The Gates of Paradise

by Melissa de la Cruz

  Lucas Mendrion put up his hand to silence her. “I told you, I don’t want to know.”

  Schuyler frowned.

  “You are very young and very brave. Very much like your mother. She would be proud of you,” Mendrion said.

  Schuyler ignored him. She had no time for his condescension. “You told Kingsley you knew something about the Gate of Promise, about its creation.”

  “No, I never said that.” He shook his head. “I merely told him of my relationship with Gabrielle, and he must have assumed the rest. Why? What do you want to know?”

  “We have the key to the gate,” Schuyler said, choosing her words carefully. “But we don’t know how to use it.”

  Mendrion studied her thoughtfully. “If anyone might know, perhaps Titiana might. She was assigned to Gabrielle’s protection from the beginning, as I was. They were like sisters.”

  “Where can we find her?”

  “Truth be told, I haven’t seen her in centuries,” Mendrion said, holding his glass to Kingsley for another drop of whiskey.

  “Why? What happened to her? A Silver Blood attack?” asked Schuyler.

  Mendrion shook his head. “No, no, nothing like that. Have you heard of the ‘mortalize’ movement?”

  Schuyler nodded. The mortalize movement was a growing trend among the Blue Bloods—vampires choosing to live as mortals—forgetting their history and passing as Red Bloods. She had heard that it happened a lot, especially during the long peaceful years when the Silver Bloods were all but forgotten.

  “I fear that’s what’s happened to Titiana. She’s chosen to turn back against her vampire roots,” Mendrion said.

  Schuyler tried not to feel too aghast. While it had been a burden when she’d first learned her true history and ancestry—she remembered the feeling in her stomach when she was first called to join the Committee—how she had refused to believe it was true—and how she wished she had come from a normal family, and not one where her mother was in a coma and her grandmother was her only link to her past. But to chuck it all away? To pretend to be what you were not? When there was so much at stake?

  Mendrion gave Schuyler a sympathetic smile. “If it helps, I hear that she might be a student at Central Saint Martins. Some sort of fashion designer. Calls herself Tilly St. James.”

  The housekeeper entered the room. “Dinner is ready.”

  Lucas Mendrion turned to the dining room eagerly, but Schuyler cut him off. “I’m afraid I’ve quite lost my appetite. I do hope you understand,” she said coldly. Her meaning was clear.

  There was no room for cowards at her table.

  SIX

  Mimi

  rom the Underworld Express to the London tube, Mimi thought, holding on to the pole in the middle of the crowded commuter car. She had landed at Heathrow and was headed to Euston Station to transfer to another line that would take her to Edinburgh.

  “All right, yeah?” Danel asked from the other side of the pole.

  He had met her at the airport when she’d disembarked from her flight. It had been a somewhat unpleasant surprise. She’d thought she was to carry out her mission alone, but it appeared that the Dark Prince had other plans. She had merited a bodyguard, it seemed.

  “Jet lag,” she told him. She had felt woozy when she’d crossed through Hell’s gate, and was shocked to find it had only been a few months since she and Jack had disappeared into the underworld. It was January and freezing. Thank God she still had access to her credit accounts. The first thing she did was buy a new winter coat.

  “Jet lag,” Danel repeated with a trace of sarcasm in his voice. Up here, the scar on his face was gone. Was it an illusion? Mimi wondered. Like the disguise she had taken? Or was one’s true form only visible in the underworld? For this trip aboveground Mimi had dark hair and eyes. To the rest of the populace, the angel was merely a striking gentleman on the subway.

  Mimi ignored him. Danel here with me, she sent Jack. I need to get rid of him.

  Hold on, Jack replied. I’ll think of something. Get him off your tail.

  No one sent to guard you? she asked.

  Not yet.

  She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or insulted at that. It had been Abbadon’s idea to turn to the Light at the last minute during the War for Paradise, not hers. Abbadon, who had betrayed the Morningstar and won the battle for Michael in the end. She had only followed blindly, doing as her twin bid her, doing as she had always done. She hadn’t had a choice then. She hadn’t even questioned her actions or his.

