Polly smiled, “I think we can manage that.”
Polly walked over to a stone cauldron, lifted its lid, reached in, and pulled out a slab of raw meat.
Rose’s eyes lit up at the sight.
Polly threw it across the yard and Rose bounded after it, pounced, and ate in delight.
“Thanks,” Caitlin said, so appreciative. She didn’t know what she would have done without Polly.
“No shortage of raw meat around here,” Polly said with a smile. “Rose will be in heaven.”
Suddenly, Rose issued a low, guttural growl. It shocked Caitlin, as she had never heard Rose make any noise remotely like it. She assumed that maybe some other person or animal had approached Rose while she was eating, but she looked around, and saw nothing. She followed Rose’s gaze, and then saw what she was looking at.
There, in the distance, a teenage vampire approached them. Dressed in all black, he wore a sullen expression, and his large, black eyes burned with a fierce hatred. Even from so far away, Caitlin could feel a dark energy coming off of him. She could also feel her new friend, Polly, tense up beside her.
“That’s Cain,” Polly said. “He’s one of us. But he doesn’t always act like it. He has real dominance issues. He can be the typical bully. I think that’s why he was left here to begin with—
nobody else would deal with him. We’ve all asked Aiden to kick him off, but he refuses. Aiden still believes he can cure him, from whatever he has. I myself don’t. I can’t stand the sight of him.
Usually, though, there a lot of us around, and when there are others, it’s not quite as bad. In fact, I rarely see him out and about. He must have sensed that you were here. A newcomer. That’s him—
always wanting to assert his territory. Unfortunately, I’m not as strong as he is. We’ve gotten into our fights before, but I always lose, and it’s painful. And Aiden’s never around to see it. He’s been punished, but it hasn’t done much good. I’m sorry, but the other 22 of us are great, I promise. Every family has its rotten apple.”
As Polly talked, Cain slowly approached, now about 30 yards away.
Rose’s growling grew louder as he walked in their direction. As he walked past Rose, her growl turned into a snarl, and Cain reached down and smacked Rose as hard as he could, right on the nose. Rose, still a puppy, just yelped and cowered.
Caitlin was outraged.
“Don’t you touch my dog!” she screamed.
“Is that which you call it?” Cain answered in a dark, guttural voice.
Caitlin could feel the rage beginning to well inside of her. This was her first experience of true vampire anger, and it far exceeded anything she had ever felt as a human. She only hoped that she could control it.
Cain stopped just a few feet before them. He looked Caitlin up and down with something like a scowl. Caitlin felt as if she were being violated.
“So what’s this new riffraff that washed on shore?” Cain asked, glaring at her.
“Don’t you talk to her that way,” Polly said.
Cain looked at her maliciously. “I’ll talk to her anyway I please,” he said slowly. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
He turned back to Caitlin.
“I asked you a question.”
Caitlin met his dark, raging eyes, and felt the hatred pouring through them.
“It wasn’t a question,” Caitlin shot back. “And even if it was, I wouldn’t answer it,” she added defiantly, through gritted teeth.
Cain slowly shook his head and smiled.
“You have a big learning curve ahead of you,” he said. “You’re going to need to learn who’s boss around here.”
“You’re not boss of anyone,” Polly said, “even if you like to think—”
Cain suddenly reached back and smacked Polly hard, right across the face. It had all happened so fast. Polly was shocked, and Caitlin could see that she was too scared to fight back.
But Caitlin wasn’t. Caitlin couldn’t control it any longer, and she let her rage overcome her. She heard a guttural growl rise up within her, as she leaned her head back and roared.
She charged right for Cain, her hands out, going right for his throat. She grabbed it with both hands, and kept charging, pushing him back further and further.
Cain, in shock, stared back, eyes wide, unable to breathe, clearly shocked that anyone would dare fight back.
He reached up and grabbed Caitlin’s wrists, trying to shake loose her grip. He must’ve assumed he could, since he must have been stronger than anyone there.
But he was in for another shock. Caitlin carried a strength which Cain clearly could not understand. He was unable to pry loose her fingers.
Caitlin finally drove him right down to the ground, landing on top of him, both hands still on his throat, squeezing him to death.
Cain kicked and struggled, but there was nothing he could do. Caitlin was winning, and she was going to kill him.
Even in her haze, Caitlin wondered if one vampire could kill another, and the more that she choked Cain, the more she felt that she could. That she would. She had no intention of stopping.
Caitlin dimly heard a bell ringing again and again, and within seconds, the courtyard was filled with vampires, dozens of them, all crowding around, watching, shouting. The entire coven had gathered to watch.
Apparently, no one wanted to interfere. Maybe they all would be happy to see Cain killed.
And so would she. All of Caitlin’s anger, all of her upset, all of her disappointment—towards Caleb, towards her brother—it all converged at once, found its subject in this bully. He had picked the wrong girl to bully at the wrong time.
If Caitlin was certain of anything, it was that she would indeed choke this boy to death.
ELEVEN
Caleb flew over the Manhattan night sky, Sera trailing behind him, and as he dove lower, flying over the Bronx, he could see, with his vampire vision, the details of what was happening on the streets below. It was mayhem. Humans were fighting humans, stores were being looted, cars were piled up in the streets. It looked as if a war had broken out.
