by Noah
Polly got excited thinking of seeing Sam tonight. She would spring the news on him over dinner.
She would dress for the night in her nicest fineries, wear the nicest oils, and surprise him. She thought of the most beautiful dress she owned—an all-white, silk dress—and suddenly realized it needed to be washed. She ran to her closet and pulled it out, examining it, then grabbed her washing wrack and soap, preparing to head down to the lake.
Suddenly, the door opened, and in marched Scarlet and Ruth. And then Polly remembered: earlier that morning, while she was half asleep, Caitlin had woken her and made her vow to watch over Scarlet carefully while she took off on her mission. Polly, of course, had been thrilled to agree.
She loved Scarlet, and, after all, there wasn’t much to do: those two could hardly be more safe than within these castle walls, the most heavily guarded compound Polly had ever been in. Polly would hardly need to do a thing, except entertain them for a few days.
Polly was bursting with excitement, and was dying to tell Scarlet the news. But at the last moment, she stopped herself, holding her tongue, knowing she should tell Sam first.
But as she looked down, she noticed tears in Scarlet’s eyes, and was suddenly concerned.
“What is it, love?” Polly asked, kneeling down and wiping a tear off her cheek.
Scarlet started to cry. “Mommy and Daddy left me.”
“Oh sweetheart, they didn’t leave you. They only went away for a day or two. They’ll be back before you know it. In the meantime, you have me. Right?”
Scarlet nodded.
“And we’re going to do all sorts of fun things together. You and me, and Ruth and Sam. It’s going to be like one long party.” She put on a big smile. “Okay?” Scarlet slowly nodded, wiping away her tears.
“Now I just need to run down to the lake for a minute to wash these clothes. I’ll be back within the hour. You and Ruth just sit tight, and I’ll be back before you know it. Just stay inside the castle, okay?”
“No!” Scarlet snapped back, suddenly fierce.
Polly was taken aback by the strength and authority in her voice. For a moment, she felt as if she were talking to an adult warrior. She wondered where that power came from, and wondered what other powers this child carried.
“I’m not staying here!” Scarlet yelled. “I’m going with you! I’m not going to leave your side. And neither is Ruth.”
Polly was stunned. She didn’t quite know what to say. She had never seen Scarlet act this way before. She didn’t like the idea of their coming to the lake. Not that there was anything to worry about; but still, she had promised Caitlin. And the safest place in the world was right here, in this castle.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Polly said, more firmly “but I made a promise to your Mommy and Daddy, and you need to stay here. You must stay inside the castle, where it’s safe. But I’ll be back within the hour, okay?”
“No you won’t,” Scarlet said to her, matter of factly. “I’ve already seen your future. You’ll be dead within the hour,” she pronounced.
An icy chill ran up Polly’s back, and her hairs stood on end. It was the most terrifying thing anyone had ever said to her. And coming from Scarlet, it was so authentic, stated as if it had already happened. It took Polly’s breath away, and she had no idea how to even respond.
But she didn’t have a chance. Suddenly, Scarlet turned and strode away from her, with Ruth, out the door, and slammed it behind her. The walls shook, and as they did, Polly couldn’t help feeling as if her fate had just been sealed.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
As Polly headed down the hill to the lake, clutching her white, silk dress, she felt a terrible foreboding. Scarlet’s words still lingered with her, and Polly marveled at how such a young child could speak with such authority. Polly had a creepy, ominous feeling that would not go away; she looked over her shoulder at the castle, for good measure, and wondered briefly if she should turn back.
But she realized she was being ridiculous. Legions of Aiden’s warriors, and of the King’s warriors, stood guard in every direction. She looked back at the lake, and saw nothing but clear skies and open water. They were in a remote place, heavily fortified, hundreds of miles from any possible harm. And Sam would be back in just a few hours. Everything looked absolutely normal, and there was no sign of danger anywhere in sight. Besides, she had a dress which needed washing, and it wouldn’t take very long.
