Making matters worse, dozens more vampires were landing all around him at every moment, encircling him from all sides. He was soon completely outnumbered.
Caleb fought furiously, swinging in every direction. The chaos helped him a bit, as some vampires, in the confusion, fought against each other.
He rolled away from Sam, not wanting to hurt him, and instead focused on other vampires. Moving with speed and dexterity, he managed to kill several of them. He was actually gaining momentum, when suddenly he felt himself elbowed hard in the back, right in the kidneys.
He wheeled, and found himself face to face with a hideous, sneaky creature.
Standing there, scowling back, missing one eye, was Kyle.
Before Caleb could react, Kyle raised his battle ax high and brought it down right for Caleb’s head.
Caleb dodged at the last second, then reached over swung back, for Kyle’s arm. Kyle blocked the blow with a shield, then leaned back and kicked Caleb in the gut, knocking him back.
Kyle came in for another blow with his axe, but Caleb anticipated it; he leapt over it, high in the air, and kicked Kyle hard in the chest, knocking him back. Now, Caleb had the upper hand.
But dozens more vampires landed, swooping down from every side. Caleb was already getting tired, already beginning to see that this was a losing battle. He saw no way they could possibly win. He wondered what Aiden was thinking, trying to even face off against an army with only a few dozen men.
Just when Caleb thought things couldn’t get any worse, suddenly, the earth around him shook. As he looked over in astonishment, he suddenly saw the thousands of graves on the Mount of Olives start to shift. And then, to his horror, the dirt rose up, and bodies began to emerge from each grave—dark, demon souls, hideous-looking black shadows, with long, sharp fangs. As if the army in the sky weren’t bad enough—now, Caleb was surrounded by thousands more evil creatures, from every side.
And he realized that, in the coming minutes, his life would be finished.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Caitlin stood there, watching the sky, wiping her tears, and finally tore herself away. She was jostled in the crowd, and felt a small hand grip hers, and finally snapped out of it.
She looked down and saw Scarlet looking up at her with her joyful, innocent eyes.
“Mommy?” she asked.
Caitlin beamed at the site of her, forgetting all her sadness. She bent down and embraced Scarlet, holding her tight, smiling, radiant. And then she remembered: Jesus.
Caitlin took Scarlet’s hand, checked to see that Ruth was by her side, and then hurried through the mob, heading after him. They were jostled as they went, and it was an effort just to keep them together. The masses flocked around Jesus, who was far away now, and the crowd was growing thicker and thicker. He was such a polarizing figure, Caitlin could feel the tension in the air, so thick it was palpable. Brawls broke out, as some people wept openly, while others argued with each other. It felt like Jerusalem was on the verge of a revolution.
The Roman soldiers stood back, watching carefully, Pontius Pilate overseeing them. Caitlin noticed more and more soldiers filtering in, their ranks swelling as they followed Jesus.
Caitlin had to get closer; she pushed her way through the crowd, and slowly, she narrowed the gap. In the distance he turned down a side street, and Caitlin lost sight of him. She elbowed with more force, but the crowd was thick—and growing thicker by the second.
Suddenly, Pontius Pilot gave his soldiers a signal, and they rushed into the crowd, cordoning off the street where Jesus had went. The crowd booed and screamed, trying to follow him, but the soldiers wouldn’t let them. The crowd got pushy, and the soldiers started to raise their clubs and beat them back.
A riot ensued. People started fighting, then stampeding toward Caitlin to get away from the soldiers’ brutality. Caitlin could tell the situation was about to worsen, and realized that if she didn’t do something fast, they’d all be trampled to death.
Caitlin bent over, put Scarlet on her back, grabbed Ruth with her free hand, and leapt up into the air. Her wings caught, and soon she was flying, up above the crowd. She made it just in time, right before the stampede headed her way. She didn’t like to fly like this, so out in the open, so conspicuously in front of humans, who she knew would spot her. But she had no choice.
They spotted her indeed—and the effect was electrifying. Caitlin heard the shocked cries and looked down to see hundreds of crowd members stopping and turning, pointing up at her.
“Witch!”
“Heretic!”
“Demon!”
Several people grabbed rocks and hurled them up towards Caitlin.
But Caitlin flew higher just in time, and the rocks sailed by, missing. In moments, she was higher, and higher, far away from them, over Jerusalem. She kept flying, and soon she was over the barricade set by the Roman soldiers.
She gained speed, and within moments was able to spot Jesus and his apostles, down below, on a quiet side street. They had just finished ascending a small hill, and were entering a large, Roman house.
Caitlin dove down, landing out of sight, then hurried to catch up to the last of the apostles, just before he entered the house.
As she ran up to him, he turned and faced her. Caitlin braced herself, assuming he’d tell her to go away; but to her surprise, he smiled.
“We were hoping you would come,” he said, looking at Caitlin, then down at Scarlet and Ruth. “Will you join us?”
Caitlin nodded, relieved.
“It is the Passover meal,” he said. “It is our last supper before the holiday begins.”
He stepped to the side, and motioned for Caitlin to enter.
The Last Supper. The words rang through Caitlin’s head. She could hardly believe it. Here she was, with Jesus and his apostles, on Passover evening, during the Last Supper—the night before he was crucified. The night he was betrayed by Judas. She could hardly believe it. Here she was, right in the middle of history. Could she somehow change it?
Caitlin entered the small house, holding Scarlet’s hand, Ruth beside her, and followed the apostle down a corridor. They passed a small, open-air courtyard in the middle of the house, framed by columns and arches, with immaculate gardens and olive trees. They continued down another corridor and up a flight of stairs, and she saw the apostles clustering around a door.
The energy was palpable. There was excitement, preparation for the holiday and for the meal. They filed into the room one by one, and she followed on their heels.