Betrayed (21 page)

Kyle breathed deeply. “Very well. You have but a few minutes. Nothing more. And if the answer is not what I want, you and your boyfriend will both pay the price. I assure you.”

*

Samantha ushered Sam into a side chamber of the hall. She closed the door behind them, and as the two of them stood alone, she spoke to him in a quick, agitated whisper.

“Sam, I need you to focus, I need you to listen to me,” she pleaded.

He was still staring, expressionless, and she wondered how badly the turning had affected him. He barely seemed like he heard her at all.

She stepped up, grabbed his face with both of her palms, leaned in and kissed him hard. She held it for a long time.

She retreated, and looked into his eyes. There was the slightest flicker of recognition. Maybe she had broken a bit of the spell.

“Sam, we are in grave danger. You have to accept that Sword. You have to tell Kyle that you will kill your sister.”

Sam stared at her, blinking. It seemed like he was starting to register.

“Sam, you
have
to do this. If not, they will kill us. And once the Sword is in our possession, there’ll be nothing stopping us. After you kill your sister, we can take out Kyle. With the Sword, you will be stronger than he. You would become the new coven leader, and I will be at your side. Together, we can climb to greater heights than ever.

“Sam, please listen to me!”

She shook his shoulders, trying to elicit a reaction.

“Repeat after me: I will accept the Sword,” she said, looking right into his eyes. “I will kill my sister.”

Sam looked at her, still in a trance. “I will accept the sword,” he echoed, slowly. “I will kill my sister.”

TWENTY ONE

Caitlin sat on a wide stone parapet, Rose by her side, looking out at the water. She had found this small, crumbling ruin on a deserted part of the island, on the shore, almost at eye level with the water. She felt she could gather her thoughts here, alone, and she desperately needed to. The entire sky was lit with the pink hues of the sunset, and she felt as if she were sitting on the edge of the world.

Her mind spun. There was so much to think about, she didn’t know where to begin.

Pregnant. That word had rocked her world. She had never imagined it could even be possible—it had only been a week or two since she’d spent the night with Caleb. She had been shocked when Aiden revealed to her that vampire pregnancies happen much more quickly. It didn’t take three months to find out. It only took three days. And while one vampire cannot get another vampire pregnant, he explained, that night that she and Caleb had been together, Caitlin had still been a half-breed.

Caitlin swallowed in fear. What kind of a baby would this be? Human? A Half-breed? A true vampire? And what kind of a mother would she be? She could barely take care of herself, she barely even knew who
she
was. And what kind of a father would Caleb be? Would he even be in the child’s life? Would he even be alive to see the child? Would she?

These thoughts and more swirled throughout her mind. But even worse, overriding all of these thoughts was the pressing, gnawing feeling of Caleb’s being in danger. Of Aiden’s words. She could not get them out of her mind.
Caleb in danger…no way to help him…forbidden to go…she could never come back….

Every bone in her body screamed for her to chase after Caleb, to go save him—especially after reading his letter, after knowing his deepest, truest feelings for her. How could she just let him down, especially after all that he’d done for her?

But on the other hand, she was overwhelmed by what a sacrifice it would demand. She would have to leave this place, her new home, her new family, forever. She could die in the process, according to Aiden. And that meant that she would kill her new baby with her.

Should she sacrifice all this to try to save him?

Then again, how could she
not
?

As Caitlin sat there, the sun setting, tears streaming down her cheeks, she cursed her bad luck. This was always her fate. It seemed that every time she found something she loved in her life—whether it was a new home, new school, a new friend—it always seemed to be taken away from her. Life gave her great things only long enough for her to know how much she loved them. Then it pulled the rug out from under her. Change seemed to be the only constant.

Logically, she knew what she had to do. She had to stay put. For herself. For the baby. For her covenmates. For her race. For her destiny.

But emotionally, she just could not let go of Caleb.

She sat there for hours, thinking and thinking.

And finally, her heart won the battle.

She would go to Caleb.

