chapter 11
Unveiled
Gavin parked in seclusion, nestled somewhere in between a copse of trees and mangled piles of brush. I was so disoriented from the drive, I hadn’t the slightest idea where we were. I only knew we were near a bayou, not far from the bank.
“We have to walk a little ways,” he said, tucked his hands in his pants pockets after we got out of the car. We came to a clearing near the bank. An eerie, ominous vapor encroached across a wide section of the bayou. I looked out into the murky water, felt condensation form on my boots, glanced at Gavin’s dress shoes and suit. “You’re going to ruin your clothes out here, you know.” I pointed to the damp, muddy earth beneath us.
“It’s a valid loss,” he replied glumly, looking out at the water. “I knew this was most likely the last time you’d want to see me. Figured I’d look presentable for it.” He rolled his eyes from the ground to my face.
“Oh,” I said, looked away. “Listen, can’t we—”
“Get on with it?”
“Yeah,” I answered, relieved. “We both know that regardless of how we feel about each other …”
“It’s not going to work.”
“I wish that weren’t the truth.”
“Don’t worry. After tonight, you can see me on your own terms, I promise. I’m not holding you here. I want you to move on. There are no words to accurately express how sorry I am for the way things happened. Even that sounds shamefully shallow.”
“Moving on won’t be that easy,” I said, moved away from a puddle of muck I’d managed to step into. “I just want you to promise me you’ll be careful, wherever you’re going.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Promise me one more thing?”
“Anything.”
“Can you let me know when you get back? I mean, will you tell me yourself … not send Audrey or Gabe to tell me? I need to hear it from you.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
He reached out, probably to console me, stopped when he saw my defensive shield kick in.
“Why did you bring me here?” I struggled to sound indifferent.
“This is where I have to go,” he said, subtly gesturing to the water next to us. “I didn’t want to show you at first, but I figured you’d want to know.” He stuffed his hands back in his pockets, jingled his keys nervously. “I thought I owed it to you to show you the truth, after I’ve kept it from you for so long.” His eyes searched behind me, looked for something off in the distance. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I looked at the dingy water, then back at him, perplexed. Around me, all I could see was swamp. The bayou was swallowed up, immersed in dirt and scattered debris. I realized I’d never seen a bayou quite like it, old and forgotten, with no signs of life. “Wait, what am I looking for?” My eyes surveyed the entire area, searched for whatever it was he was referring to.
Closely situated near the water, a haggard oak tree caught my attention. Distinct and far more ancient than the others surrounding it, heavy tendrils of Spanish moss hung from its massive branches, nearly engulfing our side of the bayou in its malicious shadow. The fog hovered seductive over the water, the crescent moon looming amidst the dark sky above it. My eyes zoned in on this sight, observed the filmy haze that clouded its radiance.
Tilting my head to look down at the locket draped across my chest, goose bumps made their way across my arms and I began to shiver as the temperature dropped drastically. In mere seconds, it was so cold I was able to see my breath, and I began to feel claustrophobic. “Gavin … what’s going on …?”
Before he could answer, a faint rustling echoed from behind us. Because he waited and listened, I did.
“It’s okay,” he finally said, drawing his attention to one spot amidst the trees. The sound grew more prominent, and I followed his gaze to see what was coming toward us.
“What is it?” I asked. Branches snapped and the trees’ leaves shook, but I still couldn’t see anything.
“Gabe and Audrey. They’ll be here soon, they’re bringing a friend with them.”
“Can you please tell me what’s going on?”
“I told you we were leaving tonight,” he said, his words careful. “This is where we have to go. This is the entrance to Amaranth. Since Gabe and Audrey are coming with me, I’m leaving a protector behind for you.”
“Amaranth? You mean this is where Samira lives? Where is it?” Skeptical, I looked around; my heart beat faster in my chest, sensing something was wrong. Gavin rushed to my side.
“Amaranth is where we have to go to see her. Don’t be afraid, everything will be explained to you.” He rubbed my back, his eyes still darting around us, I thought for signs of our visitors.
“That sound … it’s Audrey and Gabe?” A strong wind picked up, the air frigid on my skin. “What do you mean you’re leaving a protector for me?” Panic quickly spread, and I started to feel disoriented again, as if I was in some kind of a dream and couldn’t wake up. Loose leaves and dirt swirled around my feet and tree branches started to sway as the rustling sound approached, louder now, perhaps only seconds away.
