Morgan Rice - Betrayed

Sam stared at her, blinking. It seemed like he was starting to register.

“Sam, you have to do this. If not, they will kill us. And once the Sword is in our possession, there’ll be nothing stopping us. After you kill your sister, we can take out Kyle. With the Sword, you will be stronger than he. You would become the new coven leader, and I will be at your side. Together, we can climb to greater heights than ever.

“Sam, please listen to me!”

She shook his shoulders, trying to elicit a reaction.

“Repeat after me: I will accept the Sword,” she said, looking right into his eyes. “I will kill my sister.”

Sam looked at her, still in a trance. “I will accept the sword,” he echoed, slowly. “I will kill my sister.”

Caitlin sat on a wide stone parapet, Rose by her side, looking out at the water. She had found this small, crumbling ruin on a deserted part of the island, on the shore, almost at eye level with the water. She felt she could gather her thoughts here, alone, and she desperately needed to. The entire sky was lit with the pink hues of the sunset, and she felt as if she were sitting on the edge of the world.

Her mind spun. There was so much to think about, she didn’t know where to begin.

Pregnant. That word had rocked her world. She had never imagined it could even be possible – it had only been a week or two since she’d spent the night with Caleb. She had been shocked when Aiden revealed to her that vampire pregnancies happen much more quickly. It didn’t take three months to find out. It only took three days. And while one vampire cannot get another vampire pregnant, he explained, that night that she and Caleb had been together, Caitlin had still been a half-breed.

Caitlin swallowed in fear. What kind of a baby would this be? Human? A Half-breed? A true vampire? And what kind of a mother would she be? She could barely take care of herself, she barely even knew who she was. And what kind of a father would Caleb be? Would he even be in the child’s life? Would he even be alive to see the child? Would she?

These thoughts and more swirled throughout her mind. But even worse, overriding all of these thoughts was the pressing, gnawing feeling of Caleb’s being in danger. Of Aiden’s words. She could not get them out of her mind. Caleb in danger… no way to help him… forbidden to go… she could never come back….

Every bone in her body screamed for her to chase after Caleb, to go save him – especially after reading his letter, after knowing his deepest, truest feelings for her. How could she just let him down, especially after all that he’d done for her?

But on the other hand, she was overwhelmed by what a sacrifice it would demand. She would have to leave this place, her new home, her new family, forever. She could die in the process, according to Aiden. And that meant that she would kill her new baby with her.

Should she sacrifice all this to try to save him?

Then again, how could she not ?

As Caitlin sat there, the sun setting, tears streaming down her cheeks, she cursed her bad luck. This was always her fate. It seemed that every time she found something she loved in her life – whether it was a new home, new school, a new friend – it always seemed to be taken away from her. Life gave her great things only long enough for her to know how much she loved them. Then it pulled the rug out from under her. Change seemed to be the only constant.

Logically, she knew what she had to do. She had to stay put. For herself. For the baby. For her covenmates. For her race. For her destiny.

But emotionally, she just could not let go of Caleb.

She sat there for hours, thinking and thinking.

And finally, her heart won the battle.

She would go to Caleb.

Caitlin stood in her small room, looking over her possessions one last time as she finished dressing in her battle outfit. She had been given it during training, and she loved it. All-black, it was made of a material she couldn’t pronounce and didn’t recognize, but she knew that it was light as could be, and stronger than a bulletproof vest. The material wrapped snugly along her legs, torso, arms, and neck, covering her from feet to chin. It had black boots to match. She zipped it up, all the way to her chin, and patted down her arms. She felt invincible.

She surveyed her room one last time, grabbing her journal and her few possessions, and then left, heading out onto the wide, stone landing.

She looked out at the open sky, getting ready to take the leap, her final leap, when she suddenly heard a whining. She looked down and saw Rose sitting there, looking up at her with pleading eyes. It seemed as if Rose was begging her not to go, as if she knew what lay in store for Caitlin.

Caitlin squatted before Rose, reached up, and stroked her face. Rose licked her, whining she did.

“It’s OK, Rose,” Caitlin said. “It will be OK.”

“Weren’t you going to say goodbye?” came a voice.

Caitlin looked up, startled, and there came Polly. She had tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Caitlin said. “I didn’t really know what to say. And I didn’t know how you’d take it.”

Polly nodded back. “I found out from Aiden,” she said.

Caitlin’s eyes opened wide. “Aiden? But I didn’t tell him yet. How did he know – ”

“He knows everything,” Polly reminded.

So. He knew all along that I’d go , Caitlin thought. She wondered how disappointed he was in her, and she felt badly, as if she’d let him down.

“He means what he says, you know,” Polly said. “If you leave, you cannot come back.”

Caitlin suddenly felt herself starting to cry. “I know,” she said softly. “But I have to go. I hope you understand.”

Polly nodded, and came in and gave Caitlin a hug. Caitlin hugged her back, and they both cried over each other’s shoulders.

Finally, they pulled back. “Do the others know?” Caitlin asked.

Polly nodded. “It’s hard not to. A vibration like this spreads quickly. They all love you. This is hard on all of them.”

Caitlin thought of Blake. She wondered if it would be hard on him, too.

“Yes, even Blake,” Polly answered, reading her mind. “He’s retreated to the far end of the island, and no one has seen him since.”

Caitlin felt the small piece of sea-glass in her pocket, and she felt badly. She wiped a tear from her eye. “Will you take care of Rose?” she asked, barely able to suppress her tears.

Rose whined even more loudly.

“Of course I will,” Polly answered.

Caitlin nodded. She breathed deeply, resolved.

She took a step forward and laid it on Polly’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. “I love you,” Caitlin said. “And I love this place. With all my heart.”

And with that, she turned and with a sudden leap, she was over the edge, wings spreading, and lifting higher and higher into the night.

As Caitlin flew over the Bronx, she was horrified to see the extent of the devastation occurring on the streets beneath her. On block after block, there was bloodshed, vampires gorging on humans, openly in the night. There were also humans attacking humans, trying to flee in the chaos. It was anarchy. And she couldn’t help but feel responsible. If she’d had just held onto the Sword, if she hadn’t let it slip away, perhaps none of this would’ve happened.

She flew over the Cloisters, came in low, and circled it once more. She hesitated. She debated over whether she should land, whether Caleb would be there. On the one hand, she imagined that he would have long departed, that he was already off in the thick of battle somewhere. She guessed that if he were truly in danger, he would be elsewhere.