Read The Gates for Free Online Page B

with Joel,” Arianna said. “But I won’t discuss it with you, do you understand? Whatever is going on with you two, you need to let it go. You’re not taking Camille anywhere, and you don’t have to be afraid of Samira. You can trust us. Can we trust you?”
    “Ha!” Marie rustled in her seat. “Let it go. Sure, just forget that my son hasn’t spoken to me in over a century. Ha. Samira will kill me or Joel if I don’t bring her the girl, you fool. You know that as well as I do.” I thought I saw tears in her eyes.
    “Marie.” Gavin’s tone was soft, sincere. He moved forward, crouched down in front of her and peered into her eyes. “I’m very sorry for the position Samira’s put you in. But you don’t have to be a slave to her anymore. Join us. We’re going back to Amaranth, and we can protect you.”
    “Gav—”
    Gavin held out a warning hand and stopped Josh. I quietly gasped, wondering where on earth Gavin was going with this. Surely, he wouldn’t reveal our plan of attack on Samira. Marie looked at Gavin, a tear streaming down her angry face.
    “Listen,” Gavin said. “What if I told you I could reunite you with Joel, and protect both of you, indefinitely?”
    Arianna’s face dropped, and she lowered her chin to look at the floor.
    Is he crazy? They’re all lying to her. It’s so cruel. Anxiety hitched in my throat and I struggled to take a deep breath, anticipating his next move.
    “You can’t do any such thing,” Marie replied, quiet now.
    “But I can, and I will. You have my word. We’ll protect both you and Joel from here on out.”
    “What will I tell her?” She spoke louder now, still guarded. “I can’t go back to her empty-handed. At first she just wanted the girl for leverage, when she heard you’d broken her law. Wanted to make sure you’d uphold your part in the bargain you made, to serve her and restore peace in the city. But she’ll want her even more now that you’ve escaped—”
    “You’ll tell her the truth. You won’t be empty-handed. Camille is going to Amaranth with us, straight to Samira. Tell her how we held you against your will, and we’ll take it from there.”
    Marie stiffened, sat up straight, stopped crying, eyed Gavin with those cold, hard eyes. “What are you up to, boy…?”
    “Samira won’t be able to touch us when we go to meet her.” Gavin glared back at her, his tone definite. “You won’t be harmed, and that’s all I can tell you. Do you understand?”
    Marie’s eyes bounced away from Gavin and between Josh, Arianna, and me, suspicious. “I’ve no choice anyhow, do I?”
    “Sure don’t, lady,” Josh said. Arianna reached across Marie and swatted him across the forehead.
    “You know what Joel means to me, Marie.” Gavin looked at her, pleading and patient. “He’s like a brother to Gabe and me, I don’t need to tell you this. Know that I have his best interest in mind, and trust me.”
    “Fine.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “But what will you do with me until the next crescent moon?”
    “You’ll be staying with me for a while. I’m going to look after Camille’s house.”
    Arianna breathed a sigh of relief, let her hands fall to her side, dagger still in her grip. “We’ll send you back when the time is right. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be.”
    “Fools,” Marie mumbled. “I’ll need to hunt, you know that—”
    “Already taken care of,” Josh turned to the fridge where he’d stocked some blood, poured a glass and held it up so she could see it.
    “You’d better be right,” she said, turning to me now. “What have you done?” Her voice was barely a whisper, her glare slicing into me. I shivered, wondering the same thing myself.
    Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, we were ready to enter the portal under the first crescent moon since Gavin and I made our narrow escape. Arianna stayed behind at Josh’s cabin to hold Marie captive, and Gavin and I had met with Vivienne to go over