The Gates

16

FIRE

The stone ground chilled my skin, which was still burning from the feel of the scorching flames running along my insides. I lay on the floor, lump-like, hearing everything around me with precise detail, each thing echoing and rattling as it made its sound. I managed to flutter my eyelids, opened them to find Samira’s throne room in chaos around me. How long have I been passed out?

I hadn’t moved from the spot where Gavin had changed me. Our group of friends, who survived the river’s surge, had made their way past the rock rubble barricade Samira created to block the castle doors; they now danced around me, fighting off the guards by tossing their silver daggers and using their invisible, protective hedge to ward them off. They all looked haggard and had dark brown sacks with them, hanging over their shoulders. I scanned my surroundings for signs of Gavin or Scarlet. Scarlet was nowhere I could see, but I could hear Gavin yelling.

Samira’s watchmen flew over and around me, their bodies bouncing everywhere as our friends tossed them about. Shouts and grunts filled the room while they battled their way toward me, and I heard Gavin call out to me. I caught sight of Samira sitting leisurely in her throne chair, tapping her nails on the armrest and watching the scuffle in front of her with wry amusement.

“Cam!” Gavin darted toward me, ducking and dodging the fight that swarmed around him. He scooped me up into his arms and looked around frantically, as if searching for someone. “Josh, I need you!”

Josh? Oh thank God.

“Hang in there, baby,” he put his forehead to mine, “we’ve got you now.”

“Audrey? Gabe?” My voice cracked; the room echoes reverberated as I heard myself speak. I could feel a headache brewing, felt my mouth parched and throat aching. Aching for blood.

Josh’s face came into view, and I grasped hold of his hand as he leaned in to let his eyes roam over my face. “Not long now,” he said. “Come on, we have blood from the reserve.”

He rose up and exchanged looks with Gavin, and I knew they were talking about me. My headache throbbed harder against my temples and my head rolled back when the pressure became unbearable. My skin suddenly missed the cool stone floor. My vision was blurry one second and then clear the next. And the restlessness didn’t leave me.

Gavin adjusted me in his arms and carried me with Josh toward the others. We passed through their protective bubble and I was safe again. But my thirst still wasn’t quenched.

“Someone tell me …” I managed to mumble, but everyone was busy taking guards out and inching their way to the center of the room, closer to the front entryway, moving in unison in the same protective circle they’d formed when we first arrived. Gavin kneeled down and kept me on his lap to reach for one of the brown sacks, looking up every few seconds to keep an eye on our surroundings.

“Gavin,” I tried again, “what’s happening?”

He pulled a bag of blood from one of the brown sacks and spoke in a lower whisper, “If you don’t drink this, the headache and burning will worsen. And you need strength.” He lowered the bag to my hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Audrey …”

“She’s safe for now. She’s with Gabe in the haven. They missed the flood, Cecile sent them there before …”

I took the blood from him, my eyes closing when I recalled Cecile’s death.

“We’ll go get them, don’t worry.”

The room started to quiet, only a few low groans from the immobile guards filling the space, backdrops for the sound of Samira’s claw-like nails, tapping away. Gavin stood again, keeping me tight against his chest, the others all turning to look to one another before turning their attention to Samira. Lifeless guards were scattered everywhere, some of them breathing but incapacitated from the silver knives in their hearts.

“Are you satisfied?” Samira cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you?” Gavin shot back, his voice low and vicious.

“What is it you want now, Mr. Devereaux? You have your pet back, your blood, your friends. You wish to destroy me and lift the curse?”

The room fell silent, our tiny flock locked together in a tight formation, all facing the queen. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure,” Gavin said. “But we have some things to take care of first.” He glanced at Josh. No doubt they exchanged thoughts of some sort; their eyes were full of unspoken hate. “Drink,” Gavin whispered, peering down at me. I looked at the bag. I craved it, but I stuffed the craving down, determined to wait. “You can end this right now, Samira,” Gavin growled. “Lift the curse and let everyone walk.”

“I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“I think you can. And you should, if you ever want to see Arianna again.”

Her nostrils flared at the mention of her daughter’s name. “Mr. Devereaux, you know as well as I that if everyone leaves Amaranth, I will be rendered powerless, as will Gérard. And that simply cannot happen. As for my daughter, you will tell me all I wish to know.”

