chapter Seven
Bliss
o what do we do now?" Ahramin asked, when nothing worked.
The passage wouldn't open, no matter how much they tried. Bliss thought her head was going to spontaneously combust, and she wasn't alone - the boys were massaging their temples too.
"This sucks," Ahramin said. "We need a new plan."
"We need to regroup," Lawson said. "Since we're back in Hunting Valley, then we should go find Arthur at the cave; maybe he can help us." Arthur Beauchamp was their patron and their friend; the warlock was the one who had helped the wolves when they'd escaped from the underworld to live aboveground.
They agreed to the plan, and were about to keep moving when Malcolm stumbled against a tree root. "Can we take a break for a minute? I'm exhausted," the young boy said.
"We're all exhausted," said Bliss. They had just defeated Romulus and the Hellhounds, and had plunged from that battle to prepare for another. "I think we need to rest and get him something to eat."
"The cave's too far, then. Let's just find a place right here," Lawson decided. "You're right, we might need to take some time to lick our wounds."
They made their way through the woods and the suburban maze back to the main center of town. It was cold outside, just like when they'd left. Bliss guessed they had been gone a week since they'd traveled back in time, and she wondered how Jack and Schuyler were faring in Italy, and what Mimi and the rest of them were up to.
They found a diner and ordered plates of breakfast - pancakes, eggs, waffles - and they fell on to the food hungrily. "You feel better now, Mac?" Bliss asked.
"A little. I just have a headache - like it feels odd to be here. Like we're not at the right place, like I woke up from a strange dream that lasted too long."
"This might explain it - " Edon said, showing them the newspaper he'd picked up from the next table and pointing at the date.
"It can't be," Lawson said. "No way."
"What's wrong?" Bliss asked, holding her breath.
"A year," Edon said. "A whole goddamn year has gone by while we were in the passages."
The pack absorbed this information. A whole year of their lives, gone in a blink. Lawson stared at the date on the newspaper. A whole year they had lost, while their enemies were moving, making plans, preparing for battle. How much ground had they lost? Lawson couldn't speak, and Bliss saw the worry etched clearly on his face - a whole year - what had happened to the wolves who had remained trapped in the underworld?
"It's not your fault. Traveling through the passages is unpredictable," she said.
"Not this unpredictable," he argued. "I promised the wolves I would come back, and that was already almost a year ago before this. Who knows what's happened down there in the meantime?"
Bliss felt an urge to put her arms around him and console him somehow, but now wasn't the time, and things had been a little awkward between them since she'd revealed that Lucifer was her father. Sure, she was part of the pack, but it wasn't the same easy friendship they'd shared before. Not yet, anyway.
The wolves weren't their only concern. What had happened to the vampires, Bliss wondered - to her friends? She felt the same urgency Lawson did. She had to know. What if everything was already over? What if the Silver Bloods had already won?
"We have to find Schuyler," she said. "Allegra's other daughter. My...sister." She wasn't used to saying it out loud. "I'm supposed to bring the wolves to her. She might know why the passages are closed, or at least help us find a way to open them."
"Where is she?" Lawson asked.
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Last time I saw her was at her bonding ceremony, in Italy; but if a year has gone by, there's no way she's still there. And without my powers, it's harder - I have to do things the human way. But there are Conduits who can help us." She explained the concept of humans who assisted vampires, noting that the boys looked a bit fearful when she talked about her past. Ahramin didn't seem to care, but that was Ahramin. "The best place to start is New York," Bliss said.
"We shouldn't all go," Edon said. "Arthur might have answers, too. Some of us should stay behind."
"Take Malcolm," Ahramin said.
"No - I'll go with Bliss," Lawson said suddenly.
Ahramin raised an eyebrow.
"You and Edon can take care of things here with Mac and Rafe. I should be the one talking to the vampires," he decided. "I should speak for the wolves."
"Fine," said Ahramin, as if it didn't matter either way.
Malcolm reached out and held Bliss's hand. "I don't want us to be separated now that we're a pack," he said.
"Don't worry," Bliss said. "My friends will be able to help. Lawson, are you sure about this? I can go alone. It's not like I haven't done it before."
"Positive," Lawson said. "I'm coming with you."
So it was decided. Lawson and Bliss would travel to find the vampires, while the rest of the pack would regroup with Arthur.
