Amaranth

by Rachael Wade

  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.

  “News travels quickly here, you know. Like wildfire.”

  “Apparently,” he mumbled, glanced at me.

  “Come closer, my new child. Let me see that pretty face.” Samira tilted her head to seek out Audrey’s’ timid eyes, pleased by her fear. “You know, we are family now. We should become better acquainted. Why is it you have decided to join our family, my love?”

  Audrey’s eyes reluctantly darted toward Gabe before she answered. “I wanted to be with Gabe and I— I admire your family, Your Majesty.”

  “Hhhhmmm, I see,” she breathed, her crystal blue eyes fixed on Audrey’s neck, nails lightly peeling across her collarbone. “Dali. Akim. Come.”

  She lifted her chin, looked to one side of her, then the other. Two magnificent gray wolves appeared amongst the room’s shadows, from where they had been lurking. They stalked past the rows of dimly lit candelabras toward their master, stationed themselves next to her, one on each side. Their eyes matching hers, they stared at us, waited for their next command. Gabe and I exchanged looks, cautioned one another as the wolves joined our company. They were Samira’s old conjure mates in wolf form, and as far as I was concerned, just as deadly as she was, only they probably housed more rage since she made them that way.

  “That is a brave compliment to pay, my child,” Samira continued, glanced at her pets, stepped a few inches closer to Audrey as she swung her sleek cape behind her. “I must say it is an unfortunate contradiction, however. You see, you have chosen to join our family so recently, yet you already long to be sent to exile. Is that not why you are here?” She turned to question Audrey. “To ask for permission to enter?”

  “Yes, that is our request.” I answered for her.

  “I see….”

  “Gabe and I no longer wish to be among the living.” A lump stuck in my throat and I worked hard to restrain my fear, to reveal only honesty and boldness. “This was my family’s home. And as for Audrey, well, she does respect your rule, but this is not a lifestyle she wishes to pursue after all. She’s had a change of heart.”

  “Oh, has she?”

  “Y-y-y-e-s-s-s, your Highness,” Audrey murmured, twisted her hands together.

  Samira stepped closer to examine her fangs, her pets moving wherever she moved. “So it’s not what you thought it was, is it my dear?”

  Audrey swallowed and cowered her head, her shoulders caved as Samira circled her. “No, Madame. I’m sorry to say it’s not.”

  “You are being sincere. Of that I am sure.” She ran one single blood-red nail across Audrey’s crescent scar, skimming her flesh. “It is a pity you have foolishly given up your mortality for such a tragedy, my child. Fortunately for you, I am both willing and bound to put aside your insult and grant you admission to exile. And of course, Gabe, you may join her. You disobeyed, getting involved with a mortal,” she spoke with her hands, waved them matter-of-factly, “but you did change her, followed through as you are expected to.”

  Gabe looked at me, then back at Samira, ready to object if the permission didn’t include both of us. “Madame, I—”

  “Silence. We will get to that.” Her expression suspicious, she made her way back to the throne, eyebrows raised. “As for you, Gavin. Your disobedience is quite different. I am certain you are aware of the situation that needs to be discussed, regarding some recent news that was brought to my attention.” Once seated, she turned to me.

  “Yes. I am aware,” I said, calculating my next move.

  “This blatant disregard for my rules amuses you, does it?”

  “It’s far from amusing.”

  “Then do explain your motivation to lead this movement, to encourage our kind to mingle with mortals and to abstain from their blood, to protect them. These relationships are strictly prohibited, unless you intend to change them, as you are well aware.” She patted Dali and Akim’s luxurious fur coats, her eyes glued to mine. “Gérard has allowed our magic to have power over mortals, to manipulate them. You dare insult your history, your own father conjurer, by letting it go to waste?”

  She grasped her mojo bag, her nails closing in over it, nostrils flaring. “Although I am bound to send your friends to exile, my mercy for them is a generosity. At the least! Rest assured, I will not be mocked by this atrocity you have stirred up among our kind. Our loyalty lies with Gérard, and there will be no camaraderie with the mortals. They are either our sustenance, or they become one of us. If this troubles you enough, you go into exile. There is no need to discuss this further.”

  “I understand, Samira. Please believe me, I did not mean to disrespect your laws. I came to request forgiveness and entry to Amaranth. For myself, and for my friends here. I know now it is not possible to live successfully outside of the law. I was wrong.”

  “What about this mortal of yours, the one you committed the crime with?”

  Audrey began to shake. Understandable. I myself could hardly bear hearing Samira speak of Camille so chillingly. Gabe discreetly took her hand to comfort her, listened intently for Samira’s verdict.

  “I’m no longer involved with her. It’s over.” I clenched my jaw and looked down, unable to talk about Camille in the past tense.

