But she didn’t care. They had escaped. They were free.
Caitlin knew she should search for Jesus now, should continue her search for her Dad. But she couldn’t stand to be away from Caleb for one more second. She had to see him first. Nothing in the world would stop her from finding her husband—and from doing everything in her power to make sure they were never apart again.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Caitlin flew as fast as she possibly could, racing through the air, heading towards the Mount of Olives. She managed to put a good distance between herself and her pursuers, and wasn’t worried about them.
What she was worried about was what she might find. She had a pit in her chest, a deepening sense of dread she could not shake, that something terrible had happened, that all the people she loved in the world were gone. She felt as if she were already an orphan in the universe.
She thought back to Jesus’ words, and willed herself to be calm.
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to her life?
Caitlin raced across the arid landscape of Israel, baking in the desert heat, watching Jerusalem and the never-ending palm trees beneath her. She was drawn to this city, yet found herself hating it at the same time. This place was too intense for her, and she associated it with everything that had gone wrong in her life. She just wanted to get away—far, far away, with Caleb and Scarlet. Alone. Just the three of them. To a place where they could live out their lives in peace. Where battles and clues and relics were a thing of the past.
But she was afraid that wasn’t meant to be. She had a mission, a destiny, and she still hadn’t fulfilled it—and still didn’t know what it was. She knew she had to find her Dad. She knew that somehow Jesus would lead her to him. And she knew, in her heart, she should go down below, and search for Jesus now. Right away. That he was her last salvation, her last hope to save the others.
But she just could not bring herself to. Every bone in her body led her to Caleb. She had to see him first. She had to see if he was in danger, and do whatever she could to save him.
As she rounded a peak, the Mount of Olives spread out before her. She saw the endless rows of olive trees, up and down the mountain, and on the far slope, the rows of graves.
Except now, something was different: the graves were opened. She saw thousands of patches of freshly opened dirt, and she could sense, even from here, that something was terribly wrong. It looked as if the earth had opened up and spit out thousands of corpses.
Already, even from here, she sensed a profound shift in the universe. She felt a terrible sadness, and sensed that below her had been a battlefield, that an epic battle had been waged here, and that thousands had died. She could already feel the tragedy. And she could already feel her remorse for missing it. She had abandoned her loved ones while they had fought; she had spent all that time searching for her Dad while she could have been here, helping them.
Caitlin dove lower, almost afraid to look; she felt the small hands clutching her tightly, and felt Scarlet tensing up, too. She assumed that Scarlet, as sensitive as she was, could sense it, too. After all, her Dad was down there. Even Ruth, in her arms, began to squirm a bit more.
Caitlin dove down sharply, between the rows of olive trees, heading for Aiden’s villa. She saw, as she got closer, hundreds of corpses spread out, lying lifeless on the hills below. Hundreds and hundreds of bodies. Vampires. Dead. Rexius’ men. Slaughtered.
But as she dove closer, she could also see something else: several corpses with white hoods and robes. Aiden’s people. Before she even landed, Caitlin already sensed that the worst possible outcome had occurred: Aiden’s coven had been wiped out.
She landed, and as she did she turned slowly, surveying the mountainside, and could hardly believe what she was seeing. The site of devastation took her breath away.
And then she saw something else, something that left her speechless.
There, lying flat on his back, staff by his side, was Aiden. Covered in blood, scarlet staining his robe. His eyes were open, staring up at the sky.
Caitlin walked over slowly, not comprehending what she was seeing. How was it possible? Aiden? Her mentor? Her guide? The man she had thought was her father? The man she knew to be invincible? Dead?
But there he was. Still. Lifeless.
Caitlin was struck by a terrible thought: if Aiden was dead, what hope was there for the rest of them?
She was afraid to look anywhere else, not wanting to see who else might be laying there. So instead she walked over to Aiden’s side. She knelt down, and could see he was not breathing. He was stiff, and clearly he had been this way for a while. Beside her Scarlet was crying, and Ruth whining.
“Don’t look,” she said softly to Scarlet,.
Caitlin reached out and gently lay her fingers on Aiden’s eyelids. Slowly, she closed them, and she left her hand there, resting on his forehead. She was sending him whatever love she could, in whatever form he was.
She flashed back, remembered the first time she had met him, on Pollepel. Whether he was her true father or not, he had been a father to her. The closest thing to a father she’d ever had. She felt indescribable gratitude for that. And seeing him here, like this, tore her heart in two.
Caitlin quickly got up, and turned Scarlet away.
“Don’t look, sweetheart,” she said again.
Ruth ran over and licked his face several times. Caitlin forced herself to turn away.
Caitlin surveyed all the corpses—thousands of them—and could not comprehend the scale of disaster that must have taken place here. There must have, she realized, been a powerful weapon, something she didn’t know about, to enable them to do this kind of damage. But what?
Caitlin slowly scanned the bodies, walking forward; she was looking for any sign of Caleb, but at the same time, prayed she would see none. Maybe he had escaped? She hoped. But deep down, a part of her sensed already that that was not the case. Already, she could feel her heart beginning to break.
Caitlin rounded a corner, and as she did, she stopped. There, lying lifeless, his back to her, was a body that she felt she knew. He lay on its side, and she couldn’t tell who was. Slowly, she walked towards him.
“Look away, sweetheart,” Caitlin said, and Scarlet turned.
Caitlin took the final few steps, knelt down, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him to his back.
There, lying lifeless, eyes open wide to the sky, was Blake.
Caitlin felt as if a small dagger had been thrust into her heart. Blake. Dead. And, she could see, for good this time, struck by a silver axe. Already, Caitlin sensed whose work this was.