Caitlin walked quickly with Caleb up the endless steps on the Columbia University campus, their footsteps echoing as they hurried across the imposing building that held Aiden’s office. It felt surreal for Caitlin to be back here, this place she had spent so many years of her life, and her heart was pounding as she headed for the building, fearing what Aiden might say. Caitlin took assurance in having Caleb at her side, both of them desperate to see Aiden again and also dreading it. The last time she had been here he had advised her to kill her own daughter. She had vowed to never return.But now she found herself in a desperate situation, and she realized now, ironically, that Aiden was the only person left she could turn to. She only prayed that the outcome would be different this time, that he would have something to tell her that could help Scarlet. There was no one else who had more scholarship on the subject than he, and if there was anyone in the world who would know how to guid

Scarlet sat in the back of the small rowboat, rocking in the strong currents of the Hudson River, and wrapped her sweater tighter about her shoulders to ward off the cold breeze coming off the water. She had forgotten how cold the Hudson could be in November; she had also forgotten how strong the tides could be, and she braced herself against the spray, almost like waves in an ocean.There were too many people crammed in—Maria, Jasmine and Becca, Blake who was rowing, and a couple of his friends—and Scarlet looked out, shivering, not trusting this creaking, weathered boat, and was grateful to see that Bannerman’s Island was fast approaching, hardly thirty yards away.Scarlet had mixed feelings about coming here. She remembered times in the past when she used to love to come to Bannerman’s, a small, abandoned island in the middle of the Hudson, with its huge crumbling ruin of a castle, a relic of a former time, long abandoned, structurally unsound, overgrown with vines. In fact, the w

Scarlet looked up into the black starry night, elated, her heart soaring with joy as she saw Sage flying down, descending right for her. At first she was sure it was a trick of her eyes, a hopeful dream. But as Sage got closer, she saw his beautiful eyes glistening under the light of the moon, and she knew it was true. It was really him.Scarlet’s eyes welled with tears as he landed before her, stepped forward, and wordlessly embraced her, holding her so tight, his black leather pants crinkling. She held him tight, too, not wanting to let him go, ever, She felt her tears pour down her cheek, overwhelmed with gratitude that he was alive, that he had come back for her.“What are you doing here?” she asked over his shoulder.“I came for you,” he replied.The sound of his voice reassured her immediately, a sound she could never forget. It was really him, here in the flesh. She clung to him, feeling as if she were holding onto the cornerstone of her world, the only thing left to make he

Caitlin sat on the floor between the stacks in the dark, silent library, bleary-eyed, her back against the metal frame and every muscle in her body aching as she hunched over a stack of books in her lap. It had been a marathon of reading, and books were strewn everywhere, as if an avalanche of them had fallen down upon her. Her eyes were blurry and she rubbed them again, determined to keep going.Caitlin read beneath the dim emergency light, as she had been for hours, ever since the library had closed and its lights had shut down. She was grateful that she had not been detected, and she was determined to make the most of it, tearing through volumes, devouring them from the second the doors to the main library finally slammed close.Caitlin had had a long and lonely night, squinting through book after book, searching for any clues, anything she could find. She waded through volumes on lost cities, lost races, lost civilizations, reading the most fantastical things, most of it legend,

Sage flew with Scarlet into the breaking dawn, high over the Hudson, the world spread out before them in shades of purples and pinks, and even though he knew he was dying, Sage felt that everything was perfect in the world. He loved the feel of Scarlet on his back, her arms wrapped around his chest as they flew. He loved that the two of them could enjoy the breaking dawn together, looking down at the river, the trees, and the rolling hills, the entire world alight with fall. The leaves shone a thousand different colors, reds and oranges and yellows, twirling in the wind, falling to the Hudson, lining the waters as they floated down the current, making the river seem alive with a rainbow.They flew and flew, following the contours of the Hudson, passing over a bridge, and Sage felt so excited to be with her, and to be bringing her to his great surprise. He could feel her excitement, and it made him all the happier.Sage thought back to their time together the night before, the most ma