entire world turned red, and she knew that she needed to kill every last one of them.
Caitlin leaned back and roared, and it was a roar of a thousand dragons. The ground beneath her trembled, as her battle cry reached up to the very heavens.
As the ground shook, she saw fear on the faces of Kyle and Rynd. They must have sensed that they were up against a changed person, against a person unlike any they had ever faced. This was the new Caitlin. The Caitlin who had completed her training. The Caitlin who had had everything she cared for taken from her, and nothing left to lose.
Caitlin burst into action. With the speed of lightning, she leapt twenty feet in the air and kicked Kyle with both feet in the chest, so fast and so hard, he didn’t even have time to react. He went flying, like a cannonball, right into the army of vampires behind him, knocking down dozens of them.
Before her feet had even touched the ground, Caitlin was already in motion, wheeling around and elbowing Rynd hard, right across the face. She heard the crack of his jaw breaking as he spun and dropped to the floor. Caitlin wound up and kicked him. The kick was so powerful, it sent him flying through the air, into the legion of vampires, and knocked over dozens more, like a bowling ball striking pins.
Caitlin turned and leapt at Rexius. He was faster than the others, and as she brought her fist down for his face, he reached up and blocked it. But she immediately brought her other fist across, punching him, then leaned back and kicked him so hard in the gut, he went flying into the rows of vampires, knocking down dozens more.
Caitlin sensed an ominous presence behind her, and turned. There, staring back defiantly, was Samantha. She was shocked to see her, this girl who’d ruined her brother. And she was even more shocked to see Samantha holding Scarlet in a chokehold.
“Make one move, and I kill the girl,” Samantha threatened.
Caitlin looked down, and watched as Scarlet’s face transformed into one of rage. For the first time she saw the vampire instinct take over her daughter, watch her become a creature, like herself, a fearless warrior.
Before Samantha could react, Scarlet reached down, grabbed Samantha’s wrist and snapped it back. To Caitlin’s surprise, Scarlet exhibited the strength of a full-blown vampire. With just a quick move of her wrist, Scarlet twisted Samantha’s arm all the way behind her, bringing her to her knees and breaking her arm. Samantha screamed out in pain—but Scarlet didn’t hesitate. She picked her up and threw her, right into the crowd into the army of vampires, knocking over several of them herself.
A vampire leapt out of the crowd from behind Scarlet, aiming right for her—but before he could reach her, Ruth charged him, leapt into the air, and sank her teeth into his throat, pinning him to the ground, dead.
Dozens of vampires charged Caitlin. She instinctively positioned herself between Scarlet and the army, and as the vampires charged, she fought them all. She kicked and punched and elbowed and leapt and spun—and was a one-person wrecking machine. She took down dozens at a time, smashing them into each other, incapacitating each one with deadly, accurate strikes. They dropped all around her, like flies.
And still, they kept coming.
Caitlin grabbed a long staff off the ground—the one that had belonged to Aiden—and let out an unearthly shriek as she swung it. She swung in huge circles, and within moments knocked down dozens more. Soon the circle widened, as she knocked down row after row of vampires. Dozens dropped in a single blow, and she kept swinging, until hundreds were knocked out within minutes.
Caitlin managed to establish a wide perimeter around her of at least a hundred feet—and none of the vampires seemed to want to enter it. They were afraid. She could see them standing there, breathing hard, snarling, fangs extended—afraid to get any closer. Even Kyle, Rynd and Rexius stood at the perimeter, afraid to approach. She was a one-man army—and she was winning.
Suddenly, a lone vampire descended from the sky and swooped in, landing right before Caitlin. At first, Caitlin was surprised to see a single vampire brave enough to approach her in one-on-one combat.
And then, she saw who it was. And she was amazed.
It was her brother.
Sam.
He snarled at her as he landed, and this time, she snarled right back. She had