Masquerade bb-2

by Мелисса Де Ла Круз

  Like almost everybody in the room, for one brief moment, he had believed that Gabrielle, Allegra Van Alen, had returned to them.

  FOURTEEN

  The Four Hundred Ball, also known as the Patrician Ball, never wavered from the tradition set by its original organizers in the late nineteenth century, when the Blue Bloods first came into prominent position in society. The ten-course meal, with breaks in between for dancing, was set on $75,000-a-piece gold service—solid gold plates, gold flatware, and gold-crusted crystal goblets.

  Along the length of the four rectangular tables, with a hundred seats at each, was a pile of sand, and each place setting was set with a golden trowel. Guests were encouraged to "dig" for treasure—their parting gifts. The Committee had been able to convince sponsors to provide expensive, eye-popping jewelry set with rubies, sapphires, and diamonds as party favors. The Junior Committee, led by Mimi, had added a modern touch: "alphabet" necklaces from Me & Ro, intricate Peruvian peacock earrings by Zani, and the most coveted piece of the season, Kaviar and Kind's diamond-encrusted shark-tooth pendant.

  The menu was just the same as it had been on the night of the first Patrician Ball: a first course of Consommé Olga, then Filet Mignons Lili, Vegetable Marrow Farcie, followed by a roast duckling and sirloin of beef, accompanied by creamed carrots and parmentier potatoes.

  Several towering ice sculptures depicting New York's greatest monuments and institutions, including the new MOMA building, renovations funded by Blue Blood money, and the proposed Frank Gehry port, championed by none other than Senator Llewellyn himself, were arranged next to the bars that lined the room, and champagne flowed from hidden spigots in the ice.

  Mimi barely touched her food, getting up from her seat to circulate among the glittering crowd. Every prestigious family in New York, all the old names were represented: the Van Horns, the Schlumbergers, the Wagners, the Stewarts, the Howells and the Howlands, the Goulds and the Goelets, the Bancrofts and the Barlows. Members of the clan who had remained in England were represented, as well as several more exotic branches. A vastly rich Blue Blood family who had splintered from the main group centuries ago and settled in what was now modern China had just arrived from Shanghai, a city that they had recently helped rebuild. Their sixteenyear-old twin daughters, two gorgeous long-limbed Chinese socialites, would be among those presented at the ball that evening.

  But there was no family more respected or revered than the Forces. Mimi was a princess among her people, and she walked through them, accepting their admiration, their deference.

  She looked for her brother. He had been by her side all evening but had disappeared between the fish and meat course. By all rights they should be doing this together. Tonight was the night the coven would recognize that they had found each other, and that when the time came, they would be renewing their immortal vows.

  Where was he?

  She cast her mind across the room, looking for his signal. Ah, there he was, by the head table, talking to a friend on the lacrosse team, Bryce Cutting. She saw him stop and look in her direction with a sudden, joyous smile on his face.

  She smiled back and waved at him, but he didn't return the wave.

  Annoyed, she turned around—maybe he wasn't looking at her after all?

  And that's when she noticed who was standing right behind her, at the top of the staircase, commanding the attention of the entire ballroom.

  Schuyler Van Alen.

  In a dress that even Mimi herself would die to wear.

  Schuyler found her seat next to the dour parents of Aggie Carondolet. It was apparent that the Carondolets had felt slighted by their seating, and they hardly spoke a word to Schuyler except to inform her that they were truly sad about Cordelia. She found Bliss sitting by herself at the front table, and waved to her. Bliss waved back. "Come over," Bliss mouthed.

  She gathered up her gold skirts and walked over to Bliss's side. The two girls hugged warmly.

  "Sky, I have to tell you something—about Dylan," Bliss said.

  "Oh?" Schuyler raised an eyebrow.

  "I think he's…" but before Bliss could finish, a boy walked over and asked her to dance.

  "Sure." Bliss shrugged. "I'll tell you later," she said to Schuyler.

  Schuyler nodded. As she dejectedly walked back to her seat, she wondered what Bliss was about to tell her. Bliss was her only friend at the ball. What was Schuyler doing here, anyway? Why had she come? For Cordelia? For the Van Alen name? No. She had to be honest. And this was where the truth hurt. She had wanted to see Jack Force again. But it was agony.

