Amaranth (14 page)

“Before you walk away from me, you need to know why I love
you.” He reached again to place his hand on my face, and this time, I allowed
it.

“That day in the bookstore, when you agreed to see me again,
there was a look on your face. You had a hope in your eyes. The same longing I
saw when we first met. Only this time I sensed …
relief
.
I didn’t know what you’d discovered, or what had changed. All I knew was that
somehow, I had the privilege of being a part of it.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, shut his eyes. “Your
brokenness was a mystery to me, but I saw your motive through it. You had such
a strong desire to love, to prevail,” he kissed my forehead gently, pulled away
to look at me once more. “It humbled me, and I knew instantly that I’d crossed
paths with the most beautiful soul that has ever walked this earth.”

“You read desires….”

“I haven’t seen a heart as pure as yours in centuries.” He
smiled softly, relief in his voice.

I choked out, “You’re not making this very easy for me …
staying mad at you.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Camille. I have nothing to offer
you, I know that now.”

I took one step toward him, rested my hand on his chest. He
cupped his arm over it and lifted up my chin to gaze into my eyes. “Why do you
have to go see Samira? Audrey told me you could be killed. When did you expect
to tell me you were leaving for such a dangerous place?”

He glanced out the window and slipped his arm around my
lower back to hold me tight. “I planned on going before I knew you. Had a plan
in place, but then I needed more time to prepare. Word spread about the
resistance, and then I met you.… I can’t put it off any longer. But there are
many things you don’t know, and I need for you to not worry about me.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Samira is a threat. She’s the mother of us all, the most
powerful. But I have something she wants. It gives me some leverage to
compromise.”

“Can’t you take some time? Think about it some more?”

“I have to go, Camille. I wanted to wait until you came to
see me. I plan on leaving tonight.”

“Tonight? No, please don’t do this.” I wrapped my arms
around his neck, pulled tighter to hold him in place. It felt so good to be
near him again, to feel at home again.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t talk me out of it. This might be
the only way to make things right.” He let me keep my arms around his neck.

Much as I hated to admit it, I knew he was right. There was
no way I’d be able to stop him. There was too much to say and not enough time,
so the most important thing came first. “The night Andrew came, you never let
me explain anything.”

He pushed his fingers through my hair and let the back of my
neck rest on the palm of his hand. “You didn’t have to. Once I realized he was
one of us, I knew everything I needed to know. Nothing you had with him was
real, the details didn’t matter to me, still don’t. I’m sorry I was so short
with you that night, but I knew he’d come after you, knew I needed to act
fast.”

“Well for the record, there was no one before him … no one
serious. You’re it for me.”

His smile, though brief, was as unexpected as it was
warming. “You’re it for me too, love,” he said. “There’s never been anyone
remotely close to what you are to me. I’ve waited for you for centuries.”

I didn’t bother asking him his technical age. It was time to
put us both out of our misery, time to end this yielding torture. “Gavin, I—”

“Please, don’t.” He stopped me, shut his eyes.

“I love you, but I can’t do this—”

“I know,” he silenced me, then suddenly leaned in and pulled
my face to his, waited for my permission. I granted his request, pulled his
mouth to mine and let him kiss me. His fangs dragged across my lips, dug into
them as he pressed harder. Afflicted by his touch, I tore his face from mine.
Defeat weighed his arms as they let me go.

“Don’t kiss me like that,” I said.

“Like what?”

“Like it’s the last time.”

“It’s the best way, don’t you think?” He grinned and pulled
me in again, and I surrendered, a moth to a flame.

In silent agreement, before it became any harder to say
goodbye, he led me out of the lofty house and towed me toward the
Maserati
instead of my Jeep. “I want to show you something.
Will you come with me?” I agreed, and as we drove into the dark, he kept
looking at me, aware of my discontent. “Ask whatever it is you’re thinking. I
know you have more questions.”

