He faced them down as they charged, prepared to make a stand.
They came at him in full force, slashing at him, and he fought back bravely, knocking several off their horses. Soon, they were mostly on foot, coming at him from every direction, and he fought like the skilled warrior he was. He killed two of them in a single blow.
But he was outnumbered. As Caitlin watched, her heart breaking, she saw that he was getting weaker, slashed in several directions. He was not going to win.
Caitlin felt the injustice of it all, and suddenly felt the rage overcome her. A hot flash raised up, from her toes up through her body, and she felt herself infused with a superhuman strength. She willed herself to be stronger than she had ever been, and in one strong motion, she reached back, and with all her might, snapped her chains.
She leapt over the wall, grabbed her weapons, and sprinted for Blake The crowd roared in approval, jumping to its feet.
Caitlin charged at the group of vampires encircling him. One vampire, on his horse, was about to stab Blake from behind, and Caitlin took aim and threw her spear at him; it went right through the back of his neck, and he fell off his horse, dead.
The crowd roared.
She grabbed the fallen vampire’s sword, leapt onto his horse, and charged at the others, swinging as she went.
The rage built and built, and Caitlin felt a primordial strength that she never had. She charged and swung and struck and jabbed, and she was a whirlwind of destruction.
Within minutes, she managed to kill several of the vampires around Blake.
She dismounted and stood at his side.
The two of them stood there, back to back, fighting, only a few vampires remaining.
Blake, emboldened, managed to kill the vampire facing him, while Caitlin killed one more, and focused on the other two.
She attacked one, stabbing him in the heart, but as she did, she left herself carelessly open to attack. The other vampire lunged at her open back, his sword aiming right for her kidney, and Caitlin saw it coming. But she couldn’t react in time. She knew that it was too late, and that she would certainly die.
She braced herself for the horrible pain—but to her surprise, it didn’t come. Instead, she heard a horrible scream, and she looked over to see Blake standing there, to see that he had stepped in the way, and had taken the blow for her. The vampire had stabbed him, instead, right through the heart.
Caitlin stepped up and chopped off the vampire’s head. As she did, her bracelet, the one Blake had bought her, fell off her wrist, to the ground.
At the same time, the vampire fell to the ground, the last of them, dead.
Blake sank to his knees, dying.
As he collapsed to the ground, Caitlin caught him, let him gently down. She reached up and tried to remove the sword from his heart, but he grunted out in pain, and she knew to let it be.
She cradled his head in her hands, and knelt over him, crying.
“I want you to know,” he said with effort, blood dripping from his mouth, “that I never betrayed you.”
“I know,” Caitlin said through tears. “Blake, I’m so sorry.”
He nodded, then smiled at her weakly, blood on his lips.
“I love you,” he said. “And I always will.”
He put his hand into hers, thrusting something into her palm, and then closed his eyes, dead.
She looked down, and saw that it was a piece of sea glass. The piece from Pollepel.
Caitlin leaned back and wailed, a horrible wail of grief. She had never felt so torn apart. She would have given anything for that sword to have struck her instead.
The crowd, at first shocked, now erupted into a roar of approval.
“CAITLIN! CAITLIN!” they chanted. Their screams and stamping shook the entire stadium.
It was clearly not the reaction that Kyle and the judges had hoped for.
They both got up and stormed away from their balcony, shutting down the games for the day.
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CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Caitlin ran. She was in a field of flowers, up to her waist, the flowers a brilliant medley of colors.
It was a bright day, the sun directly overhead, and in the distance, her father waited.
But as she ran, the flowers turned into a field of swords, all plunged into the earth, their tips sticking up and shaking in the wind. She ran through them, cutting a path, heading for her father.
This time, there was nothing between the two of them. As she ran and ran, he got closer. She ran for all she had, and soon, she was in his arms.
She could not believe it, but she was really in his arms.
He hugged her, and she could feel his strength coursing through her body. It was the hug of a father who loved her, the father she’d always longed to have. She wanted to crane back her head, to look up at his face, but she was too happy to just be in his arms.
“I’m so proud of you,” he said over her shoulder. “You are your father’s daughter.”
She smiled, feeling totally encased in warmth.
“When will I see you?” she asked.
“Tomorrow,” he said, firmly.
He pulled her back, and looked down at her intently. The fierceness of his eyes burned through her. They were like two burning suns, staring right at her, and she almost had to look away from the intensity of it.
“Tomorrow. We will be together, forever.”
Caitlin sat upright, breathing hard.
She looked all about herself, and realized that it was just a dream. She was back in her cell.
