Anomaly (Causal Enchantment) (29 page)

And Viggo
hid tucked into an alcove out of view of the door we stood behind. Waiting.

A thrill jumped in my ch
est. Was this safe? Could he sense me? I took slow, even steps toward him until I was standing mere inches away, cringing at his handsome face. Homicidal excitement and anticipation danced within his cold blue eyes.

But h
e couldn’t see me—that much was obvious. He had no clue I was standing there, invading his space.

I wanted to invade his thoughts
too.

And so I did.

I delved into his mind, demanding to see what he had planned.

He would kill Mage and Sofie first before turning a gun on Caden. That was his plan. Simple. He believed he had the element of surprise. He was so pleased with himself for his patience and craftiness
. His hands enjoyed the weight of the Sentinel guns.

Thankfully, there seemed to be a
single train of thought. I wasn’t sure I could handle what else was in there, and I had no interest in scavenging through the mind of a psychopath.

As it was, I felt ill.

Viggo was picturing me watch
Caden die. My face crumbling, my heart shattering, dropping to my knees beside his limp body.

And the mental image brought exhilaration to his black soul.

My jaw tightened with the knowledge of his sadistic plans. Did I bait him? Did I lead everyone through that door, knowing what he was planning? As much as I believed in my newfound powers, a quiet voice of reason called out, warning me that perhaps I shouldn’t be so bold. Could I guarantee the outcome? What if I had only one bring-back-to-life card and I’d used in on Amelie?

That would be cruel and, from what I
’d experienced already, exactly how the Fates liked to play.

No, I c
ouldn’t risk it.

But
I certainly wouldn’t fight fair.

A
smile of satisfaction bloomed on my face as Viggo’s expression morphed from vengeful to confused to aware to angry to panicked. His eyes darted to the door, to his way out. But there was no way out because Viggo could not move. Because I did not want him to.

Finally
… I saw the fear that I longed for. Fear that he had instilled in all of us at one point or another.

I was ready.
Opening my eyes, I found myself staring at the back of the white metal door again, the one that would lead us to victory. Everyone’s gazes were on me, waiting, wondering, Sofie’s the most curious. I gave Caden’s hand a sharp squeeze before closing my other hand over the door handle to the lobby.

Sofie
sucked in a breath. I know she was desperate to control the situation, to charge out ahead of me. I assured her with a smile. “It’s okay. He’s not going anywhere.”

Caden and I had barely stepped out when the rush of bodies flew past, everyone instantly in defensive mode against the vampir
e who’d made their lives hell for far too long.

I
held Caden’s hand tight, our fingers knit together, as we strolled toward the semicircle of people surrounding the alcove. I kept my steps leisurely, an excited nervousness vibrating through me.

With a deep breath, I
forced my way in between Max and Julian, both radiating hatred for the villain who stood frozen, guns still in his hands. His eyes flickered across faces that wore varying degrees of loathing.

“Like a fly caught in a web,” Sofie murmured, matching Mage’s smile.
“What’s wrong, has
someone
caught your tongue?”

As much as
I never wanted to hear his voice again, I released his jaw. Words and arrogance poured out of his mouth. “You must know that the witches are watching for your magic. You’ve just led them here with your spell. I’m guessing that combined, they are much more powerful than you.” His focus was on Sofie. Of course. He thought she’d spelled him.

How long did we want to
maintain the ruse? Would he be less or more frightened knowing who really controlled him now?

Sofie’s smile only widened, heightening
the fury he struggled to conceal but that I could easily sense.

His lips stretched into a vindictive grin
as I caught an image of Veronique flashing in his mind. Still bound by merth and lying on a concrete floor, her surroundings dark but quiet, the air tinged with death. “You’ll never find your sister without me. I can promise you that.”

“A cemetery,” I said out loud, tipping my head
as he revealed his secrets to me. “An old cemetery in Montreal, Canada.” Panic flittered across his face as I picked through his subconscious. “A crypt.” Viggo’s eyes panned wide as he clued in.

“Evangeline?
” I turned to find Sofie’s gaze on me, asking me the unspoken question that I understood perfectly.

I smiled, sure that
I could do better than
find
her.

I was only as limited as my imagination
and my needs or wants.

Viggo’s gasp
cut through the silence of the lobby as Veronique’s small frame suddenly appeared on the ground by my feet, curled in a ball, her wrists bound behind her back. “That’s not real. She’s an illusion,” he quickly dismissed, but the composed façade was suffering its first irreparable cracks. When Sofie dove forward to tear the merth off with a wince, freeing her sister from her bindings, the façade dissolved entirely. Viggo no longer had any leverage, any reason to be left alive.

Veronique
sprang to her feet, her round green eyes taking in all of our faces, the lobby, the vaulted ceiling, the view outside. When they settled on Viggo pinned against the wall, rage ignited in them. With a shriek, she flew at him, nails out, raking across his cheek over and over again. We stood like statues as Sofie’s younger sister mutilated the face of the man she’d once considered spending eternity with.

When
Mage finally pulled Veronique away, four deep gouges across his cheek still remained, beginning just below his left eye and running down to his jawline. A hint of blood made its appearance but it wouldn’t have a chance to flow before the wounds healed.

I didn’t want him to heal, I decided
, letting my bitterness fester with my creativity.

“
Jeez,” Bishop cringed as rivulets of blood rolled down and dropped from Viggo’s flesh. “I bet you forgot what that feels like.”

