Gates of Paradise
Page 17

Schuyler wondered if Decca could tell that she was "different" too. Most likely. She had the sense that not much got by this new grandmother of hers. The vampires must have had to work overtime to keep her from figuring out what was going on. "It doesn't matter anymore," she said. "I'm here now, and we're finally meeting each other."
"Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it?" Decca beamed. "I want you to tell me all about yourself. We have so much catching up to do! Are you in school now? Is there a young man in your life? Tell me everything!"
Tell her everything? That was impossible. But she could edit, she supposed. She told Decca about growing up with Cordelia, living on the Upper West Side, and going to Duchesne. She told her about her brief stint modeling, how she hadn't figured out what she wanted to do with her life yet (not exactly true, but at least it explained why she wasn't going to college). And then she took a deep breath and told her about Jack.
How to explain Jack?
"There was someone in my life," she said. "I was in love. It was hard - there were challenges for us, being together - but it was wonderful."
"You're using the past tense," Decca said. "What happened?"
"I'm still not entirely sure," Schuyler said. "All I know is that he's gone, and I don't think he's ever coming back."
"I lost my husband too," Decca said, reaching out to again clasp Schuyler's hand. "I understand that feeling of loss, that sense that a part of you has been physically taken away. That you're diminished, less than you once were."
"That's exactly it," Schuyler said. "There's something missing in me now, and I don't know if I'll ever get it back."
"You're young," Decca said. "I know that's what people say, and it seems impossible now, but your heart will mend, and perhaps in the future..."
But Schuyler wasn't ready to think about what her life could be like after Jack. And she had far more important concerns than herself; although the thought of Jack really and truly being gone forever was too much, and she found herself starting to cry again. Get it together, she thought.
"I can see that it's too soon for you to think about it," Decca said. "I understand - even at my age I have friends who try to arrange dates for me. I don't have the heart to tell them I'm not ready and I may never be, though it's been years."
"But you have other family," Schuyler said. "Your granddaughter..."
"Yes, Finn!" Decca brightened. "You really must meet her. She'll be so thrilled to hear that she has a sister."
Schuyler hoped that would turn out to be true, but she could easily imagine a reality in which it wasn't.
"Do you have other children?" Schuyler asked.
"No, I'm afraid Bendix was our only child," Decca said. "Of course we tried, for years and years, but we didn't have all the marvelous technological advances you young people have these days. If you couldn't manage it naturally, there was only so much the doctors could do.
"It's a blessing that we've found each other, isn't it?" Decca said. "Where are you staying? I insist that you move your things here and stay with me for a while, if you're not otherwise occupied."
"I wish that I could," Schuyler said, and she really meant it. "But..." She had no idea how to explain why she couldn't stay. She'd have to come up with something. "Some friends of mine are in trouble. I'm in the middle of helping them out - I came down here to help - and I need to get back to them."
"I see," Decca said, clearly disappointed. "Well, I won't keep you, then."
"No, it's not like that!" Schuyler said. "I want to stay, really I do. And I hope that if you'll have me, I can come back someday."
Decca smiled. "Of course you can. You do what you need to do. I'll be here when you return."
"There's just one more thing I have to ask before I go," Schuyler said.
"About your father?"
Schuyler nodded.
"I figured you would," Decca said.
"He did come back to you, eventually, didn't he?" Schuyler said.
"Yes, he did." She smiled sadly.
"I need to find him. Do you know where he is?"
"I do," Decca said, giving her a concerned look.
"Where is he?"
"He's here."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mimi
he journey aboveground was lonelier this time. The train ride through the bleak landscape of rock and cinder seemed endless without Jack to keep her company; all Mimi could think about was how she was going to get out of this one. The emerald stone hung heavy around her neck. Lucifer's Bane. The burden she carried, Lucifer's wrath, unleashed upon everyone she loved. She and Jack had not fooled him for one moment. Truly, they were the fools.
How had it come to this? she wondered. It was so much easier before, when she and Jack would go through the motions of bonding. Sure, this cycle wasn't the court of Versailles or Florence during the Renaissance, but up until now they had lived pretty fabulous lives in New York. How had everything gotten so complicated?
It was the birth of Schuyler Van Alen, Mimi realized. Gabrielle's half-human child had triggered everything - she was the catalyst for change - but was this what Gabrielle had wanted? The Coven in ruins, the vampires in retreat, the Gate of Promise on the brink of destruction, and the key to Heaven in the enemy's grasp?
What was Mimi going to do? She had to warn them - had to warn Kingsley and Schuyler and Oliver what was about to happen - but how? She supposed there was a Venator safe house somewhere; that was the only reason Kingsley was in London, she was sure of it. But where? Maybe Jack had found it. It was a pity they hadn't been able to talk before he'd left - hadn't been able to coordinate their actions, their deceptions.
Jack, where's the safe house?
You're here? Why are you aboveground?
Looking for Kingsley. Lucifer gave me a job, too.
What is it?
Can't get into it right now. Do you know where the safe house is?
Still looking.
Let me know if you find it. I can help distract Danel, give our friends time to get away.
