“You?” Jack glanced his way. “You’re squeamish. You dislike the sight of blood. You couldn’t help us melt the flesh from a corpse. No. I appreciate the offer, but no. My sister’s death is my responsibility, and no one else’s.”

They had reached the base of a narrow stone stairway. Jack stopped, taking a deep breath, and turned to the others.

“It may seem hypocritical to do this now, but I feel I must offer you the opportunity to stay behind,” she said. “You’ve been invaluable in getting me to this point. From here, I can continue alone.”

“You won’t win alone,” said Sumi.

Jack inclined her head. “In all likelihood, no. But I’ll feel less as if I’ve drawn my only friends to their doom. I’d prefer it if you accompanied me. I am … afraid. More so than I expected to be. One way or another, no one is going to refer to ‘the Wolcott sisters’ after tonight, because there won’t be any. If I fail, if I fall, please take Alexis back to the school. She won’t be safe here.”

“We will,” said Kade. “But you’re not going to fail, and you’re not leaving us behind.”

“I drowned because of this girl,” said Cora. “I’m seeing this through to the end.”

Christopher said nothing, only nodded and ran his fingers along the flute he clutched so tightly in his hands.

Jack sighed, and smiled, and turned to begin the long, slow walk up the stairs, toward the castle heights, to where a vampire and his daughter waited.

14 CAME TUMBLING AFTER

THE STAIRS WENT on for the better part of what felt like forever, until all of them were plodding, and even Sumi had stopped trying to pick up the pace. When they finally reached the top, Jack paused, pressing one hand against her chest, and wheezed.

“Would it have killed her to go jogging once in a while?” she asked, a note of fear behind the peevishness. She was going into battle while wearing a body whose limitations she didn’t understand and had no time to learn. “I swear, ‘I’m going to become a deathless creature of the night’ is not a substitute for a comprehensive fitness plan.”

“Maybe you should let us go in first,” said Kade.

Jack shook her head. “That’s not how these things are done,” she said.

“I never thought you were stupid,” said Sumi. When Jack whipped around to glare at her, she shrugged. “Doing something you know could get you hurt because it’s how things are done isn’t smart.”