  What if she had crossed him back then, where would she be right now? What if she had said no? What if she had remained loyal to the Morningstar? Would they have won Paradise? If Lucifer had bested the Almighty, what then?

  In the heat of battle, in the gore and the blood and the passion and the fear, Azrael had done as she was asked by her love: to turn against her general, against the Prince of Heaven. She was the one whose sword had pierced Lucifer’s armor. Not Abbadon’s. Hers. It was Abbadon’s will that had won the war for Michael, but it was Azrael’s sword that had made it a reality.

  “Brooding again?” Danel asked. “You’re very quiet these days. Remembering the last battle, are you?”

  She didn’t lie. “Yes.”

  He nodded. “No one will ever forget what was done to us. It is time for our revenge. And this time, we shall triumph.” His knuckles turned white as he grasped the pole. “Swear it.”

  “I…”

  “LONDON EUSTON!” the loudspeaker blared.

  “This is our stop—” Mimi said. She pushed her way through the crowd and waited for Danel on the platform. She looked around at the signs, for the one that would direct them to their next train.

  Among the rush of commuters, jostled by the crowd, Mimi followed the herd toward the tunnels, and for a long time she didn’t notice him. When she did, she felt a shock to her system, as if an electric bolt had shot up her spine. Every nerve tingled at attention, and her whole body was alight with love and desire.

  What? Did you call me?

  Jack’s voice in her head was a distraction. An annoyance. What did he want? Then she realized—it was the bond between them. Even if it hadn’t been renewed in this lifetime, it was still there, a pulsing thread that kept them together. It had sparked because she had sparked with love, lust, longing.…

  I’m fine. It’s nothing.

  She kept staring at the boy across the station, across the platform, on the other side of the tracks. He was turned away from her, but she recognized his handsome profile immediately, and she could hear his roaring laughter above the noise. Every part of her body hungered for him. If only she could leap across the train tracks and land in his arms—she wanted nothing but to be with him—and yet—she couldn’t. She had to see this through. He couldn’t see her. Danel was with her. It was too dangerous.

  What was he doing?

  Now that the crowd had parted, she saw that Kingsley wasn’t alone at all. There was a girl with him. Correction. There were girls with him. Three of them. Passing a little flask around, giggling, and he had his arm slung over two of them so that the girls were pressing their bodies closely against his.

  Okay, so it wasn’t like he was making out with them or anything, but Mimi felt enraged and hurt nonetheless. She was furious. She had spent so much time working to be good, and this was her reward. So she’d been right as usual: all this sacrificing and suffering was for naught. Kingsley had moved on, and their love meant nothing to him—just like before. But what did she think was going to happen? As far as Kingsley was concerned, they were over. She herself had ended it.

  Why was it that they always had to start over? She had lost her soul to rescue him from Hell, and here he was…acting just like he always did, just as she had feared. What did she expect, really? For Kingsley to change?

  “There you are.” Danel suddenly appeared by her side. “Our train leaves from the other side of the station.”

  Mimi stared at Kingsley in
disgust. When the girl next to him slipped a hand into the back pocket of his jeans, Mimi turned to Danel with a crazed look in her eyes.

  She grabbed his hand and swung him in her direction. “Kiss me!” she hissed, pulling him to her. She threw herself on him, kissing him passionately, as if he were the one she loved with all of her heart and not the boy across the way.

  The angel looked shocked at first, but soon he opened his mouth to hers, and Mimi could tell that he was enjoying it…a little too much. He put his arm around her waist, pulled her hips closer to his. Ugh. There was no question that he was definitely enjoying this. She had to make it stop before it went too far.

  Repulsed, she opened her eyes.

  Across the length of the station, Kingsley was staring straight at her. His dark eyes boring into hers. Did he recognize her under the illusion? Under the disguise? Did he know it was her? He stared at her and Mimi panicked.

