Masquerade bb-2

by Мелисса Де Ла Круз

  "Schuyler Van Alen…the half-blood?" Charles mused. "Are you certain that she is the one?”

  Lawrence nodded.

  "Because Allegra had two daughters," Charles said in a light, almost playful tone.

  "Surely, even you have not forgotten that.”

  FORTY-FIVE

  Mimi's condemnation, the formal process for her execution, was coincidentally scheduled during Duchesne's Ski Week in March, so she allowed herself to pretend the family was just going on vacation to Venice. The whole prospect of what was to come her blood burned, her imminent destruction seemed absolutely ludicrous.

  She believed her father would find some way to rescue her from her fate, and she spent the flight from New York paging through fashion magazines, marking off the clothes she would buy when she returned to the city. But once they arrived in Venice, Mimi's bravado cracked a little. Especially when members of the Conclave escorted them to their hotel. They had traveled to the ancient prison as well, to witness the final rites.

  It was hard to believe in death and burning in her comfortable bedroom, where she could still watch TiVo'd My Super Sweet Sixteen and Tiara Girls. But stepping foot on the waterlogged sidewalks of Venice seemed to bring the past to life, and her memories screeched with images of the hunt: bringing death to Blue Blood foes, the black robes of the condemnation worn by the corrupted traitors, the screams of the guilty.

  Mimi shuddered.

  Tradition called for the accused to voluntarily surrender to the jailor, and on the evening of their arrival, Mimi left their hotel and made the historical walk across the Bridge of Sighs, where thousands of Blue Blood prisoners had walked before.

  The bridge was so named because it was the last vantage point from which the condemned could view the city. She walked on it lightly. Jack was at her side, silent and grim. A few paces behind them, Elders and Wardens from the Conclave followed in a procession. Mimi could hear the heavy footsteps from the mens' boots, and the softer stiletto clack from the ladies' shoes.

  "Don't," she said to her brother.

  "What?”

  Don't act like I'm dead already. I, for one, am not giving up.

  She stuck out her chin, defiant and unbowed. "I'm not worried! They'll see I've been set up!”

  "Nothing gets you down, huh?" Jack asked with a ghost of a smile. He was amused to find his sister as bratty and confident as ever. Her bravery was admirable.

  "I laugh in the face of death. But then again, I am Death.”

  They stood in the middle of the bridge, the two of them remembering another walk, another time, in their shared past. A happier memory.

  An idea occurred to Mimi.

  She turned toward her brother. They stood in front of each other, forehead to forehead, as they had all those centuries ago.

  "I give myself to you," she whispered, linking her fingers into his. Those were the sacred words that began the ceremony. That was all the bond entailed. All he would have to do was repeat them back to her, and the bond would be resealed in a new lifetime. In this lifetime.

  Jack held her delicate hands in his. He brought them up to his lips and kissed them passionately, deeply. He closed his eyes and held her trembling fingers, feeling with his mind her love, her desire, her whole soul, waiting on a precipice for his response.

  "No. Not yet," he sighed, keeping their hands linked tightly and opening his eyes so he could look deep into her eyes.

  "If not now, when?" she asked, the threat of tears in her voice. She loved him so much.

  He was hers. She was his. It was the way of their kind. This was their immortal story. "Time might be running out for me. For us.”

  "No," Jack promised. "I would never let that happen." He looked away and released his hands from her.

  Mimi crossed her arms, furious, and glanced to see what had distracted him.

  Schuyler Van Alen was walking with her grandfather a few steps behind them. Seriously!

  Couldn't the wretched girl leave her in peace? She had won, hadn't she?

  "Wait," Jack said. "It's not what you think. I need to talk to Schuyler.”

  Mimi watched as Jack walked over to her rival. On the night of her condemnation, couldn't she even catch a break?

  Schuyler was startled when Jack Force appeared by her side. She had traveled to Venice with Lawrence at her grandfather's request. The thought of being witness to Mimi Force's demise wasn't an experience she was looking forward to, although, like Mimi, she couldn't quite believe it was truly happening.

