The Gates

18

WORDS OF WISDOM

“So let me get this straight. You’re a vampire, Scarlet is suddenly MIA, the villages are in shambles, Gavin’s mother is alive, Cecile is dead. And now we’re supposed to take on Gérard the Big, Baddy Conjure Man? With Samira? Am I forgetting anything?” Audrey dropped to the floor, half-stunned, half-hysterical, laughing and crying or something in-between. The haven was dark and cold, only faintly candlelit, and filled with items villagers were able to duck away and escape with just before the floodwaters hit.

“I’m so sorry about Cecile, Aud.” I kneeled down and gently rubbed her shoulder, tearing up at the thought of her aunt’s poor face. “If it’s any consolation at all, she was at peace.”

“Don’t lie to me, damn it. You suck at it.”

“Okay, she was scared. But she also had this peaceful look in her eyes. I can’t explain it. It’s like she knew it was her time and she was ready.”

Gabe reached down and handed her a handkerchief, then kissed her forehead.

“I want Samira dead.” Audrey blew her nose, her eyes fixed on the wall in front of her. She hadn’t blinked since we told her the news. “I want this whole damn place to go up in flames, you hear me, Devereaux?”

Devereaux? Oh, Lord. Dramatic Audrey was back in all her thermonuclear glory.

She stood and gripped the table next to her, her gaze still fixed on the wall, her eyes wide as she spoke. “I’m talking colossal disaster of epic proportions. I’m talking tearing the woman limb from limb and leaving her hanging out to dry. I’m talking—”

“Aud, babe.” Gabe tucked her hair behind her ear. “I think we get the picture. That’s what we’re aiming for, don’t worry.”

“I hate seeing you like this,” she turned to me and took me by the arms, stared hard into my eyes, her face scrunching up in distress. She looked away for a second to snarl at Gavin. He looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“None of us planned any of this.” I said, glancing at them both. “When I came to the bayou the first time and went to see Gavin, do you know what made me make that decision?” I looked at all three of them. “It was something Joel said to me back in London. He said I was dealt a deck of cards, and I had to decide what to do with them. It was something so simple, but so transcendent. And true. It’s what you do with the circumstances that matters—how you respond to them. That’s what determines your path. These,” I opened my arms and waved to everything around us, exasperated, “these are circumstances we never asked for. But the path is something we can choose. I say we don’t rest until we bring as many people to peace and safety as we can. We don’t rest until Gérard is ten feet underground and the curse is lifted. We don’t rest. If we don’t fight, we’re not much better than her. And if we can’t do all of that, then …”

“Then at least we know we tried.” Gavin came up behind me and slipped his hands around my waist, leaned down to place his chin over my head.

“Camille Elizabeth Devereaux.” Audrey let out a sigh and stepped back, leaned up against Gabe’s chest. “On second thought, I’m really digging those fangs on you.”

I felt Gavin quiver with suppressed laughter, and I tossed her soggy handkerchief at her, shaking my head.

She cracked a bright smile, straightening up and fluffing out her hair. “Let’s do this.”

“Yes. Let’s go get the bastard.” Gabe hugged her close, clasping hands with Gavin as he did.

Gavin released his grip on me. “Barbequed conjure man, anyone?”

“Oh, yeah,” Gabe patted him on the back. “I like ’em extra crispy.”

We all turned for the door, ready to help the Amaranthians and make final preparations for the resistance’s arrival.

* * *

Samira will say yes to the alliance. I just know she will. I had this bleak thought while we trudged up the hill and toward the gates. The fireball sun was replaced with the familiar crescent moon, which hung low in the gray sky, calling us home as if it knew our fate. The past few days we’d tried to help the flood survivors with finding their family members, bringing them food and water and some first aid. Most of our efforts were rejected. A hair-raising quiet had fallen across the villages since the flood, leaving the city’s shambles a ghostly wasteland. The only relief stemmed from the retreat of Samira’s guards. Their absence should have comforted the survivors, but all it did was make them angrier and more on edge, waiting for some kind of resolution.

