Мелисса де ла Круз - Keys to the Repository

Kingsley Martin disappeared after the trial, but was brought back to the fold when Lawrence discovered the truth behind his actions. Charles Force had secretly ordered the loyal Venator to call up a Silver Blood from deep inside their most protected stronghold. Kingsley, a reformed Silver Blood himself, had set up Mimi to perform the rite, but at the last moment she had been too weak, and he had performed the dark spell himself.

According to Charles, the call should never have worked. It should have been impossible. It was a test that was supposed to have failed.

Now even Charles had to admit that their immortal adversaries had returned. A broken man, he turned his back on the Conclave, wasting his days locked up in his study. In his absence, Mimi promoted herself to the family seat in the council.

The Silver Blood attacks continued, and the Venators reported trouble in Corcovado, where the demon Leviathan, Lucifer’s brother, was imprisoned. Lawrence departed for Rio to secure Corcovado and left the Coven in the hands of the

Regent, the second-highest-ranking Blue Blood, Nan Cutler.

Alone in New York, Schuyler had problems of her own. Her lost friend Dylan Ward had returned unexpectedly, displaying signs of Silver Blood Corruption, but her secret love affair with

Jack Force took up all her attention and distracted her from the danger. But when the whole Conclave was called to Rio, Schuyler suspected something and traveled to the city as well, hoping to aid Lawrence.

During a dinner party to welcome the Blue Bloods to the city, the Silver Bloods revealed themselves at last and, led by the traitor Nan Cutler, slaughtered the members of the Conclave and left the house to burn with the Black Fire. Mimi barely made it out of the party alive, but it was her hand that felled the false

Regent.

Schuyler and Lawrence rushed to Corcovado only to experience more grief. Through Lucifer’s trickery, Leviathan was released and Lawrence slain. Before dying, Lawrence pressed Schuyler to fulfill his legacy and bring salvation back to their people. During the aftermath of Lawrence’s murder, Bliss

Llewellyn discovered a startling revelation about her provenance.

Back in New York, in the absence of a Regis, the Coven named Forsyth Llewellyn Regent, to preside over what was left of the Blue Blood leadership—a Conclave made up almost entirely of retired Elders and Wardens. They blamed Schuyler for causing Lawrence’s death, and she fled New York with

Oliver rather than face her sentence. Schuyler bade good-bye to Jack as well, for loving him could only lead to his doom.

Schuyler and Oliver traveled around the world, one step ahead of the Venators chasing them. In Paris, she was captured by no less than Jack Force himself. Meanwhile, Mimi had joined Kingsley’s team to hunt for Jordan Llewellyn, who had been kidnapped by the Silver Bloods in Rio. Bliss, left at home in the Hamptons, desperately fought for the mastery of her soul.

Charles left for Paris to hunt Leviathan, only to get caught in his own trap. The Conclave, reduced to seven ruling houses, proposed a resolution reinstating Charles in the position of

Regis when he returned. But Forsyth Llewellyn had other plans.

He immediately called for a White Vote, nominating himself as

Regis, under the orders of his true master, Lucifer.

Before the vote was tallied, Ambrose Barlow and Minerva

Morgan, two of the oldest Wardens on the council, brought a damning anonymous letter about Forsyth to Mimi’s attention.

Mimi stalled on giving Forsyth leadership of the Conclave by withholding her approval.

Now, the Conclave remains leaderless in a time of great darkness. But there is a good omen at last: Allegra Van Alen finally awoke from her dreamless sleep with words of wisdom and hope for her two daughters, the light (Schuyler) and the shadow (Bliss).

As our story continues, the fate of the Blue Bloods rests in the hands of the newest generation of vampires and their loyal human Conduits. Can Schuyler, Jack, Oliver, Mimi, and Bliss work together to bring back peace and safety to their community? Or will Lucifer and his Silver Bloods destroy everything the Blue Bloods have worked so hard to build in their earthly home?

FAMILY RECORDS:

VAN ALEN

A formerly prominent New York family whose influence and largesse was instrumental in the founding of modern-day

Manhattan, the Van Alen name was once synonymous with power, privilege, and patronage. But the family fortune has been dwindling for many years, now reduced to a few real estate holdings and nothing more.

SCHUYLER VAN ALEN

Half-blood

Birth Name: Schuyler Theodora Elizabeth Van Alen Chase

Origin: September 1, 1992, New York, New York

Known Past Lives: None: she is Dimidium Cognatus (halfhuman, half-vampire), the first and only one of her kind.

Bondmate: None. Schuyler is a trueborn new spirit with no heavenly past.

Assigned Human Conduit: Oliver Hazard-Perry

List of Human Familiars: Oliver Hazard-Perry, no others

Physical Characteristics:

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5’7”

Schuyler is the only daughter born to immortal mother, Allegra

Van Alen (Gabrielle, the Uncorrupted) and mortal father, Stephen Chase, her mother’s only human familiar. The Van

Alens were once one of the community’s wealthiest and most illustrious families, but fell on hard times when Allegra broke her blood bond to her brother Charles (Michael, Pure of Heart).

Home is a shabby mansion on 101st Street and Riverside

Drive. Other Van Alen holdings include a Nantucket compound, and a pied-à-terre in Paris (currently rented to visiting tourists).

Schuyler was born premature, and as a baby was perpetually underweight. Her pediatrician noted that she did not speak until her fourth birthday, when she suddenly began using whole sentences. Her primary caretaker, Cordelia Van Alen, her maternal grandmother, refused to allow speech therapy, insisting that her granddaughter was perfectly capable of speaking and would do so when she was ready.

School reports from Duchesne indicate that Schuyler was a quiet and thoughtful child, socially awkward, and if not for her best friend and human Conduit, Oliver Hazard-Perry, would have been a complete outcast. She excelled in Language Arts and Applied Arts, and was once honored by the faculty for diligence in her studies.

According to medical records from the Committee physician, Dr. Patricia Hazard, Schuyler’s half-blood heritage means she has many powers that vampires her age do not, but also that her mixed blood makes her weaker and her

Transformation to vampire unstable. Her immortality is in question due to her human progenitor.

Schuyler’s birth was a flagrant violation of the Code on her mother’s part, and the Conclave has not yet come to a formal decision on her fate. Because it is said that the daughter of

Gabrielle will bring the Blue Bloods the salvation they seek, Schuyler has been allowed to live. For now.

Schuyler Van Alen spends most of her time alone; she has a fondness for museums and long walks in Central Park, and made it a habit to revisit her comatose mother in the hospital every Sunday.

The following is a report from a Repository intern currently enrolled in Duchesne:

Intern Report #101

Schuyler Van Alen dresses like a nineteenth-century street urchin in thriftstore castoffs, but was recently tapped to be a model by New York’s top agency during a casting call held at school. She gives the impression of being short of stature yet is in fact slightly taller than average. Her best friend, Oliver, calls her Sky, and according to a poem written in his diary (filched from his locker and scanned while subject was in class):