richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

"Lissa," I exclaimed. "Stop it. Make him stop.”
"He should have stopped earlier.”
I barely recognized the look on her face. I'd never seen her so upset, and I'd certainly never seen
her do anything like this. I knew what it was, of course. I knew right away. Compulsion. For all
I knew, she was seconds away from having him turn the bat on himself.
"Please, Lissa. Don't do it anymore. Please.”
Through the fuzzy, alcoholic buzz, I felt a trickle of her emotions. They were strong enough to
practically knock me over. Black. Angry. Merciless. Startling feelings to be coming from sweet
and steady Lissa. I'd known her since kindergarten, but in that moment, I barely knew her.
And I was afraid.
"Please, Lissa," I repeated. "He's not worth it. Let him go.”
She didn't look at me. Her stormy eyes were focused entirely on Wade. Slowly carefully, he
lifted up the bat, tilting it so that it lined up with his own skull.
"Liss," I begged. Oh God. I was going to have to tackle her or something to make her stop.
"Don't do it.”
"He should have stopped," Lissa said evenly. The bat quit moving. It was now at exactly the
right distance to gain momentum and strike. "He shouldn't have done that to her. People can't
treat other people like that—even feeders.”
"But you're scaring her," I said softly. "Look at her.”
Nothing happened at first, then Lissa let her gaze flick toward the feeder. The human girl still
sat huddled in a corner, arms wrapped around herself protectively. Her blue eyes were
enormous, and light reflected off her wet, tear-streaked face. She gave a choked, terrified sob.
Lissa's face stayed impassive. Inside her, I could feel the battle she was waging for control.
Some part of her didn't want to hurt Wade, despite the blinding anger that otherwise filled her.
Her face crumpled, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her right hand reached out to her left wrist