Not a word was spoken between our group and Samira, and Scarlet was officially nowhere to be found. The silence was mutual, understood. There was nothing left to say. All our bargaining chips were on the table, all the damage done. On the brighter side, if there was one, we’d had time to refuel with the blood supply we took from the castle reserve, and were ready for the resistance’s arrival. It was game time, and the game meant life or death.

At the gates, we met the guards with a vengeance, pushing out our invisible protective hedge as we approached them, firing them through the air like cannonballs. Many, recalling our last encounter, cowered away. Those, we stared down, daring them to approach us. Our synchronized steps were more confident. Refreshed. Deadly. My newly agile skin was made for this, and for the first time, I’d be able to really use my strength. Nothing seemed more appealing than fighting to the death, for my loved ones, and for the innocents we were leaving behind in Amaranth, the humans whose lives we decimated because of our presence. It was time to set things right, and my blood thirst agreed with my convictions.

I could see more guards far in the distance, in the direction of the maze and portal door. We split up, with Josh and some of the others fleeing to the portal to fight off the guards and clear the way for the resistance.

“So what’s it going to be, Samira?” Gavin asked as soon as we entered the throne room. “Where’s my mother?”

Samira glided down the granite steps, her hard, thin lips pressed into a rigid line. She answered him by slowly turning her head to the side and fixing her eyes on her wolves, which were approaching from the other side of the room. Her servant, Victor, rushed over to undo Gavin’s mother’s cuffs. She made her way toward Gavin, her steps quickening when he dashed forward to capture her in his arms.

“My son, my son, my son,” was all she seemed able to say as she wept into his shoulder, her thin frame contracting as the sobs shook her body. Gavin had to hold her up to keep her from slumping to the floor. I’d barely had time to recognize it before, but now I was mesmerized by the resemblance she shared with Gavin. Her beautiful skin, hair as rich as cocoa, those warm, intense eyes that captivated me. I chanced a peek at Samira, who’d turned around to face the fireplace. I could sense she was still tense, but her demeanor was subdued.

“Mom, what …” Gavin dropped to his knees, holding her and rocking her as she cried. “How are you alive? I don’t understand. Please, please. Tell me, please …” He stroked her hair, shushing her quietly under his breath as she must have once done for him.

“Samira spared me. She killed your father but she spared me. Then she changed me, and kept me here in the castle as a servant. Oh God, my son. What’s become of you, my love? I hate to see you as this … this monster!”

“It’s okay, Mom, we’re going to end this. For all of us. Please don’t cry anymore. We’re together again, and that’s all that matters.”

I stared at them, heart swelling, watching their reunion, suddenly thinking of my own mother, my own family. Absentmindedly, I reached for Audrey’s hand and she squeezed hard, her other arm locked tightly in Gabe’s. Samira still hadn’t spoken. She’d simply resumed her place on her throne chair and folded her hands gracefully across her lap, her chin tilted downward, gaze fixated on the stairs.

Shouts began echoing through the castle walls, thick vibrations of marching feet, coming from the lofty foyer just outside the entryway. We all stepped back, Gavin pulling his mother to her feet and under his arm, turning to face the doors. Samira remained still, for once the sound of her tapping nails silenced. The doors flung open to reveal a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces; some of them I recognized from the meeting we’d had at Arianna’s Paris apartment. They poured into the room in packs: tight, organized formations, lining up like soldiers, blades in hand and sharp, determined faces. They piled into the throne room until there wasn’t an inch of free space left, positioned and ready to fight.

The vampires in the front lines closest to us acknowledged our group with affirming glances, jaws dropping when they noticed the woman at Gavin’s side. A few did double takes before turning their attention to Samira. The bulkiest one, front and center of the main formation, crept forward a step to whisper to Gavin.

“Care to tell us what’s going on, Gav?”

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you, Dominique.”

“Fill us in, boss.”

“Change of plans, everyone,” Gavin raised his voice and stepped forward to address them all. “I believe Samira here has just agreed to join us. We are to destroy Gérard instead, if we wish to break the curse. Samira cannot break it, so he’s our new target.”

