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CHAPTER 25
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Marked CHAPTER 26
“Forgive these harsh accommodations,” the man said, running his hand along the thick metal chain that held me to the wall. “We’d be more than happy to let you go,” he said, “if only you would answer a few questions.”I looked back, unsure what to say.“I will begin. My name is Kyle. I am Deputy Leader of the Blacktide Coven,” he paused. “Your turn.”“I don’t know what you want from me,” I answered.“To start with, your coven. Who do you belong to? Or shall I say…your pack? Which is it?”I wracked my brain, trying to figure out if I had lost my mind. Was I imagining all of this? I thought I must be stuck in some sort of sick dream. But I felt the very real cold steel on my wrists and ankles, and knew I was not. I had no idea what to tell this man. What was he talking about? Coven? As in…vampire?Pack? As in werewolf?“I don’t belong to anyone,” I said.He stared for a long while, then slowly shook his head. “As you wish. We have dealt with rogues before. It’s always the same
Marked CHAPTER 27
When they opened the oak door, I could not believe my eyes. The room was enormous. Shaped in a huge circle, it was lined with hundred-foot-tall stone columns, ornately decorated. It was well lit, torches placed every 5 feet, all throughout the room. It looked like the Pantheon. It looked ancient.As I was led in, the next thing I noticed was the noise. It was a huge crowd. I looked around and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women dressed in black, moving quickly all about the room. There was a strangeness to how they moved: it was so fast, so random, so…inhuman. I heard a swooshing noise, and looked up. Dozens of these people leapt, or flew, through the room, going from floor to ceiling, from ceiling to balcony, from column to ledge. That was the whooshing noise I had heard. It was as if I had entered a cave full of bats.I took it all in and was completely, utterly, shocked. Vampires did exist. Was I one of them?Or was I a werewolf?Or was I somehow…both?They led
Marked CHAPTER 28
The water covered my entire body, making it hard to breathe, or open my eyes. After about ten seconds, though, after my entire hair and body and clothes were completely drenched, I blinked my eyes. I braced myself for the pain.But it didn’t come.I blinked, then looked up at the cauldron, wondering if it were completely empty. It was. I looked back down at myself, and saw I was drenched. But I was completely fine. Not an ounce of pain.The leader, suddenly realizing, stood in his chair, jaw dropping. He was clearly shocked. Kyle, too, turned and looked, his mouth open. The entire assembly, hundreds of vampires, all stood, and a gasp spread through the room.I could see that this was not the reaction they had been expecting. They were all dumbfounded.Somehow, their water had not affected me. Maybe I wasn’t a vampire after all?I saw my chance.While they all stood there, too shocked to react, something happened.My strength came roaring back.I felt my body stretching again,
Marked CHAPTER 29
Before I could react, he grabbed my arm and led me away. He tugged at me, making me run faster than I ever had, faster than I knew I could, and within seconds we were down one hall, then another, then another, twisting and turning every which way. The only thing we had to see by were occasional torches. I never could have made it out of there on my own.“What’s going on?” I tried to ask as we ran, out of breath. “Where are we –”“This way!” he yelled, yanking me suddenly in another direction.Behind us, I heard a crashing, followed by the sound of a mob, bearing down on us.We reached a circular staircase, made of stone, winding its way up along a wall. He ran full speed toward the steps, yanking me with him, and before I knew it we were racing up the steps, twisting in circles, taking them three at a time. We were ascending quickly.As we reached the top, it seemed to end in a complete wall. A stone ceiling was above us, and I could see no other way out. It was a dead end. Where
Marked CHAPTER 30
I landed on my back in the water, and looked up to see him pouncing again, right for my throat. I rolled out of the way just in time, springing back on my feet. He was fast, but so was I.He fell flat on his face. He got up and spun around and squared off in a rage. He clawed his right hand right for my face. I dodged it, and his hand barely missed me, the wind of it passing right by my cheek. His hand hit the wall with such force that it lodged into the stone.I was mad now. I felt the red-hot rage pulse in my veins. I walked over to the stuck vampire and wound back my leg and planted a strong kick right in his gut. He keeled over.I then grabbed him from behind and threw him right into the wall, face first. His head hit the stone hard. I was proud of myself, figuring I had finished him off.But I was shocked by a sudden pain in my face, and found myself backhanded once again. This vampire had recovered quickly—much more quickly than I had thought possible. Before I knew it, he wa
Marked CHAPTER 31
I opened her eyes. I didn’t recognize any of the buildings below us. It appeared that we were way uptown. Possibly, the Bronx somewhere.As we descended, we flew over a small park, and in the distance, I thought I saw a castle. As we got closer, I realized that it definitely was a castle. What was a castle doing here, in New York City?I wracked my brain, and realized that I had seen this castle before. On a postcard somewhere…Yes. It was a museum of some sort. As we ascended a small hill, flying over its ramparts, I suddenly remembered what it was. The Cloisters. The small museum. It had been brought over from Europe, piece by piece. It was hundreds of years old. Why was he taking me here?We descended smoothly over the outer wall and onto a large, stone terrace, overlooking the Hudson River. We landed in darkness, but his feet touched down gracefully on the stone, and he gently let me off.I stood there, facing him. I looked at him closely, hoping that he was still real, hoping t
