Intrigue overshadowed my anger with Sofie for the moment. “But you said that was a hundred and twenty years ago. So … Veronique died?”
Sofie shook her head. “I knew it could take years to fix my error and there was no way to reverse it because of the nature of the spell. As I told you before, once these types of spells are cast, they can’t be undone. Veronique didn’t want to get old and gray, waiting, so we decided to ‘preserve’ her and place her somewhere where she could safely wait.”
“Where?” I whispered, picturing an underground tomb or coffin of sorts, dark and dusty and morbid.
“You’ve passed her many times, even admired her.” Sofie smiled secretively. She watched intently as I tried to decipher her riddle. When I frowned, shrugging in a sign of concession, she prompted, “In the atrium … ?”
The atrium … I gasped. “The statue! You turned your sister into stone?”
“No!” Sofie laughed. “She’s inside it. Entombed—like a mummy, only without all the white gauze.”
I shuddered involuntarily, shocked at the realization that an actual person was trapped inside. But it suddenly made sense. “That’s why Mortimer and Viggo spend so much time there.”
She snorted. “It’s not for their love of fine art, believe me.”
“So she’s alive in there?” I whispered.
“Sort of. She’s basically frozen, her mind in a coma, her body not aging. Once you bring a vampire back with you, I can release her and she can be transformed and live happily ever after with whichever of those two urchins she sees fit to choose.”
“Which one will she choose?” I wondered aloud.
“Good question.” Sofie leaned back in her chair. “It’ll spell disaster for the other one, surely. I want to be as far away from them as possible when that happens.”
“They’re not your friends, are they? Viggo and Mortimer, I mean. The fighting … it isn’t an act.”
Sofie smiled. “We tolerated each other until five years ago. The night Viggo killed your mother.”
“Why did he—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. Renewed agony stabbed through my heart.
She cringed, sensing my pain. “Because I kept you secret,” Sofie admitted reluctantly, shutting her eyes. “I cast that Causal Enchantment one hundred and twenty years ago, Evangeline. We waited for the fates to respond, to provide us with the solution. Then one day, eighteen years ago, the answer flooded into my mind. The spell had affixed itself to a newborn baby.” Her eyes popped open. “You.”
A cold chill slid through my body.
“The spell had set all kinds of rules and boundaries, specific things that couldn’t happen or the spell would corrupt itself. You couldn’t know about the existence of vampires before the night of your eighteenth birthday; you couldn’t be compelled—ever. And you had to wear that necklace and touch the statue of your own free will. All kinds of stupid rules.”
She spread her arms, the movement like an unconscious plea. “I never chose a human to bear the brunt of this, Evangeline. Believe me. Your name, your birth date, where you lived … it was all decided already. Please believe me, I didn’t intend any of this for you … Anyway, I kept it from Viggo and Mortimer. For years, they didn’t know the fates had responded, that the spell was finished. Max kept you secret too.” Sofie turned to gaze adoringly at Max, all signs of hatred gone.
“When I suddenly moved to Portland—not exactly the mecca for urban life—Mortimer sent Max there to protect me.” Sofie rolled her eyes, snorting. “I wasn’t stupid. I knew why he was there. It was a cover, of course; he was to keep tabs on me and report back. But I discovered he was feeding lies to Mortimer about basic things that I was doing. It was his way of telling me he was on my side. It’s shocking, really, that a werebeast would disobey its master like that. I didn’t know why, but I thanked the heavens every day. Eventually I revealed you to Max and we watched over you, trying to protect you while you grew up normally. While I tried to break the spell.”
“What happened, then?”
Sofie paused, swallowing. “They found out … Mortimer somehow forced an answer out of Max and they learned of you. Viggo swooped in, ready to kidnap and imprison you. Exactly what I expected would happen. So I explained why he couldn’t—all of the rules. Viggo was furious that I had kept you secret for thirteen years, but he wasn’t willing to risk breaking the spell; he decided it was best you had no bonds in the human world. So he killed your mother.”
I flinched at her words; they may as well have been a solid punch to my stomach.
“And then he promised that anyone else who got close to you would die. He wasn’t bluffing. So I spent the next five years compelling everyone to stay away—your foster families, your friends, the boys at school—everyone. I didn’t want you surrounded by death.”
“Is that why …” My whisper faded to nothing. It wasn’t me after all?
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Evangeline,” Sofie confirmed, her expression sorrowful.
My whole life had been staged, controlled by vampire puppet–masters on a quest to fulfill their love for their entombed one hundred and twenty–year– old girlfriend and sister. “Why keep this story of Veronique a secret?” I asked, adding bitterly, “Viggo could have told me the other night, while he was painting himself as a martyr.”
She sighed. “Because Viggo thinks you’ll default to trusting him if you hate me. Plus they’ve sworn me to secrecy in all things Veronique–related, on penalty of injury to you.”
“But … why?” I was beginning to sound like a broken record.
“They’re terrified of someone finding out about her who could cause her harm.”
“She’s encased in marble and magic!” I exclaimed.
Sofie chuckled. “When you’re madly in love, you don’t act rationally. Like Ursula.”
I had forgotten about her until now. “How is she involved in all this? She was at the park, you know.”
