20. Immobilized
“You’ve found something already?” Amelie said, feigning enthusiasm. She’d make a great actress.
Rachel ignored Amelie, her shrewd eyes surveying the room, taking in everything. “You look like you’re getting settled in,” she said slowly, her steely yellow gaze falling on me and, more importantly, my close proximity to Caden.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. That gaze made me want to shrivel up and die.
Rachel’s eyes darted to the sleeping bag. “Planning on napping while we run around, looking for this portal?”
“Oh, that … Sofie likes to prepare for every possibility. She’s a worry wart.” I rolled my eyes dramatically, trying my hand at acting as well. I was sure any average five–year–old could have outperformed me, but I had to keep her distracted. I didn’t want her noticing the two giant bags of Merth. “Did you find anything?”
She ignored the question again, instead turning a sickly sweet smile toward Bishop. “What’s wrong? Big Brown didn’t tell you I was on my way?”
“No, he’s busy searching the forest. Like Eve told us to,” Bishop responded slowly.
Her lips twisted in an unflattering, pensive expression. “Partway there, I asked myself what would happen if you found this portal in the woods. Would you wait for me?” She stalked slowly toward me. No one moved. Worried glances flitted between them.
She stopped in front of me, taking a relaxed stance. I forced my eyes up to meet hers, my terror likely shining like bright neon lights within them.
Suddenly she was forcing herself onto Caden’s lap, straddling him as if ready to perform a private show while managing to shove me off the bench at the same time. Luckily Amelie caught me before I hit the ground and made room beside her for me, wrapping her arm protectively around my shoulder. My eyes dropped to where the camera had been lying. It had vanished.
“Of course Caden would never do such a horrible thing as leave me. But the rest of you,” she threw a hateful look at Amelie and Fiona, then a withering one in my direction, “I don’t trust.”
“Of course we’d wait for you,” Caden insisted. I sensed the nervousness in his voice. He was having a hard time hiding his shock at her return.
Rachel snuggled against him, her voice turning sultry. “I couldn’t risk it.”
My stomach constricted into a painful knot at the sight.
“But what about searching New Shore? It’s important that we find this artifact, and soon,” Caden said calmly.
“It’s taken care of. I met up with two Council members on my way and sent them back to search.”
“What did you tell them, Rachel?” Caden asked, his voice slow and even, but I saw the flash of alarm in his eyes.
“Oh, nothing important. They’re not smart enough to put two and two together. Like they’d ever figure this out.”
Caden exhaled, visibly trying to control his anger.
“They were on their way here!” she added quickly, a rare hint of desperation in her voice. “You should be happy I’ve deterred them.”
Caden reached up to brush her hair from her face. “Of course, yes. Good thinking.”
Don’t touch her with those hands! I screamed in my head.
A relieved smile stretched across her face. “I’ll head back to New Shore in a week or so to double–check. They’re getting eight others to help. You can come with me then, of course. Your scouts will have covered these mountains.”
“You shouldn’t have done that, Rachel,” Amelie growled.
Rachel waved her hand dismissively in Amelie’s direction. “We don’t care what you think. Do we, Hon?” she purred into Caden’s ear, her arms wrapping tightly around him.
He smiled lovingly at her.
I clenched my teeth as I felt another spasm in my stomach. Caden was right. This is worse. Way worse.
Amelie’s arm squeezed my shoulders.
“We’ll have to test that comfortable bed out later,” Rachel said, giggling seductively, discretion obviously not part of her DNA. “Should be much more comfortable than the last time …” She turned to appraise the bed Caden and I had shared the previous night. Then her gaze fell on the mountain bags.
My stomach—already battered from watching her maul Caden—dropped to my feet.
“What did you fill those bags with, Evangeline?” her voice had turned sickly sweet. Rachel only addressed me directly when she was torturing me about my feelings for Caden, or if she wanted the truth. She likely assumed that I couldn’t lie credibly. An accurate assumption, I’d say.
