Anomaly

by K. A. Tucker

  “I stole a blood truck and we restocked so there’s more than enough for days. And Max will take good care of them.” I hadn’t heard from my werebeast since just before the accident. He was likely sulking over my abrupt dismissal. I needed to check in with him soon, although then I’d have to explain how I’d lied and then risk him running here.

  I admitted to something that I knew I probably shouldn’t, even as the words tumbled out. “And she isn’t feeding anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” Mortimer turned completely in his seat.

  “She wasn’t feeding when I left. She said she was satisfied.” I wasn’t lying, technically.

  Mortimer’s eyes flared with a mixture of shock and disbelief. “Like him?” He jutted a chin toward Julian.

  “Yeah, basically.”

  “That means …” I knew what he was thinking without the need for him to speak the words. That meant the feral woman he left hours ago was sitting in a dark mine, waiting for him. “I can’t wait around here. I’m going to her,” he announced, standing.

  “You need to stay here for now, Mortimer,” Sofie insisted without turning around. But Mage was moving in, taking slow, even steps into the sunken living room.

  “Veronique needs me!” he argued.

  “We need you more right now,” Mage said.

  “To do what?” He threw his arms in the air. “To sit around here, waiting? I can do that as well over there.” Mortimer reached down to collect his jacket. Even on the brink of a human apocalypse, the nine-hundred-year-old vampire still made an effort to minimize unsightly creases in his clothing. He would never survive the world we were heading into.

  Sofie seemed too absorbed with the skyline to pay attention to Mortimer. Watching, waiting. For what?

  “No, you must stay.” Mage stepped forward, her own black eyes shimmering. “I insist.”

  Mortimer’s head fell back with a bitter laugh. “What are you trying to do, compel me? You can’t, remember? Because I know about your secret.” The words had barely left his lips when his giant frame went sailing backward, crashing into the flat screen television.

  “You’re right. I can’t compel you,” Mage admitted, not a hint of humor on her face. But she could physically keep him here if she needed to, and she didn’t need to admit that out loud. We all knew her power was unrivaled.

  With a roar, Mortimer flew at Mage. She easily sideswept him, sending him careening through the opposite wall. He picked himself up and brushed the drywall dust from his chest.

  And then, in a move so fast my human eyes would never have seen it, he bolted for the door.

  Unfortunately for him, Mage was faster.

  “Why … are … you … fighting me?” He pushed out through clenched teeth as Mage shoved him to his knees.

  “Because you must stay here, with us. For now,” Mage hissed, her naturally serene demeanor cracking as her death grip on his neck prevented him from fighting back. Her black eyes shifted to Sofie and then to Lilly. “How much longer will this take?”

  I had to believe that Sofie and Mage were keeping him here for good reason. I stood and calmly strolled over, kneeling in front of him. “Mortimer, Sofie has our best interests at heart,” I began, hoping I didn’t sound like an idiot. More importantly, if this didn’t work, I hoped no one would figure out what I was trying to do. “You need to listen to Mage and stay here for now. You’ll see Veronique soon.” I could see the tension in his shoulders release, Mage’s fingertips relaxing their grip.

  Until there was no fight left in him.

  With wary eyes, Mage released him. By her stance, I knew she was ready to spring again, if this was some tactic on Mortimer’s part. Not until he made his way over to the couch and laid down his jacket did her stance loosen.

  That’s when her black eyes shifted to me.

  I ducked my head to keep my secretive smile from showing. Had she figured it out? Would it matter if she had?

  These questions were floating around in my head when Caden, Bishop, and Fiona barreled through the door, their clothes covered in blood and ash, their eyes quickly marking every figure in the room, as if suspicious of a threat.

  I didn’t falter for a second, meeting Caden halfway. I launched myself into his arms and pressed my face against his chest. For just a few moments, I pushed all my worries and fears away and reveled in his presence, in the feel of his strength against me.

  “Are you okay?”

  I closed my eyes. “Yeah.”

  His grip tightened. “You shouldn’t have come. But I’m glad you did.”

  I peeled myself far enough away to tip my head back so I could peer into his curious jade-green eyes. I’d rather die than lose the feel of them on me. “It wasn’t exactly my choice.”

