Vowed

by Morgan Rice

  Besides, Scarlet couldn’t just stand around with everyone else, wasting time; she had important work to do. She took her role of Flower Girl seriously, and since no one was telling her exactly what to do, she figured she would decide for herself. A flower girl, she decided, had a duty to go out into the fields and find the very best flowers that the world had to offer. She had the duty to harvest them, to collect them in a basket, and to keep them safe until the day of the wedding. Scarlet didn’t want her mom to have just any old flowers when she walked down the aisle: she wanted to go out and find her the very best. The most beautiful and unusual flowers anyone had ever seen. That was, she decided, her job as flower girl.

  Scarlet had even brought along a special basket for this purpose, although none of the grown-ups, caught up in all their excitement, had even noticed. When they were all standing around, staring at the lake, Scarlet had seen, off in the distance, an open meadow, with some of the most beautiful, bright flowers she had ever seen. She had turned and, without thinking, had rushed off. And Ruth, of course, had followed.

  Now Scarlet was in the middle of that meadow, waist high in wild flowers, picking all sorts of incredible varieties and putting them in her basket. She was already overjoyed with what she’d found. She had found red and yellow and purple and white flowers. She didn’t know the names of them all, but she knew that some of them were wild roses, others were daffodils, and others were tulips. She marveled at all the different lengths and shapes and sizes, and felt proud of herself as her basket filled up.

  She was skipping along, grabbing flowers left and right, when she looked up and noticed a forest in the distance. Inside the forest, she could see, were even more flowers, and some varieties which were even more colorful. They were the most beautiful things Scarlet had ever seen, and she was determined to get them for her mommy.

  Scarlet hurried through the meadow and into the forest, Ruth by her side, following the trail of flowers. As she entered the canopy of trees, it suddenly grew dark; but as Scarlet wandered deeper into the woods, but she was barely aware of this. She was making incredible discoveries, and her basket was soon overflowing as she explored deeper.

  Scarlet heard a noise, and stopped in her tracks. She looked all around her, at the thick and darkening wood, and suddenly felt an awareness of her surroundings that she didn’t have before.

  She realized that maybe she had made a mistake coming this deep into the woods, so far from her Mommy and the others. She turned about in all directions, and suddenly felt a bit unsure about precisely which way she had come from. And she couldn’t see the way out, either. All she saw, everywhere, were trees.

  The noise came again, and Scarlet stiffened, scared. Several branches snapped, and Scarlet spotted motion in a clump of bushes about twenty feet away.

  The noise was followed by a deep, guttural snarl.

  Scarlet want to turn and run, but she was frozen in fear, too afraid to move, and not knowing which way to run. The snarl grew deeper, and suddenly, she saw several huge shapes appear from behind a bush. Her heart nearly stopped.

  It was a pack of wolves.

  These wolves looked nothing like Ruth. They were huge, enormous, twice her size, nearly the size of bears. They also looked skinny, famished, and their lips were curled back in vicious scowls.

  Their eyes gleamed yellow, and they held in them nothing but death. There were a half dozen of them, and their eyes all locked on Scarlet.

  Scarlet felt paralyzed in their sites, and had no idea what to do. She realized instantly that she could never outrun them, and that she had made a big mistake in coming here alone.

  Beside her, Ruth snarled back. It was a loud, vicious warning noise, a scarier noise than Scarlet had ever heard Ruth make before. Ruth took several steps forward, standing in front of Scarlet, protecting her, snarling back at the pack. Scarlet was grateful for her protection. But not reassured.

  Ruth was badly outnumbered, and these wolves, so enormous, were each twice her size.

  Yet still, Ruth was fearless. After a series of the most vicious warning snarls Scarlet had ever heard, it was clear the wolves were not backing off—and that was when Ruth burst into action. She chose the biggest wolf, one that seemed to be the leader, and charged right for him.

  With just a few strides, Ruth leapt into the air, and managed to sink her teeth squarely into the wolf’s throat. The other wolf seemed surprised, as if he hadn’t expected Ruth to be so bold and daring. Ruth’s teeth lodged deep into his throat, as the two wrestled on the ground.