“A friend of ours is going to keep an eye on you while we’re away, just to be safe.”
“Keep an eye … I thought we were ending this. Why am I being dragged even farther into your world?” Though my teeth were chattering I felt sweat on my forehead, upset that I once again was kept out of the loop. Gabe didn’t mention anything to me about going anywhere tonight. Not only was Gavin suddenly leaving, but apparently, he’d arranged for another vampire to watch over me like a child.
“You are in my world now, Camille. I never meant for it to be this way, but it is, and we can’t avoid it. Even when I’m not around anymore, Audrey will be. You’ll be exposed to this long after I’m gone. I just have to make sure you’re safe until I get back. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you because of me … if I weren’t here …” He swallowed, lowered his voice, “You didn’t honestly think I was just going to leave you behind, all alone, with Andrew on the loose, did you?”
I blotted angry tears with my hands, knew my mascara was smearing everywhere. “I didn’t expect anything! Certainly not all three of you leaving tonight—in the middle of a swamp. Not to mention you assigning me a babysitter. I am so tired of being left in the dark about everything. I want to know what the hell is happening here.”
“We’re going to see Samira, and a very good friend of ours is going to take care of you while we’re gone.” He handed me his suit jacket, helped me shrug it on to stay warm. “When we get back, you’ll have your best friend back, and you can see me on your own terms. That’s it. That’s what’s happening.”
“You mean if you get back. If. You forgot that part.”
“When we get back,” he challenged me, grabbed my shoulders. “You know Audrey better than Gabe or I ever will. She never would’ve become one of us and taken such a risk unless she strongly believed this would be successful. If you can’t trust me, trust her. Please.”
“I still don’t understand how this is the entrance to this Amaranth place,” I replied stubbornly, wrapped his jacket tighter around me to shield myself from the relentless wind.
“This is the portal that takes us there.”
The voice came from behind me. I spun around and looked up to see Gabe emerging from the trees, Audrey by his side. They floated gracefully to the ground, landed on two feet with virtually no sound. I felt my eyes literally bulging at the sight.
“Gavin’s right, Camille,” Audrey said, reached for Gabe’s hand before the three of them moved in to surround me. “You don’t have to be afraid … or angry about someone watching out for you. We’re just trying to help you. To protect you.”
To protect me? I felt like they were having some sort of intervention, about to spout off the twelve steps or something. Either that, or I was smack in the middle of some twisted rendition of Rosemary’s Baby. “Wait, a portal?” I said, still shocked from the sight of seeing my friends in flight for the first time. “How did you guys know we were here, and how did you know I was coming to see Gavin tonight?” Suspicious, I peeked around for any signs of the other visitor. Or babysitter, or whatever.
“It was kind of a last-minute thing,” Gabe answered, exchanged a look with Gavin. “We wanted to leave sooner, but knew Gavin was waiting to see you before we left, so we held out for a bit. Audrey had a feeling you’d come tonight though, and well … here we are.”
As he’d said this, he scanned the foliage for our expected guest, shot Gavin and Audrey looks. It was starting to get on my last nerve. He noticed.
“Cam, I know this is a lot to take in right now,” he offered. “We’re all sorry it had to happen like this.”
Another empathetic vampire. How refreshing. “So … when did you tell them I came to see you?” I asked Gavin, ignoring Gabe. My eyes jerked back and forth between my friends and the trees they emerged from, still recovering from the spectacle. “How did they know to meet us here?”
“We can tap into the minds of those in our coven ... it’s something that develops over time. I told them to come.”
I looked over at Audrey, realized she was now considered a part of their coven. We hadn’t spoken or seen each other in weeks due to the turn our friendship had taken, but suddenly, it was a relief to see her.
“Hey, Cam,” she greeted me, her voice meek, her body language vigilant. “How’s the vampire drama coming along? You hanging in there?”
“Stupid question, Morticia Addams.”
She chuckled lightly. “Morticia wasn’t blonde.”
I sniffled, unintentionally chuckled with her. I couldn’t stay mad at her for much longer, regardless of what she was now. I loved her too much and the fight was too exhausting.
“Not dead yet?” She moved toward me prudently, peeked at my mouth, probably to search for a pair of fangs.
“Nope, still kickin’. A bit freaked out at the moment, though.”
“Yeah, that’ll wear off.” She smiled warmly and stepped closer to hug me, checked with me first, with her eyes, to make sure it was okay.
