by L. J. Smith
I leaped toward Samuel, guided by instinct as I threw a wild punch. My fist hit flesh, and Samuel staggered back. Maybe the vervain had affected him more than I thought. I wound up, ready to hit again, when a wild, raw scream rang out behind me. I whirled around and saw Cora next to Cathy’s body. Seeing her face, tortured by the sight of her friend ripped to pieces, I hurried to her side, my fight with Samuel all but forgotten.
Samuel, standing tall and strong as ever, turned toward Cora, a bemused expression on his face. “So, shall I kill your little friend? Or make her one of us?” Samuel asked as he pulled out a gold pocket watch and noted the time, smiling in satisfaction. I pulled Cora closer to me. “By my account, the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee should be here in minutes. I’ve been asking them to patrol Mitre Square every hour, on the hour. I always thought it was the perfect place for a careless killer to be caught. So you’ll forgive me if I break up the games,” he said. He whistled once. Henry looked up from his scuffle with Damon and immediately raced to his brother’s side. “They’ll appreciate catching the killers red-handed. Take it like men, will you?” With that, Samuel grabbed the back of Damon’s neck and forced his face into Cathy’s innards. Cora moaned in dismay, and I felt my own insides twist.
Damon choked as the vervain in Cathy’s body hit his lips and tried to jerk back, sputtering in equal parts anger and agony.
“Stefan? A snack?” Samuel asked, cackling, then shook his head as if he’d thought better of it. “No, too easy. And too unkind. I know how your brother abhors sharing the spotlight. Just like he abhors sharing his women. Katherine would always relay how humorous it was to pit the two of you against each other and watch you fight for her affections. As if either of you ever could have won her hand,” he laughed, as a peal of police bells pierced the night air and candlelight appeared in the windows of the buildings facing the square. Curious faces peeked out, and I knew we had only seconds to escape.
“I’ll see you soon, Stefan. And Damon, enjoy your demise,” Samuel said, releasing Damon’s neck. He seized Henry by the arm and they took off around the corner. The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was coming, and Damon was again weakened by vervain. Still, I yanked him to his feet and searched for an escape route. A narrow path ran between two houses nearby. That would have to do.
“We can’t just leave her!” Cora shouted, staring at Cathy’s mutilated body in despair.
“Cora, we have to go!” I said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I needed her to pay attention. If Cora became hysterical, none of us would be safe.
Cora straightened her shoulders and pressed her lips together in a tight line. A single tear trickled from the corner of her eye. She didn’t bother wiping it away.
“I’m fine,” she said, nodding her head as if willing it to be true. I dragged Damon with me alongside Cora as we ran, winding down one alley and another until we came to a tiny passageway between streets, filled with refuse and rats.
“Here,” Cora said, walking midway down the street and throwing her shoulder against a wooden door. Nothing. I stepped in front of her and tried again. It swung open easily.
As soon as we walked inside, I heard rats scurrying and bats squeaking. The structure seemed to have been a milliner’s shop at some point, and dusty hats and dresses hung from racks, rotting. I quickly located a heavy black trunk and dragged it in front of the door.
“We’re safe,” Cora said flatly, sinking to the ground and hugging her knees to her chest.
I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when I felt myself pinned to the wall by an unseen hand. I looked around wildly and realized the hand was connected to Damon. He squeezed my neck and scowled at me, hatred evident in his dark eyes.
“What now?” I asked, pushing him away. We had two vampires on our trail, a vigilance committee after us, and a cadre of policemen looking for us. Damon had the blood of an innocent girl all over his face. Yet all he seemed to be concerned with was reigniting our years-old feud.
“Well, Stefan,” Damon said, practically spitting out the words. “How do you feel about your grand plans now? Two more of your precious humans are dead, and not only are the police after me, but a Vigilance Committee is likely coming for me with torches and handcuffs. And instead of trying to destroy Henry or Samuel, trying to help me in the fight, all you cared about was how Cora felt.” Damon released his grip but kept his eyes locked on me. “You have no idea how to be a vampire. You have no idea how to fight. And I’m tired of listening to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Cora said in a small voice. “I should have been braver.”
“You should have been nothing,” Damon spat. “You shouldn’t even have been there. This is our world, and Stefan can’t seem to understand that he needs to live in it. All he wants to do is orchestrate events to his liking. He’s been telling me what to do since we got to London, and like an idiot, I’ve listened to him. But I’m not listening anymore,” Damon said. “We’re done.”
The words were like a knife to my stomach.
“Do you think I like living in tunnels and feeling like I’m hunted? Do you think I like seeing innocent humans die? I’m doing this to help you,” I shouted.
“How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t want your help,” Damon hissed, his voice low and ominous. “I didn’t need your help when we were humans, and I don’t need your help now. We’re done, brother. We’re done forever.”
“Fine!” I yelled. It was petulant and pathetic, but it was true. Because we were done. I didn’t want to worry and plan and always, endlessly, feel unappreciated and useless. I may have put up with that when I was a human, forever the younger brother trailing, puppylike, behind Damon. But not anymore. “Go.”
