Blue Bloods: Keys to the Repository (6 page)

Mr. Darcy, I will be there as requested. —Elizabeth

At midnight, Schuyler slipped the key in the lock and turned it. The apartment was dark, which made the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows even

more breathtaking, the dark river against city lights, the West Side Highway a ribbon of yel ow taxicabs. Schuyler stepped inside and looked around.

She closed the door behind her. But she was alone. No one was there.

And then, before she could breathe, there he was, solid, against her, his warm lips on hers, his hands around her waist, and she had dropped the

key and the book on the floor. She wanted to cry out—to ask questions—but she could feel his heart beating against hers and the intensity of the

emotion exploding between them. She returned his kisses with an ardor that she did not know she was capable of—and he buried his face in her

neck as if he wanted to breathe in every part of her—and she buckled to the floor so that he fel with her, until they were lying down, stil kissing, their

bodies entwined like roots of a tree.

“Jack . . .” she final y said, when she had found her voice. He was lying on top of her, his weight heavy and yet light at the same time—a weight

she wanted to bear. “I . . .” She wanted to tel him the same thing she had wanted to tel him since that night when he first kissed her. He had stopped

her from saying it back then, but he wouldn’t stop her now. She wanted him to know how she felt about him.

Jack looked at her and raised an eyebrow. He looked so serious in the moonlight, but his eyes were teasing. They were sparkling. This was a

boy who spoke through books: longing and exile—
The Plague
—banter and obstacles—
Pride and Prejudice
. He spoke her language. She watched

as he, with his hair tousled and his eyes shining, raised her arms above her head so that she was immobile beneath him. The strength in his hold and

the exquisite torture of wondering when he would kiss her again was too much to bear. It was painful to feel so much desire.

Then he bent down and kissed her gently, a feathery whisper that melted against her as she pressed her body against his.

She knew right then that she didn’t have to say anything.

They understood each other perfectly.

There would never be anything but this. Stolen moments, stolen kisses, a secret oasis. There would be no public displays of affection. In school

and at his home, there would only be indifference and detachment. There would be no holding hands, no study dates, no dinner dates, no dates at al .

Ever.

But it was al right. She would take as much as he could give, and for now, it was enough.

FAMILY RECORDS:

FORCE

Charles Van Alen changed his family name to “Force” after his bondmate and twin sister, Al egra Van Alen, broke their blood bond to bond with her

human familiar. From his actions we can only conclude that he no longer considered himself a member of the Van Alen family, and thus we have

created a new family record to reflect his new al egiance.

JACK FORCE

Abbadon, Angel of Destruction, Twin Angel of the Apocalypse, the Unlikely, Destroyer of Worlds

Birth Name
: Benjamin Hamilton Force, known as “Jack”

Origin
: June 7, 1991, New York, New York

Known Past Lives
: Henry Searle (Newport), Wil iam White (Plymouth), Louis d’Orleans (Versail es), Valerius (Rome)

Bondmate
: Madeleine Force (presumed broken)

Assigned Human Conduit
: None

List of Human Familiars
: Kitty Mul ins (2006)

Physical Characteristics:

Hair
: Blond (platinum)

Eyes
: Green

Height
: 6’2”

As a child, Benjamin Force was known for his uncontrol able temper tantrums and was given the nickname “Blackjack,” which was then shortened to

“Jack.” In elementary school, Jack was a whirlwind of activity, unable to sit stil or concentrate, and was diagnosed by human psychiatrists as having

Attention Deficit Disorder and was prescribed copious amounts of antianxiety medication. His symptoms disappeared once the Transformation took

hold, however, and since then he has been a model student.

Intern report #102

Jack Force is captain of the lacrosse team; lead in every school play (Konstantin in
The Seagul
and Melchior in
Spring Awakening
);

described as “painfully handsome” by most of the female population (the usual: tall, platinum-haired, chiseled good looks, piercing

green eyes, athletic, graceful, etc . . .). Jack performs at a stellar academic and athletic level. He is a natural leader to his peers, and

only in comparison to his more loquacious twin does he come across as reticent and taciturn. Those who know him well describe him as

funny and charming, and never to be found without a book in his hand. Jack is a frequent visitor to the Repository library.

(Renfield’s notes continued)

At the Four Hundred Bal , Jack was revealed as Abbadon, the Angel of Destruction, a position traditional y known as God’s Enforcer, the

hammer blow, his duty and burden to remind man of his mortality. In the current cycle, his bondmate, Azrael, was revealed to be his twin sister, Mimi.