  Before I could explain, Julian was next to us. “Where is she? Have you found anything useful?”

  Caden’s brow arched at me, a silent reprimand.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” I defended. “It’s a long story.”

  With a heavy sigh, Caden dug into his pocket and tossed a simple pink leather band to Julian. I recognized it immediately. Amelie was wearing one just like it. “We found it on the sidewalk outside the subway station where she went missing.”

  “Is that it? There’s nothing else?” Julian pressed.

  “It’s hard to find anything down there. The place is swarming with cops.”

  “Plus the army’s in full force now,” Bishop added. “They’re using bullets that ignite. Burning up the fledglings. It’s nuts.”

  “We saw those,” I said.

  “I referred to those earlier,” Mage said. “Highly effective.”

  “Then let the army chase after the fledglings. Why are we fighting?” Mortimer grumbled.

  “Because the fledglings are evolving too fast, and they’ll figure out the threat quickly. You can’t shoot a target that you can’t see,” Mage answered.

  “Fine. Whatever. Let’s go find Amelie. And don’t any of you dare tell me that I can’t handle it!” Julian exploded, his voice cracking with heavy emotion as he clutched the bracelet.

  Caden’s questioning eyes shifted to me. “He can handle it,” I mouthed in confirmation.

  “Okay.” Caden nodded.

  “I’m going with you,” I said, squaring my shoulders, ready to put up a fight. I knew Caden. He’d want me to stay put, to stay safe. He was so used to me as a fragile human, he had yet to accept me as something else. But after what I’d seen out on the streets, no one was going to make me stand here and watch Caden’s back as he walked into that. I didn’t care what anyone, including him, had to say.

  I’d compel them all if I had to.

  I don’t know if it was the determination on my face or that Caden felt the same way as I did—that he was tired of saying goodbye—but he acquiesced. I smiled.

  Julian was already halfway to the door. “Let’s go!”

  It wasn’t Caden who deterred us. Mage’s hand flew out with the speed of a viper, seizing his forearm. “No one’s going anywhere.” Her calm tone was back but it still sent shivers down my spine.

  What were they planning?

  “Sofie, this is ridiculous!” Caden yelled. “I told Lilly we’d come back because Evangeline begged me to, but then I’d go back out. We only have a few hours left!”

  “Begged? I didn’t beg for you to come back,” I said slowly. All eyes shifted from me to Lilly, finally resting on Sofie.

  And then I saw it.

  The pink glow surrounded her body, like a growing bubble. The long, tentacle-like arms reached out, eight of them, drifting toward us. Her focus remained on the skyline.

  “Sofie?” My eyes widened as pink bubbles cocooned first Lilly, and then Mortimer, and then the rest of us. A quick glance around showed me that everyone’s focus was still on the redhead by the window. I was the only one to see it. No … Mage’s eyes drifted over the edge of her own shell. She could see it too.

  “What is that?” Bishop hissed.
>
  Could Bishop see it too?

  I checked his gaze. No, he was focused on something in the night sky, his arm outstretched and his finger pointing. A glowing bulb approaching from the distance. Closer … and closer … and …

  Snowflakes tickled my nose as the mine’s entrance came into focus. It took me a moment to feel Caden’s arms still wound tightly around my body. It took me another moment to realize that we weren’t in Manhattan anymore. That Sofie had used her magic to transport us back here, as she once did when sending me into the Siberian Mountains to protect me from Caden. Then, a blinding flash of light in the sky pulled my attention to the south for a brief second before I was forced to duck against the brilliance. With another glance, I saw the orange glow overtake the skyline. Even in the black of night, I could make out the large cloud rising into the atmosphere.

  “What was that?” I whispered. If anyone had an answer, it was easily drowned out by a deafening sound. The ground rumbled. It raised the hair along my neck.

  “Was that …?” The pieces began to click. “Did someone just blow up New York City?” Who? The Sentinel? The witches? Viggo? Who was crazy enough?

  “No, not someone.” Caden stared at Sofie. “You did it anyway.” I’d never heard his voice so hollow before.

  “No! That wasn’t Sofie,” I quickly jumped in. “She didn’t do it. She was waiting until sunrise.”