Marked CHAPTER 32
There was something about him I could not explain, something that made me unable to look away. Something that made me not want to leave his side. I liked Jonah. But I needed Caleb. Being around him was all-encompassing.Caleb’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He was clearly disturbed.“I’m afraid there will be a much higher price for admission,” he said, “if this meeting does not go as I would hope.”He led me through another stone archway, and into a small, medieval courtyard. Perfectly symmetrical, surrounded on four sides by columns and arches, this courtyard, lit by the moon, was very beautiful. I could not fathom how we were still in New York City. We could have been in a European countryside.We walked across the courtyard and down a long stone hallway, the sound of our footsteps echoing. We were trailed by several more guards. Vampires? I wondered. If so, why were they so civil? Why didn’t they attack Caleb, or me?We walked down another stone corridor and t
Marked CHAPTER 33
I reached over and slipped my hand into Caleb’s arm. I hoped that he would let it sit there. He did. In fact, he tightened his arm around mine. Once again, everything felt OK. I felt that I could descend into the depths of darkness, as long as we were together.Our footsteps echoed on the wide, stone staircase as we descended. It was dimly lit. So many thoughts raced through my mind. What was this Council? Why had he insisted on taking me? And why did I feel so insistent on being at his side? I could have easily objected up there, told him that I didn’t want to go, that I’d rather wait upstairs. But I didn’t want to wait upstairs. I wanted to be with him. I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.None of it made any sense. At every turn, instead of getting answers, all I got were new questions. Who were all those people upstairs? Were they really vampires? What were they doing here? In the Cloisters?We turned the corner, into a large room, and I was struck by its beauty. It was in
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Marked CHAPTER 109
“NO!” sobbed Caleb, as he turned to me, rushing to my side.Caleb was so distracted, he did not see Sergei, standing over us, holding the bloody sword, pleased at his work, grinning an evil grin.“You killed me before my time,” he snarled down at me. “Now I have returned the favor.”Sergei suddenly raced off, darting down the aisle of the church.Kyle scurried to his feet and raced after him, and out the front door.As they ran past her, Samantha regained consciousness, and in one quick motion, she grabbed a hold of the unconscious Sam, hoisted him over her shoulder, and bounded off after them.The church was now empty, save for me and Caleb. And Rose, lying off to the side, whimpering, bleeding.“Caitlin!” Caleb cried, as he held my shoulders. He leaned over me, caressing my face, and I could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks.He had been too shocked by seeing me hurt to even think of the sword. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that the others had left the bu
Marked CHAPTER 108
{SAMANTHA’S POV}Samantha screeched the BMW to a halt right front of the King’s Chapel. Abandoning the car in the middle of the road, she jumped out. Sam, following her, jumped out the other side.Horns blared.“Hey lady, you can’t park there!” yelled a cop, approaching her.Samantha reached up and brought her fist down on his nose, smashing it and causing him to drop to his knees, unconscious. Before he could hit the ground, she reached out and grabbed the gun from his holster.Sam stood there, gaping, in shock.“Holy shit—” he began to say.But before he could finish, she grabbed him in a chokehold and picked him up off the ground.Before he knew what was happening, she had him in the air, carrying him up the steps and through the door of the King’s Chapel.“Samantha!” he tried to yell. “What are you—”Dragging Sam, she kicked open the church door with one foot and raced inside.“DON’T MOVE!” Samantha shrieked.Samantha stood there, in the aisle of the King’s Chapel, ho
Marked CHAPTER 107
As we entered the empty church, Caleb quickly shut the massive door behind us. It slammed with a bang, reverberating. The church was closed and the door had been locked, but he had broken it with his sheer strength. Now we had the place to ourselves.As we walked into the beautiful, small chapel, the sunset light poured in through its stained-glass windows, and I felt immediately at peace. It was a cozy and elegant place, its pews segmented into family boxes and all lined with red velvet. Perfectly preserved. I felt as if I’d stepped into another century. Caleb walked up beside me, and the two of us slowly looked around. A stillness hung in the air.“It’s here,” he said. “I can feel it,” he said.And for the first time, I could feel it, too.I noticed that I was beginning to sense things more strongly, and I could sense the sword’s presence here. It electrified me. I didn’t know what excited me more: that the sword was here, or that I could sense it on my own.I set Rose down be
Marked CHAPTER 106
