Chapter 9
The cave seemed more like a pit with a never-ending stairwell down into the bottomless black void. There was no crevice, or offshoot, nothing. Just stairs, down, down and farther down. The center may easily go on forever with a circular wall closing Evangeline in. She had begun to wonder if the cave was a portal to another plane, another world.
Nothing felt right. The air was off, and she continuously told herself that it was only her imagination. She didn’t believe it for a second.
The cavernous room felt different than the mountain had. Evangeline couldn’t sense anything familiar. Not the creatures in the forest, or anything else. However, there was a presence that was strangely familiar, though she couldn’t place it.
Nope, seemed she had slipped from one plane to the next. And when she looked up, the ceiling shimmered, and it seemed she was stuck in the middle of the stairs.
In fact, all she saw at the bottom was black. And her feet were starting to hurt. She’d been descending in the dark for hours.
Plopping down on a step, she closed her eyes and reached for Bran.
Bran was already on a plane, staring out the window, full of tension.
“Another hour until we land,” Jay said. “Then we have to find the cave.”
Without disturbing either of them, she opened her eyes and leaned her head against the cave wall with a groan. Guilt washed over her.
Jay never had deserved her lack of trust, yet she couldn’t forget the fact he killed her first mate—justified or not.
The fact Bran had become friends with Jay was good. Perhaps Evangeline could finally let go of the past and accept Jay for who he was. Besides, how long before Jasper had done worse to her in his descent into madness?
Her thoughts drifted toward doubts. Bran was too good for her. Genevieve believed Evangeline was a monster, no matter what she said. Her father never wanted her. No, he sent Evangeline to the first monster to show interest. And the bastard sent the weaker of his daughters to search for the artifact. Evangeline was only a last resort.
Yeah, well, fuck him. He can claim the damned relic himself.
Dad only called when he realized he needed one of them to retrieve the blade, and Genevieve couldn’t do it. Only took him a century to figure that out.
Hopefully, Genevieve would forgive her when she realized that Neil probably saved her life when he changed her—if he did. Maybe she could finally see that their father was an evil bastard who was only out for himself and that most shifters weren’t monsters.
Coming out to help was foolish on Evangeline’s part. If it weren’t for Genevieve’s failing health, she would have never boarded the plane. If only there had been a way to get Genevieve away from the condo without going to the stupid site.
No point in dwelling on the things she couldn’t change. Evangeline pushed herself to a stand and started the descent once again.
“There has to be another way out,” Evangeline muttered to herself.
A voice rolled through the air, female, and sleepy. The accent was some dialect of French she’d never heard. “A way out you say? You would leave behind your prize?”
Evangeline’s head cocked. Were the stories real? Did some ancient Faery guard a relic on this mountain?
Her mother used to tell her about the Faery that lived under Whiteface Mountain who possessed a precious blade that could alter reality. No one could take the weapon. It had to be gifted by the one who possessed it. So really, why the hell had her father thrown her into a cave where she couldn’t hope to touch the weapon without the Faery’s blessing? Or had he paid any attention to his wife’s stories?
Genevieve hadn’t. Ugh. Why else would she go in search of the relic?
Didn’t matter. Evangeline honestly didn’t want the dagger. Her father would expect her to hand it over and that was never going to happen.
“I’m not here by choice. Show me another way out, and I will gladly leave your treasure here.”
“You would ignore a relic that could grant you every one of your desires?”
Sighing, she huffed. “I make my own destiny. I only want to get back to the man I’m falling in love with. My father is the one who wants the dagger, and I sure as hell won’t help him. Let me out of the cave, and I’ll happily leave without bothering you further.”
“What do you require?”
“An exit from the cave. I can find my way back to an airport as long as I end up far away from the entrance I came in. I suspect my father is waiting there.”
“These woods are haunted,” the voice warned.
“Not worried about ghosts. I simply want a way out that will avoid my father.”
“Truly?” the voice asked.
Sighing, she nodded. “Very.” I’m crazy. Must have lost my damned mind. No one is talking to me. It’s all in my head.