With that, Damon stormed out of the decrepit shop, batting the trunk away from the door as if it weighed nothing. I slammed the door behind him. If he wanted to run right into the arms of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, then let him go ahead. We were done. My thoughts were interrupted by a whimper from Cora. I placed a hand on her arm, knowing it wouldn’t do much to comfort her.
“It’s all right,” I said, even though it wasn’t. I felt the beginnings of a headache throbbing at my temples. Damon was gone, and it sounded like he was gone for good. And I didn’t blame him. I’d been angry with him in the past, but this was the first time I’d told him to go.
Good riddance, I thought, willing myself to believe it, trying to cast Damon as just another ill-mannered vampire, like the ones I’d lived with in New Orleans.
But he wasn’t. It was the same damning conclusion I’d always reached: Blood mattered. Damon mattered. Even if I wished he didn’t.
The sound of police bells drew closer, and I could hear footsteps. Torchlight danced along the whitewashed walls of the millinery shop, and once again I was thankful for Cora’s quick thinking.
Just then, we heard a cry from outside, so loud it rattled the windows, followed by the sound of doors slamming and footsteps echoing on the pavement.
“They found Cathy,” Cora noted, her voice devoid of emotion. I nodded helplessly. “I wonder where Elizabeth is. She can’t be alive, can she?”
“No.” I shook my head. Saying anything else would imply that I had hope. And I didn’t. The world was evil—I was evil—and everything I touched became surrounded by blood, destruction, and chaos. Including Cora. It was no way to live.
“It’s hard, isn’t it,” Cora said softly in the darkness.
“What is?” I asked.
“Living,” she replied. “It’s harder than death, I think. Because the first thing I thought when I saw Cathy was how lucky she was. She doesn’t have to live through this. She doesn’t have to see her friends torn apart, and she doesn’t have to live with any regret for bringing them into her problems. She’s free. It’s a wicked thought, isn’t it?” Cora asked.
“No, it’s the truth. I think it’s what Damon believes, too,” I admitted. I remembered when he had begged
for the death I refused to give to him. Was that the root of all our problems? And if so, what could I do for forgiveness? In the moment when Cora’s terrified shriek pierced the night air, I had gone to her without a second thought. But in doing so, I had betrayed Damon, scuffling with Henry nearby. Damon on his own in London was as good as dead. If Samuel didn’t get him, then the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee would.
“You know he wasn’t mad at you tonight. That was just an excuse.”
“Maybe he was right. You chose me,” Cora said in a small voice.
“I didn’t choose anyone. Damon can look out for himself. You…”
“Can’t?” Cora asked, with a raw laugh.
“… just saw your friend dead on the street,” I finished. “But no. Damon’s always looking for a reason to hate me. And…” I took a deep breath. “Maybe he should. Because you see, I loved my brother. And when I became a vampire, I wanted him with me. I forced him to turn against his will. He was fighting his transition and I made him drink human blood. And he’ll never, ever forgive me for that.”
“I don’t think that I would hate Violet if she turned me,” Cora mused. “I think if I knew she did it for the right reasons, I would understand and forgive her. At least we’d be together.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said after a moment.
We were quiet for some time. Through the grime coating the shop windows, I could see the faintest streaks of sunlight appearing like brushstrokes against the inky black sky. The worst of the night was behind us.
“Nothing that’s worth it is ever simple,” Cora said in the darkness, picking up our earlier conversation and yanking me back to the present.
“Hmm?” I asked, startled.
“Nothing that’s worth anything is ever simple. That’s what makes it worth it. That’s what Violet always used to say when things got hard for us. She was the one who pushed for us to move to London. I’d have been happy to stay in Donegal, settle down…” Cora sighed. “Violet convinced our parents to let us move. And right before we boarded the boat, my da took me by the shoulders and told me to look after his little girl.”
“You did the best you could.”
Cora shook her head. “I didn’t! I was charmed by Samuel the second he came into the Ten Bells. He sat at the bar and told me I was beautiful. I didn’t give a second thought to what would happen to Violet when I went with him. And then… I was so stupid!” she exploded angrily. “Why couldn’t I resist him? I knew well enough that no nobleman like him would want a girl like me, so why couldn’t I ignore the compulsion?”
I pulled her toward me, rocking her back and forth in my arms. “There is no way you could have fought the compulsion without vervain. It wasn’t your fault,” I said soothingly. She relaxed against my chest. I noticed a crease between her eyes that hadn’t been there a few days earlier. She looked exhausted, and I wanted to do everything in my power to make her pain and hurt and confusion go away. But I couldn’t.
“So many men are out there looking for girls just like you. You’re amazing,” I said, brushing the hair back from her eyes. I didn’t love her, at least not in the way that causes a human heart to flutter with anticipation. But what I felt for her was deep and sincere: It was as if we were soul mates in the strictest sense of the word, bound by duty to our kin and willing to do anything in the face of evil. She was a true friend. And I hoped she could tell how much I valued her.
“Thanks,” she said wryly, tilting her chin up to me. Her angular face was bathed in a swath of early morning light coming through a crack in the window. “How can I go wrong when I have the approval of vampires?”
