Microsoft Word - BETROTHED.docx (24 page)

"I'm sorry," Caitlin said. "My mind is made up.” He sighed.

"Would you like the key back?" Caitlin asked.

He slowly shook his head, looking gravely concerned.

"No. They key is yours now. I only pray that you live long enough to use it."

Polly flew behind Sergei, following him as they sped through the night. It felt to her like they’d been flying for hours, and she had an increasingly bad feeling as they went.

As dawn finally broke, a structure became apparent in the distance. He suddenly dove down low, and she followed.

Polly's eyes open wide in surprise, as the structure came into view. There, spread before them, was a magnificent castle, one of the largest she had ever seen, shaped in a huge horseshoe pattern, with high walls, and parapets crowning each of them. In the center, was a semicircular courtyard, with a circle in the middle, atop a knoll, and a grass hill at its far end.

"Arundel Castle," Sergei announced. "It is where I live."

Without a word, he dove down low, right into the courtyard, and Polly hesitated for a moment.

She was beginning to feel inside of her that something was wrong. She wondered once again whether she could trust him. But once again, a part of her desperately wanted to try anything for an antidote for Scarlet and Caleb. She would do whatever she had to, take whatever risk she needed to, even it involved this.

Polly dove down and landed beside Sergei in the courtyard, then followed him as he strutted across the perfectly-manicured pebbled path, towards a huge oak door. He yanked it open, creaking as he did, and stood to the side, waiting for her to enter.

He smiled at her, and Polly scowled back.

"I didn't come here for a visit of your home," she said. "I came here for the antidote. Where is it?" she demanded, standing before the door, hands on her hips.

"So impatient," Sergei replied. "Just relax. We are going to get your antidote. I don't keep it outside, obviously. It is safely secured inside.”

Polly stood before the open door, debating. She felt such dark energy coming from inside, and a part of her wanted to flee.

But a different part refused to listen to reason, as her emotions told her she needed to find a cure.

Polly stepped inside, into the darkened space, barely lit by a small stained-glass window.

As she did, the huge oak door slammed behind her, Sergei standing just a foot away, and she flinched at the sound.

She heard Sergei's dark laughter in the darkness.

"So jumpy," he said.

And then he reached up, and she suddenly felt his icy cold hands on her shoulders.

She spun around, and brushed them off of her.

She was appalled to see that he still had feelings for her, and that he was obviously still trying to seduce her. If he didn’t show her where the antidote was soon, she was going to leave.

But he just grinned back down at her, an evil grin.

“You are still so naïve, aren't you?" he said darkly.

Polly felt her heart drop at his words. Where was this going?

"Did you truly think I would lead you to an antidote? And why? I hate all of your friends. And I would enjoy nothing more than to watch all of them die slowly and painfully.” Polly's heart pounded in her chest. It was a trick. All of it. She had been tricked. Once again.

Now, she was furious.

Polly reached back, made a fist, and threw it, aiming right for Sergei’s face.

But he was much faster than she thought, and he raised a single hand casually and caught her punch in mid-air.

With his open palm, he squeezed her knuckles with such strength, that she felt herself crying out, as her knuckles were squeezed in agony from his grip. She had never known he was that strong.

Polly dropped to her knees in pain from his grip.

He continued to smile down at her.

"I brought you here because I enjoy playing with you. I brought you here to make you mine.

Forever, this time. My slave. So you can make up for the way you treated me back in France. For making a fool of me, for making me lose Caitlin. Having you here, as my prisoner, will bring Caitlin and her crew here like a lamb to slaughter, and then I can present them all as my gift to Kyle.” She looked up and saw how ugly and evil Sergei was as he stared down at her and revealed his true self. Just as she had remembered. She felt so furious at herself for believing him a second time.

"And if they don't come for you, if they never come for you, then I shall just keep you here, as my slave forever.”

At that moment, several other girls stepped out of adjoining rooms, and Polly was shocked to see that they looked similar to her. They all walked slowly, their hands and feet bound in silver chains.

