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Stefan hadn’t had a plan when he agreed to stay in Matt’s place He just knew he had to save Matt, and now he hoped Damon would co insistent pain that was alnore He tried oncehiht as far as he could to try and loosen his restraints, but it was hopeless He couldn’t shift them

He looked around dazedly The rooain now, as it had when he first kicked in the door A good place for a secret society

Torches burned brightly, floere arranged around the makeshift altar The Vitales had taken the ties

The ropes were crossed over his chest and stomach and wound around his back; his ankles and knees were tied to the chair legs, his elbows and wrists to the arms of the chair He was Welltrussed, but it was the ones around his wrists that hurt ainst his bare skin And they burned

"They’re soaked in vervain so that you’l be too weak to break free, but I’ a bit," Ethan said pleasantly, as if he was explaining an interesting eleuest "See, I may be new at this, but I know al the tricks" Stefan rested his head against the back of the chair and looked at Ethan with fervent dislike "Not all of the tricks, I suspect"

Ethan was cocky, but Stefan was pretty sure he hadn’t been a va If Ethan was stil huuessed he would look more or less the same as he did now

Ethan crouched down in front of Stefan’s chair to look up into his face, wearing the same warm, friendly smile as when he’d tried to convince Stefan to join them He looked like a pleasant fel ow, solared at him The smile was a lie

Ethan was a kil er whose mask was less obvious than those of the other Vitale vaht about that," Ethan said thoughtful y "I iine there are al kinds of tricks you’ve picked up in, what is it, more than five hundred years?

Tricks that I don’t know yet You could be very useful to me in that way, if you decide to join us after alThere are lots of things you can teach us about al this vaain "I’ve always been a good student"

Vampire stuff "What do you want froht, a long feeeks, and the vervain-soaked ropes were hurting his arhts

Ethan kne old he was Ethan knehat to offer him when they first talked about the Vitale Society It wasn’t a coincidence that he was the one in this roo for just any vampire "What’s your plan here?" Stefan asked

Ethan’s s an invincible vampire army, of course," he said cheerful y "I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but it’s al about power And power’s never ridiculous" He licked his lips nervously, showing a flash of thin pink tongue "See, I used to just be one of the ordinary little people I was just like everyone else on carades on exae club You wouldn’t believe how laic and nature worship" He ri eured out how to get soures caer to Stefan "Hang on a sec, okay?" He rose and turned to talk to his lieutenant

After tying Stefan up, Ethan had efficiently gone back to draining the pledges, one after another, dropping the bodies as soon as he finished with theh their transitions now and were back on their feet

They see at one another and gazing at Ethan with undisguised adoration

Typical new vahly, they would hover on the brink of madness, and it would be easy for Ethan to lose control of theerous

"The pledges need to eat," Ethan said calmly to the robed woman behind him "Five of you should take the party and pick whoever you want to go with you The rest wil stay here and help guard our guest"

Stefan watched as the Vitales sorted theht of Ethan’s fol owers re theed to kil one other during the fight, ripping her throat out, but the body had been tidied away soave a little involuntary ht - he was so tired, and the vervain was starting to hurt hi wrists, but anywhere the ropes touched hih his clothes Daht

"You’re going to unleash nine newly made va back to the matter at hand "Ethan, they’l kill people People ere your friends, maybe You’l draw attention to yourselves There are already police al over campus

Please, take them to the woods to hunt ani note enter his own voice as Ethan only so to Disneyland "Co since you were a human, too You can’t want to stand by and have innocent students htly on the shoulder as he started to walk over to confer with another of his hench, Stefan I want them at their peak by the next equinox And we’ve kil ed plenty of innocent students already," he said over his shoulder