Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries 4: The Ripper by L J Smith

Author:L J Smith [Smith, L J]
Language: inh
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic
ISBN: 9781444910018
Google: 9PI5QQbm6xwC
Publisher: Hachette Children's Books
Published: 2012-01-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Somehow, I got through the rest of the party. The only thing that saved me from my obsessive thoughts was Violet. She was enchanted by everything, and Damon’s friends seemed equal y enchanted by her. They thought her accent was bewitching, and Charlotte and her actress friends enjoyed the hero worship that Violet bestowed upon them. Damon, for his part, kept his distance, and spent the majority of the party smoking with Samuel on the sidelines. I sat apart from everyone, reading the letter from the kil er over and over again, hoping there was some clue in the words. The Ripper had sent the letter along with what he’d said was a kidney of one of his victims. My stomach turned, but not so much as it did when I read the last line of his letter.

Catch me while you can.

It had been addressed to a newspaper reporter, so the kil er had to have known that the letter would appear in the paper. Was it some sort of coded message for me, or Damon? Was it a chal enge?

And was I up for it?

That’s what I didn’t know as I sat in the Ten Bel s that night. I’d escorted Violet to her shift, not wanting her to venture across London in the dark on her own. She’d insisted on wearing her new dress so she’d be prepared if we received a last-minute invitation to a party from Damon. But even though she was wearing an apron, the dress was already covered in stains from beer and whiskey. I could tel she was miserable. But at least she was safe.

I shifted uneasily in my chair and glared darkly toward the entrance. Every time the bel would ring announcing a new client I perked up, sure it was Damon, only to see yet another drunk builder or overly perfumed woman stagger in. Of course he wasn’t going to come. I’d been foolish to believe him, and more foolish stil to have sat waiting for him for the past several hours. When would I stop trying to depend on him?

“Hi, Stefan. Would you like anything?” Violet asked as she trudged toward my table, her shoulders slumped morosely. Her hair was sweaty and pul ed back, her lipstick had smeared, and she looked nothing like her glamorous American actress alter ego. Worse stil , she knew it.

“A dark ale, please,” I said when I caught her eye. I offered a smile, but it didn’t make a difference in her mood.

She nodded. “I can’t wait to get out of here,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Before, I never knew what I was missing, so it didn’t seem so terrible. But now, knowing everyone is drinking and dancing while I’m here . . .” She sighed, her pale pink lower lip trembling.

“Al that glitters is not gold,” I murmured, pul ing a half-remembered Shakespeare phrase from my memory. Something about the language soothed me, and I hoped it would soothe Violet.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.