Vowed (The Vampire Journals, #7) - Morgan Rice Page 0,67

of the castle, with Aiden’s men, other vampires he knew and loved—

Taylor and Tyler and Caine and Barbara, and scores of others—along with the dozens of other vampires in for the wedding, and knew that there cause was hopeless. They were terribly outnumbered, and the enemy had the advantage of surprise, speed, and superior weaponry. Blake looked around, and wished he saw Polly or Sam somewhere, wished that Caitlin and Caleb were back. But none of them were. They were left on their own, to fend for themselves. The few of them left on the castle rooftop against the thousands of warriors closing in on them by land and by air.

Blake was not a pessimist, but he knew a hopeless situation when he saw one.

Still, he prepared to make his stand. He would certainly go down fighting.

But first, he had other priorities. He looked down and saw Scarlet standing there, beside him, and knew that his first order of business was to protect her, to get her out of here. He had to get her far away from the bloodshed that would ensue. Certainly, she would be a casualty otherwise. He also wanted to get her to Caitlin, to have her give her the message that they needed help. That just might save them all. But regardless, more than anything, he owed it to Caitlin to save her only daughter.

Blake jumped into action. He reached down, scooped up Scarlet in one arm and Ruth in the other, and lifted them into the air. He flew away from the oncoming army, over the tops of the human warriors, into the thick mist, then down low into the treetops, where he knew he could lose any pursuers. He flew with all he had, wanting to get Scarlet safely on her way and then get back to help the others.

“Where are you taking me?” Scarlet yelled, struggling, as they flew.

“To safety,” Blake yelled back.

“But I don’t want to go!” Scarlet argued. “I want to go back to the castle! And help you guys defend it!”

Blake was taken aback by this child’s fearlessness. In some ways, she reminded him of Caitlin.

But still, he could not give in. Despite her warrior spirit, she would certainly die in any ensuing battle.

Blake soon reached his destination: an ocean beach, on the far eastern side of Skye, down beneath the cliffs. He dove down a cliff he recognized, and aimed right for the rowboat he had stored there, in a cave. He landed right before it, and wasted no time placing Scarlet and Ruth inside the boat.

It was a long, seaworthy, wooden rowboat, with a small sail, and looked like a miniature Viking raiding ship. Blake had used it many times, taking it far out to sea on long voyages. He had liked to sail by himself, late at night, when the ocean was completely empty, letting the waves lap at the boat, and looking up at the moon. He liked to get as far away from others as he could, and let his thoughts wander alone.

Now he could put the boat to good use with Scarlet and Ruth. He could send them off, towards Caitlin.

He leaned over, held Scarlet’s shoulders, and looked her in the eye, firmly, mustering all the intensity he could to try to convince this strong-willed girl.

“You are a brave little girl,” Blake said. “You are fearless. I know that. And there’s no other little girl in the world that I would ask to do this. But I know you’re special. I know that you can handle it. Am I right?”

Blake had sensed her pride, her fearlessness, and he wanted to appeal to it.

He was happy to see it work. She lifted her head up tall, proudly, and nodded her head solemnly.

“Good,” he said. “I’m sending you on a voyage, to your mother and father. You have a special power, a special bond with them. The sea will take you right to them. If you focus. Use your power.

Close your eyes as you sail, and let the universe guide you to exactly where you need to go. You are a powerful child. You can make it happen. Can you do that for me?” Scarlet nodded back, but seemed unsure.

“But what if it takes me to the wrong place?” she asked. “What if I don’t end up near my Mommy?”

“You will. You could end up in no other place. The vampire connection is too strong. Only focus on her. And don’t let go.”

Blake was about