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The Hudson Valley, New York

(Present Day)

For the first ti coainst a bale of hay, and exhaled A sed in the stone fireplace about ten feet away; she had just added a log, and felt reassured by the sound of cracking wood March wasn&039;t over yet, and tonight had been especially cold Theon the far wall afforded a view of the night sky, and she could see the snoas still falling

The barn was unheated, but she sat close enough to the fire for its ware off She felt very co heavy The smell of the fire dominated the barn, and as she reclined a little bit further, she could feel the tension starting to leave her shoulders and legs

Of course, the real reason for her sense of peace, she kneas not the fire, or hay, or even the shelter of the barn It was due to him Caleb She sat and stared at him

He reclined across from her, about fifteen feet away, so perfectly still He was sleeping, and she took the opportunity to study his face, his perfect features, his pale, translucent skin She had never seen features so perfectly chiseled It was surreal, like staring at a sculpture She couldn&039;t fathom how he had been alive for 3,000 years She, at 18, already looked older than he did

But it was more than his features There was an air about hireat sense of peace When she was around hiht

She was just happy that he was still there, still with her And she allowed herself to hope that they would stay together But even as she thought it, she chided herself, knowing that she was setting herself up for trouble Guys like this, she knew, just didn&039;t stick around It just wasn&039;t how they were built

Caleb slept so perfectly, taking such small breaths, that it was hard for her to tell if he was even asleep He had left earlier, he&039;d said, to feed He&039;d returned ured a way to seal the barn door to keep out the snowy draft He had started the fire, and now that he was asleep, she kept it going

She reached up and took another sip of her glass of red wine, and felt the warm liquid slowly relax her She had found the bottle in a hidden chest, under a stack of hay; she&039;d remembered when her little brother, Sao, and on a whim She never drank, but she didn&039;t see the harh

She held her journal on her lap, page open, a pen in one hand and the glass in the other She had been holding it for 20 in She&039;d never had trouble writing before, but this time was different The events of the last several days had been too dramatic, too hard to process This was the first time she sat still and relaxed The first time she had felt even reinning What had happened Why she was here Who she even was She needed to process it She wasn&039;t even sure if she knew the answers herself anymore

Up until last week, life was nor to like Oakville Then Moain Life turned upside down, like it always did with her

This time, it orse It wasn&039;t another suburb It was New York As in city Public school and a life of concrete And a dangerous neighborhood

Sa off But the truth e had nowhere else to go

So ent along We both secretly vowed that if we didn&039;t like it, we&039;d leave Find soain, though we both knew that wouldn&039;t happen

And then everything happened So fast My body Turning Changing I still don&039;t knohat happened, or who I&039;ve become But I know I&039;ht when it all began Carnegie Hall My date with Jonah And theninter someone? I still can&039;t remember I only knohat they told ht, but it&039;s all a blur Whatever I did, it still sits like a pit in my stomach I&039;d never want to hare in er, faster, s, too Ani strangely around thekilled by those vampires, the ones who&039;d been after me I never would&039;ve wanted to see her hurt like that I still feel like it&039;selse, I just can&039;t let ot to focus on what&039;s before ht Those awful vampires And then, my escape Caleb Without him, I&039;m sure they would have killed me Or worse

Caleb&039;s coven His people So different But vampires, all the same Territorial Jealous Suspicious They cast ave hi, he chose ain, he saved me He risked it all for me I love him for that More than he&039;ll ever know

I have to help him back He thinks I&039; He&039;s convinced I&039;ll lead him to some kind of lost sword, that will stop a vampire war and save everybody Personally, I don&039;t believe it His own people don&039;t believe it But I know that&039;s all he has, and that itfor me, and it&039;s the least I can do For me, it&039;s not even about the sword I just don&039;t want to see hio

So I&039;ll do whatever I can I&039;ve alanted to try to find my dad, anyway I want to knoho he really is Who I really am If I&039;m really half va else, I need to knohat I&039;

"Caitlin?"

She woke in a daze She looked up to see Caleb standing over her, hands resting gently on her shoulder He smiled

"I think you fell asleep," he said

She looked around, saw her open journal on her lap and snapped it closed She felt her cheeks flush, hoping he hadn&039;t read any of it Especially the part about her feelings for hiht, and the fire was still going, although it was down to e she had been asleep

"Sorry," she said "It&039;s the first I&039;ve slept in days"

He sain, and crossed the roos on, and they crackled and hissed, as the fire grew greater She felt the war down at the fire, and his shts As he looked into the fla hie, light brown eyes opened wide, and as she watched hireen

Caitlin sat up straighter, and saw that her glass of red as still full She took a sip, and it warht to her head She saw the other plastic glass sitting there, and she remembered her manners

"Can I pour you some?" she asked, then added, nervously, "that is, I hed

"Yes, vampires drink wine, too," he said with a slass while she poured

She was surprised Not by his words, but by his laugh It was soft, elegant, and see else about him, it was lass to his lips, hoping that he would look back into hers

He did

Then they both looked away at the same time She felt her heart race faster

Caleb walked back to his spot, sitting on the straw, leaning back, and looking at her Now he see her She felt self-conscious

She unconsciously ran her hand along her clothing, and wished she earing so prettier Her mind raced as she tried to re the way, she couldn&039;t remember where, they had stopped briefly in soone to the only store they had - a Salvation Are of clothes

She looked down in dread, and didn&039;t even recognize yourself She wore torn, faded jeans, sneakers a size too big for her, and a sweater over a tee shirt Over that, she had on a faded, purple pea coat, one button ht now, that hat she needed

She felt self-conscious Why did he have to see her like this? It was just her luck that the first tiuy she really liked, she didn&039;t even have a chance to make herself look nice There was no bathroom in this barn, and even if there were, she had noe time?" she asked

"I&039; back and running his hand through his hair "I fed early tonight It threw me off"

She looked at him

"Explain it to ," she added "Like, how does it work? Do youkill people?"

"No, never," he said

The roo in the vampire race, it&039;s complicated," he said "It depends on the type of va to In my case, I only feed on animals Deer, mostly They are overpopulated, anyway, and humans hunt them, too - and not even to eat"

His expression turned dark

"But other covens are not so gracious They will feed on humans Usually, undesirables"

"Undesirables?"

"Homeless, drifters, prostitutesthose on&039;t be noticed That&039;s the way it&039;s always been They don&039;t want to draw attention to the race