She lay back in her huge, four-poster bed, sinking into the endless pil ows, and sighed.
Ruth jumped onto the bed and set her head in Caitlin’s lap.
After a few moments, she reached over to her bedside table and picked up an object and held it.
The encased scrol .
She sat up slowly in bed, staring at it, holding it with both hands. She ran one hand slowly along its edge, feeling the encrusted jewels. She closed her hands around it, trying to feel her father’s energy. It was electrifying. She felt as if she held a piece of him.
Ruth looked up at Caitlin and whined, as if asking her to open it.
Caitlin final y decided. It was time.
She reached over, grabbed the locks on both sides of it, and pushed them in.
There was the slightest click. She pul ed back the lid, and there was a slight hiss, releasing air that had been trapped for centuries.
Caitlin opened it slowly, its hinges creaking, and as she did, she could not believe what she saw.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Kyle stood beside Napoleon, a huge army of supporters behind them. Napoleon had summoned his entire coven, al his people, hundreds of vampires strong, and along the way, they had al agitated in the streets and encouraged the citizens to join them and storm the Bastil e. It had been easy: there had been such discontent hanging in the air anyway among al the French citizens, such anger towards the royal authority, and the prison in the Bastil e happened to be the perfect symbol, the perfect representative of everything royal. The further they had gone, the more the mob had grown.
And Napoleon, of course, looked to Kyle for direction.
Kyle felt himself surge with power, relishing the feeling of being in charge of an army once again, relishing the destruction and bloodshed that were about to happen. As he stood with his men in the cobblestone plaza opposite the Bastil e, Kyle stared up at it. The castle-like fort, with its drawbridge and turrets, was wel -defended by soldiers, looking as formidable as he remembered. But having been inside, Kyle already knew it strengths and weaknesses.
And he knew now how to bring it down. He carried in his pocket a chemical that would counteract the effect of the titanium, and free the savage seven for good.
Kyle smiled at the thought. Once he unleashed those creatures, there’d be mayhem spreading across Paris unlike any the city had ever known. Indeed, he knew, it would spark an entire revolution.
This huge mob was exactly the distraction Kyle needed to breach its wal s and get to work. And the revolution was the bigger distraction he needed to get to and isolate Caitlin.
With such havoc unleashed across the city, he felt certain that it would free her from her royal protectors, and that in the chaos, he could find and kil her much more easily. He salivated at the thought. There wasn’t a second left to lose.
“NOW!” Kyle screamed.
As one, the huge mob suddenly burst into action, sprinting across the plaza, heading right for the Bastil e. They stormed its wal s as one, and within moments, shots were already being fired, and the drawbridge raised. The mob returned fire as it charged. It was already a bloody mayhem, and they weren’t even near its wal s.
Kyle took advantage of the confusion. He broke from the crowd and lifted into the air, flying off to the side, over the moat, and around the other side. He hid behind a stone embankment, and watched as al the guards streamed around to the front of the building. As they did, Kyle saw his chance. He flew across, and in one quick motion, he knocked out the remaining guard, grabbed his keys, and snuck inside.
Kyle was familiar with the building now, from his first excursion, and he knew exactly where to run in the darkness. He ran down the spiraling stone staircase, and then suddenly ducked into a recess he’d found previously in a wal . He stood there and waited, remembering how many guards there had been below. He knew that if he just waited, they would race past him, to help defend the gate.
He was right. Moments later, dozens of vampire guards raced by, oblivious to his presence. He waited several more seconds, until the coast was clear, and then took off at a sprint, heading lower and lower.
He first reached a large iron gate and, without pausing, tore it off its hinges with a single hand.
He descended deeper, and reached a large silver gate, and this time, he extracted the guard’s key and unlocked it.
The gate opened quickly.
Now Kyle was in utter blackness. He kept descending, sprinting lower and lower. He could already sense the stench of the savage seven as he ran deeper, and he knew he was getting close, nearing the lowest possible level.
Kyle final y reached it. It was cavernous down here, and he saw the titanium bars. He had to recoil from the metal, even from where he was, the energy of it so strong.
But Kyle was prepared. He reached into his bag, extracted a powder, and threw it on the bars.
Sidnius Moroxide. The only compound which could dissolve the titanium.
Kyle waited several moments, and as he watched, the titanium turned colors, from a glowing silver to a pink. Once it al turned, he knew was ready. He reached out, grabbed the bars, and yanked with al his might.
Even with the effects of the powder, it took considerable strength. But as he pul ed and pul ed, he eventual y tore the thousand-year-old bars from their hinges.
The moment he did, the savage seven stepped forward, only feet away from him, snarling. They were the most evil demons he had ever seen, preachers from hel , ones that made his entire race look like fairies. Their gnarled faces were thousands of years old, and they lifted up their huge claws, and snarled at him, ready to pounce even on him, their liberator.
He knew that these creatures would not be grateful. On the contrary, they would kil him if they could.
He admired that. And he wanted them to kil . But he didn’t want to fight them himself. That would defeat his purpose.
Kyle turned around and took off at a sprint, then broke into flight, knowing they would fol ow on his heels. He headed up higher through this through the circular fort.
The savage seven where as quick as they were rumored to be, and within moments, Kyle sensed them flying on his heels, right after him.
Good, Kyle thought. They’re ready.
He flew and flew, and final y burst out onto the main level, through the front door, and right to the drawbridge. As he hoped, the seven fol owed him, like a pack of hornets, but now, as they saw a glimpse of freedom, they got distracted.
They lost sight of Kyle and instead, tore the heads off al the guards in the post.
Kyle flew out into the open, relieved to have them off his tail.