Desired (21 page)

“We haven’t,” Kendra stated, in a cold tone.

“Wel ,” Caitlin said slowly, feeling her anger begin to rise,

“you’re standing between me and my brother, and we were in the middle of a conversation.”

Kendra stared back at Caitlin, and she could see a flash of indignation cross over her eyes. But she didn’t move.

Sam stepped up from behind Kendra and stepped in between the two of them, as if sensing the confrontation that was about to happen.

“No, it’s not like that,” Sam said to Caitlin, in a conciliatory tone. “She just wanted to introduce herself. Caitlin, this is Kendra. Kendra, this is my sister, Caitlin.”

Caitlin noticed that Sam was sweating; he was nervous for them to like each other.

But Caitlin continued to stare Kendra down with a look of steel, and Kendra did the same. Sam looked back and forth between them, increasingly nervous.

“My brother and I were just discussing a trip we are going to take,” Caitlin said coldly. “In fact, we wil be leaving tomorrow, so you can say your goodbyes now.”

Caitlin felt that she had to take control, to take action to help break Sam from the grip of this clearly destructive woman that he seemed helpless around. It was bold and aggressive, but she felt that she had no other choice.

Kendra turned and looked at Sam. He avoided her gaze, and avoided Caitlin’s, too. Caitlin had never seen him so fidgety.

“I doubt that,” Kendra said back. “Sam’s not going anywhere. After al , he and I have plans for tomorrow.”

“We do?” Sam asked, and Caitlin could hear the hope in his voice. His tone of voice told her everything she needed to know, and she felt her heart sink. He wasn’t seriously going to let himself be run by this girl, was he?

“That’s right,” Kendra said. “We do.”

Caitlin stared back at Kendra, seething with hatred. She prayed that Sam would summon the resolve to stand up to her. As long as Caitlin had known him, he had always seemed to have this problem. He had always attracted the wrong women, women who were bossy, control ing, and always bad for him. Samantha had been the latest example. And now, Kendra. Sam just had bad luck in this area. Caitlin wasn’t surprised.

But she was stil mad. She had hoped that Sam would have changed, would be strong enough to tel her No. That he would join Caitlin on their mission.

But Sam turned and looked at Caitlin with sad, guilty eyes.

She could see in those eyes that deep down he wanted to go with her, but was unable to say no to Kendra.

“I’m so sorry Caitlin,” Sam said, in a broken voice. “I… I don’t think I can go tomorrow.”

Caitlin nodded, keeping a calm composure. But deep inside, her heart was breaking. She could see the victorious smile on Kendra’s face, and she felt her anger rising. But she knew there was little she could do. She had learned from past experiences that, when it came to affairs of the heart, at the end of the day, one could never real y have any influence or control over a friend’s relationships.

That was always something that they just had to work out on their own. If Sam was going to make any changes, it would have to come from him.

Caitlin took control of her anger and immediately turned and walked away, before she did anything rash.

“Caitlin, wait!” Sam cal ed out after her.

But she wasn’t going to stop. He had made his decision, and it was clear.

And truth be told, deep down, she felt that she was no one to judge. She knew what it was like to be in love, to want to forgo the mission. He would just have to let his own destiny take its course.

As she walked, she realized al the more, that this mission was just something that she was meant to do alone.

*

Caitlin retreated back to her room, closing the door firmly behind her. She wanted to be alone, and she wanted privacy. It had been such a long, overwhelming day. She had learned so much from Aiden, had risen to the heights on the battlefield, performing better than she ever thought she could.

She had been overwhelmed at seeing Blake, hurt by his not remembering her—and then overwhelmed at seeing Sam.

As if al that were not enough, she had to meet Kendra, too, and had been overwhelmed at seeing her brother in her grip.

So many conflicting thoughts and feelings raced through Caitlin at once, she barely knew how to process it al . It had felt like ten days in one.

As sunset fel , Caitlin took off her clothes and soaked in her tub. She felt every muscle in her body relax. Ruth sat patiently at her side.

