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TWENTY FOUR
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2023-01-12 15:53:55Related chapters
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY FIVE
Sam ran through the corridors beneath City Hall, faster and faster, twisting and turning. He could not believe what he had just on. His own sister. He had tried to kill her. Why? Had he sank so far?Up until that moment, ever since he had been turned, he’d felt out of control, like he’d been in a haze. It had just been so hard to think clearly, to get a hold of his new skin, his new life, as if he had just been swept up in a giant wave.But now, finally, the effects of being turned were wearing off, and he was finally able to see clearly, to think for himself. He realized that he had slipped. He had never wanted any of this. He despised Kyle and the entire coven. Most of all, he realized that he had been played by Samantha. She had wanted him to rise to power for her own sake, her own ambition. She had used him.But he didn’t care about power, or the Sword, or any of it. He just wanted to be left alone. And far away from her. But first, there was one thing he had to do.At that mom
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY SIX
Caitlin flew over the Hudson River, Caleb’s dead body in her arms, heading right for Pollepel Island. She dove in, coming lower, aiming for the castle courtyard. The cold river air brushed her face, her tears, but unlike other times, it didn’t calm her. Nothing could calm her, ever again.Caitlin could see her former covenmates below, training amid the torchlight. She knew that she was banished, and knew they might even have orders to kill her on-site, as Aiden had warned, but she had no choice. She had nowhere else to turn. And she had to see Aiden. She had to know if there was a way, any possible way, that he could revive Caleb. She refused to let him go. And if it turned out there was no way, she would take her own life with his.She threw caution to the wind as she landed right in the courtyard, to the stunned expressions of her former covenmates. They all stopped training, and in frozen silence, looked at her with eyes wide open. They must have seen her pain, the grief etched ac
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) ONE
Pollepel Island, Hudson River, New York(Present Day)“Caitlin?” came the soft voice. “Caitlin?”Caitlin Paine heard the voice, and struggled to open her eyes. They were so heavy, though; no matter how much she tried, she could barely lift them. Finally, she managed to pry them open, just for a brief second, to see where the voice was coming from.Caleb.He was kneeling by her side, holding her hand in both of his, concern etched across his face.“Caitlin?” he asked again.She tried to get her bearings, to lift the immense cobwebs from her head. Where was she? She could see enough to see that this room was bare, made of stone. It was nighttime, and a large window let in the light of a full moon. Stone floors, stone walls, an arched, stone ceiling. The stone looked smooth and ancient. Was she in a medieval cloister?Aside from the moonlight, the room was lit only by a small torch, fixed to the far wall, and not giving off much light. It was too dark to see more.She tried
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWO
As Kyle flew over northern Manhattan, he had never felt so elated. Behind him flew Sergei, his obedient soldier, and behind him, hundreds of vampires that had joined them along the way. Kyle now held the fabled Sword in his belt, and nothing more need be said. Malevolent vampires all along the East Coast had already heard the news, and as Kyle flew over, many covens were eager to join him. They knew war was coming, and Kyle’s reputation preceded him. These mercenary vampires knew that, wherever he was going, he would be up to no good. And they wanted to be a part of it.Kyle felt the thrill of the growing army behind him, and felt another surge of confidence as he flew over the city. Sergei had done well in grabbing the Sword and stabbing that girl, Caitlin. In fact, Kyle had been surprised. He’d never imagined Sergei had it in him. He had underestimated him, and as a reward, he’d decided to keep him alive, realizing that he’d make a good sidekick. He was especially impressed that Ser
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) THREE
Samantha watched the massive double doors open up before her, creaking as they went, and felt a pit in her stomach. She walked into her leader’s chambers, accompanied by several vampire guards. They were not restraining her—they would never dare—but they did accompany her closely, and the message was clear. She was still one of them, but she was under house arrest, at least until she’d had this meeting with Rexius. He summoned her as a soldier, but he was also summoning her as a prisoner.The doors closed with a crash behind her, and she saw that the huge chamber was filled. She had not seen a turnout like this in years. There were hundreds of her fellow vampires in the room. Clearly, they all wanted to watch, to know the news, what had happened with the Sword. How she had let it slip away.Most of all, they likely wanted to see her punished. They knew that Rexius was an unforgiving leader, and that even the smallest mistake demanded punishment. A transgression of this magnitude woul
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) FOUR
Caitlin was running. The field of flowers climbed as high as her waist, and as she ran, she cut a path right through it. The sun, blood-red, sat as a huge ball on the horizon.Standing with his back to the sun, on the horizon, was her father. Or at least, his silhouette. His features were unrecognizable, but she knew that it was him.As Caitlin ran and ran, desperate to finally see him, to embrace him, the sun sank quickly, too quickly. Everything happened too fast, and within seconds, the sun had disappeared completely.She found herself running through the field in the middle of the night. Her father was still there, waiting. She felt that he wanted her to run faster, that he wanted to embrace her. But her legs would only run so fast, and no matter how hard she tried, he seemed to just get further away.As she ran, the moon suddenly rose over the horizon—a huge, blood-red moon, filling the entire sky. Caitlin could see all the details on it, the indents, the craters. It was cryst
