resurrect.”
“But I still don’t understand: why does our clue lead us here?” Caitlin asked. “How is this related to our search?”
Caleb shook his head.
“I have no idea,” he answered.
They dove down, circling the Mount. Up close, it was even more beautiful. Caitlin could see the thousands of small olives filling the branches, the beautiful slopes rising up and down, the small, twisted trees looking ancient. And over the edge of the mountain, on the horizon, she could just begin to see the ancient city of Jerusalem, nestled in the valley like a jewel shining in the sunset. She could feel its energy even from here. It was breathtaking.
Caleb dove down for the mountaintop, and Caitlin followed. They landed high up, on a plateau, in the midst of the olive trees.
They stood there, getting their bearings, taking in the incredible vista, the sweeping sunset in every direction. It was incredible. Caitlin felt as if she were atop the world.
But as beautiful as it was, Caitlin still had no idea what they were doing there. She didn’t know what to look for, and she didn’t see any sign of her Dad, or of Scarlet—or anyone.
She did, in the distance, see a row of small, marble headstones, a graveyard on one of the slopes. She ambled over, drawn to it, Caleb by her side. She walked amidst the stones, examining them. They looked as if they’d been there for thousands of years.
She saw a few stones which seemed bigger than the others and she knelt beside one, reached down and brushed off the dirt, feeling an energy coming off of it. As she did, a name appeared.
Caitlin stood, as if she had been struck by a lightning bolt. She could not believe it. It was a name that she knew.
Caitlin Paine.
She stood there, shocked, wondering what it meant. Caleb seemed equally surprised, and he knelt down beside the other and brushed that one off, too.
Caitlin was even more surprised: it was engraved with Caleb’s name.
“What does it mean?” Caitlin asked.
“I don’t know,” Caleb answered, grimly.
The two of them stood there, frozen, almost afraid to check the third stone. Finally, Caitlin knelt down and brushed it off.
She could not believe it.
Aiden.
She turned to Caleb.
“Can it be? Our Aiden?”
As Caitlin saw his name, memories came flooding back. She recalled the last time she saw him, in Scotland, standing before the castle, informing her of all the tragedy that had befell their coven. Telling her she was their last hope, that she had to fulfill the mission. She thought of all the times she had seen him, all the places, going back to Pollepel, and she was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Yes, it is me,” came a voice.
Caitlin wheeled, and was shocked to see standing there, barely a few feet away, the man himself.
Aiden.
He wore a long white robe and hood, with his flowing gray hair and beard, and stared back at Caitlin with his large blue eyes, as if he had just seen her yesterday.
Slowly, he broke into a smile.
“I thought you would get here sooner.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Scarlet felt herself being pushed and prodded down the dark stone corridor of the prison, as they descended lower and lower into the earth. Her hands were clasped tightly behind her back with silver shackles, while Ruth was being led beside her, a muzzle over her mouth. Scarlet was terrified as they went, hearing the distant shouts of prisoners, getting ever closer. They sounded like vicious people, and she felt as if she were being led into the depths of hell, right towards an insane asylum.
As she was shoved again, hard in the back, Scarlet caught a glimpse of her warder: he was a huge man, with a big fat belly, unshaven, with missing teeth. She could smell his awful breath even from here.
“Keep moving, you little brat!” he said.
He then wound up and kicked Ruth hard in her back, sending her flying forward, too, and banging her head into a stone wall. Ruth yelped. There was nothing she could do, though, with the muzzle securely over her face.
Their warder laughed. Scarlet felt her rage well up, but there was nothing she could do: she tried again to twist her arms, her wrists, her hands. But she couldn’t break free. They were securely bound behind her, and the silver made her powerless.
Scarlet thought back to what had happened earlier, to her rampage, her first feeding, her fighting all the soldiers…. She regretted hurting anyone. She really hadn’t wanted to. But the