The Gates

8

DISTRACTIONS

“What?” My breath hitched and my knees weakened, my voice faint in my ears. “You mean … she knows Arianna is Samira’s daughter? How … when did you find this out?”

“She came to me a few days ago, warned me to break things off with you. And if I didn’t …”

I blinked, flushing out hot tears, infuriated and devastated at the thought of staying away from him. “I—I don’t understand,” I choked, my breath quickening. “So she knows. Okay, so … what? She knows we plan on using Arianna as leverage, too? How is that possible?”

“She figured out that Arianna is of value to Samira,” he shook his head, “I don’t know, maybe because she suspected there was a reason Arianna has kept it a secret all these years? The how doesn’t matter right now. What matters is she put two and two together. Besides, the fact that she knows that Arianna is against her own mother is enough to threaten us.”

I attempted to steel myself at his words, forcing back the waterworks. “Don’t cry, love, please.” He reached for me, wrapped me in his arms this time, his face flushed with affliction. “I’ve been trying to distance myself from you. I didn’t know how to tell you, I needed time to think.”

My tears dampened his shirt and I held on to him, trying to absorb the news. I pushed myself off his chest, rage beginning to build. “She’s blackmailing you? Is this some kind of a joke?”

“I wish it were, Cam. She’s known all along. She’s threatening to tell Samira where Arianna is. And I can’t put everyone at risk by staying with you. We’re so close, the rest of the resistance will be here soon, I can’t—”

“The hell you can’t. You can’t let her do this, Gavin. Are you insane?”

“She could care less about the resistance, Camille. It’s all been one big act for her. You were right, she has her own agenda: me. She will do this. She’s not afraid to go to Samira. Gabe and I want to take her out, but we’ll have to be discreet. Or come up with a damn good reason to justify it with the others, without them finding out who Arianna is, too.”

“She’s going to get us all killed. You have to do it,” I gritted my teeth, adamant. “Restrain her at least. Just tell the others that she’s threatening to betray us. They’ll hang the noose for you then. They don’t need to know all the details.”

“There’s one other benefit to keeping her alive. She didn’t find out about Arianna on her own. If someone helped her, we should try to get the information from her and take them out, too. Just to be safe. She’s worth more alive than she is dead in that case.”

I considered this for a moment. “No. She’s bluffing. She’s got to be out of her damn mind. What about Cecile? Can’t she do something—give you a spell to stop this? Even if she did get the information from someone else, there’s no guarantee that person is here, in the city.” I started pacing, utter disbelief making my hands shake.

“There’s nothing Cecile can do for us that can stop Scarlet from talking. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. I don’t know what to do, my hands are tied.” He stopped me from pacing and pulled my face to his, placed his forehead to mine.

“You know exactly what you’re doing,” I blurted out. “You’ve already made up your mind!” I shoved him away from me, my own force taking me by surprise. “What does she think? That you’re going to just run into her arms?”

He stood back, his eyes wide, not moving from where I’d pushed him. “I need you to wait for me, Camille. Wait for me, please. You know how critical this is. It’s life or death, for all of us.”

“Wait for you? You’re going to stay with her? Live with her?”

“She won’t let me stay with you,” he dropped his chin, let himself fall back onto the wall. “I have to play on her terms until we figure something out. There’s no other way.”

“Damned straight there is.” I grabbed my journal and launched past him, blitzing through the windmill door to race down the hill.

“Camille,” he flew behind me, placed his hand on my arm. “Please don’t make a scene, she’s dangerous. Think about what you’re doing—”

“Don’t you touch me!” I swung around and yanked my arm from his grip, seared him with a blistering gaze. He stammered back, releasing me, and I fled toward the village.

I burst through the front door. The house was warm from the fireplace, but that wasn’t why my face burned.

“Cam … what the …”Audrey jumped up from her chair, dropping her plate. I stormed into our cooking area and opened a cupboard, grabbed two of our silver daggers. Fury raced through me, waking my consciousness in ways I never thought possible. I’d been through hell and back for Gavin, almost lost him twice, and almost lost myself and my best friend in the process. I wasn’t going to take this without fighting back.

“Where is she?” I mumbled, blazing past Audrey and up the ladder to Scarlet’s quarters.

“Oh-là -là , look what the cat dragged in,” Scarlet hissed when I stormed toward her, then lunged forward and slammed me into the wall next to the bed with one easy grip. One of the daggers dropped from my hand, but I managed to burn her with the tip of the other, slicing it across her collarbone, her flesh sizzling from the contact.