The resistance erupted into a wildfire of chatter, Audrey and I wincing at the reaction.

“Silence!” Samira finally spoke, using her magic to send a vicious gust of wind through the room. “There will be silence in my castle! You might have come here to destroy me, my pets, but this is still my home, and believe it or not, I still have power here.” Her eyes widened and she lifted her train so she could float down to meet us. “Do remember I know more about your magic than you do, my children. This spell of yours will not last long, so I suggest you act quickly and wisely. Time is of the essence.”

“Is it true, Gavin? How can you possibly trust her?” Dominique asked, his gaze directed at Samira.

“Yes, it’s true. We can’t overthrow her without going through Gérard. But we have something she wants. Something she’s wanted for a long time. She’ll comply, and maybe we can all come out of this alive.”

“How can you do this, my son?” Gavin’s mother reached for him, pulled his chin around to stare at him. “She murdered your father! In cold blood, my love. In front of me.”

He palmed her cheek gently, his eyes turning to mush at the sight of her pain before pulling away to face Samira. “Samira, you kept my mother alive and kept her here as your servant for a reason. Because you wanted another mother around, one who’d lost her son. You wanted her to hurt as you did. And maybe, just maybe, underneath your callused heart, you also sympathized for her. You wanted to live through her hope, hope that she’d maybe see her son again someday.”

“I had forgotten you read desires, Mr. Devereaux. My magic conceals them, you know. So I suggest you stop trying to penetrate them.” Her Russian accent was cold but soft as she locked gazes with him.

“My power can’t read your desires, Samira. But as a son, and as someone who was once human, I can.”

“Your mother is right, you know. I murdered your father in cold blood, right before her very eyes, right where you stand. Destroying Gérard means giving me freedom. Surely you will destroy me anyway, no doubt.”

“I’ll leave that decision up to Arianna.”

The resistance stood still and attentive, glancing around at each other. Gavin caught the confusion in their exchanges. “Arianna is Samira’s daughter. She came to live with my family and me many years ago. She isn’t my sister, not by blood. And we won’t give her Arianna’s location until we get what we want, is that clear?”

Gasps and murmurs broke out from his admission, a wave of whispers rushing through the crowds of vampires. Until Samira silenced them.

“I want to see my daughter.” Her voice quieted the room. “Make no mistake, I will end Gavin’s mother’s life without hesitation.”

She stepped closer to the resistance’s front line, her wicked grin reappearing as she threatened them. “I will send forces into your world to kill everyone you’ve ever loved, if need be. If you think you’ve trapped me and I’ve no say in this whatsoever, you will be sorely disappointed. I have my own motives for joining you, which do not include the silly notion of you all gaining your freedom, and you would be wise to keep that in mind.”

She swept her train in a circle and paced, meeting them with her sinister gaze, the maternal compassion I’d noticed early fading from her face. “I do not join you because I have forfeited. I shall never bow to you lowly fools. Remember these words.”

Turning on her heel to face Gavin, she let out one long breath. “Now, Mr. Devereaux. About my daughter. I wish to see her at once.”

“Is that so?” Arianna’s breezy voice echoed from the entryway. I gasped, peeking over the heads of the other vampires, searching for her long golden locks and angelic face. Marie appeared with her, following from behind. I glanced at the others. All our faces said the same thing: What is she doing here? She’s not supposed to be here. This will ruin everything. Samira’s horror emanated from her evil countenance so strongly, I felt I could reach out and grasp the projections of her distress between my fingers.

Stunned, the resistance’s formations split into two, carving a pathway for Arianna as she strolled on through with Marie. When her face appeared in the crowd, Gavin’s surprise mimicked my own, and his head slumped in disbelief. What is she thinking, showing up like this? She turned to face Gavin and our little group, her eyes wide when she spotted me and Gavin’s mother.

“What have you done, Mother? What, it wasn’t enough you killed his father? You kept his mother from him and took his love, too? And turned her?”