It had felt so real, felt as if her father had been with her, right there in the room. As she rubbed her arms and shoulders, she could still feel his warmth.
What had the dream meant? It was so different than the others. She had never had one like it before.
She would see him tomorrow. Did that mean that this would be her last day on earth? That she would be crossing over to the other side, seeing him in heaven?
She thought back to the day before, to the fierce fighting. She stood and stretched her limbs slowly, and felt an ache in all of them. She was covered with cuts and scratches and bruises, wounds which, for a vampire, should have healed more quickly. But these were deep wounds: sword slashes, buckler punctures, lion bites. She was rusty. It ached for her just to walk across the room. She had no idea how she could survive another day of fighting.
More than anything, she pained to think of Blake. She remembered his last gruesome moments, as he was killed by those vampires. His dying in her arms. His final words. She felt like dying herself.
She had been so wrong about him. She should have run to his defense sooner. She blamed herself. And she wished the sword blow had been for her.
Caitlin looked up, as several vampire guards suddenly appeared, the silver shackles at the ready.
They opened her silver cell door, and she knew that within a matter of moments, she would be back out there for round two.
She thought of her father, of how they would be together soon. At least, that was some solace.
Perhaps, soon, this would all be over.
*
Standing at the entrance tunnel, Caitlin was unshackled by the guards, and she walked freely out into the Coliseum’s floor. She needed no prodding this time. She was eager to meet the day, to fight again, to finally
meet her destiny. She was tired, deeply tired. Everyone she had loved, she had lost.
Sam. Caleb. Blake. Her father. Rose. Jade….There seemed to be no end to the loss.
She was tired of trying to hold onto everything. If today was going to be her last day—and she felt that it was—then she was prepared. She would go down in style. She would give all these ghoulish vampires the spectacle they wanted, and fight with more ferocity than she’d ever had.
As she walked out onto the Coliseum, thousands of vampires rose their feet, chanting her name:
“CAITLIN! CAITLIN!”
Caitlin looked up and saw the judge stand in his booth, Kyle at his side. They both scowled down at her.
“And now,” yelled the judge, “the elephants!”
A huge roar rose up. On the far side of the Coliseum, an enormous door opened.
Caitlin couldn’t believe it. Charging right at her, single file, was a herd of elephants. She counted six of them. The ground shook with each step they took.
They raised back their heads and roared. The roar alone nearly split her ears.
The crowd, thrilled, cheered them on.
On top of each elephant rode a vicious vampire. These vampires were different—bigger than the others, covered in a slick black armor from head to toe, with grotesque masks covering their faces. They carried long swords, javelins, crossbows, and all sort of weaponry.
Caitlin looked down at her puny sword and shield, and realized she was terribly outmatched. It wouldn’t even be a fair battle.
She closed her eyes and breathed deep. She tried to enter another realm, to enter a state where fighting meant not fighting. She tried to remember everything that Aiden taught her.
When you are outmatched by strength, do not resist. Use your opponent’s strength against him.
Caitlin tried to block out all the noise, all the action around her. She forced herself to focus on the closest elephant, charging right for her.
The vampire riding it leaned back and aimed his spear at her.
She pretended not to notice, as moments later, he hurled it.
At the last second, she rolled out of the way, let the spear plunge into the ground beside her.
It was a close call, and the crowd gasped in disappointment.
She rolled over, extracted the spear from the ground, and knelt down low. The elephant was only feet away, and as it lifted its huge foot, about to stomp her, Caitlin lodged the base of the spear into the ground, its tip pointing up, and got out of the way.
The horrific screech of the elephant filled the air, as it stepped down on the spear tip. The screech shook the entire stadium, as the spear lodged its way into the elephant’s foot.
The elephant collapsed to its knees with a tremendous crash, and its rider went flying off, headfirst into the ground. As the animal collapsed, belly first, it crushed its rider beneath it.
The other elephants, right behind it, couldn’t stop in time. They all tripped over their compatriot, and they all went crashing to the ground, rolling every which way. All of their riders went flying off.
The crowd roared.
Caitlin took advantage of the chaos. She grabbed a spear and threw it, piercing one vampire right through the neck.
She bounded on top of another elephant, ripped the sword from its disoriented owner’s hand, and decapitated him.
She leapt from elephant to elephant, tracking down each vampire, attacking with the sword.
In moments, she had killed nearly all of them, all too shaken to react on time.
Except for one, and he managed to dodge her strike. He spun around, and cracked her hard in the back of the head with his shield.
She felt the pain in her head as she fell to her face.
He jabbed his spear right for her throat, but she rolled out of the way just in time.
