by Morgan Rice
She had no idea how to answer that. It all seemed overwhelming. She had no idea where to even begin.
“I don’t really know,” she finally said, staring out into the river.
He nodded slowly, looked out at the water himself. A silence fell between them.
“Well, I’m glad you are,” he said, and broke into a small smile, facing her.
She looked at him, looked right into his light-blue eyes, and felt as if she had looked into those eyes a thousand times before. The feeling of familiarity shocked her.
“So am I,” she said, her voice trembling.
He looked down, and held something out. “This was hers,” he said simply.
Caitlin looked down and saw him holding a small piece of worn sea-glass.
“I want you to have it,” he said.
He reached out and put it in her palm. It was so smooth.
“I can’t take this,” she said.
But he didn’t respond. Instead, he reached up and ran the back of his hand smoothly along her cheek. As they stared deeply into each other’s eyes, she felt as if he were looking into her very soul.
She felt lost in space, time. And she felt completely out of control.
Was he going to kiss her?
She realized at that moment that if he did, she would be helpless to refuse.
EIGHTEEN
Caleb, Samuel, and their entourage of hundreds of vampires continued to fly over Manhattan, heading downtown. Since Times Square, no vampires dared stop them. As Caleb looked down, he saw mayhem sprawling all over the city, block to block, each neighborhood getting worse than the next. But they couldn’t risk stopping again to help the humans. The Blacktide Coven was now alarmed to their presence and they had to race to City Hall to take out Kyle before it was too late—
and get back the Sword once and for all. So far, they had been lucky, with no other vampires up in the sky.
But as they all flew at top speed, racing over Broadway, their good fortune came to an end.
There, in the distance, coming right at them were hundreds of Blacktide vampires. And leading them, right in the center, was Kyle, brandishing the Sword. At one side of him flew Sergei, and at the other, flew Samantha and—could it be? Yes, it was Caitlin’s brother. Sam. Caleb was struck with a pang of worry—he would happily kill any of the others, but Sam? Killing him would create a rift between he and Caitlin that he could never mend. Caleb would have to tread carefully. This certainly complicated things.
“Warriors!” Caleb screamed over the roar, over the din of thousands of fluttering wings.
“Prepare for battle!”
Caleb extracted the staff and held it out high before him, while beside him, Samuel raised his gauntlet. The two groups of vampires were coming at each other fast—impossibly fast—and Caleb braced himself for impact. The last thing he saw, before the sickening noise of vampire smashing into vampire, was Kyle’s face, distorted with rage.
And then came the impact. Hundreds of vampires collided right into each other with a roar, swinging their weapons, tearing at each other, clawing at each other’s eyes, wrestling each other with superhuman force. Caleb chose one body, one vampire to focus on, as he always did in battle.
He saw Kyle raising the Sword high, and he knew that none of his other vampires, with the exception possibly of Samuel, would be able to stand up to him. Even with the staff, Caleb was not so sure that he could stand up to him—at least not for long. But he had to try.
Kyle swung madly, and Caleb blocked the blow with the staff, which, miraculously, held without breaking. That sickening crack was the first noise of the battle, the first to initiate a cacophony of clanging.
Within seconds, the hundreds of vampires, entangled, all began to fall towards the ground together, wrestling in mid-air. The sound of their bodies all hitting the cement was deafening.
Caleb and Kyle were locked in a wrestler’s embrace as they crashed together on the hard concrete. Caleb managed to get Kyle into a hold, squeezing him hard, restricting Kyle’s arms and preventing him from swinging the Sword. As long as he kept him locked tight, he figured he’d stand a chance.
As they rolled on the concrete, wrestling, all around them, hundreds of vampires were locked in hand-to-hand combat. It was furious, loud, and bloody. Left and right, vampires attacked, lunged, ducked and fell. Their unearthly cries and shrieks filled the night. It was a vicious vampire battle.
