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CHAPTER 7

Schuyler

It was ten o’clock in the evening, and the first guests were arriving at the landing As befitting the Oriental theme, a platoon of authentic Chinese junks rented for the partythe crests of the Great Houses of Europe Hapsburg Bourbon Savoy Liechtenstein Saxe-Coburg

Blue Bloods that had re a new home across the ocean Schuyler stood sentry with the arainst the stone wall, just another faceless drone, or so she hoped Each of them carried a different libation: there were pink cosundy and Bordeaux fro water with lemon slices for teetotalers She carried a heavy tray of chaht

She could hear the crack-thuainst the on boats, coold-plated scales and luminescent emerald eyes at the bow Sohtly colored "cannons" poking out of the stern A grand ient and beautiful She noticed so, changing with the light, transfor in a fluid dance of form and color

"Do you see that?" She turned to the girl standing next to her

"See what? A bunch of rich people in so at her dubiously Only then did Schuyler realize that the flashing syht They were Blue Blood sigils, froiven herself away, but thankfully no one had noticed Her lip quivered, and she could feel her body tense as the guests walked down the dock and approached the waiters What if sonized her? What if someone from the New York Coven were at the party? What then? It was et aith this There were sure to be Venators here, weren’t there?

If any of the Blue Bloods recognized her before she was able to make her case to the countess, she wouldn’t have a chance in the world, and ould become of them then? She wasn’t afraid so much for herself as for Oliver She feared what the vampires would do to a human Conduit of whom they disapproved

Hopefully the croould remain as oblivious as they looked, another bunch of pleasure-seeking socialites, as her coworker had dismissed them Just because they were immortal didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy the trivial

Schuyler tried not to stare at the women, most of whouests were dressed variously as Japanese geishas, in full white powder aily printed kiold headdresses, or Persian princesses with real jewels pasted on their foreheads

One faeous wardrobe caoda, a heavy metal costume that wouldn’t allow her to walk or sit for the entire evening Instead, she rolled out of the boat on a Segway For a h as the archduchess al caviar and blinis

The men wore Russian officers’ uniforms, Fu Manchu mustaches, and turbans It was all so politically incorrect and yet stupendously fabulous and anachronistic One guest, the head of Europe’s largest bank, was decked out in a large sable hat and a plush wolf-fur-tri in the heat, and yet, like the lady in the pagoda who could not sit down, he was suffering to make a statement Schuyler hoped it orth it

Human familiars were in attendance as well, only the s them away Otherwise they were just as festively attired and barely distinguishable froht was balmy and clear Sitar h-pitched wailing, and the line of junks waiting to dise

Several speedboats carrying young European Blue Bloods cut the line They were irls, the daughter of the Russian financebut draped metal ropes and a wisp of black chiffon Another svelte nyh chain mail Of course, the boys were dressed as ninja assassins in black silk jumpsuits or as samurai warriors, and carried decorative swords

When her tray was eht line fro a turquoise-colored cocktail adorned with sizzling firecrackers She saw him nod, and she knew he had seen her She ditched her tray in a dark corner and walked swiftly into the

This is where she and Cordelia had stayed on their visits There was a bathrooht, behind the Sabine murals It was empty She locked the door and took a deep breath Phase one of the plan was co their way into the party Noas time for phase two

She shook out her ponytail and slipped out of her catering unifor off the layers She found the small rucksack she had hidden underneath the sink earlier She re on a bejeweled sari, luscious pink silk encrusted with diamonds Oliver had helped her pick it out at the shop in Little Jaffna in the 10th arrondisseh it had been prohibitively expensive

The silk draped elegantly over her bare shoulders, and the dazzling pinkblue-black hair She looked at herself in the mirror She was thinner than she had ever been: lack of sleep and security would do that to anyone Her cheekbones, already sharp, were thrown into sharper relief, cut like the edge of a blade The bright sari brought color to her cheeks, and the dazzling geht She sucked in her stoh her hip bones were prominent above the dress’s loaisted hare froan to apply some makeup She dropped her powdered compact to the floor, and only then realized her hands were shaking again

She wasn’t ready for this Whenever she contemplated what she was about to do, what she was about to ask, she couldn’t breathe What if the countess turned her away? She couldn’t run forever, could she? If the countess refused the, Schuyler wanted to go horandparents had lived Back in her s heater

She had already missed an entire year of school In a o back to that life, even though she kneas lost to her Even if the European Conclave gave her shelter, it did not mean she would be able to return to New York

Outside the band was playing ’thriller,’ Michael Jackson to a bhangra beat, cy She bundled her waiter’s unifor and stuffed it in a trash can, then left the powder roone?" a server offered Thankfully, the waitress didn’t recognize Schuyler as a fellow serf on the bus

"No, thank you," Schuyler demurred

She walked to bottom of the staircase, elaborately costuh even as her throat constricted with fear She was ready for whatever the night would bring, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to wait too long

CHAPTER 8

Mimi