“Oh, please. I know you won’t bite. I missed you.” I hugged her tight, and she looked to Gabe and Gavin before she let me go; I saw Gavin’s face lighting up as he mouthed “thank you” to her.
“I can’t believe you fly,” I said, looked up at the trees again. “It’s so unfair.” In spite of Gavin’s jacket, my teeth chattered as I spoke.
“It’s not as glamorous as you think.” She shook stray leaves from her hair as the wind blew them away.
“Okay,” I turned to face Gavin and Gabe again, pleased with the Audrey peace treaty. “Now will someone please explain Amaranth to me before I have a heart attack over here?” I rubbed my forearms, tried to get warm as I eyed that eerie-looking bayou again. “I feel like I’m in a really trippy nightmare right now. Some clarity would be greatly appreciated.”
Audrey and Gabe stepped back and faced Gavin, his cue to explain.
“Well … as Gabe was saying, this is the portal to get there. Amaranth is a city, an exile location for our kind. Samira guards the entrance to regulate who comes in and out, and to enforce the laws there.”
“The crescent moon is present tonight,” Gabe chimed in. “That’s the only time we can enter.” He pointed to the sky, tilted his head to peer up at it.
“You’re telling me the moon determines when you can go there.” I cocked an eyebrow, adopted the same expression as when I was ten years old and my mother still tried to convince me there was a Santa Claus. I was simply not buying it. “Are you saying it’s not … of this world?”
“You could put it like that,” Gabe replied, squeezed Audrey’s hand.
“It’s not of this world, technically.” Gavin marched past us to stand next to the distorted oak tree that had caught my attention only minutes ago. He felt the side of the robust trunk and slowly moved his hand to a random branch that I now realized was out of place. Thick yet brittle, it jutted out from the trunk, shorter and lower than the others. He gave it one hard downward push, and the branch creaked as it snapped like a rusty old door hinge, expelling dirt as it moved. Rigid instead of lifeless, it hung obediently at the tree’s side, still attached. Gavin let go of it, and Gabe and Audrey shifted away from the water’s edge; the wind still ruffled steadily around us.
All at once they turned to peer at the water under the glistening moonlight. I turned with them and watched as it began to bubble and sway, as though suddenly angry. Audrey and I moved farther from the water, cautious. Gabe and Gavin remained where they were.
The surface began to make graceful swirls in different directions, possessed by a force I couldn’t see, the motion playing tricks on my eyes. An unsettling glimmer pushed through the surface and broke through, ascending from the floor of the bayou’s surface. I continued to watch in astonishment as streams of beautiful transcendental light penetrated from the watery heaven, casting warm amethyst rays into our dark world. I squinted, tried to adjust to the light.
“This is where we have to go,” I heard Gavin say. “It’s the only way in or out.” His eyes scanned the celestial movement, assessed its process before he glanced behind me toward the trees. “Joel’s here. He can tell you everything you want to know. I know this all feels like a dream right now, but it’ll be easier to understand with time … after this is over.”
I pried my eyes from the magic in front of me to look at him, sadness sweeping over me at the realization of his pending departure. He stepped forward, looked straight at me and nodded at the unwelcome guest who I sensed now stood behind me. “Joel is one of my oldest friends. He knew my mother and father, and I trust him with my life. So should you. Stick with him, and you’ll be safe.” He tilted his head to the side to inspect the water’s edge, made eye contact with Gabe and Audrey.
I didn’t bother to acknowledge this Joel guy, but instead kept my eyes on Gavin. “You don’t have to do this.” Begged him with my eyes for some kind of closure before he left me a vagabond in this nightmare. His suit jacket hung heavy on me, enveloped me in his scent, and I felt the need to inhale it deeply, wanted the smell to sit in my bones as a medium. My body grew limp, surrendering to the madness and loss that suddenly surrounded me—the loss that everyone was trying to convince me was only temporary, a madness that would never end.
Gavin gently took hold of my cold, lifeless hand. “I had hope,” he clenched his jaw, “and for what it’s worth, I still do.” Eyes desperate, he leaned forward to kiss me, reached for my face, but stopped. “When I come back, if you’ll have me, you have my word that I’ll spend the rest of my human life making this up to you. I love you, Camille Hart.”
With a grave countenance, he kissed me softly and let me go from his grip.
