The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

Chapter 22

She is Hope. The last of my words echoed eerily from the back of the ballroom.

I licked my lips, nervous now that I had to lay the facts—such as they were—out before everyone.

You are doing fine, Portia.

Disin frowned at Carol, who stood as frozen as a statue. "You claim this mortal is a virtue? Do you think us so ignorant that we can't tell the difference between a member of the Court and an innocent mortal?"

"I don't quite understand how she can appear to be someone else, nor do I know about the mortal business, although I thought someone told me that you had to be a member of the Court to be immortal, and it follows that if she isn't a virtue anymore, she would no longer be a member, and thus lose her immortal status."

The three mare gaped at me.

"I could be wrong on that, though," I said, squirming slightly under their combined looks of disbelief. "I'm not very current with all the intricacies of Court life."

"You are correct, as it happens," a man's voice said behind me. We turned en masse to see Terrin at the door, a rumpled Milo beside him. He bowed to the mare, shoving Milo forward. "Your graces, please forgive me for this disruption, but I found this man sneaking into the Court, and felt it might have some bearing on a recent conversation I had with Theo North."

"You are welcome here, scholar," Irina said, bowing her head graciously. "Bring forward the one who was banned and readmitted into our grace."

"Your grace," Milo said, stammering slightly as he stopped in front of the mare. He shot his wife a look out of the corner of his eye as he bowed to them. "There has been a gross injustice done to my wife. She is, as you can see, mortal, and not in the least bit like the late virtue Hope as Portia claims."

I nibbled on my lower lip. Carol's appearance was my one weak point. I was too unfamiliar with the denizens of the Court of Divine Blood to know if it was possible for someone to change their appearance.

"But you are a vessel," Theo said slowly. I took his hand, drawing strength from the contact.

"It is true," Milo said, squaring his shoulders as he looked out at the people gathered. "I have the honor of holding the position of vessel. Even a nephilim, however, must be aware that it is not within my powers to change a mortal's appearance."

"This is so," Disin said, turning to me. "You say that the mortal Carol Lee is really the virtue Hope, but you offer no proof for such a supposition. How do you answer this discrepancy?"

A smug look replaced the one of hatred in Carol's eyes. I knew I was right about her, I knew without a shred of doubt that she was Hope, but how did she do it? How did she morph into someone else?

"I…uh…that is…" I bit my lip again.

There has to be some way he can change her appearance. Is there a magic spell or something that would fool everyone?

A glamour? It is possible to confuse another mortal with a glamour, but not members of the Court, and certainly not the mare.

"Can you explain it, Portia Harding?"

"Er…"

There has to be some way, something we've missed, someone who has the power to change her in a way that would fool even the mare.

Theo's eyes opened wide at my words.

"It is evident that you cannot." Disin waved her hands toward Milo and Carol. "You may leave, mortal. Portia Harding, I order you taken into custody, to await arraignment on the charge of gross abuse of power—"

What is it?

He smiled. Two Hashmallim suddenly appeared, wafting over to flank me. One person shrieked, while the others backed up a good ten feet. Sarah scooted over until she was near Terrin, who stood on the far side of Milo and Carol. Only Theo stood firm, apparently not at all concerned by the Hashmallim.

I really, really hope it's good.

Oh, it is. He turned to Milo and asked in a deceptively mild voice, "Is it not true that one of your charges as a vessel is to serve as a conduit between the mortal and immortal worlds?"

"Yes," Milo answered, his eyes confident. "But the ability to go between mortals and the Court of Divine Blood is not sufficient to change the appearance of one of them. All I do is act as a courier, someone who passes along communication, and arranges for meetings."

Theo's smile got even wider.

What is it? What do you know?

Shhh. All in good time, sweetling.

Theo! How would you like a head full of snow?

His laughter echoed in my head. "And what of Abaddon?" he asked, and instantly, I knew what it was I had missed.

Oh, you're brilliant.

Thank you. You're not so bad, yourself, you know. I'd never have thought to look at a mortal for Hope.

"Abaddon?" Milo's confidence faded. "I suppose that technically it is possible, but not very likely—"

"Is it not, then, within the scope of your powers to arrange for a meeting between a mortal and a demon lord? Someone who, I need not add, has the ability to change the appearance of a minion such as a demon, or imp…or mortal servant."

The gasps of surprise from the crowd were loud, as was the resulting torrent of conversation.

"Silence!" Disin shouted, jumping to her feet. "There will be silence here!"

Irina smiled slightly, leaning back in her chair. I had the feeling we had just won her over, and smiled back.

"Such a thing is against the laws of the Court," Milo protested, his face pale. A light bead of sweat broke out on his forehead, and I knew we had him.

"Far be it from me to cast stones from the sanctity of my glass house, but you haven't been horribly concerned about following the laws of the Court in the past, have you?"

The look he gave me could have stripped cement.

"My past situation with the Court has nothing to do with this." His lips tightened. "To imply that just because it's theoretically possible for me to contact a demon lord for the purpose of changing the appearance of a mortal, I have done so, is not only ridiculous, it's damned near obscene. I am a member of the Court of Divine Blood! It would be impossible for me to conduct any act in such opposition to the tenets of the Court."

Is there any way to tell if he's been in contact with a demon lord?