Known together as the Angels of the Apocalypse, the Force twins are of one mind, two sides of one coin, blood bound in Heaven, and destined to

find each other and renew their vows in every cycle. Reports of Abbadon’s infatuation with Gabriel e are unfounded but persistent. In any event, for

centuries innumerable, he has remained true to Azrael. Jack took a sabbatical from Duchesne for a year, and reports recently made available to the

Repository indicate that he was on a secret Venator mission with Charles Force to hunt Leviathan in Paris.

Jack has been missing since the day of his scheduled bonding to Mimi at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. While he was feared lost during

the Silver Blood attack, conflicting eyewitness reports state that he was spotted emerging from the glom, critical y injured but intact. He then al egedly

performed the Sacred Kiss on none other than Schuyler Van Alen, whose mixed blood, we can safely assume, saved his life. The next day he was

observed again in her company at the international terminal at Kennedy Airport. If we are to believe the intern reports, Jack had been conducting a

secret affair with Schuyler for several months.

Breaking his bond with his vampire twin is in direct violation of the Code of the Vampires, and if spotted within the territory of the New York

Coven, he must immediately be brought to justice, and faces a sentence of death from his twin.

Current Status
: Missing. Believed to be in the company of Schuyler Van Alen and to have sought refuge in the European Coven.

MIMI FORCE

Azrael, Angel of Death, Twin Angel of the Apocalypse

Birth Name
: Madeleine Alexis Force, known as “Mimi”

Origin
: June 7, 1991, New York, New York

Known Past Lives
: Eliza Whitney (Newport), Susannah Ful er (Plymouth), Elisabeth Lorraine-Lil ebonne (Versail es), Agrippina (Rome)

Bondmate
: Jack Force (presumed broken)

Assigned Human Conduit
: None

List of Human Familiars
: See pages 84–88 in records of Human Interaction for ful list. (Too many to mention here; number in possible violation of

the Code.)

Phyiscal Characteristics
:

Hair
: Blond (platinum)

Eyes
: Green

Height
: 5’9”

Dubbed “the most beautiful girl in the history of New York City,” Mimi Force is a social luminary, a tabloid favorite, and a local celebrity. A file on Mimi

Force would be remiss if it did not include a description of her comely physical attributes: long platinum hair, skin the color of fresh milk, sloe-like

emerald green eyes, and that famous twenty-two-inch waist.

At Duchesne, Mimi is an indifferent student, but has consistently shown promise as one of the most talented in the new generation of vampires.

However, she can be arrogant and regularly bends the rules concerning human familiars, putting them at risk for Ful Consumption. The queen of her

social circle at Duchesne, Mimi reportedly took Bliss Llewel yn into her acquaintance at the orders of her father. Mimi concerns herself with superficial

pursuits and can often be found at pricey clothing stores or in the banquettes of the latest nightclub.

Blood bound to her cycle brother, Jack, Mimi has been observed to exhibit frustration, desperation, and rage at her twin’s increasing (al eged)

obsession with Schuyler Van Alen. Mimi was the prime suspect of the Venator investigation in the attack at the Repository and the murder of Warden

Priscil a Dupont. She was cleared at a blood trial when Venator Martin was shown to have cal ed the Silver Blood.

Mimi’s frivolous façade obscures the fact that Azreal is one of history’s most fearsome hunters of Silver Blood spawn. As the Committee’s

newest minted Venator, she is a talented Truth Seeker and joined the team that found the remains of Jordan Llewel yn in Brazil. During this tenure she

was rumored to have conducted an intimate affair with her commanding officer, Venator Martin. However, the veracity of this gossip is doubtful, as

upon her return to New York, Mimi took no time in enthusiastical y planning her bonding to Jack. When her father resigned from the Conclave, Mimi

claimed the family seat and serves as her family’s voice on the council.

Mimi survived the attack at the cathedral, but her brother’s sudden disappearance and rumored liaison with Schuyler Van Alen has compel ed

her to cal for his execution, as proscribed by the Code of the Vampires. The punishment for breaking a heavenly promise is eternal death. The

Castigatio Mortis
can only be cal ed for by the bondmate. While Charles Force did not cal for this punishment on Al egra Van Alen, Mimi has no

qualms in her decision. She has been overheard saying, “If I ever see Jack again, I’m going to kil him.”

Current Status
: Conclave elder. Venator emerita.

CHARLES FORCE

Michael, Pure of Heart, the Valiant, Prince of the Angels, Supreme Commander of the Lord’s Armies, Archangel of the Light

Birth Name
: Charles Edgar Van Alen

Origin
: August 24, 1969, New York, New York (
Blue Bloods
: Repository Record #101 lists his age as sixty. This is incorrect and possibly the result of

Charles’s hair going prematurely silver.)

Known Past Lives
: Myles Standish (Plymouth), Cassius (Rome), Menes (Egypt)

Bondmate
: Al egra Van Alen (broken)