"Well, that's what we're going to find out," he said. "What do you remember?"
She sighed and glanced out at the window, which looked into an empty office in the building next door. Rows of computers were switched on, blinking, even though it was past office hours. "Not much. Just a lot of black smoke...and..."
Eyes, crimson eyes with silver pupils. The beast, come to life. It had spoken to her...It had said...
She shook her head and closed her eyes tightly as if to ward off the evil presence. "Nothing, nothing...I don't remember anything."
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.