Found (Book #8 in the Vampire Journals) (12 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Caitlin ran. She cut through a path in a never-ending field of wheat, the stalks reaching up to her chest, and ran towards an enormous sun, sitting as a ball on the horizon. The sun was just beginning to rise, the pre-dawn light blanketing the sky, and in the distance, she could see the silhouette of her father. He stood there with his hands outstretched, by his side, as if waiting to embrace her. In each of his fingers dangled the four keys, glistening in the sun.

Caitlin ran with all she had, trying to get closer, but the more she ran, the further away he seemed to get.

The next thing she knew, she was in a desert. She was running up a rocky hill, dirt and dust in her face, the sun beating down on her head. She looked up, and saw she was racing towards a huge crucifix, mounted at the top. On the cross was Jesus, crucified, looking down at her.

Caitlin ran towards him, wanting more than anything to help him, to bring him down off the cross. But no matter how hard she ran, she kept slipping on the rocks, sliding back down the hill.

She felt a strong wind, and looked over her shoulder, and suddenly saw a huge sandstorm heading her way. She turned her head and covered her eyes with her forearm, just in time. Moments later she was enveloped by the tornado of sand, the sand whipping her face and skin and arms, scraping her, the noise pounding in her ears. She could barely breathe. It was like a million hornets descending on her.

Suddenly, the world went quiet. Caitlin blinked, and found herself atop a lone, grassy hill. Opposite her stood Aiden. He stood there, so still, so calm, gazing out at the horizon, his long staff in his hand, his beard blown in the wind. He turned and stared right at her, his blue eyes glistening.

“It is me, Caitlin,” he said. “I am your father.” He took three steps towards her, grabbed her shoulders, and looked her right in the eyes. “Don’t you realize?
I
am your father.”

Caitlin woke with a start.

She sat there, breathing hard, and looked all about the room, in the pre-dawn darkness.

Caleb lay in bed beside her, still sleeping. As she caught her breath, she turned and looked about the room, wondering if she was really awake. She was.

Caitlin looked across the room, and through the window, she could just begin to see the first light of sky breaking. She sat there, breathing hard, trying to collect her thoughts. It had all seemed so real, so vivid. Was it a message? Was Aiden really her father? Had he been tricking her all this time? Was he waiting to reveal that he was her father? Would he reveal it today, this morning, during their final training?

In many ways, it felt right to Caitlin that Aiden was her father. Still, somehow, she wasn’t quite sure. A part of her still felt he was more like a mentor. She didn’t know what to think.

Caitlin could barely contain her excitement for the day that lay ahead. This just might be the biggest day of her life, she realized.

She jumped up and quickly dressed. This was her day. This was the day she would complete her training. This was the day she would meet her Dad. The day she would complete her mission. She felt thrilled, and nervous, at the same time.

Fully dressed, Caitlin crept across the room, not wanting to wake Caleb; but just as she reached the door and turned the handle, he sat up.

“Caitlin?” he asked softly in the darkness.

She stopped and turned.

“I have to leave now,” she said, not wanting to be late.

“I know,” Caleb said. “I just want to tell you that I love you.”

Caleb blew her a kiss, and she blew him one back and hurried out the door, closing it behind her. She wanted to stay, to talk to Caleb—about everything. But there wasn’t time for that now. She felt bad that the two of them hadn’t had more time together to just sit down and talk since they’d been back here. But everything had been such a blur, non-stop traveling, searching. She promised herself that when she returned, she’d devote more time to their relationship. And she hoped that as soon as she finished her mission, then she and Caleb would have all the uninterrupted time in the world to be together.

Caitlin burst out of the villa and found herself running, then sprinting, to the top of the Mount of Olives. Dawn was breaking, she had to meet Aden at mountaintop, and she couldn’t be late. She considered flying, but she thought it best if she warmed up her muscles first, on foot. She ran past ancient headstones, past rows and rows of trees, their silver branches glistening in the early morning light. It looked as if the entire mountain was alive, shimmering. It felt surreal, as if she were ascending to the very peak of heaven.

Caitlin soon reached the top, and as she did, she saw two things that took her breath away: one was the dawn, breaking over the horizon, filling the entire universe, lighting the valleys below in every direction, the mountain peaks on the horizon, and even the sprawling city of Jerusalem in the distance. It was magical.

The other was Aiden. He stood there waiting on the small plateau, his back to her, wearing his long white robe and holding a long, golden staff.

Aiden stood there, with his back to her, gazing out at the horizon. He didn’t turn, yet she was sure he sensed her presence.

She stood there, waiting, for several minutes, listening only to the sound of the wind in the early morning light. She knew it was best to wait until he was ready.

“Are you ready to complete your training?” he finally asked, still gazing out at the horizon, his back to her.