  She impulsively crafted a spell that caused the train that had just pulled into the station to speed up instead of slowing down, almost crashing into a few commuters waiting for its doors to open. Several people began to scream while others backed away nervously, and the station master ordered everyone to keep calm over the loudspeaker. Just the distraction she needed.

  Mimi wrenched away and pushed Danel off of her.

  He wiped his lips with his jacket sleeve, his eyes glazed. “Never knew that’s how you felt about me. I mean, Abbadon’s a friend, but we can work something out.…” he said.

  “Shut up,” Mimi said, straining to see across the busy platform.

  But Kingsley was gone.

  SEVEN

  Bliss

  o what do we do now?” Ahramin asked, when nothing worked.

  The passage wouldn’t open, no matter how much they tried. Bliss thought her head was going to spontaneously combust, and she wasn’t alone—the boys were massaging their temples too.

  “This sucks,” Ahramin said. “We need a new plan.”

  “We need to regroup,” Lawson said. “Since we’re back in Hunting Valley, then we should go find Arthur at the cave; maybe he can help us.” Arthur Beauchamp was their patron and their friend; the warlock was the one who had helped the wolves when they’d escaped from the underworld to live aboveground.

  They agreed to the plan, and were about to keep moving when Malcolm stumbled against a tree root. “Can we take a break for a minute? I’m exhausted,” the young boy said.

  “We’re all exhausted,” said Bliss. They had just defeated Romulus and the Hellhounds, and had plunged from that battle to prepare for another. “I think we need to rest and get him something to eat.”

  “The cave’s too far, then. Let’s just find a place right here,” Lawson decided. “You’re right, we might need to take some time to lick our wounds.”

  They made their way through the woods and the suburban maze back to the main center of town. It was cold outside, just like when they’d left. Bliss guessed they had been gone a week since they’d traveled back in time, and she wondered how Jack and Schuyler were faring in Italy, and what Mimi and the rest of them were up to.

  They found a diner and ordered plates of breakfast—pancakes, eggs, waffles—and they fell on to the food hungrily. “You feel better now, Mac?” Bliss asked.

  “A little. I just have a headache—like it feels odd to be here. Like we’re not at the right place, like I woke up from a strange dream that lasted too long.”

  “This might explain it—” Edon said, showing them the newspaper he’d picked up from the next table and pointing at the date.

  “It can’t be,” Lawson said. “No way.”

  “What’s wrong?” Bliss asked, holding her breath.

  “A year,” Edon said. “A whole goddamn year has gone by while we were in the passages.”

  The pack absorbed this information. A whole year of their lives, gone in a blink. Lawson stared at the date on the newspaper. A whole year they had lost, while their enemies were moving, making plans, preparing for battle. How much ground had they lost? Lawson couldn’t speak, and Bliss saw the worry etched clearly on his face—a whole year—what had happened to the wolves who had remained trapped in the underworld?

  “It’s not your fault. Traveling through the passages is unpredictable,” she said.

  “Not this unpredictable,” he argued. “I promised the wolves I would come back, and that was already almost a year ago before this. Who knows what’s happened down there in the meantime?”

  Bliss felt an urge to put her arms around him and console him somehow, but now wasn’t the time, and things had been a little awkward between them since she’d revealed that Lucifer was her father. Sure, she was part of the pack, but it wasn’t the same easy friendship they’d shared before. Not yet, anyway.

  The wolves weren’t their only concern. What had happened to the vampires, Bliss wondered—to her friends? She felt the same urgency Lawson did. She had to know. What if everything was already over? What if the Silver Bloods had already won?

  “We have to find Schuyler,” she said. “Allegra’s other daughter. My…sister.” She wasn’t used to saying it out loud. “I’m supposed to bring the wolves to her. She might know why the passages are closed, or at least help us find a way to open them.”

  “Where is she?” Lawson asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Last time I saw her was at her bonding ceremony, in Italy; but if a year has gone by, there’s no way she’s still there. And without my powers, it’s harder—I have to do things the human way. But there are Conduits who can help us.” She explained the concept of humans who assisted vampires, noting that the boys looked a bit fearful when she talked about her past. Ahramin didn’t seem to care, but that was Ahramin. “The best place to start is New York,” Bliss said.

