The Tragedy of Knowledge (5 page)

Audrey frantically glanced between me and the bedroom door while dragging me out into the hall and toward the staircase. My vision blurred as she guided me, then cleared as it locked onto a dark brown man, who stood near the front door at the bottom of the staircase.

How I’d ever imagined Samira to be the definition of evil incarnate was beyond me. Because the man who stood before us held that title with fierce superiority. Where Samira carried a vast amount of sexuality in her demeanor and body language, this man dripped with an insurmountable, carnal, wicked sensuality: a manifestation of deceitfulness, the serpent of the Garden of Eden; a suave creature dressed impeccably in a French gray suit, no tie, relaxed cuffs and crisp, matching fedora, ready to strike its prey. He removed the hat when he met my gaze with dark eyes that matched Arianna’s, an inviting grin playing across his lips. I drank in his sophisticated appearance, and one look into those dark, savage eyes told me all I needed to know: Sex was his weapon. He didn’t need to rely on grisly, monstrous features to instill horror; it was all there, in his self-assured stance, and in those wild, smoldering eyes.

I immediately sensed Gavin, Gabe and Arianna gathering in front of him at the end of the staircase, their stances at once stilled. And defensive. As he held my stare, the thumping bomb of heat radiated with more ferocity, causing me to grip my chest with terrified, rigid fingers. Was I the only one feeling this? The man’s eyes, the sinister undertone in them palpable, glittered with amusement as I fought to steady my breath.

Silence fell around us, and suddenly, I realized the source of the horrific scream we’d heard. Marie lay lifeless at the man’s feet, a trickle of maroon dribbling from the corner of her mouth, her arms and legs shriveled. Every muscle in my torso contracted at the sight that reminded me of the ghastly way Andrew’s body looked the moment Samira had bitten his neck, sucking the life out of him and leaving him a desiccated, rotting corpse.

The man tore his gaze from mine, casually turning his attention to Gavin. Smooth words tinged with a mischievous yet chilling, seductive Creole blend, spilled from his lips. With a snap of his fingers, a lit cigar appeared between his index finger and thumb. An exotic aroma of burning incense drifted up the staircase toward me as he took a puff. Audrey and I froze at the top of the stairway, unable to move while he spoke.

“
Mmmmm,
I’m very unhappy to be here, Gavin,” he said. “Do you know why that is? Because I don’t like to fly, you see. I loathe it, in fact. I don’t like to travel. I’ve seen every inch of this sorry excuse for a planet and frankly, it’s boring. I’m very comfortable in my Moroccan palace. So, my friend, to come here, it’s a quite significant inconvenience for me. Quite.”

Taking another slow, tantalizing draw from his cigar, he tossed his hat onto the hall hat tree’s hook, strolling forward to peer around. His dark fingers flitted around as he spoke, fingers embellished with numerous gold rings, the bright yellow flashing under the room’s natural sunlight. A woven straw bracelet of some sort dangled from his wrist and he toyed with the attached charm a moment before dipping his hands in his pant pockets.

“Father.” Arianna’s voice was surprisingly squeaky, a sign that there was in fact fear beneath her tough exterior. “Get on with it, already.”

“Ah yes, my beautiful girl. Straight and to the point as always. I do admire your direct approach.” His eyes flickering to mine once more, they lowered, settling on my necklace, and then lower, on my cleavage.

I swallowed hard.

“Gavin, my friend. I’m so sorry to hear about what happened to your parents after the uprising. When I learned that Arianna left Amaranth during all the commotion to return to earth, I also caught word that Samira requested your father’s help to put things back together, and well, I knew that meant I’d need to come and clean things up. I also knew your mother would leave earth to join him there, to help him. The way Samira lured your father into serving her, by lifting your mother’s curse and granting her admission as a human,” he shook his head with a disapproving look, “well, that was just cruel. Alas, my ex-wife never could exercise control, the fool. What nerve, to later try and cover up their murders to keep it hush-hush.”

