The Compelled (Page 20)

Of course. The knife wounds, the innards torn from the chest…the gruesome murders al made sense. Samuel wasn’t simply trying to shock London with his murders—he was on a mission that we couldn’t even have imagined.

“Kind of gives a new meaning to the phrase ‘heartsick,’

doesn’t it?” Damon quipped.

I glared at Damon. Then I glanced over at Mary Jane.

Her trembling lower lip was the only sign that she was terrified.

“So do you have any idea who my parents are?” Mary Jane asked.

Lady Alice shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid I don’t. But I do know that al the nuns at the orphanage thought you were a miracle baby. You were placed on the doorstep on the coldest night of the year, and yet, when they found you the next morning, your body was warm. That was powerful magic coursing through your veins,” she said. “You must somehow be related to a member of the Original coven. It’s our secret history, but Samuel has obviously done his research.”

“But why?” Damon interrupted angrily. “What’s so special about some witch?”

“You must be a young vampire,” she said, snorting in disgust. “How old are you? Two years? And don’t cal me ma’am. It makes me sound ancient.”

“We both turned in 1864, ma’am,” I said quickly before Damon could butt in with a caustic comment.

“I see. Wel , there are many reasons a power-crazed vampire would want a witch. But there’s only one reason a vampire would want a purebred heart.”

“Why?” Mary Jane asked in a whisper, as though she were afraid to hear the answer.

“I can’t go further until I have some security.” Lady Alice’s gaze flicked to us, then landed on Jemima. “Do you know how to do a loyalty spel ?” she asked. It was the first time she’d acknowledged Jemima in a while, and Jemima seemed taken aback.

“A simple one, yes,” she said meekly.

“Good. Can you perform it between the two vampires and me?”

“Al right.” Jemima exhaled, and I could tel she was nervous at her skil s being put to the test. “I need a lock of hair from each of you.”

I reached to the top of my head and plucked a few brunette strands for her. Lady Alice and Damon did the same and gave their strands to Jemima as wel . She squinted at them and braided them together, her brow furrowed. The braid thickened and grew until it became a multicolored rope.

“Put out your hands. Palms up, please,” she said. Then she then took the rope and tied it loosely on each of our wrists. “Fidelitas ad finum!” She clapped her hands. The rope disappeared, but left a shiny red welt against my skin.

Damon and Lady Alice had similar ones. It throbbed in time with my heart.

“We’re bound. Thank you,” Lady Alice said, as though Jemima had performed a task as simple as pouring a cup of coffee. “That spel means that even if you wanted to betray me, you couldn’t. The words wouldn’t be able to escape from your lips. And now, I can tel you al I know.”

“Please do,” I said.

“Legend is, if a vampire eats the heart of a purebred witch, he can compel other vampires,” Lady Alice said sadly. She reached to drape her arm over Mary Jane’s shoulders, but Mary Jane jerked away, holding both hands to her chest as she lurched from the bench and began to run.

“I don’t believe any of this!” she yel ed from halfway across the garden. “You’re trying to scare me!”

“Mary Jane, it’s al right!” Cora ran toward her and pul ed her into an embrace.

“But it’s not al right!” Mary Jane said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in Cora’s shoulder. “If he can do that with my heart, that means he’l never, ever leave me alone.

And even if we do kil Samuel, then what if another vampire wants to kil me? I’l never be safe!”

“Shh, there, there,” Lady Alice said. “You wil be safe.

Stay with me. We’re safe here. If you’re here, you’l have nothing to worry about.”

We needed Lady Alice, and although I knew she’d do whatever it took to help Mary Jane, I wasn’t sure her loyalty extended to us. If Mary Jane decided to stay in Lady Alice’s mansion, how would we convince them to work with us to mansion, how would we convince them to work with us to trap Samuel?

I rested a hand on Mary Jane’s back to comfort her, only to have Lady Alice shoot me a look. I snatched my hand away.

“We’re keeping Mary Jane safe,” I explained awkwardly.

“They’ve been protecting me, too,” Cora piped up. I shot her a grateful look.

“Where?” Lady Alice asked crisply.

“Near the Bank of London,” I said evasively, not wanting to give away the fact that our current address was a tunnel far below ground.

“Near the bank? But where exactly, pray tel ?” Lady Alice asked quizzical y, knitting her eyebrows together. I wasn’t being compel ed. I was entirely in charge of my own faculties, and yet the knowledge that I couldn’t lie set me on edge.

“The Underground tunnel,” I admitted.

Lady Alice shook her head. “Two grown-up vampires might belong underground. And as for the human girl, wel , whoever she decides to spend her time with is her own foolish choice. I don’t interfere with humans unless absolutely necessary. But Mary Jane, I insist you stay here.

Your friend can, too,” she said, nodding at Jemima.

Mary Jane pul ed back. “No. I know you mean wel , but it would be too hard to stay here now. I wanted more than anything to live with you when I was little. Now, I’m used to being on my own. I need to stay with Stefan and Damon. I trust them. And they need me,” she said in a smal , proud voice.