Free Loved by Morgan Rice Page B

old.
    At the top of the map, in a handwritten scrawl, it read: Elizabeth’s cottage.
    He looked up at her.
    “Her cottage,” he said, breathlessly. “It’s a map to where she lived.”
    She stared at it, in awe.
    “Whoever stored it here wanted you to be the one to find it. Your necklace was the key. And it’s never been opened until now. He wanted you to find this map, to find her cottage. Wherever it is, there will be something in it for you.”
    It was meant for her . For Caitlin, and Caitlin alone. The thought of it overwhelmed her. Made her feel, for the first time in her life, wanted. Loved. Important. That she had a connection to something greater than herself, something hundreds of years old. That she was the center of this entire puzzle. She could hardly contain her emotions.
    Then, suddenly, it happened. A horrible pain gripped her stomach. It knocked the wind out of her, and she keeled over, gasping for breath.
    “Are you all right?” Caleb asked, as she felt his hand on her shoulder.
    The feeding pangs. They were back. They hurt so badly this time, she could barely breathe.
    Another pang suddenly struck, and this one hurt so much, she stood up with a jolt. She heard herself growl, a horrible, unearthly sound, and she saw herself running across the room, trying to get the pain out of her body. She ran right into a big exhibit, knocking it over, and heard it shatter.
    But she couldn’t control herself. She was spinning, out of control, and she was going to destroy everything in this room.
    Caleb appeared beside her, grabbing her firmly.
    “Caitlin,” he said firmly, “Caitlin, listen to me!”
    He grabbed her by the shoulders with all his might, but he was barely able to contain her.
    “You are going to be all right. It’s just the feeding pangs. Do you hear me? It’s going to be all right. You just need to feed. We need to get you out of here,” he enunciated slowly. “Now!”
    Caitlin looked up, and in her haze, barely saw him. On one level, she heard him, but on the other, it hurt too badly. It was overwhelming her. A desire to feed. To destroy. To get her fill. Now.
    Caleb must’ve seen whatever it was overcoming her, because, before she could react, he quickly and firmly took her arm, and let her down the staircase, and out the house.
    It was nearly dark as they hurried out the front door of Hawthorne’s house and down the walkway. They were moving so fast, they didn’t even look up, and didn’t even realize that they were walking right into a huge trap.
    “Freeze!” yelled a voice.
    Standing before them, guns drawn, stood several Salem policemen.
    “Hands in the air! Slowly!”
    Caitlin was still in a haze. The pangs struck her sharply, and she couldn’t resist the waves of rage, of violence, that were overcoming her. It was hard to focus, to hear exactly what they were saying. She saw the police, but she had no fear of them. On the contrary, she wanted to pounce.
    Through her haze, she felt Caleb’s strong grip, clasping her shoulders, and it was the only thing that kept her in check.
    “I said, hands in the air!” screamed a cop, as the two other officers came in closer.
    “Calm, Caitlin, calm,” Caleb whispered, as he slowly, still clutching the scroll, raised his arms high in the air, and prodded her to follow. “They can’t harm us.”
    Caitlin, though, felt anything but calm. She saw the police, saw them pointing a gun at Caleb, and felt a red hot rage. A pang struck again, and she could no longer control herself as she zoomed in on a policemen, on his throat, the blood coursing through it. She needed it.
    Caitlin pounced. She leapt right for the center policemen, and before he could react, she was on him, clutching him, her head back, teeth protracted, sinking right for his neck.
    And then: a gunshot.
     
     

 
    ELEVEN
     
     
    The clock struck midnight as Kyle descended down the marble staircase, flanked by two dozen of his minions. It had been a long night, and it had