“Don’t kiss me like it’s the last time. Don’t—”
Turning sharply, he joined Gabe and Audrey. He approached the water, his back to me, head hanging and shoulders stiff. My heart faltered, a flood of heartbreak, resentment, and fear all rushing through me. I watched, helpless, as he waded in to the water, inched forward slowly, step by step.
Irrational, I darted forward, but Audrey and Gabe rushed to stop me before I could get any closer. I shook their hands away from me to reach him one more time. “No, Gavin! Wait! Please, please, please, don’t leave.” My knees trembled, watched the water rise to his shoulders as he descended; his body slightly contorted and his arms and shoulders jerked as he fought the pull of water like quicksand, seizing more and more of his control every second.
The water made its way just below his chin and he finally surrendered, almost completely submerged. Tears nearly blinding me, I continued to struggle against Audrey and Gabe’s grasp, heedless that I was no match for their superhuman strength. Eventually, I gave in. “Take me with you! Please!” Winded, I dashed toward the water again, Audrey and Gabe letting me fly right past them this time.
“You can’t go, it’s another realm!” Audrey shouted. “Mortals can’t enter, you have to let him go!”
“I’ll make sure he comes back,” Gabe hollered.
For a split second, Gavin shifted his head and moved his eyes to focus on his hindsight, as though reluctantly considering my plea. I staggered forward, my feet nearly touching the water, ready to reach out and pull him to me. I extended my hand as far as it could go over the water’s edge, let a long cold breath from my lips as I reached in despair, but my efforts, all of them, failed. He snapped his head back toward the dark abyss awaiting him and quickly disappeared beneath the violet emissions, the water bubbling as it signaled its victory. The darkness swallowed him up and I forced myself to commit the last image I had of him to memory.
Audrey’s voice broke through my trance, and she and Gabe rushed to my side again to hold me up. “He’s going to come back. We all are.” She glared at me, looking as if she needed to convince herself. My eyes frozen on the water and shoulders slumped, I let my knees give out.
“Don’t lie to me.” My voice a whisper now.
“Too late,” she muttered, letting Gabe take over for her before she backed away.
“Joel … can you?” Gabe prompted, then left my side to lead Audrey to the water. I barely noticed other arms enfolding me.
“I’m so sorry,” Audrey mouthed before she turned to face the water, her eyes leaving mine as I began to go comatose. Gabe glared at Joel as he held me, gave him one firm nod. As they made their way into the bayou and waded further into its depths, Audrey’s long hair slithered through the water in the descent, until the crown of her head was no longer visible. Gabe followed her, and I fell to the earth.
The firm, cold arms that had replaced Gabe’s fell with me, let my weight rest against them. My eyelids fell shut and I heard nothing but the sound of night as the wind ceased and the roiling bayou came to a quiet halt. I could feel the temperature rise, the cold air dissipate as my lungs inhaled even, warm breaths again, and all was still as I slid further into an impassive solitude.
AMARANTH
The familiar cobalt blue bottles lined the fireplace windowsills, positioned to capture and destroy evil spirits. Never understood that, I thought. What does she need protection from, anyway? She’s the evil one.
“Madame. You have visitors,” a small woman with a round face announced, and knelt gracefully before Samira’s reverential throne.
“Leave,” she demanded from her wicked place, the gothic altar she called home. Her long dagger nails draped across the extravagant crimson layers of her gown; she lightly lifted the gown’s skirt and glided to the blazing fireplace situated behind the throne.
“Yes, Madame.” The small woman left me with Gabe and Audrey, then scurried away, closing the wooden doors behind her. An image of Camille flickered in my mind, her face as I left her in the bayou. So broken, so confused. How could I have left her like that?
I turned my thoughts off, afraid Samira might penetrate them. I knew she didn’t have access to our coven’s thoughts; the magic limited her. But my instincts told me to take any and every caution.
“Hello, Samira,” I replied, edged forward to stand in front of my friends. I hovered near the bottom of the granite steps, examined the sides of her Louis XV chair, my eyes searching for the wolves. She remained quiet, her back to me as she stared adoringly into the fire. Her bouffant raven locks sat perfectly disheveled on top of her head, outlining her chiseled figure in the light of the flames.
