Read The Tragedy of Knowledge for Free Online

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