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CHAPTER 85
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Marked CHAPTER 86
The front door to the house opened, and a large, black man, 50s, stood in the doorway. He took several steps in.He stopped before Caleb and stared.Caleb stared back.“Caleb?” the man finally asked.Caleb’s expression softened.“Roger?” Caleb asked.The man broke into a smile, as did Caleb, and they both embraced in a huge hug. They held it for several seconds.Who is this? I thought.Roger began to laugh—a deep, warm, generous laugh. He held Caleb by the shoulders and looked at him. Caleb was a big man, but even so, Roger towered over him.“Son of a bitch,” Roger said. “I haven’t seen you in what…a hundred and fifty years?”“More like 200,” Caleb said.They both stared at each other, surprised. Whoever he was, this had clearly been an important man in Caleb’s life.Caleb turned, and held his hand out to me. “Excuse my manners,” he said. “Roger, may I introduce Caitlin Paine.”Roger did a half bow. “A pleasure to meet you, Caitlin.”I smiled back. “A pleasure to meet you
Marked CHAPTER 87
{SAMANTHA’S POV}Samantha, in the passenger seat, looked over and was impressed by how Sam handled the car. Not bad for someone his age. She was surprised by how well he handled the stick, and she forgave him his initial grinding of gears. He was actually pretty good once he got past third. She liked his aggression, especially when the speedometer hit 120. He had spirit, she had to give him that.She leaned back, relaxing and enjoying the ride. It was a lot slower than flying, but not bad for human travel. She thought of the man who’d owned this car, that real estate broker—her morning meal—and smiled. His blood still ran through her veins, and it felt good. She was sated.She didn’t need to let the kid drive, but she figured his days were numbered anyway, so why not let him enjoy them, go out with a bang? It would only be a matter of hours now until she’d meet his father, and find out where that sword was. After that, she could dispose of them both.But something gnawed at her.
Marked CHAPTER 88
Caleb and I looked at each other in wonder as Roger led us back onto the brick walkway, through the manicured grounds, and past the Daniel Fisher House. We exited back on the street, made a quick turn, and then, before we knew it, he was leading us up the front steps and into the huge, historic whaling church.The door was locked, but Roger had the key. He unlocked it, and held it open for us.“We didn’t move it far,” he said, with a smile and a wink.They entered, and he closed and locked the door behind them.I was taken aback as we entered the church. It was breathtaking. So light and airy, so beautiful in its simplicity, it was unlike any church I had ever been in. There were no crosses, no religious figures, no ornamentation, not even any columns or beams—it was just a huge open room, lined in every direction with old windows. There were rows and rows of simple, wooden pews, enough to hold hundreds of people. It was a very peaceful place. “This is the largest open-ceilinged
Marked CHAPTER 89
The notes echoed throughout the huge, empty church, reverberating off the walls, filling the empty space. It seemed to bounce off of everything.I had never heard music like this. Nothing even remotely like this. It made me want to capture the moment. And it made me want to cry.At that moment, I felt profoundly sad, as it struck me, again, that there was so much about Caleb that I would probably never know. I would just have to accept that I knew as much as I did, and learn to be happy to be with him for the short time that I was.It also saddened me, as it made me think of Jonah. I hadn’t thought of him in so long. When I was with Caleb, I felt no need to think of him. But he was still there, somewhere deep in my consciousness, even from just the short time we’d spent together, and a part of me still felt badly for ending it so abruptly. Whatever we’d had together, it felt unresolved. A part of me felt that someday we would see each other again. I didn’t know how, but I just knew
Marked CHAPTER 90
{KYLE’S POV}“Hey buddy, move out!” came the gruff voice.Kyle felt himself being kicked, then nudged with a baton.He opened his eyes.He was lying on a cold, hard surface, but had no idea where. Sunlight was creeping over the horizon, and it burned his eyes and skin.“Hey buddy, did you hear me? I said move it!” the cop yelled.Kyle opened his eyes fully now, and realized he’d been lying on marble. On the cold, marble steps of City Hall. He was outside, at daybreak, lying sprawled out, like a bum. He looked up and saw two uniformed policemen standing over him, poking and prodding him with their batons, smiling at each other.Kyle tried to remember what happened, how he’d got here. He remembered reporting to Rexius. Then being grabbed, being tied down. Then, the acid. He reached up and felt one side of his face, and it felt normal. Then he reached up and felt the other—and the pain came flooding back. He could feel the contours, the horrible scars, the disfiguration. They had
Marked CHAPTER 91
My heart soared as Caleb and I flew over miles of dark woods as we crossed Martha’s Vineyard, heading into the late afternoon sun. I marveled at how big the island was. I had imagined it to be a small place, but as I looked down, I realized that it was massive. The Aquinnah cliffs, where we were heading, were on the far corner of the island, all the way on the other side. Even flying at Caleb’s speed, it would take a while.Caleb didn’t like to fly if other people were around, as he never wanted to draw undue attention to him or to the race. But the island was so deserted this time of year, that he had no qualms about flying us from one side to the other, especially over a patch of woods.My mind spun as I thought of the whaling church, and of the latest clue we’d found. It was not at all what I’d expected. I had guessed it might be another key. Instead, we’d found a scroll—a brittle, yellowing parchment, and torn in half, right down the middle. It had been obvious, from first glanc
Marked CHAPTER 92
Caleb and I set down softly. The beach was empty, entirely ours. Caleb gently landing on the sand, and I let Rose down. Rose ran in the sand, jumped into the water, then ran back to the shore as the water crashed on her.Caleb and I smiled.We walked slowly down the beach, taking it all in. We walked in silence, as Caleb reached out and took my hand.The beach was dominated by the sound of the crashing waves, and smell of the ocean air. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. It felt so refreshing.Caleb scanned the cliffs, the beach, the rocks. So did I.“This is definitely the place,” I said. “I feel like I was here with him.”Caleb nodded. “It would make sense. This is a very powerful place for our race.”I looked at him in surprise. “Have you been here before?” I asked.“Many times,” he answered. “The Aquinnah Cliffs are one of our sacred places, one of the oldest energy fields on earth. The red clay and sand store and discharge ancient energy, which restores us.“Humans, of
Marked CHAPTER 93
I found myself thinking of Caleb’s piano playing, of how beautiful the music had been. Its notes rang in my ears.“I didn’t know you could play the piano,” I said softly.He sighed. “It’s been many years. I’m afraid I didn’t do the piece justice. You should’ve heard Ludwig play it.”I looked at him, shocked. “Do you mean Ludwig…as in Beethoven?” I asked, dumbfounded.He nodded.“You heard Beethoven play that? Personally?”“Yes,” he said. “Towards the end of his life.”I was flabbergasted. It shocked me to consider what he must have seen.“So, then…you met him?” I asked.“Yes,” Caleb said. “He was a close friend. He was one of us.”“A vampire?” I asked, shocked.Caleb simply nodded.I wanted to know more—I wanted to know everything—but I could see that Caleb didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever had happened, it held deep feelings for him.“It must be so incredible to have met people like that. To remember things like that,” I said.“Sometimes,” he said. “More often, it’s
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