The Gates (13 page)

“Nothing yet. How is Cecile? All right, I hope.”

I nodded, wiping crumbs from my skirt. “She’s okay now. A little banged up, but okay.”

“Good.” He shut the basket and turned up the lantern, the sky completely dark now. “I’m constantly checking in on you, but please stay close to Gabe and Josh, love. Be safe. It’s killing me, not being able to protect you—”

“Gav, I’m in the safest house in the city, remember? Don’t worry about me.”

“This will all be over soon. Only two more weeks until the crescent moon. Down to the wire now.” He brushed his fingers under my chin and kissed me, stood with the lantern in his hand.

“Already?” I looked up at him, unable to hide my disappointment. He extended a hand to help me up.

“I’m afraid so.” He pulled my body to his, gazed down at me, promise in eyes. “Tomorrow, same time.”

With one swift nod, I released him and gently pushed him toward the door. He killed the lantern and I watched him fly down the hill and into the dark, the jagged pieces of my other half tearing away from me, leaving me broken once again.

The house was buzzing when I returned, everyone gathered around, looking at one another intently while they discussed the return of the villagers Samira had taken captive.

“What’s going on?” I met Audrey in the kitchen, pulling some rum from the cupboard.

“Oh, never a dull moment, you know. Our blood supply is running low, and the villagers came back pretty shaken up. They said she went easy on them, though. It’s strange.” She held out her chalice. “Share the wealth, girl. You know, this place has made me want to take up smoking.”

“Well, I have some hand-rolled cigarettes if you want one,” I said, grinning. “They’re better than the ones doused with chemicals back home.”

I poured her a drink, looked up to see her raised eyebrows. “Not to encourage you or anything …” Chuckling, I put the bottle away.

“After sneaking away to see your lover, I’m sure you could use one, too.” She winked and shooed me upstairs to retrieve them. I returned with the cigarettes and we buried ourselves in the corner of the kitchen, sitting against the wall, hidden behind the table, two teenagers smoking in the girl’s room. “You look flushed,” she said. “Oddly unsatisfied. He still holding out on you?”

“
Audrey.
” I blew the smoke from my lips, bumped my shoulder to hers.

“For a guy who’s been around for ages, he sure has some serious self-control, Cam. How does he do it? You’re hot, especially in these Renaissance getups.” She laughed, pulled on my sleeve.

“Yeah, it’s not something I’m used to. And knowing he’s been with
her
makes me a tad insecure about the whole thing.”

“Don’t sweat it, Cam. You’ll rock his world, I’m sure.” She gave me a warm smile. “He really loves you. She’s history, and she knows it. She’s just trying to rile you up.”

“It’s working. So you’re not mad at him anymore?” I cocked an eyebrow, jutted my head back. “You seemed pretty pissed the day he left.”

“No, I understand he’s trying to keep her from ratting us out. I just hate that he’s given her what she wants. It seems so out of character for him.”

I finished my smoke and the last of my drink, took a deep breath. “I think it’s very
in
character for him. Save the world undercover, be the hero, one dashing smile at a time.” I sighed, rolled to my knees to stand.

“Yeah, I guess you have a point. What is it with these gorgeous, noble men? We sure know how to pick ’em.” She pulled herself up and straightened her shirt.

“Something tells me they’re worth it,” I said, winked, took her hand. “Let’s go find out the latest.”

I towed her toward the living-room area where Gabe stood, talking to the rest of the group. We barely had time to sit down and listen. Cries erupted from the streets, causing everyone to jump from their seats. We ran to the windows to peer out into the darkness, the cobblestone street lit only by the peculiar glow from the villagers’ lanterns.

“She’s back?” Audrey whispered, peeking through the slat in the wooden door, her face filled with fear. “What does she want now?”

