CHAPTER SEVEN

Caitlin struggled to catch her breath as she fell though the night sky. One moment Caleb had hit the eject button, and the next, the plane was suddenly no longer around her. She was in the black air, falling toward the raging ocean.

She glanced right, looking for Caleb. He wasn’t there. Feeling anguished, she looked about her—and finally, she spotted Caleb above her, his parachute deployed. He was pointing to his parachute cord. She couldn’t hear him over the sound of the roaring air.

Then she realized: he was trying to tell her to pull her cord. She did and all at once the plummeting stopped as her body snapped. All was suddenly peaceful. She was hovering, floating, the white parachute spread open above her like angel’s wings.

Caitlin took some deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She looked back up at Caleb and saw him giving her two thumbs up. Caleb, who had far more experience with this sort of thing, managed to maneuver himself so that they were almost level.

“It’s going to be cold!” he shouted to her.

Caitlin looked down. The water was looming, and before she had a chance to think about the frozen waves hitting her, an enormous explosion made the whole world shudder.

Panicking, Caitlin looked to her right to see that the plane had crashed into something. She realized with a sinking sensation that it was the building she’d seen on the horizon, the one her senses had told her was where Scarlet was to be found.

“No!” she screamed.

Flames and bits of burning fuselage tumbled into the sea as a huge plume of black smoke billowed into the air.

Then Caitlin hit the ocean.

Caitlin gasped as she hit the freezing water. It was so cold, it felt as though her bones had turned to ice.

But the sharp sting caused by the frigid ocean paled in comparison to the anguish in her heart. Just ahead, the building Caitlin was certain her daughter was in was ablaze. She watched, as though in a daze, as the ceiling caved in. A moment later, the whole sea-facing wall crumbled into the ocean, leaving a deep wound in the exterior.

“Caitlin!” Caleb’s voice came from a little distance away.

Caitlin shook her head and found her way back to her senses. Caleb was swimming toward her, his parachute already detached and floating away, snatched by the strong current.

“Get your pack off!” Caleb instructed the second he was beside her.

Caitlin shrugged the heavy thing off, feeling instantly more buoyant. But her body was still weary, and her water-logged clothes were weighing her down.

“We have to get to land,” Caleb said.

He scooped his arm around his wife. She could feel that he was trembling violently. He was trying to be strong for her but really his situation was just as perilous.

“Do you think you can swim that far?” he added, nodding to the crumbling Boldt Castle.

Caitlin gritted her chattering teeth.

“What if the plane hit her?” she managed to say.

Caleb shook his head. “Don’t think like that.”

“I can’t help it. She’s our daughter. What if—”

But Caleb didn’t let her finish. He pressed his hand over Caitlin’s heart.

“If she was dead, you’d know,” he said. “Wouldn’t you? If you can sense our daughter, track her to this place, then you’d know in your heart. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Caitlin bit her lip.

“Yes,” she said, finally. “You’re right. I would know if she was dead. I would feel it.”

But even as she said the words, and even though she believed them, she couldn’t help but feel that same sense of dread. Even if Scarlet was alive, she was most certainly still in danger.

Caitlin felt her arms begin to fatigue from treading water for so long.

“What are we going to do?” she cried to Caleb. “The only land is that way.”

She pointed at Boldt Castle, at the gaping hole in its side. Caleb followed her outstretched finger.

“I know,” he said with trepidation.

Caitlin nodded. Wet tendrils of hair stuck to her face. She swiped them away and began to swim toward the castle.

Just then, a noise caught Caitlin’s attention. It sounded like a distant whining noise, mechanical in nature. Familiar. Getting louder.

Caitlin glanced over her shoulder at Caleb.

“A helicopter,” she said.

Caleb paused mid-stroke and stared up at the sky as the noise grew louder and louder.

“The police?” he said. “They can’t still be on our tails, can they? Unless they were tracking the plane.”

Caleb suddenly thumped his open palms against the water, making a huge splash. But the noise was almost completely drowned out by the whirring blades of a helicopter approaching fast.

His features dropped into resignation.

“Get ready,” he said. “This is about to get a lot more dangerous.”

*

It took several minutes to swim to Boldt Castle. The side closest to Caitlin and Caleb was completely destroyed where the plane had struck. Stone and rubble had tumbled into the ocean, creating a sort of slope that they could now climb up. It was precarious going but they made it, finally, into Boldt Castle.

The smell of airplane fuel was strong in the air, mixed with the smells of dust, smoke, and sea salt. Caitlin heard a clamoring of noise in the distance, of people shouting, arguing, and crying out in pain. She knew at once that the building had been full before the plane hit, and that thanks to her, many people had been hurt. She shivered, her frozen body racked with guilt.

Caitlin was in a state, her hair a mess, the jump from the airplane and force of the waves having turned it into soggy dreadlocks. Her clothes were torn in places. Caleb looked just as bedraggled.

