hapter Forty-two

From far away, Schuyler heard the sound of grunts and screams, the clanging of metal against metal.

Wake up.

Wake up, child.

There was a voice inside her head. A sending.

A voice she had heard before.

She opened her eyes. Her mother stood before her. Allegra Van Alen was clad in white raiments, and she held a golden sword in her hands. For me ?

What was once mine is rightfully yours.

Stunned, Schuyler took the sword. Once she did, the image of her mother disappeared. Allegra...Come back...Schuyler thought, suddenly afraid. But a desperate yell from Oliver brought her back to the present.

She looked up and saw Lawrence locked in a fierce struggle with his adversary. His sword fell to the ground. Above him loomed the white, shining presence. It was so bright it was blinding, like looking into the sun. It was the Lightbringer. The Morningstar.

Her blood froze.

Lucifer.

"Schuyler!" Oliver's voice was hoarse. "Kill it!"

Schuyler raised her mother's sword, saw it glinting in the moonlight, a long, pale, deadly shaft. Raised it in the direction of the enemy. Ran with all her might and thrust her weapon toward its heart.

And missed.

But she had given Lawrence time to regain his weapon, and it was his blade that found its mark, slicing into the enemy's chest and spilling blood everywhere.

They had won.

Schuyler sank to the ground in relief.

But then came a great crack in the sky, the sound of the heavens splitting open, the roaring, deafening sound of thunder. Then the statue was broken in two. Its very foundations shattered. There was a deep rumble, and the ground underneath them began to shake and split into two.

"What's happening?" Schuyler screamed.

A dark flame burst from the earth, and a mighty demon with crimson eyes and silver pupils leaped into the sky. It laughed a deep booming laugh, and with its blazing spear, pinned Lawrence to the ground, where he lay.

Chapter Forty-three

The demon disappeared. The mist lifted, and Schuyler staggered over to where her grandfather had fallen. To where he lay so still, his eyes wide open. "Grandfather..." Schuyler cried. "Oliver, do something!" she said as she tried to staunch the flow of dark sapphire blood that spilled from the open wound, the gaping, corrugated hole in the middle of Lawrence's chest.

"It's too late," Oliver whispered, kneeling by Lawrence's side.

"What do you mean? No...let's get a vial ... for the next cycle. Take it to the clinic."

"Leviathan's spear is poisoned. It will corrode the blood," Oliver said. "It has the black fire in it. He is gone." His handsome face was drawn with sorrow.

"No!" Schuyler screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

There was a moan from the far side of the mountain, and they turned to find the shape of the man in the white suit begin to change. His features softened, faded, and the golden man disappeared to reveal an ordinary boy in a black leather jacket.

A boy with black hair.

"That is no Silver Blood," Oliver said.

"He must have been possessed," Schuyler said, her voice breaking a little while Oliver walked over to gently close Dylan's eyes. Schuyler noticed there were tears in Oliver's eyes as well as her own.

"Yes." He nodded.

"The blankness ... it was the alienari," Schuyler said, realizing how deeply they had been deceived.

"An old Silver Blood trick." Oliver nodded. "Disguised as Lucifer himself, so that Lawrence would kill his own kind. An innocent."

Schuyler nodded. "I sensed it, Oliver - Lawrence must have too. There was something wrong. The light was blinding, you couldn't even look at him directly. It was a distraction, so that we wouldn't be able to see what was in front of us. The image of Lucifer was so powerful, it threw us off. I should have used the animaverto."

"This was a well-executed plan. Leviathan was freed by Dylan's death. The prison bonds can only be broken when a Blue Blood commits the highest crime of all - murder of their own kind. It's in the books," Oliver said.

"Grandfather," Schuyler said softly, taking Lawrence's hand in hers. They'd had too little time together; there was so much she still had to learn. So much he still had to teach her.

Then for the last time, she heard Lawrence's voice inside her head.

Listen.

I was not worthy of this task. I have learned nothing over the centuries. I did not find the Dark Prince. I am no keeper. You must ask Charles...you must ask him about the Gates...about the Van Alen legacy and the Paths of the Dead. There has to be a reason why the Silver Bloods have been able to so easily breach the divisions between the worlds.

"What gates? What paths?"

You are Allegra's daughter. Your sister will be our death. But you are our salvation. You must take your mother's sword and slay him. I know you will triumph.

Then Lawrence spoke no more.