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CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
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Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
Caitlin looked up at Jesus, unable to speak, unable to breathe. It was beyond what she could process. Yet at that moment, she knew it to be true.Jesus was her father.All this time, he had been the one she had been searching for.Your guide will appear at the Eastern gate.It was Jesus. He was her guide.And he was also her father.A feeling raced through Caitlin, a feeling unlike any she had ever had. It was a feeling of being special. A feeling of belonging. A feeling of pride. In her father, in herself. She was special. Her lineage was special. Beyond special.Caitlin could hardly even conceive what it all meant.She burst into action. After all, this was her father here, nailed to a cross, and she couldn’t stand to see him suffer. She jumped up, and took out the four keys, already knowing they would each be a perfect fit. As she inserted each key, the earth shook and the skies thundered. It felt like an earthquake, as lightning bolts came down all across Jerusalem. It was
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Rhinebeck, New York (Hudson Valley)Present dayCaitlin Paine hurried through her house as night began to fall, trying to get everything ready in time. It was almost six o’clock, and in moments, everyone would be here. She rushed through her oversized, old Victorian house, floorboards creaking as she hurried from room to room, tidying. She wanted everything to be perfect for tonight.Caitlin hurried into her kitchen, grabbed the cake plate she’d been hiding, and carried it through the double doors. As she did, Ruth, her large Husky, followed at her heels, sniffing the cake and wagging her tail. Caitlin set it down in the center of the dining table, hoping her daughter, Scarlet, hadn’t seen it yet. After all, tonight was Scarlet’s big 16th birthday, and even though it was a weeknight, Caitlin had a special surprise in store.Caitlin had been looking forward to this all week. She’d tricked Scarlet into thinking they weren’t going to celebrate until the weekend, and had secretly
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
Caitlin’s hands trembled as she drove. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d put down her journal hours before. She’d read every page, then started over, and read it all over again. It was like watching her life flash before her eyes. It was like reading about a life that had been kept secret from her, a life she’d always suspected she’d had, but was afraid to believe was possible. It was like holding a piece of herself she never knew existed.It excited and terrified her at the same time. She no longer knew what was real and what was imagined. The line was blurring so much, she wondered if she was losing her mind.Being a scholar, a rare book expert, she also analyzed and scrutinized the book itself, with an expert’s eye. She could tell, scientifically, objectively, that it was real. An ancient book. Thousands of years old. Older than any book she’d ever held. That in itself would have been enough to stump her. It didn’t make any sense. How was it possible? In her own attic?
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
The entire drive home, Caitlin was sick with worry. She felt there was no rational person left in the universe. She had thought that driving into the city and speaking to Aiden would calm her, would make her return home feeling better, with everything explained and back in its rational order.But he had just made everything a million times worse. Now she wished she’d never visited him—and more than anything, she wished she’d never gone to the attic. She wished she’d never had that dream, and had never seen that journal. She wished she could just make it all go away.Just yesterday, everything was perfect in her life; now, she felt that everything was upside down. She almost felt that, by going to the attic, and opening that box, opening that book, she unleashed something horrible into the universe. Something that was meant to be kept locked away.A part of her still told her that all of this was ridiculous. Maybe Aiden had lost touch with reality after all these years of teaching. M
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER ONE
Nazareth, Israel(April, 33 A.D.)Caitlin’s mind raced with fast, troubled dreams. She saw her best friend, Polly, fall off a cliff, reaching out and trying to grab hold of her, but just missing her hand. She saw her brother Sam, run from her, through an endless field; she chased after him, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t catch him. She saw Kyle and Rynd slaughter her coven members before her eyes, chopping them into pieces, the blood spraying over her. This blood morphed into a blood-red sunset, which hung over her wedding ceremony to Caleb. Except in this wedding, they were the only two people there, the last ones left in the world, standing at the edge of a cliff against a blood-red sky.And then she saw her daughter, Scarlet, sitting in a small wooden boat, alone on a vast sea, drifting in turbulent waters. Scarlet held up the four keys that Caitlin needed to find her father. But as she watched, Scarlet reached up and dropped them into the water.“Scarlet!” Caitl