*

Caitlin stood in her small room, looking over her possessions one last time as she finished dressing in her battle outfit. She had been given it during training, and she loved it. All-black, it was made of a material she couldn’t pronounce and didn’t recognize, but she knew that it was light as could be, and stronger than a bulletproof vest. The material wrapped snugly along her legs, torso, arms, and neck, covering her from feet to chin. It had black boots to match. She zipped it up, all the way to her chin, and patted down her arms. She felt invincible.

She surveyed her room one last time, grabbing her journal and her few possessions, and then left, heading out onto the wide, stone landing.

She looked out at the open sky, getting ready to take the leap, her final leap, when she suddenly heard a whining. She looked down and saw Rose sitting there, looking up at her with pleading eyes. It seemed as if Rose was begging her not to go, as if she knew what lay in store for Caitlin.

Caitlin squatted before Rose, reached up, and stroked her face. Rose licked her, whining she did.

“It’s OK, Rose,” Caitlin said. “It will be OK.”

“Weren’t you going to say goodbye?” came a voice.

Caitlin looked up, startled, and there came Polly. She had tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Caitlin said. “I didn’t really know what to say. And I didn’t know how you’d take it.”

Polly nodded back. “I found out from Aiden,” she said.

Caitlin’s eyes opened wide. “Aiden? But I didn’t tell him yet. How did he know—”

“He knows everything,” Polly reminded.

So. He knew all along that I’d go
, Caitlin thought. She wondered how disappointed he was in her, and she felt badly, as if she’d let him down.

“He means what he says, you know,” Polly said. “If you leave, you cannot come back.”

Caitlin suddenly felt herself starting to cry. “I know,” she said softly. “But I have to go. I hope you understand.”

Polly nodded, and came in and gave Caitlin a hug. Caitlin hugged her back, and they both cried over each other’s shoulders.

Finally, they pulled back. “Do the others know?” Caitlin asked.

Polly nodded. “It’s hard not to. A vibration like this spreads quickly. They all love you. This is hard on all of them.”

Caitlin thought of Blake. She wondered if it would be hard on him, too.

“Yes, even Blake,” Polly answered, reading her mind. “He’s retreated to the far end of the island, and no one has seen him since.”

Caitlin felt the small piece of sea-glass in her pocket, and she felt badly. She wiped a tear from her eye. “Will you take care of Rose?” she asked, barely able to suppress her tears.

Rose whined even more loudly.

“Of course I will,” Polly answered.

Caitlin nodded. She breathed deeply, resolved.

She took a step forward and laid it on Polly’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. “I love you,” Caitlin said. “And I love this place. With all my heart.”

And with that, she turned and with a sudden leap, she was over the edge, wings spreading, and lifting higher and higher into the night.

TWENTY TWO

As Caitlin flew over the Bronx, she was horrified to see the extent of the devastation occurring on the streets beneath her. On block after block, there was bloodshed, vampires gorging on humans, openly in the night. There were also humans attacking humans, trying to flee in the chaos. It was anarchy. And she couldn’t help but feel responsible. If she’d had just held onto the Sword, if she hadn’t let it slip away, perhaps none of this would’ve happened.

She flew over the Cloisters, came in low, and circled it once more. She hesitated. She debated over whether she should land, whether Caleb would be there. On the one hand, she imagined that he would have long departed, that he was already off in the thick of battle somewhere. She guessed that if he were truly in danger, he would be elsewhere.

On the other hand, she had no idea where else in Manhattan to look for him. The Cloisters was the best lead she had. She felt certain that his fellow coven members would know exactly where he went and would point her in the right direction. It was the logical first place to stop.

Then again, she felt a pit in her stomach at the idea of seeing Sera again. She felt such anger towards her, she didn’t know how she’d react when they met again—and she didn’t trust herself to contain her feelings. Furthermore, Caitlin didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome the last time she came to the Cloisters, and she suspected that Caleb’s people would be even more furious at her presence this time. Maybe they’d even be outright hostile.

