CHAPTER 55

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.

The spa was a Blue Bloods, only establishment, patterned after the Roman baths of antiquity. Mimi had booked it for the requisite prebonding ceremony: the bathing of the bride by her womenfolk.

Ritual cleansing was a tradition that the Blue Bloods had passed down through the centuries, manifesting in other cultures under different names: in the Jewish religion it was the mikva, in Hinduism, the bath was recommended at four a.m., during the brahma muhoratham, or the most auspicious time of day. In the sacred language it was called the sanctus balineum.

There were four different pools in the vast underground complex, an ice bath kept at a shocking fifty-seven degrees Fahrenheit; a steamy "vaporous" pool, which was good for the pores; a "harmony" pool, which was the essence of relaxation; and a fire pool, in which the water was kept at a degree of heat that only vampires could tolerate. A human would burn in the fire pool, but for vampires it was a restorative and refreshing treatment.

Mimi walked down the stone slab steps and felt the warm water cover her skin as she joined the group of women and girls arranged in a circle. Shimmering and moving like water nymphs, they began to hum as she came closer.

She stood in the middle of the group and crossed her arms against her chest, bowing to let them know she respected and appreciated their presence at this important stage of her life.

Trinity followed her into the circle, holding aloft a gold chalice. She dipped it into the pool and filled it with the living holy waters. The sanctus balineum required water that did not come from a pipe. It was collected spring water, brought in by the truckload from a secret spring in a hidden reservoir.

She poured it slowly over Mimi's head as she said the words: "This is the daughter of the Heavens," she intoned in a sweet, melodious voice that echoed around the stone chamber. Slowly, the light in the room began to fade, until they were surrounded by total darkness, their vampire bodies glowing in the glom.

"Amen," the group murmured.

Trinity nodded and continued to chant. "We come today to cleanse her of her earthly sins."

"Amen." The women began to walk slowly around Mimi, singing a soft "Hallelujah."

"We prepare her for the bond that must not be broken. To say the words that must never be unmade."

Each member of the circle came forward and used the gold cup to pour water over Mimi's head, blessing her with their prayers.

When everyone had finished, Trinity placed her hands on Mimi's head. "This is the daughter of the Heavens. Today she is cleansed of her earthly sins." She led Mimi deeper into the water, and Mimi submerged herself fully into the pool.

Mimi felt the warm water tingle and soothe her skin, felt a light-headed cleansing of the mind as well as the body. She emerged from the waters peaceful and energized.

She felt cleansed of all her doubts, all her confusion. She had no more thoughts of Kingsley, or of what he had asked her to do. She was one with the spirit, she was one with life, with light, with her destiny. She was ready to be bound.

CHAPTER 56

Schuyler

It had been a fortnight since Schuyler had met Bliss at the sample sale. After their joyful reunion, Schuyler thought she would be seeing Bliss more often, but the exact opposite had happened. Bliss always had an excuse not to see her. Schuyler tried not to be too upset by her friend's reluctance to hang out. In any case, her mother had set an awesome task before her.

The Repository of History was the first place to look for family records, but since it wasn't safe for Schuyler to go there, Oliver had lugged all the books to her studio apartment. The separation had been good for their relationship. They no longer experienced the daily small irritations with each other brought on by living in the same space twenty-four/seven. Of course, they still saw each other way too often. It didn't even matter that Schuyler was no longer at Duchesne, she saw Oliver as much as if she were. He had a key to her studio.

"That's a lot of books," Schuyler said, opening the door to let him in.

"Conduits are transferring everything to a computer data base, but they're only up to the eighteenth century," Oliver said cheerfully.

He placed the dusty stack on the kitchen table. "How are you, by the way?" he asked, giving her a peck on the cheek. The two of them were back in an easy groove. After it had become clear that Schuyler had no intention of reviving her friendship with Jack, Oliver seemed to relax. The threat had passed.

"Okay."

She had told him everything that happened with Allegra, had told him how odd it had been to finally speak to her mother, only to have her leave so soon. She hadn't even been able to ask Allegra about her so called sister. Nope. It was just, Here's the Van Alen Legacy. Save the world while you're at it, and I'll see you on the other side of somewhere, sometime.

Well. Schuyler had to get to work, and she was glad she had Oliver with her. With his help, they'd already made a lot of progress, considering they were looking for a family tree that went back to antiquity. It helped that the Blue Bloods kept meticulous expression and expulsion records. Schuyler put the teakettle on to boil and took a seat across from where Oliver had laid all the books open in front of him.

"Here's what we know," Oliver said. "Tiberius Gemellus was supposed to be emperor, because he was Caesar Tiberius's real grandson and heir, while Caligula, who actually became emperor, was adopted. But Tiberius preferred Caligula over Gemellus, and so named Caligula to succeed him to the throne. You would think Gemellus would have been upset, but the records show he was very close to Caligula, and loved him as a brother. The Red Bloods' history books say there is nothing known about Gemellus, which is logical, since most of the real history is hidden from them, I mean us, you know what I mean."

Schuyler nodded.

"But there's really nothing about Gemellus or his family in any of the Blue Bloods records either. It's like he never existed. Or wasn't important enough to keep track of," Oliver said, getting up when the teakettle began to whistle. He poured hot water into two cups and threw in the tea bags.

"But he was important," Schuyler said, accepting her cup and blowing on the surface before taking a sip.

"He was a keeper. He was important enough that Michael and Gabrielle named him to the Order of the Seven. But where is he now? What happened to him? Who did he become?"

Schuyler asked. "How do we find a person who's not in the books?"

Oliver and Schuyler looked at each other. They were both thinking of a rather unusual diary they had found two years ago.

Oliver said excitedly, "Usually when something's not in the books, it means..."

"It's deliberately been hidden," Schuyler said.

"Exactly." Oliver put down his cup. "So wherever he is, we're not going to find him here," he said, pushing the books away.

"He was brother to Caligula. Beloved by the emperor. His closest advisor. Ollie, I've got an idea. Call me crazy, but do you think that maybe Gemellus... was a Silver Blood?"