“I just sent for Josh,” Gabe murmured, stepping in front of Audrey to open the door, his own lantern in hand. He wandered outside and we all followed to watch Samira roll into the village with her circle of guards, plucking random villagers from the streets again, tossing them around in midair, up into the blackness and toward her guards for magical binding. She couldn’t hurt our group, but it was still painful to watch her rip innocent Amaranthians from their families while we were helpless to stop her. If we tried to protect the others, it would only give her more reason to be suspicious of our intentions. I spotted Gavin across the street, tucked away near Cecile, mumbling something to her under his breath, Cecile shaking her head in agreement. No doubt they felt as I did.

Samira was gone in a flash, making her way up toward the golden gates again. Gavin and Cecile approached us from across the street, weaving around villagers as they scrambled about, seeming more frightened and confused than before.

“Something’s off,” Gavin said to Gabe under his breath.

Cecile spoke up, hugging Audrey when she saw her. “She’s returning people unharmed, not even questioning them, just holding them in cells. But she’s coming back for more. There’s only so much my magic can do for these poor people,” she looked around at the anxious villagers.

“Where’s Scarlet, man?” Josh chimed in, signaling the others to head back inside.

“She’s not home.” Gavin looked at me from the corner of his eye, “I’m not sure what she’s up to. We need to get together in the morning. I might have to pay the castle a visit.”

“Your blood is running low, Gav,” Gabe continued, his dark, boyish features scrunching up in concern. He stroked Audrey’s back as he spoke and I felt a pang of jealousy at the public display of affection.

“I know,” Gavin replied. “It’s going quicker than I’d hoped. Tell everyone to cut back, and to keep their spells strong. Cecile and I will see what we can do about getting more supplies to feed the mojo bags, to buy us a little more energy to tide us over. It’s not long now until the others arrive, we just need to keep up our strength until they get here.”

Gabe agreed and took Audrey’s hand, ready to head back into the house.

“Ms. Hart,” Gavin nodded at me, a faint smile hitched on his lips. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” I confirmed, fighting the urge to smile back in case Scarlet was lurking nearby.

The next few days were busy. Audrey and I helped Gabe monitor the blood supply and cleaned up around the house, while Gavin and Josh helped observe in the villages. The others were growing hungry and weak, and Gabe’s nervousness was beginning to show, making me wish more and more that Gavin would find a way to end his situation with Scarlet and come home. Gabe cracked under pressure, while Gavin was usually the calm, cool, collected rock, always helping to balance him when times became hard.

“What will happen if we run out of blood?” I asked Gabe, pulling him aside as I collected everyone’s empty glasses. “They’re already looking pretty rough. Will we have to take some from the Amaranthians? Gavin said something about getting some from the castle?”

“If we get too weak, we won’t be able to fight when the resistance gets here,” he whispered, folding his arms as he assessed the other’s anxious faces. “Not to mention we’ll be an easy target for Samira if we’re all too weak to move. And we can’t ask the Amaranthians to give blood. Even if they would, that would stir up too many problems around town. There’s a backup reserve stored in the castle, but Gav’s the only one who can request permission to leave through the gates to get to it. We’re so low now, there’s no way he’ll be able to steal a large enough amount on his own and bring it back without the guards noticing. We’ll have to keep a tight watch on the last of the supply, hunker down until the others get here. That’s our only option right now.”

“You can’t just ask for some from Samira? I mean, if she wants Gavin to do his job …”

“That’ll give her the upper hand. No can do.”

“Well, you guys’ll figure something out, don’t worry.” I rested my free hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze, then headed to the kitchen to drop off the glasses.

* * *

After dealing with the stress of the blood shortage all day, every day, I looked forward to sundown. In a little over a week, the resistance would finally arrive. Eager to meet Gavin, I hurried to change clothes and wash up. When I entered the windmill, I was immediately whisked into his arms. He hoisted me up and wrapped my legs around his waist; his cunning smile produced a huge grin on my face. He looked tired and weak, but he seemed to be holding up.

