“U-u-upstairs,” she stuttered, sounding scared and exhausted. “Damon took her up to my old chambers. The d-d-doctor is supposed to be here any minute,” she explained.
“Very good,” I said. I clasped her hand and she flinched, clearly on edge. “I’m sorry. I want to let you know . . .”
“What?” Violet asked.
“Where’s your vervain?” I asked, suddenly in a panic.
“‘Vervain’?” she parroted.
“Yes. The charm I gave you.”
“It’s here!” Violet said, pulling it out of her pocket. “It’s a rough crowd here, so I don’t like wearing jewelry. But I do like it.”
“Good. I was afraid you’d lost it,” I said. I leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Stay brave,” I said.
“Okay,” Violet said, eyes wide, without any idea of what she was agreeing to.
Hurrying upstairs, I clambered the wooden steps two at a time until I reached a door that led to a tiny room with a slanted roof. Two thin cast-iron beds were on opposite sides of the room, and a single candle was burning in a pewter holder that was precariously placed on an overturned orange crate. Damon was nowhere to be found. In the melee, everyone seemed to have forgotten about Martha. She was lying alone on one of the beds. Although her neck had been bandaged, blood was still seeping out of the wound, forming a sticky red puddle by her ear.
I perched on the edge of the tattered flannel coverlet and smoothed my cracked hand against the girl’s forehead. It didn’t take a doctor to know that she was still deathly ill. Her breath would catch, then she’d gasp. All I could hear was an ever so faint thump-da-thump coming from her chest.
I looked down at my wrist. Already, the wound I’d created less than an hour ago had faded. But although the mark had healed, I still felt depleted, and I knew I had to be very careful with my own reserves of blood. Even so, she needed something more than I’d given her. I brought my other wrist to my mouth and dug my teeth into my flesh, flinching as I felt my mind go woozy.
“Here,” I said, cradling the back of the girl’s head in my hand. “Drink.” I put my wrist up to her lips.
Guided by instinct, the girl tentatively began to suck until I pulled my wrist away. Her head lolled back, and a smile of sleepy satisfaction played on her lips.
Just then a door opened and a man wearing a white coat walked in, carrying a basin of water.
“Are you a friend?” he asked firmly.
“I’m Stefan,” I said, putting my hand behind my back and pressing it into the fabric of my coat, hoping he wouldn’t notice my wound. “I found her.”
“Very well,” the man said. “You can stay for a moment, but I’ll need some time alone with the patient.”
“Yes, of course,” I said, relieved he didn’t find it odd I was up here. The girl was starting to stir. She’d wake up soon. I hung back as he approached, wanting to make sure she was all right.
The doctor took a towel and dipped it into the basin, then held it against the girl’s forehead. As her eyes snapped open, they locked with mine. Then, her features froze and an unholy shriek emerged from her lips.
“Murderer!” she screamed.
The doctor pulled away in shock, almost dropping the basin. His eyes went immediately to the door, as if he was considering yelling for help.
“Shhh, you’re safe,” I hissed. “I’m your friend. I’m her friend!” I added desperately, turning to the doctor.
“Murderer!” she yelled again, tears springing from her eyes. “Help!”
“She must be in shock,” I said to the doctor, hoping there was a medical explanation for her behavior, and not what I feared: that she thought I was her attacker.
The doctor nodded, although I couldn’t be sure he wasn’t just agreeing to appease a suspected criminal.
A starry blackness was forming at the edge of my brain, threatening to overtake me into a faint, but I summoned all my strength. She needed to calm down. Whether she thought I was the murderer because she remembered me kneeling by her side, saving her, or whether she thought I was the murderer because someone had compelled her to think that way, I needed to correct her.
“Listen to me,” I said to the girl, forcing my Power into the words. She stopped mid-scream. The room was suddenly so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “I’m your friend. I’m Stefan. I found you. I saved you. You’re safe now. There’s no murderer here.” It took everything I had to keep my gaze on the girl. Thankfully, her weakened state made the compulsion possible. She nodded, then turned to look at the doctor.
“Good girl,” I murmured.
“She’s all yours,” I told the doctor. I had just narrowly escaped that one and I didn’t want to push my luck by staying a second longer. The look on his face made me think compelling him wouldn’t be necessary. He was starting to relax and get back to his work.