“Bags?” I fought panic.
“Yes. The bags. You’ve emptied them of their contents, based on what I see here, and yet they’re full again.”
“Oh, yeah,” I stammered, feeling Amelie’s arm squeezing me ever so slightly.
Fiona’s eyed narrowed, indicating she hadn’t missed Amelie’s gesture.
Would it be that bad if she found out? Yes, it would. It meant the Council would have fields of Merth to inflict more pain. It would mean I couldn’t bring it back for Sofie. And most important, it would prove we’ve been keeping secrets from Rachel. That would be disastrous. But what else could I tell her?
“Flowers,” Fiona answered in her usual placid tone, saving me.
“Flowers?” Rachel’s face screwed up in skepticism.
“And plants!” I exclaimed before adjusting my tone to sound calm. “You may have things that we don’t have on Earth, and Sofie wants to study them, see if she can use them for some of her witchy spell–casting. Hocus–pocus stuff. I don’t get it.” I rolled my eyes. I knew my voice was trembling and probably unconvincing, but I couldn’t help but be impressed with how easily that lie had popped into my head. Maybe I was getting better at this.
“That much?” Rachel said her eyes narrowing further in disbelief.
I shrugged. “She asked for any plant I didn’t recognize. I’m not a botanist.”
“Hmmm. Right.” She pursed her lips, then turned her attention back to Caden, tracing his collarbone with her index finger.
My shoulders, rigid with anxiety, began to relax. My quick–thinking deception had worked.
“Show me, Evangeline,” she demanded in a crisp voice, not looking away from Caden.
I froze.
“You wanna see a bunch of half–dead weeds?” Bishop scoffed.
Her left eyebrow arched severely. “Show me,” she repeated.
“Um, sure,” I managed in a hoarse whisper, my eyes darting to Caden. He didn’t dare look away from her.
Rising slowly, I walked over to one of the bags on shaky legs. I took my time, now in extreme panic mode and condemning my cleverness. I started fumbling with the strings, trying to think of some way out of this impending disaster.
“Here, let me help you. The knots are tight,” Bishop called, suddenly appearing in front of me to help unfasten one of the bags. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel slide off Caden’s lap and take a step toward us.
Caden was right behind her, though, grabbing her waist playfully and kissing the side of her neck as a means of distraction. It partially worked. She stayed there to revel in his affections but her snake eyes never left us.
I was too worried about being murdered at this point to be upset by Caden’s actions. I watched nervously as Bishop unraveled the knot. I frowned as he continued fumbling with the strings, as if there was still a knot to be untied. What’s he doing?
“Here, put your hand on that loop and pull,” he instructed. I frowned. There was no loop. “Right here!” he said impatiently, holding his hand out, palm up. I mechanically reached over, and Bishop grabbed my hand and guided it into the bag. From where Rachel stood, she wasn’t able to see what we were doing.
I understood. “Merth only has to touch us for a second to make us flop like rag dolls,” Bishop had said. Just the briefest of moments, and Rachel would be controlled; restrained; no longer a dangerous problem. But I couldn’t screw up. If I did, someone would likely die. It could be me, or worse, it could be one of the others. Would it work, though? Would she fall for it? We had no other choice. Committing myself entirely to the unspoken plan, I twined my fingers around one of the strands.
“Damn knot,” Bishop cursed, gripping my forearm tightly enough that it began to hurt.
“You idiot!” Rachel sneered, wriggling free of Caden.
As she strolled toward us, I noticed Amelie and Fiona stealthily slide in behind her, grim determination in their eyes. Caden moved forward as well, his jaw tight with anxiety, his head shaking, warning us. Warning me not to risk it. It was too late, though.
Rachel’s hand reached toward the bag.
Bishop, still holding my forearm, whipped my hand out toward her with lightning speed. Somehow I managed to grab hold of her wrist, pressing the Merth tightly against her skin.
