Kyle. And what’s worse—I’m the one that turned him.”
Lily’s eyes opened wide in shock.
“That is something which I wil always regret. So I know that whatever he’s up to, it’s no good.
And somehow, he’s using Pol y.”
Lily shook her head. “I tried to tel her to stay away, but she wouldn’t listen. The strangest thing is, he doesn’t even seem to like her.”
Caitlin sighed, wondering.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Lily asked.
Caitlin looked back at her, and she could see her sadness.
Once again, she was surprised by Lily’s powers of perception, and at how close friends they had become so quickly.
Caitlin nodded back.
“I have to. I have to find my father. And the Shield. I’m on a mission. One that I’ve been ignoring for way too long.”
“So where wil you go to next?” Lily asked.
Caitlin thought about that. She thought of the letter, of her father’s reference to the Shield, of the next clue. She kept thinking of that phrase. The Field of the Scholars. But for the life of her, she couldn’t figure it out.
“My father left me a letter. A direction for where to look for him next. He mentioned a place, but… I’m not sure exactly where it is.”
where it is.”
“What place?”
“The letter mentioned a place cal ed the Fields of the Scholars.”
Lily’s eyes opened wide, and Caitlin was surprised at her reaction.
“Do you know it?”
“Yes,” Lily said breathlessly. “It was an area in Paris in the middle ages. But it’s code. It’s not real y a field. It’s real y referring to a church, to a portion of land that they leased out hundreds of years ago. It must be referring to the Abbey of Saint Germain Des Pres. It’s the oldest church in Paris.”
Caitlin’s mind reeled with the information. That would make perfect sense, given its location, and how old it was. The moment Lily named the church, she felt it was the right place.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Caitlin said.
“There is more,” Lily said.
Caitlin looked at her. Lily stil looked shocked, as if she’d seen a ghost.
“That code you used: The Fields of the Scholars. When I was young, I was told that one day a person would come here, asking about it.” Lily turned and looked both ways, secretively. “I was told to guard the secret. Not to let anyone know, or to show it to anyone, until someone asked specifical y about it. I was told that whoever came along and asked, would be the One. And ever since then, I’ve been appointed to guard over the artifact. The one that wil lead you exactly where you want.”
Caitlin looked back at her in shock. She knew that Lily was royalty, but she had never guessed that she was guarding a precious artifact. Or that any human would be important enough to be entrusted with guarding a cherished vampire secret. She realized again what a special person Lily must be.
Caitlin was so curious as to what it was.
“What is it?” Caitlin asked breathlessly, her heart pounding.
Lily again looked in both directions, saw that no one was watching, and quickly took Caitlin’s arm and led her away.
“Fol ow me,” she said.
*
Caitlin walked beside Lily, down the endless marble hal ways, passing servant after servant, al standing at attention along the sides of the wal s. They approached another huge set of double doors, and several servants rushed to open them, bowing especial y low in the presence of Lily.
Caitlin looked at her again, and marveled at how royal y she was treated in this palace.
They descended a set of marble steps, turned down another hal way, then descended yet another flight of steps.
Final y, Lily stopped, and looked over her shoulder.
There was no one in sight.
She removed a smal key from inside her dress, inserted it into the door, and unlocked it.
They walked down another long marble hal way, and Caitlin was confused as it seemed to end in a marble wal . It looked like a dead-end.
Lily reached up and ran her hand along the wal , as if searching for something.
Final y, she found a hidden latch. She pressed, and as she did, the wal suddenly opened up, spinning open, and revealing a secret passageway.
Caitlin watched in surprise.
“I haven’t opened this wal since I was a child,” Lily said. “No one knows about it in the palace but me.”
The two of them entered the dark staircase, Lily grabbing a torch off the wal before they did, and headed down into the darkness.
It was dark