I hesitated, unsure if I wanted to take him up on his offer.
I couldn’t help but feel like I should discipline myself from getting any
closer to him. Perhaps it was best to leave things as they were. I decided one
last question couldn’t hurt. “The night everything happened … I noticed the
knives you had. Is silver what kills you?”

He waited for a moment to respond, as he often did to weigh
his words. “Well … we’re technically already—”

“Oh. Right,” I said, neither of us looking at the other.

“Silver’s just a pure metal that happens to slow us down
greatly. After that, for one of us to be destroyed completely, our body must be
… burned to ash.” His voice solemn, he stared straight ahead and reached over
to turn the radio on, quickly bringing it to a faint volume.

I let the conversation die there. Wherever we were headed, I
hoped we’d be there soon.

Gavin parked in seclusion, nestled somewhere in between a
copse of trees and mangled piles of brush. I was so disoriented from the drive,
I hadn’t the slightest idea where we were. I only knew we were near a bayou,
not far from the bank.

“We have to walk a little ways,” he said, tucked his hands
in his pants pockets after we got out of the car. We came to a clearing near
the bank. An eerie, ominous vapor encroached across a wide section of the
bayou. I looked out into the murky water, felt condensation form on my boots,
glanced at Gavin’s dress shoes and suit. “You’re going to ruin your clothes out
here, you know.” I pointed to the damp, muddy earth beneath us.

“It’s a valid loss,” he replied glumly, looking out at the
water. “I knew this was most likely the last time you’d want to see me. Figured
I’d look presentable for it.” He rolled his eyes from the ground to my face.

“Oh,” I said, looked away. “Listen, can’t we—”

“Get on with it?”

“Yeah,” I answered, relieved. “We both know that regardless
of how we feel about each other …”

“It’s not going to work.”

“I wish that weren’t the truth.”

“Don’t worry. After tonight, you can see me on your own
terms, I promise. I’m not holding you here. I want you to move on. There are no
words to accurately express how sorry I am for the way things happened. Even
that
sounds shamefully shallow.”

“Moving on won’t be that easy,” I said, moved away from a
puddle of muck I’d managed to step into. “I just want you to promise me you’ll
be careful, wherever you’re going.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Promise me one more thing?”

“Anything.”

“Can you let me know when you get back? I mean, will you
tell me yourself … not send Audrey or Gabe to tell me? I need to hear it from
you.”

“If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

He reached out, probably to console me, stopped when he saw
my defensive shield kick in.

“Why did you bring me here?” I struggled to sound
indifferent.

“This is where I have to go,” he said, subtly gesturing to
the water next to us. “I didn’t want to show you at first, but I figured you’d
want to know.” He stuffed his hands back in his pockets, jingled his keys
nervously. “I thought I owed it to you to show you the truth, after I’ve kept
it from you for so long.” His eyes searched behind me, looked for something off
in the distance. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I looked at the dingy
water, then back at him, perplexed. Around me, all I could see was swamp. The
bayou was swallowed up, immersed in dirt and scattered debris. I realized I’d
never seen a bayou quite like it, old and forgotten, with no signs of life.
“Wait, what am I looking for?” My eyes surveyed the entire area, searched for
whatever it was he was referring to.

Closely situated near the water, a haggard oak tree caught
my attention. Distinct and far more ancient than the others surrounding it,
heavy tendrils of Spanish moss hung from its massive branches, nearly engulfing
our side of the bayou in its malicious shadow. The fog hovered seductive over
the water, the crescent moon looming amidst the dark sky above it. My eyes
zoned in on this sight, observed the filmy haze that clouded its radiance.

Tilting my head to look down at the locket draped across my
chest, goose bumps made their way across my arms and I began to shiver as the
temperature dropped drastically. In mere seconds, it was so cold I was able to
see my breath, and I began to feel claustrophobic. “Gavin … what’s going on …?”

Before he could answer, a faint rustling echoed from behind
us. Because he waited and listened, I did.

“It’s okay,” he finally said, drawing his attention to one
spot amidst the trees. The sound grew more prominent, and I followed his gaze
to see what was coming toward us.