Polly turned and continued down the gently sloping hill, towards the lake. As she did, the sky darkened with thick clouds, and a cold wind picked up, brushing her face. She took a deep breath, and finally forced herself to dismiss it all as just the ramblings of a precocious young child, one overwrought that her parents had just left. Of course, children could imagine things, and Scarlet was no exception. Polly forced herself to conclude that the whole thing was ridiculous, and to focus on quickly washing her dress and returning to prepare for Sam’s arrival.
Polly brightened at the thought of it, as she reached the lake. She knelt at its shore and began scrubbing her dress in the icy water. As she did, another cold wind picked up, this one stronger than the last, rippling the water and the otherwise still lake, forcing Polly to take a break and look up.
Polly was surprised. Seemingly out of nowhere, there appeared a small canoe on the water, drifting her way, and quickly. Polly looked at it, puzzled. Where had it come from? How had it gotten so close so fast?
She was even more taken aback as she saw a head rise up out of the canoe. It was the head of a man who was injured, his face covered in blood, and he looked right at Polly, and held out a hand for her help.
Polly stood, her heart suddenly pounding. It was a face she would recognize anywhere in the world.
It was Sam.
Polly ran out into the water, not even feeling the ice cold pain rippling through her calves as she ran up to her thighs, grabbed the canoe, and pulled it close.
There was no mistake about it: it was Sam, lying on his back, covered in blood. How was it possible?
“Help me, Polly,” he said, weakly.
It was the strangest thing she had ever experienced. It was definitely Sam, down to the last iota.
It was his hair and clothes and body and voice. It was definitely him.
But at the same time, there was something that Polly sensed, somewhere deep inside, that told her it was not Sam. She couldn’t understand it.
“What happened?” Polly yelled out to him, frantic that he was hurt.
“Please, help me,” he said, reaching out a hand.
She grabbed it. It was icy cold, and left blood on her wrist. She pulled him close to her, and felt herself wanting to break into tears. But she forced herself to be strong for him. She couldn’t imagine what might have happened to him.
“What happened to you?” she yelled out. “How can I help? What can I do?”
“Can I come onto the island?” he asked, weakly.
“What kind of question is that?” she asked, confused. “Of course you can,” she replied, as she went to pick him up in her arms.
But he resisted, staring fiercely back at her.
“So are you inviting me?” he pressed. “Do you invite me onto the island?” Polly stared back at him, narrowing her eyes, unsure what he was talking about. Was he delusional? Had he been injured in the head? Was he not thinking clearly?
“What do you mean, do I invite you?” she asked. “Why would you need an invitation?”
“Answer me,” he said, clutching her wrist. “Please,” he added, softening. “I need your help. Will you invite me?”
“Of course I invite you. You are invited. There. Are you happy? Now stop talking crazy, and let me help you,” she said, and swooped down and picked him up in her arms. She turned and carried him to shore.
This time, he did not resist. Polly couldn’t help thinking how peculiar it was, his wanting to be invited. She couldn’t even comprehend what he meant by it. He must be delusional.
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br /> She tried not to think of it, as she carried him through the water, and onto the shore. She lay him down gently on the sand and knelt beside him, ready to tend his wounds.
More than anything, she was bursting to tell him the news. About their child. But she knew this was the wrong time. So instead, she checked his body, trying to find the source of his injury.
But oddly, she could not find anything. As she examined him, he seemed perfectly fine.
She suddenly sat up and reached into his waistband. She wondered what he was reaching for, and then, in the sudden afternoon light, she saw something gleaming. A weapon.
A knife.
Before Polly could open her mouth to ask him what he was doing, suddenly, Sam reached the knife up high, and plunged it into her heart.
It was a silver knife, Polly saw, right before it entered her. She felt it plunge into her chest, right into her heart.
