by Morgan Rice
“Caitlin,” he said, overjoyed. “It’s really you!”
His voice—it sounded so much like him. She wanted more than anything to embrace him, to bring him out of there.
But she remembered Sera’s words, and her logic warned her to push it all out of her mind. It could not be him. It must be another trick. It was Sam again, or perhaps Kyle, or some other vampire. Shape-shifting. Preparing to kill her.
“Caitlin,” Caleb said again, taking several steps towards her, preparing to embrace her.
And as he approached, she pulled back the Sword and struck.
It was a clean strike, right through his heart. She closed her eyes as she did it, unable to look, even at someone pretending to be Caleb.
And when she opened her eyes, she felt her world collapse.
She looked at his face as he slumped to the floor, as the life force began to leave him.
His face was supposed to shift back. To Sam. Or Kyle. Or whoever was shape-shifting.
But it did not. It was still Caleb.
He was dying, and it was really him.
Caitlin sunk to her knees beside him, and let out a long, horrific wail. It was the wail of a tortured animal. It had been Caleb along. Her one and only love.
And she had killed him.
Caleb lay there, looking up, and even though he was dying, even though she had killed him, he still smiled at her.
She wept and wept, “Caleb, please, I didn’t know it was you.…I thought it was—”
“I know,” he gasped. “Don’t blame yourself.”
That was him. Strong to the end, holding everyone blameless. His heart was big enough for both of them.
And that struck Caitlin even deeper, made her cry uncontrollably.
He reached up and lay a hand on her wrist. His voice was very faint now.
“Caitlin,” he said. “I want you to know…about Sera…I didn’t love her…”
“I know,” Caitlin said between sobs.
Caleb nodded as his eyes began to close.
Caitlin couldn’t believe he was leaving. The one person she loved in the world, loved enough for her heart to break, and he was dying. Forever. And by her hand.
“Caleb!” she moaned, trying to get him to open his eyes.
His eyes fluttered open, just a little bit.
“I’m pregnant,” she said. “You have to know...I’m pregnant.”
Caleb’s eyes opened one last time, as he looked at her in recognition, and smiled. “Pregnant,” he echoed softly.
And then, with his final burst of strength, he said: “We will always be together.”
And with that, she felt his body go limp in her arms.
And with every pore of her body, she knew that he was dead.
She looked over and saw the Sword, and her body filled with such hatred at this instrument that had caused so much ruin in her life. She reached over, grabbed its hilt with both hands, leaned back, and drove it with all her might, right into the stone floor, deeper and deeper, until it was driven all the way up to the hilt. As she did, the entire building shook on its foundation, its walls beginning to crumble.
She leaned back her head and roared, the cry of an animal who had lost every reason to live.
TWENTY SIX
Caitlin flew over the Hudson River, Caleb’s dead body in her arms, heading right for Pollepel Island. She dove in, coming lower, aiming for the castle courtyard. The cold river air brushed her face, her tears, but unlike other times, it didn’t calm her. Nothing could calm her, ever again.
Caitlin could see her former covenmates below, training amid the torchlight. She knew that she was banished, and knew they might even have orders to kill her on-site, as Aiden had warned, but she had no choice. She had nowhere else to turn. And she had to see Aiden. She had to know if there was a way, any possible way, that he could revive Caleb. She refused to let him go. And if it turned out there was no way, she would take her own life with his.
She threw caution to the wind as she landed right in the courtyard, to the stunned expressions of her former covenmates. They all stopped training, and in frozen silence, looked at her with eyes wide open. They must have seen her pain, the grief etched across her face, as she held Caleb’s dead body in her arms. She landed in the center of the dusty courtyard, crying, and within seconds, Aiden appeared, marching right for her.
“I warned you!” he said. “I told you that no good would come of your leaving. And I told you that Caleb would die,” he said sternly. “I could have you killed for returning here. You have violated my law.”
“So kill me!” Caitlin screamed back. “I don’t care anymore. I don’t care about your rules, or this island. I just care about him. Caleb. He’s dead. You have to bring him back,” she yelled, pleading.
“There must be a way. There must be a way to bring him back. You have to help me!” Caitlin screamed, sobbing.
All of the other coven members stared, in shock. Even Polly was in shock, too dumbfounded to say anything. Aiden nodded at them: “Leave us.”
Within seconds, they all filtered out of the courtyard.
Now it was just Caitlin and Aiden alone, Caleb’s body between them.
Aiden leaned down and lay a palm on Caleb’s forehead. Caitlin stared at him, crying, hoping for any bit of hope.
Finally, after several seconds, Aiden shook his head.
“He is dead. The life force has left him. Stabbed with a very powerful weapon. The Sword, was it not?”
Caitlin nodded between tears.
“And what have you done with it?” he asked.
“I left it!” she yelled.
Aiden suddenly stood, scowling.