As if under a trance, obediently following Sergei's orders, they all went to the large oak door and barred it shut with a huge silver post. Polly gulped as she watched her only way out barred and blocked by a dozen female vampire slaves.

"Don't worry," Sergei said, laughing. "You will get used to being my slave. After several centuries, you won't even remember that you lived any other way."

Sam kept his vigil at Caleb and Scarlet's bedside, crisscrossing the room as he squeezed out a cloth in a bucket of cold water and applied it to Caleb's forehead. Lily did the same for Scarlet.

Sam was beginning to feel more and more anxious that Polly had not returned. She had said that she was stepping out of the room for just a moment, and he’d expected her to be back at least an hour ago. He was finding himself increasingly impatient, and was no longer able to contain his worry for her.

Sitting in this room, watching Caleb and Scarlet so sick, did not help to relieve his anxiety, either.

Nor did the fact that he was still worried about his sister, and longed to be out there, protecting her.

He didn’t want to be sitting here, acting as a nurse. He felt that he could be put to better use, and his impatience was building.

He looked up at Lily, who was kneeling on the far side of the bed and applying a cloth to Scarlet’s head.

"Can you watch them both for a few minutes?" he asked. "I want to check on Polly."

Lily nodded, looking tired and solemn.

Sam turned and hurried through the room, strutting across the ancient stone, heading for the oak door. As he did, he wondered why he was so concerned for Polly? Indeed, he wondered why he felt such strong feelings for her at all. Whenever he was around her, he felt as if he were caught up in a storm of emotions—happiness, joy, love, jealousy, anger, sadness… He had a hard time admitting to himself that he cared for her. But he was beginning to recognize that that was obvious.

Was he falling for her?

Sam strutted through the large oak door, and was startled as soon as he stepped outside. There, before him, were dozens of Aiden's men, sprinting across the courtyard and leaping up into flight. It looked as if the entire coven were mobilizing for war. The excitement in the air was palpable.

Sam reached out and grabbed one of the vampires. "What's going on? Where are you going?”

"Haven't you heard?" he asked, stopping for just a moment, his eyes wide open in agitation.

"London is besieged. Fires have started everywhere. The plague has spread to all four corners. And someone has unleashed a rival vampire coven from the crypts—they are now attacking the humans.

The entire human population is under a coordinated attack. We sense that it's the work of a rival vampire coven. We have to save the humans before the city disappears.” With that, he shook off Sam’s grip and leapt into the air, flying with the others. The sky darkened with all the bodies, looking like a swarm of bats launching into the sky.

Sam looked up and saw Aiden, walking behind them all, watching the sky. He turned and looked at Sam.

"There is a great calamity among the human race. I must join this battle," he announced. “You are alone here now. I trust you to watch over our castle."

Sam didn't know what to make of it.

"I want to go, too,” he said. “I want to fight with you. I don't want to just sit here.”

"We don't only always do what we want. We do what is needed of us," Aiden responded. Then he turned to go.

"Wait!" Sam yelled out.

Aiden turned.

"Where is Polly? Did she go with you?”

Sam sensed deep down that something was off.

Aiden slowly shook his head, staring intently at Sam.

"Polly left hours ago. Before us. With Sergei.”

Sam’s heart dropped.
With Sergei?

“She is in grave danger," Aiden added.

And with that, he turned and suddenly disappeared. Sam looked everywhere for him, but he was gone. Vanished.

Aiden's final words lingered, like a dagger thrust into Sam's heart.

In grave danger? With Sergei?

Sam closed his eyes and tuned in, and suddenly, he sensed it. He could feel that it was true. He could feel, on some level, Polly calling out to him. In danger. Trapped.

Sam opened his eyes suddenly, feeling Polly's desperation. He couldn't bear it one second longer.

Without thinking, he took three running steps and leapt high into the air, flying faster than he ever thought he could, letting his body guide him in the direction in which he felt Polly was. He didn't have a choice. She was trapped, and he must save her.

