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The worst place I've ever seen. And we were walking along the river, trying to figure out where on earth to go next. For a second there, I didn't know if we find you at all and—”

"Suffice it to say that we are so happy to see you," Sam said, cutting her off.

Polly looked at Sam, annoyed.

Caitlin looked back and forth between the two of them, and for a moment wondered if they were in a relationship. But she saw how irritated they looked by each other. The idea amused Caitlin.

"We were there, too,” Caitlin said, “at the bearbaiting ring. But just briefly. We never actually went inside.”

“That explains it," Sam said. "I thought I sensed you there. But I wasn't sure.”

“What were you doing in such an awful place?" Polly asked.

“Well,” Caitlin began, "we were just following clues. Or, so we thought. We found ourselves in Westminster Abbey. There were people there, our kind, and they helped us. They led us to a golden scepter, which led to this ring."

Caitlin held out her hand, displaying the ring she now wore. Sam reached out, fascinated, just as he had always been by all things relating to their father. He slowly read the inscription aloud.

Across the Bridge, Beyond the Bear,

With the Winds or the sun, we bypass London.

He furrowed his brow in silence, puzzled.

"We crossed the London Bridge,” Caitlin continued, “thinking maybe that's what the bridge was.

And then it mentioned the bear. And we heard about bearbaiting, so we came here, hoping. But there is nothing. I think we misread the clues. I thought we were heading in the right direction. But now, I’m not so sure.”

“Across the bridge, beyond the bear," Sam repeated, as if willing himself to figure it out, "across the bridge, beyond the bear…” Finally, he exhaled. "I have no idea," he said.

"I don't either," Polly said.

Silence came over them, as the four of them stood there, stumped.

"If you read it faster it might make sense," Scarlet said.

Caitlin spun, as did the others, and stared down at Scarlet. She was beaming back, a playful smile on her lips.

"What did you say?" Caitlin asked.

"Your riddle makes sense to me.”

Caitlin stared at her intently, suddenly realizing that she might have figured out something they didn’t.

"How?" Caitlin asked, eager, “how does it make sense?”

“Well," Scarlet said slowly, enjoying the attention, "he read it so slowly. That's your problem. Try reading it faster. He skipped the most important part.”

Caleb furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?"

“The winds or the sun," Scarlet said. "That's the important part. Read it faster.” She hesitated, then continued, “It's not the ‘winds or the sun’. You need to connect the words.

Not ‘winds or’ but ‘windsor.’ It’s Winsdor. You know, Windsor Castle. Across the bridge is Windsor, and beyond the bear is the forest you have to cross. The Bear forest," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

They all looked at her, mouths open in shock.

She smiled back proudly.

“The place you are looking for is Windsor Castle.”

Kyle opened his eyes in a blinding rage. He sensed immediately that he had traveled back to the right time and place, the same city and year in which the despicable Caitlin, Caleb and Sam would be. He should be grateful for that.

But he wasn't.

He was sick of time travel, especially in the wrong direction; he missed his war in New York, and he resented Caitlin more with each trip back. He lay there, so overcome with rage, that he could barely even move. He thought of all the ways he’d take vengeance on her. Killing her, and torturing her, would no longer be enough. Not after this many trips back in time. And killing her beloved, Caleb, and her brother, Sam, wouldn't be enough either. He needed more. He would have to think of an even more inventive way. Like tracking down every one of her friends, any and all distant family members, and killing and torturing them slowly, too.

The thought of it relaxed him, made him even smile just a bit. Yes, maybe he could arrange something like this. He saw himself torturing everyone closest to her, while she was still alive, and in plain view of her. He thought of various ways to kill them—the acid treatment, throwing them into vats of boiling oil, feeding them slowly to sharks—and his smile widened.

He exhaled, finally feeling like himself again. Slowly, everything was becoming right in his world.

He lay in the absolute blackness, comfortable in the stone sarcophagus, and reached into his belt. He was satisfied to see his vial of bubonic plague had made the trip. He was delighted, in fact.