It was a chance she had to take, she decided, as she flew in, diving low, and landed on the huge outer terrace overlooking the Hudson.

She walked through the medieval garden and headed right for the doors, before which stood several dozen vampire soldiers, all at attention.

She hadn’t remembered seeing so many vampires standing guard the last time she’d been here. The coven must be on high alert.

One soldier stepped forward, holding a long spear, and stopped her, deadly serious.

“State your name, coven, and intention,” he said.

She could see how tense all the soldiers were behind him.

“My name is Caitlin, I am of the Pollepel coven, and I’m here to see Caleb.”

The soldier stared her down for another second, then said firmly: “Wait here.”

He turned on his heel, hurried through the large door and slammed it behind him.

Caitlin stood there, waiting in the tense silence. Soon, the door opened again, and two more soldiers walked out.

“Follow us,” one of them said, turning.

Caitlin followed, through the door, and heard it slam behind her.

Caitlin followed the two quickly-marching soldiers down the long, stone corridor, and through an inner courtyard. As they went, she saw dozens of vampires everywhere, openly roaming, all seeming to be in a state of agitation.

They led her down another corridor, then to the base of a staircase, and Caitlin could hear someone wailing in the distance, her cries echoing off the ceilings. The guards stopped at the foot of the steps.

“That way,” one of them said, looking straight ahead.

“Where am I going?” she asked.

Was Caleb down there?
she wondered.
Why hadn’t he come out to greet me?

The two guards stared, ignoring her. Clearly they had told her all they were willing to.

Caitlin walked down the ancient stone staircase, heading into the darkness, dimly lit by torches. As she did, the cries grew louder.

Caitlin turned the corner and found herself in a large, stone chamber, deep and narrow, with high, arched ceilings. This somber room was filled with sarcophagi—large, intricately carved sarcophagi of all shapes and sizes, spread throughout the room. Otherwise, it was bare and empty.

Save for one person. Rather, one vampire.

Sera.

She saw her kneeling on the hard stone floor, by herself, in the middle of the room, her cries filling the chamber.

Before Caitlin could even enter, Sera wheeled, her long red hair flying in every direction, and her face distorted with tears and devastation.

“It’s
your
fault!” she screamed, jumping to her feet, pointing at Caitlin. “It’s because of
you
this happened.”

So, it seemed that Caitlin would have to face her fear head-on. Sera. It was time for the two of them to have it out. Caitlin felt her own rage welling within her, barely tempered by Sera’s tears.

Before she could respond, Sera shrieked again.

“They’ve captured my Caleb! And it’s all because of you!”

Caitlin’s heart sank at her words. She felt her world spinning, and she was so caught off guard, she barely remembered what she’d been ready to say to Sera. She was at a loss for words.

Captured
. That could only mean one thing. They would certainly kill him.

Sera took several steps towards her, now only feet away. She stared with an intense hatred, her sadness morphing into rage.

“Why couldn’t you have just left him alone?” Sera demanded. “You are the one that started all this mess. Because of you, now they have the Sword. Because of you, Caleb had to risk his life to try to get it back. Look where it got him. I hope you’re happy.”

“It was
you
who came to our island to get him,” Caitlin spat back. “It was
you
who dragged him into all this. Why couldn’t
you
just let him be? You couldn’t, could you? You couldn’t stand to see him happy with anybody else. It’s
your
fault as much as mine,” Caitlin yelled, equally irate.

Sera was trembling with rage.

“I brought him back to be with
me
, his loyal wife. And to be with his child.”

“You are
not
his wife anymore,” Caitlin said. “And I know about your child. He died hundreds of years ago. You are full of lies.”

“My son is alive!” Sera shrieked. “Don’t you ever say that!”

Caitlin suddenly realized that Sera was out of touch with reality, crushed by grief. It had molded her. She saw how pathetic she was, and suddenly, despite herself, she felt pity for her. Her anger softened.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Caitlin said softly.