“Not to worry,” she finally spoke, “Gérard’s spell is still intact. Your thoughts are safe.” She swung around to face me. “I am your creator, but he is the author as you very well know.” She winked, wrapped the mojo bag’s string tighter around her wrist, hugged it closer to her skin. “Truly, there is nothing more powerful than fire. It is most alluring in every way.” Her rich Russian tongue cut fiercely as she spoke, with both precision and patience. “Warm and welcoming, it promises you comfort, life, endurance, and inevitably pain—for those who do not know how to respect its mighty sovereignty.”
She smiled, her statuesque frame an intimidating canvas of self-assurance. “Surely, those that underestimate the privilege of its very presence will fall victim to peril.”
Still facing me, she stretched out a hand and placed her fingers into the flames, amused as they danced harmlessly across her skin. “Fire is a loyal friend, do you agree Gavin?” She floated down the steps to meet me, swinging her gown’s lace train behind her.
“With all due respect, Madame, I believe silence is the most loyal,” I answered, speaking sternly as I extended my hand. “It never fails to tell you the truth.”
She snickered, allowed me to kiss her hand. “We will have to agree to disagree, then.”
I nodded, stepped back to stand with Gabe and Audrey. “Samira, you remember Gabe.”
“But of course, it is a pleasure.” She smiled curtly, dragged her nails across his chest, a curious creature who couldn’t resist toying with a new object of interest.
“And … this is someone you haven’t met yet.” I looked over at Audrey, watched as Gabe approached Samira with her, his arm cautiously around her waist.
“Audrey. Welcome to our prestigious family. So happy you could join us, my child.” Again, her inquisitive nails couldn’t resist. She raked them through Audrey’s hair, her fierce eyes assessing her new child.
“Th-th-thank you,” Audrey stumbled, eying the daggers warily.
“You’ve heard about Audrey, have you?” Gabe said.
“News travels quickly here, you know. Like wildfire.”
“Apparently,” he mumbled, glanced at me.
“Come closer, my new child. Let me see that pretty face.” Samira tilted her head to seek out Audrey’s’ timid eyes, pleased by her fear. “You know, we are family now. We should become better acquainted. Why is it you have decided to join our family, my love?”
Audrey’s eyes reluctantly darted toward Gabe before she answered. “I wanted to be with Gabe and I— I admire your family, Your Majesty.”
“Hhhhmmm, I see,” she breathed, her crystal blue eyes fixed on Audrey’s neck, nails lightly peeling across her collarbone. “Dali. Akim. Come.”
She lifted her chin, looked to one side of her, then the other. Two magnificent gray wolves appeared amongst the room’s shadows, from where they had been lurking. They stalked past the rows of dimly lit candelabras toward their master, stationed themselves next to her, one on each side. Their eyes matching hers, they stared at us, waited for their next command. Gabe and I exchanged looks, cautioned one another as the wolves joined our company. They were Samira’s old conjure mates in wolf form, and as far as I was concerned, just as deadly as she was, only they probably housed more rage since she made them that way.
“That is a brave compliment to pay, my child,” Samira continued, glanced at her pets, stepped a few inches closer to Audrey as she swung her sleek cape behind her. “I must say it is an unfortunate contradiction, however. You see, you have chosen to join our family so recently, yet you already long to be sent to exile. Is that not why you are here?” She turned to question Audrey. “To ask for permission to enter?”
“Yes, that is our request.” I answered for her.
“I see….”
“Gabe and I no longer wish to be among the living.” A lump stuck in my throat and I worked hard to restrain my fear, to reveal only honesty and boldness. “This was my family’s home. And as for Audrey, well, she does respect your rule, but this is not a lifestyle she wishes to pursue after all. She’s had a change of heart.”
“Oh, has she?”
“Y-y-y-e-s-s-s, your Highness,” Audrey murmured, twisted her hands together.
Samira stepped closer to examine her fangs, her pets moving wherever she moved. “So it’s not what you thought it was, is it my dear?”
Audrey swallowed and cowered her head, her shoulders caved as Samira circled her. “No, Madame. I’m sorry to say it’s not.”
“You are being sincere. Of that I am sure.” She ran one single blood-red nail across Audrey’s crescent scar, skimming her flesh. “It is a pity you have foolishly given up your mortality for such a tragedy, my child. Fortunately for you, I am both willing and bound to put aside your insult and grant you admission to exile. And of course, Gabe, you may join her. You disobeyed, getting involved with a mortal,” she spoke with her hands, waved them matter-of-factly, “but you did change her, followed through as you are expected to.”