“Aaahh! ” She tossed the dagger from my hand and bared her teeth, pinning my neck harder against the wall until my feet couldn’t touch the ground. I cried out, her grip suffocating me. She choked me tighter, her eyes ablaze as she laughed. “Speak up, Camille. I can’t hear you.”

“Go to hell.” I fought to spit the words out, struggling against her grip.

“He’s mine again, just as I told you he’d be. Unless you intend to do something about it, you weak little—”

“Enough!” Audrey shrieked behind her, both silver knives in hand. “Back up, Scarlet. And get the hell out. Now!”

The other housemates started to pour in, one after the other, Gavin wading in behind them, eyes wide at the sight of Scarlet pinning me to the wall. She maintained her grip, but her hand loosened enough, just enough, for me to draw a pained breath.

“Let her go, Scarlet.” His voice was poison. Taking a dagger from Audrey, he stepped behind Scarlet and wrapped an arm around her neck, holding it to her throat. “I don’t take the term ‘bitch’ lightly. But right now, I have one under my blade.” He leaned in closer to her ear. “And so help me, if you ever touch Camille again, I’ll finish you off myself, do you understand?” He glanced behind him to look at the others. “Everyone clear out. We’ve got this.”

“Gavin, I’m not leaving her.” Audrey shot him her hell-no look as she spoke, but he pleaded with his eyes. She obliged, saying, “I’m out here when you’re ready, Cam.”

I nodded at her from the corner of my eyes. Scarlet released her hold on me. My feet slid back to the ground as I gasped for breath. The others filed out of the room after Audrey, eager to get out.

Pulling her neck away from Gavin’s dagger, Scarlet turned to him and straightened her dress. “You want to threaten me? Okay,” she moved in closer to him and licked her lips. “Get your things, Gavin. There’s a place waiting for us down by the river.” Brushing past him, she put her mouth to his ear. “Your people, or your stupid little mortal. You choose.” She hissed at me and was gone in a flash.

Gavin rushed toward me and I sank to the floor, bursting into tears, my anger no less than before. “Don’t!” I cried out, swatting his hand from my shoulder. I didn’t want his pity.

“I’m coming back for you, love. Do you hear me? I’m coming back.” He dropped to the floor next to me, held out his arms, begging me to come to him. I curled up into a tighter ball and wrapped my arms around my knees, sobbing into my hands. This wasn’t happening. She couldn’t get away with this. But she was.

“Damn it, look at me.” He leaned in and forced my face into his hands, shoved his mouth over mine, his breathing ragged. “I won’t let anything happen to us. Have faith in me, don’t give up. Do you hear me, Cam? I love you to the end of the earth, and this is not the end.” He pushed his mouth on mine again, moved my lips with his, forcing me to yield to his hot caress. Helpless, I grasped the sides of his face, giving in, a flood of emotions pulsing through my body. As angry as I was, I had to trust him, had to see this through. Our lives depended on it.

“I love you baby,” he whispered around my lips. “Just play along until we make it out of this. Wait for me.” He turned me loose. “Be strong, and I’ll find a way out of this, I promise you,” he whispered, then jumped to his feet and out of the room.

Audrey was back in seconds, her arms rocking and cradling me, working to soothe my heaving sobs. I leaned into her and cried harder. “That bastard. I’ll kill him.” She hugged me tighter, shushing my cries.

Gabe came from behind her and leaned down to rub my back. “Cam, it’s okay babe. It’s all going to be okay.”

“Tell your boy to straighten out his shit, then,” Audrey barked at him, and waved him away.

“Aud, you don’t know what’s going on,” Gabe said. “He has to do this, she’s forcing him—”

“Get. Out.”

He pushed his hands through his black hair, and peered down at me, an apology washing his face, before he exited the room.

* * *

“This won’t do much now, dear girl.” Cecile continued twisting some roots together, collecting them in the palm of her hand. “But it will give you a little push until you gather your inner strength.” She tucked my hair behind my ear, placed a hand on my shoulder.

Audrey had brought me to Cecile’s for tea, but I was ever so grateful for the spell Cecile conjured up that had given me strength and patience. Audrey took a seat next to me, kettle in hand, pouring herself tea while I rested my head in my hands, staring at the herbs and roots sprawled out on the table.

“I just don’t understand,” I shook my head, then sipped my tea. “She just decides out of the blue she wants him. She threw herself into a war for this. Just to be with Gavin again?”

