by Morgan Rice
found
(book #8 in the vampire journals)
morgan rice
Also by Morgan Rice
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy)
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS
TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals)
LOVED (Book #2 in the Vampire Journals)
BETRAYED (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals)
DESTINED (Book #4 in the Vampire Journals)
DESIRED (Book #5 in the Vampire Journals)
BETROTHED (Book #6 in the Vampire Journals)
VOWED (Book #7 in the Vampire Journals)
Copyright © 2012 by Morgan Rice
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover model: Jennifer Onvie. Cover photography: Adam Luke Studios, New York. Cover makeup artist: Ruthie Weems. If you would like to contact any of these artists, please contact Morgan Rice.
FACT:
Although the exact date of Jesus’ death remains unknown, he is widely believed to have died on April 3, 33 A.D.
FACT:
The synagogue in Capernaum (Israel), one of the oldest in the world, is one of the few places that remain where Jesus taught. It is also where he healed a man “who had the spirit of an unclean devil.”
FACT:
The current Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, one of the most sacred churches in the world, was built on the spot of Jesus’ crucifixion, and on the spot of his resurrection. But for the first 300 years after his crucifixion, paradoxically, this spot was occupied by a Pagan Temple.
FACT:
After the Last Supper, Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the ancient garden of Gethsemane.
FACT:
Both Judaism and Christianity believe that there will be an apocalypse, an end of days, during which a Messiah will come, and during which those who have died will be resurrected. Judaism believes that when the Messiah comes, the very first to be resurrected will be those buried on the Mount of Olives.
“I will kiss thy lips;
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,
To make die with a restorative.
O happy dagger!”
--William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
CHAPTER ONE
Nazareth, Israel
(April, 33 A.D.)
Caitlin’s mind raced with fast, troubled dreams. She watched as her best friend, Polly, fell off a cliff, reaching out and trying to grab hold of her, but just missing her hand. She watched as her brother Sam, ran from her, through an endless field. She chased after him, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t quite catch him. She watched Kyle and Rynd slaughter her coven members before her eyes, chopping them into pieces, the blood spraying over her.
This blood turned into a blood-red sunset, which hung over her wedding ceremony to Caleb. Except in this wedding, they were the only two people there, the last ones left in the world, standing at the edge of a cliff against a blood red sky.
And then she saw her daughter, Scarlet, sitting in a small wooden boat, alone on a vast sea, drifting in turbulent waters. Scarlet held up the four keys that Caitlin knew she needed to find her father. But as she watched, she reached up and dropped them into the water.
“Scarlet!” Caitlin tried to scream. But no sound came, and as she watched, Scarlet drifted further and further away from her, into the ocean, into huge storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
“SCARLET!”
Caitlin Paine woke screaming. She sat up, breathing hard, and looked all around her, trying to get her bearings. It was dark in here, the only light source from a small opening, about twenty yards away. It looked like she was in a tunnel. Or maybe a cave.
Caitlin felt something hard beneath her and looked down to realize she was lying on a dirt floor, on small rocks. It was hot in here, dusty. Wherever she was, this was not Scottish weather. It felt hot, dry—as if she were in a desert.
Caitlin sat there, rubbing her head, squinting into the darkness, trying to remember, to distinguish between dreams and reality. Her dreams were so vivid, and her reality so surreal, it was becoming increasingly hard to tell the difference.
As she slowly caught her breath, shaking off the horrific visions, she began to realize that she was back. Alive somewhere. In some new place and time. She was no longer dreaming. She felt the layers of dirt on her skin, in her hair, her eyes, and felt like she needed to bathe. It was so hot in here, it was hard to breathe.
Caitlin felt a familiar bulge in her pocket, and rolled over and saw with relief that her journal had made it. She immediately checked her other pocket and felt the four keys; she then reached up and felt her necklace. It had all made it. She was flooded with relief.
Then she remembered. Caitlin immediately spun around, looking to see if Caleb and Scarlet had made it back with her. She prayed that they had. She didn’t know how she could go on without them.
Caitlin made out a shape lying in the darkness, unmoving, and she at first wondered if it was an animal. But as her eyes adjusted, she realized it took the shape of a human form. She got up slowly, her body aching, stiff from lying on the rocks, and began to approach.
She walked across the cave, knelt down, and reached out and gently pushed the shoulder of the large form. She already sensed who it was: she didn’t need for him to turn over to know. She could feel it from across the cave. It was, she knew with relief, her one and only love. Her husband. Caleb.
As he slowly rolled over onto his back, Caitlin prayed he’d made it back in good health. That he remembered her.
Please, she thought. Please. Just one last time. Let Caleb survive the trip.
As Caleb turned over, she was relieved to see that his features were intact. She did not see any signs of injury.