Oh, how nice of Samira,
I thought.
Giving Gavin’s mother her humanity back, only to change her again after she used and discarded her husband.

Her monstrous nature really did know no bounds.

Visions of the tormented expression that graced Samira’s face when she’d seen Arianna after all those years, right before we’d left Amaranth, popped unbidden into my mind, but I swiftly extinguished the irrational wave of sympathy.

“It’s a pity Samira’s weakness caused a rebellion in her city,” Gérard continued, and looked directly at Gavin, “and my, how proud Sean and Erica would have been to see what a strong, determined young man you turned out to be. They were dear, dear friends.”

Finally, Gavin’s mother had a name: Erica. And apparently, Gérard didn’t realize Samira had kept Erica around after all.

The muscles in Gavin’s neck tightened and released, his jaw setting at Gérard’s words, but his lips remained clamped shut. To think that Gavin’s father was ever friends with this man sent more tingling sensations down my spine.

“Funny, Father.” Arianna’s voice was stronger now. “It seems Mother’s been exercising control just fine. Plenty of innocent people are still being held captive in
your
rebellious exile. I’d say she possesses another strength, in addition to her ability to play gatekeeper. She’s an excellent janitor, cleaning up
your
mess.”

The heels of Gérard’s dress shoes lightly clacked on the wooden floor as he shifted. From just outside the open door, the front porch’s wind chime faintly tinkled. No one moved. “Ah, defending your mother, are you?” he said. “Last I heard, you weren’t so fond of her, my beautiful girl.”

“Last you heard? Some time has passed since then,
Daddy
.”

Gérard sucked in a sharp, over-dramatic breath and screwed his eyes shut, as if someone had delivered a punch to his gut. “That’s hitting below the belt, baby girl. But I do understand your animosity. It’s true I haven’t been around, and it seems some things have changed, yes?”

A tear streamed down Arianna’s cheek as she eyed Marie’s lifeless body. Gavin’s gaze shot over his shoulder toward Audrey and me. Arianna’s dress bristled as she shifted, the grandfather clock’s ticking echoing from the corridor.

“But you are right. I should get to the point.” Removing his free hand from his pocket, he retrieved a long silk handkerchief and rubbed it over his fingers to wipe away Marie’s blood in between healthy puffs of his cigar. “Do you and your friends here know why your mother and I are the only true hybrids? Why we have the strongest powers, possess the best of both worlds from the frozen souls and the witches? While the frozen souls rejoice in the knowledge that they can perform silly little magic tricks and cast pathetic spells amongst their kind, your mother and I have conjuring abilities they merely dream of.” Stepping over Marie’s body, he angled his chin lower, keeping his eyes on his daughter. “Well, do you know why that is?”

More tears ran down Arianna’s cheeks; her silence brought another flippant smile to his face.

“It is because I am the
author
of the frozen souls. You see, years ago, the witches’ magic had so much potential, so much promise. It was grossly underused. Ah, but when paired with the abilities my curse had to offer, well,” he chuckled, “that is God incarnate, baby girl. Immortality and the power to manipulate, to protect, to acquire all that you wish, whenever you wish. Hard to call it anything but a blessing, then, wouldn’t you say? You cannot blame Daddy for wanting to be in such a position, now can you?”

Audrey’s fingers trembled beneath mine as we both fought to hold one another up, our shaky knees knocking next to each other and hands locked. If there was any time I truly wished to read Gavin’s thoughts and speak to him through mine, now would be that time. I silently sent my thoughts to him, willing him to hear me. No reaction. I’d been told I was still too young a frozen soul to develop the ability, that the bond with my small coven was still too new to break through just yet. But it didn’t deter me from trying.

“As the author of something, I have a say over what happens to my characters, my creations,” Gérard said. “I set the stage, feed them their lines, determine their purpose. So, you see, no magic the frozen souls try to use against me or my kingdom will compare to what your mother and I can do. Because I alone determine to what degree that magic can be used. Quite simple, yes? And now, as the
author
of all you … characters … who wish to destroy my kingdom, I choose to end your purpose, since you seem to be interested in perverting it.”