“Oh, there’s to more to it, honey,” Cecile said. “There always is. Vivienne’s told you about Gavin, hasn’t she? About him being the beginning of things to come for his kind?”

I looked up at her through eyes swollen from crying. “Yes …”

“She warned you of a snake, yes?”

I struggled to recall. “A snake … yeah, she did, actually.” I stood and reached for my satchel, pulled out the text Vivienne gave me before we left earth. “And something about water …”

“Yes. After Gérard perverted our magic, a prophecy was given to us about our fate with the frozen souls. It tells us a snake, meaning some sort of deception, will try to get in the way of their new leader.”

She took the text from me and flipped through pages, stopped at one, then turned the book to me. “At some point, water, a snake, and our magic will work together to push the prophecy into motion. None of us knows for sure what that means, though. We’re only told to watch for it. I decided to start practicing conjure when I’d made the decision to come to exile. Couldn’t stand to be plain old human, I suppose.” She chuckled, a deep, hearty laugh. “From a vampire to a witch, you know. Anyway, I brought a copy of the Book of the Ancients with me when I left earth, read it from cover to cover. I’m very familiar with this prophecy.”

She swept her red-gold hair behind her shoulders, then reached across the table to take hold of my fist. She balled her fingers over mine and squeezed. “I wouldn’t let what this girl is doing to you and Gavin break your spirit, sweet girl. These things are coming to pass, just as they should.”

“How is she forcing Gavin to do this?” Audrey chimed in. “Gabe said something about him being forced? She must have some strong hold on him somehow. He’d never agree to something like this.”

She stood and poured herself more tea. I examined the page Cecile held open, then closed the book and cleared my throat, knowing I couldn’t discuss Arianna in front of Cecile, no matter how much I trusted her. No matter how unhinged Gavin’s news made me, I’d never forget that was to be kept strictly within our circle. I finally said, “She’s threatening to tell Samira what we’re doing here.” Having offered what truth I could without mentioning our secret, I crossed my arms and looked away from Audrey’s gaze, hoping she’d get the hint and leave it alone.

“Camille, what’s going on?” Audrey slid back into her chair, keeping her eyes on me.

“She can’t say, my dear.” Cecile caught my glare, got up and returned to washing dishes. “It will all be revealed in time. You’ll need to exercise patience.”

Ha. Patience isn’t in Audrey’s vocabulary. I gave Cecile a grateful glance and took a deep breath. Since Cecile’s back was turned, I mouthed “Tell you later” to Audrey. Much to my surprise, Audrey sat back in her chair and sipped her tea without another word, her face easier now, but still thoughtful.

* * *

The following days were a painful blur. There were only two more weeks until the crescent moon. Gavin’s absence clawed at me from the inside out. Getting rid of Scarlet was no longer an option. After our confrontation, she found a way to alter her existing protection spell. Now she was invincible, unable to be harmed by the other vampires in our group, throwing yet another dangerous kink in our plan. Early one morning I awoke to a loud slam on the door, and Gabe and Audrey rushing downstairs to meet the commotion.

It was Josh, who’d raced from the West Village to warn us of Samira’s arrival. “Gavin’s on his way, man,” he said to Gabe. “I guess she’s coming to do rounds.”

“Rounds?” I whispered to Audrey while Josh and Gabe spoke. She shrugged, hushing me so she could concentrate on their conversation. Whatever it was, I’d need to be ready. I climbed the ladder to my sleeping quarters and dressed, tied my hair back into a loose ponytail, allowing tendrils of my naturally wavy hair to cascade down the sides of my face. No hair dryer or irons in this neck of the woods. I looked like a character straight out of a Renaissance festival.

Hearing Gavin’s voice, I raced back to the ladder and watched him from above, my heart pounding as he entered the house. I wanted to run into his arms, run my fingers into his hair and beg him to come home—to come back to me. He stood near the door, talking to Gabe, and caught me watching; he glanced up and paused when our gazes locked. His sad, dark-chocolate eyes pierced mine. Quickly nodding to Gabe, he slipped something into his hand and met my stare once more before he rushed off. Gabe met me at the top of the ladder and handed me a piece of notepaper.

Knowing the sender, I hurried to read it, but Gabe placed a hand over mine and said, “Samira will be in the village soon, probably to check on Gavin’s progress. Or at least, what she thinks is his mission. Meet us outside in five minutes. Stay close so you’re protected, okay?”

