by K. A. Tucker
The sound of shattering glass drew my attention upward in time to see a sleek black body sailing through the air from a fifth–floor balcony. Max landed beside me with the agility of a cat. The other dogs tore out the door of the mansion and surrounded me in seconds. Leo rushed out close behind them.
“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.
That left me, the dogs, the Forero kids, the two yetis, and the man who looked like Leo standing in the large room. “Valentina, Julian, please see Darlene about your accommodations,” Leo said to them. “You’ll need to share a room.”
“Where the hell are we, butler? And where are our parents?” Julian snapped.
Leo strolled over to stand in front of the future drug lord, a triumphant smile on his face. “I’m not the butler here, Julian. Here, in these mountains, I’m God. Piss me off once and you’ll be tossed to the wolves faster than you can blink. Your parents are vampire fodder. The only reason you’re not is because of Evangeline’s naivety. Understand?”
My eyes bulged, listening to Leo deliver the threat. Where did the sweet, old grandfatherly butler go?
Julian and Valentina disappeared in seconds, the message clear. Satisfied, Leo turned to the two yetis, addressing them in some odd language that I had never heard before. The yetis grunted in unison and left out a side door.
I was now alone with Leo, wary of what other surprises he had in store for me. I watched him calmly walk over to one of the bookshelves. He pulled down a book and began fanning through the pages until a thick envelope popped out. Plucking it from the pages, he placed the book back in its rightful place, then walked over to me. “Here.” He handed the envelope to me. My name, written in Sofie’s floral scrawl, adorned the front. “This should make a few things clearer.”
I stared dumbly at him. He ignored my dumbstruck expression and continued. “I’ll be getting settled in. If you need anything, just holler.” He gave one of the dogs—Remington, I recognized by the dark blue collar—a scratch under the chin, then strolled away, a knowing smirk on his face.
When he was gone, I turned to Max. “Who is that?” I whispered.
Max emitted a burst of snuffling laughter. That’s Leo. Long story. He’ll explain later.
“Do you know what’s going on?”
Read the letter.
I grunted, annoyed. I couldn’t tell if it was fear of misrepresenting the facts or pure laziness on the giant werebeast’s part that drove Max to such useless answers. I looked for a place to sit, taking in my surroundings for the first time. The place reminded me of a ski chalet, wit
h its cathedral ceiling and stone fireplace. The furniture was all made of wood and plush, casual fabrics stuffed comfortably enough to sink into. Overall, a pleasant atmosphere.
I ended up sitting back down in the chair by the window, clutching the stiff, thick envelope in my trembling hands. What will I find in here? Was it going to tell me that Sofie had been lying all this time? Or that Caden and my friends were dead? There was only one way to find out. I exhaled heavily. “Like pulling off a Band–Aid, Max,” I murmured as I tore the envelope open, adding, “one that’s crazy–glued to my armpit.”
Inside were several pages of lined paper and a stack of photographs. Flipping through the pictures first, I saw they were the ones Amelie had taken during my last visit to the caves. Sofie had printed them for me.
My stomach dropped when I glimpsed a candid picture of Caden leaning up against a cave wall like a model in a designer jeans ad. He was smiling at something unseen in the distance, his jade eyes twinkling with pleasure. My heart ached at the sight of that smile; I needed so badly to see it again—see it so I could erase the murderous look now etched in my memory, the look on his face when he realized how much he wanted to kill me. He likely would have, had I not been wrenched out of there.
He had been right all along.
Agony tore my heart. I set aside the pictures for the time being and unfolded the letter to see Sofie’s elegant script.
Take a deep breath. First of all, let me assure you this is not another spell that will have you running on a wild goose chase to another world. I promise you that. You are still here, two feet firmly planted on Earth. I just won’t tell you where you are—for everyone’s safety.
If you are reading this, it’s because you have succeeded in bringing a vampire back with you—hopefully four, including your Caden. Now that you have, you will be relieved to know that the necklace will no longer transport you to Ratheus every night. But do not take it off. It has bound itself to you, to your heart. Without it on, your heart will stop beating.
You’re probably wondering why I have sent you to this snowy cabin in the woods. Do you remember me mentioning that there was a “complication” in unlocking Veronique’s tomb and that your necklace was needed to get her out? I feel I should explain the whole truth now …
Of course she hadn’t told me everything!
When I was casting the Causal Enchantment, I was full of raw angst and self–pity over the loss of Nathan, love for Veronique, and the intense need to one day find love again. All of those emotions melded together and resulted in the solution to our venom issue, but also an exceptionally cruel trick. The enchantment gave me the gift of love—a different sort of love, but just as compelling—when it bound itself to you.
Anyway, this was a gift with a condition. I would one day be forced to choose between you and Veronique. How, you ask? Well, when I first entombed Veronique within that statue, I basically encapsulated her heart within her pendant. Not physically, of course, but the life force of her heart. Releasing her was supposed to be simple enough. I just had to place the pendant within the statue’s outstretched hand.
I suspected this was what needed to be done to bring the vampires back with you all along. The similarities were too noticeable to ignore. However, I didn’t mention it to you until today because I was trying to buy myself time. Time to find a way around the awful predicament I was in. You see, the enchantment “decided” that it would bind your heart to the pendant as well, thus entwining your life with my sister’s. Once that necklace is placed within the hands of her tomb, Veronique’s life force will shift back to her, pulling yours along with it and killing you.