“Stupid girl. You have put us all at risk. Now my island will be attacked! You have brought war on all of us. Your actions were foolish. Selfish!”
“I know. I’m sorry. Please, just help,” she said.
“There is nothing I can do,” he said.
“PLEASE!” she pleaded. “There has to be something. There HAS to be!”
Several moments of silence followed, filled only by the sound of her crying.
“I am afraid there is not,” he finally replied.
“But you told me, you once said that vampires can go back in time. Is that true? You told me that my father was back in time somewhere. That means that Caleb and I can go back, together, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it!?”
She was hysterical.
Aiden stared, thinking.
“The method you speak of, as I once told you, is very unsafe. Most vampires die by trying.
Caitlin looked up at him, hopefully.
“But there is a chance, isn’t there!?” she pleaded.
“Are you prepared to lose your life?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said without hesitating.
“Are you certain of this?”
“Absolutely certain,” she said.
“Very well,” he said. “Follow me.”
*
Caitlin, carrying Caleb’s dead body, followed Aiden through the forest, Rose at her heels, trailed by her former covenmates.
They all entered the forest clearing, and Caitlin followed Aiden into the center, as the others stood in a loose, wide circle around her.
Aiden stood opposite her, as she lay Caleb’s body down on the grass. A large, full moon hung over them, lighting the clearing.
“There is an ancient ritual among vampires, one seldom used,” Aiden said. “Among humans, it is used as a way to kill a vampire forever. But among vampires, it is a way to resurrect them.
“You will lie here, at Caleb’s side, and we will hold a funeral service for you both, and repeat it three times. If it works, on the third time, you will both be revived, together. Either that, or you will both die for good.
“IF you are revived, you must know that it will not be in this time. You will both wake in a new life, a new place, a new time. You cannot move forward in time, so you will move backwards. We don’t know what place, or what time
era.”
“But we will be together?” Caitlin asked.
“You will both be in that time and place, yes. But memories will be wiped clean. Maybe not yours, but definitely his. He has already died, so if you see him again in the new lifetime, he will not remember you. It will be like meeting him for the first time. You will be a complete stranger to him.
He may not even like you. Do you understand?”
“I don’t care,” Caitlin said.
“You will also never be able to return to the present time. So you will say goodbye to this life, this current life, forever. You must be prepared to sacrifice everything you know, to go back to a foreign time and place, and be with a Caleb who will not recognize you, and who may not like you.
It is also possible that you might survive the journey but that he may not. You may end up entirely alone in another lifetime. Are you prepared for all of this? And most of all, are you prepared for this to not work? Are you prepared to die, forever?”
Through her tears, Caitlin looked up again. “Please. I’ll do anything.”
Aiden looked at her gravely for several seconds, as the tense silence hung over all of them.
“Very well,” he said finally, slowly. “Lay down beside him.”
Caitlin lay on her back, on the grass, right beside Caleb. She looked up at the sky, at the huge full moon, and saw the clouds passing over it.
“Take his hand.”
Caitlin reached over, and grasped Caleb’s cold hand in hers, clasping it tightly.
Rose suddenly came running over, and lay down between them, looking at Caitlin and whining.
“Gather around,” Aiden said to the other coven members.
The other members all closed the circle, now standing just a few feet from Caitlin and Caleb, all looking down.
“Caitlin, close your eyes. Imagine a time and a place. Imagine where you would like to be, what time you would like to live in. Hold it in your mind. Don’t let it go. And everyone else, repeat after me.”
As Caitlin lay there, looking up at the moon, she felt her heart pounding, and desperately tried to think. She had no idea where she wanted to be, what time period she wanted to live in. All she knew was that she wanted to be with Caleb. She wanted it so much, her heart almost burst.
“We hereby lay thee down to rest,” came Aiden’s soft voice.
“We hereby lay thee down to rest,” echoed the chorus of vampires.
“Caitlin and Caleb, to resurrect another day.”
“Caitlin and Caleb, to resurrect another day.”
“In God’s ultimate grace.”
“In God’s ultimate grace.”
Caitlin heard the soft voices of her coven members, repeating the mantra a second time. As she did, she felt a tremendous heaviness overcome her, and felt her eyes begin to close.
And then, suddenly, she began to hear music. Beautiful, sweet music. It was the song that Caleb had played, back in the whaling Church, in Edgartown. Beethoven’s Pathétique.
And as she heard the mantra being repeated a third and final time, heard the final expression, “in God’s ultimate grace,” she felt her world begin to spin. She felt Caleb’s presence, more strongly than she ever had, and she knew, she just knew, that somewhere, somehow, they would be together again.
And then, her world was blackness.
COMING SOON…
Book #4 in the Vampire Journals
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Also by Morgan Rice
TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals)
LOVED (Book #2 in the Vampire Journals)