“Well?” he said. “Can you sense her?”

Caitlin put a finger to her lips to quiet him. She tried to get a feel for her daughter, to let her instincts tell her where she was, but she was struggling to catch hold of anything tangible. The sound of the roaring helicopter circling above them, the heat coming from the fire, the cries coming from the injured, all were crowding her mind and messing with her abilities.

“I can’t feel her,” Caitlin whispered, feeling defeated.

Caleb rubbed his chin. Caitlin could tell he was at his wits’ end. She wished she could do more to help but her mind was too frantic to hone in on Scarlet.

“Is she in the castle somewhere?” Caleb asked.

Despite his best attempts to hide it, Caitlin could hear the exasperation in his voice. She’d led him to this place, forced him to jump from a plane, and now she couldn’t even tell him whether she’d been right or not.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to calm her mind.

“I think she is,” she said finally. “I think she’s here somewhere.”

“Then we search,” Caleb replied.

He turned to leave but Caitlin grabbed his arm.

“I’m scared,” she said.

“Of what we might find?”

She shook her head.

“No,” she said, “of seeing the damage I’ve caused.”

Caleb reached out and squeezed her hand.

They stepped further into the castle. They walked carefully as the ground underfoot seemed unstable. When Caleb suddenly stopped short, blocking Caitlin’s path with an extended arm, she assumed there was some kind of obstacle ahead. But when she craned her head to look over his shoulder, her mouth dropped open with astonishment. A little way ahead of them were hundreds upon hundreds of men and women. Some of them were flying, others hovering, and all were facing a man who stood taller than any human Caitlin had ever seen. He was at least double the size of a normal man. Half of his face was burned red raw.

“What is he?” Caitlin whispered to her husband.

Caleb just shook his head.

Caitlin shivered. Finding her daughter seemed more imperative now than ever before. These strange people were disconcerting her, especially the giant man with his disfigured face.

“This way,” Caleb said in a hushed tone to her.

They crept away, keeping as silent as possible, sticking to the shadows where the crowd would not see them. Then Caitlin placed her hand on Caleb’s arm to stop him. He looked back.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Scarlet,” Caitlin said. “I can’t feel her anymore.”

“You mean she’s not here?” Caleb challenged her.

Caitlin shrunk back from the fury in his voice.

“I think she’s gone somewhere else,” she said quietly, feeling defeated and desperate. “I could feel her before, right by the place where we came in, but the further into the castle we go, the weaker it becomes. I think she left before we got here. She got out the way we got in.”

Caleb ran his hands through his hair in exasperation.

“I don’t believe this,” he muttered under his breath.

Just then, a strong light beamed into the castle from the helicopter above. It was lowering itself through the collapsed ceiling.

“It’s attempting to land!” Caleb cried incredulously.

The crowd in the great hall began to disperse, with people running and flying all over the place.

“We have to leave,” Caitlin said to her husband.

“I know,” he replied. “But how?”

“This way,” Caitlin said, tugging on his arm.

She led him across the great hall. Thanks to the descending helicopter, none of the strange people in the hall seemed to realize that the two figures racing across the room were strangers. The helicopter blades were creating a mini tornado in the room, whipping up plumes of smoke that added even more to the chaos.

Caitlin and Caleb burst out of the hall and into a gloomy corridor. The smoke was thick here and the light dim. Together, Caitlin and Caleb ran the length of the corridor until they reached a door. Caleb shoved it with his shoulder and it opened at once, revealing to them the outside world.

“Over there!” Caitlin cried, surveying their surroundings.

Caleb looked to where she was pointing.

Just ahead, down some stone steps leading from the castle, was a small parking lot with enough space for four or five vehicles. Amongst them was a motorcycle.

They ran for the bike. It hadn’t been locked up or secured in any way.

It took several attempts before he was able to kick the motor into life, but all at once the engine roared and spewed out fumes. By then, people from inside the crumbling church had begun filing out.

“Quick,” Caitlin cried, jumping on the back behind Caleb. “They’re coming.”

But before Caleb had a chance to accelerate away, the sound of police sirens began wailing out from nearby.

He took off, swerving to avoid the people darting from the castle. Streaming out of Boldt Castle after them came the police who had arrived by helicopter. Hurtling down the dark, winding pathway toward them came several police cars, their lights flashing furiously.

“Now what?” Caitlin cried.

Caleb looked over at her. He revved the motorcycle’s engine.

“Now you hold tight,” he said.

Caitlin just had time to loop her arms around his waist before the bike sped away.

*

The bike bumped along the road. Caitlin was exhausted. She rested her head against Caleb’s back, comforted by the steady thumping of his heartbeat, and gazed up at the black night. But she knew she couldn’t rest. Scarlet needed her help and there was no way she could pause for even a moment while she was in danger.

