The Van Alen Legacy (34 page)

The church had survived the
attack intact, except for a fine black dust that covered every surface. As Mimi walked through
its doors the next morning at dawn, she was glad, in a way, that she and Jack would be alone for
the ceremony this time.
Because their bonding was not just about the two of them, but the
survival of their people.
It was their duty.

She was wearing a simple
T-shirt and jeans. There would be no society photographers this time, no honored guests. It would
be just as it had been in the early days of Rome. There would be no witnesses to their bonding,
but they needed none. All they needed was to say the words to each other.

This was their fate and this
was their way.

She walked to the front of the
altar and lit a candle. Jack wouldn’t be long. They had shared a cab to the church, but he had
asked her to wait for him inside while he took a call.

But as the minutes ticked by
and Jack did not walk through the church door, Mimi understood. He would never walk through the
door. He had lied to her yet again, because he was not worthy of her. He would never be
worthy.

Not like . . . but she could
not say his name aloud. Kingsley. All that could have been flashed in Mimi’s mind: the two of
them hunting Silver Bloods together . . . a life of danger and adventure . . . a chance for her
to be herself again. . . .

Her phone vibrated. It was a
text from her brother. It said two words:
“I’m sorry.”

Mimi blew out the flame. There
was no need for it now.

So.
She was
right. Jack had forsaken her to be with the half-blood. He would not honor their celestial bond.
He would not do his duty. She had sacrificed her love, but he would not sacrifice his. He had
cast his lot to the winds, tempting fate, death, rebelling against the laws of Heaven and the
laws of their blood bond.

She would never forgive him
for that. She could have left for Paris when Kingsley had asked. She could have chosen happiness
as well. But she had not. She had made her decision too late.

And now she was
alone.

The Code of the Vampires
decreed that anyone who violated the Sacred Law was condemned to death, the blood burning.
Charles had refused to subject Allegra to the sentence. But Mimi was a different matter. Mimi
walked out of the church, knowing that if she ever saw Jack again, she would have to kill
him.

When Bliss woke up the day
after Mimi’s bonding, she was lying in a comfortable bed under a patchwork quilt. Across from her
sat an ordinary woman with ruddy cheeks and a quizzical expression, wearing a worn cashmere
sweater and a wool argyle skirt.

“Miss Murray?” Bliss asked.
What was her history teacher doing sitting across from her?

“You’ve had a hard time of it,
love. Take it easy; don’t exert yourself.”

The room was small and cozy,
and Bliss realized this was the entire apartment. She had never been in a space quite so small.
It was the size of a closet, practically. There was room for a bed and a stove and nothing more.
If Bliss wanted to exert herself, she could cook dinner while lying in bed at the same time. But
even though it was small, it was warm and comfortable.

“What am I . . .
“
What
happened?
Where’s
. . . “?

“
shhh
,” Miss
Murray said, putting a finger to her lips. “You should rest. She’ll be here soon. She wants to
talk to you.”

“Who . . . “?

A woman appeared out of the
air. She was fair-haired and green-eyed, clad in white raiment that glowed softly with a pure
white light. As soon as Bliss saw her, she knew.

“Allegra,” she breathed. “It
is you, isn’t it? Where am I? Am I dead?”

Allegra Van Alen smiled
serenely. She looked a lot older than Bliss remembered from the hospital. The woman in the bed
had seemed frozen in time, but this Allegra, standing in front of her, had lines on her face, and
her hands were wrinkled. There was gray in her blond hair. But she was still very beautiful.
Seeing
her
made Bliss want to weep.

“Come,” Allegra said, holding
out her arms. “Come here, my daughter.”

“So it’s true,” Bliss
whispered. “I am yours.”

“I am sorry I have not been
here for you, but your existence was hidden from me for a very long time,” she said, and the
sadness in her voice was unmistakable.

“Then how? Why?”

“You came to visit me not too
long ago.”

“Yes.” Bliss nodded. She
remembered that surreptitious visit to the hospital, while Allegra remained immobile in her
bed.

“When you came to see me, I
felt a presence I had not felt in a very long time. I was very afraid and I was very angry. I
screamed. I think the whole hospital heard me. But now I understand that Charles and Lawrence did
what they felt they had to. They did it for love, and sometimes love makes us do the irrational .
. . even the inexcusable. But I don’t know if I will ever forgive them for what they tried to do
to you,” Allegra said quietly.

Bliss curled her fists up in
the quilt. She had a mother, but she had also been robbed of one. “So Lucifer did not lie to me,”
she said stonily. She felt conflicted and agonized.

“No, he did not. You are
ours.”

“But how, how
?,
you were bound to Michael.”

Allegra nodded. “Yes. It is a
long and painful story. But know that we made you together.
In love.”

“Where are you? Are you here?
Are you actually here?”

“I am in you. I did not find
the link until now. As I told your sister, I will always be with you.”

“Okay.” Bliss blinked back her
tears.

“Do you notice anything
different about yourself?
”,
Allegra asked.

“Like what?”

She had no idea what Allegra
was talking about, until she stopped to think about it. There was silence. She was alone in her
body. The voices were gone. The heaviness, those many souls that had lived in her, they were
gone. Most important, the Visitor was gone.

“Michael’s sword killed your
blood link to Lucifer. Your father saw you as a way to reach through the boundary that was
keeping him in the underworld.”

“So I’m not dead. But my
father is dead in me.”

Bliss was overwhelmed with
relief. She had her life back. She’d done it
!,
she had successfully killed herself,
just as she and Dylan had known would be her task. She’d done it. . . .

