Asylum (Causal Enchantment #2)(19)
Author: K.A. Tucker

Mage’s mouth twisted. “I didn’t tell you because you wouldn’t trust me.”

“No shit,” I spat.

“Didn’t tell her what?” someone asked from the corner, either Bishop or Caden; I couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. My attention was glued to the treacherous vampire who had just turned more deadly in the blink of an eye.

Mage answered with an exasperated groan. “We don’t have time for this. Viggo and Mortimer could be following any second—”

“Well then, you can just compel them into the Merth as well, can’t you!” Gasps of comprehension came from the others. My eyes remained locked on Mage’s. “So they don’t know what you’re capable of.” Interesting.

Mage pressed her lips together. “We’re wasting time.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and planted my feet firmly to the floor. I wouldn’t get another chance to force the truth out of Mage. It was now or never.

She exhaled in annoyance. “There are things I can do that no other vampire can. It’s because I am the first one. The vampire created by the Fates.”

“Things like what, exactly?” I pressed, silently muzzling my shock over her admission.

“Well, I can see and sense magic. You already know that, though.” There was that crooked little smile again. “I can also compel vampires.” Her black eyes roamed over to the others as they stifled exclamations. “I don’t do it often, though. I prefer not to.”

“No, you can’t,” Bishop said confidently, as if calling her bluff.

As a response, Mage waved her hand toward Rachel. It quashed further rebuttal.

“How could we not know this?” Fiona asked. Close beside Bishop, she clung tightly to his biceps.

Mage smiled again. “That’s part of the magic. You can’t feel it. It’s not like a human coming out of a daze. You feel perfectly normal. You feel as if the idea is yours. It’s a different type of compulsion. It’s more like I’m . . . originating . . . an idea in your head. One that becomes yours that you can’t possibly ignore. You have no idea that it’s actually mine.”

All five of us shuddered in unison.

“So all this time . . . ” I wracked my memory of the last month, searching for anything I had done out of character, choices I had made that may have been planted by Mage.

Mage was already vigorously shaking her head. “No. I stayed out of your head.”

“Bull!” the retort flew out of my mouth faster than even I had intended.

“I did!” Mage insisted. “Partly because it’s harder to influence a cross-breed such as yourself and Jonah. Partly because I knew you’d never trust me if I did.”

“And you think I’m going to trust you now?” I snorted mockingly.

“It doesn’t matter now.”

“How does you being able to insert thoughts into our head not matter?” Caden interjected before I could ask, his tone low, threatening. To say no one in the room was happy would be an understatement.

“Because . . . ” Mage paused, resignation settling on her face. She wasn’t used to divulging her secrets and it was clear she didn’t enjoy doing it. “Once you’re aware of what I can do, it’s no longer possible for me to do it without you seeing it for what it is, rendering it useless.”

Did I believe her? I wasn’t sure . . .

Mage smiled. “Why do you think Viggo has been so anxious to find out if I’m the original vampire? He knows what the original vampire can do.”

It made sense . . . Viggo evaded any questions I had about the first vampire, including what had happened to her. That sneaky bastard. He knew what Mage might be able to do to me and he didn’t warn me! I’d pay him back for that one.

“Speaking of Viggo,” Mage pressed, “we need to get going. Now. Before this mess gets any bigger than it already is.”

As usual, Mage was right. There were bigger issues to deal with for now. We both turned to stare at the window. My attention couldn’t help but drift over to Rachel lying on the floor. “You know I could leave you in limbo, caught within the Merth’s hold. Powerless,” I murmured.

“Yes, you could. But you won’t. You’re not an idiot. You realize having me as an ally is a better position to be in than otherwise,” Mage answered without missing a beat.

Check mark. Another right answer, Mage. “Fine.” I glanced back at Evangeline’s friends. Viggo could stumble on this at any moment, as Rachel had. If they duked it out, one of them would die. I couldn’t risk it, I decided. I guess it’s time to test out your blood theory, Mage. “We’re all going.”

“If I so much as think you’re getting out of line, I’ll instantly have you bound and gagged with magic,” I warned the five vampires standing in a row behind me, dressed head to toe in black to blend into the night like cat burglars. Purpose and exhilaration shone in their vibrant eyes. And fear. Such an uncommon emotion for a vampire, but we were all acutely aware of the consequences if we failed. Mage and I more so, given we knew the real truth behind Ratheus. I’d have to tell the rest of them eventually. Now was not the time.

“We’ll be fine!” Bishop assured me, waving away my concern. “Let’s go! I’m ready to kill some mutants.”

“I hope that’s all we kill,” Fiona muttered from his left side, not nearly as confident as her partner.

I glanced back at Caden and Amelie. “We’re good, honest!” Amelie exclaimed with a nervous smile. Caden attempted a reassuring grin but it came out looking like a grimace. No one was sure of this—except Mage. She seemed to hold confidence in them. They had been feeding nonstop for weeks now, gorging on enough blood to last most new vampires a year, at least, and that paralyzing lust that first consumed them did seem to be slowly vanishing. Now I glimpsed Amelie’s bubbly personality, Bishop and Fiona’s affectionate nuzzles, Caden’s gentle smile—the vampires Evangeline had fallen in love with. It was heartening to see what I thought forever gone now suddenly here and real. But could they handle what lay outside these walls?

Impatient, I glanced at my watch. Only a few hours until the city comes to life. The darkness would help hide the mutants. But with the sunrise . . . We needed to stop them. Tonight.

“How long before Mortimer and Viggo discover this window?” Mage asked.

I shrugged. “Soon. Or never.” They rarely toured the building. But now, with others wandering about, it was going to be hard to hide. “They will notice we’re gone as soon as they decide to go looking for us. Let’s get out before they start looking. Okay . . . you guys ready?” I asked Caden and his friends, feeling oddly elated. Hunting did that to me.

