Vowed (The Vampire Journals, #7) - Morgan Rice Page 0,31

of him, or even have him lingering in a corner of her consciousness. But as she walked, several times, when she’d heard a twig snap, or a bird fly, she found herself jumping, looking to make sure that Blake wasn’t standing somewhere, staring back at her. A part of her was definitely on edge. And that was not what she wanted.

She had loved Blake at one point. Had loved him dearly. But that was when she had thought Caleb was gone forever. Ever since Caleb had been back in her life, she had not thought of Blake at all. At least not consciously. Why couldn’t life be simpler? she wondered.

As they rounded another hill, suddenly, a spectacular moss-covered valley, a lake in its center, came into view. It was the most stunning thing Caitlin had ever seen. She felt as if she’d walked straight into an oil painting, into some glowing, green fantasy land that couldn’t possibly exist. She could sense the energy coming off the place. On the surface, it was just a grassy valley, beside a small, shining lake. But deep down, she sensed that it was much more—and that whatever wish she made, it would indeed come true here.

The other girls let out a gasp of excitement, and they all began to hurry down the hill, towards the lake. Polly took Caitlin’s hand, and they skipped down the hill, heading for the spot to make a wish.

“You’re supposed to throw a coin into the lake,” Polly explained, as they raced for the shore. “If it lands heads up, your wish will come true. If not, it won’t. That’s the legend, anyway.”

“But I don’t have a coin,” Caitlin said, laughing as they raced downhill.

“Don’t worry,” Polly said, out of breath, running beside her, “I have one for you.”

“What about me?” Scarlet chimed in. “I want one, too!”

Ruth barked.

“And so does Ruth!”

Polly laughed.

They soon reached the edge of the lake and all came to a stop by its shore, out of breath, Scarlet still laughing. Caitlin looked down at the water and marveled at its light-blue, crystal-clear color: she could see right through to the bottom, and saw it was lined with thousands of smooth, multi-colored rocks. The place truly looked magical.

Polly reached into a small leather pouch and handed each of them a shining, gold coin.

“You only get one toss,” Polly explained, as she placed it into their palms. “Think carefully of your wish. And make it a good one.”

Caitlin looked down, opened her palm, and felt the small, cold metal in it. She then closed her eyes, and concentrated with all she had. As she did, she felt the cool October breeze caress her face, felt the slight moisture off the lake. It was dead silent here, even with all the other girls standing close by; Caitlin assumed they were all silently making a wish, too. All she could hear was the sound of the wind whipping through the ancient moss-covered hills, rippling the water. She focused, concentrating with all she had.

I wish that Caleb and I will have a child together. A child of our own.

Caitlin wished so hard, she could feel herself willing it, demanding that it come true.

She suddenly felt moisture on her cheeks. She opened her eyes, and was amazed to see that it had started to snow. She was in awe. Had the universe answered her?

She reached out and tossed the coin. She watched as it sank through the clear water and settled on the bottom. Her heart leapt to see that it landed head-first.

She felt a warm thrill run through her body, hoping beyond hope that maybe, just maybe, it could happen.

She looked over in time to see Polly toss hers and she watched as it sank down to the bottom. It landed tails-first. The hopeful expression on Polly’s face collapsed into one of despair. Caitlin felt terrible for her.

“Don’t worry,” Caitlin said, hoping to console her, “I’m sure it’s all just an old wives’ tale. I’m sure whatever you wished for will come true no matter what.” But Polly looked crushed. “No it won’t. It landed tails-first.” Caitlin came over and put a reassuring hand around Polly’s shoulder, not knowing what to say.

“What did you wish for?” Caitlin asked.

As she looked at her, Caitlin could see that Polly was nearly in tears.

“I wished to be together with your brother, forever. That was all I wanted.” Caitlin felt a chill run through her spine at the seriousness of Polly’s tone.