“No!” I shout. “Let her go!” I lean my weight against that of the demon, but cannot hope to stop its progress now. Violet shrieks and the creature, seeming to tire of her, coolly, heartlessly, twists her head in his arm. The sound of her slender neck snapping is unbearably clear.

“Violet!”

There is a second, an instant in time which seems to stand still, where the beast teeters on the brink of the abyss. In that moment I am overwhelmed with sadness for my lost friend, with rage at the awful creature. And then it falls, taking Violet’s body with it. And as it falls the rope becomes taut again so that I am yanked toward the hole after it, the Silver Thread still wound tightly around my wrist.

I know I should let go, but the need to hold on to Violet, to bring her back, is instinctive and defies the logic of the situation.

From behind me, I hear the Master of the Chalice call out in desperation, “Release the thread’s hold, child!”

“I cannot! Violet!” I scream, even as I am dragged farther across the floor, my own grasp on the slender rope slipping as sweat coats my palms.

“You must!” Lord Grimes insists.

Suddenly I am aware of someone standing in the circle with me. It is Druscilla. She raises her hand and calls in a clear, firm voice, “Maygor, release!” In less than a heartbeat the rope slips from my arm, dropping to the ground, dull and inert, a simple cord once more.

I lie where I have fallen, gasping, my toes at the very edge of the pit, my breath ragged, fear and exertion causing my body to tremble. My shift is in shreds, and my legs bloodied from being scraped by the stone floor. Slowly I climb to my feet. As I watch, the hole within the wax circle closes over and seals itself. I raise my head, letting my gaze sweep over the shocked witches around me. Violet is gone. The demon that I summoned snuffed out her life as if she were nothing. My sorrow, my guilt, my horror at what I have allowed to happen render me speechless. At last I feel Druscilla’s cool hand on my shoulder.

“You must claim your title, Lilith.”

“I cannot! I have failed. Poor, dear Violet…”

“… loved you. She would not wish you to falter now. You passed the Proof of Worth.”

“I let Violet die!”

“There is more at stake here than one life, do you not see that?” she snaps. “You summoned a demon and returned it to the Darkness as required. Claim your title now, or everything will have been for nothing. The Lazarus Coven must have its leader, and that must be you!”

I struggle to make sense of what she is saying, of what has happened. How can I claim to have succeeded when I let Violet die? How can I?