Masquerade (17 page)

T
he Committee’s investigation on the incident at the Repository called for a public hearing, wherein all the witnesses to the attack were called to testify before The Committee. The hearing took place inside one of the massive courtrooms underneath the Repository. The members of the Conclave sat in a row on a high platform, facing the crowd, Charles Force in the middle. Lawrence Van Alen was seated to the far right, and was already puffing on his customary cigar. The new Chief Warden, Edmund Oelrich, a famous art historian and gallery owner in his public life, ran the proceedings from his seat up on the platform. There was a small podium to the side where witnesses were called, and the inquisitor, The Committee’s official prosecutor, stood across from it. The seats in the courtroom were filled with almost all the Blue Blood families, and tension ran high as Schuyler, Jack, Bliss, and Oliver described their version of the events one by one. They were seated next to each other in the front row. Mimi was seated next to Jack, and was still waiting for her turn. She was nervous about the investigation, but figured there had to be some way to bluff her way through it. After all, it wasn’t like she had wanted Bliss to be hurt or Priscilla Dupont dead—not in the least! She couldn’t have cared less about the old bag. It was just an unfortunate accident. They had to understand that, right? If there was no motive, they couldn’t find her guilty, could they? She reached over to grab her brother’s hand, and Jack gave it a warm squeeze.

The inquisitor called Kingsley Martin to the stand.

“State your name for the records.”

“Kinsgley Drexel Martin.”

“And your position.”

Position? Mimi raised an eyebrow. What was this all about?

“I am a Truth Seeker. A
Veritas Venator
. I was commissioned by The Committee to investigate the deaths of several Blue Bloods: Aggie Carondolet, Dylan Ward, Summer Armory, Natalie Getty, Landon Schlessinger, and Grayson St. James.”

A murmur ran through the crowd. Older Blue Bloods knew
Venators
as the highest order of The Committee’s secret police, fearless warriors in the fight to keep the Blue Bloods safe from harm and discovery.

“And your mission?” The inquisitor prompted.

“I was sent to the Duchesne School to accumulate any evidence that might lead to the detection of the enemy,” Kingsley said evenly.

Another murmur, this time more agitated. A
Venator
had been sent to one of their safest sanctuaries—Duchesne! What was The Committee thinking, sending one of their powerful assassins to spy upon school children?

“Who were the suspects?”

“Madeleine Force. Bliss Llewellyn. Schuyler Van Alen.”

This time there was an audible gasp from the crowd. Kingsley was an undercover agent! A latter day Johnny Depp on
21 Jump Street
, an undercover vampire working the teen beat.

Schuyler gaped, Bliss couldn’t help but laugh, and Mimi only gnashed her teeth. That little prick.

“And what did your findings show?”

“I immediately crossed off Schuyler Van Alen. She was a victim of two Silver Blood attacks and did not show any indication of being drawn to the Dark Matter,” Kingsley said, taking out a small notebook from his jacket pocket and flipping through his notes.

“Bliss Llewellyn was a more promising subject. She has complained of nightmares and delusions, similar to those suffered by Maggie Stanford before her demise. But due to these delusions, I had to conclude that Bliss was a possible victim and not a perpetrator.”

“And Madeleine?”

“I have concluded that Madeleine Force harbors the Silver Blood that has been attacking our community,” Kingsley said, his tone of voice almost casual.

“Quiet! Quiet in the court!” The Chief Warden admonished, as the crowd became even more angry and agitated. Several vampires stood from their seats, and there was hissing and booing at Kingsley’s testimony. Mimi Force—the Regis’s daughter—Silver Blood accomplice? Was this some kind of joke?

“And the basis for your evidence?” The Chief Warden grunted from the high platform.

“She expressed a desire to learn more about the Dark Matter. Specifically, she wanted to know how to perform the
Incantation Demonata
. The call for the Silver Blood.”

“And why did she say she wanted to do this?”

“She said she wanted to finish off an enemy,” Kingsley said, looking straight at Mimi.

Mimi quavered in her seat. Lies, lies. All lies! Stop talking! Shut up! Shut up! You were my friend! Traitor!

“And that was Bliss Llewellyn.”

“No.”

“No?” The inquisitor looked mildly surprised.

“No.”

“Who was the intended target?”

“Schuyler Van Alen.”

There was another angry buzz among the audience.