Bliss rented a car, a subcompact Hyundai, which was a far cry from being chauffeured around in a silver Rolls, but although she still had a working credit card, she had to be careful. After battling hounds and moving through the passages, the ten-hour drive to the city was surprisingly relaxing. Bliss let Lawson take the wheel, even if he drove like a speed demon.
"Hey, lead foot, give it a break, will you?" she teased. "Sort of following that car closely, aren't you?"
"Am I? I didn't notice," he said, giving her a sheepish grin.
For a moment Bliss was keenly reminded of the night they'd spent together, when they had almost...well. No point in thinking of that now. It was just a mistake anyway. Lawson had been mourning Tala, the mate he had lost, and Bliss had been too drunk to truly understand what was happening. They were friends, and that's all they were going to be. She decided not to press. What was more annoying than a girl who wanted everything spelled out? What's going on with us? How do you feel about me? She cringed at the thought that she could be so needy.
So instead she filled the time by telling him about vampire society, about the Committee meetings, the life cycles of rest and reincarnation, the Covens and the Conduits, and Schuyler's quest to protect the Gates of Hell from the threat of the Silver Blood demons.
"I know it's a lot to lay on you right now," she said.
"The better I understand what's going on, the more helpful I can be," he replied. "Don't worry, I like listening to you."
She smiled at him but didn't want to let herself think that everything would go back to normal - what was normal, anyway? - but it was comforting to know that maybe they could resume their friendship.
"So what's our strategy?" he asked, as they drove through Pennsylvania.
"First, we go to Schuyler's house, see if she's there. She probably won't be, but it's worth a shot. Then we go to Oliver's."
"Her Conduit, right?"
He'd been paying attention. "He used to be, anyway. That's a whole other story, and not worth getting into right now. Last I heard, he was serving as Conduit for Mimi Force."
"Jack's twin. I'm starting to catch on, I think."
They drove the rest of the way without speaking, listening to the radio. A year didn't change much, Bliss thought. Most of the songs were the same ones she'd heard before, and the new ones sounded just like the old ones.
When they reached Manhattan, Bliss directed Lawson to the Upper West Side. She noted with some amusement that Lawson's driving seemed to be getting more cautious now that he was around the aggressive New York City taxi drivers.
"Okay, just double-park in front of that building," she said, pointing to an elegant, if slightly shabby, mansionette on Riverside Drive. "We can always move the car if Schuyler's here."
"Are you sure? What if we get a ticket?" he asked, but he did as she suggested. Quite a change of pace - she was used to either being in Lawson's world or in a place neither of them was familiar with. Here she was at home, and it felt good to be in charge.
No surprise to find Schuyler not at home. The brownstone was shuttered, the curtains drawn, and the place looked as if it had been abandoned. Bliss directed Lawson to the Upper East Side, and going crosstown took almost an hour in the early evening traffic. "That was hell," he grumbled.
"Welcome to New York," Bliss said with a smile. "They say the subway's faster, but..."
"Don't tell me: you've never taken it. Lifestyles of the rich and famous," he teased.
"Well, I've never been in a Hyundai, that's for sure."
They left the car in front of Oliver's building and went inside. The doorman must have been on a smoke break, because the desk was vacant.
"Should we wait?" Lawson asked.
Bliss just grabbed his arm and went to the elevator, then pressed the button for the penthouse. She'd only been to Oliver's place a couple of times, but it was hard to forget. Lavish even for New York, it took up the top three stories of the building. Oliver had his own floor, complete with the game room that had made going to his house so popular with Schuyler and Dylan.
Dylan.
Bliss didn't want to think about him now.
The elevator opened into the apartment, so they didn't have to worry about knocking. "Oliver?" Bliss called out. "Mr. Hazard-Perry? Mrs. H-P? Anybody home?"
Her voice echoed in the silence of the apartment.
"Looks like we struck out," Lawson said.
"It's a big place," she replied. "Let's make sure."
Bliss walked through the enormous formal dining room, through the kitchen and up the stairs to Oliver's floor. His bedroom door was open, and it was a mess in there. Not like Oliver. The bed was unmade and there were clothes everywhere.
"Ransacked," Lawson said.
Bliss shook her head. "He was packing. Must have wanted to get out of here in a hurry." If she was right, things were worse than she'd thought. Still, he'd left some books on the desk, journals and a few loose papers pressed inside that looked like e-mail printouts. Could be handy. She grabbed them all.
"What do we do now?" Lawson asked, looking uncomfortable.
"There's another place he might go, or where people might be able to help us," she said. "Come on, let's get out of here."