  There he was, attentively at his sister's side, the two of them gliding through the ballroom, entwined at the hip. Jack keeping a hand on Mimi's tiny waist. Schuyler had heard whispers from the Elders and the Wardens at the adjoining table…something about a bond…something about the two of them and an immortal vow. The next course was served, roast squab and a cold asparagus vinaigrette. It looked delicious, but the food tasted dry and mealy on her tongue.

  “Jack," Mimi whispered softly in his ear as they made their way around the room. "It's time." Ever practical, she decided to ignore what she had seen earlier. Mimi was a master of selfdeception. If something bothered her, she refused to even acknowledge its existence. In her mind, Schuyler Van Alen was a temporary, if annoying, infatuation.

  But for Jack, the sight of Schuyler Van Alen had only served to ignite a feeling he had been repressing for months. A disquieting thought nagged at his conscience. Why did Schuyler affect him in such a powerful way? Was it the resemblance to Allegra? Was that all? Or was it something new…something he wasn't prepared for and didn't expect? He shook his head, disgusted and ashamed of himself. His rightful place was by his sister's side. He would just have to act as if Schuyler did not exist.

  "They are waiting for us to lead the quadrille," Mimi said, and Jack dutifully escorted his sister to the dance floor, where three other young couples were waiting. It was part of Four Hundred tradition that the young who were going to be presented would lead in this dance, and the teens in the foremost quadrille were chosen because of their family's hierarchy in The Committee. Aggie Carondolet would have been one of the dancers had she lived.

  Mimi thought the quadrille was just a fancy name for square dancing, but she enjoyed it even so, as Jack led her through the cross-over, the balance, and then the circle eight, ending with the four ladies' grand chain, which placed her in the front of the group, as it should be.

  After the dance, the Blue Blood teens remained frozen in their position in the middle of the dance floor, waiting to be formally presented to the assembly, called out by their current and true names by the Regis.

  "Dehua Chen," was called, and one of the imperial Chinese beauties stepped forward.

  "Known to our people by her true name, Xi Wangmu." The Angel of Immortality.

  "Deming Chen." Her sister was called next. The two of them were identical in their serene, otherworldly beauty, with skin the color of toasted milk; silky-straight, ebony-black hair; sexily slanted almond eyes; and an incongruous splattering of freckles across their button noses.

  "Known to our people by her true name, Kuan Yin." The Angel of Mercy.

  Several other Blue Blood teens were called, rounding out the former heavenly pantheon.

  At last, a lone spotlight was shone on the Force twins. Mimi gripped her brother's hand tightly.

  "Madeleine Force." Mimi stepped forward, her chin held high.

  "Known to our people by her true name, Azrael." The Angel of Death.

  "Benjamin Force." Jack bowed his head.

  "Known to our people by his true name, Abbadon." The Angel of Destruction.

  The twin Angels of the Apocalypse. This was their immortal destiny. This was their place.

  The clan's most powerful vampires after the Uncorrupted. Lucifer's former lieutenants, who had turned their backs on the Prince of Heaven after the Fall. In Rome, they had hunted and slain the Silver Blood spawn. Only by their str
ength had the Blue Bloods survived the millennia.

  Jack smiled at Mimi, and they both bowed low to the coven.

  They had their work cut out for them.

  FIFTEEN

  The coffee had been served in its golden carafes, and dessert—the traditional Waldorf pudding along with peaches in chartreuse jelly, as well as chocolate and vanilla éclairs and a light-as-air meringue cake topped with Amaretto whipped cream—had been served and (lightly) consumed. Powdered cheeks were pressed against powdered cheeks in good-bye. A wonderful time had been had, it was agreed, and a ridiculous amount of money had been raised, breaking records from last year, even.

  All around the St. Regis Ballroom, Mimi's text messages were being delivered. For select vampire teens, the evening had just begun.

  After-party. Angel Orensanz. Midnight. Masks A Must. No Text. No Entry.

  There was a buzzing through the crowd by the cloakroom and the elevators among the invitees, as well as cries of confusion and disappointment among those who had not received the text.