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWO
Scarlet felt a tongue licking her face and opened her eyes to blinding sunlight. The tongue would not stop, and before she even looked over, she knew it was Ruth. She opened her eyes just enough to see that it was her: Ruth was leaning over, whining, and grew even more excited as Scarlet opened her eyes.Scarlet felt a stab of pain as she tried to open her eyes further; struck by the blinding sunlight, her eyes teared up, more sensitive than ever. She had a bad headache, and peeled open her eyes just enough to she was lying on a cobblestone street somewhere. People rushed by, walking past her, and she could tell she was in the midst of a busy city. People hurried to and fro, bustling in every direction, and she could hear the din of a crowd in midday. As Ruth whined and whined, she sat there, trying to remember, trying to figure out where she was. But she had no idea.Before Scarlet could get her mind around what had happened, she suddenly felt a foot prodding her in the ribs.“Move
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THREE
Sam woke to a splitting headache. He reached up with both hands and held his head, trying to make the pain go away. But it wouldn’t. It felt like the entire world was coming down on his skull.Sam tried to open his eyes, to figure out where he was, and as he did, the pain was unbearable. Blinding sunlight bounced off of desert rock, forcing him to shield his eyes and lower his head. He felt himself lying on a rocky, desert floor, felt the dry heat, felt the dust rising up into his face. He curled up in a fetal position and held his head tighter, trying to make the pain go away.Memories came flooding back.First, there was Polly.He remembered Caitlin’s wedding night. The night he proposed to Polly. Her saying yes. The joy on her face.He remembered the next day. His going on his hunt. His anticipation of their night to come.He remembered finding her. On the beach. Dying. Her telling him about their baby.Waves of grief came rushing back. It was more than he could handle. It wa
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER FOUR
Caitlin and Caleb hiked down the steep mountain face, heading towards the village of Nazareth. It was rocky, and they slid more than walked down the steep face, stirring up dust. As they went the terrain began to change, the rock giving way to clumps of weeds, the occasional palm tree, then to real grass. They finally found themselves in an olive grove, walking amidst rows of olive trees, as they continued further down, towards the town.Caitlin looked closely at the branches and saw thousands of small olives, shimmering in the sun, and marveled at how beautiful they were. The closer they got to the town the more fertile the trees were. Caitlin looked down and from this vantage point had a bird’s eye view of the valley and the town.A small village nestled amidst enormous valleys, Nazareth could hardly be called a city. There looked to be only a few hundred inhabitants, only a few dozen small buildings, one story high and built of stone. Several of them appeared to be built of a whit
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Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
The entire drive home, Caitlin was sick with worry. She felt there was no rational person left in the universe. She had thought that driving into the city and speaking to Aiden would calm her, would make her return home feeling better, with everything explained and back in its rational order.But he had just made everything a million times worse. Now she wished she’d never visited him—and more than anything, she wished she’d never gone to the attic. She wished she’d never had that dream, and had never seen that journal. She wished she could just make it all go away.Just yesterday, everything was perfect in her life; now, she felt that everything was upside down. She almost felt that, by going to the attic, and opening that box, opening that book, she unleashed something horrible into the universe. Something that was meant to be kept locked away.A part of her still told her that all of this was ridiculous. Maybe Aiden had lost touch with reality after all these years of teaching. M
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
Caitlin’s hands trembled as she drove. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d put down her journal hours before. She’d read every page, then started over, and read it all over again. It was like watching her life flash before her eyes. It was like reading about a life that had been kept secret from her, a life she’d always suspected she’d had, but was afraid to believe was possible. It was like holding a piece of herself she never knew existed.It excited and terrified her at the same time. She no longer knew what was real and what was imagined. The line was blurring so much, she wondered if she was losing her mind.Being a scholar, a rare book expert, she also analyzed and scrutinized the book itself, with an expert’s eye. She could tell, scientifically, objectively, that it was real. An ancient book. Thousands of years old. Older than any book she’d ever held. That in itself would have been enough to stump her. It didn’t make any sense. How was it possible? In her own attic?