He had enough live cultures of the plague around his waist to take out nearly the entire human population of the city, to wreak havoc, single-handedly, on an unimaginable scale. He would create so much human devastation and panic, it would surely bring Caitlin and her crew out, like rats from the sewers. Those pathetic vampires always came running to help when humans need it. It was so easy to bait them out, it was almost laughable.

Kyle liked his new strategy more and more. Why should he waste so much energy hunting her down, tracking her every step, as he had in past trips? This time, he would make her come to him.

With enough devastation and chaos, she would be drawn like a magnet to save these pathetic little humans. Then he could capture her unaware, and put an end to her for good.

Plus, he didn't want to risk confrontation again. Her brother, Sam, had thrown him off guard with his shapeshifting, and his own confrontation with Caitlin had left him surprised. They had each grown powerful, as he’d feared they would. Now, they were formidable foes to be reckoned with.

He was no longer so certain he could kill them all on his own, in direct conflict—especially with Caleb there, too. And he didn't want to waste energy trying.

Kyle wouldn't take any chances this time. This time, he had a backup plan, a surefire way to kill her, Caleb, and all of them.

He would track down Thor, his old friend, locked up in the Tower of London. Centuries before, the two of them had had quite a grand time torturing humans and rival vampires. It would be great fun to see him again. But more importantly, Thor held the key Kyle was looking for: a special vampire poison.

Centuries before, in the Dark Ages, Kyle had been shocked to watch it in use: it was the only weapon he’d ever seen that killed a vampire effectively. Not only did it kill them, but it made them so sick beforehand, they suffered for hours. Kyle smiled at the thought. It was perfect. He needn't confront Caitlin, or any of them. He need only free Thor, get his vampire poison, and slip it into one of their drinks. It was time, he realized, to fight smart.

Suddenly giddy, Kyle reached up and smashed the stone above him with a single blow of his fist, shattering it to pieces. He jumped out of the sarcophagus, feeling reborn.

He surveyed the room, and saw that he was exactly where he’d hoped: the lower crypt of Guildhall, right in the center of London. Hundreds of feet above him, he knew, sat Guildhall, the meeting place for politicians for centuries. All of those wicked little humans, scurrying around, plotting their devious plots to further their own ambition and power. He hated politicians.

But he knew that they were a necessary evil in spreading greed and corruption. Guildhall, in fact, reminded him very much of City Hall in New York. It was always useful to place a crypt beneath a politician’s lair.

The room had low ceilings and was dimly lit, by only a few torches. He could see the rows of other sarcophagi, and knew they contained the bodies of vampires that had been sleeping here for centuries. The city had caught them and stored them here some time ago, thinking that this vault could hold them in place. And they were right.

What they hadn't counted on, was Kyle coming back in time.

Kyle broke into action, kicking over each and every sarcophagus in his sight. There was the smashing of stone on stone, again and again, and within minutes, the floor was covered in rubble.

Dozens of evil-looking vampires slowly sat up, aroused from their centuries-long entrapment. As Kyle finished his destruction, he stood at the center of the room, and looked at the small army of vampires, now facing him. They were clearly grateful—and ready to take whatever orders he gave.

"BROTHERS IN ARMS!" he shouted, in his fiercest voice. "FOLLOW ME!” There was a moaning, and a roar of excitement behind him, as Kyle turned and headed out the room. Kyle could feel them on his heels, his new loyal gang, and knew they would follow him, and execute whatever orders he wanted. They would be a useful mercenary force. He would send them all throughout the city, use them to create havoc.

For now, though, Kyle had a bone to pick with the politicians. He burst through the stone corridors, running underground through the ancient halls, his small army right behind him, and tore up flights of medieval steps, twisting and turning, flight after flight. He finally reached the upper levels of Guildhall, and with a single kick, he knocked down a huge oak door that had been there for centuries.

He burst into the main room, the medieval grand hall of Guildhall. It was a magnificent room, hundreds of feet long and high, with huge arched ceilings, built with limestone walls five feet thick.

The walls and ceiling were covered with statues, gargoyles and biblical images: in one corner sat a huge statue of the mythical giant Gog, while in the other sat a huge statue of the mythical Magog.