As Caleb and I left the Meeting House, turning onto School Street, the King’s Chapel Burying Ground came into view. It was only two short blocks away, and a direct, straight walk.The fourth tip of the cross, I thought. It all makes perfect sense.As we walked, I marveled at the fact that we had walked, this entire time, in the shape of a cross, as if they had been led by some invisible hand.I felt my heart beating faster. I was nervous to finally meet my father, if he was alive. And nervous to see his grave, if he should be dead. I wasn’t sure how I would react either way. But I was also excited, relieved to at last know exactly who he was, where I came from. I was excited to know what my lineage was, and what my destiny would be.I was also nervous that this would mean the end between me and Caleb. What if we really found the sword? What would he do then? Would he go and wage his war? Save his coven? And where would that leave me?The two of us held hands as they walked toward
Marked CHAPTER 105
{SAMANTHA’S POV}Samantha raced the BMW on the outskirts of Boston, Sam in the passenger seat beside her, heading along the highway towards Salem. She was increasingly annoyed at the growing difficulty in finding his dad. She’d been sure, when she’d seen those Facebook messages, when Sam had told her with such excitement that he’d been in touch with him, that this would be easy. She would just take him to his dad’s house, and from there it would be a direct path to the sword.But things had gotten complicated. She hadn’t expected to encounter that creep, and most of all, hadn’t expected to develop any feelings for Sam. It was complicating things. Making her less sharp. Her original plan had been so simple: find his dad, kill them both, and return with the sword. Now she wasn’t sure she wanted to kill Sam at all. Especially as she looked over at him, and saw that fresh scar on his cheek, the reminder of how he’d tried to save her.More than anything, she was mad at herself for that
Marked CHAPTER 104
We walked quickly down Washington Street, and within moments we stood outside the Meeting House Church. It was another perfectly restored, historic church.We entered, and were stopped by an attendant.“I’m afraid we just closed,” she said. “This is a working museum. It’s five o’clock,” she said. “But feel free to come back tomorrow.”Caleb turned to me, and I could feel what he was thinking. He wanted me to test out my mind power on this woman.I stared at her, locking eyes, and sent a mental suggestion. She would let them in. She would make an exception for them.The woman suddenly stared back at me. She blinked.Suddenly, she said, “You know what? You two seem like such a nice couple. I’ll make an exception for you. But don’t tell anyone,” she said with a wink.I turned to Caleb and smiled, and the two of us walked inside.The church was beautiful. It was another huge, open space, with massive windows in every direction, and filled with wooden pews, all empty. We had the pla
Marked CHAPTER 103
As Caleb and I left the park, turning down Court Street and heading into the heart of the historic district of Boston, the old Statehouse came into view. It was a large, brick building, perfectly preserved from the 1700s, with multiple historic windows and topped by a large, white cupola. It was stunning in its simplicity and beauty.As we reached its base, we walked around the structure, looking for the site of the Boston massacre. Finally, as we turned the corner, we saw it.We both stopped in our tracks.It was a ring. A perfect circle.The spot marking the Boston massacre was small, hardly bigger than a manhole cover. We came close and examined it.It held no special markings. It was just a humble circle, made up of small tile, embedded in the ground at the base of the Old State House.“It makes sense,” Caleb said. “We are definitely on the right trail.”“Why?”“That balcony, above it,” he said, gesturing. “That’s where the Declaration of Independence was first read.”I l
Marked CHAPTER 102
Caleb and I stood in Boston Common, at the top of a small hill, looking out, surveying the park. He held a map of the Freedom Trail which he’d just bought in a store, and he ran his finger along it again and again. I stood beside him, holding out both halves of the ancient scroll.“Read it again,” he said.I squinted to make out the words. I read:The Four Horsemen travel a trail to freedom.They leave common ground,Enter a ring of blood,Meet at the house,And find the ones they lovedBeside the fourth tip of the cross.“A trail to freedom,” Caleb repeated aloud, concentrating. “It must be a reference to the freedom trail. It would make perfect sense. Its right in the middle, right between Salem and Martha’s Vineyard. We’re in the center.“And the ‘common ground’ reference…that must be Boston Common, where we are right now. It would also make sense. In the 1600s, where we’re standing, they hung the witches. It is a very important spot, especially for the vampire race.
Marked CHAPTER 101
{SAM’S POV}Sam was still reeling.That scene inside the mobile home had been so intense, he still couldn’t process it. That creep. The knife. The struggle. His cheek. And then Samantha. Killing him like that. It was unbelievable. Who was she?As he sat in the roadside diner, across from her in a booth, he looked her over. He was more attracted to her than ever—but also wary now. Cautious. She looked totally relaxed, sipping on her vanilla milkshake, and he couldn’t understand. Was this the same chick? Here she was, this totally cool and hot, awesome chick, who he loved hanging out with—and yet she had also been that crazy, psycho girl that totally killed that creep without even blinking an eye. Had she really killed him?It had all gone down so quickly, and the place was so dark, he couldn’t even really tell what had happened, exactly. But he remembered the noise, that sickening crack when she twisted his neck. And he remembered seeing the guy hit the ground, totally limp. The d