Caitlin’s mind raced. She thought of Sam, of how much he had changed. She thought of Aiden.

Of her new skil s. She thought of her dad, her mission. She thought of Sam’s dream, of the floating key. Of the Notre Dame. As al these thoughts blended together, she felt more determined than ever to fulfil her mission.

Versail es was fil ed with every luxury, but she felt that her mission was cal ing her elsewhere. Al the people that she loved and knew were here (except for Caleb), but they were al distracted. Pol y seemed to be in the grips of her singer boyfriend. Sam had Kendra. Blake didn’t even remember her.

And she felt that, already, she had taken her training nearly as far as she could for this time and place. She didn’t know how much was left for her here, and she felt it was time to move on.

Caitlin got out of the tub, dried herself with a huge towel, then changed into the casual wear that had been left by her bedside. It was a silk bathrobe, white and gold, intricately designed, and as she put it on, she’d never felt anything more luxurious.

She lay back in her huge, four-poster bed, sinking into the endless pil ows, and sighed.

Ruth jumped onto the bed and set her head in Caitlin’s lap.

After a few moments, she reached over to her bedside table and picked up an object and held it.

The encased scrol .

She sat up slowly in bed, staring at it, holding it with both hands. She ran one hand slowly along its edge, feeling the encrusted jewels. She closed her hands around it, trying to feel her father’s energy. It was electrifying. She felt as if she held a piece of him.

Ruth looked up at Caitlin and whined, as if asking her to open it.

Caitlin final y decided. It was time.

She reached over, grabbed the locks on both sides of it, and pushed them in.

There was the slightest click. She pul ed back the lid, and there was a slight hiss, releasing air that had been trapped for centuries.

Caitlin opened it slowly, its hinges creaking, and as she did, she could not believe what she saw.

Kyle stood beside Napoleon, a huge army of supporters behind them. Napoleon had summoned his entire coven, al his people, hundreds of vampires strong, and along the way, they had al agitated in the streets and encouraged the citizens to join them and storm the Bastil e. It had been easy: there had been such discontent hanging in the air anyway among al the French citizens, such anger towards the royal authority, and the prison in the Bastil e happened to be the perfect symbol, the perfect representative of everything royal. The further they had gone, the more the mob had grown.

And Napoleon, of course, looked to Kyle for direction.

Kyle felt himself surge with power, relishing the feeling of being in charge of an army once again, relishing the destruction and bloodshed that were about to happen. As he stood with his men in the cobblestone plaza opposite the Bastil e, Kyle stared up at it. The castle-like fort, with its drawbridge and turrets, was wel -defended by soldiers, looking as formidable as he remembered. But having been inside, Kyle already knew it strengths and weaknesses.

And he knew now how to bring it down. He carried in his pocket a chemical that would counteract the effect of the titanium, and free the savage seven for good.

Kyle smiled at the thought. Once he unleashed those creatures, there’d be mayhem spreading across Paris unlike any the city had ever known. Indeed, he knew, it would spark an entire revolution.

This huge mob was exactly the distraction Kyle needed to breach its wal s and get to work. And the revolution was the bigger distraction he needed to get to and isolate Caitlin.

With such havoc unleashed across the city, he felt certain that it would free her from her royal protectors, and that in the chaos, he could find and kil her much more easily. He salivated at the thought. There wasn’t a second left to lose.

“NOW!” Kyle screamed.

As one, the huge mob suddenly burst into action, sprinting across the plaza, heading right for the Bastil e. They stormed its wal s as one, and within moments, shots were already being fired, and the drawbridge raised. The mob returned fire as it charged. It was already a bloody mayhem, and they weren’t even near its wal s.

Kyle took advantage of the confusion. He broke from the crowd and lifted into the air, flying off to the side, over the moat, and around the other side. He hid behind a stone embankment, and watched as al the guards streamed around to the front of the building. As they did, Kyle saw his chance. He flew across, and in one quick motion, he knocked out the remaining guard, grabbed his keys, and snuck inside.