There was a time when Mimi could have gone to just about any fabulous restaurant or club in London and found a vampire to point her in the right direction. She hadn't noticed it the last time she was in town, but she did now. It was eerie. London had been drained of vampires - pun definitely intended. There was no one left. Not in the usual hot spots, not in the boys' clubs, not anywhere. She felt a piercing sadness at the reality of the current situation.
She called the old families in New York, spoke to a few remaining brave souls, but no one knew where the Venators were hiding in London. "We're all just lying low until we hear from someone in charge," they told her.
She wanted to scream that she was in charge, but it wouldn't help matters. Finally, she went with the most mundane approach she could imagine: she called Oliver's parents. The Conduits had scattered too - but Oliver's family was so predictable. They were like ostriches hiding their heads in the sand while everything else was on display. They were "hiding" in Southampton. Water Mill, to be exact.
"Please, you need to tell me where he is," she said. "It's important."
"We haven't heard from him in a while," Mrs. Hazard-Perry said. "He was in London, but then something happened in the Repository - he could be back in the States. We're worried about him. If you do find him, will you tell him to get in touch?"
"Where was he in London? I'll make sure he calls you when I find him."
"We really aren't supposed to tell anyone," she said. "We're under strictest orders."
"From who?" Mimi said. Who was calling the shots in the Coven?
"Venator Martin, of course."
Of course. Kingsley was leading them.
"It's really important; you know I wouldn't be calling otherwise."
Mrs. Hazard-Perry sighed.
Mimi could tell she was almost there. "He's in great danger. I can only help if I know where the safe house is. I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure he's okay."
Apparently that was enough; Mrs. Hazard-Perry gave her the address.
Mimi barely remembered to say thank you before getting off the phone and into a minicab. She gave the driver the address and tried to mentally prepare for what she was supposed to do. There had to be a way out of this, even if she had a virtual ball and chain to the Dark Prince around her neck. She had to find a way to clue Kingsley in, stage some sort of fight where he could fake his death and she could help him escape.
Traffic was heavy as the minicab approached the address Oliver's mother had given her. That was weird - it wasn't a particularly populated neighborhood, and it was far away from any of the busy parts of London. Then she saw the police cars, and the tape that cordoned off the street. Blue and white for London, unlike the blue and yellow of New York.
"What's going on?" she asked the cab driver.
"Dunno, miss. I'll get as close as I can, but you might have to walk the rest of the way."
He drove down the street, right up to the tape. "I'm afraid this is the address you were looking for," he said. He parked in front of the safe house. Or what used to be the safe house.
It had burned to the ground.
Mimi jumped out of the cab and moved through the crowd congregated on the sidewalk. There was a woman off to the side, crying softly. Mimi approached her carefully. "Are you all right?"
The woman sniffed and blew her nose into a handkerchief. "I'm fine," she said. "Just out of a job." She looked at the smoking wreckage of the house and then started crying again.
"Did you work here?" Mimi asked.
The woman nodded. "I was a maid. It was a good job, it was. Lots to clean with all of those parties, but it was honest work."
Sounded like Kingsley, all right.
"I knew the people who were staying here," Mimi said. "They weren't in there, were they, when this happened?"
The woman shook her head. "The young lady and her friend left days ago. Everyone else left last night. Like they knew something bad was going to happen."
"Did they know?"
"Not so's they told the staff. Though I heard they gave everyone the night off, so perhaps there was something afoot. Didn't tell those of us on the schedule for today, though. We all showed up this morning to find this."
"And you're sure all of them left," Mimi said. "Do you have any idea where they went?"
"None at all," the maid said. "But if you find them, tell them they owe us a week's pay."
Mimi wanted to hug her. They were alive! Her friends were alive! Thank God. Kingsley was alive. She gave the woman a few bills from her purse. "Here. They'd want you to have this."
Who had done this? Had Lucifer sent another convoy without Jack's and Mimi's knowledge? She walked around the perimeter, slipping through the Red Blood barriers easily. In the back of the house, behind the rubble, she found the answer.
Jack was holding the torch.
"You did this?" she asked, shocked.
"It was too late. They were gone."
Thank God. Thank God. You knew they were gone, didn't you? Thank God.
But Jack did not reply.
"Jack? Are you okay?"
"What is the point of this?" he said, kicking a rock on the ground.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are we doing here?"
"Jack, again, I don't know what you're saying," she said.
"All this that we've done - for centuries, Mimi. We fought on the wrong side during the War, and even when we turned to the Light we were punished for it. Centuries we lived on earth, cycling through our lives. Rome. France. Plymouth. Hoping for salvation. Seeking redemption for our sins. For what? For this?"
"What are you saying?" Mimi asked, horrified. She had never heard him speak like this, or look so murderous and frustrated at the same time. She put a hand on the stone around her neck to warn him, but he didn't notice.
"Maybe we're trying too hard. Maybe we should just..."
"Give up?"
"Exactly. Why fight it? Why are we here? So that we can leave each other? Why?" He pulled her to him. "Why did I ever want to do that?" he whispered, putting his nose in her hair and breathing in her scent.
She found she was responding to him, to his touch, that familiar way he held her - had always held her. It had been so long since he'd held her that way. But why now? Why did he have to say these things now? Then she realized, even if he meant it, she didn't want to hear it. Even if he wanted her back, she didn't want him back.