The Gates

3

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

“We told Josh to make sure Arianna stayed low!” I choked out, rushing toward the car.

“There’s only so much he can do, we knew she’d try to snatch you again at some point,” he called over his shoulder. “I told Josh to bring Arianna to your house. We have to stop by and check up on the place anyway, get some of your things. Come on.”

As Gavin yanked open the passenger door for me, Vivienne called from the front porch, trailing after us with the wooden box. I didn’t even want to think about why Marie had been sent for me in the first place. Probably to make sure I’d make good on my promise to Samira, to allow her to change me and to serve her in place of Gavin’s punishment. No doubt our escape only made my retrieval more urgent to her.

“Wait just a second, nah, we haven’t gone over everythin’,” Vivienne hustled up to us, out of breath. “This is very important, ya hear?”

“I think you gave us everything,” Gavin said, glanced down at the bag of supplies in his hands, patted his pockets for the instructions she’d written out. “We still have a few weeks before the portal opens. We’ll meet again before we leave.”

“Listen, child. You soundin’ like you got it all figured out. But you best watch out for snakes, they come in many different forms.”

Gavin and I exchanged glances. “Snakes,” he muttered, shuffling me toward the car door.

“Just keep an eye out, baby,” Vivienne tried to reign in his attention. “This type of situation tends to manifest itself. But you …” she stepped forward and reached for his face, stared deep into his eyes. “You’ll know what to do when you run into one. You’re the beginning of things to come for your kind, ya hear? Don’ you forget it, nah.”

“I’ll try, Vivienne.”

“And you,” she moved to me next, “you watch out for the water, and don’ be afraid when the time comes.”

“Water and snakes. Right.” I glanced at Gavin. “Vivienne, you keep saying you’re not psychic, but …”

“This ain’t about seein’ the future, baby. This already written. It’s the path of our people. We don’ take it lightly when someone messes with our magic, ya hear? Don’ know just how it’ll pan out, nah, but sure enough, it’ll happen.”

“It’s … written?”

“Take this, baby,” she opened the wooden box and handed me a small ancient-looking text with strange symbols woven on the front. “It’ll tell ya everything else ya need to know about the frozen souls, an’ their history with our magic.”

“Thanks Vivienne,” I took the book. “We’ll see you before the crescent moon.”

Gavin and I sped off down the long dirt driveway, leaving Vivienne’s plump silhouette in the rearview mirror. I watched her face disappear amongst the Spanish moss-draped trees, feeling more and more foreign to my Southern Louisiana home each passing second.

* * *

“Don’t you take the garbage out? That smell is disgusting.” Marie sat in my kitchen, fussing with her hands, which were tied and secured with duct tape and rope behind the chair. Arianna and Josh stood on each side of her, arms folded, silver blades in hand.

“That’s what happens when no one is here to take it out,” Arianna snapped.

“Way to scare the hell out of us,” Gavin replied as soon as we stepped through the front door and saw our unwelcome visitor. “We thought this would be the other way around,” he motioned between Marie and Arianna. I peered around the kitchen, covering my nose to mask the smell of the garbage.

“Yeah, we’ll have to take care of that,” Gavin murmured, crinkling his nose. He continued to pay for my electricity and water, to keep the house available, just in case, but the reality was I’d abandoned my home, just like I’d abandoned my job and every other dream I’d had while living in Louisiana. Yet I knew I’d swapped out one set of dreams for another, and that it was time to conform to the new path.

I stopped mourning my nice, familiar, formerly non-smelly kitchen and pulled my attention back to the tiny round woman who’d recently tried to kidnap me.

“I can free myself from this,” Marie hissed, looking at me. “I have enough energy to snap this chair in half, you fools. Let me go and give me the girl.”

“Well I have news for you, lady,” Josh spat, his face threatening. “Just because you’re loaded up on energy doesn’t mean you can take down three of us. And clearly you know that, because you haven’t freed yourself yet.”