Kyle was familiar with the building now, from his first excursion, and he knew exactly where to run in the darkness. He ran down the spiraling stone staircase, and then suddenly ducked into a recess he’d found previously in a wal . He stood there and waited, remembering how many guards there had been below. He knew that if he just waited, they would race past him, to help defend the gate.

He was right. Moments later, dozens of vampire guards raced by, oblivious to his presence. He waited several more seconds, until the coast was clear, and then took off at a sprint, heading lower and lower.

He first reached a large iron gate and, without pausing, tore it off its hinges with a single hand.

He descended deeper, and reached a large silver gate, and this time, he extracted the guard’s key and unlocked it.

The gate opened quickly.

Now Kyle was in utter blackness. He kept descending, sprinting lower and lower. He could already sense the stench of the savage seven as he ran deeper, and he knew he was getting close, nearing the lowest possible level.

Kyle final y reached it. It was cavernous down here, and he saw the titanium bars. He had to recoil from the metal, even from where he was, the energy of it so strong.

But Kyle was prepared. He reached into his bag, extracted a powder, and threw it on the bars.

Sidnius Moroxide. The only compound which could dissolve the titanium.

Kyle waited several moments, and as he watched, the titanium turned colors, from a glowing silver to a pink. Once it al turned, he knew was ready. He reached out, grabbed the bars, and yanked with al his might.

Even with the effects of the powder, it took considerable strength. But as he pul ed and pul ed, he eventual y tore the thousand-year-old bars from their hinges.

The moment he did, the savage seven stepped forward, only feet away from him, snarling. They were the most evil demons he had ever seen, preachers from hel , ones that made his entire race look like fairies. Their gnarled faces were thousands of years old, and they lifted up their huge claws, and snarled at him, ready to pounce even on him, their liberator.

He knew that these creatures would not be grateful. On the contrary, they would kil him if they could.

He admired that. And he wanted them to kil . But he didn’t want to fight them himself. That would defeat his purpose.

Kyle turned around and took off at a sprint, then broke into flight, knowing they would fol ow on his heels. He headed up higher through this through the circular fort.

The savage seven where as quick as they were rumored to be, and within moments, Kyle sensed them flying on his heels, right after him.

Good
, Kyle thought.
They’re ready
.

He flew and flew, and final y burst out onto the main level, through the front door, and right to the drawbridge. As he hoped, the seven fol owed him, like a pack of hornets, but now, as they saw a glimpse of freedom, they got distracted.

They lost sight of Kyle and instead, tore the heads off al the guards in the post.

Kyle flew out into the open, relieved to have them off his tail.

He had a huge smile on his face.

Below him, thousands of citizens were fighting to the death, storming the building. On the other side, the savage seven were tearing apart the guards from the inside. Within minutes, they would be free, roaming the streets with the others, and they would weak destruction of a scale that Paris had never known.

Kyle hadn’t felt so giddy since he was a boy. This was exactly what he had needed. Now he could find and kil Caitlin quite easily.

Now, his revolution could begin.

Caitlin sat on her bed, staring down at the open container in surprise. Inside it lay a delicate scrol , curled up, and sealed in wax. On the wax was an insignia of a smal , ancient cross, one which Caitlin immediately recognized as identical to the design of the smal silver cross that she wore around her neck. Caitlin reached down and felt her necklace now as she looked at the symbol, and felt comforted to know that it was stil there.

She reached out and took hold of the scrol . It was brittle, written on a hard parchment, and yel owing. It looked ancient.

She gingerly broke the seal, and unrol ed it.

The first thing she noticed was that the scrol ended abruptly as she was halfway through unrol ing it. She looked at the bottom, and saw the torn ridges, and she could tel right away that this was an incomplete scrol , apparently torn in half. She only held the top half.

She looked at the scrol , and observed the elegant handwriting. It reminded her of the script she had once seen when looking at a copy of the Declaration of Independence: it was so perfect, it was hard to imagine it had been done by a human hand.

She felt her hands trembling as she stared at it, realizing that this was the script of her father.