Caleb smiled down at her gently, and swept her hair from her eyes.
“Remember that day we spent together?” he asked, nostalgia in his voice. “On the beach? The horses?”
Caitlin smiled, thinking of it. Of course she remembered. She thought about it all the time.
“Yes,” she said.
“We have been together in so many places, so many times, so many centuries. That is what matters. Our memories together. The times we shared. No matter what happens, somehow, we will always be together.”
Caitlin wanted to respond, to say: Yes. You’re right. We will always be together.
But instead, she was overwhelmed with emotion. She burst into tears again, and hugged him tightly. It was the worst feeling of her life. Deep down, she knew it was the last time she would hold him again. She sensed it in every pore of her body.
She didn’t how to handle it, how to say goodbye, how to let him go. So, without saying another word, without even looking into his face again, she suddenly pulled away.
She turned her back, took two steps off the side of the cliff, and leapt into the air. Her wings expanded, and she soared, higher and higher into the air.
She could feel Caleb behind her, watching her the whole time.
And she dared not, even for a second, look back.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Scarlet stood there in disbelief, watching as the old man held the vampire shield high above his head, the ground beneath her quaking. She watched as he transformed, became younger, stronger. Rays of light continued to shoot out from the shield, completely filling the room, and the other vampires continued to bow low to the ground, shielding their eyes from the intense light. She too, had to turn away, so much light filled the room. Beside her, Ruth whined.
She managed to peek a glance, and as she did, she was confused by what she saw: shadows, then shapes, seemed to pour out from the shield. At first she thought maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her, but as she looked closely, she realized they weren’t. It looked like spirits were flying out of the shield, forming in the light. At first, they took the nebulous form of shadows; but then they hardened, turned into shapes. And within moments, these shapes transformed into people.
Vampires.
Scarlet was even more surprised to see that these were vampires she recognized from other times and places. One of them had a face she would never forget: he was huge and bald, with one eye and a big scar across his face. Kyle. She’d thought he was dead for good, and was terrified to see him emerge from the light.
Within moments, he was standing there, back, alive again. He looked as ferocious as ever, more filled with rage than Scarlet had ever seen him, as if he’d just been let loose from a cage.
Behind him, more shadows emerged. There was another vampire she recognized, forming out of the shadows: it was the man she had seen back in Scotland, the one they had called Rynd. The one who had killed Polly.
Dozens and dozens more evil vampires and creatures, emerged, each more hideous than the next. It looked like the shield was a portal, unleashing an army of demons.
Soon, the narrow tunnels of the aqueduct were filling up with creatures, screaming, shrieking. The scene became chaotic, and Scarlet feared for her life. She knew that now that she’d led them there, they would have no more use for her, and would kill her. She knew that she had to do something quickly, or in a few moments, she would be dead. Now was her chance.
Scarlet searched the tunnels, frantic for any way of escape. She realized that, with all the chaos, the vampires were distracted. She was still cuffed, but at least her warders had stopped paying attention to her—for the moment.
Scarlet saw her chance. She turned and nudged Ruth with her foot; Ruth, still sitting loyally by her side, seemed to understand, to pick up on the signal.
Scarlet nodded, and at the same time, the two of them turned and took off, running away from the crowd, back up the steps, back up the narrow alleyway. They ran back up flight after flight, Scarlet running awkwardly with her wrists chained in front of her. She glanced back over her shoulder, but saw nobody coming her way. They were all still staring at the shield, still transfixed.
It wasn’t until they neared the top flight of steps, until she could see the doorway up ahead, that Scarlet heard screaming. She turned and saw the vampires pointing at her, then saw them all suddenly take off, charging right for her.
Scarlet doubled her speed, as did Ruth, and they burst out of the aqueduct, outside. She was so grateful to be out in fresh air, to be out from underground, and she ran as fast as she possibly could, hoping she could outrun them. She knew she didn’t have much of a lead, but still, she ran, twisting and turning down alleyway after alleyway, praying she would not hit a dead-end. Ruth ran beside her, following close.
Scarlet turned a corner, and as she did, her heart stopped.
It was a dead-end.
Scarlet could already hear the rumble, and knew that, not too far behind, the vampires were chasing her down. She knew that, in just a moment, she would be dead. She didn’t care for herself anymore, but she cared so desperately for her mommy. She just wanted to see her one last time. To warn her. To explain that it wasn’t her fault. To ask her forgiveness.
As Scarlet saw a figure fly down from the sky, right towards her, she knew that the end had come. She braced herself, and only wished that she didn’t have to die this way.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Caitlin flew as fast as her wings would take her, racing towards Jerusalem. She held in her mind that it still was possible to find her Dad, to find Scarlet, find the Shield, and to get back in time to help Caleb, Aiden and the others. She wiped away her tears, and tried to brush the negative thoughts out of her mind. She insisted on holding in her mind that all would be well. She flew even faster, determined to defy fate, determined to make everything turn out okay.
Caitlin flew so fast, she barely even noticed the land of Israel below her, the rolling hills, beautiful in the morning light, barely even noticed the topography changing from mountains to valley to city. In fact, it wasn’t until she was flying directly over Jerusalem that she was shaken out of her reverie. She looked down, and was taken aback by the site.
The city of Jerusalem, sprawled out below, was the most magnificent sight Caitlin had ever seen. She had been to extraordinary cities and countries in her lifetime, all throughout the centuries, and had seen some amazing things—yet nothing she had seen rivaled Jerusalem. The architecture was stunning; it was still simple, being the first century, with a large stone wall demarcating the city line, in which were several arched gates. Inside the city, she could see a network of twisting and turning alleyways and side streets, opening up onto small squares and plazas.