“So you wish to wait until the others arrive and let us destroy you. Very well, then.”

She threw her head back with a wicked cackle, rolling her eyes. “Let them come, you fool. Have you not figured it out by now? Do you not know that you cannot kill me? Gérard’s magic protects me, to ensure that I remain alive to manage his power source. It makes no difference how large this army of yours will be. Only he has that power, and only he can rid you of the curse for good. The only reason I enlisted your help to restore my city’s order was to help ensure Gérard’s power source remains intact.”

Gavin gritted his teeth and looked down at the blood bag in my hand. “You govern the city. You are the one who has the power to send people through the gates, to turn them human again. Set them free.”

“Perhaps,” she shrugged, “but as I’ve just told you, that would leave Gérard with no power, and therefore, I will do no such thing. Besides,” a ghost of a smile painted her lips, “I assume you wish to be rid of the curse in its entirety, not merely to set the humans free from exile, correct?”

Everyone glanced at one another, uncomfortable, but Gavin kept his face stern as he stared straight ahead. The burning was consuming me and I gripped the bag in my hand, knowing I couldn’t hold out much longer. I didn’t want her to see me drink, didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

“You’d rather save yourself than be reunited with your daughter,” he said. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

“I will both save myself and have my daughter soon enough.” She stood from her throne, resigned from the conversation. Turning to stand near the altar, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve said it once and I shall say it again. That little spell of yours won’t protect you forever. I can assure you, I will keep my word and kill every single one of you when I see fit. Until then, however, I intend to keep you alive until you tell me everything I want to know.”

She began fluffing the long velvet sash on the altar, dressing it lightly across the dolls and supplies as she spoke. Her words were sincere, her threats legitimate. But underneath her steely confidence was a shaky structure. Something told me she was afraid, uncertain. Why? The burning worsened. “Ahhh,” I moaned, and pressed my fingers to my forehead.

Gavin glanced down at me, his eyes nervous. “I don’t think so.” He turned to the others and nodded. “Let’s go,” he said, and began leading them toward the rear doors. “We’ll see you when the crescent moon rises,” he said to Samira without turning to look at her.

“Mr. Devereaux,” she called out after him, her tone mocking, “about that betrayal you mentioned …” She picked a new doll and retrieved the same long pin she’d used on me. “Dali, Akim, come.”

The wolves emerged from the doorway, and gasps filled the room while Josh suddenly grabbed me from Gavin’s arms. He struggled to hold me himself, his jaw dropping and eyes glued on the tall, thin woman who had appeared with the wolves.

She looks familiar, like … The fear I sensed in Samira dissolved, her confidence suddenly soaring. I pushed through the burning, trying to make sense of it, but the sharp pain prevented me from focusing.

And then I understood the similarity, understood why Samira’s uncertainty had faded. No. Not happening, not happening—

“Always prepared,” Samira cooed, toying the pin between her fingers, smirking at everyone’s astonishment. I blinked and squirmed in Josh’s arms, the shooting pain leaving me on the brink of breakdown, but Gavin slumping to his knees commanded my attention.

“No. No. No.” His whole body sagged, a deep sob rupturing through his voice as he rocked back and forth. “Mo—Mom. No … no …”

The woman stared back at him in horror, her tears instant. “Gavin?” She tried to rush forward but lost her footing. Her arms shook the cuffs that restrained them. “You monster!” she screamed at Samira, keeping her eyes on Gavin. “What have you done to my son? Oh, oh, oh, my son, my son!”

Samira ignored the woman’s cry and turned her attention to Gavin, her arrogant countenance thriving at the sight of his brokenness. “Now, then. Have your friends remove their protection spell, and then you can tell me all about Arianna before I kill your mother here.”

* * *

The warm Louisiana breeze sent balmy gusts around the driveway and the Spanish moss rustled in the wind, the sound defined and eerie, reminding me of how deathly quiet it was. No one was around and everything felt stale and somber. I stood in front of Gavin’s plantation home and had the urge to reach into my jeans pocket, scrambling to find the skeleton key. Surveying the yard once more, I dashed inside and ran up the exhausting flight of stairs to the second floor, wrestling with each doorknob. I made my way down the hall to each door, attempting to unlock them one by one. Nothing budged. What kind of skeleton key didn’t unlock any of the doors in a house? Wasn’t that opposite of how it was supposed to work?