Schuyler felt herself freeze. So she wasn’t just paranoid— Mimi
did
want to destroy her. She remembered her dream in which her mother was awake and speaking to her. What had Allegra said?
Beware.

“Why did you allow her to perform the incantation?” The Chief Warden asked.

“I needed the evidence. I thought I could control it, stop her before it happened. But I could not. It was obvious she had done this before. Many times.”

“Thank you,
Venator
.”

Kingsley stepped down. Now that his identity was known, he looked much older, the cocky adolescent boy had been a facade, merely a pose. He walked gravely to his seat in the front row next to the Duchesne kids, and they gave him a respectful berth.

“The investigation now calls Charles Force to the stand,” the Chief Warden announced.

The head of the coven staggered down to the podium from his seat on the high platform. His own daughter, harboring a Silver Blood! The shame of it was written all over his face. His silver hair looked white under the light, and there were heavy bags under his eyes. He looked like a broken man, not the indefatigable leader of the vampires.

“State your full name for the record,” The inquistor ordered.

“Charles Van Alen Force.”

“Have you witnessed your daughter meddle with the Black Spells?”

“Yes, but . . .” Charles answered, wiping his brow with a silk handkerchief.

“Incantations. Forbidden spells.”

“Yes, but . . .

“That will be all. Thank you,” the inquisitor said, cutting off his testimony.

Charles looked as though he wanted to say something more, but his words died on his tongue. He looked ashen and disheartened. He stepped down and walked back to his seat with the Conclave.

None of the members of the Conclave would look at him, and several in the crowd began to boo and hiss.

“As final evidence against Madeleine Force, we present the Mark. I believe you will find it on the back of her neck,” the inquisitor declared.

“That’s absolutely ludicrous. I don’t bear the Mark of Lucifer any more than the rest of you,” Mimi said. She wanted to scream. This was a travesty. She was being set up!

“Lift your hair, please,” the Chief Warden directed.

Mimi gathered her hair and lifted it. She had done this for Nan Cutler the night before, when she had come to perform the test. Nothing had happened, and she was certain she had been cleared.

There was an agitated murmur from the Conclave.

“What?”

Your neck, Mimi, there’s something on your neck.

Jack, you’re scaring me.

She felt the back of her neck with the tips of her fingers. Raised flesh. A tattoo. More like a burn, like a cattle brand.

Judgment was swift and resolute. Mimi was the perpetrator. She was found guilty of conspiring with a Silver Blood. She would be taken to their ancient prison in Venice, where her blood would be burned, her memories destroyed, with no hope of reincarnation. Bail was set for one million dollars, which her father promptly paid, so that Mimi could be released to his custody.

Mimi looked at Jack.
This can’t be happening . . . I didn’t do it. You know I didn’t.

I know. I know.
Jack put an arm around his sister, but his face was lined with anxiety. This was serious. Sentenced to burn! Mimi!

The Force twins waited for Charles to walk down the platform to their side. He still had the same shell-shocked look on his face.

“Father, what can we do now?” Mimi said. “Surely . . .”

Charles Force was aghast. “There is nothing . . .”

“Nothing?”

“There is only one way to refute the Mark of Lucifer. You must submit to an even more ancient custom. The blood trial. But only Gabrielle—Allegra Van Alen—is able to perform this.”

“Gabrielle?” Mimi asked, with a sinking feeling.

“Yes.”

A whole lot of good that was going to do her. Allegra was in a coma and would never wake up.

“So there is nothing I can do to prove my innocence?” Mimi asked.

“Nothing.”

T
he audience from the hearing dispersed to the Repository upstairs, and Schuyler waited for her grandfather by the entrance. Oliver had already gone ahead, citing an afternoon Trig quiz he couldn’t miss. They had been given special dispensation to attend the hearing that morning. Schuyler knew she should have gone back with him, but she wanted to hear her grandfather’s take on the whole situation. He was leaving the Conclave headquarters, with Edmund Oelrich and Nan Cutler at his side. “We’ll take your leave, Lawrence,” Edmund said, bowing. “It is a travesty what has happened to this community.” “We assure you, you will have our votes when the time comes,” Nan added, patting Lawrence on the arm. “We should have listened to you four hundred years ago. To think that the Abomination has reached the royal family!”

“Thank you.” Lawrence nodded. He turned to Schuyler. “So. What do you think of Kingsley Martin now?”

