I closed my eyes briefly as wel and tried to muster my Power, hoping I could send it to Mary Jane for strength.
Al of a sudden, we heard the whinnying of horses, fol owed by the ominous thud of one boot, then another, hitting the pavement.
Samuel was here.
Three knocks sounded at the door, fol owed by Damon’s voice, muffled through the wood.
“Mary Jane!” Damon cal ed. “Stefan’s waiting for you outside.”
That had been the agreed-upon code that would cause Mary Jane to open the door. I held my breath as I heard the floorboards creak and the door slowly swing open.
Moonlight flooded the landing as Samuel rushed through the door, his eyes gleaming in excitement. Seaver was at his side. At the sight of them Mary Jane gasped, a theatrical effort that impressed me. I leaned forward, my theatrical effort that impressed me. I leaned forward, my heart surging in my chest. This was going to work.
“Mary Jane. Final y, we meet again.” Samuel leered as he pul ed a glittering silver knife from inside his jacket. I clutched the stake in my hand. I wouldn’t jump unless Damon faltered.
As if on cue, Damon pul ed a stake from inside his vest.
“So stupid, Samuel,” Damon whispered, a smile crossing his face. But Samuel was faster than Damon had anticipated, and before Damon could stake Samuel, they were caught in a struggle. My breath caught in my throat. I knew what I was supposed to do now: kil Seaver. But with Damon in trouble, my rationale quickly fel by the wayside. I couldn’t let Damon die at Samuel’s hand.
“You thought you could get the best of me?” Samuel asked, elbowing Damon away. Damon lost his footing and fel to his knees, and I used the opportunity to lurch toward Samuel, grabbing his neck in a choke hold. The knife clattered to the floor, and I hastily pul ed out the stake that I had stashed in my boot.
My arm around his throat, Samuel gasped. I pressed tighter, al owing the point of the stake to graze Samuel’s chest.
Just then, Seaver rushed through the door and tackled Mary Jane. She tumbled to the ground, screaming, as he held her nose with one hand and pul ed a vial from his cloak with the other. Mary Jane gasped for breath, and at that moment, Seaver forced the liquid down her throat, chanting loudly the whole time.
“Help!” Mary Jane shrieked.
“Help!” Mary Jane shrieked.
“Stefan!” I barely heard Lavinia’s throaty voice as she clattered through the doorway. It was clear the witches thought the plan was already going awry. But I couldn’t focus. Instead, I pressed against the base of the stake. But I didn’t have a good angle, and it kept sliding sideways instead of down. I was surprised at how little Samuel was fighting. Did he recognize the futility of the fight? Was he surrendering? Focus. I repositioned the stake, ready to drive it into Samuel’s chest.
“Asporto!” Seaver’s deep voice yel ed, and instantly, I was pushed against the wal as if by an unseen hand. My temple cracked against the wooden wal and blood spurted from my forehead, obstructing my vision. When I went to wipe it away, I found myself unable to lift my arm.
“Help!” I cal ed in a ragged voice, hoping the other witches waiting in the al ey would hear. A few feet away, I saw Samuel had gotten hold of Damon. I closed my eyes, trying to draw my Power up from my center and push it toward him as Damon wrestled loose from Samuel’s grasp.
He lunged, but Samuel dodged, and in the process grabbed Mary Jane from where she stood behind Lavinia.
Stil , I was frozen to the spot, unable to do anything to save Mary Jane.
“Concisio!” a female voice yel ed. Then I heard a sound like a gunshot, fol owed by a bril iant white light. It lit up the smal room like a firework before once again plunging it into darkness. I turned around. It was Jemima.
“You’re free. Kil the witch!” she shrieked. I lunged forward, suddenly unshackled. I plunged the stake I held into Seaver’s back, twisting it until his body fel to the ground. The stake may not have been meant to kil a witch, but it certainly did the trick. At impact, I saw another flash of lightning.
Then I heard Jemima’s scream, over and over again.
Damon was standing dead stil , his eyes locked on Samuel.
“That’s right, Damon. Stay where you are like a good boy,” Samuel said smoothly. Blood was dripping from his lips, and his entire body seemed to glow. He tapped his long, tapered fingers together as he surveyed the room. My eyes tracked his gaze and I saw Mary Jane lying crumpled on the ground. My knees buckled under me. There was a crater in the center of her chest. Her amber eyes were open, her face an unmoving mask of horror. Rivulets of golden liquid were streaming from the hole where her heart should have been. Samuel had done the unimaginable.
He’d eaten Mary Jane’s heart.
“No!” Lady Alice shrieked, throwing herself on top of Mary Jane’s body. I stood, frozen in place, as Damon grabbed the stake from Lavinia’s hand and lunged toward Samuel.
“Run!” I pul ed Lady Alice from Mary Jane’s body. Her robe was smeared with gold-tinged blood as though her heart, too, had been torn out.
“You can’t run. Stay stil . You too, Stefan,” Samuel said smoothly. Damon stopped midstep, confusion on his face.
Samuel had compel ed us both. I wil ed my feet to move, but nothing happened. I was stuck. I felt my stomach and heart clench. The orphans rushed in, too late to the scene, and looked on in horror, although I couldn’t tel if they were paralyzed by fright or magic.
Samuel laughed. His lips pul ed back from his teeth, revealing fangs that glowed gold. “You see, I got what I came for. And you did, too, even if you’re too stupid to realize it. I won’t kil you. In trying to betray me, you stil fulfil ed your end of the bargain. Of course, your good-for-nothing brother kil ed Seaver, but that’s neither here nor there. He was no longer useful to me, so it’s just as wel .