  "You know about the blood trial," Jack said.

  She nodded. "Yes. My grandfather told me it's the only way to prove what really happened that night. The only way to overturn a ruling by the Conclave in session.”

  What Schuyler didn't say was that Lawrence had told her something else about the blood trial. Her grandfather had briefed her on her mother's history during their vampire lessons and confided that Gabrielle was the only vampire who was able to do it: as one of the highest-ranking Venators, she could tell blood memory from false.

  “As Allegra's daughter, you may have inherited this ability," Lawrence had said. "You may be able to clear Mimi Force.”

  "Grandfather," Schuyler pleaded, "I'm not…I can't…”

  "Listen to me closely, the blood trial will mean you will have to drink Mimi's blood to discover the truth of what happened that night. Only the Uncorrupted have the power to ascertain real memory from false in the blood memory. But it is a great risk: drinking the blood of another vampire means there is a chance you may give in to the temptation that afflicts the Silver Blood, kill Mimi, and become doomed in the process by becoming Abomination yourself. It is a risk only you can decide to take.”

  "And if I choose not to?" Schuyler asked.

  "Then punishment will be rendered.”

  The thought that she held Mimi's life in her hands oppressed Schuyler. To risk her own life to save her enemy's! How could she volunteer for such a task? She had visited her mother in the hospital for guidance.

  Allegra slumbered peacefully in her bed.

  "I don't know what to do. If I don't do it, Mimi will die. But If I do, then I could become a monster.…Tell me what to do, Mother. Help me.”

  Yet, as usual, there had been no sign from Allegra.

  And now Jack was studying Schuyler carefully. What did Jack mean by bringing this up now? Shouldn't he stay by Mimi's side and help her to accept the inevitable?

  Jack looked over at Lawrence, who was watching the two of them keenly. He returned his gaze to Schuyler. "You are your mother's daughter. Only you can perform the blood trial.”

  She took a step back.

  Lawrence cleared his throat, but held his tongue.

  "Lawrence, you said so yourself, that Schuyler has powers none of us have. Schuyler, please. I'm begging you." Jack said, with tears in his eyes. "You're her only chance. They will destroy her.”

  Suddenly, Schuyler understood what was at stake. This wasn't a game the Conclave was playing. This wasn't make-believe or a play put on for their amusement. They had conducted an investigation and pronounced judgment. Punishment had been recorded in the Book of Laws.

  They had traveled across the ocean to Venice, to the ancient prison, to fulfill the sentence.

  Mimi was going to burn.

  Schuyler looked askance at Jack. Your sister tried to destroy me! She wanted me dead taken by a Silver Blood! How can I…

  But she knew what she had to do. This was the sign she had been seeking all along. She looked deep into Jack's anxious green eyes.

  "Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I'll do it.”

  FORTY-SIX

  The condemnation was held in one of the ancient rooms deep inside the Ducal Palace and began with a formal pronouncement of the sentence. Mimi Force was led to the front of the room in shackles. A black robe had been placed on her shoulders, and her blond hair was covered by its hood.

  The Conclave of Elders stood in a semicircle around her. The Chief W
arden had finished describing the process when Lawrence halted the proceedings.

  "As Regis, I have cause to call for a blood trial to refute or confirm the findings in the Conclave session.”

  "Blood trial?" Edmund Oelrich, the Chief Warden, asked. "But surely, there is no way.

  Allegra is still asleep, is she not?”

  Charles Force, who was seated in the front next to his son, leaped up. "I second the motion for the blood trial.”

  "Lawrence, is this wise? What are you talking about?" Nan Cutler asked.

  "Allegra's daughter, Schuyler Van Alen, has volunteered to perform the ritual." Lawrence called for Schuyler to come forward.

  "The half-blood?" Forsyth Llewellyn exclaimed. "I oppose this. How do we know she is worthy?”

  "Allegra's daughter?" another Elder asked.

  "She is gifted with powers far beyond the norm, and I am confident she will be able to carry out this task.”

  The Conclave murmured, and a stay of execution was granted while they convened on this new development in another room. A few hours later, the Conclave returned. Finally, the Chief Warden spoke.

