Betrayed (Book # 3 in the Vampire Journals)

by Morgan Rice

  She quickly regained her feet, dragging him up, and they sprinted through the room. They managed to duck and weave, she all the while leading them. She knew that if she could just make that door, there was a back corridor, a rear staircase that could take them to the street. Once outside, she could take them far, far from here.

  In all the mayhem, no one noticed them sprinting. She was almost out the door, only feet away.

  And then, just as she was about to make it, she felt the pressure on her back, felt herself tumbling, hitting the floor. She had been jumped from behind.

  She spun around and looked up to see who it was. Sergei. That despicable little Russian sidekick to Kyle. The one who had stolen the Sword from her hand.

  He grinned down at her, an evil, cruel grin, and she hated him more than she’d ever had.

  Sam, to his credit, showed no fear. Still shackled, he jumped onto Sergei’s back, using his chains, wrapping them around Sergei’s throat. The boy was strong. He actually squeezed hard enough to get Sergei to loosen his grip on Samantha, and she used the opportunity to roll out from under him.

  But Sam was no match for a vampire, nonetheless. Sergei stood, snarling, and threw Sam off of him like a ragdoll. Sam landed ten feet away, crashing into the wall.

  As Samantha tried to scramble to her feet, she was pounced on by a dozen more vampires. She saw that Sam was surrounded, too. They were trapped.

  The last thing she saw was Sergei’s cruel smile, as he wound up and punched her in the face.

  *

  As Kyle ripped through the huge chamber of the Blacktide Coven, wielding the Sword wildly, destroying vampire after vampire, he had never felt more alive. Blood splattered in every direction, covering him, and his hands felt wet with blood as he swung with more and more intensity. It was vengeance. Vengeance for his thousands of years of loyal service, for the way they’d treated him. How dare they. Now they would know the meaning of the word revenge. They would all apologize, every last one of them, bow down to him, down to the ground, and admit that they had been profoundly wrong.

  It was all going perfectly. After his little detour at the Brooklyn Bridge, he had led his loyal throng right through the doors of City Hall, killing the few vampires who dared stand in the way. They had then filed through the secret passageway, lower and lower, into the bowels of City Hall, right into his coven’s nest. No vampires dared stand in his way as his army stormed the chamber. Many other vampires, upon seeing Kyle, and especially the Sword, immediately fell in with him. He was happy to see that so many of his old coven were still loyal. He knew that the day had arrived for him to claim rightful leadership.

  Rexius was a weak leader. If he had been stronger, he would have found the Sword himself, years ago. He never would have sent others to do it. He liked to punish others for his own faults, when he was the one that needed to be punished. He had grown drunk with power. Banishing Kyle had been a last, desperate attempt to remove all those close to him. But it had backfired.

  As Kyle tore through the room, he headed right for Rexius’ throne. Rexius spotted him coming, and his eyes opened wide with panic.

  Rexius jumped down from his throne and tried to slink away, away from the fighting. Their so-called leader, showing his true colors in a time of war.

  But Kyle had other plans.

  Kyle ran to the other side, to meet Rexius face-to-face. It would have been much easier to just plunge the Sword into his back, but he refused to allow Rexius to go down so easily. He wanted Rexius to see, up close, who killed them.

  Rexius stopped, his path blocked by Kyle’s massive shoulders, by the shining, gleaming Sword.

  Rexius jaw trembled. He raised a shaking finger, pointing it at Kyle’s face. At that moment, he just looked like an old man. A weak, old, terrified man. How pathetic.

  “You are banished!” he yelled, lamely. “I ordered you banished!”

  Now it was Kyle’s turn to grin, a wide, malicious grin.

  “You cannot win!” Rexius added. “You will not win!”

  Kyle stepped up casually, reached back, and with one, smooth stroke, plunged the Sword right through Rexius’ heart.

  “I already have,” Kyle said.

