Free The Tragedy of Knowledge by Rachael Wade Page B

understand?”
    Gavin and I exchanged glances. Great. Talk about pressure.
    “The visions you’ve been having, they were sent to you by Vivienne right before she died. She knew she’d learned something dangerous. Which is why she linked herself to me and used the visions to communicate with you, so you’d find me. Aside from Viv, I’m one of the few original conjurers left in these parts. She was able to cast a spell on you, that would allow the visions to penetrate your thoughts, even in the event that you turned into a frozen soul, by tapping in to my power. A spell of that nature needed power from two originals, you see. A sort of permission from two parties in the same family, since it goes against our beliefs to be mixing and communicating with your kind. Plus, the natural immunity your kind has to our magic doesn’t help none. And she was darn lucky I agreed. It’s downright stupid for our kind to help yours learn how to use our magic. Gérard doesn’t like the frozen souls knowing they have that power available to them, and when word starts getting around, he comes knocking on our doors with questions, you see. We start dying off. It’s no wonder the last of our originals are living out in the middle of these no-good, godforsaken swamps!” She hissed the last words through her teeth and shook her head, dunking a tea bag into her mug as though she intended to crack the mug with her action.
    “I know our kind has been … a nuisance to you.” Gavin moved to stand beside me. “But we’re trying to help, trying to end this. We want Gérard gone just as much as you do.”
    I eyed the tea bag as she beat it to a pulp with her spoon. “Ma’am—”
    “The name’s Clea.”
    “Clea. Okay. I started to see these visions right after I was changed. So that means—”
    “It means those were Vivienne’s final days. She knew he was coming for her, and after she died, they grew stronger, yes?”
    I nodded, reaching for a chair. “So what did she find that was so dangerous?” What could be more dangerous than deciding to help give us energy and protection for our trip to Amaranth? Wasn’t she already in danger?
    “She found the same thing you did. That Samira didn’t hold the power to permanently lift the curse, and that killing her or draining Amaranth wouldn’t be enough to destroy Gérard.”
    She paused, and I nodded, and Gavin did too.
    “So, when she learned that, she discovered what would.”
    I was glad I was sitting down. Gavin reached out and clasped my hand at her words, and the news processed, hit me in the gut and sent my brain into overdrive, sending me up and out of my chair. “So there is a way to destroy him?” The possibility made every one of my cells tingle, made the hope rush over me in one massive tidal wave. And the memories. When we’d found out Samira was only the gatekeeper of Amaranth, only able to lift the vampire curse for those admitted into exile to feed Gérard’s power, we’d hit a painful roadblock—that Gérard was who really held the key to lifting the curse for good. We’d known that he was the father of the frozen souls from the beginning, but Samira was the ruler, a hybrid just like him, with the ability to change vampires back into humans. The resistance was certain the answer to ending everything, including Gérard’s power, was Samira lifting the curse and draining Gérard’s power source. When Samira told us the truth, that none of us would ever really be free until Gérard was destroyed, we weren’t so sure if we could save everyone like we’d hoped.
    But if Clea’s words were true, really true, that changed everything.
    “ Yess , yesss ,” she answered, sipping her tea. “It all begins with the wolves, Dali and Akim.”

5
    IDENTITY
    At the mention of Dali and Akim, I rose from the chair, cutting a glance at Gavin.
    “We found something from Vivienne’s shop,” I said, returning my attention to Clea. “Something in her writing, about Dali and