The Tragedy of Knowledge (15 page)

“But he didn’t
just let us by,” I said. “He and the witches ambushed us at the bayou in hopes of capturing us and taking us into exile … or doing away with us. And he didn’t want me to come here, to you. He spoke to me, through his thoughts, when I first met him. Said something about being careful what I do to save my friends. I think he was referring to this.” I gestured between the four of us.

“That might be the case,” Dali said, “but leaving something like that to chance is far too risky for him. It doesn’t add up.”

Samira shook her head, exasperated. “Well there is no use debating this, you fools. We are here now, and he is not, so tell us what you know before it is too late!”

I spoke up, ready to voice my agreement, but sounds of bickering echoed through the hall, followed by a guard peering in through the cell door. “Your Majesty, a Gavin and Josh to see you?”

“
Ttsssk.
” She spun toward the door and fanned out her gown. “Let them in at once.”

The door creaked open, and in stepped Gavin and thank God, Josh at his side, both of them looking as if they’d seen a ghost the instant their eyes fell upon Dali and Akim. Then Gavin looked at me and his face changed—becoming a dead giveaway that he knew I’d found out about Scarlet’s history with him and Gérard—and I returned his expression with one full of ice.

I’d deal with that later.

“Camille, I needed to make sure you were okay,” he said, cutting Samira a glance. “You haven’t eaten,” he lowered his voice. “I’ve sent my mother with Arianna and the others.”

Samira hissed and planted herself firmly in front of Dali and Akim. “We were just about to retrieve the information we needed, so if you two fools don’t mind … go on. What must we do?”

“We should … do this somewhere else,” Dali said, crossing his arms.

“Yes, take us to the haven,” Akim said, “it’s safer there—”

Samira’s magic blew them clear across the cell and pinned them to the wall, her arms held high, straining with her force to hold them in place. “I believe we have wasted enough time filling you idiots in already! Now tell us what we must do, or I will do this the hard way!”

“Samira …” I cleared my throat, feeling my temples begin to throb. “Maybe they’re right. Maybe we should listen to them.”

She swung around to face me, then pointed her glare at Gavin. “Any word on his whereabouts? How much time do we have?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “We haven’t heard a word from the frontlines at the portal entry since we arrived. It’s been quiet. Too quiet.”

“What is this ‘haven’ location you speak of?” she said.

Dali and Akim looked to me, Gavin and Josh, and I wondered who should break the news of the Amaranthians’ hideout.

I went first. “Uh … it’s a sort of … hideout. For the Amaranthians.”

“Gérard doesn’t know about it,” Dali helped me out. “It was put there long ago for emergencies.”

This news surprised even me. Why would Gérard’s closest conjure mate even know about the haven, let alone keep it a secret from his friend?

Samira studied our faces, and I could tell she wanted to know more, wanted to know how the location could’ve remained such a secret when right under her nose for so long. “Very well,” she said, seething, pinching the bridge of her nose. This calmed her anxiety a hair and I was relieved from the pain’s pressure. “To the haven at once.”

Storming past Gavin, Josh and me, she allowed her magic to fling the cell door open and charged through it. The rest of us raced out after her, and with the news that the frontlines had been eerily quiet since our arrival, I couldn’t help but ponder Dali’s earlier statement: we must be missing something.

9

DÉJÀ VU

“Will you at least look at me?” Gavin’s hushed voice was at my ear, but I wasn’t interested. We were making our way through Amaranth’s gates and down the steep incline into the main village’s valley. I was much more concerned with seeing the state of Amaranth since we were last here, since the flood and destruction wiped it out, and in focusing on our mission with Dali and Akim.

“No, and I’m not speaking to you about this now. The damage is done.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you … tell you all the details. You should have heard it from me.”

