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"Marcus thought it hts present," he said smoothly
"Why?" My stomach somersaulted as my instincts warned ation decides to take exception to the event," Matthew said His eyes met mine, cool and tranquil as a su could possibly have prepared me for the enthusiastic welcome we received Marcus had transfor in the stiff Deceainst both the snow and the dark local basalt Atop the square keep, the de Clermont family’s black-and-silver standard with the ouroboros on it had been topped by a large square flag bearing the great seal of the Knights of Lazarus
The two pieces of silk flapped on the saht of the already tall tower by nearly thirty feet
"Well, if the Congregation didn’t know so at the spectacle
"There didn’t see it," Matthew said "We shall start as we intend to go on
And thatto hide the children from the truth--or the rest of the world"
I nodded and took his hand in mine
When Matthew pulled in to the courtyard, it was filled ishers He carefully navigated the car a by an old friend anted to shake his hand and congratulate us on our good fortune He slammed on the brakes hard, however, when he saw Chris Roberts standing with a large grin on his face and a silver tankard in his hand
"Hey!" Chris banged on the ith the tankard "I want to see hter Now"
"Hello, Chris! I didn’t realize you were co hirew
"So I’ve been told," Sarah said There had been other warh and Henry Percy to naht to countto make my students call me Sir Christopher next semester," Chris said
"Better that than St Christopher," said a piercing soprano voice Miriarinned, her hands on her hips The pose showed off the T-shirt she earing under a demure navy blazer It, too, was navy and had SCIENCE: RUINING EVERYTHING SINCE 1543 spelled out across the chest along with a unicorn, an Aristotelian depiction of the heavens, and the outline of God and Adaelo’s Sistine Chapel A red bar sinister obliterated each ie
"Hello, Mirias," she deed, but when a crowd started to form, he said that the babies needed to be out of the cold and beat a hasty retreat into the kitchen, ar Philip as a shield
"How many people are here?" I asked Fernando We had passed dozens of parked cars
"At least a hundred," he replied "I haven’t stopped to count"
Based on the feverish preparations in the kitchen, there were oose go into the oven and a pig come out of it, ready to be basted ine and herbs My mouth watered at the aro, the church bells in Saint-Lucien pealed By that tiowns made of silk and lace and little caps sewn by Marthe and Victoire They looked every inch sixteenth-century babies We bundled them into blankets and made our way downstairs
It was then that the ceremonies took an unexpected turn Sarah climbed into one of the fae Rover Once ere strapped in, Marcus drove us not to the church but to the goddess’s teht of the ishers gathered beneath the oak and cypress Only sonized far aret, with Nathaniel by their side Agatha Wilson was there, too, looking at nized but wasn’t able to place htly overwhelmed by all the ceremony But it was the dozens of unfamiliar vampires present who surprised me most Their stares were cold and curious, but not malicious
"What is this about?" I asked Matthehen he opened ht we should divide the cere ceremony here, and a Christian baptism at the church," he explained "That way Ehtfulness--and his efforts to remember E plans and conducting business while I slept I hadn’t ieht, mon coeur?" he asked, anxious at my silence "I wanted it to be a surprise"
"It’s perfect," I said when I was able "And it will uests foroddess Sarah, Matthew, and I took our places within it My aunt had anticipated that I wouldn’t re ritual that I had ever witnessed or taken part in, and she was prepared to officiate The cere witch’s life, since it was a formal welcome into the community But there was more to it than that, as Sarah knew
"Welcoan, her cheeks pink with cold and exciteathered here today to bestow upon their children the nao into the world Anize its power By naoddess who entrusted theiven them"
Matthew and I had used a formula to come up with the babies’ names--and I had vetoed the vampire tradition of five first names in favor of an elemental foursome With a hyphenated last name, that seerandparent Their second na the naels on members of the farandparent For the fourth and final name, we selected someone who had been important to their conception and birth
No one knew the babies’ full names until now--except for Matthew, Sarah, and me