Fated Read online

  “I won’t ask again,” he said. “Where is she?”

  “How should I know?” Vivian said. “As long as she’s far away from me, I could care less. I have no idea. Please. I swear. I really don’t know.”

  Kyle shook his head as he smiled.

  “You’re a good actress,” he said.” I almost believe you. I really almost believe you don’t like her.”

  “Please, you don’t understand. I don’t like her!”

  “Very good. You’re a loyal friend. I admire loyalty.”

  “I’m not loyal! I hate her! Let me go, please!”

  “Sorry,” he said. “You came so close to freedom.”

  Kylie turned and in one quick motion, sank his teeth into Vivian’s neck.

  Vivian screamed and screamed as his fangs sank deeper and he sucked her blood. Kyle felt reborn as her blood entered his veins, felt a sweet ecstasy he did not even know could be possible.

  Finally, slowly, Vivian’s body went limp in his arms, and Kyle sat up and wiped the back of his mouth. He looked down at her and realized she was the first person he’d turned. His first protégé.

  He stood, smiled wide, and said:

  “Welcome to the club.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  Caleb drove like a madman on Route 9 and checked his rearview to see a dozen police cruisers trailing him. They were gaining fast, and he didn’t know how much longer he could shake them.

  “We’re not going to outrun them,” Caitlin said. “Should we pull over?”

  Caleb shook his head.

  “Too late for that,” he said. “They’ll throw us in jail. We’ll never save Scarlet. Not in time.”

  “But Scarlet’s upstate. It’s a ten-hour drive—we’ll never make it in time.”

  Caleb drove on, his mind racing with a million thoughts. He knew she was right. He knew the police would catch up to them soon enough. He knew they could not travel all the way upstate in this pickup. More than anything, he knew that they needed to rescue Scarlet. Nothing else mattered.

  As Caleb drove in desperation, racking his brain for what they could do, suddenly they passed a sign lit up in the night, going almost a hundred miles an hour, and he had an idea. Duchess Air Force Base. It made Caleb think of work. His fighter jets.

  Caleb suddenly turned hard, taking the exit way too fast. Their pickup rocked left and right, and for a moment he thought they might flip—but they made the turn. They turned so fast that the cruisers sped right past them, slamming on their brakes on the highway, overshooting the exit. It bought them precious time, maybe a good two minutes.

  “Where are you going?” Caitlin screamed.

  “To work!” Caleb said.

  Caleb sped down the ramp and took a hard right, then sped down the local roads he knew by heart. He was in the back country now, heading to the reserves’ air force base, where he flew every fourth week. Everyone there knew him as they would one of their own brothers.

  “I don’t understand,” Caitlin said. “Why are we going to the base?”

  “Like you said, we have a long way to go. And we can’t get there by car.”

  “What!?” she said, shocked. “Are you kidding?”

  Caleb sped up to the gate and came to an abrupt stop as he was stopped by one of the guards.

  He rolled down the window, and the guard recognized him.

  “Officer Paine, sir.” The guard peered at him. “What are you doing here this time of night?”

  “I need to check on one of the planes,” Caleb said.

  The guard looked down at his clipboard, puzzled.

  “Sorry, sir, no sign of you in the registry tonight.”

  Suddenly, there came the distant sound of sirens. Caleb looked over his shoulder and saw the police on their way; they’d be on his tail in seconds. He looked up and saw the puzzled look of the guard, who watched them come right at him.

  Caleb had no choice. The guard suddenly looked skeptical, and Caleb knew it was now or never.

  Flooring it, Caleb broke through the guards’ barrier, wood smashing over the hood and windshield.

  “Sir, stop!” the guard yelled after him.

  Caleb didn’t stop. He sped across the base, weaving in and out of the maintenance checks, over the speed bumps, down the tarmac, speeding right toward one of the small jets that he knew so well, parked at the end of the base. It sat there prepped, ready to go, clearly awaiting one of the officers to take it up.

  Caleb was determined to get there first.

  Caleb looked over his shoulder, saw the police following him onto the tarmac, and he increased speed, then cut it hard and came to a stop at the base of the plane, slamming on the brakes, tires screeching.

  They came to a tough stop, and he and Caitlin jumped out. He grabbed her hand, and the two of them ran up the steps to the plane, Caleb’s heart pounding, intent on making it before them.

  The police screeched to a halt below, just as Caleb and Caitlin made it to the top of the metal steps.

  “Freeze!” the police screamed out, pointing guns.

  Caleb gave the ladder a shove and it rolled away as he closed the plane’s door. The door closed just in time, and Caleb knew the cops would never dare shoot at an Air Force jet.

