The Compelled (Page 35)

“Listen to this story, vampire,” James muttered. “Then you’l know what you’re dealing with.” The cat hissed, and I felt al the eyebal s in the jar on the shelf staring at me in silent judgment.

James gulped Cora’s untouched tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he flipped one more page. He glanced at it and nodded, as if the words proved some unspoken point. “There’s a town in the middle of Prussia cal ed Tulpedorf,” James said, tripping over the foreign pronunciation. “Or rather, there was a town. It doesn’t exist anymore,” James said evenly, the color beginning to return to his face.

“What happened?” Cora asked, leaning forward.

“A vampire moved in,” James explained. “Kind of like your Samuel—a man with a terrible mission. Elijah was his name. No one knew where he came from, or who he was.

He was a stranger, but remarkably charismatic. People liked him, and there was even some whispering that he should rule the town. The more people who whispered that, the more people who started to believe it. After al , strange things were happening around town. Animal attacks, mysterious deaths. Maybe Elijah would save them. Little did they know, he was a vampire. One day, he did take over the town. He rounded up an army of the vil agers he’d been turning into vampires ever since he arrived and compel ed them to do his bidding. They stormed the castle of the local lord. Then, of course, his army began kil ing innocent citizens. For two days, there was mass carnage.

But just as quickly as it began, it stopped. Elijah cal ed off his vampire army. He compel ed them to head to the woods and find as many branches as they could. Once there was an enormous pile of kindling, Elijah lit a match and ordered the army to step into the flames. They did, without a second glance. At this point, everyone in the town who hadn’t been kil ed just watched in horror. Some screamed for them to stop. But no one did. Elijah did it just because he could, you see? He played with people, like a puppeteer, and didn’t care about the consequences. And that was a tiny town.

One can only imagine what a man with ambition and numbers would do in a city like London.”

“Where did Elijah go?” I asked.

“No one knows.” James shrugged. “But that’s neither here nor there. I’m tel ing you this story so you know exactly what your Samuel is now capable of. But something tel s me he won’t be content with a few dozen murders.”

“So what do we do?” Cora asked. “Is there some sort of antidote? I know vervain stops humans from fal ing under compulsion. If we could just find another herb that would protect vampires, then we could fil the water supply or…” she trailed off.

“There is no herb,” James said. “Vervain won’t work against his power. It may protect humans against any of the vampires Samuel wil compel, but how long do you think that wil last? Any job that can’t be carried out by one of his minions, I’m sure Samuel wil simply perform himself. I can’t help you. And I can’t have either of you coming to my shop anymore. It’s too dangerous. I’m leaving here myself.”

“I understand,” I said heavily, glancing futilely at the shelves.

“Come on, vampire,” he said, unbolting the door. Cora and I stood on the threshold as James hurriedly began plucking jars and boxes off the shelves and placing them on the table. He opened a smal bottle fil ed with green liquid and gulped it town, then turned around when he realized I was stil staring at him.

“Go!” James yel ed. Cora and I fled. At the far end of the al ey, I turned around. James was standing outside the store, throwing stems of vervain over the welcome mat.

Even the store catering to monsters wouldn’t have me anymore.

12

I felt like I was the bumbling villain in a burlesque show. Despite being foiled time and time again, I insisted on trying a new scheme. Only in a burlesque show, there was an audience. And I couldn’t help but wonder: Was Samuel watching? I hoped he was, if nothing else than as a distraction from building his vampire army.

When Father had planned a siege against the vampires in our town, he’d done it methodically, making sure everyone knew what their roles were: Jonathan Gilbert was supposed to find vampires with his compass, Honoraria Falls was supposed to distribute vervain to everyone, and Sheriff Forbes was to supply the brute manpower, muzzles, and chains to hold the vampires until their destruction. How much simpler would a siege be if the commander could compel everyone—

even his enemies—to do his bidding with a simple thought?

We were out of options, but as foolish as it might have been, I couldn’t stop trying to save the city. I was the only one who could.

As I desperately racked my brain for another idea, I couldn’t help but feel like the curtains were about to fall on the show. The only question was: How would it end?

In the short time we had been in James’s shop, the weather had changed completely. The sun had disappeared behind a cloud, the air was cold and sharp, and the ground was coated in a fine layer of white powder.

Cora, chil ed to the bone, headed back to Bedford Square, while I continued to walk. The flurries had the effect of making London look like an etching on a holiday card. The air was redolent with the scent of roasted chestnuts, and rosy-cheeked people were marveling at the accumulation of snow along the curb. Men stopped on the streets to jovial y slap one another on the backs in greeting. Al around me London seemed at its finest, while al I felt was grief and despair.

Everyone had turned on us. Including the witches. But I knew, deep down, that Lady Alice would want to avenge Mary Jane’s death as much as I did. The image of the terrible gold-tinged blood frothing at Samuel’s mouth sprung to my mind. I wouldn’t let Mary Jane’s death fuel evil.