The Gates (18 page)

“Whoever it is knows we’re in here, we can’t just play dead!” I threw my hands up and gestured toward the door, my heart catching in my throat.
Is it her? It’s probably her.
This wasn’t happening. “What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?”

“I can hear you in there, you idiots. Open the damn door!”

“
Audrey,
” Gavin and I mouthed at the same time. My heart dropped back to my chest and I exhaled loudly while Gavin lifted the heavy wooden slat over the door and let her squeeze inside. He slapped his hand to his forehead and rolled his eyes.

“Well good morning, it’s nice to see you, too.”

“What are you
doing
, Aud?” I crossed my arms and pulled my cloak tighter.

“Did anyone see you come up here?” Gavin’s expression had turned grim.

“I doubt it. Everyone’s much more interested in what’s going on in the street at the moment. Josh has been trying to reach you but he said you won’t let him into your head. He sent me up here.”

“He’s better off, believe me.” Gavin hurried his fingers through his hair and repressed a grin. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”

“Samira’s guards are coming for you. You’re being summoned. Didn’t you hear the horn? Come on, they’re looking for you.”

I bit my lip to hold back a smile of my own at why we hadn’t heard the horn.

“Summoning me …”

“Your guess is as good as mine, now come on. Cam, for crying out loud, fix your hair.” She cocked her eyebrow and gave me the I-know-you’ve-been-messing-around look. “And you,” she shot Gavin the same look, “zip up your fly, Don Juan.”

She rolled her eyes and turned for the door. Gavin stood there, hands on hips, and dropped his chin to follow her scrutiny, doing a double take when he spotted the zipper. Zipping up, he followed her, and I trailed behind them, all three of us pulling up our hoods to conceal our faces.

We walked down the hill, Audrey and Gavin cracking jokes about the legend of Don Juan. Their amusement faded, as did mine, when we saw the guards coming through the gates at the top of the city’s hill. People had already begun gathering in the streets below, in the village’s valley, and we could hear the commotion even though we were still some distance away.

“Well this can’t be good,” Gavin mumbled.

“You don’t think they found out …” Audrey glanced at Gavin. He wore his poker face. The one that meant he was thinking. Usually it intrigued me. This time it made me tremble.

“No, not good,” I said, my eyes glued to the threat unfolding before us.

“Just stay calm,” Gavin said. “They’re only coming for me. Come on.” At his nod, we continued our descent down the hill, making our way to the center of the street.

One of the waiting guards approached Gavin. “Are you coming or are we going to have to do this the hard way?” His sinister, hungry gaze sized up the people around us like a three-course meal.

“You don’t have to hurt anyone. Let’s go,” Gavin said under his breath, walking past the burly guard to head uphill toward the gates. He didn’t turn back, didn’t say a word to either of us. My stomach dropped and Audrey reached out to take my hand.

“He’ll be okay, Cam. Let’s get inside to Gabe and Josh. Maybe they have a better idea of what’s going on.”

I intertwined my fingers with hers and let her lead me toward the house.

* * *

“Remove the spells, or starve. The choice is yours.” The firelight flickered, sending warm shadows over Samira’s ivory skin.

“It was you. You took our blood supply.”
Go easy, Gavin. Don’t want to make this worse. Camille’s depending on you.

“Perhaps you should have kept better watch when I visited the city. It doesn’t take much to distract the humans there, petty fools. You and your friends, however, were quite the disappointment, being so distracted like that. I suppose that is what happens when you pledge your loyalty to humans. You end up forgetting the needs of your own kind.”

“I should have known.”

“Oh, I believe you knew. You have your father’s instinct. But all it took was a few minor diversions, and you let your guard down. It is truly a shame. The guards were able to slip right by you, while you stood in the street, more concerned with why I was taking the humans.” She shut her eyes and waved her hands. “At any rate, you left me no choice. You were wise enough to bring your own blood with you. Allowing me to provide it to you and your friends would certainly give me an advantage. However, I am sorry to say there is a problem with that, my child.” She stood in front of the throne, her icy glare bearing down on me. “So, choose.”

I wasn’t sure whether to stall or give in. Both seemed risky.
What would you have done, Dad?
If we didn’t get blood soon, our entire plan could fail. Maybe I could give in for myself, but not allow the others to remove their spells, get what we need without dooming us all. “You know I can’t do that, Samira. It’s our only assurance you and your guards won’t harm us while we do our work here.”

“Starvation it is then, yes?”

“I won’t be much good to you if I’m dead.”

“Apparently you weren’t much good to me in the first place, when you made such a defiant decision to enlist help from an original conjurer to use my own magic against me. I will find another way to restore order in my city if I must, and you’d be wise to take me at my word, Mr. Devereaux.” She joined her hands behind her back and lifted her chin, maintaining her stare. “Of course, you have the choice to feed from the Amaranthians.” Her lips curled into a wicked smile.

“Your Highness, you know as well as I do that wouldn’t solve anything.”

“Ah, there’s that same common quality you share with your parents, I see. A most stubborn love for humans.”

“Why is it you want me to remove the spell? Why not come right out and say it?” I held a straight face, pushing back the nervous twitch in my shoulder, every urge to let my concern show. The restraint became more difficult when the wolves made slow strolls to her side.
Hold it together, Gavin. Figure this thing out, play her at her own game.

“I am insulted by your question, Mr. Devereaux, since it is one you already know the answer to. Why remove your spells? I won’t be mocked in my own kingdom, that’s why. I have allowed you to have the upper hand for months now, and I refuse to let the spectacle continue.” Her eyes widened and her jaw set. “If you serve me in my city, you will play by my rules. I refuse to allow you to continue to use my magic against me. Remove the spells, and I will see you remain unharmed. You will need to take me at my word, and that is all there is to it. Have you forgotten how well acquainted I am with the magic? Your spells won’t last for long. And without fresh blood, you’ll soon be powerless regardless.”

