Mage cocked her head, then dipped it slightly as if to acknowledge my jibe with a silent “nice one.”
I turned back to Caden and Amelie. “Of course, I have no idea what the Fates would look like if they took on physical form. I don’t even know how I managed to call on them the first time. There’s no manual for getting ahold of them. It’s kind of like humans praying to their god. I just sort of stumbled upon them when I was desperate to turn for Nathan . . . ”
I realized I was babbling and quickly regrouped my thoughts. “Anyway, forty years after I cast the first Causal Enchantment—the kind of spell the Fates grant—I began getting impatient. When I get impatient, I start doing . . . reckless things.” Nathan had always been quick to point that out. “I began testing the Fates, casting all kinds of Causal Enchantments, attacking the problem from different angles to see what they would throw back at me. One of these spells was an attempt to erase my original one altogether, as if it never happened—to change fate back. I knew it was a long shot, but what did I have to lose? Well, sure enough, the Fates came back with an ‘idea,’ all right.” I gave them my best sarcastic eye roll. “They turned this remote tribe in the Amazon into the anti-magic of that wielded by vampires and witches.”
“Interesting,” Mage murmured, her expression pensive. “That’s the second of these Causal Enchantments that didn’t exist in our Earth.” I didn’t miss the scowl on Caden’s face when Mage said “our Earth.” They still hadn’t come to terms with her manipulation of their memories. I couldn’t blame them.
“Are you positive?”
Mage nodded adamantly. “And why does the original vampire from your Earth not look identical to me?”
“It doesn’t make sense . . . ” I agreed softly, speaking more to myself. Another piece to this Fates puzzle that didn’t make sense. I hated broken puzzles. “If our worlds are parallel, someone like me should have been in yours, casting the same Causal Enchantments, destroying the vampire venom.” Amelie and Caden nodded in silent agreement, their expressions reflecting their confusion. In my peripheral vision, I noticed that even Bishop had perked up.
“It’s like you didn’t exist in our world,” Mage said. “Like you are unique to your Earth. Perhaps planted here to alter the course of things.”
I mulled over her theory. “Planted by whom?”
“The Fates?” Mage suggested. “I mean, how many parallel worlds do they reign over? Mine, yours, how many others? Maybe they get bored with watching the same thing happen over and over again, seeing the same faces . . . maybe they decided to throw a wrench into the works.”
I had never thought of that. Was I a wrench for the Fates? Was my very existence, my constant drive to test the boundaries of magic, a by-product of these gods’ need to spice things up? Maybe the Fates lounged around in their sweats and rollers, watching, waiting to see what ideas their crazy jester would come up with next. The very idea twisted my stomach into knots and ran my blood icy cold. Was I their entertainment?
Mage’s voice pulled me from my silent brooding. I looked up to see them all watching me. How long had I drifted off in thought? “So then, this tribe—what are they, exactly?” she asked.
Right. The tribe. I pushed a stray lock of hair off my face. “Good question. I’m not quite sure.” I gave them the rundown—the toxic skin, the unsightly appearance, how their own magic counters witches’ magic within a ten-mile radius, the tiger deal I made with them to protect Evangeline. “They worship the god of fire. I don’t know . . . ” I rolled my eyes when Mage looked at me questioningly. “But what exactly their magic can do, I’m not sure. One day, if we survive this coming war, maybe I’ll experiment. That’s why I kept them alive and hidden all this time. For now, I’m happy to stay as far away from those wretched creatures as I can.”
“Why tigers?” Amelie asked suddenly.
I shrugged. “No reason that I can think of except companionship. They’re the only creature that isn’t affected by their touch. They have a slew of the animals in their village and I promised to bring them more as part of my deal to keep Evangeline safe, should she show up there. Whatever the reason, they’re great for negotiating.”
“That’s just the kind of stupid, arbitrary stuff that the Fates come up with,” Mage added, her tone flip.
“So this tribe is dangerous. We want to get in and out as quickly as possible,” Caden acknowledged. “What do we need to do?” “ I noticed the creased picture of Evangeline in his hands then, the one I had secretly passed him weeks ago. Many times, I had caught him off in a corner, gazing at her face. It was an endearing picture. But a picture just didn’t cut it next to the real thing . . . And that reminded me of something I needed to do before I felt completely safe with him around her.