decision. What exactly is praesidium?”
“A protection spell,” Lavinia said. “It will make Mary Jane’s body impenetrable to a vampire’s touch. It’s like a shield, but one that causes tremendous pain to a vampire if he touches it. The pain isn’t fatal, but it will momentarily stun or surprise the vampire. That way, the spell is twofold. It will protect Mary Jane from Samuel’s clutches, and it will—”
“Allow us to attack,” I finished. “That sounds perfect.”
Lady Alice nodded. “It seems the best spell under the circumstances.”
“I’ll do it,” Mary Jane said resolutely.
“Good.” I nodded at her. “Damon will let Samuel know he has Mary Jane. He’ll tell Samuel to come to us two nights from now, sending him right into the trap. We’ll meet at five at Miller’s Court and perform the spell before he comes. And then we’ll be waiting for him.”
The blond witch waved her hand up at me as though she were a schoolgirl and I were the teacher. “All of us?” she asked.
I glanced around the group. It was small, but the room was tiny. “Do we need everyone for the spell?” I asked.
Lady Alice shook her head. “It’s very simple.”
“Good. Then no, not everyone should be there. Just Mary Jane, Lady Alice, and Lavinia in the house, and the rest in the alley, waiting as backup if the plan doesn’t work. But it will,” I said, reassuring myself as much as the witches.
Ten stories above, I heard the lone, singular caw of a raven. The sound echoed in my ears, and I knew it was foreshadowing something. I only wished I knew what.
“I’ll be there, vampire,” Lavinia said finally.
I locked eyes with Lavinia. “Good,” I said. I meant it. Whether we liked it or not, we were bound to the witches. And they were bound to us.
9
T he next night, I was hiding in the bushes that surrounded the fence of Samuel’s Lansdowne House estate. A few hundred paces away, Damon hunched in the shadows of one of the large portico columns of the Georgian mansion.
Damon turned toward me and I nodded to him. I was ready in case things went sour and he needed backup.
Damon knocked on the door and was unsurprised when, seconds later, Samuel himself answered. His eyes were bloodshot, and his pale skin was almost white.
The wind had picked up and was blowing toward me, making it sound like the conversation was taking place only inches away.
“Listen. I’m here to offer you a deal,” Damon said stiffly, before Samuel could say anything—or stake him.“A business transaction. From one vampyr to another,” he said, using the ancient, foreign-sounding term for one of our kind.
“A deal,” Samuel repeated. An inscrutable expression—was it amusement? Curiousity? Anger?—flickered across Samuel’s face. “You killed my brother. I ruined you. And yet, now you come to me to try to negotiate. Why?”
I held my breath, lest Samuel should hear me. Watching my brother talk calmly with a man hell-bent on destroying our lives, it was all I could do to sit back on my heels and stay quiet. Maybe it was the eleuthro from several days prior or Lady Alice’s blood, but something had changed within me. My nerves were on edge and I was ready to spring into battle at a second’s notice. After all, the next few hours wouldn’t merely determine Damon’s and my fates—they would determine the fate of the entire city. In the words of my brother when he had a particularly good hand of poker: We were all-in. But right now, there was nothing I could do but watch the scene unfold.
Damon shifted back and forth on his feet, and I knew he was exercising every ounce of his self-control not to lash out and attack Samuel.
Say it . Damon’s head jerked back to glance in my direction, even though I hadn’t even said the words out loud. Admit he’s won .
“When I was a human, I was a soldier in the ConfederateArmy,” Damon said through gritted teeth. “I know the difference between victory and defeat, and I know
“A protection spell,” Lavinia said. “It will make Mary Jane’s body impenetrable to a vampire’s touch. It’s like a shield, but one that causes tremendous pain to a vampire if he touches it. The pain isn’t fatal, but it will momentarily stun or surprise the vampire. That way, the spell is twofold. It will protect Mary Jane from Samuel’s clutches, and it will—”
“Allow us to attack,” I finished. “That sounds perfect.”
Lady Alice nodded. “It seems the best spell under the circumstances.”
“I’ll do it,” Mary Jane said resolutely.
“Good.” I nodded at her. “Damon will let Samuel know he has Mary Jane. He’ll tell Samuel to come to us two nights from now, sending him right into the trap. We’ll meet at five at Miller’s Court and perform the spell before he comes. And then we’ll be waiting for him.”
The blond witch waved her hand up at me as though she were a schoolgirl and I were the teacher. “All of us?” she asked.
I glanced around the group. It was small, but the room was tiny. “Do we need everyone for the spell?” I asked.
Lady Alice shook her head. “It’s very simple.”
“Good. Then no, not everyone should be there. Just Mary Jane, Lady Alice, and Lavinia in the house, and the rest in the alley, waiting as backup if the plan doesn’t work. But it will,” I said, reassuring myself as much as the witches.
Ten stories above, I heard the lone, singular caw of a raven. The sound echoed in my ears, and I knew it was foreshadowing something. I only wished I knew what.
“I’ll be there, vampire,” Lavinia said finally.
I locked eyes with Lavinia. “Good,” I said. I meant it. Whether we liked it or not, we were bound to the witches. And they were bound to us.
9
T he next night, I was hiding in the bushes that surrounded the fence of Samuel’s Lansdowne House estate. A few hundred paces away, Damon hunched in the shadows of one of the large portico columns of the Georgian mansion.
Damon turned toward me and I nodded to him. I was ready in case things went sour and he needed backup.
Damon knocked on the door and was unsurprised when, seconds later, Samuel himself answered. His eyes were bloodshot, and his pale skin was almost white.
The wind had picked up and was blowing toward me, making it sound like the conversation was taking place only inches away.
“Listen. I’m here to offer you a deal,” Damon said stiffly, before Samuel could say anything—or stake him.“A business transaction. From one vampyr to another,” he said, using the ancient, foreign-sounding term for one of our kind.
“A deal,” Samuel repeated. An inscrutable expression—was it amusement? Curiousity? Anger?—flickered across Samuel’s face. “You killed my brother. I ruined you. And yet, now you come to me to try to negotiate. Why?”
I held my breath, lest Samuel should hear me. Watching my brother talk calmly with a man hell-bent on destroying our lives, it was all I could do to sit back on my heels and stay quiet. Maybe it was the eleuthro from several days prior or Lady Alice’s blood, but something had changed within me. My nerves were on edge and I was ready to spring into battle at a second’s notice. After all, the next few hours wouldn’t merely determine Damon’s and my fates—they would determine the fate of the entire city. In the words of my brother when he had a particularly good hand of poker: We were all-in. But right now, there was nothing I could do but watch the scene unfold.
Damon shifted back and forth on his feet, and I knew he was exercising every ounce of his self-control not to lash out and attack Samuel.
Say it . Damon’s head jerked back to glance in my direction, even though I hadn’t even said the words out loud. Admit he’s won .
“When I was a human, I was a soldier in the ConfederateArmy,” Damon said through gritted teeth. “I know the difference between victory and defeat, and I know
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