In the next instant, four pairs of hands were securing her. She let out one high–pitched shriek and then her body went limp.
Amelie lifted her other arm up. I wound the cord around both wrists and tied a knot, my hands trembling violently the entire time.
“Her legs too,” Caden instructed, his voice now devoid of all emotion.
I reached in for two more cords and went to work binding her legs at the knees and the ankles. Will more Merth mean more pain? I wondered sympathetically. Will the thousand razor blade cuts turn into a million? I gave my head a shake. You’re too soft, Evangeline. She’d do it to you in a heartbeat.
When we finished, the previously deadly vampire lay immobilized on the ground, all bound up like a pig ready for a spit.
It was over. We were safe.
My knees buckled. I would have collapsed if Caden hadn’t been there to catch me, scooping me into his arms and swiftly gliding away from Rachel.
“Are you okay?” he whispered breathlessly as he placed me on the ground, deep concern in his eyes.
I nodded, unable to speak.
He sighed heavily, leaning forward to press his lips against my forehead, his hands squeezing my shoulders. I closed my eyes, reveling under his touch. I could have stayed like that for hours, but he pulled away. “Are you insane?” he yelled at Bishop, his voice thundering in the cave.
“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?” Bishop’s responding yell—his display of anger such a rare sight—matched Caden’s.
Caden bit his lip, thinking. When he spoke again, it was at a normal level. “Can she hear us?” he asked Amelie.
She nodded.
He strolled over to crouch beside Rachel’s head. “It feels so good to be rid of you. To not have to pretend anymore,” he hissed into her face. I saw confusion in her eyes. “Every time you touched me,” he continued, shuddering, “I pictured Evangeline’s face. It was the only way I could handle it. Enjoy knowing that.” He straightened and was standing beside me again in an instant, wrapping his arms tenderly around me.
I couldn’t help feeling a tinge of guilt for my part in the trap. That was until I glanced down at Rachel to see the raw fury in her eyes as she realized she had been deceived for far longer than just today. That searing gaze burned across my entire body. Likely imagining tearing my limbs from me and bashing my brains in with them, I realized. I stepped back into Caden’s embrace and squeezed my eyes shut as I buried my face against his chest, but it was a long while before the afterimage of those devil eyes faded from my mind’s eye. The feel of Caden’s body against mine and his wonderfully natural scent seemed to help.
“What should we do, toss her into the fire?” I heard Amelie ask dispassionately.
“Sounds good to me,” Bishop sneered. He reached down to grab her legs.
“Wait—she’s not going anywhere, and who knows if we’ll need her for something still,” Caden said thoughtfully, still holding me.
“I don’t know, Caden,” Amelie answered warily. “It’s better if we rid ourselves of this problem for good, here and now.”
Caden looked down at me. “What do you think? She’s the biggest threat to you.”
I glanced at Rachel’s motionless body. “We could wait until we’re sure. We can always get rid of her later.” As the callous words left my mouth, a wave of revulsion hit me. I could be like Viggo. A monster.
“Okay. Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I definitely can’t spend another second looking at her,” Bishop muttered, grabbing her feet and unceremoniously dragging her down a tunnel like an awkward piece of garbage, out of our sight.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” I mumbled, the rush of adrenaline fading to allow bitter nausea. I almost fell onto a bench.
“No, that shade of green isn’t flattering,” Fiona mumbled, coming over to rub my back. I turned to see Caden staring at me, an unreadable expression on his face.
Bishop strolled back in then, dusting his hands off as if they were covered in dirt. “Try not to attract anymore lunatics, okay?” he directed at Caden before winking at me.
Caden’s eyes didn’t even flicker from my face as he gave Bishop the finger.
“So that is a universal gesture,” I noted, earning a laugh from Bishop. Not even a twitch from Caden.