  "The blood trial will be borne out.”

  Mimi and Schuyler were led to a small cell next to the courtroom. Lawrence patted Schuyler on the back. "Be safe, and remember what I told you.”

  When they were alone, Mimi pulled the hood off her head and looked at Schuyler with distaste. "You.”

  "Me.”

  "I don't need you. I'd rather die.”

  "Would you? Because that's certainly the other option," Schuyler snapped.

  Mimi flushed. "My brother put you up to this, didn't he?”

  "Yes. It's him you'll have to thank for your life, if indeed you are proved innocent," Schuyler replied.

  Mimi crossed her arms and studied her cuticles. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's just get this over with.”

  Mimi lifted her chin and closed her eyes. Schuyler stood on her tiptoes and put her mouth on Mimi's neck. She sank her fangs in…and just as with Oliver, she was transported into the past…seeing what was inside Mimi's memories…flying back to the night of the attack.

  The dark underground of the Repository. Mimi and Kingsley laughing over the book.

  Standing inside the pentagram, the candle flickering and casting their shadows against the stone walls.

  Mimi slicing her wrist, sending the blood over the flame and calling the words.

  But then…nothing happened.

  Mimi had fainted, but the spell had not worked.

  She had been unable to summon the hatred needed to bring out the Silver Blood.

  But Mimi had not been rendered unconscious, just disoriented. She had witnessed the events that unfolded next, but the memory of it remained in her subconscious, which is why she had not been able to recall it to prove her innocence. Now, through the blood trial, Schuyler was able to see what had really happened.

  Kingsley cursed and picked up the knife. He sliced his wrist and called out the summons in a strong, deep voice.

  There was a rip in the ground: the earthquake, the flame that shot out. Smoke filled the air, and suddenly there was a hulking dark mass going straight for Bliss Llewellyn and then killing Priscilla DuPont.

  In the resulting confusion, Kingsley helped Mimi stand, and put a hand on her shoulder.

  Schuyler felt a cold pressing on the back of her neck just as Mimi had experienced.

  Then Kingsley pushed Mimi out of the alcove and ran to the Repository, pretending to be pinned by a bookcase.

  It was Kingsley all along.

  Schuyler gurgled, feeding on Mimi's blood. She knew she should stop, but she couldn't.

  She wanted to see, wanted to devour all of Mimi's memories. She saw something else: the night of the Four Hundred Ball. The after-party at the Angel Orensanz Foundation. Jack Force, putting on the black mask worn by the boy who had kissed her that evening.

  So it had been Jack who kissed her after all.

  The realization made her lose her hold on Mimi, and she stepped away, disengaging her fangs. The call of the blood had been strong she had been tempted to take Mimi to full consumption, to become Mimi, to absorb all her memories and her being. But the shock of seeing Jack in the mask had saved her from becoming Abomination.

  Schuyler staggered against the wall, feeling faint and delirious, while Mimi swooned and fell onto the nearest chair.

  When she found her bearings, Schuyler returned to address the Conclave.

  "Mimi is innocent," she said, and just as Lawrence had shown her, she held their minds in her own and showed them what she had seen in the blood memory, projecting the vision of Kingsley Martin calling up the Silver Blood to everyone in the room.

  FORTY-SEVEN

  Mimi was released to her family, and Schuyler waited with her grandfather at the entrance of the Ducal Palace for their speedboat to arrive.

  "Are they going to arrest the Martins?" Schuyler asked.

  Lawrence looked up to the sky. "Yes, a team of Venators was already sent to their town house. But they won't find them there.”

  "Why not?”

  "Because they will already have disappeared," Lawrence said. "It will not be easy to catch them.”

  "Did you know?”

  "Not until you read the truth in the blood memory. I suspected, but I did not know. It is not the same thing.”

  "So why did you do nothing?”

  "Nothing?" Lawrence asked with a smile. "I saved an innocent girl from death. I wouldn't call that nothing."

  "But you should have sent someone to Kingsley's…"

  "Not without proof.”

