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Caitlin and Caleb stood together on the large, open terrace outside the Cloisters, looking out at the night Far-off, she could see the Hudson River, peeking out between the bare trees of March In the distance, she could even see the tiny lights of cars heading over the bridge The night was completely silent

"I need you to answer some questions for me, Caleb," she said softly, after several seconds of silence

"I know," Caleb answered

"What a here? Who do you think I am?" Caitlin asked It took her a few seconds e to ask the final question, "And why did you save me?"

Caleb stared off into the horizon for several seconds She could not tell what he was thinking, or if he would even answer

Finally, he turned to her He stared right into her eyes, and the power of his stare was overwhel She couldn&039;t look away if she tried

"I am a vampire," he said, flatly "Of the White Coven I have lived for over 3,000 years, and I have been with this coven for 800 of them"

"Why am I here?"

"Vampire covens and races are always at war They are very territorial Unfortunately, you stuht into the middle of it"

"What do you mean?" she asked "How?"

He looked at her, confused "Don&039;t you remember?"

She stared back, blankly

"Your kill It ignited all of this"

"Kill?"

He slowly shook his head "So, you don&039;t remember Typical First kills are always that way" He looked her in the eye "You killed soie Hall"

Caitlin felt her world spinning She could hardly believe she was capable of har anyone, yet somehow, deep down, she felt it was true She was afraid to ask who it was Could it have been Jonah?

As if reading her mind, Caleb added, "The vocalist"

Caitlin could hardly take it all in It felt too surreal She felt like she had just been branded with a black mark that she could never undo She felt awful And out of control

"Why did I do it?" she asked

"You needed to feed," he answered "Why you did it there, and then, that is what no one knows That is what started this war You were in another coven&039;s territory A very powerful coven"

"So, was I just in the wrong place at the wrong tihed, "I don&039;t know There may be more to it than that"

She looked at him "What do you mean?"

"Maybe you were meant to be there Maybe it was your destiny"

She thought She thought hard, afraid to ask the next question Finally, she sue "So does that meanI am a vampire?"

He turned away After several seconds, he finally said, "I don&039;t know"

He turned and looked at her

"You are not a true vampire But you are not a true human, either You are somewhere in between"

"A half-breed?" she asked

"That&039;s what they would call it I am not so sure"

"What is it, exactly?"

"It is a vaainst our law, our doctrine, for a vaue vaive birth, the result will be a half-breed Not quite human, not quite vampire It is very much looked down upon in our race The penalty for interbreeding with a human is death No exceptions And the child is considered an outcast"

"But I thought you said that your Messiah will be a half breed? How can they look down on a half-breed it if will be their savior?"

"Such is the paradox of our religion," he answered

"Tell me more," she prodded "How exactly is a half-breed different?"

"True vampires feed from the in to feed until they coe"

She was afraid to ask the next question

"When is that?"

"18"

Caitlin thought hard It was starting to s had just begun