  Another wolf came running over and attacked Ruth from the side, sinking its fangs into her back. But Ruth would not let go of her deadly grip. The leader rolled on his back, clawing at Ruth, trying to get her off. But it was no use. Ruth had death in her eyes, and she clamped down with such power, that within moments, the leader was dead.

  But Ruth paid the price. Two more wolves jumped on her, and all three wolves managed to bring her down to the ground. They were all on top of her, clawing and biting; Ruth, on her back, fought back valiantly. But a fourth jumped on her, and she was just too badly outnumbered.

  Scarlet felt a sense of desperation. The other wolf had her in his sights, and he suddenly burst into a sprint, right for her.

  Scarlet turned and ran, knowing, even as she did, that it was useless. She barely got a few feet when she felt the first clawing on her back. It was long, and razor-sharp, and it struck her with such speed, that she felt it slicing open her skin. It tore right through her clothing, and across her shoulder blade, and the force of it sent her flying, face first, to the ground.

  Scarlet didn’t even have a chance to turn around. A split second later, the wolf was on top of her, its awful snarls in her ears, filling her entire universe, its hot breath in her face, its filthy claws on her back. Her world was spinning, and in a moment of clarity, she knew that suddenly, just like that, her life was about to be over.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched helplessly as the wolf opened its mouth and lowered its large, yellow fangs right for her throat. Then she felt awful pain as the three inch-long fangs broke her skin and sunk into her neck. She felt more pain than she knew was possible, then felt her own blood rushing out of her, as her world began to spin, growing lighter and lighter.

  The last thing she saw, before her world went black, was her basket of flowers, sprawled out on the forest floor. And her final thought, before her life ended, was that she wished she could gather them back up again, and just have one chance to show them to her Mommy.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Caitlin sprinted through the open meadow, beside herself with grief and anxiety. How could she have been so stupid to take her eyes off of Scarlet? She blamed herself for not being a better parent.

  She should have had more of an instinct to keep an eye on Scarlet every second. And now Scarlet was missing, and she felt it was entirely her fault.

  She ran through the meadow, Polly and the girls at her side, all calling Scarlet’s name, all scanning the grass, all equally frantic. Caitlin couldn’t help but wonder if they all blamed her, too.

  After all, Scarlet was now her daughter—whether by blood or not. She was her responsibility. It was selfish of her to have closed her eyes for that long, to take time to make her wish.

  But then again, she reasoned, she couldn’t have expected it. She had never known Scarlet to be the type to just run off like that, unannounced, without any warning. Caitlin still couldn’t understand why she did. If there was any consolation, it was that Ruth was nowhere to be found either, and thus must be with Scarlet. Caitlin felt slightly consoled by that. Ruth would never allow anything bad to happen to her.

  “No one blames you,” Polly said, as she hurried quickly by her side, scanning the field. She must have read her thoughts. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Caitlin was too upset to even respond, but deep down, she felt she had. She also felt completely unnerved that Scarlet should have disappeared at the exact mome
nt that she had been wishing to have a family of her own. She had been warned that Faerie Glen was a powerful place, a place where all wishes came true, and she had sensed that herself. Had her wish, she wondered, somehow set something in motion? Did her wishing to have a family with Caleb somehow put into motion Scarlet’s being taken away from her? Had she somehow endangered Scarlet?

  Caitlin felt torn, wracked with emotions. Why did this have to happen now, she wondered, the day before her wedding? She wished she had never gone to that lake, never made that wish. She wished desperately that she could start over, do everything differently. She had been so wrapped up in herself, and her stupid wedding preparations, that she had just not been vigilant enough. She would never forgive herself.

  “SCARLET!” Caitlin shrieked again, for the millionth time, as she scanned the horizon, the fields, the sky. The snow poured down, thicker by the moment, and started to accumulate beneath her feet.

  High up in the sky, a vulture screeched back, as if mocking her. Caitlin looked up and noticed the dark, thick clouds gathering on the horizon, and she couldn’t help feeling as if the whole world were in mourning.