  In moments, Caleb and Caitlin were in the cockpit, each taking a seat.

  “Buckle up,” Caleb said, furiously pushing buttons, turning knobs and switches.

  Caitlin buckled with shaking hands, as Caleb began hitting every switch he knew so well, faster than he ever had. He knew this plane like the back of his hand.

  In moments the plane lit up, and Caleb felt it beginning to start, getting ready for takeoff. Down below, before them, he saw officers taking positions, running frantically toward the plane. He knew they would try to stop him, but they wouldn’t get there in time.

  “Hang on,” Caleb warned.

  Caleb pushed on the throttle, and the jet became a lot louder as it began rolling down the tarmac. Police cars began chasing the plane, keeping pace beside it. Yet Caleb knew they would not dare stop it.

  They gained speed, and within moments, Caleb felt the familiar thrill in his stomach as the plane lifted off the ground and flew into the night. He looked over and saw Caitlin, and they took each other’s hands, each relieved, each terrified, as they looked down at the night, saw the lights on the ground getting smaller and smaller, and knew that, in moments, they would see Scarlet, would be flying right into the midst of a vampire war.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  Scarlet flew through the cold night air, racing along the Saint Lawrence River, heading north, upstate, into colder and colder territory. She wiped away her tears, and for the first time, felt a fresh sense of determination. For the first time, she felt emboldened, felt a purpose: to save Sage’s life.

  She was elated to realize that Sage was not dead, that he did not abandon her, that he was alive and wanted to be with her. That was all she needed to know. She would go to the ends of the earth for him, do anything for him, even give up her own soul.

  Which was exactly what she was prepared to do. She knew it was a trap, that she would be flying straight into the lion’s den. She knew that Lore had taken his cousin for a reason, that all of them were awaiting her arrival. That her death would be the key for them all to live forever.

  And she didn’t care. She closed her eyes and saw Sage’s face, and as long she could see his face, as long as she could rescue him from whatever danger he was in, Scarlet would give up anything. She’d even give up herself.

  Scarlet studied the landscape below her. She had been flying for hours and hours, searching for the island she could not miss, for the vast ancestral castle of their race that Sage had told her about so many times. She looked down and saw the river begin to transform, filled with hundreds of small islands, and she knew it was not far now. She flew faster, determined.

  Scarlet turned a bend in the river, and there, in the distance, she saw one island in particular, bigger than the oth
ers, on which sat the structure of a towering castle, surrounded by trees. In the center of its roof was a wide, hole, open to the heavens. There was no mistaking it: this was Boldt Castle.

  Scarlet dove down, sensing with every part of her body that Sage was inside. As she flew, the clouds racing through her hair, she saw a soft glow coming from inside, and knew it was torchlight. She knew the castle was filled with thousands of Immortalists, all of them waiting to trap her. But she didn’t care.

  Scarlet dove straight down, aiming for the hole. She knew that flying in here would mean her own death. They would all descend on her, and her life would end here tonight. But none of that mattered anymore. No matter what happened, she and Sage would be together again.

  COMING SOON!

  Book #12 in THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS

  Download Morgan Rice books on Amazon now!

  Listen to THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS series in audio book format!

  Now available on:

  Amazon

  Audible

  iTunes

  Books by Morgan Rice

  THE SORCERER’S RING

  A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1)

  A MARCH OF KINGS (Book #2)

  A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3)

  A CRY OF HONOR (Book #4)

  A VOW OF GLORY (Book #5)

  A CHARGE OF VALOR (Book #6)

  A RITE OF SWORDS (Book #7)

  A GRANT OF ARMS (Book #8)

  A SKY OF SPELLS (Book #9)

  A SEA OF SHIELDS (Book #10)

  A REIGN OF STEEL (Book #11)

  A LAND OF FIRE (Book #12)

  A RULE OF QUEENS (Book #13)

  THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY

  ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1)

  ARENA TWO (Book #2)

  THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS

  TURNED (Book #1)

  LOVED (Book #2)

  BETRAYED (Book #3)

  DESTINED (Book #4)

  DESIRED (Book #5)

  BETROTHED (Book #6)

  VOWED (Book #7)

  FOUND (Book #8)

  RESURRECTED (Book #9)

  CRAVED (Book #10)

  FATED (Book #11)

  About Morgan Rice

  Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling author of THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, a young adult series comprising eleven books (and counting); the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising two books (and counting); and the #1 bestselling epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising thirteen books (and counting).

  Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations of the books are available in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, Dutch, Turkish, Hungarian, Czech and Slovak (with more languages forthcoming).

  TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals) and A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

  Morgan loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.morganricebooks.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, download the free app, get the latest exclusive news, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!