Gabe looked at me, then back at Samira, ready to object if the permission didn’t include both of us. “Madame, I—”
“Silence. We will get to that.” Her expression suspicious, she made her way back to the throne, eyebrows raised. “As for you, Gavin. Your disobedience is quite different. I am certain you are aware of the situation that needs to be discussed, regarding some recent news that was brought to my attention.” Once seated, she turned to me.
“Yes. I am aware,” I said, calculating my next move.
“This blatant disregard for my rules amuses you, does it?”
“It’s far from amusing.”
“Then do explain your motivation to lead this movement, to encourage our kind to mingle with mortals and to abstain from their blood, to protect them. These relationships are strictly prohibited, unless you intend to change them, as you are well aware.” She patted Dali and Akim’s luxurious fur coats, her eyes glued to mine. “Gérard has allowed our magic to have power over mortals, to manipulate them. You dare insult your history, your own father conjurer, by letting it go to waste?”
She grasped her mojo bag, her nails closing in over it, nostrils flaring. “Although I am bound to send your friends to exile, my mercy for them is a generosity. At the least! Rest assured, I will not be mocked by this atrocity you have stirred up among our kind. Our loyalty lies with Gérard, and there will be no camaraderie with the mortals. They are either our sustenance, or they become one of us. If this troubles you enough, you go into exile. There is no need to discuss this further.”
“I understand, Samira. Please believe me, I did not mean to disrespect your laws. I came to request forgiveness and entry to Amaranth. For myself, and for my friends here. I know now it is not possible to live successfully outside of the law. I was wrong.”
“What about this mortal of yours, the one you committed the crime with?”
Audrey began to shake. Understandable. I myself could hardly bear hearing Samira speak of Camille so chillingly. Gabe discreetly took her hand to comfort her, listened intently for Samira’s verdict.
“I’m no longer involved with her. It’s over.” I clenched my jaw and looked down, unable to talk about Camille in the past tense.
“Rightfully so.” Samira snapped. “It is absurd to confuse our kind on earth, to make them think there is another way to live. It is an absolute insult to Gérard, who created a place for you to go into exile. It is a luxury! Is that not enough?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The cold room stood silent except for the subtle tapping of Samira’s nails on the armrest of the throne chair. Dali and Akim patiently turned to look up at their master’s face, their eyes reverent. Samira rose from her chair and shouted, “Marie, come here at once!” In moments, her small, frail assistant appeared and kneeled before the throne.
“Your mother was very dear to me, my child,” she continued, speaking to me like a relative who actually gave a damn. “The struggle she and your father endured truly breaks my heart,” she placed a claw-like hand over her chest to express sympathy. “Because of that, I will graciously excuse you from execution and grant you entrance … under one condition—”
“Guilty or not, there is no condition to those sincerely requesting exile. You are bound!” Gabe’s voice boomed as he proclaimed the truth, his arms tight with rage.
Her eyes widened and she turned to him. I cringed, afraid the plan to get inside the gates of exile had just failed.
“You dare!” She shouted and thrust her hand forward toward him. Sharp yet seductive, her hand swirled through the air; her force propelled him from the ground, flinging him backward. The blue bottles shook above the fireplace and he flew into the rigid stone wall, knocked the elegant candelabras clear across the room as he crashed through them. Dali and Akim rushed to stand below him as he hung in agony, pinned against the wall, standing guard of their enemy while Samira laughed. “I do believe you are pushing your luck, child.”
Audrey shrieked and dropped to the floor, covered her eyes with her hands. Knowing I was powerless to help Gabe, I remained still and obedient, careful not to blow my only chance. The red of Samira’s nails jumped out at me like serpents, her fingers pointing to my chest, holding me in place with the same force.
She immediately glanced at Marie, prompted her to stand next to me. “Listen wisely, Mr. Devereaux, be careful that you do not offend me like your precious friend, here. I am bound to grant your request to exile, but I am in no way required to dismiss your punishment for defying my laws before you enter. I will not kill you, but you must pay, do you understand?”
I looked over at Gabe hanging on the wall and pictured Camille’s face once more, then responded with vengeance. “I can pay you in service. Would that be acceptable to you?”
Samira laughed. “Ha! What service could you possibly offer me, child? A good laugh, I suppose?”
“No.” I stepped forward, determined to get past the city’s gates as soon as possible. Indifferent, she stared back at me, waited for my proposal.