“
Mmmm
, I’d love to come home to this every day,” he said, then eagerly lowered me down onto the hay and peeled his overcoat off, kissing me passionately in between removing each sleeve, never taking his eyes from mine. I reached up and grazed my fingers over his forehead scar, then pulled at his thick brown hair before forcefully closing my arms around his neck, thrilled by his urgent fervor.

He pulled at my bottom lip as his hungry mouth moved over mine, his breathing picking up while his hand trailed down my chest to the corner of my hip. His arm slipped under my back and moved down my spine, suddenly boosting me upward to pull my body flush with his. A sharp intake of breath sent chills down my arms when I heard a soft moan escape his throat.

“Camille,” his lips traveled across my neck, his breathing growing more erratic, “I want you.” Instead of shutting down my advance, he allowed me to loosen his collar, inviting it this time. I pulled harder at his shirt and worked my fingers into the groove of his chest. “Marry me. Now,” he breathed.

My fingers stopped fidgeting with his collar and I gasped, looking up to meet his drop-dead-serious gaze.

10

CARPE DIEM

“What—?” I froze, my eyes darting around.
He can’t possibly mean it.
“Did you really just …”

“Don’t look so surprised.” He chuckled, pulled my hand to his to kiss my knuckles. “You were ready to marry me not too long ago, if I recall.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“So let’s sneak away and get married. Right now. I’ve been thinking about it since I’ve been apart from you, thinking about what you said that day in England—that we’re running out of time. And you were right. Especially now. The others will be here soon, and if anything happens …”

“Gavin, I never thought you’d be the irrational one in this relationship, but I’m happy to report that you’ve just thoroughly shocked me.”

He rolled to his side to lean on his arm, keeping my hand resting on his chest, buried underneath his shirt. “I know. My timing is impeccable.” He smirked, letting his hungry gaze drift over my body. “But I’m sorry, love. I cannot take seeing you all tucked up in this sexy corset anymore. The ties are so tight, they’re just begging me to undo them.” His fingers trailed over the top of my chest and down over the corset’s binding, tugging at the edges of the lace as he went. “Forcefully,” he winked.

I stopped breathing.

“And besides,” he shrugged, “I sort of love you and stuff.”

I gulped and my eyes grew wide, letting a pleased smile creep across my lips—until reality dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head.

“You’re out of your mind.” I shook my head, sitting up. “How in the hell do you expect to marry me—here of all places—while you’re with Scarlet? Oh, and that other little thing we have to worry about … what’s it called? Oh yeah—a soon-to-be
war
.” I emphasized my sarcastic tone by letting my head hang forward to lock my gaze with his. “Besides, what about all of this must-be-human-first business? Don’t tell me you put me through all of that for nothing.”

“Well, it looks like I’ll have to wait longer to be human given the latest developments. And maybe you’re right. I’ve been treating you like damaged goods, and I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to be considerate, but you’re a grown woman, and you know what you are and aren’t ready for.”

My mouth hung open, still in disbelief at what I was hearing. These words certainly weren’t coming from
my
Gavin. “Are you sure Vivienne or Cecile didn’t put some strange spell on you, Mr. Devereaux?” I narrowed my eyes, rubbed my thumb across his scar again.

“Maybe so, love. Maybe so. But I think you’ve learned your lesson about arguing with vampires by now, yes?” He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, a warning in his tone. “I have my mind made up, so let’s go.” He shot up, pulling me with him.

I shook the hay from my hair and adjusted my dress. “How will we possibly get away with this? You’ve already been gone for a while now. She’ll come looking for you, this is way too dangerous. We’re too close to ending this.”

I tried to pull my hand free from his when he rushed us forward toward the door.

“I’ll tell her there was a situation with the blood supply. It’ll work because it’s the truth, I can have some of the guys back up my claim. You’re right, we’re already short on time, so let’s go.” He picked up his lantern and I fastened the top button on my black cloak, pulling up the hood.