of anticipation, at the idea of possibly meeting her father. Could it be that he had been waiting for her in Paris al this time? So close? That he would be at the Saint Germain Des Pres church? Or at the Notre Dame?
Would he embrace her, be proud of her? Would he give her the Shield?
Caitlin hoped that he would indeed be proud of her, that he would recognize what a woman, what a warrior, she had become. That he would acknowledge al that she has sacrificed to find him.
He would open up a whole new world for her, introduce her to his coven. And maybe she could final y have a place in the world, a people to belong to, a place to settle down.
She would like that.
Caitlin also thought about Sam, with a pang of regret. She wished that he was with her, at her side, helping her on her quest. But she realized that he was too caught up in his relationship, and there was simply nothing she could do about that. Sometimes, people just had to come to their own realizations, in their own time. She just hoped that everything would be okay for him. She had a sinking feeling, though, upon looking at Kendra, that it would not.
More than anything, Caitlin wished that Caleb was here with her now, at her side, as he had always been on her search.
She missed him desperately, missed having him there, missed not being able to share her ideas with him. And whatever she found, she wanted to find it together with him.
And if once again, for some reason, she had to go back in time, she desperately wished that he would be by her side.
But as Caitlin flew, she realized that she was much stronger now. She had become a warrior.
And part of what it meant to be a warrior was to be unafraid to go it alone if need be, to carve your own path in this world. To forge forward, even when no one else was wil ing to forge forward with you. It was about individual strength, and courage. And sometimes that meant the courage to do what no one else was doing.
Caitlin felt a new wave of strength come over her, emboldened by al of her training with Aiden, al of his lessons, and al of the sparring she had done. She wanted Caleb there, but she felt strong enough to handle this mission on her own.
As Caitlin flew, the landscape changed, and the thick forest of the French countryside began to give way to the urban landscape of Paris. Beneath her, Caitlin recognized the buildings, the tal church steeples, the occasional medieval church and abbey, and the more fashionable recent construction of the 18th century townhouses. From up here, it was a breathtakingly beautiful city.
But at the same time, as she looked down, real concern overcame her. Despite the late hour, the streets were flooded. They were absolutely packed with mobs of angry citizens, carrying torches. The tension and anger in the air was palpable; she could feel it, even from this height.
People screamed and ran throughout the chaotic streets, and worse, they were destroying property, throwing stones through windows, throwing torches into buildings. The crowd seemed to particularly center around the huge Bastil e prison, and spread out from there. She couldn’t believe it: it looked as if a war had broken out.
Caitlin had not expected this. She’d expected to simply fly to Saint Germain Des Pres, find what was she was looking for, and continue her search. She had not expected having to navigate an angry mob of citizens in the streets. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. But then again, she couldn’t let them get in her way.
As Caitlin flew over the left bank of the city, she spotted the tal , square tower of the Saint Germain Des Pres church. It was distinctive, especial y from this bird’s-eye view. In addition to its tal rectangular tower, it was attached to a large monastery, with a long, sloping roof. Its wal s were arched along its ends, giving a beautiful, cylindrical shape to the complex. It looked like other medieval churches she had seen in the countryside, and it was shocking to see such a medieval masterpiece here, right smack in the middle of the city.
Luckily, the crowds weren’t as intense in this part of the city.
Caitlin chose a dark al ey in which to land, where no one could