I reached the end of the hall, and finally succeeded. Turning the key until the doorknob clicked, I pushed the door back and let it swing open, revealing Gavin’s mother’s room. It was just how I remembered it—spotless, with a faint, lingering perfume scent. I stepped forward and the wooden floor creaked underneath my feet; a sliver of sunshine beamed through the drapes where they were half drawn. I walked to the side of the bed and traced the pillow with my fingers, searching. Instinctively, I cupped my hand around my throat, feeling for the necklace. Feeling nothing, I started to panic, tried to scream but no sound would come. Waking with a jolt, I found myself in Josh’s arms, clasping Gavin’s mother’s necklace.

“Sssshh ,” he rubbed my shoulder, “it’s okay, Cam. You passed out from the pain. It’s the worst right after the change, but it’ll go away. Here, drink just a little more.” He held the blood to my lips and pleaded with his eyes. The headache had disappeared and the burning subsided. Now, I felt I could run a marathon. I sat up quickly and drank the rest of the blood in one gulp. We were still in the dreary castle throne room, in a corner, huddled away from the others. Gavin, hysterical, paced back and forth up front near the altar. I stood; I had to go to him.

“He’s in shock. He’ll be okay,” Josh whispered. “You should really sit back down, you need to adjust to your new senses.”

I blinked and turned to him, astonished. “Josh, he just found out his mom is alive, and you expect me to sit down?” I felt my cheeks as I spoke, fascinated with how smooth and tight my skin was. My limbs felt agile, and I had an irrational urge to take off running. Something told me if I started to run, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Images of Forrest Gump flashed through my mind but I shook my head, distracted by the increasingly loud ruckus coming from Gavin.

“Ahhh! ” Gavin hollered, tossing Samira’s candelabras across the room. He toppled every piece of furniture he could place his hand on, in between running his fingers back and forth over the sides of his head like a madman as he paced. He kicked the wall, screamed some more, and everyone just stood back watching, some hanging their heads, unable to watch his outrage in full swing. Samira sat perched on her throne chair, the doll and pin still in hand, looking bored. Her confidence was waning, but still present. She seemed different, more vulnerable.

Vulnerable? What the hell am I talking about? I shook my head to clear the thought.

Gavin’s mother, who was now silent and her expression distant, sat at the edge of the granite stairs, her hands still bound, Dali and Akim on either side of her. The tears continued to stream down her face as she stared at the ground. Her eyes were empty. No hope, no life there at all. Just deep-seated sadness.

“Let’s get on with this, shall we?” Samira stood and drew a deep breath.

“Hand over the bags,” Gavin said to the others, his eyes crazed like an escaped lunatic’s.

“Gav, this isn’t the way to do this—”

“I said hand over the damn bags, Josh.”

“Gavin, let’s think about this for a second.” I whispered this under my breath, rushing forward to meet him, my stride swift and springy. I wanted to fly. I wanted to fly desperately. After I ran twenty miles and feasted on gallons of warm, beautiful blood the color of cranberries.

He looked back at me, unsteady and on the verge. I assumed, of course, that being forced to turn your wife into a vampire against your will and finding out your mother is alive after a hundred-odd years might do that to a person. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I mean, this is a very bad idea. You should think this through. You guys just managed to keep your spells intact and get the blood back.”

Josh lowered his head and then lifted puppy-dog eyes to mine, agreeing with me. Then, to Gavin, “No, man. I’m sorry. This is wrong.”

I immediately stepped between them, fearful of where this might head.

“Excuse me?” Gavin snapped, leaning over my shoulder. I pushed my back to him to force distance between them, pleased with my rock-hard strength. Bulldozing a wall was new on my list of priorities. The temptation was imminent.

“She’ll get what she wants from you, and then annihilate us before the others get here, man. You know she will.” Josh stepped close to me to get in Gavin’s face. “Arianna’s all we’ve got. She’s the key, remember? This is it.”

The key. I gripped my necklace again and remembered my strange dream, a tingling curiosity coursing through me.

“Guys …” I froze, vibrations in the floor breaking my train of thought, sounds from the hall rattling fierce in my head. Would I ever get used to this kind of sensitivity? How were they not hearing this? “Guys!” I whispered louder.

They both stopped arguing and deadpanned me.

“I think we have company.”