"We were," Bliss said. "Was it... How did... Was anyone else there?" The Duchesne girl looked embarrassed.
"No. Not really. There weren't that many people. I think I was the only one from Duchesne. There were some people from the rehab center, but then they were the ones who organized it. I just happened to find out about it from Wes McCall. He'd been staying at Transitions too. I just thought... well, Dylan and I used to have English together and he was... a nice guy. A character. But nice, you know?"
"Yeah," Bliss said. She found that her eyes were suddenly full of tears.
"Oh god, you're crying. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Allison said. "Here." She handed Bliss a scented handkerchief from her handbag.
"I'm okay... it's just... it was complicated," Bliss stammered, gladly taking the hanky and wiping her eyes.
"Life sure is." Allison nodded. "But it's good to see you... out. I mean, it must be so hard. I'm saying all the wrong things, aren't I?"
"Not at all. It's nice to be able to talk to somebody." Bliss smiled.
"Well. You can always talk to me. You coming back to school in September?"
Bliss nodded. "Yeah. It's weird to be held back. I don't really know anyone anymore." The Visitor had agreed that Bliss should go back to school. It would be odd if the senator's daughter suddenly became a high school dropout.
"Well, you know me, and I'm in your class," Allison said. "It won't be so bad," she said, giving Bliss a hug.
"That's good to hear. Thanks, Ally. See ya." Bliss smiled.
"See ya."
Bliss walked back to her car, wanting nothing more than to be alone as she absorbed this news. There had been a memorial for Dylan and no one had come. To the Red Bloods he was just some troublemaker; to the vampires, collateral damage. No one cared or remembered him.
She hadn't even been there to pay her respects. To see him for one last time before they put him in the ground. He was gone forever, and she would never see him again.
ER 21
Schuyler
"It's this way," Jack said. "When I was a kid, the cooks used to chase me out of here."
He showed Schuyler the secret passageways that twisted through the building's vast storerooms underneath the castle. Historically, the home had been built to accommodate an entire court of nobles. There was a full servants' wing, and the kitchens and pantries went down three levels. When the count was still alive, the royal couple had hosted lavish month long parties for guests and their entourages.
The castle was meant to sustain what had become an increasingly outdated, not to mention incredibly expensive, lifestyle. No wonder the developers planned to chop it up into apartments. Living with a staff of sixty had become untenable even to the countess, who was moving to her villa in Saint-Tropez with a much more moderate household.
But while the property boasted dozens of hidden rooms and mazelike passageways, in the end there was only one way out of the H'tel Lambert. Everyone, from the highest ranking nobleman to the humblest kitchen steward, had to go through the central courtyard and out the main gates. Jack and Schuyler found they didn't have a choice: they would have to walk through the vipers' nest to freedom.
The staircase from the servants' quarters led straight into the main hall, where Jack and Schuyler could hear the sounds of hysterical laughter and uncontrollable gaiety, which sounded more overwrought and frantic as the dizzying music gained speed and volume.
"What are they doing?" Schuyler whispered as they huddled behind one of the fluted columns. "Why do I feel... like... like I want to... to hurt someone?"
"It's what the Silver Bloods do, they "push", they use the glom like we do, except they push in the opposite direction. They bring out the worst in people."
"Shouldn't we warn everyone?" she asked.
"This isn't Rio. There are too many of us to overpower; the Silver Bloods will not risk anything more dangerous than compulsion. They are only here for you," Jack said, trying to blunt the difficulty of their situation with another reassuring smile.
Schuyler did not want to be swallowed up by her fear, and steadied herself by concentrating on fighting the rising overwhelming sickness she felt from the Silver Bloods' spell.
They had to find Oliver, and then they had to get out of here as quietly as possible. She had made a huge ruckus in running away from Jack, but the over-the-top antics of the Bollywood musical numbers had covered up most of that. The guests had figured she was part of the show, especially given the way she was dressed. In her sari she had blended right in.
"Here," Jack said, handing her a small silver crucifix on a chain. "It should help." He pulled out a similar one from underneath his shirt. "Part of the Venator uniform."
They crept out to the garden and found Oliver standing by himself under a majestic beech tree, holding a drink. If he was surprised to see Schuyler with Jack, he didn't show it except for a slight raise of his eyebrows, although it pained Schuyler to notice that a little light went out in his eyes when he saw them together.
It's not what you think, she wanted to tell him. I love you.