  The entire room, even while busy in battle, turned and stared at the sound. It was a horrific screech, consuming the entire stone chamber. It seemed to go on forever, as Rexius screeched and screeched. As they all watched, his body dissolved before their eyes, disintegrating into a cloud of smoke, and then a wisp, rising up, into the air and towards the ceiling.

  The whole room stopped and stared at Kyle.

  Kyle raised the Sword high, and roared. It was a roar of victory.

  Whatever vampire survived, on both sides of the battle, turned and faced Kyle. They all dropped to their knees, then lowered their heads, bowing all the way to the ground. The fighting was over.

  Kyle breathed deeply, taking it all in. He was their leader now.

  SIX

  Caitlin, unable to speak, stormed away from Caleb and Sera.

  It was too much for her to process at once. Had she just seen what she thought she had? How was it possible?

  She had thought that she’d known Caleb so well, that they were closer now than ever. She was sure that they were together, a couple, and would be that way forever. She had seen their new life together clearly, and had been so sure that nothing would tear them apart.

  And then this. It never occurred to her that there could be another woman in Caleb’s life. How could he have not told her?

  Of course, Caitlin remembered Sera from her brief visit to the Cloisters—but Caleb insisted he no longer had feelings for her, that whatever they had, it was years ago—hundreds of years ago.

  So then what was she doing here? Especially now, of all times? During Caleb and Caitlin’s most private moment together, when Caitlin had just arisen, fully turned, a true vampire, by his own blood? How did she even know where they were? Had Caleb invited her? He must have. But why?

  Layers and layers of hurt washed over Caitlin. There was just no explaining this. She had always been afraid to make herself vulnerable, especially to guys, for this exact reason. But with Caleb, she had let go, had trusted him completely. She had made herself more vulnerable than she had with any guy she had ever been with. And he had managed to hurt her deeper, deeper than she could have ever imagined.

  She still couldn’t fathom how she could have misjudged him so thoroughly, how she could be so dense, so wrong. She felt like her insides were breaking apart. What would immortality be like now, without him? It would be a sentence. An eternal sentence. She felt like she wanted to die. And worse than anything, she felt like such an idiot.

  “Caitlin!” Caleb yelled behind her, as she heard his footsteps chasing after her. “Please, allow me to explain.”

  What could there possibly be to explain? Clearly, he had invited her here. Clearly, he still loved her. And clearly, his feelings for Caitlin weren’t as strong as her feelings for him.

  Caleb’s hand gripped her arm, tugging at her, pleading for her to turn and face him.

  But she jerked away. She couldn’t stand the feel of his touch. She wanted nothing to do with him. Not ever again.

  “Caitlin!” he exclaimed. “Won’t you just let me explain?”

  But Caitlin didn’t slow. She was a different person, a different being now, and she felt it in more ways than one. Along with her newfound vampire strength, there also came a newfound vampire array of emotions. She could already feel that her emotions were stronger than they had been when human—much, much stronger. She felt everything much more deeply. She didn’t just feel depressed—she felt as if she were literally dying. She didn’t just feel betrayed—she felt as if she were literally being stabbed through the heart. She wanted to tear herself apart, to do anything to stop the hurt that tore her up inside.

  She marched across the terrace and right into her room, slamming the oak door behind her.

  “Caitlin, Caitlin please!”
came the muffled voice outside her door.

  Caitlin turned and slammed the door.

  “Go away!” she yelled. “Go back to your wife!”

  After several seconds, she finally sensed him leave.

  Now it was just her. Just the silence. Caitlin sat on the edge of her bed in her small room, put her head in her hands, and cried. She sobbed and sobbed, heart-wrenching cries. She felt that all she had to live for was suddenly taken away.

  She heard a whining, and felt a soft brush against her face, and looked down to see Rose, rubbing her face against Caitlin’s. Rose licked Caitlin’s cheeks, trying to lick away her tears.

  It helped snap Caitlin out of it. She reached down and caressed Rose’s face, stroking her hair. Rose jumped up onto Caitlin’s lap, still small enough to do so, and Caitlin hugged her.

  “I still have you, Rose,” Caitlin said. “You won’t leave me, will you?”