As she looked closely, she was even more relieved to see him breathing, the slow rhythms of his chest rising and falling—and then, to see his eyelids twitch.
She let out a huge sigh of relief as his eyes fluttered open.
“Caitlin?” he asked.
Caitlin burst into tears. Her heart soared, as she leaned over and hugged him. They’d made it back together. He was alive. That was all she needed. She wouldn’t ask for anything more from the world.
He embraced her back, and she held him for a long time, feeling his rippling muscles. She was flooded with relief. She loved him more than she could possibly say. They had come back so many times and places together, had seen so much together, the highs and lows, had suffered so much and had celebrated, too. She thought of all the times they almost lost each other, the time he didn’t remember her, his being poisoned… The obstacles in their relationship seemed to never end.
And now, finally, they had made it. They were together again, for the final trip back. Did that mean they would be together forever? she wondered. She hoped so, with every fiber of her being. No more trips back. This time, they were back together for good.
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Caleb looked older as he looked back at her. She stared into his glowing, brown eyes and could feel the love pouring through him. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was.
As she looked into his eyes, all the memories came flooding back. She thought of their last trip, of Scotland. It all came rushing back like a horrible dream. At first, it was so beautiful. The castle, seeing all her friends. The wedding. My God, the wedding. It was the most beautiful thing she could have ever hoped for. She looked down and checked her finger, and saw the ring. It was still there. The ring had made it back. This token of their love had survived. She could hardly believe it. She was really married. And to him. She took it as a sign: if the ring could make it back in time, through all this, if the ring could survive, then so could their love.
The sight of the ring on her finger really sank in. Caitlin paused and felt what it felt like to be a married woman. It felt different. More solid, more permanent. She had always loved Caleb, and she had sensed that he loved her, too. She had always felt that their union was forever. But now that it was official, she felt different. She felt that they were both truly one.
Caitlin’s thoughts turned to the dark side. She remembered back to what happened after the wedding: their having to leave Scarlet, and Sam, and Polly. She remembered finding Scarlet in the ocean, seeing Aiden, and hearing the awful news. Polly. Her best friend. Dead. Sam. Her only brother. Gone to her forever, turned to the dark side. Her fellow coven members slaughtered. It was almost too much for her to bear. She couldn’t imagine the horror. A life without Sam in it—or Polly.
With a jolt, her thoughts turned to Scarlet. Suddenly panic-stricken, she pulled back from Caleb, searching the cave, wondering if she had made it back, too.
Caleb must have been thinking the same thing at the same time, because his eyes opened wide at the same time.
“Where’s Scarlet?” he asked, reading her mind as always.
Caitlin turned and ran to every corner of the cave, searching the dark crevices, looking for any outline, any shape, any sign of Scarlet. But there was none. She searched frantically, crisscrossing the cave with Caleb, canvassing every inch of it.
But Scarlet was not here. She was simply not here.
Caitlin’s heart sank. How could it be? How was it possible that she and Caleb made the trip back, but that Scarlet did not? Could destiny be that cruel?
Caitlin turned and ran for the sunlight, for the exit of the cave. She had to go outside, to see what was out there, to see if there was any sign of Scarlet. Caleb ran beside her, and the two of them ran to the lip of the cave, out into the sun, and stood at its entrance.
Caitlin stopped short, and just in time: a small platform jutted out from the cave, then fell off, straight down a steep mountain face. Caleb stopped short beside her. There they were, standing on a narrow ledge, looking down. Somehow, Caitlin realized, they’d landed back in time inside a mountain cave, hundreds of feet high. There was no way up or down. And if they took one more step, they would plummet hundreds of feet below.
Spread out below them was an enormous valley, stretching to the horizon as far as the eye could see. It was a rural, desert landscape, dotted with rocky outcroppings, and the occasional palm tree. In the distance were rolling hills, and directly beneath them was a small village, comprised of small stone houses and dirt streets. It was even hotter here in the sun, unbearably bright and hot. Caitlin was beginning to realize that they were in a very different place and climate than Scotland. And judging from how rudimentary that village looked, they were in a very different time, too.
Interspersed between all the dirt and sand and rock, there were signs of agriculture, occasional patches of green. Some of these were covered with vineyards, growing in neat rows down the steep slopes, and among these were trees Caitlin could not recognize: small, ancient-looking trees with twisted branches and silver leaves that shimmered in the sun.
“Olive trees,” Caleb said, reading her mind again.
Olive trees? Caitlin wondered. Where on earth could we be?
She looked over at Caleb, sensing he might recognize the place and time. She saw his eyes open wide, and knew that he did. And that he was surprised.
He stared out at the vista as if he’d returned to a long-lost friend.
“Where are we?” she asked, almost afraid to know.
As Caleb slowly surveyed the valley before them, Caitlin had never seen him look so surprised. Finally, he turned and looked at her.