“All this excitement! I need to go hunt,” Amelie exclaimed. “Something feisty … Oh, I don’t know, a wild cat, maybe?” She grinned. “You guys in?” her question was directed at Bishop and Fiona, her eyebrow raised suggestively.
“See you two later,” Bishop called as they vanished out the cave entrance.
“One obstacle down,” I said lightly. “See? Not so hard.” Except for the bound, sedated, psychotic vampire hidden somewhere in the tunnels, I reminded myself, glancing warily down the tunnel Bishop had dragged Rachel into.
Caden took a seat beside me on the bench. “You could have been killed, Evangeline,” he admonished me.
“Well, it’s not like I had much choice,” I retorted.
He exhaled noisily. “Yes, you did. You could have just shown it to her and let us handle it.”
“I like my solution better.”
“Your solution almost got you killed!”
“Okay, I’m sorry!” I cried, a tear escaping. “But it didn’t and now we don’t have to worry about her. Now we can focus on getting you home with me.”
Caden squeezed his eyes shut. “The sooner we leave here with you, the sooner I become a danger to you; the sooner I likely can’t be in the same room as you,” he said miserably. “You and I are still impossible.”
“No. We are not,” I growled impatiently. “Maybe a tad complex for the moment, but not impossible.”
Finally a flicker of something like amusement crossed Caden’s face. “When did you become so stubborn?” He sighed. “It seems like that right here, right now, but in your world … impossible,” he countered, sadness in his voice.
I gazed upon that intoxicatingly beautiful face that I was so wildly in love with and my jaw set with determination. I wouldn’t give up on us and I certainly wouldn’t let him. An irrepressible urge suddenly gripped me. Sliding closer, I reached over to gently cup his cheek and pull his face toward me. His eyes remained closed. “Well, then I guess we better not waste anymore of this valuable time,” I murmured brazenly, reaching up with my other hand to touch his chest, the ripple of his muscles under my fingertips making me tremble.
I didn’t think it would work, my novice attempt at seducing him. I assumed he’d push my hand aside, listing—yet again—all the reasons why we were impossible. Maybe he’d even laugh at my ridiculousness. But when he opened his eyes, when I saw the intensity burning within them, I knew I was far off in my assumption. I heard the low, feral groan in his throat and he closed the distance between us, responding whole–heartedly.
I had no idea what time it was and I didn’t care. I only cared that I would have to leave Caden at some point and I dreaded that reality.
We had spent all night on that blow–up mattress. Things had gone out of control shockingly fast and I hadn’t minded one bit, abandoning all my anxiety and self–consciousness the second his lips touched mine. But, with clothing torn off and bodies tangled, Caden must have realized where we were headed because he stealthily bound me up within the sleeping bag.
“To keep us out of too much trouble” Caden had whispered.
“No. I want trouble,” I’d pleaded shyly.
“I don’t,” he responded resolutely, his jaw set. “No, no, you don’t understand,” he quickly added when he saw my wounded expression. “No, that’s not it. I’m … afraid.”
“What? Like virgin–afraid? Same here!” My eyes widened, relief flooding me at the revelation that I wasn’t the only one.
He chuckled. “No …”
Drat. My face flushed.
“But later, if … when you bring us to your planet, you’re going to see what I turn into.” Something like shame flitted across his face. “I don’t want you to have regrets,” he added in a whisper.
“There’s no way I’ll regret any of—”
He stifled my argument with an intensely passionate kiss and I forgot what I wanted to say. I may have forgotten how to speak altogether.
The sleeping bag remained a frustrating but effective barrier between us for the rest of the night. I tried to wriggle out countless times but he kept me pinned tightly underneath it until I was too exhausted to fight him.
At some point in the wee hours of the morning, when I could see the faint arrival of early dawn outside, I dozed off. It wasn’t something I had planned, but with my face nestled euphorically against Caden’s chest, enveloped within his strong arms, his hand therapeutically drawing circles over my back, sleep was inevitable.
“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.