Viggo said nothing, his
baffled attention shifting among Sofie, Veronique, and me. Speechless for the first time ever, likely.

With her
moment of wild aggression expelled, Veronique refocused her energy. “Where is Mortimer?” Her French lilt cracked with desperation.

That was a good question.

Her hands flew to her mouth. “Is he okay? Is he—”

Like a ghost coming to life, the
tall, dark-haired figure suddenly appeared in front of her, his chocolate-brown eyes blinking several times to take in his new surroundings.

I smiled.

It had been so easy. It took barely a thought.

There really was nothing I couldn’t do.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Sofie

I knew my mouth hung open but I didn’t attempt to pull it shut.

Mortimer
took only seconds to adapt to his new surroundings before pulling Veronique into his chest, his broad frame swallowing her tiny body.

Evangeline
stood watching everything unfold with a contented smile. After having her fate controlled by puppet masters for far too long, she had now taken the reins. All of our lives seemed to rest in her hands.

Irony did not adequately describe this turn of events.

“Evangeline?” Golden eyes flashed to me. “Can we deal with
him
and get out of here?”

Only at my words
did Mortimer look up to see the still form pinned against the wall, the open gashes in his face dripping crimson. I imagined they’d never stop unless Evangeline willed it.

“You!” Mortimer
roared, lunging for his archenemy. Arguably, Mortimer had suffered the most at Viggo’s hand, having tolerated him for a hundred and twenty years while waiting for Veronique. Perhaps it was only fair that Mortimer would be the one to finally kill him.

“No!
” Evangeline called out and Mortimer instantly halted. By the shock on his face, it was not by his choice. “I want him to suffer. Like he has made all of us suffer.”

Mortimer whipped around to glare at her. “Are you nuts? If you leave him alive, no one will ever be safe.”

“He’s right, Evangeline.” What the hell had gotten into her? Why would she want to protect him? Viggo deserved to die. “There isn’t a corner of this world that Caden will be safe in. Tell her, Caden!”

“Let M
ortimer do it,” Caden whispered, sliding his hand over her back in a soothing manner. “Or me. Or Amelie. Or anyone else here, if you don’t want to.”

She seemed to be pondering our
words.

“Uh, guys? What’s that over there?
” Fiona said, turning our attention toward the window, to a distant light in the sky. A second one appeared, rising quickly.

“
Lilly? Status report?”

Lilly
fumbled for the earbud that now dangled off her ear. With a few rushed words to Isaac, she was able to confirm. “Helicopters are incoming. The soldiers reported the lights on the building.”

“I suppose a perfectly intact and powered building in the middle of a citywide apocalypse would attract attention,” Mage
said wryly. “This place will be crawling with military and witches in no time.”

The witches would
have no clue how this happened or what it meant. There wasn’t a trace of sorceress magic touching it. That would either scare them enough to back away, or enough to attack full-force.

A
s much as I enjoyed watching Viggo ensnared, we needed to deal with him and move on. Quickly. “Evangeline. We need to end this. Now.”

“She’s not a cold-blooded killer like you, Sofie,” Viggo
murmured with a smile that didn’t reach his arctic blue eyes. Call his renewed composure a last-ditch effort. “She still has a conscience. If it would help you at all, Evangeline, why don’t you release me? I’ll put up a fair fight.”

Evangeline
merely stood staring at him. My ears caught the faint sound of helicopter blades. Would they dare try to land?

“Evangeline!
We need to end this!” Caden urged, desperation in his voice. No one wanted Viggo alive.

Evangeline
closed her eyes. Her hands raised, the ground began to rumble. Everyone’s focus shifted beyond the windows to see the dust kicking up, until nothing could be seen but dirt and darkness. We were cocooned within the building but whatever Evangeline was doing outside was awesome in power and size.

And no doubt, noticeable.

As quickly as the turmoil began, it stopped.

“There. Now they won’t know which building to search,” Evangeline
said as we all, except for Mortimer and Viggo, dashed to the windows to take in the view, our jaws gaping open.

Evangeline had rebuilt Manhattan.

Or at least what I could see of it.

Stepping forward until she was mere inches away from Viggo, Evangeline stopped to peer up at him. “I know what you wanted to do to Caden. I
saw
it.” Her face tightened with pain. “Now, what was that you asked me to do? Release you and
you’ll
put up a
fair
fight?”

The
vein above Viggo’s eye twitched, a sign that he was suddenly very apprehensive. I was sure he had finally figured out he was not getting out of here alive.

I could
n’t help it. I laughed, a deep bellow that echoed through the cavernous lobby.

Hateful eyes darted to me.
“You don’t think you’ll be next, you vile witch?” he spat. “And you,” he glared at Mortimer. “And you,” he threw at Mage. “She is an abomination! Do you think she won’t turn on you eventually? Look at her, already changing.”

“Goodbye
, Viggo.” Evangeline stepped away as she spoke, her words flat. She must’ve freed Mortimer’s legs because he suddenly shifted, testing his mobility. When he realized he had it, he looked up at Viggo. A smile stretched across Mortimer’s dark handsome face, one that made Viggo close his eyes.

Mortimer
lunged.

And
plowed into the wall where Viggo had just been restrained.

“
No!” Mortimer screamed, rage flashing as he turned to Evangeline. “What have you done?”

All she offered
us was a secretive smile and, “I promise you, he can’t reach any of us ever again.”

I suspected there’d be more questions and shouting matches but they’d have to happen later.