The rock next to her split. The earth shifted aside as a rumble vibrated through the cavern.
“A way out,” the voice boomed.
“Thank you,” Evangeline murmured before slipping into the dark passage and started climbing upward. A pin-sized light shone in the distance. She pushed harder. “Thank you.”
The new entrance closed, the rock sliding shut, toward her. She ran harder and kept going, pushing herself faster.
Then she fell, catching herself on her hands and knees. “Please, I’m going as fast as I can.”
“You cannot come back here,” the voice warned.
“I have no intention to. Please, let me leave in peace.”
The cave stopped closing behind Evangeline. She stood and hurried down the tunnel, heading for the light. Seconds turned to minutes, which felt like a lifetime.
Finally, water shimmered before her. She brushed past the outcropping of rock and something slashed down her thigh. She looked back but only saw the blinding sun reflected in the falling water as she fell into the pool below.
Pain radiated up and down her thigh. The freezing water somehow made it feel worse as she forced herself to swim as hard as she could for the rocks on the shore. It took a feat of will to pull herself onto the slippery, wet surface as the freezing river sucked every ounce of energy out of her.
Once she was on a flat surface, she dropped her head to her arm and slipped out of consciousness.
* * * *
“Pull in here,” Jay suggested.
Bran looked up at the Camping Emporium sign and raised a single brow. “Why?” He wanted to drive to Whiteface Mountain and find Evangeline.
“If she’s off the beaten path we’ll have to track her down and still stay away from her father. It might take a few days. So we may need camping gear. And let me suggest two tents because I don’t need to witness whatever you get up to.”
Bran grumbled, but pulled in and parked. Muttering a string of curses, he marched into the store. “Really think she’s going to want to stick around here?”
“I’m sure she’ll want to check on her sister before going home.”
“Yeah, probably.” Bran couldn’t blame her either. In fact, he wanted to make sure the sister was safe. “Evangeline is convinced some guy is going to change Genevieve into a werecat.”
“Will she want to leave with her sister still here?”
Shrugging, he offered his best solution. “We can bring them with us.” Bran climbed out of the Jeep and marched inside. He grabbed a cart and loaded the basics. A tent, sleeping bags, and a bunch of dried fruit and meat to take with them.
Jay picked up several more things along the way. Bran rolled his eyes but didn’t bother arguing.
He checked out, then loaded everything into the back of the Jeep. Jay took the cart to a stall.
“Hey, Jay. Think you can drive?”
Jay’s brow pinched. “Sure. Why?”
Pushing his fingers through his hair, he looked away. “I want to try to reach Evangeline while dreaming.”
“Huh?”
“She’s a Dreamwalker. I’m hoping I can reach her. Maybe get a better idea where she’s at.”
“Good idea. I’ll head toward the mountain.”
“Thanks.” Bran tossed him the keys, climbed into the passenger seat, and dropped the seat back.
* * * *
The phone rang. Olivier picked it up. “Yes?”
“Genevieve is gone. I can no longer sense her,” Vanna explained. “And she was alive when she left her condo.”
He held back the string of curses and got down to business. “When did Genevieve disappear?”
“I’m not sure.” Her tone was full of steel. “You sent me to France to find another of your wife’s people. When I returned, your daughter had fallen off my radar.”
“Evangeline did something,” he growled. Of course she had. “When she comes out of this damned cave, I’ll deal with her properly.”
“She has to willingly give you the blade, if she managed to claim it. But even if she doesn’t, I found someone who can pass the trials.”
“Did you bring her?” No male had ever possessed the blade. The weapon had only ever been granted to females of the witch’s blood line.
“Of course. The young woman is a cousin to Evangeline and Genevieve. She’s willing to acquire the blade and hand it over if you pay her well.”
“That can be arranged. What’s her price?”
“Ten million, and get rid of her husband.”
“Have him killed?” Olivier asked.
“That’s her price.”
“And her husband is?”
“Jacques Oliphant. He’s a powerful mage within the European Silver Council.”
“A mage? Very well. I’ll have it arranged.”