Worse, Caleb spotted vampires of the Blacktide Coven spread throughout the streets, attacking humans. Humans ran in every direction, from the vampires, from each other, from those infected with the Bubonic Plague, and from the occasional policeman. No one knew who was attacking who, it was clear. And it was also clear that the victors were the vampires. They were feeding everywhere, in a frenzy, on humans. Blood lined the streets.
Caleb’s heart sank. He felt sorry for the humans, and angry that the other vampire covens would act with such impunity, especially right in his coven’s neighborhood. Clearly, this was all being orchestrated. Surely Kyle must have returned to his coven with the Sword, and now, they must all feel invincible.
It would only be a matter of time until Caleb’s coven was attacked itself. And by then, Caleb knew, it would be too late.
Caleb flew over the ramparts of the Cloisters and landed on its wide outer patio, Sera a few feet behind him. She was still there, always on his heels. He never seemed able to get rid of her. She had followed him in flight, all the way from Pollepel Island. He knew that she would. But that didn’t mean he had to acknowledge her.
She had come to him on Pollepel on a mission to bring him back, and now here he was, and she must have imagined herself to be the returning victor. But he wouldn’t let her claim that victory. He had decided to return on his own volition, for his own reasons. What she failed to see, what she always failed to see, is that it had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Caleb strode across the stone patio, past dozens of vampire guards, who all came to attention as he walked. Caleb had never seemed quite this display of strength before; his coven must truly be on guard. Usually, there were just two guards; now, with a quick glance, he noted at least 50. All soldiers, all armed, and all watching the night sky.
Caleb was sure that, if they hadn’t had recognized him, they would have atta
cked him before he’d even reached the ground.
“Aren’t you going to wait for me?” Sera asked, marching up beside him as the large, arched door was opened for them.
Caleb ignored her, continuing his march—until he felt her cold, icy grip on his arm, felt her fingers digging into his flesh. She stopped him, and turned him to face her.
“I will not be disrespected by you in front of our people,” she snapped in a hushed tone. “We will enter together. We are still a couple.”
“We are not a couple,” Caleb shot back. “I don’t know how many times I can tell you this.”
“Just because you don’t think we are, doesn’t mean that we aren’t,” Sera shot back, equally determined. “You married me 600 years ago. There are no divorces in the vampire world. Our separation was never sanctioned.”
“I don’t need it to be sanctioned,” Caleb said. “Our marriage was a mistake. It was 600 years ago. You really need to let this go. I don’t need a governing body to tell me I’m allowed to separate.”
“Oh, but you do,” Sera said. “Without their sanction, you’re violating our law. You’re subject to punishment, and always will be.”
Caleb laughed in derision. “You’re really delusional, aren’t you? Do you really think I fear punishment, whether from them or anyone else? I have never lived my life in fear of authority.”
She stepped closer to him, out of earshot of all the soldiers now looking their way.
She whispered, “I can tell them more. I can tell them about you and that human. Caitlin. You violated our sacred law in sleeping with her. You know the punishment.”
Caleb stared back, his eyes becoming cold with rage.
“And more than that,” she said, “even more, I can tell them that you turned her. No one sanctioned you to do that, either. And that is something they would never accept. They would kill you for that, you know.”
Caleb clenched his jaw.
“Then tell them,” he said, calling her bluff.
She stared back at him, cold and hard. He knew that she would never tell. If they killed Caleb, that would leave her with no one to obsess over. She needed him alive. As much as she wanted to blackmail him, they were empty threats.
And even if she did tell them, he really, truly didn’t care. He was done answering to vampire organizations. He would live his life now as he wished. The security of his coven no longer meant as much to him as it once did. He wasn’t here to beg for their pardon. He was here to warn them, to save them. If they didn’t want his help, he would be just as happy to leave this place for good.
He desperately missed Caitlin already. He could feel it, like a tangible thing, sitting in his chest.
He hated being away from her. And he hated even more that while he was away from her, he had to have Sera clinging to his side, this crazy woman who simply refused to accept reality.
Caleb turned and walked through the door, entering the inner stone courtyard of the cloisters, Sera right beside him. She just wouldn’t quit. The two of them strutted down the arched, stone corridor, side by side, her pretending for all the world that they were a couple.
They walked down another corridor, turned through a small, stone archway, and found themselves on a wide landing, about to descend a staircase. There, waiting to greet them, was Samuel. Caleb’s brother.
Samuel was flanked by a dozen vampire soldiers and his face was grim.
Caleb stopped before him, and their eyes met. They were as close as brothers could be, yet outwardly, they never showed it. They didn’t embrace each other, didn’t even shake hands. They just stood there, a few feet away, staring at each other, each nodding back to the other with a look of mutual recognition and respect.
“Caleb,” Samuel said flatly.
“Samuel,” Caleb answered.
“You have come back to us,” Samuel said. “That is good. We need you now.”
“I have much to report to the council,” Caleb said. “I only hope that they are willing to hear it.”