  Rose leaned back and licked her face.

  But the pain was too much. Caitlin couldn’t allow herself to sit in that room one second longer. She felt as if she were about to burst through the walls.

  She looked to the huge window, saw the inviting night sky, and without hesitating, put Rose down, jumped from the bed, took two long strides, and leapt out.

  She knew that her wings would sprout, and carry her away. But a part of her wished they wouldn’t—wished that they would fail her, and let her plummet right to earth.

  SEVEN

  Samantha stood in chains. She was held tight by several vampires who grabbed her arms roughly as they dragged her through the huge chamber. The room had become a slaughterhouse. Everywhere she looked, she saw thousands of vampire corpses, her former coven-members, their blood now pooling all over the floor, chopped into pieces by Kyle and his cursed Sword. That Sword held power beyond what she’d imagined.

  Yet amidst all the carnage, several hundred vampires remained alive. Kyle’s people now. And with each passing moment, dozens more poured in through the open doors. In fact, there seemed to be no end to the stream of vampires eager to plead allegiance to Kyle. It was clearly his coven now. With Rexius dead, there was no one else to plead allegiance to. And Kyle had earned it. He had managed to wipe out every vampire that had ever betrayed him.

  There were hundreds of vampires who had assisted him in the battle against Rexius. Some were truly loyal to Kyle, while some were just opportunistic. Others just didn’t like Rexius, and had been waiting for their chance. Vampires poured in from covens all over the city. News spread fast in the vampire world—and they all wanted to be a part of the upcoming war. Whatever their reasons, this was Kyle’s army now.

  Now that Kyle was leader, now that he had the Sword, it was clear that there would soon be a major war, a war unlike any the vampire race had ever waged. Kyle was ruthless, and lusted for blood, and even this carnage had not satisfied him. He had a chip on his shoulder he just could not remove. All of the vampires out there who had not already rushed to pledge allegiance to him would pay for that. Along with all of the innocent humans. His vendettas stretched endlessly, Samantha knew, and New York City would soon be his playing thing.

  They dragged Samantha roughly through all the chaos, right to the center of the room.

  Kyle now sat on Rexius throne, savoring his power, an evil grin spread across his face, as vampires bowed low to him in every direction.

  Sergei, standing at Kyle side, banged his metal staff on the floor, three times.

  The entire room, thousands of vampires, lined up in perfect order. They all raised their fists, and yelled: “Hail Kyle!”

  Samantha was amazed. It was an incredible show of force and loyalty. She had never seen any obedience like this in her life. Kyle was magnetic. Already, he was a tyrant.

  But Kyle didn’t seem interested in his soldiers. Instead, his eyes fixed on Samantha. The entire room seemed to notice his interest in her, and the murmur quieted as they prepared to watch the exchange.

  “So,” Kyle said to her. “You beat me to the Sword. But as you can see, I am the one to wield it.”

  “For now,” Samantha spat back.

  Let him think about that, she thought. For truly, she believed, one day it would no longer belong to him. Whoever was meant to wield the Sword would, and she knew, deep down, that it wasn’t him.

  Kyle raised his eyebrows.

  “Do you know why I’ve kept you alive this long?” he asked.

  Samantha stared back, defiant. She had no interest in engaging in a dialogue with him. She didn’t want any part of this new coven. She wanted to leave, to get as far away from this place as possible. She wanted to just take Sam and go. If he’d let them.

  But Sam was nowhere in sight. They had been captured by Kyle’s soldiers, and she hadn’t see him since. Samantha needed to keep her cool until she could find out where he was. She needed to buy her time, to plead allegiance to him if need be, until the moment when she and Sam could escape.

  “I still don’t know why Rexius sent you to retrieve the Sword instead of me. As we all know, I’m a better warrior. But I will admit, you have some skills,” he said.

  “But that is not entirely why I’ve kept you alive. Rexius had planned on punishing you. From this, I assume you have no reason to still be loyal to him. There is a war coming, and I can use strong warriors like yourself. If you are ready to pledge allegiance to me, I will consider keeping you alive.”

