,” Caden said softly, placing his hand on my shoulder and pulling me back to cover.
“But I have to! We have to find this thing, and now!” Tears mingled with the rain on my cheeks as I sobbed freely. “I don’t want to go back there without you.”
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
“Are we allowed to come back now?” Bishop called as he appeared out of nowhere, his hair and clothing drenched. Fiona and Amelie were behind him, watching me with worried expressions.
I nodded and offered a small, reassuring smile but otherwise said nothing. The five of us stood in silence, looking out over the storm.
Caden, whose hands rested near my pendant, felt the waver of heat before I did. Within seconds I was on the ground, Bishop fastening one mountain bag to my back while Caden strapped the other to my legs. “Done!” they announced in unison as if racing to beat one another.
Caden, kneeling beside me, gripped my face and gave me a peck on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered.
I regained consciousness in my king–sized bed, surrounded by canvas. I was lying on my side, facing the balcony doors, and I couldn’t move. “Max?” I whispered.
A giant wet nose suddenly smeared affection across my forehead.
“Can you please go get Sofie? Try to do it without the others noticing,” I requested quietly. I had every intention of winding Merth around my body the second Sofie unbound me.
Right–oh, he murmured inside my head and I heard him trot away, his sharp claws clicking against the tile in the hallway.
Sofie’s melodious voice sang out minutes later. Unfortunately it was followed by one that I had hoped to avoid.
21. Making Plans
“It’s been two weeks!” Mortimer growled.
“It’s
not her fault, Mortimer,” Sofie snapped in response.
Mortimer didn’t seem to hear her. “What have you found out? And why are you trussed up like a packhorse?”
“Do you think you could untie me before the interrogation begins?” I asked, not even attempting to hide my irritation. Could I still get to the Merth in time to protect myself?
Within seconds, I was unbound. I wiggled away from the straps and sat up, only to have Mortimer swoop in to loom over me. I automatically shrunk back. My chance was gone.
I glanced over in time to see Sofie reaching into an opened mountain bag. “No!” I lunged forward to grab her hand.
She pulled out a cord of Merth.
Mortimer gasped in horror. “Why would you bring that stuff back here?”
I barely heard him, still in shock over Sofie’s immunity. “It doesn’t work on you?”
“Stings,” she said, cringing. “But no. Because I’m a sorceress.” She dangled the cord from her fingers, examining it closely. “Here, Mortimer. Let’s see if it’s as strong as our stuff.”
Our stuff?
“If you come near me with that, I’ll tear your heart out,” he growled, taking two large strides backward.
I heard a loud, exasperated sigh inside my head. Here, try it on me, Max said, ambling toward Sofie.
“Max is offering guinea pig services,” I said, adding, “There’s Merth here?”
“Not until now,” Viggo called out, entering the room. “We spend over two hundred years ridding the world of it, and look … you show up with two giant bagfuls!”
“Take it off him immediately afterward, though. Please,” I said as Sofie moved toward Max. I didn’t want Max going through any more pain than necessary.
“Of course, of course,” Sofie murmured. “Thank goodness you’re not a coward, Max,” she added, her eyes flicking to Mortimer, her tone thick with implication. Viggo howled with laughter at Sofie’s snip as Mortimer glared venomously at the red–haired vampire–witch.
She placed the cord on Max’s back. His giant black body wavered slightly, then slumped to the floor. He mumbled incoherently in my head. As promised, Sofie immediately pulled the cord off Max.
Yes, it’s the same, Max confirmed.
I relayed the message.
“Why would you bring this back, Evangeline?” Viggo asked me suspiciously, stepping forward to examine the bags.
“To bind you.” The catty response flew out without warning.
Viggo grinned. “Cute.”
“Did you know about this?” Mortimer asked Sofie, one eyebrow raised.
“How would I know? I was here!” she spat. “But I can use it. Smart thinking, Evangeline.”
Viggo swept his hand across the open bag, allowing the tip of his finger to graze a strand. He swayed as if suddenly lightheaded. “This wretched stuff …”
“Leonardo, lock these bags in the vault,” Mortimer instructed.
“I’m going to take a few strands for some testing,” Sofie announced, reaching for the bag.
“So you can trap me when I’m distracted? Not a chance, witch,” Mortimer snapped.
“You fool!” she snapped back, unleashing a torrent of anger. “Have you given any thought, even for a second, to what will happen when one of these vampires—who haven’t been exposed to human blood for seven hundred years—shows up under this roof? They could kill Evangeline, they could wipe out your staff, they could break free of this building and start a New York City massacre. I appreciate that you’ve waited a hundred and twenty years to see Veronique, but show some common sense, you idiot.”
Mortimer rolled his eyes. “Oh, stop being so dramatic. All of those possibilities are highly unlikely.”
“It’s not worth risking! You don’t know what can happen, who these vampires are. These kinds of spells are known to have unforeseen outcomes, some of them disastrous. I shouldn’t have to explain that to you …” her voice drifted.
My back hit something hard. I turned, saw the headboard, and realized I had been slowly inching backward, trying to get away from the approaching brawl. I was now cowering, knees drawn up, within a mound of pillows.
“Children, children,” Viggo said softly. “Let’s play nicely, now.”
