looked forward to this moment for as long she can remember, and now, finally, when she found him, he was dying. He was leaving her. She desperately wanted to savor each and every last moment.
He opened his eyes, and Caitlin could sense it was for the last time.
“I grant you the power and authority over every demon. The power and authority over every disease.”
His eyes fluttered, then closed. Before he took his final breath, he said one last thing:
“I will always be with you, my daughter. Even in your dreams.”
He then closed his eyes, and Caitlin could sense it was for the last time. Suddenly, there was a great rumbling of thunder, as his body went limp.
Ruth barked like crazy, as Scarlet wept behind her.
Caitlin let out a great wail, rising up, blending with the sound of the thunder. She felt she had lost the greatest thing she had ever found. She didn’t even know what to say. How could she ever get over this?
Caitlin wanted to hold her father, to never let him go. But as she cradled him in her arms, suddenly, she felt his body lifting. To her amazement, right before her eyes, Jesus’ body suddenly turned lighter, translucent. It lifted as she watched, ascended, higher and higher, up into the air. It became an orb of light, and went straight up, all the way to the heavens, right into the clouds themselves. There was another great clap of thunder, and of lightning, and then he disappeared.
“Caitlin,” came a soft, female voice.
Caitlin wheeled, on edge, not knowing what was coming next.
Standing there, dressed in a white robe, with long brown hair and hazel eyes, looking down sweetly, was a woman she recognized. It was a woman she had seen photos of her entire life. She racked her brain, trying to remember.
Suddenly, it hit her. It was Mary. Mary Magdalene. Jesus’ disciple.
Caitlin could hardly believe it.
Mary reached out a hand.
Caitlin took it, and slowly rose.
“Caitlin,” she said gently. “I am your mother.”
Caitlin’s heart stopped.
It was too much for take in at once. Jesus, her father. Mary Magdalene, her mother. She hardly knew what to say, what think.
Mary stood there, placed a hand on Caitlin’s shoulders, and looked down at her sweetly. In those eyes, Caitlin could feel all the love of a mother, all the love of the mother she never had. She felt overwhelmed by it, felt almost as much energy radiating off of her as from Jesus.
“We are so proud of you,” Mary said. “You have unlocked the four keys. And now, the shield is yours.”
Caitlin looked at her, perplexed.
“The shield?” she asked. “But I thought it was lost to us.”
Slowly, Mary shook her head.
“There is a second shield. The first is merely a weapon. It is very powerful. But it is the lesser of the two. A decoy.
“The second, the more powerful, is the one that we guard. The one that only you could find. It is the divine one. The one meant only for the chosen one. For you.”
Caitlin’s heart pounded in her chest. A divine shield? She could hardly imagine what it was.
“Do you have the key?” Mary asked. “The final key?”
For a moment, Caitlin was puzzled. And then, she saw Mary looking down, at her throat. And she realized: her necklace.
Caitlin slowly removed her necklace and reached out to hand it to her mother.
Mary shook her head.
“No. You must open it.”
Mary turned and looked up at the cross, the huge crucifix on which Jesus had been crucified.
Caitlin followed her gaze, and examined it. In its center, where the four beams met, she saw a small keyhole. She was amazed. The final key?
Caitlin walked over to it and reached up and inserted her key. To her surprise, it was a perfect fit.
Suddenly, her necklace dissolved before her eyes, and as it did, a small compartment opened up inside the middle of the cross.
Mary walked over, reached in and extracted an object.
Caitlin watched in awe as she saw Mary pull out a bejeweled chalice. It sparkled in the sunlight.
Inside it, was a white liquid.
“I present to you, the shield.”
Caitlin stared, confused.
“The shield is the Holy Grail,” Mary explained. “And the Holy Grail is the Antidote.”
“Antidote?” Caitlin asked.
“Do you remember your father’s final words? He has granted you power and authority over all disease. And that includes the disease of life.”
Caitlin wracked her brain, trying to understand.
“The shield, the most powerful weapon on earth, is an antidote. An antidote to the disease of vampirism. When you drink this, if you choose to, you will unleash the antidote. You will cure the disease. From the moment it touches your lips, vampires will be no more. Including you.”
Caitlin tried to process it all, flabbergasted.
“Using your final power, you will be able to make one last choice. You will choose where you want to live, as a human, as a mere mortal. To live in a world in which vampires do not exist. You will choose your loved ones, choose who you wish to surround you. Choose your place and time. Choose your age. And you shall live just as any other mere mortal. But it is a final choice, for all time.
“And by drinking from this Holy Grail, by opening this ancient shield, you will have saved mankind. Vampires will be no more. The world will be cured again.”
Caitlin reached out and took the heavy goblet with two hands. She looked down at the white liquid and was overwhelmed, as thunder erupted all around her.
The ramifications of her choice were overwhelming. Where would she live? What time? What century? What place? Who would she want around her? Who would she be? How old would she be?
She would have to live a normal, mortal life. Just like any other human. Which meant that she would die. And which meant there would be no more vampires left in the world. Ever.
This was the shield. The ancient shield. She had found it. She could hardly believe she was holding it. And when she took a sip, it would change the course of history. Forever.
Caitlin slowly lifted it to her lips, feeling the tears run down her cheeks as she did. It would be the biggest decision of her life. She was scared. She could hardly imagine what would happen after she drank it. She knew that this would be her last moment as a vampire. She would come back somewhere, sometime, as a mere human. And all of this, her vampire life, would be a memory. Or maybe, not even a memory.
Caitlin closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her hands shaking. She slowly raised the goblet, and as she did, she felt the cool white liquid touch her lips. She felt it touch her tongue. Then she felt it, slowly, drip down her throat.
Mary slowly, gently, took the goblet from her, smiling, and as she did, Caitlin suddenly felt her whole world spin.
Caitlin reached out and held Scarlet’s small hand, as she felt herself get lighter and lighter. Scarlet squeezed hers back.
Suddenly, Caitlin’s mind filled with memories, as her whole life flashed before her eyes. She saw herself in New York, in Pollepel, in Edgartown, in Salem; she saw herself in Boston, Venice, Florence, Rome, Paris, London and Scotland. She saw herself in castles, palaces, abbeys and churches. She saw herself with Caleb, saw herself meeting him for the first time, falling in love, getting married. She saw Caleb’s child, Jade. She saw Scarlet. She saw Aiden, Polly, and anyone and everyone who ever meant anything to her.
It all came rushing back her, so fast. She tried to grab onto the memories, to freeze them. But she could not. It was like trying to hold onto sand. Her life was already changing. And nothing would ever be the same.
As Caitlin felt herself grow even lighter, losing touch with her body, she knew the time had come. The time to say goodbye, to let it all go. She knew she had succeeded. She had found the keys, had found her father, had found the shield. She had found the antidote, the cure for vampirism for all time.
But this didn’t feel like success. She just wanted to be here, alive, with everyone she loved. With her father.
She tried to hold onto something that might ground her, keep her here. Something tangible.
But she found that the only thing she could hold onto, the only thing that was real anymore, was love. Love for Caleb. Love for Blake. Love for Aiden. Love for Polly. Love for Scarlet. And love for her father.
She desperately tried to hold onto this; but even this slowly released from her grasp. Her world was turning white, too fast, and she knew, before it all ended, there was only time for one last thought. And as she closed her eyes, one last thought came to her:
I only wish that I see Caleb again.