I chuckled. It wasn’t funny, not really, but as I continued to laugh, a giggle rose from Cora’s lips.
“Shh!” I exclaimed, pressing my hand to her mouth.
“I can’t!” she said, still laughing. Tears sprang from her eyes and leaked down her cheeks, and I knew it wasn’t the joke making her cry. I held her tighter and let her tears wash over me. The world was a harsh place to live in, but here and now, at least we had each other.
14
I fell asleep listening to the ba-dum, ba-dum of Cora’s heartbeat. It was rhythmic and steady, a metronomic reminder that not all was lost. And somehow, the sound got me through the night.
I awoke to thin rays of light seeping through the grime-caked windows. I blanched as I blinked at my surroundings. The wooden floor was covered with dust, and I could see the paw prints and tail marks of rats. Cockroaches scurried along the baseboards.
“Wake up,” I whispered, nudging Cora’s shoulder. Her hands were clasped together as though in prayer.
Cora blinked up at me. The shadows under her eyes were so dark and pronounced it was as if she’d drawn them with kohl. Her smock had shifted as she slept, exposing her frail collarbone. I hated to wake her, bring her back into this horrible reality.
“Good morning,” I whispered. “How did you sleep?”
“Better than I imagined, considering the circumstances,” Cora said in a small voice, sitting up.
“I know,” I said. “But the good news is we’re here, and we’re safe. And everything’s always better in the morning.” I smiled despite myself. It was a phrase my mother had used when I was a child, worried about monsters hiding under my bed. Only now, the monsters weren’t hiding.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“We’ll think of something. It will be fine,” I said. That had been my go-to phrase for the past few days, and I was sure Cora was just as tired of hearing it as I was of saying it. Every plan I thought of was more fantastical and useless than the last. My mind felt overworked and unwieldy. But what could we do? Vervain wouldn’t hurt Samuel, and he had the entire London police force wrapped around his little finger.
My mind drifted to Katherine. Samuel had been right; she’d delighted in pitting Damon and me against each other. I wanted to get into Katherine’s brain and try to imagine what she would do in my circumstances. Maybe that was the answer. What better way to fight a maniacal vampire than to think like one myself?
Katherine, though, was hardly alone. And not just with her abundance of male suitors. She had her maidservant, Emily, by her side. Emily, who was also a witch. She’d perform spells for Katherine, giving her an advantage over humans and vampires both.
I needed something beyond the Power I had as a vampire. I needed to talk to James.
“What’s that?” Cora asked nervously, pulling me out of my reverie. Something was scuttling around behind a moldering hatbox in the corner and Cora was looking around the shop as though expecting to find one of the mannequins had come to life. Remarkably, the abandoned store was more frightening in the weak light of day than it had been in darkness.
“Let’s go. I have an idea,” I said.
She stood up and brushed off her dress. She looked exhausted and dirty, but resolute. Despite everything she had seen, she was choosing to move forward and keep fighting. And that inspired me. If Cora was strong enough to stare down impossible odds, I was going to make sure she survived to have a long and fulfilling life.
When we reached the Emporium, I rapped three times, listening for sounds on the other side of the door.
“Who’s there?” James called. I heard jars rattling about.
“It’s Stefan, Damon’s brother,” I replied. Sometimes, my relationship to Damon came in handy, I had to admit. Finally, James opened the door. His good eye was oozing even more than it had been the other day, and he looked right past me to Cora.
“What’s she doing here?” he asked suspiciously.
“She’s all right. She’s a friend,” I answered.
“A human? I swear, some vampires never learn,” he said roughly, but he hustled us inside the tiny shop. He locked eyes with me. “You need goat’s blood tea. On the house. I like to do my best customers favors, because I know it’ll come back to me in some way. And you certainly helped me get rid of my back inventory of vervain.” He gestured to
a small table in the corner, waving us to sit down.
I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, unsure of how to tell him what had actually happened with the vervain. I decided to stall, hoping that the magic-infused products lining the shelves would inspire a new plan. “Tea would be terrific.”
James bustled around in the back of the shop as Cora and I sat at the rickety table.
“A special drink for the miss,” James said as he returned, offering Cora a steaming mug of broth. “It has rhinoceros horn flakes. Good for bravery,” he explained solemnly. Cora clutched the cup with two hands and took a tiny sip.
“It’s good,” Cora said. “It just tastes like the Irish tea back home.”
“Well, you’re not here for tea, so let’s talk,” James said, taking a seat behind the counter and draining his own mug. “Where’s your brother?”
I chose my words carefully. “He’s on a different path now,” I said. That much was true. Whether the road was leading to destruction, I was trying not to think. “But we need your help. The Jack the Ripper murders are being committed by a demented vampire. London is in danger.”
“London’s in danger?” James asked skeptically, crossing his arms over his chest. “London’s always in danger. For the past thousand years, people have been saying that, and yet the city is still standing. And why should I care about the current crisis? There’ll just be another one after it.”
I racked my brain. It was true. Why should he care? He was unconcerned with petty fights between vampires. If anything, he’d prefer a feud—more income for him.
“Because you’re a good man,” Cora said simply. “Just like Stefan. Please help us.”