The gondolier pushed off from the dock, and they began their slow voyage. Oliver took pictures, and Schuyler tried to enjoy the view. But as beautiful as the city was, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of distress and helplessness. If she didn’t find her grandfather, what would she do then? Aside from Oliver, she was alone in the world. Defenseless. What would happen to her? The Silver Blood—if it had been a Silver Blood—had almost taken her twice already. She pressed a hand to her neck as if to shield herself from the past attack. Who knew if or when it would come back? And would the slaughter stop, as The Committee hoped— or would it continue, as she suspected, until all of them were taken?
Schuyler shivered, even though there was no chill in the air, looked across the canal, and saw a woman walking out of a building.
A woman who looked eerily familiar.
It can’t be, Schuyler thought. It’s impossible. Her mother was in a coma, in a hospital room in New York City. There was no way she could be in Italy. Or could she? Was there something about Allegra that Schuyler did not know?
Almost as if she had heard her, the woman looked straight into Schuyler’s eyes.
It was her mother. She was sure of it. The woman had Allegra’s fine blond hair, thin aristocratic nose, the same knife-blade cheekbones, the same lissome figure, the same bright green eyes.
“Oliver—it’s—oh my God!” Schuyler exclaimed, pulling on her friend’s coat. She pointed frantically across the canal.
Oliver turned. “Huh?”
“That woman . . . I think it’s my . . . my mother! There!” Schuyler said, pointing toward a figure running swiftly, disappearing into a crowd of people leaving the Ducal Palace.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Oliver asked, scanning the sidewalk where Schuyler was pointing. “That woman? Are you serious? Sky, are you out of your mind? Your mother’s in a hospital in New York. And she’s catatonic,” Oliver said angrily.
“I know, I know, but . . .” Schuyler said. “Look, there she is again—it’s her, I swear to God, it’s her.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Oliver demanded, as Schuyler scrambled to her feet. “What’s gotten into you? Hold on! Sky, sit down!” Underneath his breath he muttered, “This is a huge waste of time.”
She turned around and glared at him. “You didn’t have to come with me, you know.”
Oliver sighed. “Right. As if you would have gone all the way to Venice on your own? You’ve never even been to Brooklyn.”
She exhaled loudly, keeping her eyes focused on the blond woman, itching to be out of the slow-moving boat. He was right: she owed him big-time for accompanying her to Venice, and it annoyed her that she was so dependent on him. She told him so.
“You’re supposed to be dependent on me,” Oliver explained patiently. “I’m your human Conduit. I’m supposed to help you navigate the human world. I didn’t realize that would mean being your travel agent, but hey.”
“Then help me,” Schuyler snapped. “I need to go. . . .” she said frantically. She made up her mind and jumped from the gondola to the sidewalk in one graceful leap—a leap no human would have been able to execute, since they were a good thirty feet away from the nearest marciapiede.
“Wait! Schuyler!” Oliver yelled, scrambling to keep up. “Andiamo! Segua quella ragazza!” he said, urging the gondolier to follow Schuyler, but not quite sure that the man-powered boat would be the best way to chase a fast-moving vampire.
Schuyler felt her vision focus and her senses heighten. She knew she was moving fast—so quickly that it felt as though everyone else around her were standing still. Yet the woman was moving just as fast, if not faster, soaring across the narrow channels that wormed through the city, dodging speedboats and flying toward the other side of the river. But Schuyler was right at her heels, the two of them a blur of motion across the cityscape. Schuyler found herself unexpectedly exhilarated by the pursuit, as if she were stretching muscles she didn’t know she had.
“Mother!” She finally felt desperate enough to call out as she watched the woman leap gracefully from a balcony to a hidden entryway.
But the woman didn’t turn back, and quickly disappeared inside the door of a nearby palazzo.
Schuyler jumped to the same landing, caught her breath, and followed the woman inside, more intent than ever to discover the mysterious stranger’s true identity.
TWO