"What's she doing here anyway?" Schuyler wondered, watching Mrs. DuPont look through some paperwork her Conduit had brought.
"This is the headquarters of the Conclave of Elders. The Wardens - you know. They meet over there, in the boardroom behind the stacks."
"How long have you known? About me, I mean." Schuyler asked. She looked back at his desk, at the photograph of the two of them that had been taken the past summer in Nantucket. Oliver, his face red from the sun, was squinting at the camera. He had a dark, deep caramel tan and his hair had lightened to a rich golden brown, while Schuyler looked pale and uncomfortable, underneath a huge floppy beach hat, a white smudge of sunscreen on her nose. They had looked so young then, even if it was only a few months ago. Last summer they had been just kids,just a bunch of kids who were dreading going back to high school. They had spent the two weeks sailing and making bonfires on the beach. To Schuyler it felt like a lifetime ago.
"I've known since I was born. I was assigned to you," he said simply.
"You were assigned to me?"
"As I understand it, every member of a vampire family is assigned a human conduit at birth. I'm two months younger than you. You could even say you're the reason why I was born. I sought you out. Remember?"
Schuyler looked back on all her memories. She remembered now how he kept making friendly overtures, and how she'd resisted at first. He was always sitting next to her in class, or asking her questions, and finally, in the second grade, when they'd shared that dismal lettuce sandwich, they'd become friends.
"And what exactly do you do?"
"I help you. I nudge you in a certain direction, suggest how to use your powers so you can discover them on your own. Remember that night at The Bank, when I kept telling you 'think positive and we'll get in'?"
She nodded. It was as she suspected, and she told him how she had used it this evening to get past the drag queen at the door.
He guffawed. "Priceless. Wish I'd seen that one."
She smiled wryly. "Well, they did tell us at Committee meetings that mind-control was possible."
"But only very few vampires can do it," he pointed out.
"I don't get it, though. If this Repository is down here - why were you so worried about us not getting into The Bank? Surely there's another entrance to this place."
Oliver nodded. "There is. Through Block 122. That's why they have a 'members-only' policy. As in, Blue Bloods and their guests only. I could have gone in through there, I'm one of the few with a key - even though I'm only a lowly Red Blood - but I hate that place."
She nodded for him to continue.
"The Bank is a fluke. For the longest time it was empty. But then a couple of neighbors and homeless people reported seeing people go in and never coming out, and to alleviate suspicion, they figured they'd rent out the top floors to anyone interested. This club promoter came along first, and they liked the idea of a nightclub so much they decided to open another club next door - but a private one of course."
Schuyler processed all the information. The private nightclub, The Committee, it certainly fit in with everything she knew about the Blue Bloods so far. They liked to keep to themselves.
She was still bothered by Oliver's admission, however, and his explanation for their friendship. She couldn't help but remember how Oliver was always loaning her money, and she never had enough to repay him, but he never seemed to worry about it, or ask for it back. Was that part of it? Where did the Conduit end and her friend begin?
"So anyway, you're not really my best friend? You're like, my babysitter?"
Oliver laughed and raked a hand through his thick hair. "You can call me whatever you want. You're just not going to get rid of me that easily."
"Then why did you get so mad at me when I told you about The Committee?"
He sighed in frustration. "I don't know - I guess a part of me didn't want it to be true, even though I knew it was. I mean, I knew it would happen, but I just wanted us to be the same, you know? And we're not. I'm a Red Blood. You're immortal. I guess it just bummed me out. So sue me, I'm human." He smiled at his pun.
"You're wrong. Apparently I'm not so immortal, actually," Schuyler said.
"What do you mean?"
"Jack told me that something is killing vampires."
"That's impossible." Oliver shook his head. "I told you, there's something wrong with that dude." He cracked a smile.
"No, there's not. I'm serious. It's a secret. Aggie was a vampire. And she's not recycling. She's gone. She's dead. Like, really dead this time. Her blood is gone."
"Oh, God," Oliver said, his face draining of color. "I didn't know. That's why I told you I wasn't in mourning at her funeral. I thought, what's the big deal? She'll just come back."
"She's never coming back. And she's not the only one. There have been more - other kids are getting killed. Blue Bloods. We're not supposed to die, but we are."