As Caitlin flew away from the Mount of Olives, Scarlet on her back, holding Ruth, her heart was breaking in a million pieces. She was so overwhelmed, she hardly knew what to think. Down below, she was leaving Caleb, her husband, dead. Blake, dead. Aiden, dead. And her brother, Sam, alone to fight that army. He had finally come back to her, had become the brother she once knew. Her heart had soared to see him come back to himself. And abandoning him now, like this—after she had vowed to never abandon anyone again—was the most painful of all. But at the same time, his remaining down there, fighting that army, was enabling her to flee, to search for their Dad—who, Aiden had said all along, was their last hope for salvation. Still, despite everything, she wished that Sam, the last familiar face in the world, could join her, could come with her to find their Dad together.Caitlin recalled Aiden’s words, centuries ago: she was the chosen one. Finding her Dad was her destiny, and her desti

Rhinebeck, New York (Hudson Valley)Present dayCaitlin Paine hurried through her house as night began to fall, trying to get everything ready in time. It was almost six o’clock, and in moments, everyone would be here. She rushed through her oversized, old Victorian house, floorboards creaking as she hurried from room to room, tidying. She wanted everything to be perfect for tonight.Caitlin hurried into her kitchen, grabbed the cake plate she’d been hiding, and carried it through the double doors. As she did, Ruth, her large Husky, followed at her heels, sniffing the cake and wagging her tail. Caitlin set it down in the center of the dining table, hoping her daughter, Scarlet, hadn’t seen it yet. After all, tonight was Scarlet’s big 16th birthday, and even though it was a weeknight, Caitlin had a special surprise in store.Caitlin had been looking forward to this all week. She’d tricked Scarlet into thinking they weren’t going to celebrate until the weekend, and had secretly

The entire drive home, Caitlin was sick with worry. She felt there was no rational person left in the universe. She had thought that driving into the city and speaking to Aiden would calm her, would make her return home feeling better, with everything explained and back in its rational order.But he had just made everything a million times worse. Now she wished she’d never visited him—and more than anything, she wished she’d never gone to the attic. She wished she’d never had that dream, and had never seen that journal. She wished she could just make it all go away.Just yesterday, everything was perfect in her life; now, she felt that everything was upside down. She almost felt that, by going to the attic, and opening that box, opening that book, she unleashed something horrible into the universe. Something that was meant to be kept locked away.A part of her still told her that all of this was ridiculous. Maybe Aiden had lost touch with reality after all these years of teaching. M