  “Rightfully so.” Samira snapped. “It is absurd to confuse our kind on earth, to make them think there is another way to live. It is an absolute insult to Gérard, who created a place for you to go into exile. It is a luxury! Is that not enough?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  The cold room stood silent except for the subtle tapping of Samira’s nails on the armrest of the throne chair. Dali and Akim patiently turned to look up at their master’s face, their eyes reverent. Samira rose from her chair and shouted, “Marie, come here at once!” In moments, her small, frail assistant appeared and kneeled before the throne.

  “Your mother was very dear to me, my child,” she continued, speaking to me like a relative who actually gave a damn. “The struggle she and your father endured truly breaks my heart,” she placed a claw-like hand over her chest to express sympathy. “Because of that, I will graciously excuse you from execution and grant you entrance … under one condition—”

  “Guilty or not, there is no condition to those sincerely requesting exile. You are bound!” Gabe’s voice boomed as he proclaimed the truth, his arms tight with rage.

  Her eyes widened and she turned to him. I cringed, afraid the plan to get inside the gates of exile had just failed.

  “You dare!” She shouted and thrust her hand forward toward him. Sharp yet seductive, her
hand swirled through the air; her force propelled him from the ground, flinging him backward. The blue bottles shook above the fireplace and he flew into the rigid stone wall, knocked the elegant candelabras clear across the room as he crashed through them. Dali and Akim rushed to stand below him as he hung in agony, pinned against the wall, standing guard of their enemy while Samira laughed. “I do believe you are pushing your luck, child.”

  Audrey shrieked and dropped to the floor, covered her eyes with her hands. Knowing I was powerless to help Gabe, I remained still and obedient, careful not to blow my only chance. The red of Samira’s nails jumped out at me like serpents, her fingers pointing to my chest, holding me in place with the same force.

  She immediately glanced at Marie, prompted her to stand next to me. “Listen wisely, Mr. Devereaux, be careful that you do not offend me like your precious friend, here. I am bound to grant your request to exile, but I am in no way required to dismiss your punishment for defying my laws before you enter. I will not kill you, but you must pay, do you understand?”

  I looked over at Gabe hanging on the wall and pictured Camille’s face once more, then responded with vengeance. “I can pay you in service. Would that be acceptable to you?”

  Samira laughed. “Ha! What service could you possibly offer me, child? A good laugh, I suppose?”

  “No.” I stepped forward, determined to get past the city’s gates as soon as possible. Indifferent, she stared back at me, waited for my proposal.

  “Instead of punishing me, how about utilizing me? Make use of my gifts. The resistance on earth is the least of your worries. The immortals have heard of the resistance that has been building right here, within the walls of the city. It’s no longer a secret.”

  “How do you know of this?”

  “Word from your servants has traveled outside of this realm. It’s a threat to the future of Amaranth, you know it is. If your servants turn against you with the resistance, you can lose your entire kingdom.”

  “My servants…” Samira glanced accusingly at Marie, then rose from her chair and glided forward to meet me, her eyes cutting into mine once more. “You are fearless,” she said, released her hold on me, “and your boldness is most refreshing.” She smiled for a moment, then quickly moved her fist in front of my stomach, twisted it tightly and turned it sideways in the air, turning an invisible, deadly switch. I buckled over as her intangible force crippled my arms; my hands clawed to grasp my stomach in horror. She continued to wrench her fist in front of me, her lips curling with delight as she watched me cry out. I fought the pain, tried envisioning what it’d feel like to hold Camille in my arms again someday.

  “Please, stop it!” Audrey screamed, yanked her hair as she pleaded, curled up on the floor. Gabe still hung lifeless on the stone wall. Unable to speak, he watched me crumble under Samira’s strength.

  “Lest you forget who is in control of this situation, my child, let me remind you,” she hissed. “I determine what a threat is. You have nothing of value to me, do you understand? If I recruit any help from you, it is because I command it. I do not bargain with insignificant, defiant immortals.” She paused for a moment and held her deathly pull on me. “I said, do you understand?”

  “Yes—I understand!” I shouted, my teeth grinding as I writhed.

  “Very well,” she casually dropped her hand back to her side, immediately ceasing my pain. “Now, then. How could I possibly use you?”

  I gasped for air as I pried my arms away from my torso, the torment dissipating. Samira watched passively while I fought to keep my balance. “I … read desires, as you know.” I cringed, straightened my body out. “But … not only my reading ability is of use to you.”

  “Oh?”

  “I have leadership qualities, as strong as my father’s. I can lead the people back into submission, I can stop the resistance here. And my reading can supplement that. It can help manipulate the people’s efforts and restore their obedience.”

  “Hhm … so eager to give me what I want …” she began to pace as she considered my thoughts. Every few seconds she glanced at Audrey and Gabe, irritated by their witness of our discussion. “What is in it for you?” she barked, “You have gone to great lengths to oppose my laws, why would you want to strengthen them? Why the, the … what is the word? Oh yes … what is the change of heart?” She stopped pacing, hand to her chin, nails waiting and ready.