  Samantha thought. She had no issue with pledging allegiance, because she knew that very soon, she would leave all of this. But first she had to know about Sam.

  “What of the boy?” she asked. “Where is he?”

  Kyle smiled.

  “Ah yes, the boy. Getting right to the heart of what I want to discuss. I’m not sure why you’ve taken such a fondness for this human, and you’ve already violated our rules in doing so. I could have you killed just for that, you know. But I do find this very interesting, and this, indeed, is one of the reasons I’ve let you live.

  “You see, Samantha, you need to be punished. Any vampire who was at any time loyal to Rexius and not myself, needs to be punished. It is part of the initiation process of my new Army. You will learn to obey me, and to obey me only.

  “In your case, I have found the perfect solution: an act that will both prove your loyalty to me and serve to punish you. My men will take you to the boy, you will bring him back here, and in front of everyone, you will kill him.”

  Samantha’s heart dropped at the thought. That was something she could never, ever do. She would take her own life before taking his. Kyle, as usual, was delusional. And cruel. Yes, he was a fitting successor to Rexius.

  “I will quite enjoy seeing you personally put him to death,” Kyle said, smiling at the thought of it. “You see, I consider this boy a liability. He comes from the same strand as his sister, and for all I know, they bear an immunity that could hurt us all. I don’t trust any of them. Not to mention, he is a human.”

  Kyle studied Samantha’s face closely.

  “If you do this thing, I will reward you with rank, honor and prestige. There will be a special place for you in my new coven. This will be a magnificent war, one of the most magnificent our race has ever seen. And you can be one of its chief architects.

  “But if you refuse…you will be tortured, slowly, cast into eternal pain, and your name will be wiped out from our coven’s history altogether.”

  The room was dead silent as Samantha thought. Her mind raced, trying desperately to think of a way out.

  “Why don’t you just kill him yourself?” she finally asked.

  Kyle leaned back and grinned, slowly.

  “Half the fun will be watching you do it,” he said. “One of my favorite hobbies is watching people kill that which they hold dearly.”

  EIGHT

  Caitlin flew and flew. She had no idea where she was going, but wherever the wind took her would be fine with her. She felt as if she had nowhere to go, anyway, and nothing left to live for. Her beloved
Caleb had betrayed her, and the only other person she cared for in the world, her brother, Sam, had probably betrayed her, too. After all, Sam had led Samantha, had led all of those evil vampires, right to her, right to the King’s Chapel. Was there anyone left in the world she could trust? Was it her destiny that everyone who came into her life ended up betraying her?

  Caitlin flew far over the Hudson River, and looked down as it gleamed in the moonlight. The night air felt good as it brushed her face and hair, wiping away her tears. She was far from the island now, just a dot on the horizon. She flew further and further away, desperate to clear her head.

  She dove low, within feet of the water, and flew just over its surface, nearly touching it. It felt good to be so close to the water. A part of her wanted to just keep diving, to submerge herself. But another part of her, the new vampire part, knew that would be pointless. A vampire could not die. Not even by drowning.

  As she flew, groups of fish leapt out of the water all around her. They must have sensed her presence. Was it the vampire blood they sensed?

  Caitlin climbed up high, high in the air, and as she ascended, her head started to clear again. She thought about everything that had happened. Already, the details felt fuzzy. Was it possible that she had blown things out of proportion? Now that she thought about it, what had Caleb actually done? Yes, Sera was there, and on the one hand, her presence was inexcusable. But the more she thought about it, the more Caitlin realized that she didn’t really know exactly why she was there, or how she got there. She didn’t really know for certain that Caleb had invited her. She didn’t really know for certain that the two of them were back together again. Was it possible, even remotely possible, that there was some other explanation?

  Maybe she had reacted too quickly. She had always done that, could never control herself.

  As Caitlin flew even higher, she made a wide turn, heading back in the direction of her island. She found herself drawn to go back in that direction, and a part of her wondered if she might even return. After all, where else could she really go?