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) FIVE
Samantha watched in horror as the cauldron tilted toward Sam’s face. She struggled for all she was worth, but there was nothing she could do to break free of her captors. She was helpless. She’d just have to stand there and watch it destroy the person she had come to love.As the liquid doused Sam, Samantha braced herself, expecting to hear the horrible shrieks so often accompanied by a dousing of Ioric acid.But as Sam became completely lost in the waterfall of acid, there was, strangely, not a single sound.Had it killed him so quickly, so completely, that he didn’t even have a chance to scream? As the liquid stopped, Sam came into view.And Samantha was truly shocked. As was every other vampire in the room.He was fine. He blinked and looked around, clearly not in pain. He even looked a bit defiant.It was incredible. Samantha had never seen anything like it—never seen anyone, human or vampire, immune to the liquid. That is, anyone except for one person. Now she remembered. Ca
Last Updated : 2023-01-12Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) SIX
Caitlin, unable to speak, stormed away from Caleb and Sera.It was too much for her to process at once. Had she just seen what she thought she had? How was it possible?She had thought that she’d known Caleb so well, that they were closer now than ever. She was sure that they were together, a couple, and would be that way forever. She had seen their new life together clearly, and had been so sure that nothing would tear them apart.And then this. It never occurred to her that there could be another woman in Caleb’s life. How could he have not told her?Of course, Caitlin remembered Sera from her brief visit to the Cloisters—but Caleb insisted he no longer had feelings for her, that whatever they had, it was years ago—hundreds of years ago.So then what was she doing here? Especially now, of all times? During Caleb and Caitlin’s most private moment together, when Caitlin had just arisen, fully turned, a true vampire, by his own blood? How did she even know where they were? Had Cale
Last Updated : 2023-01-12
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Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY SIX
Caitlin flew over the Hudson River, Caleb’s dead body in her arms, heading right for Pollepel Island. She dove in, coming lower, aiming for the castle courtyard. The cold river air brushed her face, her tears, but unlike other times, it didn’t calm her. Nothing could calm her, ever again.Caitlin could see her former covenmates below, training amid the torchlight. She knew that she was banished, and knew they might even have orders to kill her on-site, as Aiden had warned, but she had no choice. She had nowhere else to turn. And she had to see Aiden. She had to know if there was a way, any possible way, that he could revive Caleb. She refused to let him go. And if it turned out there was no way, she would take her own life with his.She threw caution to the wind as she landed right in the courtyard, to the stunned expressions of her former covenmates. They all stopped training, and in frozen silence, looked at her with eyes wide open. They must have seen her pain, the grief etched ac
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY FIVE
Sam ran through the corridors beneath City Hall, faster and faster, twisting and turning. He could not believe what he had just on. His own sister. He had tried to kill her. Why? Had he sank so far?Up until that moment, ever since he had been turned, he’d felt out of control, like he’d been in a haze. It had just been so hard to think clearly, to get a hold of his new skin, his new life, as if he had just been swept up in a giant wave.But now, finally, the effects of being turned were wearing off, and he was finally able to see clearly, to think for himself. He realized that he had slipped. He had never wanted any of this. He despised Kyle and the entire coven. Most of all, he realized that he had been played by Samantha. She had wanted him to rise to power for her own sake, her own ambition. She had used him.But he didn’t care about power, or the Sword, or any of it. He just wanted to be left alone. And far away from her. But first, there was one thing he had to do.At that mom
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY FOUR
Caitlin and Sera flew nearly all the way downtown in unimpeded skies until finally, their luck ran out. At Houston Street, soldiers from the Blacktide Coven appeared, coming right at them. There were maybe two dozen of them, and there was no way around them.“Prepare for battle,” Sera said in the air, her face transforming with rage, as she lifted her battle ax.Caitlin extracted both her sword and her spear, trying to remember all the principles that Aiden had taught her on the island. Stay focused. Breathe deep. Center yourself. When you are outnumbered, focus on the center warrior. There are no room for emotions in battle.They were badly outnumbered, but Caitlin, clutching her weapons with sweaty palms, felt that they could win.A second later, they crashed into the group at full speed. As they did, Caitlin slashed the sword expertly, decapitating one of them. She threw her spear in the same motion, piercing another one’s throat. Sera swung her axe wide, chopping off the heads
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY THREE