Caitlin swallowed, nervous, not sure how to respond.

“Yes,” she finally said.

“Are you sure?” came a voice from behind her.

Caitlin wheeled and was shocked to see, standing just a few feet behind her, was Aiden, staring at her with his intense blue eyes, lit up by the early morning sun.

How did he do that?

“In this time and place,” he began, “there exist stronger spiritual energies available to us. We are in less of a material world now, and more of a spiritual one. In future generations, the fights will occur mostly in the external world, with physical people and weapons and objects. But in this time and place, the greatest battles are unseen and unknown to us. They happen in the spiritual dimension. The good angels versus the bad ones. The forces of light versus the forces of darkness. They are battling all around us: we just can’t see them. This is what you have left to learn.”

He breathed deeply.

“Close your eyes,” he said, as he reached out his hand.

Caitlin closed her eyes, and moments later, felt his fingertips on her eyelids.

“What do you see?” he asked.

She tried to clear her mind, to see something. But nothing came to her. Was she supposed to be seeing something special? She felt embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I don’t see anything.”

“Your problem,” he began, “is that you’re still stuck in the physical world. You still see battle as between person and person, object and object. You’re missing the unknown. The unseen.”

He breathed deeply.

“Where do people come from? Where do our kind come from? How did it all begin? There is a deeper level. This is what you are missing. You are not at this level yet.”

After several moments of silence, Caitlin finally opened her eyes. She saw nothing. And Aiden was gone.

Caitlin spun in every direction, looking for any sign of him. But there was no trace whatsoever. For a moment, Caitlin couldn’t help but wonder if she’d imagined the whole thing, if he had never been there at all.

“You still can’t find me, can you?” came the voice.

Caitlin spun in the other direction, but she still couldn’t see him.

“Find me,” came the voice again.

Caitlin broke off into a sprint, running amidst the trees, looking on every side of the plateau, looking down every slope of the mountain. She even looked up. But she still saw no sign of him.

“That is your problem,” came the voice.

Caitlin spun, but the voice was not behind her.

“You’re still looking with your eyes.”

Caitlin spun again, but there was no voice there, either.

“You must close your eyes,” came the voice. “And look inside.”

Finally, Caitlin closed her eyes. She tried, again, to focus.

“Don’t concentrate with your mind,” came the voice. “Concentrate with your spirit. Your soul. Your nature.”

Caitlin closed her eyes tight, trying to understand.

“You’re trying too hard,” came the voice. “If you try, you will not find. Let go of trying. Let go of everything. Just let the universe be.”

Caitlin stood there, eyes closed, for several minutes. She was finally beginning to understand. She slowed, calmed down, forced herself to take a deep breath. To let go of trying. She just let the universe be, exactly as it was. She decided that whatever it was she was searching for, she could not find it: it would have to find her.

Slowly, Caitlin began to see something. At first it was just a glimpse. She felt her entire body relax, and as she did, the image became more and more clear.

Soon, it became more vivid, as if she had opened her eyes. All around her, she saw an image of the Mount of Olives. But now, in the air, she could see legions of angels and demons, wrestling with each other. It was incredible. It was as if the spiritual dimension had revealed itself to her. As if a window had been opened up to the universe.

“Yes…very good,” came Aiden’s voice, deep in mind.

“Now you are seeing.
This
is the real world.
This
is the world that is happening all around us, all the time—the one that we never see. Our physical world is but a manifestation of this world. We are puppets, all of us, in the physical realm.”

Caitlin tried to focus even more deeply. Hovering over her she saw several guardian angels. One of them had the face of Polly. Another had Aiden’s face.

“Yes…very good,” came Aiden’s voice. “Now tell me: where am I?”

“You’re here,” Caitlin responded. “You’re everywhere, and nowhere at once. If I look for you in the physical world, I will not find you. And if I don’t look for you, then I will see you.”

“Yes…excellent,” came the voice. “Now open your eyes.”

Slowly, Caitlin opened her eyes. She saw Aiden standing before her, just a few feet away, looking back, holding his staff.

In his other hand, he held another staff, a bronze one. He threw it at her.

Caitlin caught it just in time.

He suddenly charged, swinging his staff down for her head.

Their final sparring had begun.

Caitlin blocked the blow, just-in-time. It clanged under the sky, the gold against the bronze.

Aiden swung again and again, from every direction. Each time, she blocked it. She was beginning to feel a new power, a new sense overtake her. In the past, she viewed battle as a struggle. Now, she was focusing on becoming one with everything.

Aiden swung faster and faster, but each time she managed to dodge it, jumping, ducking, weaving.

He pushed her back until she was standing at the edge of the plateau, with no room left without falling off the mountain. At the last second, as she was about to take her final step back, she suddenly flipped up in the air, high over his head, and landed on his other side.