rabbis, dressed in long white robes and hoods, praying. Among them were dozens of Roman soldiers, standing guard in case anyone attempted to approach. The holy of holies was clearly off limits. Caitlin could already tell this would not be easy.
She stepped forward to approach, and as she did, suddenly a Roman soldier blocked her way, scowling down.
“No one is allowed past this point,” he snapped.
Caitlin looked around, and could see dozens of soldiers staring at her, ready to jump into action. She knew she didn’t have much time. It was now or never.
She broke into action: she leapt up high into the air, over the soldier’s head, and ran for the entrance. Luckily, she was much faster than anyone else, and before they could even react, she was already at the entrance. A huge outcry rose up all throughout the room, as people saw her charging for the holy of holies. She ran through the curtain, yanked open the marble door and, just as the soldiers were charging her, slammed it shut behind her.
Caitlin immediately heard dozens of fists pounding at the door, trying to get in. She found a spear and barred it, hoping it would hold. She only needed a few minutes to get this done.
Caitlin could feel the intense spiritual energy in here. It was almost suffocating, the strongest thing she’d ever felt. She knew that she couldn’t stay long. She had to get whatever she could, and get out. Otherwise, the energy of this place would consume her.
On the far side of the room were more curtains, and a surreal light glowing from behind them. She knew that behind them lay the holy Ark of God. And she knew enough to know that she could never dare approach it—and that she would die on the spot if she tried.
But she sensed she didn’t need to: whatever it was she needed was right here, in this room. She looked around, searching, trying to drown out the banging on the door. She took several steps forward, examining the marble floor and walls, looking for any clue.
And then she saw it.
It was there, right before her, in the center of the room: a small, golden pedestal, maybe a foot high. Perfectly square. In the center of it was a round hole. Just the size of the width of her staff.
A square within a square.
She approached it slowly, her heart pounding. She could feel the staff throbbing in her hand the closer she got. She reached up and lowered it, already feeling it would be a perfect fit.
It was. The staff slid down into the hole, and she let go. It slid lower and lower on its own, sinking into the earth. And that was when Caitlin heard it.
She turned, and her eyes opened wide: she could not believe what she saw.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Scarlet stood with Ruth at the end of the dead end, bracing herself for instant death. She looked up at the dark figure flying down towards her, saw it raise a weapon, and hurl it down right at her. It looked like a long spear. She ducked, bracing herself, and figured this was what it felt like to die.
Scarlet heard a noise of shattering metal, and braced herself for pain.
But as she opened her eyes, she was unhurt. She realized the noise she heard was the sound of her silver chains breaking. She realized that the weapon had been thrown to free her. And as the vampire landed before her, she realized it was not an adversary. It was a friend. Someone she recognized. Someone she remembered from her time in Scotland. Someone who had saved her life once before.
It was the man that Mommy once loved.
It was Blake.
*
Blake reached down and undid Scarlet’s chains without hesitating. He undid Ruth’s muzzle, and she jumped on him, licking him, remembering him, too.
“There’s no time,” he said urgently, fear in his eyes. “They’re coming. Grab on.”
Scarlet grabbed onto his back with her little hands, clutching for life, while Blake reached down and scooped up Ruth. A moment later he leapt into the air, his wings extending, flapping, soaring.
They flew above the city, above ancient Jerusalem, and as they did Scarlet was able to look down and see it all, the labyrinthine maze of alleys and side streets beneath her. She was amazed that she had been running down there, in that maze, and had been able to navigate it at all.
She checked back over her shoulder, still fearful of