Caitlin reached down and grabbed Caleb.
“Are you okay?”
He looked at her.
“Caitlin,” he said, his eyes brimming over. “I know now. I know who you are. I remember everything,” he hugged her tight. “And I’m so sorry.”
She felt her whole world warm up inside her, as she hugged him back.
She pulled him back and looked at him with intensity.
“I know where it is,” she said quickly to Caleb. “The Shield.”
Sam and Caleb both crowded close, anxious to hear, their eyes opened wide.
“Follow me,” she said.
Caitlin, Caleb, and Sam flew over Rome, racing to bridge the short distance from the Coliseum to the Vatican. Caitlin had never been to the Vatican before, and she followed Caleb’s lead. She’d been worried for a moment that Caleb wouldn’t come at all. Back there, in the Coliseum, he didn’t want to leave; he’d been set on diving down and finding Kyle in the crowd, on exacting revenge for Jade. But Caitlin had begged to him let it go for another time. She argued that he would endanger them all by getting bogged down in a fight with those thousands of vampires, and that they’d never accomplish what was more important for the race: finding the Shield. Finally, reluctantly, he’d conceded.
As they rounded a bend, Vatican City came into view, and Caitlin was shocked. She had somehow expected the Vatican to be a single building, and was surprised to see that it was in fact an entire city. From this bird’s eye view, she could see building after building, dominated by the huge, dome of St. Peter’s Chapel. She was breathless at its magnitude.
“We’ll have to land at the main entrance,” Caleb said. “The Vatican is heavily guarded by our kind. There’s no way in or out without permission. It’s the oldest and most powerful vampire coven there is. No one has ever tried to attack them, not even Kyle’s people, and no one probably ever will. They stand guard over vampire relics and secrets unlike any the world has ever known.
“They also have weapons unlike any the world has ever seen. If we arrive at their doors, and they don’t grant us permission, they may very well kill us on the spot. Knocking on their door is not something one does lightly. The only way they’ll let us in is if they perceive you to be one of their own, one of their coven. That will depend on who your father was. Let’s hope.”
Caitlin sensed a presence behind her, and as she turned, saw, on the horizon, a swarm of black.
Hundreds of vampires of the Grand Council were following them. Caitlin saw Kyle at their head, arm bleeding, and scowling with fury.
“Looks like we have company,” she said.
Caleb and Sam turned, and frowned.
“No time to waste,” Caleb said.
The three of them took a sharp dive, right down to the entrance of the Vatican.
They ran up to its huge, main doors, and they suddenly opened. Out came a short, old man, wearing a white cloak and hood.
He pulled back his hood to reveal glowing, light green eyes. He stared at the three of them, then took a step towards Caitlin.
“You’ve arrived,” he said to her.
It was clear that he had been expecting her. The three of them exchanged a look of relief.
He turned and they followed him inside, and he shut the door behind them.
Seconds later, they heard a loud crashing at the door, as the hundreds of other vampires tried to get in.
Caitlin, Caleb and Sam wheeled, ready to fight.
“Do not worry,” the man said calmly. “Regular vampires are defenseless against this building.”
Caitlin looked up, and saw other vampires trying to fly over the wall, to dive down. But as they did, they bounced back, as if hitting an invisible shield.
“It is protected. Only the holy can enter.”
They walked quickly down the corridor, passing a beautiful open grass courtyard, with a fountain in its center. It felt very much like a cloister inside, as they passed rows and rows of arched stone walls.
They followed the man into another building, and down an endlessly long corridor. The ceiling was high and arched, covered in brightly painted frescoes.
They walked and walked, at a fast pace. It felt like they were walking forever, until finally they turned down yet another corridor, climbed a set of stairs, and entered the most magnificent room Caitlin had ever seen.
She looked up, awestruck.
“The Sistine Chapel,” Caleb whispered.
The three of them entered the huge room, and she could not look away from Michelangelo’s ceiling. Every inch of it, spanning hundreds of feet, was covered in brightly-painted scenes. It was so vibrant, so life-like, it felt like a living thing.
Caitlin heard a shuffling, and looked over and saw hundreds of vampires in the room, all dressed in white, wearing white hoods, and lined up patiently along the walls.
In the center of the room, on a raised dais, stood an altar, and before that stood three more vampires. Their dress was more elaborate than the others, in white robes with gold trim.
The vampire that led them in gestured for the three of them to approach the altar.
Caitlin walked slowly up the dais and before the three vampires, accompanied by Caleb and Sam.
Her heart was pounding. Was her father among these men? What was this coven, exactly? She felt closer to her father than she’d ever had. Felt as if he were in this very room with her.
The vampire in the center slowly pulled back his hood and stared at her with his huge, glowing, light blue eyes. His eyes were so large, so translucent, it felt as if he were not of this Earth.
“We are members of the most holy and most ancient and most powerful vampire coven ever known to man. We have lived thousands of years longer than anyone else, and we guard secrets that no one else is fit to protect. It is thanks to us that the human and vampire races have managed to survive. Few know of our existence—and even fewer are members. Your father is one of us. Which means that you, too, are one of us.”
Caitlin’s heart pounded in her chest. The implications of it seemed overwhelming. These were her father’s people. Here, in the Vatican. She felt so proud of him, and felt special herself. Yet she also burned with questions.
He suddenly held out a small, jewel-encrusted box.
“Your key, please,” he said.
Caitlin looked back at him, puzzled.
Key?
She didn’t have a key. Had they mistaken her for someone else?
He looked down and pointed at her necklace.