And then, as if she had
conjured him from the air, Dylan appeared next to Allegra. “I’m proud of you, Bliss,” he said.
“Michael’s sword released the souls that were trapped in your blood. You freed them. You freed
me.”

“But now I’m never going to
see you again, am I?” she asked.

Dylan smiled. “It’s unlikely.
But
I never say never
.”

“I wish you wouldn’t go. I’ll
miss you so much,” Bliss said.

“I’ll miss you
too.”

Dylan put his hand up, and so
did Bliss. But this time, instead of touching air, she felt his warm hand grasping her cold one.
She looked at Allegra. Somehow, she knew her mother was making this happen. Dylan leaned down,
and she could feel his lips, soft and inviting, gently kissing hers. Then Dylan was gone. But
Bliss did not feel anguished. She felt at peace. Dylan was not broken and incomplete anymore. He
was whole.

“You are healed.” Allegra
nodded. “You are no longer a Silver Blood.” She paused. “But you are no longer a vampire
either.”

Bliss started. No longer a
vampire
?,
but what did that mean? Did it mean she was just human?

“Now,
listen closely.”
Bliss heard Allegra’s voice in her head, in the glom, as if she were
speaking directly into Bliss’s mind.
“A long time ago when the world was
young and the paths between Heaven and Hell were still open, Lucifer brought the beasts out of
the ground, the hounds of Hell. But their alliance with the Silver Bloods was short-lived. The
wolves are demon fighters. They stood with the Blue Bloods during the crisis. But over the
centuries we have become estranged. You must find them. The Blue Bloods will need them in the
final battle with the Silver Bloods. Find the wolves. Tame them. Bring them back into the
fold.”

“But where do I
start?”

“I have not left you
alone. You will have someone to help you with your task.
Someone who loves you and will
take care of you since I cannot.”

Bliss understood. Miss Murray
was standing next to Allegra, and she did not look like an apple-cheeked history teacher.
Instead, her eyes were gray and serious . . . and Bliss gasped.

“Jordan?"

“You knew me by that
name once. Her teacher nodded. But my true name is . . .”

“Sophia.”

“Quite
right.
Good girl.”
Miss Murray beamed.

“Is that what I should
call you?”

“I think Miss Murray
will do for now.
Although, if you like, you can call me Aunt Jane.”

“Michael’s sword.
You were the one who slipped it into my
bouquet. I’m right, aren’t I?
”,
Bliss asked.

Her teacher did not deny
it.

“I knew you would use
it the right way. I had faith in you.”

“But if I’m not a
vampire anymore . . . how can I do anything?”

The thought of being human
scared her.
To live without the incredible abilities given by the undying blood . . . to be
so frail and weak . . . and absolutely powerless.

“Do your
best. That is all I ask of you”,
her mother told her.

“Where are you going?” Bliss
asked, using her voice now.

“Somewhere no one can follow.
But do not despair. We will meet again, Bliss Llewellyn.”

“Allegra, before you leave . .
. can you tell me . . . what is my name? I mean to say, Mimi is
Azrael
and Jack is
Abbadon
. But I don’t know my real name. I never have. Do I even have one?” Bliss
asked.

“Names are forged in Heaven.
Your father named you
Azazel
, the Darkling. But I shall name you Lupus
Theliel
, Angel of Love, and my
Wolfsbane
.”

During the ride to JFK,
Schuyler kept to herself.

She was still exhausted from
yesterday’s events, but there was no time to rest. The documents Oliver had found, which he had
been so excited about, were a small package of notebooks that he had discovered in files kept by
Christopher Anderson, Lawrence’s Conduit.

Fifty-five notebooks detailing
everything her grandfather had found concerning the Van Alen Legacy, and every possible lead. The
keepers of the third gate, the Gate of Promise, were most likely still in the city of Florence,
which was where they were headed now.

Last night, when she finally
came home, Oliver was waiting for her in her apartment. When she walked in, it took him a while
to accept the fact that she was truly alive and standing in front of him. He had been convinced
he had lost her forever. They hugged each other close, but Schuyler was still too distraught and
confused about everything that had happened with Jack, to give Oliver much of her
attention.

She listened as he filled her
in on what had happened to everyone else during the attack and the aftermath; most of the Blue
Bloods had gone to hide in the ForceTower, as they had been instructed by the Conclave. They had
all come out safe.

But for how long?

The cab pulled up to the
terminal, and Oliver unloaded their bags. He had been quiet too, during the trip. And he looked
at Schuyler so intensely now, as if he were trying to memorize her face.

“What?” Schuyler asked. “Do I
have something in my teeth or something? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m not going to Florence,”
Oliver said as the cab pulled away. “What do you mean you’re not going to Florence . . .”
Schuyler said, just as Jack Force walked up to the terminal.

Yesterday, Mimi had finally
come back to the church, and had taken her brother away. Jack had been too weak to speak when
Schuyler saw the two of them off in a cab. From the possessive way Mimi had held on to Jack,
Schuyler knew they wouldn’t get a chance to say the things they wanted to say to each other
anyway.

There were no traces of the
lost, broken girl that Mimi had been when she’d returned. And Schuyler understood that the
struggle for Jack’s heart was far from over. Maybe she and Jack just weren’t meant to be, and the
two of them would just have to accept it. It was enough to know they had risked everything for
each other. Maybe the memory of their love was all that they were allowed. She didn’t know. She
only knew that she had so much to do. And if she had to leave Jack as part of it, then there was
nothing she could do about it anymore. She had to fulfill her legacy.