Softly, he said: “Nazareth.”
He paused, taking it all in.
“And judging from that village, we’re in the first century. In fact,” he said, turning and looking at her in awe, his eyes alight with excitement, “it looks like we might even be in the time of Christ.”
CHAPTER TWO
Scarlet felt a tongue licking her face and slowly opened her eyes to blinding sunlight. The tongue would not stop, and before she even looked over, she knew it was Ruth. She opened her eyes just enough to see that it was her: Ruth was leaning over, whining, and grew even more excited as Scarlet opened her eyes.
Scarlet felt a stab of pain as she tried to open her eyes further; struck by the blinding sunlight, her eyes teared up, more sensitive than ever. She had a bad headache, and peeled open her eyes just enough to she was lying on a cobblestone street somewhere. People rushed by, walking past her, and she could tell she was in the midst of a busy city. People hurried to and fro, bustling in every direction, and she could hear the din of a crowd in midday. As Ruth whined and whined, she sat there, trying to remember, trying to figure out where she was. But she had no idea.
Before Scarlet could get her mind around what had happened, she suddenly felt a foot prodding her in the ribs.
“Move on!” came a deep voice. “You can’t sleep here.”
Scarlet looked over and saw a Roman sandal near her face. She looked up, and saw a Roman soldier standing over her, dressed in a short tunic, a belt around his waist, from which hung a short sword. He wore a small brass helmet with feathers on it.
He leaned over and nudged her again with his foot. It hurt Scarlet’s stomach.
“Did you hear what I said? Move on, or I’m locking you up.”
Scarlet wanted to listen, but as she opened her eyes further, the sun hurt them so much, and she was so disoriented. She tried to get to her feet, but felt as if she were moving in slow motion.
The soldier leaned back to really kick her hard in the ribs. Scarlet saw it coming, and braced herself, unable to react quickly enough.
But Scarlet heard a snarl, and looked over to see Ruth, hair standing up on her back, lunge at the soldier. Ruth caught his ankle in mid-air, digging her sharp fangs into it with all she had.
The soldier screamed, and his screams filled the air as blood poured from his ankle.
Ruth would not let go, shaking it with all she had, and the soldier’s expression, so haughty a moment before, now turned to one of fear.
He reached down, into his scabbard, and extracted his sword. He lifted it high and prepared to bring it down on Ruth’s back.
That was when Scarlet felt it. It was like a force taking over her body, as if another power, another entity, were inside her. Without realizing what she was doing, she suddenly felt herself burst into action. She couldn’t control it, and she didn’t understand what was happening.
Scarlet jumped to her feet, heart pounding with adrenaline, and managed to grab the soldier’s wrist in midair, just as he was bringing down his sword. She felt power coursing through her, a power she had never known, as she held his arm. Even with all his strength, he could not budge.
She squeezed his wrist, and managed to squeeze it hard enough that, as he looked down at her in shock, he finally dropped his sword. It landed on the cobblestone with a clang.
“It’s OK, Ruth,” Scarlet said softly, and Ruth gradually let go of her grip on his ankle.
Scarlet stood there, holding the soldier’s wrist, keeping him locked in he
r deadly embrace.
“Please, let me go,” he pleaded.
Scarlet felt the power coursing through her, felt that, if she wanted, she could really hurt him. But she didn’t want to. She just wanted to be left alone.
Slowly, Scarlet released her grip and let him go.
The soldier, fear in his eyes, looking as if he’d just encountered a demon, turned and ran away, not even bothering to retrieve his sword.
“Come on Ruth,” Scarlet said, sensing he might come back with more soldiers, and not wanting to stick around.
Ruth listened, and a moment later, the two of them ran into the thick crowd. They hurried through the narrow, twisting alleyways, until Scarlet found a nook in the shade, and hid them there. She knew the soldiers wouldn’t find them here, and she wanted a minute to regroup, to figure out what had happened, where they were. Ruth panted beside her, as Scarlet caught her breath in the heat.
Scarlet was scared and amazed by her own powers. She knew something was different, but she didn’t fully understand what was happening to her. She also didn’t understand where everyone else was. Or where she was. It was so hot here, stifling, and she was lost in a crowded city she didn’t recognize. It looked nothing like the London she grew up in. She looked out and watched all the people busting by, wearing robes, togas, sandals, carrying large baskets of figs and dates on their heads and shoulders, some of them wearing turbans. She saw ancient, stone buildings, narrow twisting alleyways, cobblestone streets, and wondered where on earth she could be. This definitely was not Scotland. And everything here looked so primitive, she felt as if she had gone back thousands of years.
Scarlet looked everywhere, hoping for a glimpse of her mom and dad. She scrutinized every face that passed, hoping, willing, that one of them would stop and turn to her.