Polly was too shocked to scream. Instead, she sucked in her breath, gasping for air, staring at Sam with more surprise and horror than she’d ever thought possible.
She could feel the life ebbing out of her, out of her child yet unborn. She looked into Sam’s eyes and saw him staring remorselessly back—and her final thought, before her world turned black, was how much she had loved him.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Scarlet stormed out of the castle, Ruth by her side, and marched over the footbridge, determined to track down Polly and make sure she was safe. Scarlet had been sure about her premonition. With each passing day, she felt her powers grow stronger, felt herself able to see more clearly into the future—and she knew she was right. In fact, she had brought her bow and arrow with her, had snatched it off the training ground, along with a small quiver of arrows. Scarlet felt confident in her own skill as an archer, reinforced by everyone’s praise on the training grounds, and she felt that she could be of help in protecting Polly from whatever it was that was coming for her.
Besides, Scarlet did not like taking orders from anybody, or just sitting around the castle, confined—especially when she felt something bad might happen to others. And she wasn’t afraid. In fact, she never felt afraid. The only thing she felt afraid of was not being allowed to take action of her own.
Scarlet jogged down the grassy hill, and as she got closer to the lake, her sense of foreboding increased, and she broke into a sprint. Ruth, beside her, was on edge, too, her hair standing up on her back, and her fangs revealed. Ruth, too, must have sensed it.
As they rounded the hill and the view unfolded before them, Scarlet saw that she had been right.
She couldn’t understand what she saw: there was Sam, standing over Polly, reaching up a knife, and getting ready to plunge it down.
Scarlet screamed.
But it was too late. Before her words got out, before she could react, the knife was already descending, plunging towards Polly’s heart. Scarlet felt her breath taken away as she watched the horrific sight. She couldn’t understand why Sam would ever do such a thing.
But then, as she watched, right before her eyes, Sam’s face transfigured, morphed into someone else. He was now a disgusting man, with a square jaw, a pockmarked face, and large, black eyes. It hadn’t been Sam after all. It had been someone else, some evil creature who had pretended to be Sam. A shapeshifter.
Behind this man, suddenly, the water blackened with hundreds of boats, all containing vampires, and then the sky, too, blackened with hundreds more vampires. It looked like an entire vampire army, all waging war, and all heading right for the Isle of Skye. Scarlet couldn’t believe it. It was as if this first person had somehow led the way for an entire vampire army.
But Scarlet wasn’t about to run. On the contrary. She wanted vengeance for Polly. So instead of turning around, Scarlet ran forward, right for her attacker. And Ruth ran right beside her.
Scarlet ran until she was about twenty yards away from him, just as her attacker was standing, rising to his full height. With no time to lose, she quickly took a knee, pulled back her bow, inserted an arrow, and took steady aim. She aimed for his left eye.
He saw her, but before he could react, she had already let the arrow fly.
It was a perfect hit. It went right into his eye, knocking it out clean. The arrow lodged in his head, and the man shrieked in agony, grabbing at it, trying to pull it out. Scarlet was shocked at what she had managed to do: she only wished it had been a silver-tipped arrow, and had killed him on the spot.
But the man didn’t die, or didn’t even collapse. Instead, she watched in horror as the man reached up and yanked the arrow right out of his skull. He threw it to the ground, and, with one eye socket bleeding, scowled directly at her.
He broke into a sprint, heading right for her, just as the sky was blackening with a swarm of vampires, getting closer. Scarlet knew, at that moment, that she and Ruth were finished. There was no point in her even trying to run, because she knew she wouldn’t make it. So instead, she stood her ground bravely, chest and chin up, waiting to face her attacker head on.
Scarlet suddenly felt hands around her, and the next thing she knew, she was being picked up by someone from behind, lifted up into the air. The person picked her up with one arm, and picked up Ruth in the other. The person was the fastest she had ever seen, and in the blink of an eye, Scarlet and Ruth were soaring in the air, being whisked away from the vampires chasing them.
