“She said she wanted to finish off an enemy,” Kingsley said, looking straight at Mimi.
Mimi quavered in her seat. Lies, lies. All lies! Stop talking! Shut up! Shut up! You were my friend! Traitor!
“And that was Bliss Llewellyn.”
“No.”
“No?” The inquisitor looked mildly surprised.
“No.”
“Who was the intended target?”
“Schuyler Van Alen.”
There was another angry buzz among the audience.
Schuyler felt herself freeze. So she wasn’t just paranoid— Mimi did want to destroy her. She remembered her dream in which her mother was awake and speaking to her. What had Allegra said? Beware.
“Why did you allow her to perform the incantation?” The Chief Warden asked.
“I needed the evidence. I thought I could control it, stop her before it happened. But I could not. It was obvious she had done this before. Many times.”
“Thank you, Venator.”
Kingsley stepped down. Now that his identity was known, he looked much older, the cocky adolescent boy had been a facade, merely a pose. He walked gravely to his seat in the front row next to the Duchesne kids, and they gave him a respectful berth.
“The investigation now calls Charles Force to the stand,” the Chief Warden announced.
The head of the coven staggered down to the podium from his seat on the high platform. His own daughter, harboring a Silver Blood! The shame of it was written all over his face. His silver hair looked white under the light, and there were heavy bags under his eyes. He looked like a broken man, not the indefatigable leader of the vampires.
“State your full name for the record,” The inquistor ordered.
“Charles Van Alen Force.”
“Have you witnessed your daughter meddle with the Black Spells?”
“Yes, but . . .” Charles answered, wiping his brow with a silk handkerchief.
“Incantations. Forbidden spells.”
“Yes, but . . .
“That will be all. Thank you,” the inquisitor said, cutting off his testimony.
Charles looked as though he wanted to say something more, but his words died on his tongue. He looked ashen and disheartened. He stepped down and walked back to his seat with the Conclave.
None of the members of the Conclave would look at him, and several in the crowd began to boo and hiss.
“As final evidence against Madeleine Force, we present the Mark. I believe you will find it on the back of her neck,” the inquisitor declared.
“That’s absolutely ludicrous. I don’t bear the Mark of Lucifer any more than the rest of you,” Mimi said. She wanted to scream. This was a travesty. She was being set up!
“Lift your hair, please,” the Chief Warden directed.
Mimi gathered her hair and lifted it. She had done this for Nan Cutler the night before, when she had come to perform the test. Nothing had happened, and she was certain she had been cleared.
There was an agitated murmur from the Conclave.
“What?”
Your neck, Mimi, there’s something on your neck.
Jack, you’re scaring me.
She felt the back of her neck with the tips of her fingers. Raised flesh. A tattoo. More like a burn, like a cattle brand.
Judgment was swift and resolute. Mimi was the perpetrator. She was found guilty of conspiring with a Silver Blood. She would be taken to their ancient prison in Venice, where her blood would be burned, her memories destroyed, with no hope of reincarnation. Bail was set for one million dollars, which her father promptly paid, so that Mimi could be released to his custody.
Mimi looked at Jack. This can’t be happening . . . I didn’t do it. You know I didn’t.
I know. I know. Jack put an arm around his sister, but his face was lined with anxiety. This was serious. Sentenced to burn! Mimi!
The Force twins waited for Charles to walk down the platform to their side. He still had the same shell-shocked look on his face.
“Father, what can we do now?” Mimi said. “Surely . . .”
Charles Force was aghast. “There is nothing . . .”
“Nothing?”
“There is only one way to refute the Mark of Lucifer. You must submit to an even more ancient custom. The blood trial. But only Gabrielle—Allegra Van Alen—is able to perform this.”
“Gabrielle?” Mimi asked, with a sinking feeling.
“Yes.”
A whole lot of good that was going to do her. Allegra was in a coma and would never wake up.
“So there is nothing I can do to prove my innocence?” Mimi asked.
“Nothing.”
FORTYTWO