Мелисса де ла Круз - Masquerade

"What's happening?" Schuyler cried, as two Wardens took a hold of Lawrence's arms on either side. "Where are they taking you?”

"Do not fear, granddaughter," Lawrence said. "If I do not have a choice, I shall go willingly. Charles, you will find no contest from me. Schuyler, I should be back soon.”

Charles Force snorted. "We shall see about that.”

Schuyler watched as they led her grandfather out the door and inside one of the black cars in front of the building. She felt like crying. Just when she thought help had finally arrived, it was taken away as quickly as it had come.

"Has he gone?" Hattie asked, storming in from the kitchen. "Thank the Lord.”

"He'll be back," Schuyler said. She walked over to the portrait Lawrence had been studying. It was a painting of a wedding, hidden underneath an acid-free cloth for years, dating from the early eighteenth century. There was Cordelia in her wedding dress, looking comely and prim.

The man standing beside her, wearing a crisp morning suit and ascot, had the unmistakable, hawkish features of a young Lawrence Van Alen.

New York Herald Archives FEBRUARY 10, 1872 MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENT INVITATIONS HAVE BEEN ISSUED for the marriage of Miss Caroline Vanderbilt, daughter of Admiral and Mrs. Vanderbilt, and Alfred, Lord Burlington, on Thursday evening, February 29, at six o'clock, at the home of the bride elect's parents, 800 Fifth Avenue. The Reverend Mr. Cushing of this city will officiate. Miss Vanderbilt will be attended by her younger sister, Miss Ava Vanderbilt, and the Marquis of Essex will act as best man. There will be a reception after the ceremony. The bride's family is prominent in society, and among the eight-hundred invited guests will be the governor of New York and the mayor of this city. Lord Burlington is an exchange broker, doing business in London and New York, and is the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The bride and groom will then leave for an extended tour of the Indian subcontinent.

TWENTY-ONE

The boy stood precariously on the railing of the balcony off the third-floor library. When the weather was warm, the balcony was nicknamed "Club Duschene" since students routinely took their lunches there, tanning, rolling up jeans into shorts, girls unbuttoning their blouses as low as they dared, and boys going as far as to take off their shirts.

But it was the middle of January, and the windows that led out to the balcony were usually locked. Not today. Today, someone had opened the window, letting an arctic blast inside the library, and that someone was now outside, balancing on a slim, four-inch iron rail.

Jack was on his way back from the music building when he came upon a lively crowd gathered in the cortile, the courtyard behind the main school. He saw Schuyler slip through the side entrance, her face lined with concern as she spoke to her friend Oliver, the Red Blood.

He tore his eyes away from her, wishing he were the one she would turn to for comfort, and looked up to where several people were pointing, and noticed the boy. He was a freshman, a Red Blood, and he stood on the railing with a blank, dazed look on his face.

“Jump!" Soos Kemble screeched, collapsing in giggles. "What does he think he's doing?"

another girl asked, horrified and titillated at the same time.

Jack noticed that the crowd was amused by the situation. Half of them were eagerly, if unconsciously, rooting for the boy to fall. Classes would be canceled for the rest of the day for sure.

"C'mon! Get it over with! I have a Pre-calc quiz I don't feel like taking this afternoon!"

someone called.

In one corner, hidden behind a hedge that surrounded a stone bench, Jack's supersensitive hearing picked up the sound of Kingsley Martin, the new boy, laughing with Mimi.

"Make him do a pirouette," Mimi said.

Kingsley waved his hand, and the boy on the ledge executed a ballerina turn. The crowd gasped. But the boy landed on his feet. He looked shocked at what had just happened, almost as if he had no control….

No control…

Jack glanced sharply at Kingsley. He knew in an instant what was happening. Kingsley was using the glom to control the boy's mind, as a puppet master would pull the strings.

At Committee meetings, they had been told there would be strict punishments for using their powers on the Red Bloods without provocation. Jack felt a deep rage rise within him. The stupid, arrogant fool. Kingsley was going to put them all in danger.

"Release him!" Jack commanded, holding up a palm, his eyes shooting daggers at Kingsley.

The crowd turned to see who was causing the scene.

"Aw, we were just having a bit of fun, mate," Kingsley said, and with another flick of his wrist, the boy stopped turning.

The boy screamed to find himself alone on top of the balcony. He wobbled; his left foot slipped off the edge….

"Martin! Bring him down! NOW!”

"If you insist," Kingsley said, looking bored already. The boy regained his balance and safely stepped off the railing onto the terrace.

"Modo caecus," Jack whispered, sending a blinding spell over any of the humans who had congregated, to make them forget what they had seen.

"That was foolish and dangerous, not to mention cruel and petty," Jack said, confronting Kingsley. He had never felt so angry in his life. And to see Mimi standing there next to him was even worse. Was he actually jealous? Or was he just angry and disappointed to find his sister engaging in such low behavior?

"Stop being a spoilsport, Force," Kingsley said. "No harm done, eh?”

"Yeah, Jack, get off it," Mimi said. "It's just a frosh. Nothing would have happened.”

"That's not the point, Mimi," Jack said. "The Wardens will hear of this.”

"Oh, the Wardens." Kingsley laughed. "Listen, why don't you come after me yourself?"

he taunted. "Or are you too much of a Red Blood lover you've forgotten your Blood is blue?”

Jack blushed to the roots of his fine blond hair.

"You Forces—or whatever your call yourselves these days—would be nothing without my family, without the sacrifices we made," Kingsley said darkly. He turned on his heel and started to walk away. “Any time you want to eat your words, Force, you know where to find me.”

“Jack, it's just a joke," Mimi said, trying to mollify her brother.

"Drop it," Jack said, shrugging off her hand from his shoulder.

He walked away quickly, and Mimi followed him, a cross look on her face. “Jack, wait, c'mon.”

But Jack didn't turn around. His ears were burning from embarrassment at lashing out like that in public. Had that been wise? He'd had to stop Kingsley, hadn't he? Or was he just being humorless like his sister had said? And anyway, what was Kingsley talking about? What sacrifices had the Martins made?

He would have to ask his father about this.

TWENTY-TWO

Oliver had saved her a seat next to his in Chem lab. He handed Schuyler her goggles, and she put on her lead apron. "What are we doing today?" she asked, fitting the goggles over her nose. Oliver was already wearing his. The whole class looked like a team of welders. Across the room, Mimi loudly complained that the goggles gave her an ugly red mark on her nose, but no one paid much attention.

"Making candy again?" Schuyler asked.

Oliver checked the Bunsen burner and turned it on slowly, so it emitted a small, red flame. "Yup.”

In the past, Duchesne had had one of the most inventive and charismatic science teachers on the subject. In fact, Chem lab was so popular among the students that both juniors and sophomores were allowed to take it as an elective. But Mr. Anthony, the boyish, enthusiastic, and recent Yale grad, had been discharged from the school over winter break due to an unfortunate affair with one of his students, who had gotten pregnant. Mr. Anthony was fired, and the student expelled. This was not Degrassi Junior High, after all. This was Duchesne.