My gaze lingered at my new protector, at his warm hazel eyes and silky brown hair, but I forced myself to look away. I wouldn’t become attached to Josh, period.

“Fools,” Marie hissed again, looked up at Arianna. “And you. You ruined my relationship with my son, do you know that? After I spoke to you at the gates, the day he showed up looking for you right before the war, he blamed me for running you off. He hasn’t spoken to me since then, won’t even answer my calls. I haven’t heard from him in ages! I’ve been working so hard, all of these years, to keep his whereabouts secret from Samira, just so he can be with you, so he can live a safe, happy life. You better be treating him like a king!”

Arianna glanced at Gavin and then toward me. This woman had no idea her son was dead. Would Arianna tell her? It couldn’t possibly be a good idea to reveal that at this point.

“Marie, I’m sorry to hear that you hold me responsible for any problems you have with Joel,” Arianna said. “But I won’t discuss it with you, do you understand? Whatever is going on with you two, you need to let it go. You’re not taking Camille anywhere, and you don’t have to be afraid of Samira. You can trust us. Can we trust you?”

“Ha!” Marie rustled in her seat. “Let it go. Sure, just forget that my son hasn’t spoken to me in over a century. Ha. Samira will kill me or Joel if I don’t bring her the girl, you fool. You know that as well as I do.” I thought I saw tears in her eyes.

“Marie.” Gavin’s tone was soft, sincere. He moved forward, crouched down in front of her and peered into her eyes. “I’m very sorry for the position Samira’s put you in. But you don’t have to be a slave to her anymore. Join us. We’re going back to Amaranth, and we can protect you.”

“Gav—”

Gavin held out a warning hand and stopped Josh. I quietly gasped, wondering where on earth Gavin was going with this. Surely, he wouldn’t reveal our plan of attack on Samira. Marie looked at Gavin, a tear streaming down her angry face.

“Listen,” Gavin said. “What if I told you I could reunite you with Joel, and protect both of you, indefinitely?”

Arianna’s face dropped, and she lowered her chin to look at the floor.

Is he crazy? They’re all lying to her. It’s so cruel. Anxiety hitched in my throat and I struggled to take a deep breath, anticipating his next move.

“You can’t do any such thing,” Marie replied, quiet now.

“But I can, and I will. You have my word. We’ll protect both you and Joel from here on out.”

“What will I tell her?” She spoke louder now, still guarded. “I can’t go back to her empty-handed. At first she just wanted the girl for leverage, when she heard you’d broken her law. Wanted to make sure you’d uphold your part in the bargain you made, to serve her and restore peace in the city. But she’ll want her even more now that you’ve escaped—”

“You’ll tell her the truth. You won’t be empty-handed. Camille is going to Amaranth with us, straight to Samira. Tell her how we held you against your will, and we’ll take it from there.”

Marie stiffened, sat up straight, stopped crying, eyed Gavin with those cold, hard eyes. “What are you up to, boy…?”

“Samira won’t be able to touch us when we go to meet her.” Gavin glared back at her, his tone definite. “You won’t be harmed, and that’s all I can tell you. Do you understand?”

Marie’s eyes bounced away from Gavin and between Josh, Arianna, and me, suspicious. “I’ve no choice anyhow, do I?”

“Sure don’t, lady,” Josh said. Arianna reached across Marie and swatted him across the forehead.

“You know what Joel means to me, Marie.” Gavin looked at her, pleading and patient. “He’s like a brother to Gabe and me, I don’t need to tell you this. Know that I have his best interest in mind, and trust me.”

“Fine.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “But what will you do with me until the next crescent moon?”

“You’ll be staying with me for a while. I’m going to look after Camille’s house.”

Arianna breathed a sigh of relief, let her hands fall to her side, dagger still in her grip. “We’ll send you back when the time is right. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be.”

