FOURTEEN

Caleb flew over the Manhattan night sky, his brother Samuel by his side, and dozens of their men close behind. Draped in the robe, Caleb gripped the staff tightly in one hand, while his brother wielded the gauntlet. They were armed with weapons that few vampires would be able to defend against. Still, Caleb knew, these were not nearly as powerful as the Sword, and if they met the Sword in battle, the odds would be stacked against them.

Not to mention that they had but a dozen soldiers, while Kyle had thousands at his disposal. If only Caleb’s coven had not been so narrow-minded; if so, they would all be leading thousands of vampires into battle and could gain the momentum and even win this war. With this small fighting force, though, Caleb knew it would likely be a suicide mission.

Still, he had to try. What choice did he have? He couldn’t simply sit back and wait for New York to be completely overrun, for all the humans to die die helplessly. And he couldn’t allow Kyle to gain stren