Decay was the only constant in Caleb's world. Immortality was a lonely, hateful existence filled with heartbreak and sadness. The people he'd met over the years stuck with him. Every few decades he found a woman that he simply couldn't look away from. He tried so hard to avoid love, but it always had a way of creeping up on him. Then, when it inevitably ended, it smashed him to pieces. That was the curse of the Vampire.

He couldn't live his life with the woman of his dreams or have one home that he could call his own. His possessions never lasted more than a few decades. He owned nothing. He had no lifelong friends, and the few vampires he'd met were vicious beasts that he could never allow himself to be around.

He was a man stuck in a vampire’s body, longing for the life of a human. He would've given anything to live out his life, grow old and die, but that had been robbed from him. Instead, he was forced to reminisce, and find enjoyment wherever he could.

There wasn't much left to do. He'd been to every landmass, every country and all of the major modern cities. He'd traveled through the catacombs or Paris and climbed through the tunnels inside the great pyramid. The only thing he found was decay, people living their lives the way he should've been.

There was one thing that kept him going. Every few decades he'd hear a familiar whisper. There would be a body or a human that knew Stuart's name and it reminded him that there was somebody out there he could connect with. Somebody knew him, who was, what he was and what he used to be. Stuart grounded Caleb and reminded him that he wasn't completely alone.

The most frustrating part about it was that Stuart was always running. Caleb hadn't seen him since the nineteenth century when Emily told him that she wanted to be with Caleb instead. Caleb didn't blame Stuart for hiding. He was upset, and he would be for a long time, but this killing spree had to stop, and Caleb needed his brother back.

Sara was an extraordinary woman. Caleb was more than two hundred years old. He had seen the rise and fall of nations, the onset of the industrial revolution and he watched as computers and electricity overtook the world. But when he was around her, he was in awe, because he knew that he was in the presence of true greatness and that is an elusive quality, one that even vampires rarely come across.

Sara had no idea who she was or what she was capable of. He saw the blue fire in her eyes, and he couldn't look away. Magic was not an easy craft. It took control, self-discipline discipline and enormous amounts of willpower. She had all of those things. They were her greatest assets, and she had no idea how extraordinary that was.

Margaret wouldn't know. She was too blind to see the good in others. Caleb knew her well enough to know that she was probably short tempered with Sara, and considered the girl to be a stunted beginner, but Caleb knew differently. He wanted to help foster her gifts and show her real potential. But their relationship was already being threatened.

He needed his brother to live. If Stuart died nothing in his life would last forever. Sara would eventually die. She'd turn into dust, and he'd be left with nothing. He was being forced to choose between Sara and Stuart and that wasn't fair. He loved them both.

If Caleb wanted to save his brother's life, he was going to have to take a gamble. He got up, walked outside, and ran through the hills until he reached the edge of cliffs where he knew his brother would be sitting watching the house.

“Stuart, I need to talk to you. I love her. You can't kill her. Please. I just want this one girl, one lifetime of peace. Then you can go on and kill off her entire line I don't care. Just let her live.”

“No.” Caleb turned around to see his brother with his distinctive blond curls pasted to his head. He was posed in a fighting stance, ready to rip Caleb's head off his shoulders.

“And why not?”

Caleb barely it until it was over, and he was laying on the ground with a rock sticking into the back of his head. Then he saw Stuart looking down at him.

“You're my brother. I love you. Just stop this.”

“No.” He nearly kicked in Caleb's face. “She loves you.” He slammed into Caleb again. “She always loved you more.” He kicked Caleb in the ribs, and they collapsed instantly. “I did everything for her, everything and she didn't care. I hate you!”

Caleb stared straight up and watched the sky. He was no stranger to mortal pain. His ribs had been crushed before. His face had been smashed in, and his skull had been shattered into a million pieces, but his body knew how to put itself back together again. He was aware that he'd be okay. He just had to live out the excruciating pain.

When Stuart was done, hunched over and staring at Caleb with a satisfied look on his face. “I wish you were human I would torture you for years then kill you slowly.”

“What about the witches? Why should all witches die because of the mistakes of one?”

“Because it's the only way I can find peace.” Stuart pulled out a syringe from his back pocket and shoved it into Caleb's arm.

“What is that?” A very human feeling began to pass over Caleb's mind, blocking out the world until it was a dulled, fading experience and he passed out.