by Morgan Rice
Aiden took several steps out to the center of the circle, and slowly looked around, surveying them all.
“My fellow beings,” Aiden began formally, “it brings me great honor to introduce a new member of our coven. You will do your best to make her feel at home here. She is one of us now. Everyone, meet Caitlin Paine.”
Caitlin never did well in the spotlight, and she was embarrassed by all the attention. She was even more embarrassed to see all of the vampires slowly and formally bow their heads towards her.
Suddenly, Caitlin felt something brush up against her leg, and she looked down and was embarrassed to see Rose interrupting, stepping into the circle, and yelping.
Aiden smiled. “And, of course, how could we forget. Rose. It appears that she would like to be acknowledged, too.”
Rose yelped, and the coven laughed.
“OK then,” Aiden said, “it seems that we now have all 24 ½ members present.”
Rose exited the circle, lying down faithfully behind Caitlin’s feet, watching and waiting.
“Before we begin,” Aiden continued, “there is someone here who wants to apologize for his past actions.”
Cain, standing on the opposite side of the circle, slowly walked into the center. He looked right at Caitlin, remorse and fear in his eyes as he stood there. He seemed very nervous.
“I’m sorry, Caitlin,” he said. “My actions were inexcusable. I hope that you will forgive me.”
“I do,” Caitlin said, and meant it. As she looked at him now, from this distance, he just seemed like a pathetic figure, and seemed genuinely remorseful. She saw no point in harboring a grudge. The past was the past. Besides, he got the worst of it.
Cain retreated back to his place in the circle.
Aiden stepped forward, “All right, let’s begin,” he yelled, and everyone suddenly broke into action.
Caitlin was disoriented and felt out of place, as the other vampires all broke into perfect order and positions, each teaming up with a partner, and hurrying off to a different section of the courtyard. They each grabbed various weapons off of the racks, and without hesitating, began sparring. Caitlin stood there, watching the frenzy of activity, unsure what to do. She realized she didn’t have a partner.
“I’ve been assigned to you,” came a perky voice.
Caitlin turned, and standing there, just a few feet behind her, was a tall, thin, redheaded boy covered in freckles, with cropped hair, large ears and a huge smile. She had never seen anyone look so happy. He almost looked like a cartoon character.
“Assigned?” Caitlin asked.
“I’m your training partner,” he said, and reached out a hand. “Patrick,” he said.
Caitlin shook his hand—it was long and thin, and very cold. Caitlin couldn’t understand how this person could be a fighter.
“Oh, but I can,” he said, answering her thoughts, “I can fight very well indeed. But that’s for you to find out,” he said with a smile and a wink, as he turned and strode off towards a corner of the courtyard.
Caitlin’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Of course, Caitlin thought. Everyone here can read my thoughts. So stupid. I need to learn how to guard them.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said, “you’ll get used to it. Just follow me. You’re wasting time. Aiden hates it when people waste time,” he said, bouncing off.
Caitlin hurried to catch up to him.
“We begin with swords,” he said, as he reached the far wall, grabbed two long bamboo swords, and threw one to her. He threw it quick and hard, and Caitlin was surprised at her own reflexes, at how quickly she reacted, grabbing it midair effortlessly. She was a lot quicker now than even she realized.
“We always begin the day with swords,” he added. “Later, we’ll switch to spears.”
Caitlin heard the click-clack all around her, and looked and saw the other vampires all sparring with the bamboo swords, fighting and parrying faster than she had ever seen. They were leaping over each other’s heads, flying, rolling, jumping, landing, tackling….They were well-matched, going blow for blow in many cases. When the blows got through, there was the distinctive sound of the whack of bamboo on skin. It looked like it hurt.
Caitlin was about to find out for herself.
“OW!” she screamed, as she felt the sudden sting of bamboo on her hip.
She turned and saw Patrick standing there, smiling, having just whacked her hard in the side.
Her cheeks flushed with anger. “What was that?”
He didn’t answer, but slashed at her again. At the last second, she raised her sword and blocked the blow, with a loud bamboo clack, right before it hit her shoulder. He was so fast. She realized he could fight after all.
“Time for talking is over,” Patrick said. “Now we fight!”
Caitlin faced him, grabbing her hilt with both hands, and fully focused on the moment. She was filled with rage, and charged right at him, swinging as hard as she could, right for his shoulder.
He ably sidestepped it, and whacked her hard on the but as he did.
Caitlin felt the pain. She spun, now was twice as mad.
Annoyingly, he only continued to smile back. Nothing seemed to faze this kid.
“You telegraph everything you do,” he said. “I saw that strike coming a mile away.”
Caitlin charged like a bull, slashing every which way. But he blocked her blow for blow, then leapt over her with a somersault, and whacked her on her back.
That one really hurt, and Caitlin wheeled, furious.
“Just because you’re angry, doesn’t mean you’re good,” he said. “You need to learn to control your emotions. They won’t serve you on the battlefield.”
Caitlin had been about to attack again, but something about his words struck her. He was right. She was coursing with rage, and she was not thinking clearly.
“Harness your anger. Make it work for you. Don’t work for it. Don’t let it go. Just control it. Fight with it.”