Enhanced strength was suddenly of no use to me; I felt my knees try to give way when I saw Samira’s eyes fill with tears. She didn’t blink, didn’t move, just stared at her daughter in awe, paying Marie no attention.

“Arianna, I—”

“Save it, Mother. Would you care to tell me about Joel as well? What was that promise you made me, the last time I saw you?” She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows.

Samira tightened her fists at her sides, looked down.

“Ah, yes, now I remember.” Arianna cleared her throat and adopted a mock Russian accent. “‘Contrary to what you believe, I’d never harm the one you love.’ Something like that, yes?” She pulled out her silver dagger and sliced it clear across the room, chucking it into Samira’s throne chair. It lodged in the velvet with a thud. “Too bad you allowed your monsters to tear him limb from limb!” she screamed, her shoulders shaking.

Marie, hearing that the woman she served had caused her son’s death, toppled over to one side in silent devastation. The vampires next to her caught her before she met the ground.

“Ari,” Gavin whispered. “Arianna, I—”

“Don’t!” She shot her hand up, tears streaming down her face. “I understand what you are trying to do, Gavin. And by the looks of it, you probably have good reason for wanting to go after my father now. He’ll have to answer for all he’s done.” She faced the resistance, putting her back to Samira. “But we will go through with our original plan, and we will destroy my mother. She killed Joel, and she destroyed Gavin’s family. Not to mention the unspeakable horror she’s allowed to happen here in exile—”

“She can’t be killed, sis.”

With a gasp, Arianna whirled around to face him, bewilderment on her face.

Gavin spoke quickly. “Not unless we destroy your father first. She’s protected by his magic—a security measure for his power source. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

“How do you know she isn’t lying to you? That’s what she does Gavin, you know this.” She gestured to his mother, then to Samira. “The uprisings from the last war nearly killed her when she practically wiped out the city. She can be killed, I know she can.”

“I don’t know for sure. But she handed over my mother, and she wants you back.”

“Well, I say we take our chances and try anyway.” She turned to glare at Samira, a hungry malice dressing her face. “And if we can’t, we will set everyone free anyway and leave her here to rot. Let my father deal with her. When she’s destroyed, our curse will be broken.”

“The curse will not be broken as long as he exists, my child.”

Though I didn’t think it possible, Samira’s voice sounded not like her own, but of someone frail and shaken. “What you speak of,” she continued in a stronger voice, “the last time my kingdom was almost overthrown … I was never in danger of being destroyed. Those are stories, speculation over the centuries. My only real danger then was your father, when he came to clean up the mess. He is the author. He holds that power. It all began with him, it all ends with him. I am merely a gatekeeper, given the power to change immortals to human, to admit them into exile to feed his power. I have no need to lie about this.” She shook her head. “Not this.”

Arianna walked over to Gavin, her anger emanating so strongly it almost knocked me down. “Okay, brother. Enlighten me.”

“We need to return to Vivienne,” he said, “she might be able to help us figure this out. We don’t have much time. Scarlet’s turned against us, and it won’t be long before word spreads to Gérard of our plans here. It’s a miracle he hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Scarlet.” Arianna rubbed her temple, hissing. “That sneaky little …”

“Please, Arianna, focus. Let’s do this. This might be the only way.”

Along with the others, I waited in silence that nearly choked in its viscidity. What seemed hours passed before she replied, and when she at last did, I felt one weight lift and another take its place. The past three months had formed an elusive, toxic concoction, one that stirred until it bubbled up and over, all around us. We were left to repair the damage and make sense of it, to somehow teach ourselves to be immune to its vileness and forge on in spite of its effects. I looked around the room, at everyone who inhabited the space, person and monster, slave and master, aware we were in the madness together, swirling around in the same mess, all out to get something, a piece of our own pie. But I knew that in the midst of that noxious stew, coming to terms with our poisons was only the beginning.

Ever forward, Cecile’s voice replayed in my mind. Ever forward.

“When do we begin?” Arianna asked.

“Right now.” Gavin replied, voice stern, jaw set, stance ready.