“A vampire,” Mary Jane said simply. At the word, the orphans all turned to stare at me. Gus’s jaw dropped, and I wondered if, like Mary Jane, they immediately knew my true nature.
“While I was on my way to meet up with you lot last night, I got taken from the streets and brought down to the docks,” Mary Jane explained. “Luckily, Stefan here saved me before my attacker could do any real damage.”
“Yes, but why was Stefan there in the first place?” the older boy asked, rising to his feet and glaring at me. “He’s a vampire, too, you know.”
I stepped forward, turning my palms to the air as if to show I had nothing to hide. “I am a vampire, it’s true. But that vampire, Samuel, kidnapped my brother. He’s evil, and he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. And what he wants includes Mary Jane. I was only able to wound him, and he’ll be back. Soon.” My gaze flicked between the witches. I knew I had to somehow convince them that Samuel was a worthy enemy—one we needed to work together to defeat.
“So why are you here?” Gus asked. It was clear from the tone of his voice that his terror had turned into mistrust. He was wearing spectacles, and the flames reflected in them gave his moon-shaped, pimpled face a vaguely sinister sheen.
“Because we need witches on our side to fight Samuel,” I said simply.
“What if we say no?” the older boy asked, crossing his arms and stepping up toward me as if he were challenging me to a fight.
“Billy!” Mary Jane said sharply, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. Then, she turned toward me. “Sorry. As I’m sure you know, we don’t trust vampires as a rule. But you’re different than most. We just have to adjust.”
“If you saved Mary Jane, then I trust you,” Vivian said shyly. She looked about fifteen years old and had long curly brown hair that fanned over her thin shoulders. The irises of her eyes were so dark her pupils seemed to disappear into them.
“Vivian helps with our spells,” Mary Jane said by way of introduction. “She reads everything, then she works out how to say it.”
The girl nodded proudly, a flicker of a
smile crossing her face. “I do,” she affirmed. “Mostly I’m successful, but I’ll admit there are still some improvements I could make.”
“She set the last place we lived on fire,” Gus piped up.
“I did not! It was just a little hole in the floor. Gus, stop being dramatic.”
“Well, whatever spells you can do would be a huge help,” I interrupted before the conversation turned into a verbal sparring match. “We know where Samuel lives. We know he’s the culprit behind the Jack the Ripper killings. And we know that something Mary Jane did staved him off. Now all we have to do is figure out how we can strengthen that spell and find a way to catch him off guard.”
“What did you do?” Gus asked Mary Jane suspiciously. I noticed he was wearing newspapers tied to his feet instead of shoes and I wondered how badly off the orphans were. Couldn’t they use magic to procure clothes, or did some code of honesty prevent that?
“Well, that’s just the thing, Gus. I don’t know. He attacked me and threw me to the ground, and I kept thinking of the magnets Vivian had shown us a while back,” Mary Jane explained as she sat and warmed her hands by the fire. I noticed Cora hugging her body tightly. I heard the wind whistling around the room and could see Mary Jane’s breath as she spoke. I nudged Cora, urging her to stand nearer to the fire, but she stayed at my side.
Vivian leaned excitedly toward Mary Jane. “So the repel spell worked?”
“Well, sort of,” Mary Jane said. “I couldn’t hold it for too long. Samuel broke through and was about to kill me, but then Stefan stepped in.”
“All right,” Gus said, turning his attention to me. “So, let’s say we do come up with a few spells to defeat Samuel and help you save your brother. What’s in it for us? Why should we risk our lives for you?”
“I can get you out of here,” I said confidently. “Into a far better home.”
“Can you, vampire?” The door slammed shut as a girl entered the room. She strode toward me and pressed her index finger into my chest. Her face was all angles, reminding me of a bird, and her dishwater-blond hair was lifeless and strawlike. She wasn’t pretty, except for her large gray eyes, which darted back and forth as if she were a wolf tracking its prey. It was clear that Jemima acted as the ring-leader of this particular group, simultaneously serving as both mother and disciplinarian. I knew she was trying to protect the house, but I still didn’t appreciate her distrustful gaze.
Beneath her touch, my skin began to burn. I shifted uncomfortably. What was she doing?
“I’m Stefan, and this is my friend Cora. We’re friends of Mary Jane’s. I saved her life last night.”
“So I heard. The house isn’t exactly big. I know who you are. And how exactly do you plan to get us out of here? Will you lie? Compel? Kill a family, then steal their home?”
“Jemima, stop it,” Mary Jane said sharply. “We owe him something.”
“I don’t owe him anything,” Jemima said, keeping her steady gaze on me. “Mary Jane, you almost got killed. I know he saved you, but how do you know he has your best interests at heart? You know vampires don’t have beating hearts, let alone souls. That’s why…” She stopped short. “That’s why I need to ask him a few questions. Get him to reveal his intentions,” she said cryptically.
“Go ahead, I have no secrets,” I said. The truth shall set you free. It had been one of my father’s favorite quotations and his motivation for naming our Virginia estate Veritas—Latin for “truth.” I hoped the wisdom applied equally to vampires and humans.
“How many people have you killed?” Jemima asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.
I glanced around the room, knowing nobody would like my answers. Even Cora was gazing at me quizzically, a hardened expression in her eyes. In the semidarkness, surrounded by six pairs of glittering eyes, I felt like the witches could peer into my mind and know what I was thinking even before I said it. I had to tell the truth. But I wasn’t even sure if I knew it myself.