But Kyle, too, was an age old-veteran of battle, and after several seconds, he managed to lean back and head-but Caleb hard, right in his nose. It was enough to sting Caleb, and just enough for Kyle to get the momentum he needed to roll and throw Caleb off.
Caleb hit the ground, and had the presence of mind to keep rolling and grab his staff. He spun and raised it just in time, as Kyle’s sword came slashing down. Again, he managed to block it with the staff, with a loud, metallic clang.
Kyle was too fast, though. In one quick motion he kicked the staff, knocking it right from Caleb’s hands. Caleb looked over, and realized he was defenseless, the staff several feet away.
Kyle raised the Sword and prepare to drive it down.
Caleb knew this was his last moment on Earth.
Suddenly, Samuel appeared. Before Kyle could bring the Sword down, Samuel was charging, striking Kyle hard in the throat with the gauntlet and driving him backwards. Samuel kept driving, landing on top of him.
Caleb rolled several feet, grabbed the staff, and got to his feet to help his brother.
But it was too late. Kyle had thrown Samuel off of him, and before Samuel could strike again, Kyle sidestepped and stabbed him with the Sword.
Caleb watched as his brother sank to his knees, eyes opened wide in shock. Then he collapsed, the life force drawn out of him.
Caleb was overwhelmed with grief. Samuel. His brother. By his side for centuries.
And then, as he looked at Kyle, he was overcome with rage.
Kyle charged, raising the Sword. But this time, Caleb’s rage outmatched Kyle’s. Caleb sidestepped at the last second, forcing Kyle to miss, and then Caleb swept his staff around hard, cracking Kyle right behind the knee. Kyle’s knees buckled, and he went down.
Caleb swung again, and cracked Kyle in the back of the head. It all happened so fast, and it was a perfect one-two combination. Kyle landed flat on his face, and for a second, the Sword actually fell from his hand, onto the concrete.
Caleb was startled at his own good luck. As he prepared to lunge for the Sword, to grab it for himself, something caught his eye. He looked up.
There she was. It couldn’t be.
In the midst of the frenzy of battle, there stood Caitlin, standing all alone. With big sad eyes, she stared right at him.
Caleb’s heart broke, and he froze. He couldn’t fathom what she was doing here. Had Kyle taken her prisoner?
“Caitlin?” he asked.
She smiled, and took several steps towards him.
Caleb shut out all the battle around him, everything, as he watched her approach. She was here.
She was really here.
Caleb’s vision was suddenly interrupted, as he felt something metal and wiry cover his entire body, and felt himself being grabbed from behind. He realized he had just been cast in a vampire net, and as he struggled, he realized it was silver, reinforced. Impossible to break out of. He squirmed as much as he could, but there was nowhere to go.
He felt the net close tight on him from behind, so snug he could hardly breathe, and he craned his neck just enough to see Kyle standing there behind them, grinning down.
He looked back to Caitlin, wondering how she could betray him like this, how she could allow for Kyle to sneak up and capture him.
But as he looked at Caitlin, he saw her change, right before his eyes. She transformed into her brother Sam.
Caleb was shocked. It had never been Caitlin. It was a trick. Sam. He must have the skill for shape shifting.
And that was the last lucid thought Caleb had
, as dozens and dozens of vampires pounced on him, grabbing him every which way, hauling him off deep into the mob. The final thing he heard was the screams of his brethren, as Kyle, wielding the Sword again, butchered them all.
NINETEEN
Caitlin ran through a field of thorns. They tore at her left and right, and the pain was unbearable, as the field closed in. But some part of her told her that she had to keep running, that it was her only way out.
On the horizon sat a huge, blood-red sun, and she could see her father’s silhouette outlined against it. She ran and ran, trying to reach him. But the sun suddenly set, so quickly, and the sky turned to black. In its place, a large, blood-red moon rose, filling the entire sky, and the thorns grew thicker, cutting Caitlin deeper. She knew that if she could reach her father, everything would be all right.
He was getting closer, much closer, and within seconds, she stood before him.