  Caitlin scanned the horizon once again, willing the universe to show her where Scarlet could be.

  She had no idea where she could have disappeared to so quickly. All the other girls were bent over, scanning the grass, as if Scarlet might have collapsed, might be hidden in the tall grass. The thought made Caitlin’s heart hurt.

  Suddenly, there was a shuffling of feet behind her, and Caitlin turned, hopefully, expectantly, praying that it was Scarlet, running to her arms.

  But it was not. It was Caleb, running towards them. Taylor had gone back to find him, to tell him the news, and they had returned. Now here he was, a frown on his face, looking more concerned than Caitlin had ever seen him. He looked as if he had aged overnight.

  Caitlin hoped that he didn’t blame her.

  “Where is she?” Caleb asked urgently.

  Caitlin shook her head, wiping a tear from her eye.

  He hugged Caitlin. It felt momentarily good to be in his arms, reassuring, as if his rippling muscles could stop any trouble in the world. But as Caitlin pulled away, she knew that this time, that would not be the case.

  Caleb scanned the horizon desperately, his face etched with concern. Caitlin was about to continue walking through the meadow, but she changed her mind. Instead, she stopped. She felt it was time for a different approach. It was time to draw on her innate power, her senses, on everything Aiden had ever taught her.

  She closed her eyes and tuned in, turning her palms up, feeling the air, feeling the moisture in it, feeling the soil beneath her feet. She breathed deep and tried to become one with the universe, with everything around her. She felt a soft breeze tickling her face, felt the flakes of snow on her cheek, listened deeply to the slightest sound the insects were making. She willed for herself to become one with the universe, willed for the universe to reveal to her were Scarlet might possibly be.

  Caitlin stood there for she didn’t know how long, losing all sense of time and space.

  And then suddenly, she had an insight.

  She opened her eyes and scanned the horizon. There. In the distance. That clump of trees.

  “There!” Caitlin suddenly yelled, pointing.

  The others stopped, rose to their feet, and looked to where she was pointing.

  “She’s in those woods,” Caitlin screamed again, then took off at a sprint.

  Caleb and the others were right behind her, sprinting as fast as she.

  *

  As Caitlin burst into the woods, the sky darkening under the canopy of the foliage, she immediately sensed that something was wrong. She sensed it as a mother. It felt as if one of her own limbs had been severed. A chill ran up her spine as she burst deeper into the forest, filled with a sense of foreboding.

  As she ran, she noticed a trail of torn flowers spread out, and as she looked more carefully, she saw they were spotted in blood. She felt a pit in her stomach, as her sense of foreboding deepened.

  She did not even need to turn the corner to know what lay just around it. Every pore in her body screamed to her that something was terribly, irrevocably, wrong.

  As she turned the corner, and saw the sight, she collapsed to her knees, and let out a wail of grief unlike any she had before.

  There, on the forest trail, sprawled out before, covered in blood, was Scarlet. Her daughter.

  And just feet away from her, covered in blood, lying on her side, whimpering and barely moving, was Ruth.

  Caitlin saw blood everywhere, but it was all blurry, out of focus. Her world was spinning as she sank to her knees in the snow, in the soft forest floor, wailing over Scarlet’s little body. Caitlin was afraid to, but she turned Scarlet over anyway.

  Caitlin’s grief deepened, if that were possible. Scarlet’s lifeless face stared back, her eyes opened, unblinking. Caitlin felt for a pulse, but there was none. She was dead.

  Caitlin saw the deep bite marks in her throat, saw the blood all over her, and knew that she had met a horrific death, that there was no possible way anyone could have survived whatever attacked her. Caitlin leaned back and shrieked, her wail of grief rising up into the sky, just as Caleb, Polly, Taylor, and all the others hurried over and stood over her, staring down, gaping.

  “Scarlet!” Caitlin cried, feeling she had nothing left to live for.

