He arrived in an even lower, subterranean level of the jail, this one darker, more poorly lit, with fewer cells. And dead quiet. A few torches glowed faintly, and he went up close to a cell. He took a torch off the wall, and held it to the metal, and examined it: as he feared, these gates were not made of iron. They were made of silver.
As he held up the torch, suddenly, a face appeared at it—the grotesque face of a vampire of the Lagoon Coven, one of the darkness and nastiest of them all. He had huge fangs which stuck out of his mouth, tiny lips, and eyes that were entirely red. He practically snarled as he breathed. It was a disgusting creature.
All around him, these creatures slowly came to their bars, all grunting at Kyle.
Kyle reached into a pouch on his belt, extracted a powder, and stood back as he threw it onto the silver. He waited, then reached out, grabbed the bars, and tore them off the wall.
A dozen vampires, some of the nastiest creatures Kyle had ever seen, slowly filed out, all pent up, all ready to wreak damage.
“Follow me,” Kyle said.
He could feel them all following, close behind. These needed no instructions. Tearing things apart came naturally to them.
Kyle smiled as they ascended, heading for the night.
Caitlin looked into Caleb’s eyes. As he stood there, she sensed that some part of him did recognize her, was trying so hard to remember.
“It’s strange,” he said. “I dreamt of you last night. I hardly know you, yet somehow, I couldn’t shake the thought of you.”
Caitlin’s heart soared with hope.
“Do you remember me at all?” she asked.
“Somehow…I feel like I do,” he said. “But…I just can’t recall. How do we know each other?”
She paused, debating what to say. Would all of her words, all of her actions, as Aiden warned, now influence the future? What if she said the wrong thing?
She decided to just tell him the truth. This was her moment. It was now or never.
“We know each other in the future,” she said, her heart racing.
Would he think she was crazy?
Even as she said it, she wished she hadn’t. She worried if, by saying it, she somehow created a rip in time, told him something he wasn’t meant to know, affected how things would play out down the road.
He furrowed his brow as he stared back at her.
“We were together once,” she added. She couldn’t stop herself; it was too late now. “Or, rather, we will be together once. I’ve come back in time to save you. I didn’t… I didn’t know you’d be with someone else. I didn’t know you had a child. Well at least, not at this moment in time…I’m sorry,”
she said, stuttering, feeling foolish, “I…didn’t mean to intrude. I had no idea. I was hoping you’d remember…I guess…I was…hoping things would be different. I realize…I know, this must all sound crazy.”
Caitlin, trembling, suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. She could no longer control her tears, and she quickly turned to leave.
But as she did, she felt a strong hand on her wrist.
Caleb held her there, stopping her. She could feel the pulse racing through his palm.
Slowly, she turned. Tears poured down her cheeks as she stared into his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I never meant to hurt you. I do feel something between us. I really do. But I don’t know what it is. And…” he said, pausing, “I’m so sorry, but I just can’t remember you.”
Caitlin nodded slowly, understanding. At that moment, she realized that there was no hope anymore for them. She felt so stupid to have come back, to be standing here, to be intruding in his life this way. She felt terrible. She had been so selfish. She should have just taken last night as closure. Why couldn’t she have just moved on?
Now, at least, finally, it was beyond doubt. As much as it hurt, he clearly didn’t know her anymore. She had to move on.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping away a tear, as he loosened his grip.
She turned to go. Then, before she did, she faced him one last time.
“I just want you to know that I love you. And I always will.”
And with that, she ran and lifted into the air, her wings sprouting, and carrying her into the sunset.
As Caleb stood there, watching Caitlin leave, he felt overwhelmed, confused. A mix of emotions swirled within him, as his brain struggled to understand, to remember. He felt certain, somewhere, that a part of him knew this mysterious girl. But he just had no idea how.
As he watched her go, he felt a sadness within himself which he could not explain. He had never experienced anything like it. A part of him wanted to run after her, to call after her to stop. But if she listened, he would have no idea what to say to her. After all, he didn’t know her. And he didn’t understand his own feelings.
Perhaps he was just going crazy, just letting some irrational emotions, some strange premonitions, take over and get the worst of him. He had to stay strong, he reminded himself, to remain rational. After all, none of it made any sense. He didn’t even know her.
But as he stood there, watching her, he could not escape the feeling that he was letting someone precious get away. His emotions suddenly got the best of him, and he prepared to take off after her.
He was about to take off at a sprint, to fly into the air, when suddenly, one of his coven members screamed out his name, and came running up to him.
“Did you hear?” his coven member asked, eyes wide in a frenzy. “What’s happening in Venice?
There’s been an outbreak of prisoners. They’re tearing apart the city. If we don’t do something, all the humans will die.”
Caleb furrowed his brow in concern.
“But how is this possible? Who is behind this?”
“We don’t know. But there is no time to waste.”
The coven member ran off, heading for the water.
As Caleb turned and looked, he saw all his coven members streaming out of the church, out of the surrounding cloisters, heading towards the water. As they did, they broke into flight, their wings sprouting, lifting them high into the air. His entire coven was being summoned.
His brother Samuel came running up. “Did you hear?” he asked, urgently.
Caleb nodded, and as he did, Samuel reached out and handed Caleb his ivory staff, while Samuel donned his golden gauntlet.
“Will you fly into battle by my side?” Samuel asked.
“Always,” Caleb said.
Just as they were getting ready to depart, Sera came running out, all geared up for battle, dressed in a thick, skin-tight, black suit, impervious to nearly any weapon, and carrying a short spear. She looked fierce, as she always did before battle.