  “My parents,” I replied. “They died because the war got so out of control. They’ve been gone for years, but I can’t let it go. I owe it to them to help restore peace here. They always wanted me to be a part of it.”

  “Is that all?”

  “That’s everything.”

  She pondered my partial honesty for a moment, turned her back to me to stare into the fire. “Well I must say, you are very relatable to humans. Just as your parents were. And in that case, it might work to my advantage.” She intensified the fire with her ravenous power. “Your father was indeed a fine leader. Perhaps a fresh influence such as yourself would be beneficial in this city.”

  Without looking over at Gabe, she released him from the wall with one swish of her wrist, intent on the conversation. He dropped to the floor with a thud, and Dali and Akim trotted away from him and, back to her side. “Very well. You will help me lead and restore the city’s order. You shall convince the Amaranthians to submit to my law again. After that, you will stop the resistance you started on earth. Only then will you be admitted to live in exile. I will announce your arrival when I see fit.”

  “Thank you, Samira.”

  “Marie, take him to the tower at once. Escort the other two to the city gate for entrance.”

  “Right away, Madame.” Marie hurried to my side and yanked me by the shirtsleeve.

  I made eye contact with Gabe and Audrey one last time before she rushed me out of the room, called out, “See you soon.”

  Once in my cell, I allowed myself to concentrate on Gabe’s thoughts again, listened to them as he observed Marie’s return to Samira. She returned with Victor, another servant, to lead Gabe and Audrey to the city’s gates as instructed. The reception was barely audible, I was too far away, but I fought to zone in and listened harder.

  “Victor, you take them,” Samira said. “Marie, you stay here with me.”

  “Of course, Madame,” Victor acknowledged, moved to escort Gabe and Audrey out. As Gabe was taken away, I caught one last fragment of the conversation.

  “Find the girl and bring her to me, Marie. Leave not one scratch on her body,” Samira said. “And do make haste.”

  CHAPTER 12

  It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To

  “Let me help you out,” a deep, austere voice offered beside me. I opened my eyes and gasped, realizing I was in Gavin’s car, but the steering wheel sat on the right-hand side. Curled up in the passenger’s seat with a throw blanket tossed across my lap, I looked over at the driver, still in a daze.

  I cleared my throat, still groggy, looked around for my little yellow house. “No it’s okay. I can get out myself. Wait, where are we?”

  “La Boîte Noire. You’re safe with me.” He extended his hand across the console to introduce himself. “I’m Joel.”

  Right. The babysitter. I glanced at his hand then ignored it while I tossed the blanket on the floor of the car. “Thanks, but I can take it from here. I just want to go home.” I reached for the car door, but he was in front of me before I could step out.

  “You’re far from home. I need you to stay with me for a while.”

  “Look, don’t take this personally or anything but … I’ve met plenty of vampires for one week, and I really have no desire to get to know another one.” I squeezed past him into the darkness, let my eyes adjust.

  I couldn’t see much, only a narrow brick building with a single red door, wedged in between a few other old buildings. The door was arched, the blood-red paint tattered. I looked for windows but didn’t see any, glanced around for the building’s most
convenient escape. A damp cobblestone street and a lone streetlight giving sparse light made my surroundings feel like a small European town. In the distance I could hear British accents, moving toward the other end of the street.

  “Impossible,” I whispered, listened closely.

  “Nope, you’re definitely in London.” Joel closed the car door. “Not in Kansas anymore, princess.”

  I gawked at Joel in disbelief. Similar to Gavin and Gabe, he wore all black—combat boots and subtle brooding included. He reminded me of a gypsy, earthy and wise, as if his life had taken him to many interesting places. A vast display of art sprawled across his arms; his parted but unkempt brown hair just barely passed his shoulders. He was the first vampire I’d met who had a darker, golden complexion. My mind wrestled with the possibilities. Cherokee Indian, maybe some Greek, a little French, I couldn’t tell.

  “You can’t be serious.” I squatted to sit on the side of the street, my head in my hands, in disbelief at how insane a turn my life had taken since I moved to Louisiana. Now I was hanging out with vampires on the streets of London. “We’re not even in the States? What about Gavin’s car?” I looked up at him. “Did we fly it across the Atlantic Ocean to get here?”

  “Please. We fly, the cars don’t.” He walked over to me and took my hand, pulled me up from the curb. Odd, but it felt as if I’d known him for years. Could it be that I had more chemistry with my new vampire friends than I had with many human friends I’d made over the course of my lifetime?

  “Gavin has a spare ride here. This is where we hang out, come on.”

  I allowed him to lead me through the red door of the building.

  “So spoiled,” I mumbled, annoyed as he towed me through a loud crowd. “This is where you two hang out? Why didn’t he ever tell me about this place?” I had to yell over the noise.

  He turned around and looked at me. “Why didn’t he tell you? Really, Camille?”