“Hell, yeah!” Bishop grinned boyishly.

“Yeah!” Amelie cheered, earning a groan from Caden.

“We’re not going clubbing, Amelie!”

Her plump lips turned down in a pout. “I know. It’s just . . . ”

Caden wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her an affectionate squeeze, smiling wickedly. He would be happy to see Jonah dead. Their pasts held a secret, I was sure of it.

I stepped to the edge of the Merth boundary. Rachel lay unmoving on the tiles nearby. Exactly how I should have left you from the beginning. I glanced back at Mage. She nodded and moved to stand beside me. Like two amiable women, we clasped hands and stepped forward.

A prickling sensation like a thousand tiny electric shocks instantly permeated my skin as I entered the Merth barrier. It wasn’t comfortable, but I knew it was nothing near the agony Mage was feeling right now. Like razor blades cutting into skin—that’s how they all described it.

The power of the Merth overwhelmed Mage’s body and it slackened and crumpled to the floor. I looked down at her frail little body. I could leave her here. It was a once in an eternity chance, and for a short second, I considered rolling the powerful, manipulative vampire over to lie beside Rachel. She’d never have the chance to insert anything into my head again.

Instead, I leaned forward and grabbed hold of her slender waist, heaved her up, and tossed her tiny body over my shoulder. I stepped onto the window ledge and paused, inspecting the dark alley below for any witnesses. None. Thankfully the mutants hadn’t busted out of a room facing onto Fifth Avenue.

At three storeys up, it was a long way down. For a human.

I jumped.

The heels of my boots cracked against the pavement beside a dumpster, the impact jarring my knees. Almost immediately, Mage was fully functional, pushing free of my grasp to stand beside me. She smoothed her black, mock turtleneck sweater. “Thank you for not stabbing me in the back.”

Despite myself, I grinned. “Anytime.”

Her eyes scanned the dark alley. “No bodies here. Good start.”

“Okay, wait right here. I have to get the others.” I hesitated. I had just unleashed a five thousand-year-old vampire with unique powers upon New York City and was about to leave her unchaperoned.

Mage rolled her eyes, such an uncharacteristic act for her. “Stop wasting time!”

I nodded once, then scaled the wall to get Evangeline’s friends.

True to her word, Mage didn’t abandon me while I transported the others down. Soon they stood with me in the dark alley, the ability to satisfy their insatiable thirst lying open ahead of them. No Merth held them back; nothing kept them from bolting. And yet each stood frozen in place. In control.

Fat snowflakes began floating from the sky to speckle our clothes and hair. The temperature was dropping rapidly. It was December, after all; almost Christmas. It would have been beautiful, if not for the situation. But at least the streets would be relatively quiet.

“Okay, so now what?” Amelie whispered, her large, emerald-green eyes widening as a late-night reveler passed the entrance to the alley.

“If you’d just escaped prison and were looking for fresh blood, where would you go?” Caden asked.

Great question. I began walking toward the street, the five of them trailing me like shadows in a V-pattern. I stopped when we reached the sidewalk and scanned the vicinity, analyzing every structure, every object, every movement. Across from us stretched Central Park. The trees along the edge were lined with thousands of twinkling lights to mark the holiday season but beyond them, the heart of the park was vast, shadowy, and concealed. The perfect place for a massacre. Would there be one there tonight? There had already been one small massacre in Central Park recently, the day Ursula and the Sentinel attacked Evangeline.

My stomach instantly twisted into knots, remembering the day I almost lost her. Had it not been for Max, I would have. I was busy appeasing Viggo and Mortimer, toiling with my magical weaves to give the illusion that I was trying to solve Evangeline’s next steps on Ratheus. I wasn’t doing that. I already knew the answer to that. I was busy trying to dismantle the entire spell when the normally obedient girl hoodwinked Leo, turned Max’s allegiance, and snuck out.

Would Central Park appeal to the mutants? Every direction one turned was crawling with fresh, warm blood. Did the mutants have the sense to hide their faces? I pricked my ears, listening for the bloodcurdling screams I expected to come from any human encountering those demonic white eyes. Nothing. That was a good sign. But it wouldn’t last long.

“Let me try something,” I murmured, calling on my magic for a spell weave I had discovered in my regular witch years. It was the result of a moment of madness, after I’d accused Nathan of cheating on me because he refused to convert me. He had taken off in a huff. In a fit of fear-filled rage, I’d concocted a tracker spell and used it to find him in the woods nearby, feeding on a coyote. I wasn’t sure if it would work on mutants, but it was worth a shot.

I stepped back into the alley, not wanting to attract attention. Gathering a hundred helixes together, I held my hands out in front of me. The tiny purple coils appeared between my fingers for all to see. I began weaving them together in an intricate figure eight pattern until both sides were perfectly symmetrical. There. Now for something to track. To find Nathan, I had used his scent as the target—easy, because his scent lived on everything I owned. But now I had no scent to track the mutants. An idea struck me.

“Quick. I need blood,” I called out. Mage’s hand was there in an instant, a sharp piece of metal in her other hand. “On the links. Lots of it.” She ran the jagged edge across her wrist without flinching, opening up a wide gash. Blood streamed out onto the magical links, saturating them before her wrist naturally healed over. “That’s good. Thanks.” I hoped it would work, given I had used vampire blood instead of human. There was a chance the links would pick up on regular human-to-human violence in the city. Still, it was the best option. I broke the figure eight in half, flinging one bloody, glowing half outward.

“Wow,” Fiona and Amelie murmured in unison, watching it float away. The guys were busy surveying the streets, Caden with his arms folded tightly over his chest and Bishop with his hands deep in his pockets, rocking back and forth. Both looked anxious but completely in control. This was a good sign.