Caitlin and Sera flew over the west side of Manhattan, racing downtown. Getting out of the Cloisters had not been easy. Sera’s fellow coven members had wanted to detain her, but she had absolutely refused to back down. Caitlin had to hand it to her: she was strong-willed.Sera had taken them upstairs, to the main floor of the Cloisters, and had taken Caitlin to a massive, stone fireplace with intricate carvings. She’d reached in and pulled the heavy iron choker, and had revealed a secret compartment. She’d extracted two weapons for her: a short sword, covered in ancient carvings, and a short, silver spear. Caitlin had stared in awe. They were cruel, medieval weapons of destruction, yet beautiful in their simplicity.Sera had then brought them to another room, where she’d opened a compartment in what appeared to be a six-foot candleholder, and extracted an immense battle ax. It was also silver, and gleamed in the light. The way Sera squeezed the handle, Caitlin had the feeling that sh
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY TWO
As Caitlin flew over the Bronx, she was horrified to see the extent of the devastation occurring on the streets beneath her. On block after block, there was bloodshed, vampires gorging on humans, openly in the night. There were also humans attacking humans, trying to flee in the chaos. It was anarchy. And she couldn’t help but feel responsible. If she’d had just held onto the Sword, if she hadn’t let it slip away, perhaps none of this would’ve happened.She flew over the Cloisters, came in low, and circled it once more. She hesitated. She debated over whether she should land, whether Caleb would be there. On the one hand, she imagined that he would have long departed, that he was already off in the thick of battle somewhere. She guessed that if he were truly in danger, he would be elsewhere.On the other hand, she had no idea where else in Manhattan to look for him. The Cloisters was the best lead she had. She felt certain that his fellow coven members would know exactly where he wen
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY ONE
Caitlin sat on a wide stone parapet, Rose by her side, looking out at the water. She had found this small, crumbling ruin on a deserted part of the island, on the shore, almost at eye level with the water. She felt she could gather her thoughts here, alone, and she desperately needed to. The entire sky was lit with the pink hues of the sunset, and she felt as if she were sitting on the edge of the world.Her mind spun. There was so much to think about, she didn’t know where to begin.Pregnant. That word had rocked her world. She had never imagined it could even be possible—it had only been a week or two since she’d spent the night with Caleb. She had been shocked when Aiden revealed to her that vampire pregnancies happen much more quickly. It didn’t take three months to find out. It only took three days. And while one vampire cannot get another vampire pregnant, he explained, that night that she and Caleb had been together, Caitlin had still been a half-breed.Caitlin swallowed in f
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) TWENTY
If Kyle was capable of feeling anything like joy, this was the closest he’d come. Just a few short weeks ago, he had been, punished, acid poured on his face, cast out from his brethren—a freak, a pariah, never to set foot here again. Now here he was, back underneath City Hall, the new leader of the Blacktide Coven. He had managed to overthrow Rexius, to avenge himself on all of his old enemies, and to hold firm possession of the Sword. He even led an army of thousands, and all the local covens had shown deference to him. The world belonged to him.And the war was just beginning. That battle had been glorious. Once he had killed Samuel and captured Caleb, it had turned into a rout, his men slaughtering them all. They had put up a good fight, but in the end, his men just outnumbered them. They had now gained tremendous ground, and even more neighboring covens had flocked to join him. His army already spread uptown, block to block, like a swarm of locusts, wiping out all the humans, and
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) NINETEEN
Caitlin ran through a field of thorns. They tore at her left and right, and the pain was unbearable, as the field closed in. But some part of her told her that she had to keep running, that it was her only way out.On the horizon sat a huge, blood-red sun, and she could see her father’s silhouette outlined against it. She ran and ran, trying to reach him. But the sun suddenly set, so quickly, and the sky turned to black. In its place, a large, blood-red moon rose, filling the entire sky, and the thorns grew thicker, cutting Caitlin deeper. She knew that if she could reach her father, everything would be all right.He was getting closer, much closer, and within seconds, she stood before him.But when she looked up, at his face, it was no longer her father. It was Caleb. The thorns were closing in on him, too, wrapping around his legs, waist, arms, pulling at him. Then they crept up from behind and wrapped around his face, tearing and clawing at it. Blood streaked from his cheeks, fro
Betrayed (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals) EIGHTEEN
Caleb, Samuel, and their entourage of hundreds of vampires continued to fly over Manhattan, heading downtown. Since Times Square, no vampires dared stop them. As Caleb looked down, he saw mayhem sprawling all over the city, block to block, each neighborhood getting worse than the next. But they couldn’t risk stopping again to help the humans. The Blacktide Coven was now alarmed to their presence and they had to race to City Hall to take out Kyle before it was too late—and get back the Sword once and for all. So far, they had been lucky, with no other vampires up in the sky.But as they all flew at top speed, racing over Broadway, their good fortune came to an end. There, in the distance, coming right at them were hundreds of Blacktide vampires. And leading them, right in the center, was Kyle, brandishing the Sword. At one side of him flew Sergei, and at the other, flew Samantha and—could it be? Yes, it was Caitlin’s brother. Sam. Caleb was struck with a pang of worry—he would happily