In his haste, he didn't even give a second’s thought to the fact that Lily was now the only one left behind, a mere human, to guard to their castle, and two people on their deathbed.

Caitlin flew from St. Michael's Mount, holding the third key in her hand, the vampire’s final words still ringing in her head. She felt a sense of ominousness as she flew through the morning, through thick, black storm clouds, racing to find Violet.

Aiden had told her about Violet’s castle—Bodium Castle—located in the far northern corner of England, and she raced towards it with all she had. Thunder erupted in the warm September sky, as she flew right into thick, black storm clouds. But she didn't slow. She had to get there, for all she was worth.

Caitlin felt her father's three keys in her pocket, and felt so torn. On the one hand, she felt as if she were shirking her duties to him, and to her race. On the other hand, she knew there was no way she could go back in time without Caleb and Scarlet. She would rather forgo the mission than do that.

Caitlin would do whatever it took to get the antidote. But her heart was pounding at the thought of having to go and meet Caleb’s ex-lover and ask for her help. Caitlin was proud and jealous, and she would have given anything to never have to see Violet's face again. To have to seek her out, and to have to humble herself before her and ask for her help, was almost more than Caitlin could bear.

But for Caleb, and for Scarlet, she would do it.

Caitlin swallowed her pride and dove down lower, as she finally sensed she was close. As she dipped down beneath the clouds, she was taken aback by the sight: there, on the horizon, was a castle that could only be Bodium. It was a small castle, but one of the most dramatic she had ever seen. Built in the middle of a lake, completely surrounded by water, accessible only by a narrow, wooden bridge that reached out for hundreds of yards from the mainland, the small castle was built in a perfect circle. It had ancient parapets in every direction, and lying perfectly still in the water, it looked as if it were one with nature, as if it had been there since the beginning of time.

It was the perfect setting, Caitlin realized, for a vampire home, secluded, surrounded by water for protection against one's enemies, and barely accessible.

This time, Caitlin decided to forego approaching formally. There wasn't time. Instead, she dove straight down, swooping in unannounced to the interior courtyard.

She landed and looked around, and was surprised to see that it seemed much bigger from down here. It was large enough to hold to a small coven of vampires. As a home for just one, it must be, she realized, a very lonely place. A place for a true loner. It made her wonder what Violet was really like.

“HELLO!" Caitlin screamed out.

Her voice echoed off the empty stone walls.

“KEIRA!" Caitlin called out.

Her voice echoed again and again, coming back, as if mocking her. It was so empty and desolate here, Caitlin felt as if she were the last person on earth.

She suddenly heard a noise, a faint musical noise, in the distance. She listened closely, and could just begin to hear it. She couldn't believe it. It was organ music, coming from somewhere inside the castle.

Caitlin crossed the courtyard and entered through one of the large, arched doors.

Inside, in the dark stone corridor, the music was louder. It was definitely an organ, filling the halls, reverberating off of them. It was creepy, and all-encompassing, and magical.

Caitlin followed it, as if in a trance, trying to find the source. As she turned down corridor after corridor, it finally became louder, more intense.

Finally, she came to a large, open room which looked like a chapel, all stone, with high ceilings and arched windows made of stained glass. The room was completely empty save for a single organ, placed against the far wall. And there, seated before it, her back to her, playing, was Violet.

She was in the middle of a song, and Caitlin stood and listened, not wanting to interrupt her. It was the most beautiful—and darkest—music that Caitlin had ever heard. It was mesmerizing, haunting. It was the sound of death coming, and yet of new life being reborn at the same time.

Caitlin felt it go through every bone in her body. It went on for she didn't know how long, and then finally, dramatically, it ended.

Violet slowly turned and faced Caitlin, standing. She was exactly as Caitlin had remembered: tall, aloof, proud, and beautiful.

"Did Caleb send you?” Violet asked flatly.

Caitlin swallowed hard, not sure how to phrase it.

"No, he didn’t," she answered. "I came on my own."

"What is it, then?" Violet asked, abrupt. "I don't like receiving visitors, especially unannounced.