The Van Alen Legacy

“Ah, so this is where you and your young man meet. But don’t worry; he won’t be bothering us anymore.”


Bliss felt her stomach clench. “What do you mean?”

“I know what you have been doing. I know everything you know. You cannot hide from me, Bliss. I hear your every thought. I hear your every word. I know that you have seen what is in my mind, and I am glad. For you must be ready.”

“Ready? For what?”

“Hearing about Allegra reminded me we have unfinished business to attend to. Her half-blood mongrel daughter—Schuyler Van Alen. A very good friend of yours, from what I can tell.”

“What about Schuyler?” Bliss asked nervously.

“Forsyth has been unable to bring her to me. Leviathan has failed as well. It is amazing how blind I have been to the advantage that is just within my reach. Because you shall not fail me, my daughter. No. You will bring her to me.”

Bliss shook her head and stepped away, almost to the edge of the rooftop. “No way! You’re crazy if you think I’d ever do such a thing.”

Lucifer’s face was calm. “Why? Is it because you mistakenly believe Schuyler Van Alen is a friend? What kind of friend leaves you behind? She never called, not even once, did she? Never wanted to know how you were. What kind of friend is that? How could she leave you alone, knowing how much you were suffering?”

Bliss continued to shake her head so vigorously that she thought she would make herself dizzy. “She had no choice . . . she was running . . . Forsyth made her a fugitive!”

“Still, each of us has a choice. Each of us has the freedom to choose how we act, and she chose to leave you alone. Alone with me.” Lucifer smiled again, and this time Bliss could see his fangs.

“No. I won’t. You’ll have to do it yourself if you want it done.”

“I have tried, my dear,” Lucifer sighed. “Do not forget: we have, as you young people say, ‘been there, done that.’” Bliss realized Lucifer meant he had already tried to harm Schuyler during the times he had been in charge, when Bliss was having all those blackouts. “And so far I have not been able to truly harm the girl. Gabrielle’s protection is rooted in her blood and must have deflected my presence. But you, my dear, you have your mother’s blood in you as well. Same as Schuyler. You will be able to push through where I was unable.”

“I’ll never do it.” Bliss pushed her fists into the pockets of her coat. Her father was insane if he thought she would ever harm her friend.

“Well, now you have a choice: you can do as I ask, or you shall never see your young man again.”

“What do I care? He’s not real,” Bliss insisted.

“He’s as real as I am. You think yours is the only world that is true? There are an infinite number of worlds in the universe. The world in your mind is as real as the world outside of it.”

Bliss looked down from the roof of the museum. If she jumped, if she fell into the glom, in her mind, could she hurt herself ? “What are you going to do? What do you want me to do . . . with Schuyler?” she whispered.

“My dear? Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to kill her.”





FIFTY-FIVE

Mimi


He was right, I look better naked, Mimi thought as she checked out her figure in the spa mirrors. Standing at five-feet-nine, with long shapely legs, broad shoulders, and high, not-so-big, not-so-small breasts that needed neither reduction nor augmentation, she had the kind of body seen on Sports Illustrated cover girls—athletic and toned, but still womanly and sexy, with that tiny Barbie-doll waist and graceful, slim hips. The bonding was set for the next day, and she tried not to think of Kingsley anymore. But sometimes he came to mind at unexpected moments. A bad habit she was trying to shake.

“Ready?” her mother asked, closing her locker door and folding a thick white towel around her torso. Trinity looked a bit disapproving to see Mimi so unabashedly nude in the middle of the locker room. Tradition called for the bride to be fully undressed for the ceremony, although it was no longer necessary. But Mimi preferred the old ways and fondly remembered the past baths she’d taken for this purpose—in the Nile River, in a marble tub at Versailles, in a newly installed sauna in Newport.

The female wardens, a handful of Blue Blood girls from Duchesne, and a few cousins were already waiting for them in the fire pool.

“Let’s do this.” Mimi nodded and led the way to the underground cavern. It had been a week since Kingsley had asked her to leave with him for Paris. Sometimes she wondered what he was doing, if he was thinking about her, but mostly she had spent her time preparing herself for tomorrow’s bonding.