  She reached down and picked her up, cradling in her arms, hugging her tight to her chest. Caitlin could feel her little body in her arms, and at that moment, she would give anything, anything, to bring her back.

  “I would do anything!” Caitlin yelled up to the sky. “Do you hear me!?” she screamed out to the universe, like a mad woman. “Anything. I would give up anything to have Scarlet back again. I VOW! ANYTHING!”

  Suddenly, a gale force wind ripped through the trees. The snow whipped around her, and the clouds shifted, letting in a ray of sunlight through the deep and dark wood. In the distance, on the forest trail, there appeared a lone figure, walking towards them.

  Caitlin looked up, barely able to see with the tears in her eyes.

  Aiden.

  He walked slowly and gravely towards her, cloaked in his long robe and hood, leaning on his ancient staff as he went. In moments, he was standing over her.

  Caitlin looked up with tearful eyes, hoping beyond hope that maybe, just maybe, there was something he could do.

  But from his grave look, she didn’t take much hope.

  “You must help us,” Caitlin pleaded. “Please. You must. You have to bring her back. You have to!”

  Suddenly, Caitlin felt a squirming in her arms. She looked down and her heart stopped as she saw Scarlet, eyes now closed, flinch just the slightest bit. She held her breath, watching, hoping it would happen again.

  It did. Scarlet was twisting and moving her arms. Caitlin’s heart soared, afraid to hope.

  Could it be?

  A moment later, as all the others crowded around, Scarlet suddenly opened her eyes. She stared right back at Caitlin.

  “Mommy,” she said, her voice soft, “my neck hurts.”

  Caitlin hugged Scarlet tightly, rocking her back and forth, tears running down her face, overjoyed to see her alive, moving, breathing, talking. It felt like a dream.

  Caitlin was so confused. She didn’t understand how it could be possible. Just a moment ago, Scarlet was clearly dead. She was sure of it.

  But as Scarlet’s little hands hugged her back, Caitlin didn’t care. She didn’t need to know how it happened. All she cared about was that she was back with her again.

  “I’m so sorry,” Caitlin said, over and over, crying. “I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you again.” Caitlin gradually looked up, and saw Aiden still standing over them, staring down. She felt a debt of gratitude, and wonder.

  “How did you do it?” Caitlin asked. “How did you bring her back?” Aiden slowly shook his head, as the entire crowd looked to him.
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  “You still don’t understand,” he said softly. “I didn’t bring her back. She never died. Only mortals die,” he added, and then as he turned his back, he said his final words, words that Caitlin would never forget, “and Scarlet is no mortal. She is a vampire. And she is your daughter.” CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kyle hiked with Rynd and his men up a rocky hill on the Isle of Lewis. It had been a long flight to get here, and as they had flown over the Isle of Skye, Kyle had wondered about the wisdom of Rynd’s plan. Kyle had wanted to just dive down right there and launch a direct attack on Skye. But Rynd had insisted that was not the best approach; he had claimed that Skye was protected from vampire attack by an invisible shield. Rynd had suggested another, more devious, way.

  They had been hiking for hours, and Rynd had offered few details of his plan. Kyle was not used to following, to taking orders, and he was reaching his limit. Indeed, just as he was getting ready to confront Rynd again, finally Rynd hiked up alongside him.

  “Tonight is the Samhain Festival,” Rynd said. “Our kind will flock here from around the world.

  It is our night for power, the one night when evil has free reign. We will use the energy of this night to summon our evil cohorts from every corner of the earth. Whatever creatures are out there, they will come to us, like moths to a flame. Then, tomorrow, we will attack Skye as one.” Kyle looked at him, puzzled.

  “But I thought you said Skye had a shield, was immune to attack—”

  “We can’t lead a head-on attack. But I can use my shapeshifting powers to trick one of them into inviting us. With a formal invitation, the gates will be opened. Then our entire army can attack.” Kyle looked at Rynd with a new admiration. Of course. The sacred vampire invitation. One vampire coven could not cross water to attack another coven. Unless they were invited. And with Rynd’s shapeshifting power, he could deceive someone, and get an invitation.