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CHAPTER TWENTY
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Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Caitlin stood there, inside the holy chamber of the holy Temple, staring down at the floor. She could not believe what had just happened. As she inserted the golden staff, a secret opening in the floor slowly slid back, revealing a staircase, descending down beneath the ground. A golden light radiated down below, shining up the steps, and it looked as if it were a stairway descending down into heaven itself.The pounding continued at the door, dozens of soldiers trying to knock it down, and Caitlin knew she had no time to lose. She hurried over and descended through the narrow opening, down the steps, towards the light. As she did, she felt the four keys burning in her pocket, and felt certain that this would lead her to her Dad.Caitlin hurried down the winding, golden steps, deep beneath the holy Temple, and found herself inside a tunnel system, shining with light. She could hardly believe it: the walls and the floors were completely lined with gold. It was the most opulent place s
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Caleb stood there, at the base of the Mount of Olives, watching the sky. He had been unable to look away ever since Caitlin had left. Secretly, he hoped she would come back. But he knew she couldn’t.He felt a tightness in his chest, a sadness, and found it hard to breathe. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her, couldn’t stop feeling as if it might be the last time he ever saw her. He thought back to all the times they had been together, to all the centuries, to his proposal, to their wedding. She was his life. She meant more to him than anything on this earth. And to watch her go, to fly away like that, broke his heart. He knew, rationally, that she should return. But deep down inside, somehow he felt that she never would.So Caleb stood there, watching, hoping—and as he did, he began to feel something else: he began to sense a great disturbance in the universe. He had felt disturbances before, throughout the centuries, in his battles with Kyle, against the Bla
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Caitlin stood in the midst of the thick crowd, staring up at the Eastern gate, the sun glaring behind it. She had to squint, and for a moment, she wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. There was also such light radiating off the man coming through that it was hard for Caitlin to see where the sun ended and the man began.Caitlin watched as the man, seated on a donkey, rode in through the Eastern gate. The animal ambled through the thick masses, as all around him swarmed dozens of followers, dressed in long, flowing white robes. The man himself wore a long, white robe and hood, which was lowered, exposing his face to the crowd. He had light brown hair going down to his cheekbones, and a short brown beard. His eyes were large and hazel, and they radiated light, like two glowing marbles. In fact, there was such light radiating off of him that Caitlin had to squint. He had such an aura of peace, she could immediately sense he was different. This was no ordinary person.Caitlin
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Caitlin stood there, staring at Blake and Scarlet, speechless. Her heart soared at the site of them. Her eyes locked on Scarlet’s, and at the same moment, they ran for each other. Scarlet’s face lit up with joy, and beside her, Ruth, elated, ran to her, too.Caitlin picked Scarlet up in her arms and hugged her with all she had. She could feel Scarlet’s little hands hugging her back, squeezing tightly.Caitlin felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks, felt Scarlet’s tears on her own neck. She felt whole again. As if a piece of her had been returned. Her daughter was alive. And she was here, with her, back in this time and place. Safe.“Mommy mommy! I missed you so much,” Scarlet said, through her tears. Caitlin hugged her, never wanting to let her go.“I know, sweetheart. I missed you, too.”Ruth barked and whined, jumping on Caitlin; Caitlin knelt down, and she licked her frantically all over her face.Scarlet watched and laughed hysterically. Caitlin was so happy to hear that la
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Now Caleb understood. As he stood there, looking up at the blackening skies, now he understood why he and Caitlin were meant to part ways. She wasn’t destined to be here. She wasn’t destined to witness this slaughter, to die with all of them, here, on this mountain. She had a different destiny.He, Caleb, was the one destined to die today. In her place.Caleb felt the old warrior inside rouse itself. He raised his chin proudly, held out his chest, and breathed in, jutting out his jaw, holding his ground. It was the stance of a warrior prepared to meet his death—and to go down with honor.Caleb reached down and instinctively extracted his sword from his scabbard. It slid out with a metallic noise that echoed in the hills.All around him, Aiden’s coven members did the same.Except for Aiden. He merely stood there, looking as relaxed as ever as he closed his eyes and merely raised his staff before him. Caleb could sense the energy radiating off of it. He had never fought with Aiden b
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Caitlin stood there, watching the sky, wiping her tears, and finally tore herself away. She was jostled in the crowd, and felt a small hand grip hers, and finally snapped out of it.Scarlet looked up at her with her joyful, innocent eyes. “Mommy?” she asked.Caitlin beamed at the site of her, forgetting all her sadness. She bent down and embraced Scarlet, holding her tight, smiling, radiant. And then she remembered: Jesus.Caitlin took Scarlet’s hand, checked to see that Ruth was there, and hurried through the mob, heading after him. They were jostled as they went, and it was an effort just to keep them together. The masses flocked around Jesus, who was far away now, and the crowd was growing thicker and thicker. He was such a polarizing figure, Caitlin could feel the tension in the air, so thick it was palpable. Brawls broke out, as some people wept openly, while others argued with each other. It felt like Jerusalem was on the verge of a revolution.The Roman soldiers stood back
Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Caleb could not believe what he was seeing: all around him, the graves were rising on the Mount of Olives. He remembered the prophecy for the end of days—that the first to resurrect would be those buried on the Mount of Olives—and knew the prophecy was coming true.That meant that the end of days was at hand. Right here. Right now.The thought struck him like a lightning bolt. The apocalypse. It was really happening. Something horrific had been unleashed, and the dark side had gotten to it first. His sense of dread deepened: now, his death seemed inevitable.Caleb turned back to the battle at hand and fought furiously, blocking Kyle’s battle axe just in time. He leaned back and kicked Kyle hard, right in the chest, sending him flying backwards.Another sword came slashing down for his head, and Caleb blocked it with his sword, then spun around and kicked his assailant hard in the gut, knocking him down. It was Rynd. Kyle’s old accomplice.Caleb was at the peak of his strength, fig
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
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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
