greedy, too insistent, and I’d heard my angry, guttural growl as clearly as everyone else had.
When Damon finished, Lady Alice brushed the excess blood away with the inside of her sleeve. “Now, Damon and Stefan, come join our circle.” She held out her hands. Instead of standing next to her, I chose to stand between Damon and Lavinia. It seemed safer. Because now that the taste of Lady Alice’s blood was on my tongue, it was all I could think about.
Lady Alice began to chant, and, one by one, the other witches joined in. I allowed my tongue to run back and forth over my teeth; the filmy coating left by the blood felt like both a blessing and a curse. The flames from the fire dimmed, sending the room into semidarkness.
“Vinculum,” Lady Alice said. The rest of the witches echoed the word.
Vinculum , I said under my breath. I hoped it worked. It had to. Lavinia dropped my hand. The room brightened.
“It’s done. We’re bound,” Lady Alice said.
“Good. Now, let’s discuss the next steps,” I said, glancing pointedly at Damon until he settled onto the bench next to the blond-haired witch. “What we need to do is trap Samuel, and the best way to do that is to use Mary Jane as bait. We can lead Samuel to her,” I said.
“How will you do that, vampire?” Lavinia asked.
“I thought we could have Samuel spot Mary Jane in theEast End, then attack,” I explained.
“No, no, no!” Lavinia protested. “Far too messy. We can’t have the battle where humans are. We need to do it somewhere hidden.”
“My house,” Mary Jane said quietly. “It’s the perfect spot. We have a spell on the property that keeps the rent collectors away. Humans don’t seem to notice it, even though it’s right there.”
“Good thinking,” Lavinia said approvingly.
“I suppose one of us could be used to bait Samuel,” I suggested, thinking on the fly.
“Too dangerous.” Lavinia shook her head. “Weren’t you paying attention? Vampires are crafty. He’ll kill you without thinking twice. You need Samuel to know you have something he wants. You need to tell him you have Mary Jane.”
“He already knows,” I said numbly.
“Does he know he’s involved?” Lavinia asked, jerking her chin at Damon.
Damon shook his head.
“I say Damon goes and offers to bring Samuel to the girl,” one of the men suggested. “I know Samuel, and he wants power. No matter what you’ve done to him, even if you’ve stared in his eyes as you’ve attempted to stake his chest, he’ll forgive you, if it means he’ll get what he wants.”
“All right.” Damon nodded. “I can talk him into listening to me.” His eyes gleamed, and I knew if anyone could pretend he was going to the dark side, it was him.
“Damon will bring Samuel to Mary Jane, and we’ll attack,” I said, finishing off the plan. The witches nodded in agreement. It seemed simple.
“Are there any spells that will protect her from a vampire? Vervain won’t work. And Samuel has a witch on his side, so we need to protect against that, too,” I said, emboldened by the way the witches were agreeing with me.
“Who is the witch?” Lavinia asked.
“Seaver. He’s the groundskeeper at the Magdalene Asylum.”
“Don’t worry about him ,” Lavinia said with a derisive wave. “Stefan, you can take him on. He’s not as powerful as you. All you need to do, if he appears, is simply kill him. A knife to the heart will do the trick.”
“All right.” I nodded. I’d killed before. I could kill again.
“And now, on to the most important thing. Protecting Mary Jane,” Lady Alice prodded.
“Should we do praesidium?” the middle-aged witch suggested.
“Not a bad idea,” the man next to her said.
“Praesidium is ideal,” Lady Alice agreed. “Of course it’s not foolproof, and it’s putting Mary Jane right on thefront line. As her guardian, I wonder…”
“You’re not my guardian,” Mary Jane said. “I’m a grown woman. I can make my own
When Damon finished, Lady Alice brushed the excess blood away with the inside of her sleeve. “Now, Damon and Stefan, come join our circle.” She held out her hands. Instead of standing next to her, I chose to stand between Damon and Lavinia. It seemed safer. Because now that the taste of Lady Alice’s blood was on my tongue, it was all I could think about.
Lady Alice began to chant, and, one by one, the other witches joined in. I allowed my tongue to run back and forth over my teeth; the filmy coating left by the blood felt like both a blessing and a curse. The flames from the fire dimmed, sending the room into semidarkness.
“Vinculum,” Lady Alice said. The rest of the witches echoed the word.
Vinculum , I said under my breath. I hoped it worked. It had to. Lavinia dropped my hand. The room brightened.
“It’s done. We’re bound,” Lady Alice said.
“Good. Now, let’s discuss the next steps,” I said, glancing pointedly at Damon until he settled onto the bench next to the blond-haired witch. “What we need to do is trap Samuel, and the best way to do that is to use Mary Jane as bait. We can lead Samuel to her,” I said.
“How will you do that, vampire?” Lavinia asked.
“I thought we could have Samuel spot Mary Jane in theEast End, then attack,” I explained.
“No, no, no!” Lavinia protested. “Far too messy. We can’t have the battle where humans are. We need to do it somewhere hidden.”
“My house,” Mary Jane said quietly. “It’s the perfect spot. We have a spell on the property that keeps the rent collectors away. Humans don’t seem to notice it, even though it’s right there.”
“Good thinking,” Lavinia said approvingly.
“I suppose one of us could be used to bait Samuel,” I suggested, thinking on the fly.
“Too dangerous.” Lavinia shook her head. “Weren’t you paying attention? Vampires are crafty. He’ll kill you without thinking twice. You need Samuel to know you have something he wants. You need to tell him you have Mary Jane.”
“He already knows,” I said numbly.
“Does he know he’s involved?” Lavinia asked, jerking her chin at Damon.
Damon shook his head.
“I say Damon goes and offers to bring Samuel to the girl,” one of the men suggested. “I know Samuel, and he wants power. No matter what you’ve done to him, even if you’ve stared in his eyes as you’ve attempted to stake his chest, he’ll forgive you, if it means he’ll get what he wants.”
“All right.” Damon nodded. “I can talk him into listening to me.” His eyes gleamed, and I knew if anyone could pretend he was going to the dark side, it was him.
“Damon will bring Samuel to Mary Jane, and we’ll attack,” I said, finishing off the plan. The witches nodded in agreement. It seemed simple.
“Are there any spells that will protect her from a vampire? Vervain won’t work. And Samuel has a witch on his side, so we need to protect against that, too,” I said, emboldened by the way the witches were agreeing with me.
“Who is the witch?” Lavinia asked.
“Seaver. He’s the groundskeeper at the Magdalene Asylum.”
“Don’t worry about him ,” Lavinia said with a derisive wave. “Stefan, you can take him on. He’s not as powerful as you. All you need to do, if he appears, is simply kill him. A knife to the heart will do the trick.”
“All right.” I nodded. I’d killed before. I could kill again.
“And now, on to the most important thing. Protecting Mary Jane,” Lady Alice prodded.
“Should we do praesidium?” the middle-aged witch suggested.
“Not a bad idea,” the man next to her said.
“Praesidium is ideal,” Lady Alice agreed. “Of course it’s not foolproof, and it’s putting Mary Jane right on thefront line. As her guardian, I wonder…”
“You’re not my guardian,” Mary Jane said. “I’m a grown woman. I can make my own
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