They began walking up the stairs, toward the side doors of the vampire-only club, Block 122, and out onto the sidewalk.

“It was Mimi all along,” Schuyler marveled. “Mimi . . .” It was still hard to believe, especially with all their lingering suspicions about Kingsley. “Did you know about Kingsley being a
Venator
?”

Lawrence nodded. “Yes.”

Schuyler remembered what Kingsley had said to Jack that one morning.
You would be nothing without us, without the sac
rifices we have made.

“But you were right, granddaughter. Kingsley is a Silver Blood,” Lawrence said, waving Julius over in the town car.

“How do you mean?” Schuyler asked as she stepped inside, Lawrence holding the door open.

“His family is an old one. One of the ancient warriors. They were corrupted by Lucifer himself. But they came back into the Blue Blood fold, repenting their actions, and they have learned how to control the Abomination, the hunger, the voices in their heads,” Lawrence said, closing the door. “Duchesne, please, Julius. We shall drop off Schuyler first and then home for me,” he said, tapping on the glass that separated the driver from the passengers.

They drove through the streets of Chelsea to the West Side Highway. It was another gray New York day.

“But how can we trust them?”

“We have trusted them for thousands of years. Kingsley Martin is a Silver Blood only by default. His blood is as blue as yours and mine. They have sworn off their allegiance to Lucifer, and have been very helpful in our search for the conspirator.” Lawrence sighed. “And yet . . .”

“And yet?”

“And yet . . . something about this case bothers me. Do you believe Mimi Force is guilty?”

“Yes,” Schuyler said unequivocally. “She’s an awful person, grandfather.”

“And to know that you were her target is extremely troubling, yes. But . . .”

“But what?”

“But if you were the target, why was Priscilla taken? And the Llewellyn girl? Something doesn’t add up.”

Schuyler shrugged. Maybe she shouldn’t rush to judgment, but wasn’t that what The Committee had done? And she couldn’t find it in her heart to pity Mimi. The girl had sent a Silver Blood to kill her, after all.

“You heard what Kingsley said. And he’s a
Venator
. Doesn’t that mean he has to tell the truth? At all times?”

Lawrence nodded. “Yes. Charles has always trusted them. He was the one who recruited them back to our cause. But I do not know. I have always harbored my doubts about the Martins.”

The car pulled up to the gates of the Duchesne School.

Schuyler hopped out of the car, but not before giving her grandfather a kiss on the cheek.

“Your grandmother always said never to trust shiny surfaces. They hide a multitude of flaws.”

As she walked into the school, Schuyler bumped into Jack Force, who was coming in from the side door. Jack was still wearing his dark gray suit from the hearing, and his eyes were red-rimmed, as if from crying. Schuyler felt a stab of pity. While she had no love for Mimi, Jack was a reminder that not everyone felt the same way.

“She didn’t do it, you know,” he said preemptively.

Schuyler flushed, thinking, She wanted to destroy me! She admitted it herself! But to Jack she said coolly, “That’s not what the court found.”

“Mimi’s selfish . . . but she’s not evil,” Jack implored. The afternoon bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period and the start of classes. Students began streaming out of the cafeteria, up the stairs, and crowding the marble foyer, where Jack and Schuyler were standing. Several whispered to each other as they noticed Jack and Schuyler huddled in conversation. Some Blue Bloods who had attended the hearing looked sympathetic when they saw Jack, while others glared, and one went so far as to hiss at his presence. A special Committee meeting had been scheduled that afternoon to alert junior members on the latest discoveries.

“She would never truly hurt another person.” Jack continued to press his sister’s case. “She doesn’t hate you. Not really.” He wished he could explain.
It’s not you she hates, Schuyler. It’s me. She just turned her anger outward because she couldn’t bring herself to hate whom she loves. And she does hate me for what I have done—for loving you.

Schuyler looked at him skeptically, but remained silent. Mimi Force. Azrael. The Angel of Death? Wasn’t that Mimi’s job? To bring about the end of life? To her surprise, Jack seemed to be able to read her mind.

“You don’t understand—it is part of the balance. We are who we are. Death is as much a part of life. It is the gift of the Red Bloods. Mimi is part of the grand plan,” Jack said.

Schuyler shrugged. “I’m not so sure,” she said. “Goodbye, Jack.”