“Your
word?
” My effort to keep the sarcasm from my tone failed. She noticed.
Damn it, composure, man!

“Is there something you wish to say to me, Mr. Devereaux? Now would be the time.”

I took a deep breath and looked away, turning my attention to the wolves. “No, Your Highness. Nothing at all.” She knew we wouldn’t feed on the Amaranthians, and I knew it, too. If we even considered the thought, it meant disturbing the peace we’d worked so hard to build over the past few months. Yes. We were too close. And the last thing we needed inside the gates was more enemies. We needed an alliance, a strong one.

“I’ll turn over my protection, but my friends will not.”

“This is not a bargaining session, my pet. All or nothing. Now.”

Shit.
Should our group try to hold out until the resistance arrived? The crescent moon was less than a week away. But what would happen if the resistance arrived, and we were too weak to help them? Another week without food?
We’ll be too weak, too vulnerable without blood. We need it. Period.

I reached my hand inside my shirt, just under my chest, and retrieved the small red sachet that, until now, had been responsible for securing my safety. Weighing it in my palm, I gave it a last look before I chucked it toward her, swallowed hard when she caught it midair.
Josh,
I called him with my thoughts
. Samira stole the blood. I handed over my spell to get it back. They’re coming for yours next, but there’s no way we’re turning everyone over for the slaughter. Quick—hide a few of the others in the haven, we’ll say they’ve already starved to death or something. And see if Cecile can help in some way. Maybe a different kind of spell to keep us safe after we get the blood back.

“Wise choice, my child.” Samira interrupted my train of thought, dangling the bag’s string from a long, sharp nail, examining it. “Tell me. How is Vivienne these days? Has she enlightened all of you on earth, or are you and your little friends special pets of hers?”

“The last thing she wants is for her people to share their magic with our kind. We were an exception.”

“Were you, now.” She slowly moved forward and floated down the granite steps, testing the area in front of me for any protective force. The wolves trotted next to her and I remained still, holding my breath.
You idiot. This is it. You probably just handed our lives over on a silver platter.
My thoughts flitted to Josh again, urging him to move fast to devise a plan. My normal hesitancy to thought-speak with my allies in Samira’s presence was thrown out the window at this point.
Damn it! How could I have been so poorly prepared for something like this?
My face dropped at the realization of my failure, defeat weighing my shoulders down. I steeled myself up.
It’s not over yet.

When she reached me and realized she was able to touch my arm, she smiled, extending her hand to mine. “I will see to it that you and your friends receive your supply as soon as I have evidence they’re no longer under the spell. I will send my guards for them now.” She waited for me to shake her hand. “Oh come now, Mr. Devereaux. Let’s resume our arrangement and pretend this never happened, shall we? I’m quite pleased with the progress you have made in my city. I have every reason to keep my word.”

My reluctant hand accepted hers, her palm sliding over mine as she smiled kindly—too kindly.

A blast sounded from the hall just outside the tall wooden doors, and she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she released me from our handshake.

“Dali. Akim.” At her command, the wolves stalked toward the doors, but cowered back, whimpering, when the doors creaked open. Samira’s posture changed, resuming its statuesque picture of certainty. I followed her gaze to the doorway and felt the life drain from my face.

Scarlet strutted into the room, hands at her sides, a book of some sort stuffed underneath her arm. Her snug smile widened when more of Samira’s guards appeared from the other set of doors, these near the throne. At first they marched toward Scarlet, but then slowed when they felt the bubble of protection surrounding her. She giggled when they charged toward her and smacked into it, and she watched them fly backward with delight on her face.

“A truce so soon?” she purred, looking only at Samira. “You might want to reconsider,
Your Highness
.” With one flick of her wrist, she tossed the book in my direction.

It dropped to the ground and slid toward me, hit the tip of my boot and landed in perfect view. Since Scarlet appeared, I’d fought to maintain an indifferent stare, but the sight of the journal—the one I’d given Camille, the one she’d just had with her in the windmill—made me shake, and I couldn’t mask my horror any longer.

14

OVERFLOW

“Scarlet.
Shameless as always
. To what do I owe the honor?” Samira’s eyes didn’t move from hers, and she didn’t bother to look at the journal at my feet.
No, no, no, no,
my mind screamed. I couldn’t move, couldn’t bend to pick it up. All I saw was her pleased, self-satisfied expression, and I knew this was the end.

“You know, Gavin,” Scarlet finally peeled her eyes from Samira to burn me with her gaze, “your little human wife is pretty forgetful. It seems she left her journal in the windmill earlier. Guess she was caught up in the throes of passion.”

“Scarlet, this is not the answer and you know it.”

“The answer? Oh, you mean to getting you back? Ha!” She threw her head backward in an amused laugh. “Now if my idea of the future was that short-sighted, what kind of vampire would that make me?”

“Explain the meaning of this,” Samira hissed. “And do make haste.”

“Of course,
Your Majesty
,” Scarlet said, and performed an exaggerated mock curtsy, chuckling to herself. “I’m simply here to tell you that I intend to use my spell as long as I’d like, regardless of the fact that you’ve swiped our blood supply. And unlike Gavin and his imbecile friends, I for one have no objection whatsoever to feeding off the humans in Amaranth. In fact, I prefer it. All of this feeding-from-the-cup nonsense is so drab.” She scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes, leaned her weight on one side and folded her arms.