  I watched the stunning vampiress’s face, waiting for her to defend herself, to deny the accusation. But she stood stock-still, a hard look planted on her jaw, her eyes unreadable.

  “Tell them Sofie!” I finally yelled.

  Mint-green eyes settled on me with a look that explained everything.

  The whispers, the urgency, the distracted demeanor. Sofie had not waited.

  “Did you know? When you promised me, did you know?” My words were barely above a whisper but she flinched all the same.

  Yes. She had known all along. Right to my face, staring me in the eye, Sofie lied to me.

  Amelie.

  My gasp came only a second before Julian lunged at Sofie, his hands gripping her neck. “You killed her!” he screamed.

  She didn’t even attempt a fight as a loud crack filled the otherwise serene nightscape.

  I stared, mouth agape, as Sofie’s body dropped to the snowy ground. She landed on her back as if asleep. One … two … three … Her eyes flickered open but she did not move. She simply gazed up at the night sky.

  Mage, on the other hand, was not as lenient, charging for Julian.

  “Stop,” Sofie’s deadpan voice called out just before Mage’s fingers wrapped around Julian’s neck. Sitting up robotically, Sofie muttered quietly, “I deserved that.” There was no mistaking the sorrow in her voice.

  Caden stood silently beside me, arms at his side. I’m not sure when I lost the comfort of his embrace. He faced southeast, to where he last saw his sister alive. Grief tightened its suffocating grip around my chest.

  Sofie slowly stood. “I had no choice,” she said. “If we waited any longer, there would be no chance at all. I’m sorry, but Amelie was collateral damage to the greater cause. So was Kait.”

  A glance Lilly’s way told me that she had been in on the plan, though by the pained expression on the child vampiress’s face, sacrificing Kait must’ve been a difficult decision.

  I could only assume that Mage was in on it as well, because Sofie didn’t do anything without consulting her. I glared at the tiny, pragmatic woman, wondering how difficult it was for her to coach Sofie, if she’d even blinked before uttering the words.

  How could Sofie have looked directly into my eyes and lied about something so important?

  Silence hung over us like a thick cloud. Did I dare hold out hope that Amelie wasn’t in the city anymore?

  “Maybe Amelie wasn’t even in Manhattan,” Fiona offered hesitantly, as if reading my mind, her pretty violet eyes alight with new hope. “Maybe she saw Jonah, and then chased him into the other areas of the city. Maybe—”

  “New York City is gone,” Lilly cut in, her voice hollow. “All of it. Isaac made sure of it. The surrounding area as well. We’re protected by these mountains but beyond them is ruin. Amelie is gone.” After a pause. “Kait is gone.”

  “Well …” Fiona’s husky voice wobbled, a lost look in her eyes. “Maybe they both got out of the city. Maybe they’re on their way here.”

  “Yes, maybe,” Sofie whispered, her eyes locked on a spot on the snow.

  Not likely.

  Once the initial shock had faded, Mortimer didn’t waste another minute, disappearing into the mine after Veronique, his only real concern.

  “Were you in on this?”

  Caden’s words—his tone low and thick with accusation—took time to register in my head. When they finally did, I slowly turned to find cold eyes assessing me. “Did she call you to come in? Because she knew I’d come running as soon as I found out?”

  “No … I … are you kidding me?” I stuttered.

  “My sister is dead.” His hiss made me shiver. “No, I’m not kidding. Because it would seem that those three,” his fingers jutted out at Mage, Lilly, and Sofie, “were willing to do whatever it took. So … Were you in on it? Did you choose Sofie over Amelie? Over me? Is that why you came to New York City?”

  My mouth hung open as I shifted my eyes from him to Bishop to Fiona and back to him. “How would that even be possible? There wasn’t even enough time! There …” This had to be his grief talking.

  “She had no idea what was going on,” Julian mumbled. “Neither did I. If I had, I would’ve stopped it.” A dark gaze lifted to settle on Caden. “And if you were looking out for your sister in the first place, maybe she wouldn’t have gone missing.”

  Julian flew fists-first into Caden, sending them both rocketing back into a dilapidated shed, taking its last remaining wall down. Bishop and Fiona moved quickly to pull them apart, but not fast enough for me to miss the gaping cut across Caden’s bottom lip in the second before it healed. Caden shoved Fiona off him, sending her flying into a nearby tree. Bishop released Julian to go to her.

