Turned (Book 1 in the Vampire Journals) by Morgan Rice by Morgan Rice Page A

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 somewhere…Yes. It was a museum of some sort. As they ascended a small hill, flying over its ramparts, flying over its small, medieval walls, she suddenly remembered what it was. The Cloisters. The small museum. It had been brought over from Europe, piece by piece. It was hundreds of years old. Why was he taking her here?
    They descended smoothly over the outer wall and onto a large, 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 him. She looked at him closely, hoping that he was still real, hoping that he wouldn’t fly away. And hoping that he was as gorgeous as he was the first time she saw him.
    He was. If anything, even more so. He stared down at her with his large, brown eyes, and at that moment she felt herself get lost.
    There are so many questions she wanted to ask, she didn’t even know where to begin. Who was he? How was he able to fly? Was he a vampire? Why had he risked his life for her? Why take her here? And most importantly, was everything she had seen just a wild hallucination? Or did vampires really exist, right here in New York City? And was she one of them?
    She opened her mouth to speak, but all she managed was: “Why are we here?”
    She knew it was a stupid question the moment she asked it, and hated herself for not asking something more important. But standing 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 seemed to pierce her soul, as if he were seeing right through 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, marched right 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 we will 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 know we can’t let her in,” the man said to Caleb.
    “But you will,” Caleb answered flatly. He stared back at the man, equally determined. It was a meeting of 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’s your funeral.”
    Caleb followed, and Caitlin walked beside him, unsure what else to do.
    The man opened a huge, medieval door, grabbing it by its round, brass ring. He then stepped aside, motioning for Caleb to enter. Two more men, in black, stood inside the doorway, standing at attention.
    Caleb took Caitlin’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’t have to pay admission,” Caitlin said to Caleb, smiling.
    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 a man. Or was he…something else? There was something about him she could not explain, something that made her unable to look away. Something that made her not want to leave his side. She liked Jonah. But she needed