“Besides being the witch that those two twits hired to spy on me? They don’t trust me.” Smiling sheepishly, she added, “With good reason, I guess.” She began massaging her temple with her hand. “Ursula is the classic example of a woman scorned, only she’s a witch so the fury is tenfold. She fell in love with Nathan and ensnared him in a love spell to ensure his mutual affection. She’s not pleasant, in case you hadn’t noticed. Well, sorceress spells don’t work well on vampires. Nathan realized what was going on, in effect rendering the spell obsolete. He would have killed her if she hadn’t been so pathetic. He had a compassionate streak in him.” She smiled wistfully. “One of the reasons I loved him so. Anyway, not long after that, he and I met. It was love at first sight. Ursula was bitter, believing that, if I had not ‘moved in on her territory,’ he would have forgiven her and fallen madly in love of his own accord.”
“But that was over a hundred years ago. Are witches immortal too?” I asked, recalling her mentioning something about host bodies but not understanding this hocus–pocus stuff.
Sofie shook her head. “It appears she found a way to jump from one human to the next, taking possession of them for her own form of immortality. She’s clever. That’s why I didn’t recognize her. When Viggo and Mortimer discovered Max’s betrayal, it seems they decided to hire a spy as another source of intel. I had sensed a witch from time to time near me but I never put the two together.” She smirked contemptuously. “I just thought I had a fan.”
My head was spinning by now, trying to keep track of all the different ways they had deceived each other. There was small comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only victim. “But Ursula’s dead now, right? Viggo killed her?”
Sofie shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not the last we’ll see of Ursula in one form or another. I’m not exactly sure how she possesses her host bodies, but it must use up a lot of her powers. Don’t worry. She won’t get through these gates a second time, now that those two half–wits know not to invite her and her conjured leopards in.”
I nodded, working to digest everything. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?” I asked, my eyes studying Sofie’s eyes for any signs of a lie.
She met my gaze steadily. “Everything I’ve told you is the truth. I swear it. On Nathan’s grave.”
Does that mean anything, considering she killed him? I wondered. It didn’t matter. I decided she was now the least harmful snake in the pit of vipers. Her and Max.
We sat in silence for awhile. Max came over and hunkered down, resting his chin on my lap to look up at me with soulful golden eyes. I looked from him to Sofie. “How am I hearing Max?”
Sofie shrugged. “I don’t know, but … you have no idea how pleased I am!” A goofy grin overwhelmed her face.
“Mortimer said something about him lying to him?”
“Yup! He’s been making up things and leaving out details since you’ve come here. And after you snuck off to the park, he just stopped talking to Mortimer altogether.” The broad smile was still plastered on her face. “I guess all those years of spying on you made him fall in love.”
She talks too much, Max interrupted inside my head, his irritation evident.
I couldn’t help giggling, even given the bizarre method of communication. I hadn’t been wrong about Max’s friendship, after all. One genuine thing around here, at least. Patting Max’s head once, I stood up and walked over to Veronique’s picture to study the catalyst of my curse. Gazing up at those olive green eyes, I searched my feelings for resentment, but found none. Rationally, I knew this was no more her fault than being cursed was mine. Or even Sofie’s.
“What a devastatingly beautiful woman,” a relaxed male voice suddenly said from beside me. Viggo, sliding in unseen like a ghost, as casual as ever. As if he hadn’t murdered my mother.
I instinctively assumed a defensive stance, my hands balling up into tight fists. A soft, wicked chuckle escaped him, one that sent a shiver down my back. My anger morphed instantly into fear. He was a monster.
“I met Veronique at the Emperor’s Royal Ball. I watched her glide down the O’Hara staircase with the purity of an angel, wearing this very dress. I knew I had to have her.”
“And she settled for you until she found something better,” Mortimer chimed in, appearing from a corner, an edge of competitiveness in his voice.
I stood quietly, wondering what their new angle was.
Viggo rolled his eyes. “One evening, Veronique was traveling to meet Sofie in the next city when a group of bandits attacked her carriage. They would have raped and killed her, if not for the aid of Mortimer here, who happened to be hunting in the nearby woods. I owed Mortimer for saving my true love and, so confident in her love for me, I never thought my lovely angel would fall prey to this rugged brute’s wiles. Alas, Mortimer and Veronique grew close and, before I knew it, she was professing her love to both of us. We became bitter enemies, ready to tear each other apart, except that it would cause pain to Veronique for one of us to die. So we waited, impatiently, for her to choose—me, of course—so I could transform her and have her forever. But then her witch of a sister had to go and mess things up!” Viggo said lightheartedly.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked bitterly. “You didn’t want to tell me anything before and now you’re just brimming with true–life stories.”
“To show you that we’re just like you!”
My mouth dropped open in shock. “You murdered my mother and destroyed my life. You probably snack on newborn babies! You’re nothing like me! And you’re trying to win me over with epic love stories, thinking I’m going to help you?” I trembled with rage now.
He quirked a brow. “Are you saying you’re not?”
“Help my mother’s murderer spend eternity with his true love? Hmm, let me see …” Uncharacteristic bravery was yanking words from my mouth before my brain could process them. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t hurt Viggo’s feelings if I tried.
“Well, then … there’s no reason to keep you anymore, is there?” Viggo’s eyes had turned cold, his smile menacing.
All four dogs leapt forward to form a wall around me, but not before Viggo had my pendant within his grasp. “You may tear my heart out, Max, but not before I rip this pendant from Evangeline’s neck,” he said, his eyes locked with mine.
18. Choices
“Viggo,” Mortimer warned, a wary eye on the dogs. He still seemed flabbergasted by Max’s new allegiance to me.
Viggo ignored him, standing fast with my pendant in his hand, hysteria twitching on his face. “You are going to help us because you want to help yourself. You’re going to bring these friends of yours back, right?”