Морган Райс - Betrayed

But Kyle, too, was an age old-veteran of battle, and after several seconds, he managed to lean back and head-but Caleb hard, right in his nose. It was enough to sting Caleb, and just enough for Kyle to get the momentum he needed to roll and throw Caleb off.

Caleb hit the ground, and had the presence of mind to keep rolling and grab his staff. He spun and raised it just in time, as Kyle’s sword came slashing down. Again, he managed to block it with the staff, with a loud, metallic clang.

Kyle was too fast, though. In one quick motion he kicked the staff, knocking it right from Caleb’s hands. Caleb looked over, and realized he was defenseless, the staff several feet away.

Kyle raised the Sword and prepare to drive it down.

Caleb knew this was his last moment on Earth.

Suddenly, Samuel appeared. Before Kyle could bring the Sword down, Samuel was charging, striking Kyle hard in the throat with the gauntlet and driving him backwards. Samuel kept driving, landing on top of him.

Caleb rolled several feet, grabbed the staff, and got to his feet to help his brother.

But it was too late. Kyle had thrown Samuel off of him, and before Samuel could strike again, Kyle sidestepped and stabbed him with the Sword.

Caleb watched as his brother sank to his knees, eyes opened wide in shock. Then he collapsed, the life force drawn out of him.

Caleb was overwhelmed with grief. Samuel. His brother. By his side for centuries.

And then, as he looked at Kyle, he was overcome with rage.

Kyle charged, raising the Sword. But this time, Caleb’s rage outmatched Kyle’s. Caleb sidestepped at the last second, forcing Kyle to miss, and then Caleb swept his staff around hard, cracking Kyle right behind the knee. Kyle’s knees buckled, and he went down.

Caleb swung again, and cracked Kyle in the back of the head. It all happened so fast, and it was a perfect one-two combination. Kyle landed flat on his face, and for a second, the Sword actually fell from his hand, onto the concrete.

Caleb was startled at his own good luck. As he prepared to lunge for the Sword, to grab it for himself, something caught his eye. He looked up.

There she was. It couldn’t be.

In the midst of the frenzy of battle, there stood Caitlin, standing all alone. With big sad eyes, she stared right at him.

Caleb’s heart broke, and he froze. He couldn’t fathom what she was doing here. Had Kyle taken her prisoner?

“Caitlin?” he asked.

She smiled, and took several steps towards him.

Caleb shut out all the battle around him, everything, as he watched her approach. She was here.

She was really here.

Caleb’s vision was suddenly interrupted, as he felt something metal and wiry cover his entire body, and felt himself being grabbed from behind. He realized he had just been cast in a vampire net, and as he struggled, he realized it was silver, reinforced. Impossible to break out of. He squirmed as much as he could, but there was nowhere to go.

He felt the net close tight on him from behind, so snug he could hardly breathe, and he craned his neck just enough to see Kyle standing there behind them, grinning down.

He looked back to Caitlin, wondering how she could betray him like this, how she could allow for Kyle to sneak up and capture him.

But as he looked at Caitlin, he saw her change, right before his eyes. She transformed into her brother Sam.

Caleb was shocked. It had never been Caitlin. It was a trick. Sam. He must have the skill for shape shifting.

And that was the last lucid thought Caleb had, as dozens and dozens of vampires pounced on him, grabbing him every which way, hauling him off deep into the mob. The final thing he heard was the screams of his brethren, as Kyle, wielding the Sword again, butchered them all.

Caitlin ran through a field of thorns. They tore at her left and right, and the pain was unbearable, as the field closed in. But some part of her told her that she had to keep running, that it was her only way out.

On the horizon sat a huge, blood-red sun, and she could see her father’s silhouette outlined against it. She ran and ran, trying to reach him. But the sun suddenly set, so quickly, and the sky turned to black. In its place, a large, blood-red moon rose, filling the entire sky, and the thorns grew thicker, cutting Caitlin deeper. She knew that if she could reach her father, everything would be all right.

He was getting closer, much closer, and within seconds, she stood before him.

But when she looked up, at his face, it was no longer her father. It was Caleb. The thorns were closing in on him, too, wrapping around his legs, waist, arms, pulling at him. Then they crept up from behind and wrapped around his face, tearing and clawing at it. Blood streaked from his cheeks, from his forehead, and she could see his anguish. She reached out to try to save him, but she was held down by the thorns.

He reached a hand out, and screamed: “Caitlin, help!”

As he did, the earth suddenly opened beneath him, and the thorns dragged him down, like quicksand, into the earth.

She struggled for all she had, the thorns tearing at her, and managed to drop to her knees and extend a hand.

He grabbed it as he was sinking. Their hands met, the thorns pressing into each other, and the pain was unreal.

But Caitlin held on for all she had.

Still, it was not enough. Caleb screamed as the earth sucked him down. No matter how hard she tried, she could not pull him back.

“Caitlin!” he screamed.

A second later, he was completely sucked under the earth, the sound of his cries stifled by the dirt.

“Caleb!”

Caitlin sat straight up in bed, face covered in sweat, screaming his name.

She looked all around, searching for him, but as she sat there, breathing hard, she began to realize it was just a dream.

It had seemed so vivid. So real. She’d never had any dream like it. It felt like a message.

Caitlin jumped to her feet and began pacing the stone floor of her room, the morning light streaking in through the window. She was damp with sweat, and she wiped her brow again. She felt so distressed, so anxious, she didn’t know what to do. She felt, in every pore of her body, that Caleb was in trouble, that he needed her. On some level, she knew it was more than just a dream. And despite what he had done, despite his betrayal with Sera, a fire burned inside her to help him.

Rose must have sensed her agitation, because she paced the small room beside her.

Caitlin pulled the hair out of her face, took a deep breath, and collected her thoughts. Was Caleb really in danger? Did he really need her?

On the one hand, he was heading into a vampire war, but at the same time, he did have the support of this entire coven, she assumed. He would have thousands of soldiers at his side. What good could her presence do him?

Yet something still gnawed away at her. She just couldn’t explain it, but she knew that somehow he was in danger. Or was she just imagining it? Was it just wishful thinking, just her own hopes that he somehow needed her, wanted her back?

Caitlin tried to clear her mind. The dream would not go away, and she felt that it wouldn’t. She had to do something. But she didn’t know what. Was there any way to find out how he was, she wondered? To send him a message?

Then she remembered. The falcon. His letter.

She looked over at her desk, and there it sat, neatly folded.

She hurried over to it and unfolded it with shaking hands. Now she absolutely had to read it.

She scanned it quickly.

Dearest Caitlin…nothing at all between myself and Sera…deeply sorry if she gave another impression….know how much I love you…how much I’m thinking of you…cannot wait to return to you…a new life together somewhere far from here…you hold my heart in this letter.