Betrothed

Sam dove down low in the night sky, aiming right for Arundel Castle. It was exactly where he had sensed it would be, and he could feel Polly's energy strongly. He felt Polly in distress, and the feeling coursed through his entire body; he was surprised by the intensity with which it had struck him. He was surprised to recognize how deeply he felt for Polly, almost as if she were a part of him.



At first, he been angry, jealous, and resentful to hear that she had flown off with Sergei. He'd had a hard time getting over the fact, and at first assumed that it could only mean that she still had feelings for him.



But the more he dwelt on it, and the more he felt her true feelings of distress, the more he began to realize that maybe it was something else. That maybe she had been duped. Or captured.



Sam had felt nervous to leave Caleb and Scarlet alone with Lily, but he reasoned he'd be back in just a few hours, and that they were safe, and that Polly's life was in definite, immediate danger.



Sam dove down right into the interior courtyard of Arundel and stopped, both feet planted on the ground. He looked around warily in every direction. It was quiet, empty. The September night air had grown colder, and a cold breeze came in off the moat.



This castle was a strange place, shaped like a horseshoe, with a circular, grass lawn in the middle, and a hill on the far end. Its stone edifice was lit only by torches, spread out all along the exterior.



He could sense danger here.



"POLLY!" Sam screamed.



His voice echoed off the stone.



Sam turned, chose a door, and raced straight for it. It was solid, looked to be a foot thick, but he didn't slow down. He leapt into the air, using his full vampire strength, and kicked it open with both feet. It went flying off its hinges, shattering, and Sam ran right into the castle.



Sam sprinted down the empty, stone corridors, screaming Polly's name. He could sense how much danger she was in, and realized he'd made the right choice to come here.



"POLLY!" he screamed again, turning down yet another corridor.



As he entered a grand room, suddenly, doors slammed closed all around him. They were silver gates, and as Sam wheeled in every direction, he saw there were a dozen of them, each slammed shut by another vampire. They were vampire women, all carrying deadly weapons, all facing him.



Standing in the center of the room was Sergei. He smiled back with an evil, victorious smile.



"Your Polly is now my play thing," he said. "A slave to me. Like all the others here. She will be in my service for the next thousand years."



Sam could feel his anger heating up, rising through his veins. But he didn't try to suppress it this time. Instead, he let it boil and bubble, let it grow bigger and bigger, feeling it about to explode. He wanted to explode, wanted to unleash a rage unlike any he had ever known.



"She was stupid enough to listen to me," Sergei said, "not just once, but a second time. And now, she's paid the price. And so will you. And so will your sister."



Sergei nodded darkly, and the dozens of vampire women encircled Sam from every direction, wielding their weapons - huge battle axes, maces, spears, long swords.



Sam's rage finally let loose, and as they all charged him, he jumped up in the air, higher than all of them, and as he flew, reach out and grabbed the shafts of all their weapons. He flew in the air, holding them, and stripped each weapon from each vampire as he went, one at a time, right down the middle. Then, as he reached the final vampire, he grabbed the huge silver battle axe from her hand, swung it back, and flew right for Sergei.



Sergei's eyes opened wide. Before he could react, Sam flew at full speed, right at Sergei, and swung the axe down hard.



It was a clean shot. Within a fraction of a second, Sam had decapitated Sergei, his head rolling off his body, and his body collapsing to the floor.



It was as if a spell had been broken. Suddenly, the dozens of vampire women, who had just seconds before been enemies to Sam, now all seemed to be freed from a trance. They retreated from Sam, and milled about the room, giving each other solace. Sam could see in their eyes, and in their expressions, that they were no longer hostile to him.



"Please, forgive us," one of them pleaded. "We never meant to harm you."



"Where is Polly?" Sam asked.



One of the vampires stepped forward.



"I will lead you to her."



She ran and took out a set of skeleton keys, to unlock the iron gate.



But Sam had no time to lose. He stepped up, tore the huge door off its hinges with both hands, and set it to the side. The girl looked up at him, shocked.



"Which way?" he asked, forcefully.



She pointed, her hand still shaking, down a corridor.



Sam followed it, and as he did, he could hear Polly's voice, screaming and pounding from behind a door. He stopped before it.



"Stand back!" he screamed.



He then leaned back and kicked the door open, sending it flying off its hinges. He ran into the stone cell, and as he did, Polly was standing there, shaking, crying.



She ran into his arms, and hugged him tightly.



He hugged her back.



"Sam," she said. "I was so stupid. Thank you. Thank you. You saved my life." She hugged him even more tightly, and he hugged her back. He couldn't help noticing how good it felt to have her in his arms.



And that he never wanted to let her go.