was growing desperate. He had no idea what to do. He was shaking her harder and harder, but she was just not responding. He thought back to the time and place he had last seen her. Sergei’s palace. He remembered freeing her. They had gone back, to Aiden’s castle, and had found Caitlin and Caleb and Scarlet, all lying lifeless on that bed. Aiden had told him that they had gone back in time, without them. He had implored Aiden to send them back, too. Aiden had shook his head, saying it was not meant to be, that it would interfere with destiny. But Sam had insisted.
Finally, Aiden had performed the ritual.
Had she died on the trip back?
Sam looked down and shook Polly again. Still nothing.
Finally, Sam reached down and pulled Polly close to him. He pulled her long, beautiful hair out of her face, placed one hand back behind her neck, and pulled her face close. He leaned down and kissed her.
It was a long, full kiss, planted fully on her lips, and Sam realized then, that this was only the second time they had ever really kissed. Her lips felt so soft, so perfect in his. But also too cold, too devoid of life. As he kissed her, he tried to focus on sending his love through her, on willing her back to life. In his mind, he tried to send a clear message. I’ll do anything. I’ll pay whatever price. I’ll do anything to have you back. Just come back to me.
“I’LL PAY ANY PRICE!” Sam leaned back and screamed to the waves.
The scream seemed to rise into the heavens, and as it did, it was echoed back by a flock of birds, flying overhead. Sam felt a chill run through his body, as he sensed, at that moment, that the universe had heard and answered him. He knew at that moment, with every ounce of his body, that Polly would, indeed, come back to life. Even though she wasn’t meant to. That he had willed it to happen, had broken some greater plan in the universe. And that he would, indeed, pay the price.
Suddenly, Sam looked down, and watched as Polly’s eyes opened slowly. They were as blue and beautiful as he had remembered, and they were staring right at him. For a moment they were blank, but then they filled with recognition. And then, the greatest magic he had ever seen, a small smile formed at the corner of her lips.
“Are you trying to take advantage of a girl while she’s asleep?” Polly asked, in her typical, jovial voice.
Sam couldn’t help but break into a huge grin. Polly was back. Nothing else mattered. He tried to push out of his mind the ominous feeling that he had defied destiny, that he would have to pay the price.
Polly sat up, back to her nimble, happy self, looking embarrassed to have been caught so vulnerable in his arms, and trying to make a show of being strong and independent. She took in her surroundings, and grabbed onto the side of the boat as a wave brought them high, then lurched them low.
“This isn’t exactly what I would call a romantic boating expedition,” she said, looking a bit pale as she tried to steady herself in the rocking sea. “Where are we exactly? And what is that on the horizon?”
Sam turned and looked where she was pointing. He hadn’t seen it before. There, a few hundred yards off in the distance, sat a rocky island, jutting straight out of the sea, with tall, unforgiving cliffs. It looked ancient, uninhabited, its terrain rocky and desolate.
He turned and surveyed the horizon in every direction. It looked like the only island within thousands of miles.
“It looks like we’re heading right for it,” he said.
“I sure hope so,” Polly said. “I’m positively nauseous on this boat.”
Suddenly, Polly leaned over the side and threw up, again and again.
Sam came over and placed a reassuring hand on her back. Polly finally stood, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve and looking away, embarrassed.
“Sorry,” she said. “These waves are relentless.” She looked up at him, guiltily. “It must be unattractive.”
But Sam wasn’t thinking that at all. On the contrary, he was realizing that he had stronger feelings for Polly than he ever realized.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Polly asked. “Was it that awful?”
Sam quickly looked away, realizing he was staring.
“I wasn’t thinking that at all,” he said, blushing.
But they were both interrupted. On the island there suddenly appeared several warriors, standing at the top of a cliff. One appeared after another, and soon the horizon was filled with them.
Sam reached down, searching to see what weapons he had brought with him. But he was disappointed to find he had not brought any.
The horizon blackened with more and more vampire warriors, and Sam could see that the current was bringing them right to them. They were drifting right into a trap, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
“Look at that,” Polly said. “They’re coming to greet us.”
Sam studied them carefully, and came to a very different conclusion.
“No they’re not,” he said. “They’re coming to test us.”
Chapter Three
Caitlin stood before the rope bridge to Skye, Caleb beside her, and Scarlet and Ruth behind them. She watched the dilapidated rope sway violently, as she heard the wind whistling through the rocks, the waves crashing against the cliffs hundreds of feet below. The bridge was wet and slippery. Slipping off it would mean instant death for Scarlet and for Ruth, and Caitlin hadn’t tested her own wings yet, either. Crossing this bridge was not really a chance she wanted to take – but then again, it seemed obvious that they needed to be on the Isle of Skye.
Caleb looked over at her.
“We haven’t much choice,” he said.
“Then there’s no point in waiting,” she answered. “I’ll take Scarlet, you take Ruth?”
Caleb nodded grimly back, as Caitlin picked up Scarlet and hoisted her onto her back, while Caleb held Ruth in his arms. Ruth at first squirmed, wanting to get down, but Caleb held her firmly, and something about his grip eventually calmed her.
There was no choice but to walk single file on the narrow bridge. Caitlin went first.
Caitlin took her first, unsteady step onto the bridge, and could immediately feel how slippery the water-sprayed planks were. She reached over and grabbed the rope railing for balance, but the bridge only swayed as she did, and the railing fell to pieces in her hands.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and centered herself. She knew she could not rely on her vision, or her balance. She had to call on something deeper. She thought back to Aiden’s lessons, summoned his words. She stopped trying to oppose the bridge: instead, she tried to feel at one with it.
Caitlin trusted her inner instincts, and took several steps forward. She slowly opened her eyes, and as she took another step, a plank fell through beneath her. Scarlet cried out, and she lost her balance for a moment – then quickly took another step and found her footing. The wind swayed the bridge again. It felt like she had been going forever, but when Caitlin looked up, she saw they had only gone about ten feet. She knew instinctively that they would never make it.
She turned