With a small, subtle swish of his wrist, Gérard pushed Gabe, Gavin and Arianna backward, until their backs slid against and pinned to the hallway walls, carving a path straight up the stairway to Audrey and me. He snapped his fingers and the cigar disappeared, his arms dropping smoothly to his sides. The heat over my heart flared, coiling up into a beating drum while Gérard waltzed up the stairs toward us, eyes holding mine, then spread south, just below my hips, leaving me weak-kneed. Audrey tightened her grip on my arm to help keep me vertical. My fingers dug harder into my chest as I gripped the pulsing spot, the edges of Gavin’s mother’s necklace grazing the tips of my fingers.

“So, my friends. I declare a new act. You tell everyone in this
movement
of yours to report to the bayou portal when it opens tomorrow night, and I will kindly escort you all to exile where you’ll spend the remainder of your eternity—your human friends included—” he glanced over his shoulder to peer down at Gabe, “or I personally hunt you all down and rip out your hearts, one by one, until there’s nothing left but remnants of the desperation in your glossed-over eyes as you beg for mercy in those final seconds of your life.”

His smile turned cold when he reached me, and his gold rings flashed again as they flitted in the air, his eyes lighting up as if he’d had a great epiphany. “Better yet, there are so many wonderful games we can play before we make it to that main event. Vivienne and I had such fun before I tore her throat open.”

Cupping his chin thoughtfully, he pouted, and any remaining composure I maintained dropped from my shoulders and plummeted into my gut. The mere thought of Vivienne suffering before such a gruesome death sent a wave of nausea rolling through my stomach.

“Mind-compulsion magic is a beautiful thing!” he said. “Committing unspeakable acts against your own flesh, against your will … well, there are worse things than death, yes?”

Before anyone could respond to his command and sickening admission, his thoughts penetrated mine when he stepped closer to meet my face, his hot breath warm on my lips, eyes once again lowering to my necklace as he sent me his thoughts.

Do I have your attention, Camille?
He trailed a finger over my chest, strengthening the fireball as it fluttered inside of me. The searing pain vibrated through my ribcage and I cringed, unable to buckle over since his power held me upright. His finger trailed lightly down my torso, lower and lower, until his hand slipped between my legs and possessively gripped the inside of my thigh. Every muscle south of my waistline clenched and I whimpered at the overwhelming sensation of arousal he created; a repulsive blend of pleasure and pain wracked my body. I tried to extinguish my desire for him, but my effort met futility. He grinned down at me, the heel of his hand rubbing slow circles into my thigh, the sensation a volcanic bubble on the verge of eruption.

Compulsion is a beautiful thing
, he said, teasing me to the height of climax, the need for release excruciating
, and there are some things worse than death
.

Gavin and Arianna’s yelling was muffled in the distance, but all I could focus on was Gérard’s seductive speech in my head and the unbearable torture he was inflicting on my body. Just as I was about to fall apart in ecstasy beneath his touch, he removed his hand from my legs and denied me the release, forcing me to cry out in humiliating protest. He ignored my cry and continued to send me his thoughts.
Gavin might be the leader in this mission to destroy me, but you are the firestarter. Think twice about what knowledge you choose to divulge in your efforts to save everyone. It just might be the very knowledge that destroys you all.

With that, the burning in my chest ceased, my arousal dissipated, and Gérard, sucking his fingers, turned on his heel to retreat down the staircase, over Marie’s body, and out the front door, where he vanished among the trees.

3

PURPOSE

A light tingling itched my right hip over my crescent scar. The soft brushing stirred me from my haze.

“
Mmmmm
,” I opened my eyes, my lashes fluttering against the soft sunlight that poured in from the living room blinds.

“
Ssshhh
, easy, love.” Gavin’s soothing voice called my attention upward, where he stood hovering over me as I lay on the sofa. He peered down with hungry eyes, his fingers grazing the scar, smoothing his thumb and forefinger over it and across my hipbone. “He drained your energy and you passed out. You’re safe now.”