But when she looked up, at his face, it was no longer her father. It was Caleb. The thorns were closing in on him, too, wrapping around his legs, waist, arms, pulling at him. Then they crept up from behind and wrapped around his face, tearing and clawing at it. Blood streaked from his cheeks, from his forehead, and she could see his anguish. She reached out to try to save him, but she was held down by the thorns.
He reached a hand out, and screamed: “Caitlin, help!”
As he did, the earth suddenly opened beneath him, and the thorns dragged him down, like quicksand, into the earth.
She struggled for all she had, the thorns tearing at her, and managed to drop to her knees and extend a hand.
He grabbed it as he was sinking. Their hands met, the thorns pressing into each other, and the pain was unreal.
But Caitlin held on for all she had.
Still, it was not enough. Caleb screamed as the earth sucked him down. No matter how hard she tried, she could not pull him back.
“Caitlin!” he screamed.
A second later, he was completely sucked under the earth, the sound of his cries stifled by the dirt.
“Caleb!”
Caitlin sat straight up in bed, face covered in sweat, screaming his name.
She looked all around, searching for him, but as she sat there, breathing hard, she began to realize it was just a dream.
It had seemed so vivid. So real. She’d never had any dream like it. It felt like a message.
Caitlin jumped to her feet and began pacing the stone floor of her room, the morning light streaking in through the window. She was damp with sweat, and she wiped her brow again. She felt so distressed, so anxious, she didn’t know what to do. She felt, in every pore of her body, that Caleb was in trouble, that he needed her. On some level, she knew it was more than just a dream. And despite what he had done, despite his betrayal with Sera, a fire burned inside her to help him.
Rose must have sensed her agitation, because she paced the small room beside her.
Caitlin pulled the hair out of her face, took a deep breath, and collected her thoughts. Was Caleb really in danger? Did he really need her?
On the one hand, he was heading into a vampire war, but at the same time, he did have the support of this entire coven, she assumed. He would have thousands of soldiers at his side. What good could her presence do him?
Yet something still gnawed away at her. She just couldn’t explain it, but she knew that somehow he was in danger. Or was she just imagining it? Was it just wishful thinking, just her own hopes that he somehow needed her, wanted her back?
Caitlin tried to clear her mind. The dream would not go away, and she felt that it wouldn’t. She had to do something. But she didn’t know what. Was there any way to find out how he was, she wondered? To send him a message?
Then she remembered. The falcon. His letter.
She looked over at her desk, and there it sat, neatly folded.
She hurried over to it and unfolded it with shaking hands. Now she absolutely had to read it.
She scanned it quickly.
Dearest Caitlin…nothing at all between myself and Sera…deeply sorry if she gave another impression….know how much I love you…how much I’m thinking of you…cannot wait to return to you…a new life together somewhere far from here…you hold my heart in this letter.
As Caitlin read the letter, again and again, pouring over it a first and then a second and third time, dissecting every word, she felt the tears stream down her cheeks.
She had been so stupid. Why hadn’t she read it sooner? Why hadn’t she given him the benefit of the doubt? Why couldn’t she have just listened to him, heard him out?
She was such an idiot. After reading this, it was obvious that he and Sera had nothing between them. That they didn’t have a child together—at least, not for hundreds of years. Sera had twisted it all around. Caleb was completely innocent.
Why couldn’t she have just given him the time of day?
Caitlin was furious at Sera, but even more furious at herself. She had owed Caleb that much, to let him explain, and she hadn’t even had given him that. After all he’d done for her. After he’d saved her life and nursed her back to health—for the third time.
She had been so narrow-minded, so proud, so impatient. She hated herself.
On top of that, she had betrayed him, ordering him to leave her after all he had done for her.
And she had also allowed herself to feel feelings for someone else. Blake. She thought back to last night, and realized that she had also betrayed him with Blake.
Or had she?