  "But you waited—and they are gone.”

  Lawrence nodded. "Yes, they are gone. But at least we know we were on the right track.

  Priscilla DuPont was killed not just as a show of their growing power, but because she had come close to discovering who was harboring the Silver Blood on the Conclave. In fact, she was about to confront the perpetrator when the explosion happened.”

  "She was going to name the Martins?”

  "I believe so.”

  "So what does that prove?”

  "It proves Cordelia and I were right all along.”

  "But with the Martins gone…”

  "The Martins were not the only suspects," Lawrence said. "They were merely foot soldiers, pawns, made to do the bidding of their masters. If what she told me is true, there is another family, still in the dark, who harbors the Silver Blood, who has been instrumental in bringing about Lucifer's return.”

  "Who?”

  "That, Schuyler, is what we have to find out.”

  Schuyler processed this information. The Martins had shown their hand, but there was still a puppet master offstage manipulating the strings. She thought of the files Priscilla DuPont had collected before she had died.

  "Grandfather, whatever happened to Maggie Stanford? Does anyone know?”

  Lawrence shook his head. "No.”

  The Forces—Charles, Jack, and Mimi—walked out of the courtroom together. Relief was evident in all of their faces.

  Jack approached Schuyler. "Thank you," he said simply.

  You kissed me, Schuyler thought. She remembered what else he had said that night…

  How do you know he's not interested? You might be surprised.

  Did he know she knew?

  She wanted to touch his cheek, to kiss his soft skin again, but she saw Mimi scowling.

  Even if Mimi Force owed her her life, it didn't mean she was going to be nice to Schuyler any time soon.

  "You're welcome," she told Jack.

  Charles joined them. "When we return to New York, I'll have my driver come by and pick up your belongings. We've already cleared the guest bedroom for you. I think you'll find it to your liking.”

  "What are you talking about?" Schuyler asked.

  "Yeah, Dad, what the hell?" Mimi interrupted.

  "Your grandfather has failed to mention it, I see." Charles smiled grimly.
"Lawrence, you might have won the leadership of the Coven, but I have won the adoption battle. Schuyler, the Red Blood courts have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to put you in my custody.”

  "Grandfather…”

  "It's true. The appeals have been rejected," Lawrence said, his head bowed low. "Charles, I did not realize you would insist on this. I'm sorry, Schuyler. I'll continue to fight it, but for now, you're going to have to live with the Forces. Charles, there is no need to send for Schuyler. I will drop her off myself.”

  Mimi glared at Schuyler, while Jack only looked shocked. Live with them?

  Were they crazy?

  Schuyler looked from one twin to the other, and realized she had just survived the blood trial only to find herself facing a new and more complicated challenge.

  FORTY-EIGHT

  Coming back home to her stepmother's Penthouse des Rêves was a bit of a letdown after the pampering at Dr. Pat's clinic. Bliss had finally been discharged after several weeks, after being kept in observation to make sure she had stabilized and displayed no signs of corruption. She wondered what they were waiting for her to do attack them? Slash her wrists? The nurses at the clinic acted as if they were afraid to come too near, lest something happen.

  It was the first day of ski week, and usually the family would be on a plane to Gstaad by now, but Conclave matters had called her father to Venice. BobiAnne had gone with him, but only so she could hit the shops on Via Condotti in Rome. Jordan had accompanied their parents as well, since it was decided she was too young to be left behind. While Bliss was still recovering, she was left in the care of the household staff. Bliss had been at home during Mimi's trial and sentencing, but she was certain Mimi would come to no harm. It was just too easy to imagine a life without Mimi Force's dictatorial ways, and there was no way the universe would be so kind as to get rid of her.

  Bliss was bored and alone in the apartment and decided to clean out her closet for want of something better to do. Maybe perform that spring-cleaning ritual women's magazines always advised: throw out clothes you hadn't worn in two years, or those that were too shabby or didn't fit any more—that sort of thing.

  She was pulling out an old cable-knit sweater when a long velvet box tumbled to the floor and a necklace fell out of it.