“What is it?” I asked. Branches snapped and the trees’
leaves shook, but I still couldn’t see anything.

“Gabe and Audrey. They’ll be here soon, they’re bringing a
friend with them.”

“Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

“I told you we were leaving tonight,” he said, his words
careful. “This is where we have to go. This is the entrance to Amaranth. Since
Gabe and Audrey are coming with me, I’m leaving a protector behind for you.”

“
Amaranth
? You mean this is
where Samira lives? Where is it?” Skeptical, I looked around; my heart beat
faster in my chest, sensing something was wrong. Gavin rushed to my side.

“Amaranth is where we have to go to see her. Don’t be
afraid, everything will be explained to you.” He rubbed my back, his eyes still
darting around us, I thought for signs of our visitors.

“That sound … it’s Audrey and Gabe?” A strong wind picked
up, the air frigid on my skin. “What do you mean you’re leaving a
protector
for me?” Panic quickly spread, and I started
to feel disoriented again, as if I was in some kind of a dream and couldn’t
wake up. Loose leaves and dirt swirled around my feet and tree branches started
to sway as the rustling sound approached, louder now, perhaps only seconds
away.

“A friend of ours is going to keep an eye on you while we’re
away, just to be safe.”

“Keep an eye … I thought we were ending this. Why am I being
dragged even farther into your world?” Though my teeth were chattering I felt
sweat on my forehead, upset that I once again was kept out of the loop. Gabe
didn’t mention anything to me about going anywhere tonight. Not only was Gavin
suddenly leaving, but apparently, he’d arranged for another vampire to watch
over me like a child.

“You
are
in my world now,
Camille. I never meant for it to be this way, but it is, and we can’t avoid it.
Even when I’m not around anymore, Audrey
will
be. You’ll be exposed to this long after I’m gone. I just have to make sure
you’re safe until I get back. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened
to you because of me … if I weren’t here …” He swallowed, lowered his voice,
“You didn’t honestly think I was just going to leave you behind, all alone,
with Andrew on the loose, did you?”

I blotted angry tears with my hands, knew my mascara was
smearing everywhere. “I didn’t
expect
anything!
Certainly not all three of you leaving tonight—in the middle of a swamp. Not to
mention you assigning me a babysitter. I am so tired of being left in the dark
about everything. I want to know what the hell is happening here.”

“We’re going to see Samira, and a very good friend of ours
is going to take care of you while we’re gone.” He handed me his suit jacket,
helped me shrug it on to stay warm. “When we get back, you’ll have your best
friend back, and you can see me on your own terms. That’s it. That’s what’s happening.”

“You mean
if
you get back.
If. You forgot that part.”

“
When
we get back,” he
challenged me, grabbed my shoulders. “You know Audrey better than Gabe or I
ever will. She never would’ve become one of us and taken such a risk unless she
strongly believed this would be successful. If you can’t trust me, trust
her
. Please.”

“I still don’t understand how this is the entrance to this
Amaranth
place,” I replied stubbornly, wrapped his
jacket tighter around me to shield myself from the relentless wind.

“This is the portal that takes us there.”

The voice came from behind me. I spun around and looked up
to see Gabe emerging from the trees, Audrey by his side. They floated
gracefully to the ground, landed on two feet with virtually no sound. I felt my
eyes literally bulging at the sight.

“Gavin’s right, Camille,” Audrey said, reached for Gabe’s
hand before the three of them moved in to surround me. “You don’t have to be
afraid … or angry about someone watching out for you. We’re just trying to help
you. To protect you.”

To protect me? I felt like they were having some sort of
intervention, about to spout off the twelve steps or something. Either that, or
I was smack in the middle of some twisted rendition of
Rosemary’s
Baby
. “Wait, a portal?” I said, still shocked from the sight of seeing
my friends in flight for the first time. “How did you guys know we were here,
and how did you know I was coming to see Gavin tonight?” Suspicious, I peeked
around for any signs of the other visitor. Or babysitter, or whatever.