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"Then you don’t care about the others, the cursed, as ritted out "I care about theave you what you wanted, would you give me a blood oath not to ever hurt the vampires or the wolves?"

"No Of course not None of us would"

The other witches laughed at hi, Jennifer the loudest a theainst us, aiding them If that’s the case, you will never walk out of this cave"

So they would kill hi Before she could ears If he could soften her, just a little, he could gain the upper hand Maybe

"The soul, the one who could possess other bodies," Aden began "What was he to you? To any of you?"

Caleb went eerily silent, waiting

Marie shrugged, but a vulnerable glea," she said, then gave an angry shake of her head "And now," she added, standing, "ill leave you We have reached a stalemate, and you need time to think And perhaps you should consider the fact that I could have and should have killed your friend Mary Ann days ago, but I didn’t I let her go For you I have regretted the action ever since, and my sense of mercy has been depleted The more you resist us, the less I want you happy"

Wait What? "You never wantedto order," he de

The others pushed to their feet

"As you left me bound," Jennifer said, "we leave you bound Maybe the isolation will loosen your tongue"

"I de to order!"

One by one, they strode from the cave, silent Jennifer watched him until the last possible second Marie stopped at the dark, yawning mouth and looked back at hiht, your friends die I a war You knohat you have to do to save them" With that, she, too, left hi to order; over and over he pleaded, even though he was alone, his voice echoing off the cavern walls,at the ivy until blood ran

The vine never gave, and the witches never returned

TWENTY-NINE

ANOTHER SUMMONS

Tucker tried to resist Tried with every bit of strength he possessed But Vlad’s voice called to him--Come to me--and his feet le step

He jumped fro his entire body He’d been watching his six-year-old brother play in the drizzling cold, nose wet, coat soaked, hands shivering as he talked to an invisible friend

Twice Tucker had almost revealed himself Both times, he’d convinced himself Ethan was better off without him and remained hidden Now, as he strode away, he felt a hollow ache where his heart should have been He would never go back, he decided Ethan was all that was good, all that was right, with a bright future ahead Tucker had never caused hi but pain

It was past time for a clean break

The ache intensified This is for the best

Tucker blanked his hborhood and into tohere it seemed everyone he knew--or rather, once kneas stuck in partybeer bottles at the buildings Others were on the streets, dancing to a beat no one else could hear A blond hair and skin so fair it practically glowed

She would look a kid in the eye, speak, and that kid would shake his head She would speak again, then the kid’s shoulders would slu, before he bent down and cleaned up the ht had long since fallen The ht weren’t exactly true, he knew, since Victoria could stand outside all day without consequences Vlad, though…would he burn to ash? A guy could hope

Coht With dread With happiness Vlad was no longer in his crypt He was here, in town Hidden

Tucker rounded the corner of the local laundromat but saw only a cardboard box He frowned Still He knew, as he always seemed to know, exactly where Vlad was He bent down and peered inside Yes, there was Vlad, a dead hu down his chin

Most of the king’s body was still charred, still black with deadened skin, but patches of pale, smooth flesh were visible

"Next time yousaid calh hiaze returned to the dead man, whose neck was torn apart as if a wild animal had feasted A painful way to die Vlad had fed fro that last visit, yes, but only briefly, and only as a warning If that had been misery incarnate… He shuddered and each of his already scarred puncture wounds throbbed "Yes I understand"