He winked, then hurried back downstairs to meet Josh. The entire household was scrambling, and the buzzing whispers told me everyone was unsure of Samira’s intentions in visiting. Carrying a secret as deadly as our plan of attack for three months was challenging to say the least. According to the Amaranthians, she hadn’t visited the city since before our arrival, which explained why the entire village, it seemed, was on edge.

I scanned the house for any signs of Scarlet—making sure she didn’t spot the note exchange—then tucked myself away to open Gavin’s note: Windmill. Just before sunset. Sir, aka Gavin. My pulse quickened and I tried to think of a place to hide the note. The sound of a loud horn declaring the arrival of royalty startled me and I buried it in my pocket, then rushed off to meet Audrey, Gabe, and Josh in the street, where we lined the road with the others, villagers gathering outside of their homes to face the queen.

The horn sounded louder as Samira appeared in the distance, an elegant apparition floating, cloudlike, in her descent from the city’s golden gates and down the steep hill into our village’s valley. Shrouded in darkest red, her gown flowed as she coasted toward us, hovering mere inches off the ground, her macabre flying guards surrounding her. Her feet never contacting the ground, she made her way down the cobblestone street, Dali and Akim trotting alongside her, loyal and threatening as always. Her arms floated gracefully at her side, those dangerous red nails gliding through the air as she moved. Every hair on my neck stood up as she slipped into our presence.

“I trust all is well, my dear children.” She zoned in on Cecile and lifted one long finger; her force pulled Cecile off the ground to meet her in the air. Audrey squirmed and dug her head into Gabe’s arm and he hushed her, gently kissing her forehead. I took Audrey’s hand and huddled in with my friends, keeping my eyes on Samira.

“Are you still wasting your time on useless parlor tricks, my pet?” Samira said. “Your human magic is futile, you fool.” She laughed wickedly, skimming her nails across Cecile’s chin before tossing her to the ground in front of the crowd. Why was she doing this? Wasn’t she supposed to be earning the peoples’ trust again? This sure as hell wasn’t the way to do it.

“I haven’t time for dull amusement today, my children. Let’s get down to business, shall we?” She reached out both arms and stretched her fingers, then balled them into tight fists, thrusting them toward her chest, using her force to lift a handful of Amaranthians from the ground and fling them toward her hulking guards. “Seize them!”

Screams rang out and gasps were heard round the street as she continued to carelessly sway her hands from side to side, randomly plucking people up, sending them soaring toward her guards. One by one, they were bound in chains and linked together to form a line. She spun around and retreated back up the hill toward the golden gates, leaving the other scattered, frightened villagers behind.

“She’s taking them for questioning,” Gabe muttered, a knowing look in his eyes. He rushed our group away from the street as soon as Samira was out of sight. Frantic, I scanned the area for Gavin, catching him as he hurried off to the other end of the street, with her. He snuck a discreet glance toward me before he turned the corner, and I caught a glimpse of her arm locked into his as they disappeared.

“Don’t torture yourself, Cam.” Audrey pulled me out of the street, away from the restless villagers and toward our front door. Our little flock, minus Gavin and Scarlet, all piled into the house and gathered around the living area. The group quieted, ready to deliberate on Samira’s visit, and Gabe took center stage while Audrey, Josh and I began passing around blood.

Gabe loosened his collar and rolled up his sleeves, rubbed his hand across his forehead as he began addressing the group. I sat down and began to bite my nails, a nasty habit I’d recently picked up. I eventually snuck out the door with Audrey, unable to listen any more. Whatever Samira was doing to those poor people, we were responsible. Responsible for barging into this city, for making promises to Samira we weren’t even sure we could keep.

Audrey and I headed to Cecile’s and I sat watching Cecile, listening while she cast spell after spell to try and soothe my nerves, while Audrey tended to the gashes on her great-aunt’s knees from Samira’s ruthless treatment. Feeling like a roast being seasoned, it occurred to me in that moment that I was completely and utterly burned out. I no longer recognized myself in this dreadful place, and it was all starting to feel like a never-ending nightmare. I’d give anything to go home.

As if reading my mind, Audrey murmured, “Even earth will be a little brighter when that woman is destroyed.” She continued to dab the washcloth to Cecile’s knees.

“My dear girl, the time is growing near,” Cecile whispered, flipping through the same text Vivienne entrusted to me. I bit my nails and scribbled in my journal, pondering when the supposed water would come. When it did come, would we even recognize it when we saw it? I slammed my journal shut and rested my head on the table, anxious for the sunset.