Masquerade
Chapter Forty-two

The audience from the hearing dispersed to the Repository upstairs, and Schuyler waited for her grandfather by the entrance. Oliver had already gone ahead, citing an afternoon Trig quiz he couldn't miss. They had been given special dispensation to attend the hearing that morning. Schuyler knew she should have gone back with him, but she wanted to hear her grandfather's take on the whole situation.
He was leaving the Conclave headquarters, with Edmund Oelrich and Nan Cutler at his side.
"We'll take your leave, Lawrence," Edmund said, bowing. "It is a travesty what has happened to this community."
"We assure you, you will have our votes when the time comes," Nan added, patting Lawrence on the arm. "We should have listened to you four hundred years ago. To think that the Abomination has reached the royal family!"
"Thank you." Lawrence nodded. He turned to Schuyler. "So. What do you think of Kingsley Martin now?"
They began walking up the stairs, toward the side doors of the vampire-only club, Block 122, and out onto the sidewalk.
"It was Mimi all along," Schuyler marveled. "Mimi..." It was still hard to believe, especially with all their lingering suspicions about Kingsley. "Did you know about Kingsley being a Venator?"
Lawrence nodded. "Yes."
Schuyler remembered what Kingsley had said to Jack that one morning. You would be nothing without us, without the sacrifices we have made.
"But you were right, granddaughter. Kingsley is a Silver Blood," Lawrence said, waving Julius over in the town car.
"How do you mean?" Schuyler asked as she stepped inside, Lawrence holding the door open.
"His family is an old one. One of the ancient warriors. They were corrupted by Lucifer himself. But they came back into the Blue Blood fold, repenting their actions, and they have learned how to control the Abomination, the hunger, the voices in their heads," Lawrence said, closing the door. "Duchesne, please, Julius. We shall drop off Schuyler first and then home for me," he said, tapping on the glass that separated the driver from the passengers.
They drove through the streets of Chelsea to the West Side Highway. It was another gray New York day.
"But how can we trust them?"
"We have trusted them for thousands of years. Kingsley Martin is a Silver Blood only by default. His blood is as blue as yours and mine. They have sworn off their allegiance to Lucifer, and have been very helpful in our search for the conspirator." Lawrence sighed. "And yet..."
"And yet?"
"And yet...something about this case bothers me. Do you believe Mimi Force is guilty?"
"Yes," Schuyler said unequivocally. "She's an awful person, grandfather." "And to know that you were her target is extremely troubling, yes. But..."
"But what?"
"But if you were the target, why was Priscilla taken? And the Llewellyn girl? Something doesn't add up."
Schuyler shrugged. Maybe she shouldn't rush to judgment, but wasn't that what The Committee had done? And she couldn't find it in her heart to pity Mimi. The girl had sent a Silver Blood to kill her, after all.
"You heard what Kingsley said. And he's a Venator. Doesn't that mean he has to tell the truth? At all times?"
Lawrence nodded. "Yes. Charles has always trusted them. He was the one who recruited them back to our cause. But I do not know. I have always harbored my doubts about the Martins."
The car pulled up to the gates of the Duchesne School.
Schuyler hopped out of the car, but not before giving her grandfather a kiss on the cheek.
"Your grandmother always said never to trust shiny surfaces. They hide a multitude of flaws."
As she walked into the school, Schuyler bumped into Jack Force, who was coming in from the side door. Jack was still wearing his dark gray suit from the hearing, and his eyes were red-rimmed, as if from crying. Schuyler felt a stab of pity. While she had no love for Mimi, Jack was a reminder that not everyone felt the same way.
"She didn't do it, you know," he said preemptively.
Schuyler flushed, thinking, She wanted to destroy me! She admitted it herself! But to Jack she said coolly, "That's not what the court found." "Mimi's selfish...but she's not evil," Jack implored. The afternoon bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period and the start of classes. Students began streaming out of the cafeteria, up the stairs, and crowding the marble foyer, where Jack and Schuyler were standing. Several whispered to each other as they noticed Jack and Schuyler huddled in conversation. Some Blue Bloods who had attended the hearing looked sympathetic when they saw Jack, while others glared, and one went so far as to hiss at his presence. A special Committee meeting had been scheduled that afternoon to alert junior members on the latest discoveries.
"She would never truly hurt another person." Jack continued to press his sister's case. "She doesn't hate you. Not really." He wished he could explain. It not you she hates, Schuyler. It's me. She just turned her anger outward because she couldn't bring herself to hate whom she loves. And she does hate me for what I have done--for loving you.
Schuyler looked at him skeptically, but remained silent. Mimi Force. Azrael. The Angel of Death? Wasn't that Mimi's job? To bring about the end of life? To her surprise, Jack seemed to be able to read her mind.
"You don't understand--it is part of the balance. We are who we are. Death is as much a part of life. It is the gift of the Red Bloods. Mimi is part of the grand plan," Jack said.
Schuyler shrugged. "I'm not so sure," she said. "Goodbye, Jack."