I will never allow that to happen, I promise you that. However, Mortimer and Viggo make keeping that promise fairly tricky. They don’t trust me. I expect that the moment you step foot on Earth with your friends, Mortimer and Viggo will get hold of you to ensure I complete the spell, by any means necessary. They will not wait.
If you are … where you are … that means the clock has run out. It means you could not wait any longer. You have held up your end of the bargain in bringing us the solution to our curse, and yet I haven’t found a way to save you from yours.
So I have sent you far away, where Mortimer and Viggo will never find you. As far as they know, you may be on Earth or you may be on another world. The house you will be residing in, indefinitely, is the result of a dream Nathan and I shared. I had it built—unbeknownst to Viggo and Mortimer—as a safe haven for you.
I promised you that I would keep you safe. Sending you away was the only way I could do that effectively. You will be safe there until your friends learn to control their lust for human blood and I find a loophole to untangle your heart from Veronique’s. I know, I know, I said there were no loopholes. But I’m determined to prove the Laws of Magic wrong. As much as I love and miss my sister dearly, I will not allow your death to be the cost of regaining her. She will remain frozen in time until I resolve this.
I doubt Viggo and Mortimer saw this coming. They will be shocked, to say the least, when you disappear, along with the dogs and their entire wait staff. I even threw in Julian and Valentina based on your sympathies. If they get to be a nuisance, just tell Leo and he’ll dispose of them.
Mortimer and Viggo will be angry enough to kill me. They may do it. You may be reading the farewell words of a recently deceased vampire. One whose love for you could easily rival that of any mother for her own child. However, with me gone, they have no hope of ever seeing Veronique again. I hope they’re smarter than that. We will see.
My hands were shaking as they fell into my lap, still holding the letter. Sofie could be … dead? The very idea sparked a great sense of loss in me, one I had not expected. I picked up the letter again.
I’m sorry that you have moved from one prison to another one. Don’t try to run. You will not get far and you will make Leo’s life stressful. I have entrusted you to his care, something I should have done many years ago.
I have had to hide my feelings for you until now, in fear of what Viggo may do if he realized how vested I was in your survival. I no longer have to hide.
I love you. Please believe that I live now only for your happiness. I hope we’ll see each other again soon. I will take care of your friends as best I can.
S
P.S. If it’s any consolation, there’s an account containing an obscene amount of money with your name on it. When it’s safe, it’s all yours to do with as you wish.
Tears flowed freely from my eyes now, giant droplets that splattered on the pages, smearing the ink. I frantically wiped them away, not wanting to lose her words in case they were her last. She must have written this the day I left for the last time.
Before I returned with an entire army of vampires.
Sofie truly cared for me. Loved me, even. I had a maternal vampire and I had never known. All because she had to hide the truth from Viggo and Mortimer.
And the curse wasn’t over yet. It would never be over until I was dead.
I must have read that letter over fifty times. When I finally looked up, dusk was settling over the snowy landscape. I was still alone, aside from the dogs. No one had once ventured into the great room. Likely cowering, still in shock, I thought.
I folded the letter and stuffed it into my back pocket until I could lock it away for safe–keeping in my room. Once I knew where my room was.
As if on cue, Leo strolled in with a plate. “You must be hungry,” he said in that bizarre new accent. He motioned me toward a solid wood dining table, dimly lit by a chandelier made of deer antlers. I stood and followed him over in a daze, mechanically sitting down in the chair he offered. “You okay?”
I hesitated, not knowing how to answer. “I’m still in shock, I think. There’s been a few big … surprises of late,” I said, eyeing him as I poked the mysterious–looking stew with my fork. I had no appetite.
“Okay, go ahead,” he prompted, smirking.
“Why British?” I finally a
sked.
He chuckled, thoroughly amused.
A heavy wooden side door burst open then, and one of the yetis stepped through, bringing an icy gust of wind and a dusting of snow in with him. I shivered responsively.
“Cold?” Leo asked. He flicked his hand toward the rustic stone fireplace across from us, and flames instantly erupted among the logs.
I frowned. It wasn’t a gas fireplace. There were no remote controls that could do that.
Leo winked at me.
Realization hit me. I gasped. “You were the voice I heard chanting with Sofie,” I whispered, my eyes bulging. “You’re a witch?”
“I prefer warlock or sorcerer. I’m not in the least bit feminine,” Leo answered casually.
“How …” I croaked, my voice barely audible.
“Oh, there’ll be plenty of time to get into the ‘hows’ while we’re exiled here; tonight is not the time for that. I may have been pretending to be the perfect gentleman’s man but I wasn’t faking being old. These bones of mine need a good rest after the exertion of transporting us here. Especially those four horses.” He nodded in Max’s direction.
I looked at Max with narrowed eyes. “Did you know?” Max found that question funny for some reason, making that odd half grunt, half snort that was supposed to be laughter. He knew! I scowled at him. “Do Viggo and Mortimer know?”
“No, no, no … They didn’t.” Leo shook his head. “They do now, though. Our Sofie—she’s a cunning one. She surreptitiously planted me in their service about fifteen years ago.”
“You pretended to be a British butler for fifteen years?” I said incredulously.
Leo took a seat by the fireplace and pulled out a pipe. “Viggo is particular about his butlers. They have to be ‘authentic.’ It was the only way.”