Destined

with?

“Caitlin, you hail from a special lineage. It is not too much to say that the fate of the entire vampire and human races rests in your hands. And yet, you have not fully chosen to embrace your mission. Instead, you chase past lovers. You still follow your heart. As you knew from the start, your mission begins in Florence. It is time for you to embrace your responsibilities. You must lead us to the shield. And find your true father.”

“But I don’t know how to do that,” she pleaded.

“Yes you do,” he answered. “You already have the meaning in your dream.”

She looked at him. Florence. Those doors. At that moment, she knew that was where she needed to go.

The sky suddenly darkened, and a strong wind picked up, blowing his hair, and his eyes shone with more intensity than ever.

“You cannot escape your destiny.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Caitlin stood by herself on the end of the gondola, rowing it across the wide canal of Venice.

Polly was worried for her to go by herself, but after much pleading, she had let her borrow her boat.

Caitlin felt that she could handle it, and she really needed to be alone. She needed time and space to think. And most importantly, in the place where she was going, she didn’t want anyone by her side.

It was a place she had to go alone. Rose was the only one she took; she sat at her legs appreciatively, happy, as always to be at her side.

After her meeting with Aiden, Caitlin had realized that he was right. She had to fulfill her mission. She had to at least to try, to get on the road, to follow the clues, to see where it led her.

But at the same time, she realized that she could not embark without closure with Caleb. She needed to know with absolute certainty that he truly didn’t remember, that he truly didn’t love her, that he was truly happy with Sera. After all she had been through, after all that they had been through together, she just had to know. Last night, everything had happened so quickly, perhaps he had just momentarily forgotten. Now, the following day, perhaps things would be different. Perhaps it had all come flooding back to him in the middle of the night.

If she looked into his eyes, now, in the daylight, and he told her again that he didn’t remember, or that he no longer loved her, that would be enough. She would be settled, and could go on her way. She would leave Venice behind, and continue on her journey alone. But until then, she still felt in limbo, and unable to move forward.

The sun was setting, and it got colder as she rowed, the current picking up, along with the wind.

She rowed more strongly, heading for the island on the horizon, following Aiden’s directions. When she’d told Aiden that she refused to move on without seeing Caleb, he had finally, reluctantly, told her where to find him. The small island of Murano, on the outskirts of Venice. But he had also warned her not to go looking for him, that it would bring trouble.

But what else did she possibly have to lose, if she lost him? She had to risk it. She had to follow her heart. She knew it wasn’t safe. But then again, love wasn’t safe, either.

Caitlin finally rounded a bend, and the island of Murano stretched before her. It was beautiful, unlike anything she had seen. It looked like a miniature version of Venice, except all the buildings were brightly painted in different colors. As the late afternoon sun lit them up, it looked like a living rainbow. It was cozy and cheerful.

As she rowed down the canal, between the small buildings, she felt a sense of peace and comfort. It surprised her that Caleb’s coven would choose this place. She would have imagined something more Gothic. As she headed deeper into the island, she looked for the church that Aiden had described: the church of Santa Maria e San Donato. That, supposedly, was were Caleb’s coven lived.

She rowed and rowed, her arms getting tired, and after asking a local, was pointed in the right direction. She headed down another small canal, and then the church spread out before her. It all suddenly made sense: here was a massive church in the middle of the small island. It looked ancient, large, semicircular, and foreboding, with columns all around. In some ways, it reminded her of the cloisters in New York. She could understand why Caleb’s people would feel comfortable here.

Caitlin tied her boat and got out, Rose by her side, happy to be on dry land.

She walked across the wide, stone plaza, empty in the late afternoon, headed up the steps, and through the front doors of the church.

It was dark in here, quiet. It was another enormous, ancient church, with endlessly high ceilings, and stained-glass windows on every side. There were hundreds of pews, simple and wooden, and all empty. In fact, as far she could see, the entire church was empty. No priest, nothing.

Caitlin walked slowly down the aisle, taking it all in. She finally reached the altar, and looked up, examining it. There was a large statue of an angel on a pedestal, and behind that, on the wall, several huge animal bones. She’d never seen bones that large. They looked prehistoric.

“The bones of the Dragon,” came a voice.

Caitlin wheeled.

There, walking towards her in the empty church, was a person she recognized. At first, she could not remember who it was. Then, as he came closer, she realized with a shock: it was Samuel. Caleb’s brother.

He looked like he’d always had, with long hair and a beard, serious, straightforward, battle-hardened. He was a somber man, she remembered, but he’d always seemed to be a good person.

He came beside her, and looked up at the wall.

“Legend has it that they are the bones of a Dragon,” he said. “Slain by a hero hundreds of years ago. Of course, it is not a legend. They were slain by one of us. Although, of course, we don’t take credit for it.”

She examined the bones, high up on the wall, and wondered. Then she turned and looked at Samuel. She wondered if he remembered her.

“I’m sorry to trespass like this,” she said. “I was looking for someone.”

“My brother,” he said flatly. It was not a question. She stared into his eyes, and wondered how much he knew.

“Do you remember?” she asked.

He nodded ever so slightly. She wondered if that was a yes.

“Caleb is with his son,” Samuel said.

The word son came out like a reprimand, and Caitlin wondered if he was giving her a message: back away. Leave Caleb and Sera and their son alone.

“I’d like to see him,” she said. “I need to see him.”

He stared at her, thinking.

“Our coven has lived here for hundreds of years,” he said, disregarding her question. “The Murano glass— people always said it seemed inhuman. They wondered how it could be so superior, the best glass in the world. Of course, it is our handiwork. We cannot use mirrors, so glass of this quality is the next best thing.

“We don’t thrive in harming others. We thrive in industry, like the human race. We are at peace now.

“But when someone new comes along, someone from another coven, and makes visits unannounced, and seeks to speak to people whom she shouldn’t, it can only bring us trouble.”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” she said. “I just want to talk to Caleb. Please.”

“Do you know what makes a vampire vulnerable?” Samuel asked.

She thought.

“It is not humans. It is rarely weapons. It is rarely even other vampires. We can handle our own against most everything.” He paused. Then added: “It is love.”

Caitlin thought.

“Love is the weak point of a vampire. It can change us. It can lead to our destruction,” he said.

“You have good intentions,” he added. “But that does not mean it will yield good results.”

With that, he turned his back on her and walked back down the aisle.

As she watched him go, she wanted to say a million things, but she was too bewildered by all of his comments. She didn’t know how to react.