“Not to mention, I think you more than made up for any mistakes you’ve made,” Caitlin added with a smile, as they turned down another path. “You saved me in Rome. In the Colosseum.”
“I fear that we’re not through yet—that Kyle may stil come back for you,” Sam said, with sudden worry. “That’s why I came back here, to this time and place. To help you. And to make up for my mistakes.”
Sam was surprised to see that Caitlin did not look worried at al .
“I’m sure Kyle is out there,” she said calmly. “And I’m sure he wil try to come for me. But I’m not worried about it anymore. I feel stronger than I ever have. In fact, I look forward to a fight with him now.”
Sam looked at her, and could feel the strength coming off of her. He could see how assured and confident she was, and could see that she would be a worthy adversary against Kyle. He felt even more proud of her.
“Back there, in the Vatican, al those vampires in white.
They gave you a key,” he said. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that. What they said. That there are three keys left to find our dad. I never used to believe that our Dad real y existed. But now, I real y do.”
“He does exist,” Caitlin said confidently. “I’ve seen him.”
Sam’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “You’ve met him?” he asked, astonished.
“No. I’ve seen him in my dreams.”
Sam suddenly remembered. “My God. I know what you mean. I dreamt of him last night.”
Caitlin turned and looked at Sam with a fixed gaze. He was taken aback by her sudden intensity.
She stopped walking.
“What did you dream exactly?”
“I…” Sam began, but then suddenly got nervous from being put on the spot. He could feel how badly his sister wanted an answer, and he didn’t want to let her down. “Um…I was climbing a mountain…and I thought I saw him…but I couldn’t reach him…then I was in this huge church.
There was this big key floating, and I was reaching for it…It felt like a message. Like, we were supposed to find the key there.”
“Sam, think hard. Did you recognize the church?”
Sam furrowed his brow, trying to remember. At the time he recognized it, but now he was having a hard time recal ing.
“It was…I knew it then…but now…it was huge…the ceilings were so high.…The entrance. It had al these arches. And these three huge doors.”
“Above the arches, were there carved figures? Dozens of them?” Caitlin asked excitedly.
Sam’s eyes lit up. He remembered now. “Yes!”
Caitlin seemed to register something.
“Do you know it?” he asked.
“It’s the Notre Dame,” she said.
“Yes!” Sam answered, realizing she was right.
As Caitlin stared off into space, looking impressed, Sam wondered why it was so significant.
“Do you think it was more than just a dream?” he asked.
Caitlin nodded. “Yes. Far more. In the vampire world, dreams are always more than that. They are always messages. Meetings. Especial y with someone like our father. Dad was tel ing you where to find him. I think that’s what it was about. There are four keys we need. I think he was tel ing you that the second key is in the Notre Dame.”
Sam thought about that. He felt honored that his father had chosen to appear to him, and to give him such an important message.
“But why did the dream come to you?” asked Caitlin, almost to herself. “Why not to me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we each get pieces of the clues, you know? We’re both his lineage. Maybe it wil take both of us to figure it out.”
Caitlin looked at him. “I think you’re right.”
Sam felt more important than ever. He once again fel a surge of determination to go search for his father, to join Caitlin on the quest.
“I need to find him, Sam,” Caitlin said, her voice serious.
“We need to find him. There’s a lot at stake. Not only for us.
A lot of other people are depending on us. I need your help.
Can you join me?”
At first, Sam felt a surge of excitement; but then, as he thought about the reality of leaving this place, he felt a pit in stomach. That would mean leaving Kendra. And, despite himself, he was stil overwhelmed by the thought of her.
“What is it?” Caitlin asked. “What’s wrong?”
Sam hesitated. He looked at the ground, avoiding her gaze. He was embarrassed to tel her the truth.
“Wel …” he began, but stopped. He didn’t know how to explain. Had he real y grown so soft over a girl? Would he real y let his sister down over this? What would his big sister think of him?
“Wel …um…you see, him… I um…met this girl,” he began.
He saw Caitlin’s expression turn from confusion to recognition.
“Sam,” she said, sounding like a parent, “there are more important things. This search…it’s our father we are talking about.”
But even as she said it, Caitlin knew she was being hypocritical. After al , she had been prepared to give up her search for Caleb’s sake.
“I know,” Sam said, stil avoiding her gaze. “It’s just that…
wel …this girl, she’s different, and we…kind of just met…
and I’m just not sure if I should go, like, this second…”
He saw her staring at him with disapproval. He didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to go with her. But at the same time, there was something about Kendra that just made him obsessed with her.
“You have to understand,” Sam implored. “You had someone in your life once, didn’t you? What was his name?
Caleb? What happened to him?”
Sam watched as Caitlin’s face suddenly morphed into one of sadness and disappointment. He immediately regretted inquiring about it. Caitlin looked off into the distance, and seemed crushed.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I did. Once.”
A heavy silence fel between them.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I real y want to help you. It’s just that his girl, um, wel , her name is—”
“Kendra,” suddenly came a voice.
Sam and Caitlin both wheeled to see Kendra standing there, in her royal blue gown, looking haughtily down on both of them.