Cordelia smiled again. It was disconcerting, as if a curtain had been raised and Schuyler was finally allowed a real peek at the old woman.
"Technically, no. You are wise to discern that. There have been Four Hundred of us since the beginning of time. We do not have progeny in the traditional sense. As you have learned, through the cycles, many are called but some choose to rest. More and more of us are resting, slumbering, choosing not to evolve and staying in the primal state. When our bodies expire, all that is left is a single drop of blood with our DNA pattern, and when it is time to release a new spirit, those of us who choose to carry are implanted with the new life. So in a way, we are all related, but we are not related at all. But you are my charge and my responsibility."
Schuyler was bewildered by her grandmother's words. What exactly did she mean by that? "And my father?" she asked tentatively, thinking of the tall man in the dark suit who visited her mother.
"Your father is of no concern to you," Cordelia replied coldly. "Think no more of him. He was not worthy of your mother."
"But who ...?" Schuyler had never known her father. She knew his name: Stephen Chase, and that he was an artist who had met her mother at his gallery opening. But that was all. She knew nothing of her father's family.
"Enough. He is gone, that is all you need to know. I told you, he died soon after you were born," Cordelia said. She reached over and smoothed her granddaughter's hair. It was the first time Cordelia had shown Schuyler physical affection in a very long time.
Schuyler reached for a strawberry tart. She felt deflated and uneasy, as if Cordelia wasn't telling her everything.
"It is a hard time for us, you see," Cordelia explained as she surveyed the plate of petit fours and chose a hazelnut cookie. "There are less and less of us who are choosing to go through the proper cycles, and our values, our way of life, is quickly disappearing. Not many of us are adhering to The Code anymore. There is corruption and dissent in the ranks. Many fear that we will never reach the exalted state. Instead, there are those who choose to fade away into the darkness that threatens to take us. Immortality is a curse and a blessing. I have lived too long already. I remember too much." Cordelia took a long sip from her teacup, her pinky finger pointed down daintily.
As Cordelia put down her cup, her face changed. It sagged and withered in front of Schuyler's eyes. Schuyler felt a wave of sympathy for the old woman, vampire or not.
"What do you mean?"
"It is a coarse time we live in. Full of vulgarity and despair. We have tried our best to influence, to show the way. We are creatures of beauty and light, but the Red Bloods no longer listen to us. We have become irrelevant. There are too many of them now, and too few of us. It is their will that will change this world, not ours."
"What do you mean? Charles Force is the richest and most powerful man in the city, and Bliss's father is a senator. They're both Blue Bloods, aren't they?" Schuyler asked.
"Charles Force," Cordelia said grimly as she stirred honey into her tea. She released her teaspoon with such anger, the other patrons looked up at the sound. Her face was set. "He has his own agenda. As for Senator Llewellyn, holding political office is a direct violation of our Code. We do not interfere directly with human political affairs. But times have changed. Look at his wife," Cordelia said, with a hint of distaste. "There is nothing Blue Blood about her taste and clothing - 'downwardly aspirational, I believe it's called." She sighed as Schuyler rested her hands on hers. "You are a good girl. I have told you too much already. But perhaps it will help when you realize the truth one day. But not now."
It was all Cordelia would say on the matter.
They finished their tea in silence. Schuyler ate a bite out of a chocolate ��clair, but put it down on her plate without finishing it. After everything Cordelia had told her, she was no longer hungry.
;
CHAPTER 21
Once the meeting was adjourned, Bliss was still reeling from everything she'd learned. She was a vampire, or as she corrected herself; a "vam-pyre," which meant fire angel in the Old Tongue, a Blue Blood. One of the undead. So that explained the memories, the nightmares. The voices in her head. It was strange to think of her blood as alive, but that's what they said - that they had all lived before, a long time ago, and were called into service when they were needed. One day they would be in command of all their memories and would learn how to use them.
The knowledge brought a profound feeling of relief. So she wasn't insane. She wasn't losing her mind. What happened at the Met the other afternoon, when she'd blacked out before kissing Dylan, was probably just part of the whole process. That's what Dr. Pat had meant. So she was normal. She was supposed to feel dizzy and sick. After all, her body was changing, her blood was changing. Maybe now that she understood why she was having them, her nightmares wouldn't scare her as much in the future.
Mimi was grinning from ear to ear when the meeting was over. She walked over to Bliss.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently. She knew it would take some getting used to. But finding out about being a Blue Blood was like a kind of graduation or something. When she and Jack had been inducted, their parents had thrown them a surprise party at the 21 Club.
Bliss nodded.
"C'mon," Mimi said. "Let's go get some steak tartare."
They walked a few blocks toward La Goulue, then took a table on the sidewalk. It was late afternoon, but it was still sunny and warm enough to sit outside. They ordered quickly.
"So, let me get this straight. We can't get killed?" Bliss asked, pulling her seat closer so that no one would overhear their conversation.
"No, we live forever," Mimi said airily.
"Like, forever?" Bliss didn't think she could handle that. How could she live forever exactly. Like, wouldn't she get all wrinkly and stuff?
"Like, forever," Mimi echoed.