“Instead of punishing me, how about utilizing me? Make use of my gifts. The resistance on earth is the least of your worries. The immortals have heard of the resistance that has been building right here, within the walls of the city. It’s no longer a secret.”
“How do you know of this?”
“Word from your servants has traveled outside of this realm. It’s a threat to the future of Amaranth, you know it is. If your servants turn against you with the resistance, you can lose your entire kingdom.”
“My servants…” Samira glanced accusingly at Marie, then rose from her chair and glided forward to meet me, her eyes cutting into mine once more. “You are fearless,” she said, released her hold on me, “and your boldness is most refreshing.” She smiled for a moment, then quickly moved her fist in front of my stomach, twisted it tightly and turned it sideways in the air, turning an invisible, deadly switch. I buckled over as her intangible force crippled my arms; my hands clawed to grasp my stomach in horror. She continued to wrench her fist in front of me, her lips curling with delight as she watched me cry out. I fought the pain, tried envisioning what it’d feel like to hold Camille in my arms again someday.
“Please, stop it!” Audrey screamed, yanked her hair as she pleaded, curled up on the floor. Gabe still hung lifeless on the stone wall. Unable to speak, he watched me crumble under Samira’s strength.
“Lest you forget who is in control of this situation, my child, let me remind you,” she hissed. “I determine what a threat is. You have nothing of value to me, do you understand? If I recruit any help from you, it is because I command it. I do not bargain with insignificant, defiant immortals.” She paused for a moment and held her deathly pull on me. “I said, do you understand?”
“Yes—I understand!” I shouted, my teeth grinding as I writhed.
“Very well,” she casually dropped her hand back to her side, immediately ceasing my pain. “Now, then. How could I possibly use you?”
I gasped for air as I pried my arms away from my torso, the torment dissipating. Samira watched passively while I fought to keep my balance. “I … read desires, as you know.” I cringed, straightened my body out. “But … not only my reading ability is of use to you.”
“Oh?”
“I have leadership qualities, as strong as my father’s. I can lead the people back into submission, I can stop the resistance here. And my reading can supplement that. It can help manipulate the people’s efforts and restore their obedience.”
“Hhm … so eager to give me what I want …” she began to pace as she considered my thoughts. Every few seconds she glanced at Audrey and Gabe, irritated by their witness of our discussion. “What is in it for you?” she barked, “You have gone to great lengths to oppose my laws, why would you want to strengthen them? Why the, the … what is the word? Oh yes … what is the change of heart?” She stopped pacing, hand to her chin, nails waiting and ready.
“My parents,” I replied. “They died because the war got so out of control. They’ve been gone for years, but I can’t let it go. I owe it to them to help restore peace here. They always wanted me to be a part of it.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s everything.”
She pondered my partial honesty for a moment, turned her back to me to stare into the fire. “Well I must say, you are very relatable to humans. Just as your parents were. And in that case, it might work to my advantage.” She intensified the fire with her ravenous power. “Your father was indeed a fine leader. Perhaps a fresh influence such as yourself would be beneficial in this city.”
Without looking over at Gabe, she released him from the wall with one swish of her wrist, intent on the conversation. He dropped to the floor with a thud, and Dali and Akim trotted away from him and, back to her side. “Very well. You will help me lead and restore the city’s order. You shall convince the Amaranthians to submit to my law again. After that, you will stop the resistance you started on earth. Only then will you be admitted to live in exile. I will announce your arrival when I see fit.”
“Thank you, Samira.”
“Marie, take him to the tower at once. Escort the other two to the city gate for entrance.”
“Right away, Madame.” Marie hurried to my side and yanked me by the shirtsleeve.
I made eye contact with Gabe and Audrey one last time before she rushed me out of the room, called out, “See you soon.”
Once in my cell, I allowed myself to concentrate on Gabe’s thoughts again, listened to them as he observed Marie’s return to Samira. She returned with Victor, another servant, to lead Gabe and Audrey to the city’s gates as instructed. The reception was barely audible, I was too far away, but I fought to zone in and listened harder.
“Victor, you take them,” Samira said. “Marie, you stay here with me.”
“Of course, Madame,” Victor acknowledged, moved to escort Gabe and Audrey out. As Gabe was taken away, I caught one last fragment of the conversation.
“Find the girl and bring her to me, Marie. Leave not one scratch on her body,” Samira said. “And do make haste.”