  "Are you going to change?" Bliss asked Mimi, following her out the door.

  "Are you crazy? I'm going to wear this dress until they pry it off my cold dead body," Mimi joked. "Come upstairs. We have the best selection of masks.”

  Mimi was in high spirits. The ball had been a blast and all, but now it was time to par-tay.

  Schuyler walked out to the sidewalk, hugging her black fur coat, an old one of Cordelia's, around her shoulders. She found Julius, her grandmother's driver, waiting patiently for her by the curb in the old Crown Victoria.

  "Where to?”

  She was about to say "home" when her phone buzzed. Oliver, for sure. Nope. It was a text message from a blocked number.

  Directing her to Angel Orensanz, the abandoned synagogue on the Lower East Side.

  Masks a must? What was this all about?

  "Did you get the message?" Cicely Appelgate called excitedly from the next car over.

  Cicely was part of Mimi's crew, and Schuyler wondered why she was bothering to talk to her.

  "Uh, yeah.”

  "See you there!" Cicely said gaily. "Great dress, by the way!" she added admiringly. "My mom said it's definitely vintage Chanel.”

  So that was it. Sometimes it seemed to Schuyler that high school was so silly. If you dressed a certain way, or looked a certain way, or had the "right" things—like a designer handbag, or the newest cell phone, or an expensive watch—your life was much easier. Schuyler never had any of those things. Cordelia had been strict with her allowance, and she had always been the kid in secondhand sweaters and items from last year's clearance bin.

  But the dress, and the fact that it was from a respected and expensive design house, had changed Cicely's perception of her. For the evening, at least.

  "Home, Miss Schuyler?”

  She had promised to call Oliver the minute she left the party. She had told him that she was only going to stay for a few minutes and depart soon after dinner, but it was already eleven thirty. He would be jet-lagged, Schuyler thought. He's probably passed out in front of the television by now.

  The text message must be for the party downtown that other kids at the ball were talking about—the buzz about Mimi Force hosting some kind of bacchanal that evening. Should she go?

  What could it hurt? Besides, if Mimi was there, that meant Jack would be there too. She thought of how handsome he'd looked in his coattails, and the way he'd stared at her when she'd entered the party, his green eyes boring into hers. Not too long ago, he had been the one who was hellbent to find out the truth about the Silver Bloods, but he had backed off all of a sudden. But maybe there was still a chance she could convince him to join her in her fight. Since her grandfather had refused to help, she was now adrift. But with Jack at her side…She made up her mind.

  "Let's go home, Julius, but just for a minute," Schuyler decided. "I just need to pick up something. A souvenir from Venice. Then we're going downtown.”

  New York Herald Archives NOVEMBER 24, 1871 ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS DISAPPEARANCE OF FORMER FIANCEE English Lord to Marry Vanderbilt Heiress The formal announcement of the engagement of Caroline Vanderbilt, the daughter of Admiral and Elizabeth Vanderbilt of 800 Fifth Avenue, to Alfred, Lord Burlington, of London and Devonshire, is the sequel to the mysterious disappearance of Lord Burlington's former fiancée, Maggie Stanford, the daughter of Tiberius and Dorothea Stanford of Newport.

  Maggie Stanford mysteriously disappeared on the night of the Patrician Ball held at Admiral and Elizabeth Vanderbilt's home over a year ago upon the announcement of her engagement to Lord Burlington. The engagement was broken eight months ago while Maggie Stanford was still missing.

  As yet, the wedding day of the couple has not been set.

  SIXTEEN

  Like many of the guests, when Bliss arrived at the after-party, she gasped in delight. The abandoned synagogue was lit by a thousand tea light candles, casting long and gloomy shadows on the walls. Mimi was right, it looked like a beautiful ruin, and there was something spooky and romantic about dancing only in firelight.

  The masks lent the evening an eerie glamour, since all the guests were still in their ball finery. The boys were so handsome in their tailcoats, and the girls gorgeous in their couture ball gowns, and everyone looked a little bit wicked with all those masks.

  Bliss fixed the feathered and jeweled mask on her face. It was a little hard to see everyone from behind it. She noticed Schuyler arrive. Good. Bliss had forwarded the message to Schuyler without Mimi knowing.