Samuel nodded back, ever so slightly. “As do I,” he said.
Samuel’s men parted ways for Caleb and Sera, and as the two of them walked down the winding staircase, Samuel’s men fell in behind them. The entire entourage walked through the lower level of the cloisters, through a room of sarcophagi, through a room of artifacts, until they finally reached the roped off, circular staircase.
The two guards standing before it stepped aside, pulled back the rope, and opened the wooden door. Caleb entered, followed by the group, and soon they were all descending, lower and lower beneath the cloisters.
They entered a huge, subterranean chamber, hundreds of feet long, wide and high. Unlike other times he had been here, the room was completely filled with the vampires of his coven. Caleb had never seen it so crowded. Usually, there were but a few dozen vampires lounging about. Now there seemed to be at least 1000 of his coven members, vampires he hadn’t seen in centuries, all filling the room, pacing and agitated, talking to each other in harsh tones.
As Caleb and his entourage entered, the chaos seem to slowly focus on them. The chamber parted ways for them, and it slowly quieted. A hushed silence of anticipation spread.
They knew were Caleb was headed. At the far end of the room was a raised dais, on which sat the Grand Council, a panel of seven judges. Their coven’s leadership. Usually the Council met in a side chamber, but on nights like tonight, when there was unprecedented crisis, they met in the large chamber.
As Caleb suspected, there they were, sitting there, already glaring harshly down at him. Caleb could not remember a single time in thousands of years when their expression held anything but judgment. He suspected that tonight would be the worst of all.
These men were of the old guard, and over the centuries, Caleb had been feeling that they were no longer the right men to lead his coven. Their judgments were archaic, of another era. They were too rigid, too uncompromising. Of course, they claimed their rigidity is precisely what had kept their coven alive for so many thousands of years. But Caleb was, of late, feeling just the opposite. Their rigid attitude, he felt, was actually endangering their coven in these quickly shifting times.
Caleb already suspected what they would say in response to his report. To take no action. To wait it out. To not get involved. Their standard method of action. Always conservative, safe, patient.
Always against change.
They would be especially angry with him this time, because he had proved them wrong. Weeks ago, Caleb had insisted that the Sword existed, and that Caitlin could lead them to it. They had shot him down, had insisted that such a Sword was just a fable, a child’s tale. Now, clearly, he was right.
This is probably why these thousands of vampires hushed at the sight of him, afforded him such respect. And probably why these judges looked even more harsh than usual.
The room was now absolutely still as Caleb stopped before the panel, just ten feet away. They glared down in silence.
Caleb knew he should bow down in reverence. But something inside him just didn’t feel like it anymore. He owed these people nothing. They had cast him out, and he was not there to ask for anything. He was there to save them. Whether they deserved it or not.
Their expressions hardened.
“Caleb of the White Coven,” began the lead judge, in the center of the panel. “We summoned you to give us a report. But first you must answer for your past crimes. You violated the law in leaving us without permission. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Caleb stared back, insolent.
“I have returned here tonight to warn you, and to save you. Not to ask for your forgiveness,” he snapped.
The crowd erupted in an astonished gasp. No one ever spoke to the judges like this.
“SILENCE!” yelled an administrator, banging the stone floor with his iron staff. Eventually, the room died down.
“Really?” said one of the judges. “And to save us from what, exactly?”
“Have yo
u not seen what’s going on outside your gates?” Caleb asked. “Have you not seen the war that is even now spreading across Manhattan?”
“We have seen it. You are not the only one with powers of observation. And of what concern is it to us?”
“Concern?” Caleb asked, dumbfounded. Had these people really become that complacent, that indifferent? Had they really hardened their hearts so much towards the human race?
“If you think this war will be limited to humans, you are gravely mistaken,” Caleb continued.
“That war was begun by the Blacktide Coven. After they wipe out the humans, I assure you they will turn their full attention towards us, and towards all of our brother and sister covens throughout Manhattan—if not the country. It is the beginning of a full scale war.”
“Or they are simply trying to goad us out,” snapped back another judge. “Perhaps our reacting to this crisis is exactly what they want. They want us out of our stronghold. Outside, we will be more vulnerable to attack. Leaving these walls would be the most foolish thing we could do.”
Caleb shook his head in amazement. He could not believe this vampire’s ignorance. They had been sheltered under here for far too long.
“You are wrong,” Caleb said.
Again, the room erupted in an astonished gasp, and the administrator had to bang his staff repeatedly.
“This is no pretend war,” Caleb continued. “It is no trick. It is no ruse to goad you out. It is very real. When it is over, every human on this island will be dead. And the Blacktide Coven, and all of their brother and sister covens, will be gorged with blood, stronger than ever. I assure you, when they are ready, they will concentrate all of their forces on our coven. By waiting here, by letting them grow stronger, you make yourselves—all of us—a target. And if you wait too long, it will be too late.
“What’s more, they have a secret weapon at their disposal,” Caleb added, bracing himself for the reaction. “They now have the Sword.”
The room erupted in a loud, chaotic murmur. No matter how much the administrators screamed for silence and banged their staffs, they simply could not get it to quiet down. It went on for minutes.