She leaned back and kicked him hard, right in the groin, and as he knelt down, she spun to the side and kicked him hard across the face. He went down.
She jumped to her feet, raised her sword, and before he could get up again, she decapitated him.
The stunned stadium was completely silent for a moment.
Then, suddenly, as one, they all jumped to their feet, roaring her name.
The judge, outraged, leapt to his feet.
“BRING IN THE GIANT!” he yelled.
Before Caitlin could catch her breath, another side compartment opened, and in rushed a massive giant.
The crowd roared.
Caitlin’s eyes opened wide in disbelief. She had never seen a monster like this. This creature was at least one hundred feet tall, and, like a Cyclops, had just one eye, in the center of its head. She didn’t imagine that such things even walked the earth, and she could see its muscles rippling out in every direction.
It leaned back its head and roared, and the Coliseum shook; if possible, it was even louder than the roar of the elephants.
Caitlin swallowed. She had no idea how to fight a creature like this.
Before she could even react, the giant, surprising her with its speed, took a huge step towards her, swiped his hand down and swatted her.
Caitlin was thrown across the Stadium, hundreds of feet, slamming into a wall, and felt the wind knocked out of her.
The crowd roared.
Caitlin was on the ground, her head killing her, trying to catch her breath. She was still in shock that something that big could move that fast.
The giant swung again, bringing his fist down to crush her.
She rolled out of the way just in time, and the blow left a huge hole in the earth, where the giant’s hand got lodged.
Caitlin rolled over, grabbed her sword, and in one quick move, brought it down hard on the giant’s wrist, before he could extract his fist.
It worked: she managed to chop off his hand.
The giant leaned back and screeched, blood squirting like a river from his arm, all over her, all over the vampire audience. Instead of being horrified by it, the vampires seemed to relish it, even tried to lap up the blood as it landed on them.
The giant, in a fury, chased after Caitlin with a vengeance. But it was too clouded by anger. It couldn’t think straight. It swept at her wildly with its free hand, missing each time. Caitlin ran and ran, trying to make it to the long javelin she saw in the distance.
Finally, she made it. She grabbed it, rolled hard, just missing the giant’s swipe, and then leaned back and hurled it with all she had, aiming right for the giant’s eye.
A direct hit. The long javelin went through the giant’s eye, and out the other side.
For a second, the giant froze. Then like an enormous tree, it fell sideways. It crashed to the ground, shaking the Coliseum so hard that it knocked the vampires out of their seats.
The crowd went crazy. It jumped to its feet, roaring and roaring.
“She has won clemency!” the crowd members screamed. “Let her free. Let her free!”
A huge chorus of approval ripped through the stadium.
But the judge did not give in. Instead, he looked at Kyle, who nodded back, and then he stood.
The crowd quieted.
“Bring in our last warrior!” he yelled.
Caitlin was so tired, so out of breath, so disoriented. She couldn’t imagine what else they had to throw at her. She felt confident that, whatever it was, she would not have the energy left to face it.
The doors opened, and out came a single warrior, a man about her size, about her height, looking a lot like her. He wore dark, fitted armor, and held a gleaming sword and shield.
His helmet up, she could clearly see his face.
It was the one warrior she knew she could never kill.
Facing her, was her brother Sam.
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CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Caitlin’s heart whirled with emotions.
Sam. Her little brother. Here. Back in time. In Rome. In the Coliseum of all places. On the one hand, she was thrilled to see him.
On the other, he stood there, in battle gear, facing her down, a weapon in hand. And with a look on his face meant to kill. How could this be?
How had it come to this? What had they done to him?
She could sense, even from this great distance, that he was a vampire. She tried to sense his feelings towards her, but it was obscured. As if he were deliberately blocking them.
More than anything, she felt sad. Betrayed. Confused. Was it not enough that he’d had to ruin things for her in the 21st century? Had he had to come back now, and still make things hard for her?
And after all that she had done for him. All through his life, she had always looked out for him, always been the one he could turn to. She’d always tried to help him, to save him.
Had it really come to this? Did he really hate his own sister enough to kill her? Or was he just still dazed? Under the influence of this evil coven’s spell?
“Sam!” she yelled out. “It’s me! Caitlin. Your sister!”
She hoped that by vocalizing it, he would come to himself, would recognize her, snap out of it, lay down his weapons.
“I don’t want to fight you!” she yelled. “I don’t want to hurt you!”
The crowd booed.
Sam walked out towards the center, closer and closer to her. But instead of dropping his weapons, as she’d hoped, he lowered his face mask with a definitive clang, and raised his sword and shield.