Amaranth (15 page)

“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.

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.