no brotherly love left for him. Not after all he had done. They were adversaries now. Two children of the same father—pitted against each other.
Caitlin had no love left for him, and clearly, he had none left for her. She could still feel the welt on her face, from where he had struck her. Finally, she was ready to fight him.
Sam suddenly attacked. He leapt into the air to kick her in the chest. At the last second, Caitlin sidestepped it, and at the same time, managed to elbow Sam hard in the face.
Sam landed flat on his back—hard. He looked stunned. Clearly he hadn’t expected that.
He leapt to his feet, turned and charged again, going to tackle her.
But Caitlin was faster: she sidestepped again, grabbed him by his back and threw him, letting his momentum carry him. He went flying through the air and landed face-first in the dirt.
Sam jumped up and spun around, staring at her in surprise. He was humiliated, enraged.
In one quick move, he reached back, took a sword out of a scabbard mounted to his back, and threw it.
The sword hurled end over end through the air, right for Caitlin’s chest.
At the last second, she dodged it. It flew by harmlessly, but came so close, she could feel the wind of it grazing her face.
Sam stared at her with a look of shock. Clearly, he hadn’t expected her to be this good.
Now it was Caitlin’s turn.
She charged at him, wielding Aiden’s staff. He drew his long sword, and they met in the middle.
They went blow for blow, brother and sister, blocking each other, in perfect harmony with each other. It was almost as if they were one person; neither could gain an advantage. His sword clanged against the golden staff as they used the entire battlefield, pushing each other back and forwards. The army stood to the side, watching, and it was clear that this solo combat would determine the victor of the war.
But neither seemed able to get an advantage. They were both locked in a deadly tug-of-war, moving at lightning speed, with breathtaking dexterity and power. Any of their blows would have rendered any other vampire dead on the spot.
Sam came down with an especially hard blow of his sword, and Caitlin blocked it high, over her head. His sword locked with her staff, and the two of them stood there in a pivotal moment, grunting from the exertion, locked in a deadly grip, just inches away from each other.
In that moment, Caitlin’s entire world slowed down. She could feel the energy hanging in the balance, the good versus evil. She could feel that this would be a life-changing moment for either of them. His rage was overwhelming. But so was hers. They each carried a force beyond comprehension, and they each directed it at the other. Both of their lives hung in the balance.
Suddenly, Caitlin was thrown back. The scales had tipped, and not in her favor: Sam’s power was just too much for her. His strength was greater than hers. It always had been. Not even her rage, her supreme rage, could overcome that. She was the chosen one. But he was the stronger one. And that had always been their destiny.
Sam looked down, seeing her on the ground, and realized this himself.
Without hesitating, he charged, coming in for the kill.
Caitlin regained her feet, and as he slashed, she parried, blow for blow. But now, he had the advantage: his blows were stronger than hers. With each slash, he came closer and closer. She was getting weaker, and he was getting stronger.
As Sam spun around with another blow, this time, he was a fraction of a second faster and he slashed her bicep, drawing blood. Caitlin screamed out in pain.
She slashed back, but he blocked it. He was too fast for her. Too strong. Caitlin realized he was going to win.
Sam charged again, and with a blow of supreme power, he managed to knock the staff right out of her hands. Caitlin was shocked to see Aiden’s staff go flying through the air and land with a clang, several feet from her. And then, before she could react, in the same move he kicked her, knocking her to the ground.
Caitlin sat there on the ground, stunned, defenseless.
Sam raised his sword, grimacing, and aimed for her skull, for his final, deadly blow.
In that moment, Caitlin saw her life flash before her eyes, and felt certain that this was the moment she was