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Caitlin felt thein to descend She opened her eyes She didn&039;t recognize any of the buildings below them It appeared that they ay uptown Possibly, the Bronx somewhere

As they descended, they flew over a sht she saw a castle As they got closer, she realized that it definitely was a castle What was a castle doing here, in New York City?

She wracked her brain, and realized that she had seen this castle before On a postcard somewhereYes It was aover its ra over its small, medieval walls, she suddenly remembered what it was The Cloisters The sht over from Europe, piece by piece It was hundreds of years old Why was he taking her here?

They descended se, stone terrace, overlooking the Hudson river They landed in darkness, but his feet touched down gracefully on the stone, and he gently let her off

She stood there, facing hi that he was still real, hoping that he wouldn&039;t fly away And hoping that he was as gorgeous as he was the first ti, even e, brown eyes, and at that et lost

There are so many questions she wanted to ask, she didn&039;t even knohere to begin Who was he? Hoas he able to fly? Was he a vampire? Why had he risked his life for her? Why take her here? Andshe had seen just a wild hallucination? Or did vaht here in New York City? And was she one of them?

She opened her ed was: "Why are we here?"

She kneas a stupid question theso there in the cold, March night, face a bit numb, it was the best she could do

He just stared back at her His stare seeh her It looked as if he were debating how much to tell her

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he opened his mouth to speak

"Caleb!" shouted a voice, and they both turned

A group of men - vampires? - dressed all in black, ht for them Caleb turned and faced them Caleb She liked that

"We have no clearance for your arrival," the man in the middle said, deadly serious

"It is unannounced," Caleb answered flatly

"Then ill have to take you into custody," he said, nodding to his men, who slowly circled behind Caleb and her "The rules"

Caleb nodded, unfazed The man in the middle looked directly at Caitlin She could see the disapproval in his eyes

"You knoe can&039;t let her in," the man said to Caleb

"But you will," Caleb answered flatly He stared back at theof the wills

The man stood there, and she could see he was unsure what to do A long, tense silence followed

"Very well," he said, turning his back abruptly and leading the way "It&039;s your funeral"

Caleb followed, and Caitlin walked beside hie,He then stepped aside,for Caleb to enter Twoat attention

Caleb took Caitlin&039;s hand and led her through As she passed through the huge stone archway, she felt as if she were entering another century

"Guess we don&039;t have to pay ad

He looked over at her, blinking It took him a second to realize it was a joke Finally, he smiled

He had a beautiful smile

It made her think of Jonah She felt confused It was unlike her to feel strong feelings for any boy - much less for two of them in the same day She still felt for Jonah But Caleb was different Jonah was a boy Caleb, although he looked young, was aabout hi thatthat made her not want to leave his side She liked Jonah But she needed Caleb Being around hi

Caleb&039;s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared He was clearly disturbed

"I&039;her price for ado as I would hope"

He led her through another stone archway, and into a small, medieval courtyard Perfectly symmetrical, surrounded on four sides by columns and arches, this courtyard, lit by the moon, was very beautiful She could not fathom how they were still in New York City They could have been in a European countryside

They walked across the courtyard and down a long stone hallway, the sound of their footsteps echoing They were trailed by several uards Vampires? She wondered If so, ere they so civil? Why didn&039;t they attack Caleb, or her?

They walked down another stone corridor and through another medieval door And then they suddenly stopped

Standing there was another ly sie red cloak over his shoulders, and was flanked by several attendants He seemed to hold a position of authority

"Caleb," he said softly He sounded shocked to see hi back

"Samuel," Caleb answered, flatly

Thehis head just a little bit

"Not even a hug for your long lost brother?" Caleb asked

"You know this is very serious," Sa here tonight Especially by bringing her"