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Rhinebeck, New York (Hudson Valley)Present dayCaitlin Paine hurried through her house as night began to fall, trying to get everything ready in time. It was almost six o’clock, and in moments, everyone would be here. She rushed through her oversized, old Victorian house, floorboards creaking as she hurried from room to room, tidying. She wanted everything to be perfect for tonight.Caitlin hurried into her kitchen, grabbed the cake plate she’d been hiding, and carried it through the double doors. As she did, Ruth, her large Husky, followed at her heels, sniffing the cake and wagging her tail. Caitlin set it down in the center of the dining table, hoping her daughter, Scarlet, hadn’t seen it yet. After all, tonight was Scarlet’s big 16th birthday, and even though it was a weeknight, Caitlin had a special surprise in store.Caitlin had been looking forward to this all week. She’d tricked Scarlet into thinking they weren’t going to celebrate until the weekend, and had secretly
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
Caitlin looked up at Jesus, unable to speak, unable to breathe. It was beyond what she could process. Yet at that moment, she knew it to be true.Jesus was her father.All this time, he had been the one she had been searching for.Your guide will appear at the Eastern gate.It was Jesus. He was her guide.And he was also her father.A feeling raced through Caitlin, a feeling unlike any she had ever had. It was a feeling of being special. A feeling of belonging. A feeling of pride. In her father, in herself. She was special. Her lineage was special. Beyond special.Caitlin could hardly even conceive what it all meant.She burst into action. After all, this was her father here, nailed to a cross, and she couldn’t stand to see him suffer. She jumped up, and took out the four keys, already knowing they would each be a perfect fit. As she inserted each key, the earth shook and the skies thundered. It felt like an earthquake, as lightning bolts came down all across Jerusalem. It was
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
As Caitlin flew away from the Mount of Olives, Scarlet on her back, holding Ruth, her heart was breaking in a million pieces. She was so overwhelmed, she hardly knew what to think. Down below, she was leaving Caleb, her husband, dead. Blake, dead. Aiden, dead. And her brother, Sam, alone to fight that army. He had finally come back to her, had become the brother she once knew. Her heart had soared to see him come back to himself. And abandoning him now, like this—after she had vowed to never abandon anyone again—was the most painful of all. But at the same time, his remaining down there, fighting that army, was enabling her to flee, to search for their Dad—who, Aiden had said all along, was their last hope for salvation. Still, despite everything, she wished that Sam, the last familiar face in the world, could join her, could come with her to find their Dad together.Caitlin recalled Aiden’s words, centuries ago: she was the chosen one. Finding her Dad was her destiny, and her desti
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
“Sam!” screamed a voice.Sam suddenly stopped, hypnotized by the voice, his sword frozen in mid-air.“SAM!” screamed the voice again.Sam turned and looked, and Caitlin saw who it was.Scarlet stood there, hands on her hips, red-faced, screaming at Sam.“Don’t you hurt her! That’s my mommy! What kind of brother are you?”Scarlet stepped forward, fearless, and positioned herself between Sam and Caitlin.Sam stared back, perplexed. He still held the sword, as if frozen.“It’s your job to protect her. Don’t you remember? IT’S YOUR JOB!”Sam blinked several times.“You promised to protect her. And me. What kind of brother are you?” Scarlet screamed, chastising him.There was something about the tone of Scarlet’s voice—something so honest and real—that it seemed to break through an invisible barrier, to reach Sam. It seemed to reach to the core, to break him out of a trance, to reach all the way to Sam himself, to the man who was once a brother, who was once an uncle.Slowly, Sa
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER THIRTY
Caitlin faced off against Kyle, Rynd, Rexius, and his legion of vampires. As she stood there, she could feel the rage slowly overcome her. She hadn’t felt rage like this in she didn’t know how long. It was a deep, primal rage, and it overcame her like a storm. It was the rage of a creature with nothing left to live for. It was the most powerful thing she’d ever felt.Caitlin wanted vengeance. She needed vengeance. For Caleb. For Aiden. For Blake. For herself. Every ounce of her body geared up to fight this army. Her entire world turned red, and she knew that she needed to kill every last one of them.Caitlin leaned back and roared, the roar of a thousand dragons. The ground beneath her trembled, as her battle cry reached up to the very heavens.As the ground shook, she saw fear on the faces of Kyle and Rynd. They must have sensed that they were up against a changed person, against a person unlike any they had ever faced. This was the new Caitlin. The Caitlin who had completed her tr
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Caitlin raced through the air towards the Mount of Olives. She managed to put a good distance between herself and her pursuers, and wasn’t worried about them.What she was worried about was what she might find. She had a pit in her chest, a deepening sense of dread she could not shake, that something terrible had happened, that all the people she loved in the world were gone. She felt as if she were already an orphan in the universe.She thought back to Jesus’ words, and willed herself to be calm.Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to her life?Caitlin flew across the arid landscape of Israel, watching Jerusalem and the never-ending palm trees beneath her. She was drawn to this city, yet found herself hating it at the same time. This place was too intense for her, and she associated it with everything that had gone wrong in her life. She just wanted to get away—far, far away, with Caleb and Scarlet. Alone. Just the three of them. To a place where they could live out their
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Caitlin slowly opened her eyes, in excruciating pain. As the light hit her eyes, it felt like knives entering her forehead. She had to squint—even though it was dim in here, lit only by torches.She felt aches and pains all over her body and as she tried to move, she realized she was chained. She looked over and saw chains binding her hands and feet to a wall. She was standing upright, arms and legs outstretched, chained, her back against a cold stone wall, the cold metal digging into her wrists and ankles. She struggled against her shackles, and realized they were silver.She felt a huge welt forming on her cheek, and realized that was the spot where Sam must have hit her. The thought of that hurt her more than the lump. Sam. Her own brother. She could hardly conceive it. Had he so thoroughly turned to the dark side that he would attack even her?Apparently, he had. And that hurt her more than she could contemplate. Sam, she realized, was no longer her brother. Their relationship w