Caitlin sat on the edge of her bed, head in her hands, and tried desperately to remember. What had happened? She recalled their conversation. Their walking on the sand. And then? Had he kissed her?
She remembered his reaching up, his stroking her face, her feeling that he was about to kiss her….
But he hadn’t. She remembered now. They had looked deeply into each other’s eyes, then suddenly, mysteriously, he had turned and disappeared.
She reached into her pocket and felt the small piece of worn sea-glass he had given her. She rubbed it, and felt a bit relieved.
At least she had not betrayed Caleb with Blake. Still, thoughts of Blake swirled within her. Was that itself a betrayal?
As the emotions swirled within her, she hated herself, more than ever. Why couldn’t she be stronger? More disciplined? More patient?
At that moment, Caitlin’s emotions manifested into something physical, something swirling inside her gut. She felt literally sick, and suddenly found herself racing towards the open window.
She leaned out and threw up, again and again.
She stood there, wiping her mouth and gasping for breath. She couldn’t remember ever throwing up like that, or for that long. And it had all been blood.
She did not feel herself, and for a moment she wondered if she was really sick. Her entire body’s chemistry felt off, even for a vampire.
As she sat there, breathing, one thing started to become clear: it had not been merely a dream. It was a message. Caleb needed her, she felt sure of it.
And she would do whatever she had to to save him.
*
Caitlin walked quickly through the woods, Rose at her side, and finally entered the little clearing where Aiden’s home was. It seemed so quiet in the morning light, and she wondered if he was asleep.
She doubted that he was. He didn’t seem to ever sleep. On the one hand, she barely saw him, but on the other hand, he seemed to be omnipresent on the island, the guiding hand that kept the place running smoothly.
He had said, when she’d first arrived, that if she ever needed anything, she shouldn’t hesitate come to him, that his door was always open. She hoped that he meant it. She hadn’t expected to ever come to him with anything, but now she really needed it. As she stood there before his door, hesitating, she worried about how their conversation might go.
Caitlin took a deep breath and finally reached up her hand to knock—and as soon as she did, it opened by itself. Standing there was
Aiden, staring back with his resolved, steel-blue eyes, expressionless. He was a hard man to read. His eyes shone in the morning light, and once again, she felt as if he were a mountain, as if he’d been on this planet for thousands of years.
He silently turned and walked across the room, leaving the door open for her to follow. She did, Rose on her heels, and closed the door behind them.
Aiden was already seated behind his desk, hands folded across his chest, patiently watching her.
Caitlin, nervous, took a seat across from him.
Of course he was awake. Of course he had been expecting her. She had forgotten, as always, the psychic powers of vampires—and especially of this one. He probably already knew everything she was about to say. Nonetheless, she had to say it. If nothing else, she had to hear it for herself.
She cleared her throat, nervous.
“I assume you already know why I’m here?” she began cautiously.
He stared back, neutral. “Why don’t you tell me,” he said.
“I dreamt last night of Caleb,” she said. “That he was in danger. But it felt like more than a dream to me. It felt… real.”
“Vampires do not visit each other in sleep casually,” Aiden replied. “Every dream is a visit. An intentional visit. And every dream bears a message. We are not like humans. We can control the dream world.”
Her eyes opened wide in worry.
“Then…it’s true?” she asked. “Caleb is in danger?”
Aiden nodded back gravely. “Yes,” he answered flatly. “Very much so.”
Caitlin felt her heart sink at his words, and she stood, too agitated to sit. How could he be so casual?
“Well—what—I—what do you mean? What do you know?” she asked.
“As much as you,” was all he said.
“Then if it’s true,” she said, pacing the room, “I…I can’t just sit here. I have to go to him. I have to help him.”
“Why?”
“Why?” she asked, confused. “What do you mean, why?”
“What is he to you?” he asked calmly.
Caitlin glared back at Aiden, angry now. Why would he ask her that? He knew how much she cared for Caleb. And he knew how much Caleb cared for her. He couldn’t possibly be asking that question literally.