The Compelled (The Vampire Diaries 19)

“Will you stop?” Damon interrupted loudly. “I’m so sick of it. It was the same bloody thing in the Civil War, where soldiers wouldn’t trust one another because so-and-so’s grandfather was from Massachusetts, so Northern blood was in his veins. Well, we’re all monsters, and we’re all misfits. I’m here, and I’m ready to get involved in your spell-casting, but I won’t do it if I’m going to be mocked and mistrusted.”

Lady Alice’s eyes flashed. “I’ve been around just as long as you, Damon. I could tell you horrible stories about the war between vampires and witches, and they wouldn’t even scratch the surface of why I hate your species,” she said as she crossed to the well and let down a tiny wooden pail into the blackness below. The well itself looked like it belonged in a museum, perhaps in an exhibit about the lives of fifteenth-century villagers.

“Would the both of you stop arguing?” Jemima interrupted. “I don’t care what you call each other, but I think Mary Jane should stay with Lady Alice. It’s safer. Stefan, Samuel knows you saved her. If we both stay with Alice instead, there’s a smaller chance he can find us here.”

“Of course,” Lady Alice said coolly. She pulled the bucket back up and held it toward Mary Jane. Liquid sloshed out of it. “Drink some,” she said. “It’ll help protect you. Protect—but not save. All this water does is surround you with goodwill and thoughts. Don’t think it gives you license to do anything foolish.”

“Goodwill from the well?” Damon quipped. “Why not charge for it?”

Lady Alice glared at Damon. “It’s not for you to understand,” she said crisply.

“Or to drink,” Damon said under his breath as Lady Alice passed the bucket to Mary Jane.

“Thank you,” Mary Jane said, and drank deeply, water running down her chin. I wondered whether the water reall

y was magic. For her sake, I hoped so.

For all our sakes, I hoped so.

“Thank you for your kindness,” I echoed, even though Lady Alice hadn’t been especially kind to us.

The wind had picked up and the sparrows that had perched on the well’s roof scattered. I watched them fly above us, tiny brown dots against the light gray sky, and I remembered the mysterious meeting Cora and I had had with Ephraim. He’d had a raven that responded to his beck and call. Did Lady Alice have a special kinship with these sparrows? With witches, nothing was what it seemed. Even if we were bound in loyalty to Lady Alice, what did that mean? And how would I know whether or not to trust her coven?

“We’ll meet tomorrow at midnight. I’ll be waiting in Kensington Gore to collect you. Don’t be late or my fellow witches may be even less inclined to help you vampires than usual.”

“Kensington Gore?” Damon interrupted.

A shadow of a smile, the first I’d seen from her, appeared on Lady Alice’s face. “Yes. The coven thinks it’s rather amusing, too. It’s just the name of the street, not some occult ritual. It’s right near Royal Albert Hall, where we hold our meetings. Come alone, without candles, stakes, or any other weapons. And be prepared to follow the orders of the coven.” She walked over to me and grabbed my shirt, pulling me toward her with a firm tug.

“Promise that no matter what, you’ll do everything in your power to see that no harm comes to Mary Jane. Do I have your word?”

“You have my word,” I said, each word as deliberate and heavy as an anvil.

“Good.” Lady Alice clapped her hands and the wind died down at once, scattering leaves all over the benches on which we’d been sitting. “I’ll see you tomorrow night. I’ll leave it to you lot to let yourselves out,” she said, nodding slightly. “And remember, we haven’t agreed to anything. But I want to be fair and give you a chance to petition my coven in person. You’ll ask them for vinculum. If they agree, then we’ll go forward. And if they don’t, then the matter is out of my hands.”

“Vinculum?” I asked, my tongue tripping over the unfamiliar word.

Lady Alice nodded crisply. “A bonding spell. Under its terms, two warring groups are bound together. Only a murder by the other side destroys the spell. It’s a bond created so one side may not turn on the other.”

“Is there a reason it can’t be invoked right now? After all, we’re here. We trust you. We’ve already performed the loyalty spell.”

Lady Alice shook her head. “It’s not that simple. That spell simply makes it impossible for either party to reveal any secrets that might be harmful to the other. But vinculum requires each side to agree to put aside their own interests and fight for a common cause. While vampires tend to work on their own, witches are strongest in groups. If my coven agrees, you’ll have their entire support behind you.”

“And if they don’t?” Damon interrupted.

“Then I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you. Of course, I’ll still protect Mary Jane, but you won’t be part of our plan of action,” Lady Alice said in a matter-of-fact tone.

As if to underscore her point, the well began to rumble. Blue and red shoots of water erupted from the opening.

“Quite a magic show. And to think, we didn’t even have to pay a penny,” Damon joked.

“Damon!” I admonished. But the faintest trace of a smile crossed Lady Alice’s face.

“Mark my words, you haven’t seen anything yet, vampire,” she said. “If my coven decides to help you, you’ll witness things beyond your wildest dreams.”

8

“Do you think this is a trap?” Cora murmured as we crept along Kensington Gore, right near Royal Albert Hall. As if on cue, Big Ben chimed far off in the distance. The three of us were exactly in the spot Lady Alice had appointed for us to meet. It was midnight, and Lady Alice—and, for that matter, Mary Jane or Jemima—was nowhere to be seen. On my wrist, the red welt from the loyalty spell throbbed.