Caitlin came at him again, swinging blow for blow, he blocking each one. She was starting to feel what he meant. Her anger was still there, but it was not so out of control. She brought it down a notch. And she began to feel much more clearheaded, more focused.
She came in with one particular blow, and he blocked it and locked her sword, holding it there. They stood there, deadlocked, only inches from each other’s faces.
She looked at his face, and could see him still, maddeningly, smiling back.
“So,” he grunted with a tremendous effort, as he struggled to hold back her sword, “are you single?”
This caught Caitlin so off guard that she lost her concentration, just long enough for him to crouch down and sweep her leg out from under her. She landed flat on her back on the ground, hard, a cloud of dust rising over. She looked up and saw the point of his sword fixed over her throat.
Of course, he was still smiling.
“You lose your focus too easily,” he said and in one motion he reached down, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up to her feet. “Way too easily. Something is distracting you.”
Caitlin thought about it, and realized he was right. Caleb. He was still hovering, at the periphery of her consciousness. This fighting was helping her forget, but still, she didn’t quite feel herself. The intense fighting had, for a moment, pulled her out of her sadness. But still, it remained.
“Empty mind,” he chided. “If anything’s in there, you’ll never be able to fight.”
They both stood there, panting, exhausted, taking a break. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, and realized he was right. Her mind was full. Distracted.
“But I wasn’t just saying that, you know,” he added. “I really would like to take you out.”
She looked at him, and he was still smiling, and she could see that he really meant it.
Great. Not even here an hour, and already there were boy troubles. They had just met. They had not even known each other an hour. How could he already want to take her out?
Is this how all vampires acted? Did everything move so quickly in this world? It was mind-boggling. She didn’t even know what vampire etiquette was.
She liked Patrick, she did, but not as anything more than a friend. How could she tell him that? Talk about awkward. On this island, there was really nowhere to go.
“I’m sorry Patrick,” she said softly, “I’m already taken.”
“I see,” he said, nodding, still smiling. “Well, maybe you’ll change your mind.”
“Maybe,” Caitlin said, knowing she never would. But she couldn’t let him down too harshly. It was a small island, after all.
Fortunately, her letdown didn’t seem to interrupt their training. They fought for hours and hours more, as did all of their covenmates, parrying blow for blow. Occasionally, Patrick would throw out some guidance, some word of wisdom here or there. He clearly knew what he was doing. And he was good. Looking at him, she never would have expected he’d been able to fight at all. She was really surprised.
Finally, just as she reached a point of exhaustion, to wonder how much longer this training could possibly go on, she heard a bell ring.
Patrick, and all the vampires around them, suddenly dropped their weapons, and hurried off in a certain direction.
Caitlin was puzzled.
“Lunch!” Patrick called over his shoulder, as he headed off into the crowd.
Thank goodness, she thought. She needed a break.
As Caitlin followed the group towards the far end of the courtyard, Polly suddenly came up along beside her. As usual, Polly had a big smile on her face, and her eyes were shining.
“Lucky girl,” Polly said.
Caitlin looked at her, not knowing what she was talking about.
“You got paired up with Patrick,” she said.
Caitlin followed Polly’s gaze towards Patrick, and she suddenly realized that Polly liked him.
“I’ve been trying to get his attention for years,” Polly said, “but he doesn’t seem to notice.”
Uh oh. Caitlin suddenly worried that Polly might be jealous, might not want to be friends with her anymore—and all over some boy that Caitlin didn’t even like.
“Really?” Caitlin asked, genuinely surprised. “But you’re so pretty. And he’s so—”
Luckily, Caitlin stopped herself before she could say anything else.
Polly looked at her, concerned. “He’s so…what?” she asked.
Caitlin tried to think quick of a way to dig herself out of this one.
“He’s just so…well…what I meant to say was that…he’s so…well-matched for you. I’m surprised that the two of you aren’t together.”
Polly’s concern disappeared and she went back to her usual joy.
“I know, right? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like he’s with anyone else, either.”
They reached the far end of the courtyard, and Caitlin saw a large, circular stone table, with stone benches all around it. All of her coven members were already sitting, and as Caitlin approached the table, Polly took her arm and led her to a seat right beside her. Caitlin was grateful to have a friend to sit with, since she was still somewhat intimidated by the large group, most of whom she hadn’t met.
“This is Madeline,” Polly said, “and that’s Harrison.”
Caitlin looked to her left, and saw a startlingly pretty girl, with straight black hair and black eyes, seated beside a boy with a short, blond beard, and curly blonde hair. They both broke into smiles, and reached out and shook Caitlin’s hand. Everyone here seemed so friendly.
“And that’s Derrick and Sasha,” Polly said, gesturing to her right.
Caitlin looked over and saw them smiling back at her, nodding. She nodded back. They were both short and stocky, each with brown hair and green eyes, and they had huge grins. Their kindness and warmth were apparent even from here.
Caitlin began to wonder if everyone here was a couple. She started to feel a bit self-conscious.
Polly was about to introduce her to others, when suddenly Patrick slid in and sat down between them.
“And I’m Patrick,” came the voice.
