Мелисса де ла Круз - Masquerade

Forsyth sighed and BobiAnne sniffed again. "Oh, you poor, poor child.”

Jordan, her sister, remained silent, watching Bliss from the corner of her eye.

"Gobi, can you and Jordan leave us alone for a minute?" her father asked.

When they were gone, Forsyth turned to Bliss. "Bliss, what I'm about to tell you is very important. You were attacked by a Silver Blood, one of the Croatan," her father said.

"N0000," Bliss whispered. "But The Committee says they're just a myth…." she said weakly.

"The Committee was wrong. We realize that now. In fact, Priscilla DuPont had gathered enough evidence to…but I won't talk about that now. The fact is, somehow the Silver Bloods have survived, and we must face up to that reality.”

"But how?”

"Sadly, it means one of us is culpable. The Silver Bloods would not be able to thrive unless someone from our circle was hiding them. Helping them. It would have to be one of the very old families, powerful enough to cover up such black evil that Michael could not notice a change in the balance.”

"But what does it mean for me?" Bliss asked, her voice quavering.

"There are very few who have lived after a Silver Blood attack, and there is always the danger of corruption."

"Corruption?”

"Sometimes, the Silver Blood will not take his victim to full consumption; instead it will instill a hunger…drawing enough blood so that the vampire is left weakened. But Red Blood becomes poison to the victim, and he will hunt his own kind for survival.”

That's what happened to Dylan, Bliss thought. He had been turned. Corrupted. Transformed into a monster, and then killed before he could reveal its secrets.

"The crisis in Roanoke, we believe, happened because several of our people in that settlement had already been corrupted when they left the Old World.”

"How do you know if you've been corrupted?" Bliss asked nervously.

In answer, Forsyth began lifting the gauze from Bliss's neck. He unwrapped the bandage.

Bliss looked at her father anxiously. What was he going to show her? Had she been turned into a monster?

Her father handed her a small hand mirror from the nurse's table.

She brought it up to her neck, dreading what she would see.

But her neck was smooth, as clear and unblemished as before.

"What does it mean?”

"There are no marks, which means the poison was not strong enough to hold. Your Blue Blood, the sangre azul, was able to rehabilitate your chemistry on its own. Heal itself, and protect you from corruption. The Croatan did not make you one of its own.”

She nodded, grateful and relieved. She had survived…. She wasn't sure how, but she had lived.

"There will be other tests," Forsyth warned. "One of the Elders will administer them to you. They will ask you to share your memories, to commune with them. To show them what you saw. But I am confident you will pass their judgment.”

Her father was about to leave the room, but Bliss called out another question. "But, Dad, if one had been corrupted…how could you tell?”

"It's hard to say, but we have noticed that those who have befallen corruption tend to be drawn to the Dark Matter, and to start exhibiting curiosity concerning the Black Spells.”

Later that evening, Nan Cutler, one of the high-ranking Wardens, arrived to visit Bliss.

Nan was one of the bird-thin, elegant society women in Priscilla DuPont’s circle; she had a shock of white hair with a raven stripe in the middle. The city knew her as an indefatigable fund-raiser and shopper of high-end couture. But when she came into Bliss's hospital room that evening, all traces of the public facade were gone. Here was a formidable, centuries-old vampire. Bliss could see the faint blue blood lines on her face.

She introduced herself to Bliss, then took a seat at her bedside.

By evening, sensation had returned to Bliss's limbs, and she was feeling much better already.

"Take my hands, child," Nan said softly. Bliss placed both of her hands in the old lady's soft ones. Nan's hands were smooth and unwrinkled.

"Now close your eyes and take me back to yesterday evening. Show me everything you saw.”

The glom. Nan would use the glom to read her mind, Bliss knew. She had to open her mind and let the old woman see.

Bliss nodded.

She closed her eyes.

Together, they saw what had happened. Bliss, waiting in the reception area for Kingsley.

They saw Renfield bring a list of files to Priscilla DuPont. They saw Schuyler walk in and ask if she had seen Oliver. They saw several girls from Duchesne check out books for the next Committee meeting.

Then all went black. A dark, noxious smoke engulfed the entire area….

Bliss waited for the beast to appear, but all they saw was the thick, black smoke.

When she opened her eyes, Nan was scribbling in her notebook.

"Good," Nan said. "Now, if you please, lift your hair and show me the back of your neck.”

The back of my neck?

Bliss did as told. Nan nodded. "You may put your hair down.”

After the Warden left, her father walked in and hugged her tight.

Whatever test it was, it looked as though she had passed. The back of her neck…

Part of the test…

She thought of how Kingsley's hair was so long, it always covered the back of his neck. A fashion statement? Or was he hiding something?

Kingsley…who carried that book around with him all the time, the materia acerbus.

Kingsley, who had taught her to palaver with the beast of her nightmares.

Kingsley Martin, who was part of an old, old, Blue Blood family. One of the most powerful, and the most prestigious…

Bliss closed her eyes. She saw the beast again, the beast had spoken to her. It had said one word…

Now.

FORTY

Schuyler was brushing her teeth when her cell phone rang. She rinsed, gargled, and spit, quickly wiped her face, and ran to pick it up. It was early in the morning, and she was getting ready for school.

"Yeah?”

"Is that any way to answer the phone?”

"Oh, Bliss. Hey. Sorry. I thought it was Oliver. He always calls in the morning.”

"Sorry to disappoint.”

"No, not at all. How are you?" Schuyler asked. She had been meaning to visit Bliss in the clinic, but the past several days had been hectic, what with trying to keep up with a full class schedule, vampire lessons, and deal with the fact that her grandfather was getting ready for the battle royal of his life. The White Vote had been called, and the election was imminent.

"Better," Bliss said. "You, uh, know what happened to me, right?”

"Yeah," Schuyler said. "My grandfather said it was a Croatan, but that you were safe.”

Bliss told Schuyler about the test, opening her mind up to Nan Cutler, and how the marks on her neck disappeared. "The same thing happened to me," Schuyler said.

"Remember? The night we modeled for that shoot?"

"Yeah.”

"I was attacked, but the marks disappeared. And I couldn't remember anything.”

"She also wanted to see the back of my neck. Isn't that odd?”

Schuyler nodded, even though Bliss wasn't able to see her. “Actually, that's another kind of test, my grandfather said. Nan came over here, too. To check me out.”

"Really? I'm not the only one?”

"No, of course not. Everyone there that night has to be tested.”

"Cool.”

"So, what's up?”

"Listen, I found out something from my dad. You know how The Committee always said there was no such thing as the Silver Bloods?”

"Uh-huh.”

"Well, I guess they're coming around.”

"Yeah, I heard that too," Schuyler said. Lawrence had filled her in on the politics of the Conclave. Now that a full-grown vampire had been taken, the Conclave was up in arms and primed for revolt. The Silver Bloods were a grim reality they would have to face.