“Any ideas?” Caleb cried over his shoulder, battling to get his voice heard above the wind and the police sirens that tailed them. “Directions?”

Caitlin could tell he was trying his hardest to stay calm and composed but he was just as drained as she was.

“I can’t sense her,” Caitlin shouted back. “Not right now.”

Caleb said nothing, but Caitlin saw his hands tensed against the handlebars hard enough to make his knuckles turn white.

The bike flew onwards, gradually increasing the distance between them and the police cars.

The road was a narrow country lane. It began to wind up a hill. Soon there was a steep drop on one side and a cliff face on the other. Feeling queasy, Caitlin ducked down behind Caleb’s back for protection. The wind danced through her hair.

Just then, she felt something vibrating in her pocket. Surely it couldn’t be her cell phone. But when Caitlin reached inside her pocket she discovered that her cell phone had, indeed, survived the ocean plunge. She hadn’t had reception before but now suddenly it had sprung to life, flashing up to her that she had a voicemail.

Caitlin dialed her voicemail and listened to Aidan’s hurried voice on the other end.

“Caitlin,” he said. “Where are you? You need to call me back now.”

The message ended. That was it. She went to hit redial—but lost service.

“Damn!” she cried.

“What is it?” Caleb called over his shoulder.

“We need to pull over,” Caitlin replied, realizing as she glanced down at her handset that the battery was on one percent.

“I can’t pull over,” Caleb replied. “The police are on our tail. We have to get far away from this place first.”

Just then, Caitlin noticed a cave cut into the cliff side.

“In there!” she cried.

Caleb sprung to attention, twisting the bike’s handlebars with expert precision so that it swerved and skidded into the cave, kicking up dirt before drawing to a halt.

As soon as they’d stopped, Caleb turned to face his wife. “Can you can sense Scarlet?”

“No,” Caitlin replied. “My phone came back. I need to call Aidan.”

Just then, the police cars that had been on their tail went screaming past the small cave where Caitlin and Caleb were hidden.

Caitlin grabbed her cell phone and punched in Aidan’s number, praying that the battery would hold out. He answered on the third ring.

“You took your time,” he said.

“I’ve been a bit busy,” Caitlin replied, thinking of the plane ride and ocean plunge. “So what was it you needed to tell me?”

Caitlin listened to the sound of Aidan’s voice on the other end of the phone as he shuffled around and rifled through books and papers. She felt her frustration grow.

“Can you please hurry up?” Caitlin barked. “I don’t have much battery.”

“Ah, yes,” he said at last.

“What?” Caitlin demanded. “Tell me!”

“Tell me the chant again. Tell me the chant that is the cure.”

Caitlin fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the notes she’d made when studying the book. But they were soggy and the ink had run. She closed her eyes and tried to visualize the page as she had read it. The words began to appear in her mind.

“I am the sea, the sky and sand,

I am the pollen on the wind.

I am the horizon, the heath, the heather on the hill.

I am ice,

I am nothing,

I am extinct.”

____Caitlin opened her eyes and the words disappeared from her mind. There was a long moment where Aidan was silent.

Caitlin wanted to scream at him to hurry up.

“Caitlin!” he said at last. “I’ve got it. I’ve got it!”

“Tell me,” Caitlin replied hurriedly, feeling her heart race.

“We’ve been such fools! It’s not a chant at all.”

Caitlin frowned.

“What do you mean? How can it not be a chant? I don’t understand.”

“I mean that the chant isn’t the cure,” Aidan replied, fumbling over his words in his excitement. “The chant is a clue to the cure!”

Caitlin could feel her heart thumping with anticipation.

“So what’s the clue then?” she asked.

“Caitlin! Think about it. It’s a riddle. Directions. It’s telling you to go somewhere.”

Caitlin felt the blood drain from her face as she ran through the words in her mind.

“I am the sea, the sky and sand,” she repeated under her breath. Then, suddenly, it came to her. “No. You don’t mean—”

“Yes,” Aidan replied. “S. P. H. I. N. X.”___

“The vampire city,” Caitlin whispered under her breath.

Of course. Before Scarlet had disappeared into harm’s way, Caitlin had been trying to find the cure, to find a way to turn her daughter back from a vampire into a human. She thought the words on the page needed to be read to Scarlet to cure her, that what she had found was the cure. But no. What she had found were instructions that would lead her to the cure. Caitlin had let her innate anguish as a mother override the sensible, logical scholar she needed to be right now, the one who would work out that the riddle was not a cure—but a map.

“Thank you, Aidan,” she said hurriedly.

Her phone went dead.

Caitlin looked up at Caleb’s expectant face.

“Well?” he said.

“I know where we’re going,” Caitlin replied, feeling a twinge of hope for the first time in a long time.

Caleb raised an eyebrow and looked over at his wife.

“Where?” he said.

Caitlin smiled.

“We’re going to Egypt.”