Морган Райс - Betrayed

Caitlin could see how much Sera truly cared for Caleb. It was heartbreaking, in its own way. No matter how delusional was she was, at least her feelings for Caleb were genuine. That gave them something in common.

Caitlin sat down beside her, reached out, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Sera,” Caitlin said, “we have to find Caleb before it’s too late. There is no time to lose. Tell me, where is he?”

“The Blacktide Coven,” Sera said. “They’ve caught him. Their entire army. We’d never get him back. My entire coven is afraid to go. No one will even try. It’s hopeless. We’re too outmanned.”

The Blacktide Coven, Caitlin thought. That meant City Hall. She knew where to go. She stood.

“Well, I don’t need their help,” Caitlin said, fearlessly. “I’ll go myself.”

Sera looked at her, snapping out of it, eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Are you joking? You’d be slaughtered,” she said. “It would be a suicide mission.”

“Then so be it,” Caitlin replied. “At least I wouldn’t sit here like a coward.”

Caitlin turned and headed for the stairwell.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, “Wait,” Sera said.

Caitlin turned, and Sera looked into her eyes for several seconds in the thick, tense silence.

“You do care for him, don’t you?” Sera asked.

Caitlin just stared back.

“Yes, I can see that you do.”

Sera continued to stare, then slowly nodded, coming to a decision.

“Very well, then,” she said. “I’ll go with you.”

Caitlin was shocked. “What?”

“We’ll go together,” Sera said. “Two stand a better chance than one. Not that I care if you die.

But I don’t want to see Caleb hurt.”

Caitlin stared back. This was the last thing she had expected, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it would be wise to have backup. After all, this was about Caleb, not about her.

“Fine,” she said.

Sera suddenly turned, and crossed the room. She stood before a small sarcophagus, just big enough to hold a child, and she crossed herself before it. She prayed, bowing her head until it touched it.

Caitlin watched her, and then she realized. That must be the tomb of her son. Caleb’s son.

In all these hundreds of years, Caitlin realized, Sera had not been able to let him go. For her, he was still alive.

After a few moments, Sera turned and walked alongside Caitlin as they ascended the steps.

As they reached the top, Sera turned down a different corridor.

“Follow me,” Sera said. “If we’re going to die, we should at least have the right weaponry.”

Caitlin and Sera flew over the west side of Manhattan, racing downtown. Getting out of the Cloisters had not been easy. Sera’s fellow coven members had wanted to detain her, but she had absolutely refused to back down. Caitlin had to hand it to her: she was strong-willed.

Sera had taken them upstairs, to the main floor of the Cloisters, and had taken Caitlin to a massive, stone fireplace with intricate carvings. She’d reached in and pulled the heavy iron choker, and had revealed a secret compartment. She’d extracted two weapons for her: a short sword, covered in ancient carvings, and a short, silver spear. Caitlin had stared in awe. They were cruel, medieval weapons of destruction, yet beautiful in their simplicity.

Sera had then brought them to another room, where she’d opened a compartment in what appeared to be a six-foot candleholder, and extracted an immense battle ax. It was also silver, and gleamed in the light. The way Sera squeezed the handle, Caitlin had the feeling that she’d used it before. Many times.

Armed with these weapons, the two of them had flown off into the night, leaping off the parapets of the Cloisters to the protests of her coven members, and heading south, speeding through the night.

They flew over 150th street, then 140th, and as they went, Caitlin looked down and remembered.

Her old neighborhood. She shuddered at the thought of it. She actually flew right over her old high school, and realized that she wouldn’t mind destroying it.

Suddenly, Caitlin remembered. Jonah. She hadn’t thought of him in ages, and the idea of him sent a shock through her system. He must be down there, somewhere, she realized. As she looked down and saw the anarchy, saw the humans being overrun by waves of vampires, she knew that the humans didn’t stand a chance. She remembered that he lived right there, on 131st Street, and she suddenly felt obliged to help them. She didn’t have feelings for him anymore, but at the same time, she couldn’t live with the idea of just allowing him to get killed.

“We have to descend,” Caitlin suddenly said to Sera.

Sera looked over and stared. “Why?” she asked. “We’re not even close. We have no time for distractions.”

“An old friend,” Caitlin said. “I have to help him.”

Sera’s frown intensified. “We don’t have time. And we can’t risk a battle down here. We must stay focused.”

Caitlin knew that Sera was right. Still, she felt an obligation.

So without discussing it anymore, she took a dive, descending right for the street. She hoped that Sera would follow—she could use the backup—but if not, she would be content to be on her own, as she had always been.

Caitlin set down on 131st Street and Broadway, right in the middle of an intersection, and as she did, a car, racing in the mayhem, sped right towards her.

Caitlin turned and saw the car coming, but there just wasn’t time to react. Wide-eyed, she braced herself for what would be an awful impact.

The car began to screech on its brakes, but not nearly in time. A split second later, it smashed into Caitlin, running into her at 40 miles an hour.

Caitlin slowly opened her eyes. She still stood where she’d been, not even bruised, not even knocked over. The car, though, was stopped short where it hit her, its entire fender dented in around Caitlin.

It had not hurt her in the least—but she had destroyed the car. She was stunned, amazed, and grateful she was no longer a human.

The owner of the car jumped out, and stared at Caitlin and then at his car, wide-eyed.

“I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, looking all around, frantic. “I didn’t see you! I swear! You seemed to just drop right out of the sky. I couldn’t stop in time! Are you OK!?”

Caitlin surveyed herself, took a few steps away from the car, and realized that she was perfectly fine. She smiled inwardly. Immortality certainly came with its benefits.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” she said.

“Wait,” he said, bewildered, still trying to figure it all out. “It’s not possible. I slammed into you, I was going so fast. How are you OK? How is my car so dented up?”

He looked back and forth between her and the car, wide-eyed.

Then he suddenly looked around, realizing how dangerous the streets were, ran back, jumped into his car, and, with the hood still smoking, took off. Luckily for him, it still ran.

Caitlin looked around, trying to get her bearings. It was mayhem down here. People were fleeing in every direction, looting stores, smashing windows; cars were piled high on the curb. Vampires chased people down every street, and other people ran from each other, infected with the plague. It looked like the apocalypse.

She spotted it. Jonah’s building. Just as she got ready to ran towards it, she heard a noise. Sera, landing beside her. Caitlin was relieved, but Sera was scowling.

“I’ve only landed because I could use you in finding Caleb. Not because I like you. And not because I care if you die,” she said.

“You said that already,” Caitlin said. “But thanks either way.”