“There!” Caitlin suddenly yelled, pointing.
The others stopped, rose to their feet, and looked to where she was pointing.
“She’s in those woods,” Caitlin screamed again, then took off at a sprint.
Caleb and the others were right behind her, sprinting as fast as she.
As Caitlin burst into the woods, the sky darkening under the canopy of the foliage, she immediately sensed that something was wrong. She sensed it as a mother. It felt as if one of her own limbs had been severed. A chill ran up her spine as she burst deeper into the forest, filled with a sense of foreboding.
As she ran, she noticed a trail of torn flowers spread out, and as she looked more carefully, she saw they were spotted in blood. She felt a pit in her stomach, as her sense of foreboding deepened.
She did not even need to turn the corner to know what lay just around it. Every pore in her body screamed to her that something was terribly, irrevocably, wrong.
As she turned the corner, and saw the sight, she collapsed to her knees, and let out a wail of grief unlike any she had before.
There, on the forest trail, sprawled out before, covered in blood, was Scarlet. Her daughter.
And just feet away from her, covered in blood, lying on her side, whimpering and barely moving, was Ruth.
Caitlin saw blood everywhere, but it was all blurry, out of focus. Her world was spinning as she sank to her knees in the snow, in the soft forest floor, wailing over Scarlet’s little body. Caitlin was afraid to, but she turned Scarlet over anyway.
Caitlin’s grief deepened, if that were possible. Scarlet’s lifeless face stared back, her eyes opened, unblinking. Caitlin felt for a pulse, but there was none. She was dead.
Caitlin saw the deep bite marks in her throat, saw the blood all over her, and knew that she had met a horrific death, that there was no possible way anyone could have survived whatever attacked her. Caitlin leaned back and shrieked, her wail of grief rising up into the sky, just as Caleb, Polly, Taylor, and all the others hurried over and stood over her, staring down, gaping.
“Scarlet!” Caitlin cried, feeling she had nothing left to live for.
She reached down and picked her up, cradling in her arms, hugging her tight to her chest. Caitlin could feel her little body in her arms, and at that moment, she would give anything, anything, to bring her back.
“I would do anything!” Caitlin yelled up to the sky. “Do you hear me!?” she screamed out to the universe, like a mad woman. “Anything. I would give up anything to have Scarlet back again. I VOW! ANYTHING!”
Suddenly, a gale force wind ripped through the trees. The snow whipped around her, and the clouds shifted, letting in a ray of sunlight through the deep and dark wood. In the distance, on the forest trail, there appeared a lone figure, walking towards them.
Caitlin looked up, barely able to see with the tears in her eyes.
Aiden.
He walked slowly and gravely towards her, cloaked in his long robe and hood, leaning on his ancient staff as he went. In moments, he was standing over her.
Caitlin looked up with tearful eyes, hoping beyond hope that maybe, just maybe, there was something he could do.
But from his grave look, she didn’t take much hope.
“You must help us,” Caitlin pleaded. “Please. You must. You have to bring her back. You have to!”
Suddenly, Caitlin felt a squirming in her arms. She looked down and her heart stopped as she saw Scarlet, eyes now closed, flinch just the slightest bit. She held her breath, watching, hoping it would happen again.
It did. Scarlet was twisting and moving her arms. Caitlin’s heart soared, afraid to hope.
Could it be?
A moment later, as all the others crowded around, Scarlet suddenly opened her eyes. She stared right back at Caitlin.
“Mommy,” she said, her voice soft, “my neck hurts.”
Caitlin hugged Scarlet tightly, rocking her back and forth, tears running down her face, overjoyed to see her alive, moving, breathing, talking. It felt like a dream.
Caitlin was so confused. She didn’t understand how it could be possible. Just a moment ago, Scarlet was clearly dead. She was sure of it.
But as Scarlet’s little hands hugged her back, Caitlin didn’t care. She didn’t need to know how it happened. All she cared about was that she was back with her again.
“I’m so sorry,” Caitlin said, over and over, crying. “I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you again.”
Caitlin gradually looked up, and saw Aiden still standing over them, staring down. She felt a debt of gratitude, and wonder.
“How did you do it?” Caitlin asked. “How did you bring her back?”
Aiden slowly shook his head, as the entire crowd looked to him.
“You still don’t understand,” he said softly. “I didn’t bring her back. She never died. Only mortals die,” he added, and then as he turned his back, he said his final words, words that Caitlin would never forget, “and Scarlet is no mortal. She is a vampire. And she is your daughter.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kyle hiked with Rynd and his men up a rocky hill on the Isle of Lewis. It had been a long flight to get here, and as they had flown over the Isle of Skye, Kyle had wondered about the wisdom of Rynd’s plan. Kyle had wanted to just dive down right there and launch a direct attack on Skye. But Rynd had insisted that was not the best approach; he had claimed that Skye was protected from vampire attack by an invisible shield. Rynd had suggested another, more devious, way.
They had been hiking for hours, and Rynd had offered few details of his plan. Kyle was not used to following, to taking orders, and he was reaching his limit. Indeed, just as he was getting ready to confront Rynd again, finally Rynd hiked up alongside him.
“Tonight is the Samhain Festival,” Rynd said. “Our kind will flock here from around the world. It is our night for power, the one night when evil has free reign. We will use the energy of this night to summon our evil cohorts from every corner of the earth. Whatever creatures are out there, they will come to us, like moths to a flame. Then, tomorrow, we will attack Skye as one.”
Kyle looked at him, puzzled.
“But I thought you said Skye had a shield, was immune to attack – ”
“We can’t lead a head-on attack. But I can use my shapeshifting powers to trick one of them into inviting us. With a formal invitation, the gates will be opened. Then our entire army can attack.”
Kyle looked at Rynd with a new admiration. Of course. The sacred vampire invitation. One vampire coven could not cross water to attack another coven. Unless they were invited. And with Rynd’s shapeshifting power, he could deceive someone, and get an invitation.
Kyle smiled broadly. He knew there was a reason he’d wanted to use his old apprentice. He had known, he had just known, that Rynd would be the key.
And Kyle liked his plan. Of course. Samhain. There was no better day of the year to harness the evil forces of the universe. Kyle recalled his heyday, when they would spend entire days leading up to, during, and after Samhain, sacrificing humans, drinking their blood, and on all-night orgies of sex and witchcraft and bloodshed. It was his favorite day of the year. With all of Rynd’s men in attendance, they could collectively perform ceremonies and rituals and sacrifices that could help conjure up even the most evil of spirits. Yes, Kyle was feeling optimistic. It was a very propitious sign indeed.
But Kyle was still uncertain of why Rynd had chosen the Isle of Lewis to celebrate Samhain.
And then they rounded a hill, and Kyle saw it: the Callanish Stones. Of course. Kyle hadn’t thought of these for centuries. But now that he saw them, it made perfect sense. There was no better place Rynd could have picked.
The Callanish Stones had been around for thousands of years, and were an ancient power spot for vampires. Laid out in a crude circle, they looked like the stones of Stonehenge, except these stones were more narrow, haphazard. They sat atop a dramatic knoll, on a remote island, overlooking cliffs and a vast ocean. They were eerie, and exuded a mystical power.