Only after they were a good distance away, did Scarlet summon the courage to look up and see who it was who was carrying them, who had saved them from sure death.
She breathed a breath of relief as she recognized him.
It was the man from the beach, the man who was in love with her Mommy.
It was Blake.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Sam had been having one of the best days of his life. He had been riding on cloud nine since the night before, enjoying himself every minute of his big sister’s wedding. He was so happy for Caitlin and Caleb, and so overjoyed that their wedding had been such a success. Finally, after all the obstacles between those two, Sam was ecstatic to see them together, permanently. It brought a sense of relief to him, as it also made him feel there was now someone else in Caitlin’s life to watch over and protect her.
As if all that had not been enough, it had also been the most incredible night of his life with Polly. He kept reliving the moment in his head, again and again, when he’d asked her to marry him.
Her expression. Her response. Her hugging him. He had felt her joy coursing through him, in every pore of his body, and at that moment, he had never felt so right in the world. He knew he had made the perfect decision, and was so looking forward to spending the rest of his life with her.
Sam had awoken this morning with a new bounce in his step. He was determined to celebrate his engagement to Polly, to formally announce the news to everyone later that day, and to make this a beautiful day and night for her. Now, it was their turn.
Sam decided that he’d make it really special: he would go out and hunt himself, personally, for the biggest and fiercest boar he could find. He would bring it back, and they would celebrate with a feast, and a night of drinking and games.
And now, here he was, relaxed and refreshed. He had spent the morning alone, out in the woods, hunting. The hours alone outdoors had provided him a sense of tranquility, and had allowed him time to process everything from the night before, and to enjoy it all again. It had grounded him.
He enjoyed quietly tracking and listening for game.
After hours of searching, of walking quietly, deep in the woods, Sam suddenly heard a twig snap.
He stood perfectly still, and a moment later, the biggest and fiercest boar he had ever seen, its tusks sharp and curled a foot-long, charged right for him. Sam relished the battle.
He waited, then, using his vampire skills, leapt over it at the last second. The boar turned and charged again, and this time, Sam stepped to the side, dodging it, enjoying the sport, taking his time before killing it.
But it did something which caught him by surprise: the animal managed to spin its head around, and to gorge Sam with its tusk, slicing his arm. Sam, shocked, cried out in pain. He was stunned.
Ever since he had become a vampire, no animal had ever managed to put the slightest scratch on him. Nothing could ever come close to matching his speed or strength. Sam, furious, quickly snapped its neck, and the two of them went tumbling to the ground, the boar dead.
But Sam was shaken. He didn’t understand what had just happened, how it was possible. How could he be even the slightest bit vulnerable?
Thinking it over, he realized that what had just happened was impossible. It must have been a supernatural occurrence. It was the universe, sending him a sign. An omen. But of what?
Sam didn’t like it. It gave him an ominous feeling, a sense of foreboding. He felt as if the universe were hinting that something terrible was happening somewhere. Sam stared at the huge animal, lying there on its side in the grass, dead, and he no longer wanted to bring it back. It felt to him like a reminder of a bad omen.
Sam left it where it was. He slowly backed away from it, wondering.
The sky suddenly darkened, thick clouds gathering on the horizon, and Sam felt a cold breeze brush his face. He turned and headed back down the path, feeling it was time to return.
The more Sam walked, the more he felt it: something was wrong. Worse, he began to feel that something was wrong with Polly. Danger.
Sam broke into at a sprint, then leapt into the air, flying for all he was worth. He broke out of the woods and into open sky, and the more he flew, the more his senses screamed to him that something was very, very wrong. It was like a beacon, calling to him. It practically screamed at him to hurry to the lake.
Sam flew even faster, faster than he even knew was possible, tucking his wings in, diving through the air, until moments later, he was circling over the lake. The lake was still, and as Sam circled it, at first he saw nothing wrong.