pushed back, further and further. She couldn’t bring herself to swing back. But his blows were so unexpected, so strong, they threw her completely off balance.
She stumbled and fell to the ground, and the crowd roared, on its feet, tasting blood.
“KILL HER!” the crowd roared, on its feet.
“Bring me the spear!” Sam yelled.
Caitlin was shocked at her little brother’s voice. It was so deep, so dark. It was the voice of a man.
Kyle, high up, nodded down to an attendant, and he came running out and handed Sam a huge, golden spear.
Caitlin used the time to scurry back to her feet, to backup, to consider all her options.
What could she possibly do? Kill her own brother?
No. She could not. She was tired of fighting. And if even her own brother wanted to kill her, then what was the point in living anymore?
She stared at him, hoping one last time that he would come to, that he would see it was his sister.
And then she dropped her sword. And her shield. And closed her eyes.
She stood there, defenseless, wide open, an easy target.
Sam faced her, and slowly lifted the heavy, golden spear.
“KILL HER! KILL HER!” chanted the crowd.
Caitlin opened her eyes.
In that moment, she felt the whole world in slow motion. She saw every last detail, heard every little sound, as the rest of the world was slowly muted out. She felt the breeze on her skin, noticed the brilliance of the sun. She felt strongly that this would be her last moment on Earth.
And she looked forward to it, to finally seeing her father. What a fitting way to see him, she thought. Sent by his own son’s hand.
Sam took a step forward, reached back, and suddenly, he hurled the spear.
As Caitlin opened her eyes, she was shocked by what she saw.
At the last second, Sam had turned on his heel, and hurled the spear not at her—but rather, had aimed it up, at the bleachers.
Directly at Kyle.
It all happened so fast, was so unexpected, that Kyle had no time to react.
Before he could get out of the way, the spear went through his arm, and kept going, through the judge’s heart. The two of them shrieked, stuck together.
The entire crowd jumped to its feet, in shock and outrage.
“Kill them!” Kyle screamed.
But before anyone could react, the sky suddenly turned black.
Flying over the Coliseum, there suddenly descended hundreds of vampires.
Caitlin didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
There, up in the sky, leading them, was Caleb. By his side was Samuel, Aiden, Polly, and hundreds of others.
Caleb wasted no time. He dove right for Kyle, grabbing him by the throat, wrestling him down to the bleachers.
The hundreds of other vampires descended, too, prepared for battle against the thousands. It was all-out war, hand to hand.
Sam came running over to Caitlin, tearing off his helmet.
“I hope you understand,” he said. “I had to trick them. To catch them off guard. I never meant to hurt you. It was the only way,” he said. “I’m here, I’m back in time, because I love you. And because I’m sorry.”
They embraced.
But they had no time to waste. Thousands of vampires were pouring out of the bleachers, charging for them.
Sam turned to her. “Can you still fly?”
She nodded, and they both took off into the air, flying, rising high above the din of vampires sprinting for them.
As they flew over the bleachers, they passed Kyle, wrestling with Caleb.
Caleb had the upper hand, but for a moment, he slipped; Kyle took advantage, grabbed his sword, and reached back to stab Caleb.
Sam and Caitlin dove low. Just in time, she kicked the sword out of Kyle’s hand; Sam, right behind her, then kicked Kyle hard in the face, sending him flying head over heels over the balcony.
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.