Kyle loved these mythical demon giants, right from the Bible, the very images of evil themselves. He always wondered why the humans had chosen these images to adorn this place.

But then again, looking at the hundreds of politicians gathered before him, he shouldn't have.

These politicians, the most evil type of humankind, held a soft spot in his heart. But at the same time, he hated them with a passion. And now, after his time travel, he had to let his rage out on someone. Moreover, he needed to feed. And these humans were an easy target.

Kyle burst into the room, the vampires behind him, and as he did, the huge congregation of politicians screamed and began fleeing for the doors.

They didn't get very far.

Within moments, Kyle was tearing off their heads left and right, feeding on their throats, and discarding the cadavers. All around him, his small army was doing the same. None of them had drank for centuries, and they all wanted their fill.

Within minutes, the walls and floors were lined with blood. Not one of the humans made it out alive.

When they all finally finished feeding, Kyle turned and faced his now-loyal throng.

"BROTHERS!" he yelled. "You are going to help me spread the plague to every corner of this city. Stop at nothing until you've accomplished your mission," he said, handing out small vials of the plague to each one as he walked through the crowd. "When your mission is over, then you can gorge as much as you wish. But only on my command.” He stopped and surveyed the crowd. "Am I understood?"

The crowd roared back in approval.

He smiled.

Oh, how he had missed London.

Caitlin flew over the British countryside, a smile on her face. Beside her flew Sam, Polly and Caleb, holding Ruth. Caitlin held Scarlet on her back, who clutched her tight with her small hands.

Caitlin thought back to Scarlet’s expression when Caitlin told her that she could fly, and that she was going to take her with her up into the air. She had never seen anyone's eyes open so wide in her life.

If Scarlet had been an adult, surely she would have dismissed it as being possible. But because she was a child, Caitlin could see in her face that she believed it, and was utterly thrilled—as if Caitlin had just confirmed to her that supernatural powers really do exist.

Without hesitating, Scarlet had jumped onto Caitlin's back. Caitlin had told her to hold on tight, and a moment later they had all been up in the air. Caitlin could hear Scarlet shouting and laughing with joy as they flew off into the horizon, and could only imagine her thrilled expression.

Caitlin thought back again to how they had finally decoded the riddle, of Scarlet’s quick-witted solution. She marveled once again at how intelligent this child was. She had, somehow, managed to trump four adults, had managed to decode the riddle in a fraction of a second. Caitlin had never possibly imagined that the answer to the riddle would come from a child. She had vastly underestimated her: this was a special child. Caitlin felt so fortunate to have found her, and couldn’t help wondering whether they had been destined to meet, whether this had all been pre-ordained.

Windsor Castle
. Of course. It was a place of legend, a place she had heard about only in textbooks. She was thrilled herself to be going there. The second Scarlet had mentioned it, it had felt right. And when Caleb then told her that Windsor Castle had been the seat of royalty for thousands of years, and had also been the place where King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table had actually met, she knew it was meant to be. If there were more ancient clues or relics to be found, she could think of no more appropriate place than Windsor Castle.

It was only 20 miles away, just west of London. As they all flew through the air, at top speed, Caitlin looked down, and saw an endless stretch of forest pass under them, barely inhabited. She once again felt her stomach growl. But they flew so fast, there was no stopping now. It hardly took fifteen minutes from the time they’d left the river Thames until Caitlin caught her first glimpse of the castle.

The sight took her breath away. In her journeys, she had been to some pretty magnificent places, but this one was close to the top. What struck her most was that the castle so big, spread out over so much land. It must have consumed hundreds of acres, and the walkway alone, a perfectly manicured path, stretched for miles. The land sloped gently upward, and finally brought the visitor to a massive, imposing gate.

Up high, Caitlin had the benefit of flying over the gate, and from her bird’s eye view, she could see what lay behind it. The castle had a huge inner courtyard, with manicured grass, and multiple structures spread out on either side. It seemed not like one castle but several, all welded together in one huge structure. At the far end it culminated in a circular building, high up on a hill, its ramparts reaching into the sky, set off from the rest of it, and surrounded by a moat.