  That freed Caden to lunge at Julian, sending him to his knees with a kick to the stomach. Grabbing a long piece of wood from the rubble, Caden smoothly drove the pointed end through Julian’s chest.

  “Stop this!” I yelled as Julian’s face contorted with pain, his hands pawing at the wood. Caden didn’t hesitate to slam his fist into the wood, driving it in again, earning another gasp from Julian.

  I wouldn’t stand by and watch this. I pushed Caden out of the way. “Stop hurting each other!”

  Caden’s body whipped around, his arm cocked and, for a moment, I was sure he would take a swing at me. But then I saw the recognition flash across his face. His body slumped to the ground.

  I tore the stake out of Julian’s body and dropped it on the snow. Neither Caden nor Julian spoke. Whatever rage had fueled their fight was gone as they both sat hunched in the snow, arms draped over knees, heads bowed, both suddenly absorbed by their grief. Raw, overwhelming grief. And betrayal, churning around them like thick, black smoke.

  “We don’t know anything yet,” I began, not ready to let go of all hope. “Amelie could be out of the city. She could be safe. She could be—”

  “Sofie!” Mortimer’s distressed bellow into the night cut me off.

  Chapter Fourteen – Sofie

  I should have known.

  Shifting my attention from the GPS tracker to the black knapsack, the last remaining strands of merth snatched, I quietly chastised myself. I should have checked the bag.

  I should have known that Viggo would do something like this.

  But because I hadn’t, two bodies lay in charred heaps in front of me. I assumed they were Cecile and Brian. A mercy, really. They probably would have done it themselves once they learned of Galen’s and Kait’s demise.

  More bodies lay scattered around the perimeter. From the looks of it, the wolves, including Kiril and Iva
n, hadn’t been much of a match for a two-thousand-year-old vampire, fueled by revenge.

  Neither had Max or his brothers.

  “Max!” Evangeline screamed, diving for the giant, still heap of fur. “No! No! No!” Her hands jostled him back and forth as if to wake him, shifting him so violently that his body turned. A glint of silver caught my eye and I immediately zoned in on the small piece of merth wrapped around his paw.

  Evangeline spotted it at the same time. “No!” I yelled as her fingers closed over it.

  And yanked it off.

  My mouth dropped open. Did she actually just touch the merth and not collapse?

  The werebeast was on his feet in a flash, releasing a baleful howl before nosing his brothers in vain, trying to get them up. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been bound by merth and would not be getting up again.

  “Sofie!” Lilly hollered, toeing a white-haired body lying between Cecile and Brian.

  “Is that … Jonah?”

  “Who cares who that is!” Mortimer boomed. “Who cares about any of them! Let’s focus on who’s not here!”

  Veronique was missing.

  “Did you know he’s been tailing us the entire time?” Mortimer spat, holding up a tablet with a frozen image on it, the cold cobalt eyes staring out at me.

  I knew I couldn’t lie. Not with what may be on that video. “I suspected.”

  “You suspected …” The even measure of Mortimer’s voice was the calm before a violent storm. “And yet you never felt the need to warn us!” His body shook, lips white with pressure, as if struggling to keep the words in. He held the tablet against his chest, the screen facing out, and hit “play.” The hairs on my neck stood on end as the haulage tunnel filled with his revolting voice.“ There’s a benefit to knowing Sofie for over a century,” Viggo began. The wicked smile never came close to touching his cold irises. Seated on a bench, he threw an arm over its back, as if getting comfortable in a friend’s living room. Nothing in the screen gave his location away, but by the occasional horns and distant sirens, he was obviously filming on a street. “Get screwed over by her enough, you begin to anticipate her next move. Her next two moves.” His eyebrows waggled. “Her next ten moves.” He whistled as his eyes trailed an unsuspecting passerby beyond the scope of the tablet’s camera. “And when you can anticipate her next ten moves, it becomes easy to get what you want. I tried to warn her, in all fairness. The pendant tied to the knapsack? Oh, come, Sofie, what did you think that was? A peace offering?” Every gaze in the room shifted to me.