  “We shouldn’t all go,” Edon said. “Arthur might have answers, too. Some of us should stay behind.”

  “Take Malcolm,” Ahramin said.

  “No—I’ll go with Bliss,” Lawson said suddenly.

  Ahramin raised an eyebrow.

  “You and Edon can take care of things here with Mac and Rafe. I should be the one talking to the vampires,” he decided. “I should speak for the wolves.”

  “Fine,” said Ahramin, as if it didn’t matter either way.

  Malcolm reached out and held Bliss’s hand. “I don’t want us to be separated now that we’re a pack,” he said.

  “Don’t worry,” Bliss said. “My friends will be able to help. Lawson, are you sure about this? I can go alone. It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”

  “Positive,” Lawson said. “I’m coming with you.”

  So it was decided. Lawson and Bliss would travel to find the vampires, while the rest of the pack would regroup with Arthur.

  Bliss rented a car, a subcompact Hyundai, which was a far cry from being chauffeured around in a silver Rolls, but although she still had a working credit card, she had to be careful. After battling hounds and moving through the passages, the ten-hour drive to the city was surprisingly relaxing. Bliss let Lawson take the wheel, even if he drove like a speed demon.

  “Hey, lead foot, give it a break, will you?” she teased. “Sort of following that car closely, aren’t you?”

  “Am I? I didn’t notice,” he said, giving her a sheepish grin.

  For a moment Bliss was keenly reminded of the night they’d spent together, when they had almost…well. No point in thinking of that now. It was just a mistake anyway. Lawson had been mourning Tala, the mate he had lost, and Bliss had been too drunk to truly understand what was happening. They were friends, and that’s all they were going to be. She decided not to press. What was more annoying than a girl who wanted everything spelled out? What’s going on with us? How do you feel about me? She cringed at the thought that she could be so needy.

  So instead she filled the time by telling him about vampire society, about the Committee meetings, the life cycles of rest and reincarnation, the Covens and the Conduits,
and Schuyler’s quest to protect the Gates of Hell from the threat of the Silver Blood demons.

  “I know it’s a lot to lay on you right now,” she said.

  “The better I understand what’s going on, the more helpful I can be,” he replied. “Don’t worry, I like listening to you.”

  She smiled at him but didn’t want to let herself think that everything would go back to normal—what was normal, anyway?—but it was comforting to know that maybe they could resume their friendship.

  “So what’s our strategy?” he asked, as they drove through Pennsylvania.

  “First, we go to Schuyler’s house, see if she’s there. She probably won’t be, but it’s worth a shot. Then we go to Oliver’s.”

  “Her Conduit, right?”

  He’d been paying attention. “He used to be, anyway. That’s a whole other story, and not worth getting into right now. Last I heard, he was serving as Conduit for Mimi Force.”

  “Jack’s twin. I’m starting to catch on, I think.”

  They drove the rest of the way without speaking, listening to the radio. A year didn’t change much, Bliss thought. Most of the songs were the same ones she’d heard before, and the new ones sounded just like the old ones.

  When they reached Manhattan, Bliss directed Lawson to the Upper West Side. She noted with some amusement that Lawson’s driving seemed to be getting more cautious now that he was around the aggressive New York City taxi drivers.

  “Okay, just double-park in front of that building,” she said, pointing to an elegant, if slightly shabby, mansionette on Riverside Drive. “We can always move the car if Schuyler’s here.”

  “Are you sure? What if we get a ticket?” he asked, but he did as she suggested. Quite a change of pace—she was used to either being in Lawson’s world or in a place neither of them was familiar with. Here she was at home, and it felt good to be in charge.

  No surprise to find Schuyler not at home. The brownstone was shuttered, the curtains drawn, and the place looked as if it had been abandoned. Bliss directed Lawson to the Upper East Side, and going crosstown took almost an hour in the early evening traffic. “That was hell,” he grumbled.