“Fools,” Marie mumbled. “I’ll need to hunt, you know that—”

“Already taken care of,” Josh turned to the fridge where he’d stocked some blood, poured a glass and held it up so she could see it.

“You’d better be right,” she said, turning to me now. “What have you done?” Her voice was barely a whisper, her glare slicing into me. I shivered, wondering the same thing myself.

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, we were ready to enter the portal under the first crescent moon since Gavin and I made our narrow escape. Arianna stayed behind at Josh’s cabin to hold Marie captive, and Gavin and I had met with Vivienne to go over final details. We were about to head to the bayou, where we’d meet the others.

Standing in my living room, I placed my hands on my hips and took another look around, taking in my slipcovered sofa, my rustic wooden coffee table, and my cherished bookshelves. I stared idly at my little but beloved library, wondering when or if I’d see it again, and recalling that my phone was flooded with messages from Carol, from classmates, and the police, and my mailbox overflowed. All would be left unanswered. Everything looked like it belonged to someone else now: a stranger I didn’t recognize. I’d fallen for Gavin so hard, so fast, and then plummeted into his world at lightning speed. Who knew someone could transform so quickly, change their desires, their goals, their dreams, all from the turn of a single event?

Gavin came from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. “I’ve made you something to eat before we leave,” he said, then noted the solemn expression on his face. “Here, love, I want to give you something.”

I gave him a sad smile and let him take my hand.

“I want you to finish writing your novel. You’ll need something to write in while we’re in Amaranth. No technology there.” He sat at the kitchen table and slid a beautiful journal in front of me, of gorgeous, rich brown parchment, with a suede string attached for binding. “There are quotes inside from some of your favorite authors, including Flannery O’Connor,” he flipped a page and pointed to the header.

“You wrote them yourself?” I skimmed the pages, feeling my mood lighten.

“Figured you could use inspiration. You’ve already given up everything for me, but this is one thing I won’t let you lose. You’re talented, you should write. And we’ll have three months in the city before the rest of the resistance arrives for the final attack. So you’ll have some time on your hands.”

Three months. I still couldn’t believe it. It was so long, so calculated, so … nerve-wracking. I smoothed my hand across the pages and sat across from him. “Thank you, Gavin. I don’t know what to say. I doubt I’ll be able to think about writing while I’m there, but that’s really thoughtful of you.”

He reached across and took my hand, kissed my knuckles. “I know this is scary. But Samira won’t dare touch us. Especially if she finds out we have Arianna. We’re going to make it through this, and your world and mine will be better, soon.”

“Three months is a long time to hold out on that secret.” A shiver ran down my back just imagining what would happen if Samira found out about our one and only piece of ammunition while we were confined to her city. “And what you told Marie is dangerous, Gav. Not to mention very mean.”

“We have to fight dirty right now, Cam. I hated lying to Marie, but it had to be done. Our lives depend on it, you have to understand that. We need to keep Marie calm and cooperative. When Samira sees that the Amaranthians are obeying her again, sees the city return to servitude, she won’t know what hit her when we attack. It’ll look like I’m following through with my promise to restore order in the city and bring the people back into submission. Everything is in place, Camille. I promise you.”

He stood and brought me a hot plate from the stove, his signature chicken parmesan. I had no appetite, but I couldn’t say no to his gesture. I took a bite and smiled, forced another bite down, thinking it might help ease my stomach.

“How will you eat while we’re there?” I wondered aloud, staring down at my plate.

“We have a rationed supply of blood to hold us over while we’re there. And I can get into the castle and sneak some from the reserve if it comes to that.”

“I hope you’re right,” I murmured, running my fingers over my new journal. If we made it out of this alive, I’d have one surefire bestseller on my hands.

“We better get going,” He stood and glanced out the kitchen window. I followed his gaze. Dusk was nearing, and a faint trace of the crescent moon had begun to poke through a hazy gathering of clouds amidst the pink and blue horizon. I swallowed one more bite of my meal, then stood, ready to greet the night.