“Oh, really? You think?” I shot him a cold glare, working to keep pace with the others in front of us. Dali and Akim led the way, Samira on their heels, and Josh, Gavin and me behind them. Josh’s sweet puppy-dog face had lost its usual luster; the dark circles under his eyes and worn-out expression weighed heavy on him. I wondered when he’d last fed. He seemed to easily tune out of our conversation, hands limp in his pockets as he shuffled behind Samira. Being here to help pick up the pieces after we left him to watch over the Amaranthians couldn’t have been easy.

“You never asked, so I didn’t volunteer the information,” Gavin said. “You knew Scarlet and I had a history … but I should’ve told you about her affair with Gérard and that she knew about Arianna.”

Okay, I changed my mind. We were going to have it out right now, because he owed me so much more of an apology, and explanation, than that.

I stopped walking and spun to look at him. “I don’t care about the affair, Gavin. What I
care
about is the fact that your history extended a bit longer than you led me to believe. If she was using you to get to your dad and Gérard, that means you were with her long before you were a ‘new, lonely, reckless vampire,’ as you put it. What I
care
about is that you lied from the beginning—to me and Vivienne—about Scarlet’s knowledge of who Arianna was. You swore no one else knew about her identity, and made a huge deal over keeping it secret. And what I
care
about is that you deliberately lied
the last time we were here, when you told me you had no idea how Scarlet found out Arianna was Samira’s daughter. You knew how all along! All that crap you spewed about someone else
informing
her? You’ve spun nothing but a web of lies! Do you need any more of an explanation for why I can barely stand to look at you?”

“You’re right,” he said, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “For one, I feel like a complete idiot for letting her use me the way she did back then. And secondly, Arianna doesn’t know … about Scarlet and her dad. She knows her dad abandoned her mother, but she doesn’t know the details. I don’t talk about it, okay? And I would appreciate it if you’d leave out that piece of information. Ari’s been through enough. She never liked Scarlet much in the first place, and she’d have a conniption fit if she knew what went down between Scarlet and her dad. I shouldn’t have lied. It was a horrible thing to do. But I had good intentions.”

I turned and resumed my walk, the others ahead of us now, nearly at the village’s entrance. “I feel like I don’t even know you. If you can keep something like that from me, and bring
her
here with us … how can I ever trust you again? You jeopardized our safety while you played hero.”

“The affair was eons ago, Camille. Gérard tossed Scarlet aside when he was done having fun with her, and that was the end of it. It made sense all these years later for her to show up, wanting to be a part of the resistance. I genuinely believed she wanted revenge on Gérard just as much as the rest of us did. And when she pulled that stunt the last time we were here, threatening to expose our plan to Samira, I had to lie to you,
had
to give in to her demands! Not only for the sake of our mission, but for Arianna’s sake. Scarlet had me right where she wanted me, and it was too late to backpedal. It was a poor lapse in judgment, and if I could take it all back, I would.”

All the tension from the day’s events took over and I couldn’t hold back.

“A poor lapse in judgment?” I shrieked and stopped walking. “More like a massive, unbelievably stupendous fuckup!” My palm met his cheek with a loud slap, and everyone turned around to stare, jaws dropped. “Because you let that deceitful, no-good bitch into our mission, I am a frozen soul! Cecile is dead, along with countless Amaranthians, and she sold us out to Gérard, too: which means she’s responsible for Vivienne’s death as well! Do you get that?”

He grabbed my elbow, forcing me to meet his fiery eyes, which was hard because the mere sight of him left me fuming. “What was I supposed to tell Arianna, Camille?” he implored. “When Scarlet caught word of the resistance and wanted to join us, I couldn’t tell her no. She threatened to tell Arianna all the gory details about the affair. I did what I thought was best at the time, and in retrospect, yes, it was a monumental fuckup and I’ll never live it down, okay? Look, I went back to Scarlet … after I became a frozen soul. I’m telling you now, so you don’t hear it from anyone else. I
was
lonely, and I
was
reckless, and she was … familiar. But I promise you, on my mother’s life, that’s the extent of our history and I haven’t withheld anything else from you.” He let go of my elbow. “I understand you feel betrayed, but aren’t you kind of calling the kettle black?”

