Blue Bloods: Keys to the Repository

I imagined a large, sprawling story with a huge cast of characters. Some pieces came into place easily: three girls, three different motivations. Schuyler, the shy girl who might hold the key to the Blue Bloods’ salvation; Mimi, whose superficial fa?ade masks her true nature; and Bliss, who hides a dangerous secret. Other pieces, like how the Lost Colony of Roanoke figured into the tale, came as I was writingthe first book. Soon I was off and running, and now, five years later, I am more immersed in the story than ever. It is alive in my mind, the Blue Bloods’ saga dominates talk at my dinner table (my husband is a supportive sounding board), I spend my days turning over plot points, and I can’t sleep if I can’t solve a character’s dilemma.

In these pages you’ll find the mythology of the Blue Bloods explained, some new stories featuring our favorite young vampires, and a sneak peek at what’s to come. I should warn you, The Repository Files, which include character profiles, were written by rather crotchety historians who work for the humorless Committee, so you might find their estimation of the characters a little astringent. Also, while the Repository might think they know everything, careful readers will observe that in certain instances their knowledge is somewhat limited.

Thank you for welcoming the Blue Bloods into your library. I have very much enjoyed the journey that has brought them to your shelves.

I don’t remember how Stephen King said good-bye to his readers, but for me, it’s always a very fond . . .

xoxo

Mel





THE REPOSITORY FILES


The following documents you are about to read contain top secret and classified information concerning the history of the Blue Bloods. These records were compiled and maintained by Conduit Renfield, the Repository’s longest-serving historian, along with higher-ranking scribes and their interns. The Committee employs a secret underground network of Wardens, Venators, Conduits, and interns to keep their members safe and also to keep track of their actions and whereabouts. In Blue Bloods (or Repository Record #101), Mimi Force said of the Committee Wardens: “It was eerie how they knew so much about you—almost as if they were always there, watching.” She was right.





ONCE UPON A TIME IN PARADISE

The Fall and Rise of the Blue Bloods


It was the beginning of the end. Lucifer, the Prince of Heaven, the Morningstar, the most beautiful angel of all time, became so enamored with his own beauty and power that he came to believe his light was as great as the Almighty, and that the throne should be his and his alone. And so he gathered his loyal army of angels for the War to End All Wars, and with swords blazing, trumpets blasting, and hellfire in his heart, he came to claim what was not his to claim.

The battle was a day of black smoke and searing flame, clashing swords and cracking whips. Alas, with victory in Lucifer’s grasp, at the crucial moment to deliver the crushing blow, the twin Angels of the Apocalypse—Abbadon and Azrael—his most loyal lieutenants, stayed their hand. They betrayed the Morningstar and knelt to the golden sword of Michael instead, turning the tide of battle. But it was too late to save themselves.

All the rogue angels were banished from Heaven. They woke to the cold of the earth as immortals, condemned to walk the world forever, and cursed until the end of days to feed on the blood of their human brethren. Where once they were angels, they were now “vampyres.” Angels of fire and death. Soulless creatures bereft of light and love, with the immortal blue blood running in their veins.

But they were not without hope. Gabrielle, the Virtuous, out of love for her people, chose to descend with them, to bring a ray of light to the damned. She was joined by her mate, the mightiest of them all, Michael, Pure of Heart, who could not bear to spend eternity apart from her. Gabrielle and Michael were called the Uncorrupted, vampires by choice instead of sin.

Together, Gabrielle and Michael established the Code of the Vampires, a foundation of rules that would govern their community through the centuries, and help them to forge a way back to their glorious home in Paradise. The life cycles of the vampires were coordinated to match a human lifetime, and so the vampires followed the rites of life (Expression), death (Expulsion), and reincarnation (Evolution).

But Lucifer and his minions remained contemptuous of their fall from Paradise. They had no desire to regain God’s grace or to live by the Code. They preyed on their fellow vampires, feeding on their blood and memories until they became beings of chaos, misery, and delirium. Their blood turned silver, and they were called Croatan, the Silver Bloods.

For a time they were subdued and controlled by the power of the Uncorrupted, and for centuries served as the Blue Bloods’ slaves. That is, until the day the slaves rose up against their masters in a merciless slaughter. Thus did Michael declare war against Lucifer and his followers, seeking revenge and bringing death and havoc to his enemies.

The war culminated in a final battle in ancient Rome, when Cassius (Michael) unmasked the emperor Caligula, who was revealed to be Lucifer himself. Michael sent Lucifer into the fires of Hell by the point of his golden sword, forever locking him behind an impenetrable gate.