  The DJ was spinning Bauhaus, a dark, violent tune, "Burning from the inside…”

  A boy in white tie and tails walked up to Bliss, his face hidden underneath a sad Pierrot mask.

  He motioned toward the dance floor.

  Bliss nodded and followed him. He held out his hands and she stepped into his embrace.

  "So you have survived," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear, so that she could feel his breath blow softly.

  "Excuse me?”

  "I would have hated to let you drown." He chuckled.

  "You…”

  He put a finger to his lips, or rather to the lips of the Pierrot mask.

  "I missed you…" Bliss said. Dylan. It had to be him. He had found her again. How clever to show up at a masquerade party, where he could appear without causing a fuss.

  "I haven't been gone for long," he said earnestly.

  "I know, but I was worried….”

  "Don't be. Everything will be all right.”

  “Are you sure?”

  "Yes.”

  Bliss danced joyfully. He had returned! He had returned to be with her. She was elated.

  The song ended. The boy in the mask bowed low “A pleasure.”

  "Wait " Bliss called, but already he had disappeared into the throng, and when she looked around, she saw a dozen boys dressed similarly in their black tails, but none were wearing a mask with a sad clown face, one tear glinting below the eye.

  Schuyler walked despondently from room to room. She should have called Oliver after all, if only to have some company. This party didn't seem to be as exclusive as the Four Hundred Ball. She noticed a few of her human classmates were there looking a bit nervous, as if they weren't sure they were welcome. She could tell human from vampire: the vampires glowed in the dark—the gift of Illuminata made them recognizable to each other.

  Deep in the shadows behind the columns, several couples were availing of the dark to neck—"necking" taking on quite a different meaning among the vampire teens. She could hear the deep, sucking sounds as vampires fed on their human familiars, the throbbing beat of blood and life force exchanged from one being to the next. Afterward, the vampires glowed even more, their features sharper and more distinct, while the humans looked vacant and listless.

  One day, Schuyler knew, she would have to do the same. She would have to perform the Sacred Kiss with a human familiar. The thought both excited and terrified her. The Sac
red Kiss was not a joke. It was a serious bond between vampire and human, one that was respected by the Blue Bloods. Human familiars were to be treated with affection and care for the service they provided.

  The genteel atmosphere at the Four Hundred Ball had given way to a rowdier, more boisterous behavior. Several teens were dancing body-to-body to the hard beats of the house music the DJ was spinning, and a riotous, anything-goes atmosphere prevailed, as girls began dancing sexily with each other, or grinding their pelvises against their male partners. The party was soon packed with sweaty teens throwing their hands in the air and declaring they were getting megacrunked tonight. (Crazy-ass drunk on blood.)

  Schuyler remained at the fringes. She didn't fit in with this crowd. She had no friends here.

  She sighed. The Venetian mask she was wearing covered her entire face. She wished she could take it off; it was itchy and making her face hot.

  She made her way to a small alcove hidden behind the speakers, so she could sit down while she debated her next move.

  A boy followed her inside the room. How funny, Schuyler thought. How you knew who the girls were because they were wearing different dresses, whereas the boys were truly disguised since they all looked the same in their penguin suits. Just like this one, in his black silk mask that covered his eyes, nose, and hair, giving him a rakish air like an urban pirate.

  "Don't you like parties?" he asked, when he noticed her sitting by herself on a ruined stone bench.

  Schuyler laughed. "I hate them, actually.”

  "Me too.”

  "I never know what to say, or what to do.”

  "Well, it looks like dancing is involved. And drinking. Of all kinds.”

  He was a vampire, then. Schuyler wondered who he was, and why he was bothering to speak to her.

  "Undoubtedly," she agreed.

  "But you choose not to choose.”

  "I'm a rebel," she said sarcastically.

  "I don't think so.”

  "No?”

  "You're here, aren't you? You could have chosen not to come at all.”

  He was right. She didn't have to be there. She had come for the same reason she had chosen to attend the ball. For the chance to see Jack again. She had to face it: every time she saw Jack Force, something inside her quickened and came alive.