“Excuse me?” My eyes narrowed, voice dripping with fury.

“You heard me. What happened between you and Gérard back at the house, Camille? And what the hell is going on with you and Samira, huh? Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Or could it be that whatever it is, you’re not telling me because you’re trying to protect me?” He stepped closer, his jaw rigid and eyes stone. “Trying to protect
us?
”

Josh cleared his throat and stepped in, parting us before more damage was done. “Kids, can we skip the
Jerry Springer
episode? It’s not the time.” Shifting his gaze to mine, Josh pleaded with his eyes, and I could tell the affair was no surprise to him. “Gavin’s telling you the truth, Cam. His motive was protecting Ari. Besides, don’t forget, it’s that damn book that’s led us to where we are right now. This is bigger than us. Bigger than the petty parts we’ve played.”

Before I could respond, the three of us were jerked, midair, toward Samira, her hand balled in a tight fist as she directed us with her magic, until we were crumpled up in pain at her feet. I peered up from the ground to find Dali and Akim staring down at us, along with a few glimpses of nearby villagers who were also catching the show.

“Good thinking, Samira,” Dali muttered. “Enough of the bloody soap opera. Let’s get on, shall we?” He and Akim turned and stalked into the village, and Samira gave us another warning with a jolt of her magic, lifting us from the ground and then slamming us back down, her eyes daggers. She flung her gown’s train behind her and forged ahead after them.

Gavin, Josh and I pulled ourselves up and didn’t speak another word, wading forward into the village. The sight left my insides aching. Wheelbarrows, mounds of hay, broken furniture and all kinds of debris littered the cobblestone streets. The building structures had taken quite a beating; it was a ghost town all around us. The Amaranthians lined the streets and doorways, faces long and drawn, their stares burning holes into our heads as we passed through. Only the crunches and cracking of our steps could be heard, along with echoes of sobs pouring from a nearby alley. These people had lost everything in an instant. So many of the vampire-turned-human friends and family members they’d resided with were gone, taken from them by the demolishing, prophetic floodwaters.

We remained silent as we made our way toward the windmill and rounded Preservation Hill to the haven, its door buried alongside the hill, camouflaged in green and brown. Dali and Akim unlocked the heavy latch and held the door open, allowing us to descend the stairway that led into the underground cave, Samira leading the way into the darkness. She descended farther and stopped halfway, turning back to glance up at Gavin, Josh and me, and then past us to Dali and Akim, who were still at the top of the stairs. The gloomy sunlight illuminated the edges of their figures, their faces expressionless.

“Well,” Samira said, straightening her posture, “you have dragged us to this ridiculous hole in the ground. Do make haste.” She waved impatiently, urging them to follow.

Dali relaxed his shoulders, a faint smile springing up on his lips. “You’re right, Samira, we are short on time.” He exchanged looks with Akim, who was now sporting a small smile of his own. “We have been tied up for a while and don’t want to waste another second. So we’ll be running along now, thanks. You’re no longer needed.”

Confusion filled Samira’s face and I felt my own face blanch as I looked to Gavin and Josh for an explanation.

They didn’t have one.

“Friends?” Akim pointed to us, amused by our puzzled expressions. “Come on mates, follow us.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Samira hissed, taking a few steps forward, at once swirling her hands in the air to work her magic on Dali and Akim. Shock registered on her face and her eyes darted down to her hands—her magic wasn’t coming to her aid. “I demand an explanation!” She tried to direct her force toward Dali and Akim again to no avail, and then, turning to Gavin, Josh and me, she began to recite a spell of some sort. Her face transitioned from disappointment to fury when the realization struck that she was powerless.

“You fools!” she roared, the high pitch of her echoes bouncing off the cave walls, causing me to wince. Dali and Akim reached down into the stairway and grabbed me by the elbow, and I snatched Gavin’s with my free hand, Josh quickly tagging along as we were yanked out of the entryway and back into the sunlight.