“Across the bridge, beyond the bear," Sam repeated, as if willing himself to figure it out, "across the bridge, beyond the bear…” Finally, he exhaled. "I have no idea," he said.
"I don't either," Polly said.
Silence came over them, as the four of them stood there, stumped.
"If you read it faster it might make sense," Scarlet said.
Caitlin spun, as did the others, and stared down at Scarlet. She was beaming back, a playful smile on her lips.
"What did you say?" Caitlin asked.
"Your riddle makes sense to me.”
Caitlin stared at her intently, suddenly realizing that she might have figured out something they didn’t.
"How?" Caitlin asked, eager, “how does it make sense?”
“Well," Scarlet said slowly, enjoying the attention, "he read it so slowly. That's your problem. Try reading it faster. He skipped the most important part.”
Caleb furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?"
“The winds or the sun," Scarlet said. "That's the important part. Read it faster.” She hesitated, then continued, “It's not the ‘winds or the sun’. You need to connect the words.
Not ‘winds or’ but ‘windsor.’ It’s Winsdor. You know, Windsor Castle. Across the bridge is Windsor, and beyond the bear is the forest you have to cross. The Bear forest," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
They all looked at her, mouths open in shock.
She smiled back proudly.
“The place you are looking for is Windsor Castle.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kyle opened his eyes in a blinding rage. He sensed immediately that he had traveled back to the right time and place, the same city and year in which the despicable Caitlin, Caleb and Sam would be. He should be grateful for that.
But he wasn't.
He was sick of time travel, especially in the wrong direction; he missed his war in New York, and he resented Caitlin more with each trip back. He lay there, so overcome with rage, that he could barely even move. He thought of all the ways he’d take vengeance on her. Killing her, and torturing her, would no longer be enough. Not after this many trips back in time. And killing her beloved, Caleb, and her brother, Sam, wouldn't be enough either. He needed more. He would have to think of an even more inventive way. Like tracking down every one of her friends, any and all distant family members, and killing and torturing them slowly, too.
The thought of it relaxed him, made him even smile just a bit. Yes, maybe he could arrange something like this. He saw himself torturing everyone closest to her, while she was still alive, and in plain view of her. He thought of various ways to kill them—the acid treatment, throwing them into vats of boiling oil, feeding them slowly to sharks—and his smile widened.
He exhaled, finally feeling like himself again. Slowly, everything was becoming right in his world.
He lay in the absolute blackness, comfortable in the stone sarcophagus, and reached into his belt. He was satisfied to see his vial of bubonic plague had made the trip. He was delighted, in fact.
He had enough live cultures of the plague around his waist to take out nearly the entire human population of the city, to wreak havoc, single-handedly, on an unimaginable scale. He would create so much human devastation and panic, it would surely bring Caitlin and her crew out, like rats from the sewers. Those pathetic vampires always came running to help when humans need it. It was so easy to bait them out, it was almost laughable.
Kyle liked his new strategy more and more. Why should he waste so much energy hunting her down, tracking her every step, as he had in past trips? This time, he would make her come to him.
With enough devastation and chaos, she would be drawn like a magnet to save these pathetic little humans. Then he could capture her unaware, and put an end to her for good.
Plus, he didn't want to risk confrontation again. Her brother, Sam, had thrown him off guard with his shapeshifting, and his own confrontation with Caitlin had left him surprised. They had each grown powerful, as he’d feared they would. Now, they were formidable foes to be reckoned with.
He was no longer so certain he could kill them all on his own, in direct conflict—especially with Caleb there, too. And he didn't want to waste energy trying.
Kyle wouldn't take any chances this time. This time, he had a backup plan, a surefire way to kill her, Caleb, and all of them.
He would track down Thor, his old friend, locked up in the Tower of London. Centuries before, the two of them had had quite a grand time torturing humans and rival vampires. It would be great fun to see him again. But more importantly, Thor held the key Kyle was looking for: a special vampire poison.
Centuries before, in the Dark Ages, Kyle had been shocked to watch it in use: it was the only weapon he’d ever seen that killed a vampire effectively. Not only did it kill them, but it made them so sick beforehand, they suffered for hours. Kyle smiled at the thought. It was perfect. He needn't confront Caitlin, or any of them. He need only free Thor, get his vampire poison, and slip it into one of their drinks. It was time, he realized, to fight smart.
Suddenly giddy, Kyle reached up and smashed the stone above him with a single blow of his fist, shattering it to pieces. He jumped out of the sarcophagus, feeling reborn.
He surveyed the room, and saw that he was exactly where he’d hoped: the lower crypt of Guildhall, right in the center of London. Hundreds of feet above him, he knew, sat Guildhall, the meeting place for politicians for centuries. All of those wicked little humans, scurrying around, plotting their devious plots to further their own ambition and power. He hated politicians.
But he knew that they were a necessary evil in spreading greed and corruption. Guildhall, in fact, reminded him very much of City Hall in New York. It was always useful to place a crypt beneath a politician’s lair.
The room had low ceilings and was dimly lit, by only a few torches. He could see the rows of other sarcophagi, and knew they contained the bodies of vampires that had been sleeping here for centuries. The city had caught them and stored them here some time ago, thinking that this vault could hold them in place. And they were right.
What they hadn't counted on, was Kyle coming back in time.
Kyle broke into action, kicking over each and every sarcophagus in his sight. There was the smashing of stone on stone, again and again, and within minutes, the floor was covered in rubble.