Caitlin turned to see that Patrick had slid into the seat beside her. He was sitting just inches away, grinning at her again. “But you knew that already,” he added with a wink.
Uh oh, Caitlin thought. She was already uncomfortable. She really liked Polly, and didn’t want Polly to think that she liked Patrick. She didn’t want her to think that Patrick liked her, Caitlin, either, because that would surely make Polly jealous. She wanted to see Polly happy, and she didn’t like Patrick. She had to try to figure out a way to get Patrick to like her. But for now, she just had to get through this lunch.
A bell rang, and they all got up from the table and headed off to the side, to a huge stone slab, on which sat, buffet style, raw meat. Caitlin followed Polly closely, who grabbed a large slab of meat, put it on a plate, and a pitcher of liquid. Caitlin did the same.
Caitlin followed Polly back to the table, holding her own plate and pitcher. Patrick followed them.
As they were all about to sit, at the last second, Caitlin switched spots with Polly, so that Polly was forced to sit in the middle, right beside Patrick, and Caitlin on the other side of Polly.
She looked over and saw that Patrick was disappointed, but that Polly, now beside him, was pleased. Caitlin smiled inwardly. At least that would keep Patrick one more person away from her and make the entire situation less uncomfortable.
Caitlin looked around, and watched her fellow coven members lifting their meat with their hands, biting into it with their fangs, and sucking out the blood. They didn’t chew—they just bit and sucked.
Caitlin tried it. At first, handling the raw meat felt gross, but as she bit and sucked, she felt the blood trickle down her throat, and she felt rejuvenated, refreshed. She felt her power returning.
She saw her coven members drinking from their pitchers, and she looked into hers. It was filled with a dark red liquid. Blood, she assumed. Probably the blood of deer.
Caitlin drank, and while at first she recoiled from the thick liquid, from the salty taste, she also loved the shot of power it gave her, and found herself gulping it down. As she did, she felt completely restored.
Caitlin heard whining, and looked over to see Rose sitting beside her. Caitlin handed her the scraps of the meat, and Rose happily ate them up.
Immediately, she whined for more. Madeline and Harrison each took their scraps and threw it towards Rose, as did Polly and Patrick. Soon everyone was throwing Rose their scraps, and Rose was having a field day, gorging on piece after piece of raw meat.
“It’s all going to get better,” Polly said, “Yes, there’s a lot of training, but we vampires also know how to have fun. There’ll be games later tonight.”
Caitlin wasn’t worried. She actually really enjoyed the training, and she just loved being here. She loved the exercise, being outdoors, seeing water everywhere. She liked all of her new covenmates, and for the first time in as long she could remember, she felt as if she were home. Really home.
And that’s when she saw him.
Out of the corner of her eye, Caitlin noticed a figure in the distance, walking along the sandy shore. At first, she was sure it was some kind of illusion. Who could be walking over there? She assumed that all of the coven was around the table, and she looked again closely. As she looked, she realized that one seat was empty. Only 23 of them were present.
Caitlin watched the lone figure, walking on the far shore, and found herself completely transfixed. Five foot ten, dressed in all black, he was paler than the others, with longish, wavy brown hair, and large, green eyes. Even from this distance, she could tell that there was something about him, something so striking, so unusual—so different from everyone else. He walked slowly, looking out at the water, his back towards all of them. Caitlin found that she could not look away.
Polly caught her staring. She leaned in close. “So, you’ve got your first glimps
e of him, have you?” she asked. “He’s the elusive 24th. At least, when he’s around.”
“When he’s around?” Caitlin asked.
“He keeps apart from us most of the time. He hardly ever trains with us, and never eats with us. He even sleeps in his own quarters. Most of the time, he just walks the shore, looking out. No one ever really even knows what he’s thinking. He redefines ‘loner’.”
“But I’m confused,” Caitlin said. “I thought we all had to train together, eat together—”
“Blake is the exception,” Patrick said, with derision, “Aiden’s always making exceptions for Blake. I don’t know why. He should have to follow the same rules. It’s not fair, when you think about it.”
“Oh Patrick, you don’t need to be so harsh about it,” Polly said. “Blake is a perfectly nice fellow. He just likes to be left alone.”
“But why?” Caitlin asked.
But she already, herself, knew the answer. Even from this distance, with her vampire vision, she could see it in his eyes. This vampire was completely lost in the past. He had suffered greatly, she could see that, and whatever heartbreak he had encountered, he had never gotten over it. And probably never would.
It was strange, but even from this distance, Caitlin could feel everything he was feeling. And she felt consumed by overwhelming sadness. On the one hand, it scared her, but on the other hand, she appreciated it, because it took away her own sadness over Caleb.
At that moment, Blake, as if sensing her, suddenly turned, and stared right at her. Their eyes locked, and even from this distance, Caitlin was transfixed. Then, just as quickly, he turned and hurried away.
Caitlin felt a chill run up her spine. And she knew, that if she wanted to stay loyal to Caleb, she would have to stay very far away from this person.
THIRTEEN
Sam’s eyes flew open in a rage of fire. He looked all about the room, having no idea where he was. He felt as if there were a film over his eyes, a filter. Something was very, very different.