“Gone. Everyone’s gone. There are no vampires left. It’s all chaos. The Regent is missing, the conclave has been disbanded.”
“That can’t be true,” Bliss said, tears welling in her eyes. “I’ve only been gone a year. Things can’t have changed that much. It can’t all be over.”
“I’m sure it’s not over,” Lawson said, and took her hand. “We’ll figure it out.”
“There may still be some hope,” Renfield said. “A Venator bulletin went out.”
“Show us,” Bliss urged.
“It came over the wire the other week,” he said. “I was disseminating the information to the remaining members of the Coven when I heard you out here. Come to my office.”
Bliss and Lawson followed Renfield through the stacks, to a room tucked away in a back corner, where Bliss had never been. The door was beautiful and intricately carved, as were all the doors in the Repository; the fact that the solid wood remained undamaged made Bliss start to feel safe.
Until Renfield opened the door and a demon ripped out his throat.
ELEVEN
Schuyler
few minutes later, Schuyler, Oliver, and Tilly were settled into a cozy corner of a small tea shop, which was decorated with traditional, comfortable, grandmother-like touches—chintz couches and damask floral pillows. “So, did Lucas tell you why we wanted to see you?” Schuyler asked, sinking into a plush and decidedly lumpy armchair that Cordelia would never have allowed in her elegant Manhattan town house.
Tilly smiled. “Yes he did. Although, for a moment there, I thought you guys were from Chic. They’re supposed to inte
rview me.”
Schuyler ignored the comment. “We wanted to talk about what you might know about the Gate of Promise.”
The designer sighed. “Oh yes, yes. The Order of the Seven and all those grave responsibilities…”
“Forgive me if this sounds rude, but responsibilities like guarding the Gates of Hell? I would say that is pretty serious,” said Schuyler, a bit taken aback by Tilly’s irreverence.
Tilly shrugged. “It did seem terribly urgent back then. But you have to understand—you’re a new soul, right? Lucas told me about you. The half-blood. Gabrielle’s daughter. You don’t have the blood memories. You don’t know what it’s like.”
“Tell us, make us understand,” Oliver urged.
Tilly fiddled with the rings on her fingers. “In the beginning, the danger was great. Lucifer had been discovered, and the paths had to be guarded or the demons would be unleashed into our world. Lucas and I were assigned to Gabrielle’s protection, as was everyone from our old legion. Your mother did what she had to do in London, then we left Lucas behind.” She motioned for a second cup of tea. “That’s all I remember from that time. Of course, the Crisis in Rome was just the beginning of the trouble. I was with your mother in Florence when…” Her voice faltered and she shivered.
“When?” Schuyler prompted.
Tilly closed her eyes. “When Gabrielle discovered that Lucifer had tricked her. That the Gates of Hell she had built during the founding of Rome were no match for his power.”
Schuyler and Oliver exchanged an uneasy glace. “What happened in Florence?”
“Lucifer was vanquished, of course. Michael saw to that, as he always did.”
Schuyler looked at her keenly. “You don’t seem so sure.”
Tilly stirred her tea. “I don’t know. I tried to forget about it, it was all so horrible. Anyway, the years went by…centuries upon centuries, and nothing happened.…”
“Not nothing…There have been deaths. Young ones taken,” Schuyler said. “Even here, in the London Coven.”
“Yeah, I guess, but it wasn’t like…it wasn’t like it was everybody. It was one at a time.…” Tilly said, her voice fading a little.
“What are a few souls here and there in the grand scheme of things, right?” Oliver said brusquely.
“I know you think it’s terribly awful of us. That we let your mother down somehow, with Lucas going underground and all. But it’s not as if evil isn’t everywhere. It’s all around. We’re not the only victims anymore. The Red Bloods…are much more violent and vicious than we ever were.”
“Lucas mentioned that you had mortalized.…”