Мелисса де ла Круз - Keys to the Repository

“Jack . . .” she finally said, when she had found her voice.

He was lying on top of her, his weight heavy and yet light at the same time—a weight she wanted to bear. “I . . .” She wanted to tell him the same thing she had wanted to tell him since that night when he first kissed her. He had stopped her from saying it back then, but he wouldn’t stop her now. She wanted him to know how she felt about him.

Jack looked at her and raised an eyebrow. He looked so serious in the moonlight, but his eyes were teasing. They were sparkling. This was a boy who spoke through books: longing and exile—The Plague—banter and obstacles—Pride and

Prejudice. He spoke her language. She watched as he, with his hair tousled and his eyes shining, raised her arms above her head so that she was immobile beneath him. The strength in his hold and the exquisite torture of wondering when he would kiss her again was too much to bear. It was painful to feel so much desire.

Then he bent down and kissed her gently, a feathery whisper that melted against her as she pressed her body against his.

She knew right then that she didn’t have to say anything.

They understood each other perfectly.

There would never be anything but this. Stolen moments, stolen kisses, a secret oasis. There would be no public displays of affection. In school and at his home, there would only be indifference and detachment. There would be no holding hands, no study dates, no dinner dates, no dates at all. Ever.

But it was all right. She would take as much as he could give, and for now, it was enough.

FAMILY RECORDS:

FORCE

Charles Van Alen changed his family name to “Force” after his bondmate and twin sister, Allegra Van Alen, broke their blood bond to bond with her human familiar. From his actions we can only conclude that he no longer considered himself a member of the Van Alen family, and thus we have created a new family record to reflect his new allegiance.

JACK FORCE

Abbadon, Angel of Destruction, Twin Angel of the

Apocalypse, the Unlikely, Destroyer of Worlds

Birth Name: Benjamin Hamilton Force, known as “Jack”

Origin: June 7, 1991, New York, New York

Known Past Lives: Henry Searle (Newport), William White

(Plymouth), Louis d’Orleans (Versailles), Valerius (Rome)

Bondmate: Madeleine Force (presumed broken)

Assigned Human Conduit: None

List of Human Familiars: Kitty Mullins (2006)

Physical Characteristics:

Hair: Blond (platinum)

Eyes: Green

Height: 6’2”

As a child, Benjamin Force was known for his uncontrollable temper tantrums and was given the nickname “Blackjack,” which was then shortened to “Jack.” In elementary school, Jack was a whirlwind of activity, unable to sit still or concentrate, and was diagnosed by human psychiatrists as having Attention

Deficit Disorder and was prescribed copious amounts of antianxiety medication. His symptoms disappeared once the

Transformation took hold, however, and since then he has been a model student.

Intern report #102

Jack Force is captain of the lacrosse team; lead in every school play (Konstantin in The Seagull and

Melchior in Spring Awakening); described as

“painfully handsome” by most of the female population (the usual: tall, platinum-haired, chiseled good looks, piercing green eyes, athletic, graceful, etc . . .). Jack performs at a stellar academic and athletic level. He is a natural leader to his peers, and only in comparison to his more loquacious twin does he come across as reticent and taciturn. Those who know him well describe him as funny and charming, and never to be found without a book in his hand.

Jack is a frequent visitor to the Repository library.

(Renfield’s notes continued)

At the Four Hundred Ball, Jack was revealed as Abbadon, the Angel of Destruction, a position traditionally known as God’s

Enforcer, the hammer blow, his duty and burden to remind man of his mortality. In the current cycle, his bondmate, Azrael, was revealed to be his twin sister, Mimi. Known together as the

Angels of the Apocalypse, the Force twins are of one mind, two sides of one coin, blood bound in Heaven, and destined to find each other and renew their vows in every cycle. Reports of

Abbadon’s infatuation with Gabrielle are unfounded but persistent. In any event, for centuries innumerable, he has remained true to Azrael. Jack took a sabbatical from Duchesne for a year, and reports recently made available to the

Repository indicate that he was on a secret Venator mission with Charles Force to hunt Leviathan in Paris.

Jack has been missing since the day of his scheduled bonding to Mimi at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. While he was feared lost during the Silver Blood attack, conflicting eyewitness reports state that he was spotted emerging from the glom, critically injured but intact. He then allegedly performed the Sacred Kiss on none other than Schuyler Van Alen, whose mixed blood, we can safely assume, saved his life. The next day he was observed again in her company at the international terminal at Kennedy Airport. If we are to believe the intern reports, Jack had been conducting a secret affair with Schuyler for several months.

Breaking his bond with his vampire twin is in direct violation of the Code of the Vampires, and if spotted within the territory of the New York Coven, he must immediately be brought to justice, and faces a sentence of death from his twin.

Current Status: Missing. Believed to be in the company of Schuyler Van Alen and to have sought refuge in the

European Coven.

MIMI FORCE

Azrael, Angel of Death, Twin Angel of the Apocalypse

Birth Name: Madeleine Alexis Force, known as “Mimi”

Origin: June 7, 1991, New York, New York

Known Past Lives: Eliza Whitney (Newport), Susannah Fuller

(Plymouth), Elisabeth Lorraine-Lillebonne (Versailles), Agrippina (Rome)

Bondmate: Jack Force (presumed broken)

Assigned Human Conduit: None

List of Human Familiars: See pages 84-88 in records of

Human Interaction for full list. (Too many to mention here; number in possible violation of the Code.)

Phyiscal Characteristics:

Hair: Blond (platinum)

Eyes: Green

Height: 5’9”

Dubbed “the most beautiful girl in the history of New York City,”

Mimi Force is a social luminary, a tabloid favorite, and a local celebrity. A file on Mimi Force would be remiss if it did not include a description of her comely physical attributes: long platinum hair, skin the color of fresh milk, sloe-like emerald green eyes, and that famous twenty-two-inch waist.

At Duchesne, Mimi is an indifferent student, but has consistently shown promise as one of the most talented in the new generation of vampires. However, she can be arrogant and regularly bends the rules concerning human familiars, putting them at risk for Full Consumption. The queen of her social circle at Duchesne, Mimi reportedly took Bliss Llewellyn into her acquaintance at the orders of her father. Mimi concerns herself with superficial pursuits and can often be found at pricey clothing stores or in the banquettes of the latest nightclub.

Blood bound to her cycle brother, Jack, Mimi has been observed to exhibit frustration, desperation, and rage at her twin’s increasing (alleged) obsession with Schuyler Van Alen.

Mimi was the prime suspect of the Venator investigation in the attack at the Repository and the murder of Warden Priscilla

Dupont. She was cleared at a blood trial when Venator Martin was shown to have called the Silver Blood.

Mimi’s frivolous façade obscures the fact that Azreal is one of history’s most fearsome hunters of Silver Blood spawn. As the Committee’s newest minted Venator, she is a talented Truth