“He started it,” Sofie muttered indignantly.
“How do you propose you’ll use this Merth to solve the possibilities you’ve described, Sofie?” Viggo calmly asked, taking on his usual role of mediator between those two. “Is there yet another trick up your sleeve we’re unaware of?”
“I need to link the power of it to this building, to form a barrier. To keep them within these walls,” she answered in a more conciliatory voice. “It should be a fairly easy spell.”
“Them? How many do you think are coming over, anyway?”
Three pairs of brilliantly colored vampire eyes turned to me. “Four,” I said from my hiding place, adding under my breath, “I hope.”
“Didn’t there used to be five?” Mortimer asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes, but she’s no longer an issue,” I answered flatly, hoping to avoid any more questions about the event in which I’d been an accomplice. It likely wouldn’t shine a positive light on Caden and the others, in Viggo and Mortimer’s eyes, anyway.
Luckily, he turned his attention back to Sofie. “And how do you suppose we get out for food? Of course, you can get out; it doesn’t hold you back … Are you trying to weaken us?”
“Don’t think I don’t know about that blood bank in the cellar. That could tide you over for years, if necessary,” she shot back at him.
“And how will any of this protect the humans? They’ll still be within these walls when the vampires get here,” Mortimer asked smugly, thinking he had found a weakness in Sofie’s plan.
“I’m working on a way to mask their blood, a talisman of sorts that they can wear. I should have it ready shortly,” she answered with twice the smugness.
I breathed a sigh of relief. So she had thought of it. I would be protected. Caden wouldn’t have to worry about hurting me. I couldn’t wait to tell him.
“You had better not be tampering with Veronique’s necklace …” he growled apprehensively.
“Why on earth would I do something so dangerous?”
I felt like I was watching a ping pong match, my head bobbing back and forth as the two of them squared off against each other, Mortimer lobbying challenges and Sofie successfully launching back counterarguments.
Viggo spoke as if passing a ruling. “Okay then, it’s settled. It looks like Sofie has it all figured out and I’m sure she has no intention of harming either of us, Mortimer. After all, Veronique would not be happy about that.”
“Yes. However, I’m wondering where the witch’s allegiances now lie,” Mortimer grumbled with disdain.
Viggo ignored him. “Leonardo, if you would be so kind as to take both of these bags—minus whatever Sofie needs—to the vault.”
Sofie grabbed an armful of Merth, wincing from the shock it produced, and threw a daring smirk at Mortimer, taunting him to come near her. Mortimer snarled in response but didn’t make a move.
Leo grabbed hold of the straps and began dragging the bags out of the room. I wanted to chase after him, help him in some way. But I had a feeling I wouldn’t be allowed out without further interrogation. I was right.
“Now that that’s settled, have you been to the city to look for this portal?” Viggo calmly asked me.
“Not exactly.”
“So where did you search during that time?” Mortimer pressed, taking a few steps toward me.
Max released a low, threatening rumble and all four dogs shifted to form a protective circle around the bed.
“Oh, shut up!” Mortimer snapped but he heeded their warning, sidling back.
“Patience, Mortimer,” Viggo chastised, patting his shoulder gently. He turned back to look at me, those piercing blue eyes dissecting me.
What could I say? No, I didn’t go out. Sofie told me
not to. But you don’t know that, do you? Yes, she’s deceiving you … Instead, I bound a vampire with that stuff you hate, Mortimer, and then I rolled around in the sack for hours.
Viggo cleared his throat, a sign that I was learning meant he was deeply irritated. If he could read my mood, I wondered what he was getting right now?
There wasn’t much I could tell them. Bishop did send the animals out in a half–ass attempt to search the vast jungle and Rachel did recruit some Council members … An idea struck me. I took a deep breath. “There are ten vampires searching the capital city and a small army of adept scouts searching the mountainside. By the time I get back, they will have reported back on whether anything of interest has been found. I figured that was a much safer, faster way to the truth,” I said, taking full credit for the wild goose chase Rachel had sent those Council vampires on. “I think we’re getting close,” I added for embellishment.
The room was eerily quiet, so much so that I began to think I’d been too confident in my cleverness.
“That’s great news, Evangeline!” Sofie exclaimed, genuinely happy. “And it keeps you out of harm’s way.”
“Yes … that is rather intelligent,” Mortimer mumbled, adding, “thank you.”
I stared wide–eyed at him. Those words were the last ones I expected to come from him, the grump. And they sounded genuine.
Mortimer looked at me thoughtfully. “We will owe you, won’t we? Though I’m not sure how we could ever repay you.”
By leaving me and my friends alone? By never asking me to do anything again? By letting us live our lives in peace while you sit quietly in your palace? Or …”Money,” I blurted, another idea popping into my head. Caden was right; I was brimming with ideas.
An extremely rare expression of surprise flashed across the vampire’s face. He hadn’t expected an answer to his rhetorical question, but he was obviously intrigued. “Do tell?”
“This should be interesting,” Viggo mused, a smug grin on his face.
“Well, it’s Caden, Fiona, Bishop, and Amelie,” I began, stammering, suddenly uncomfortable. “They’ll have nothing—no home, no money, no clothes.”