Theo rubbed his chin. Not here. A Guardian might be able to, but I doubt if it would be possible to tell if Milo has been near a demon lord lately.

"Your graces, I beg of you, please allow my lady wife to leave. She has suffered much trauma by the abduction and resulting indignities, and I fear for her well-being if she should be made to stand here while this person throws her smoke screens and misdirection." Milo's head bent solicitously over that of his wife, the very picture of husbandly concern.

"Oh, for reason's sweet sake…smoke screens and misdirection. Like I'm the one trying to pull something on the Court." I didn't even try to temper the disgust in my voice.

"Everyone here knows the true reason you summoned and destroyed the virtue Hope," Milo said, his voice ringing clear and loud as he turned to confront me. He gestured toward Theo, whose fingers tightened around mine in warning or anger, I didn't know which. "You are the only one here who has an ulterior motive, not me."

"Hey now," I protested.

He continued before I could say anything more. "It is an established fact that Theo North has for centuries sought someone who would present the Court with an order of exculpation, thankfully to no avail. Until you agreed to help him by granting him the exculpation the moment you were made a member, his cause was lost."

"I did not agree to anyth—"

"Do you deny that you intend to ask for a pardon?" Milo shouted, the entire ballroom silent but for the echoes, just as if everyone was holding his or her breath.

Theo's eyes were a light slate grey. His muscles were tight, as if he was poised to spring. I cleared my throat nervously, and looked at the mare. "I do not deny that I intend to speak to the Court about Theo's situation, but that was not my plan when I came to England, nor did I ever agree to take on the duties of a virtue. I didn't even know why Hope showed up when she did! I thought she was a hallucination at first!"

How distant those days a week ago seemed.

"You lie," Milo drawled, his face hard. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you spoke the spells of summoning. Why else would you so conveniently have the spells upon you when you breached the sacred ground?"

"I told you that faery ring was real," Sarah said in a whisper, nudging the back of my shoulder.

I was about to refute Milo's ridiculous accusations when something occurred to me. "How did you know that Hope was summoned by a spell?" I asked, wondering if at last a glint of luck was turning our way. "The only people to whom I explained what happened are my friend Sarah, and Theo, and I'm sure neither of them have spoken about it to anyone here."

Both of them shook their heads.

"I heard of it from Terrin the scholar," Milo said, crossing his arms over his chest as he nodded toward Terrin. "We had a discussion regarding your trials, and he told me the far-fetched tale you'd spun him."

"I don't believe the method of summoning the virtue was ever broached," Terrin said thoughtfully. "All Portia said was that she had inadvertently summoned a virtue, and received the Gift without understanding the importance of the act."

"How is it you have such insight into the method of summoning Hope if you did not hear the details from the woman herself?" Theo asked, his voice as smooth and rich as milk chocolate.

We have him.

Possibly.

"I…it's only common sense," Milo sputtered. "Virtues can only be summoned by spell, thus it was safe to assume that Portia Harding used such a method."

"That's not true!" Sarah startled me by bouncing forward, apparently ready to battle Milo on our behalf.

"Sarah—"

"Who is this mortal?" Disin asked, giving Sarah a narrow-eyed once-over.

"My name is Sarah Wilson," she answered, making an incredibly graceful curtsey. "I am Portia's oldest friend. I also happen to be an author, and am the one who gave Portia the spells. I thought they had a slight chance of working, but Portia was absolutely skeptical, disbelieving there even was such a thing as a faery ring."

"This is all very interesting, but hardly has relevance—"

Sarah shook her head and interrupted Disin before she could continue. "It does have relevance. Once we discovered that Portia had inadvertently become a virtue, I did some online research into the history of virtues. One of the things I discovered was that, although virtues are rarely summoned, it can be done, most commonly by means of an invocation."

There were a few snorts of disbelief, but out of the corner of my eye I saw several people nodding.

"What Portia used was a general summoning spell, not an invocation pleading for a virtue. According to my research, the spell could have summoned anyone in the Court."

I gaped at my friend. "Why on earth didn't you mention that to me?"

She shrugged. "It didn't seem important at the time."

"It didn't seem…good gravy, woman!"

The mare leaned their heads together.

Theo took advantage of their inattention to drive home the relevant point. "All of which brings us back to the point whereby you knew that Portia had used a general summoning spell, rather than the more common invocation. How do you explain that?"

"We are curious as to that point as well," Disin said as the mare sat back in their respective chairs. She pinned Milo back with a look I was thankful wasn't, for once, turned upon me.

"Yeah!" I said.

Disin's gimlet glance descended upon me.

"Sorry," I murmured, folding my hands and going for a contrite look.

"You will now explain how you knew in detail what method Portia Harding used to summon the virtue Hope."

Milo looked decidedly nervous. I sent Theo a private smirk, and watched as Milo squirmed under the combined attention of the mare.

"I…that is, we…I…"

Carol leaned into him, whispering furiously. Milo's gaze was shifty, but he nodded a couple of times before straightening up and puffing out his chest. "By virtue of my role as vessel, and as a member in good standing in the Court of Divine Blood, I demand a renascence!"

There was a collective stunned gasp behind us, then utter silence.

He can't do that, can he? Overthrow the hierarchy like that?

I think he just did.

The mare got to their respective feet, all three standing in a tableau that reminded me, for some inane reason, of the three furies.

"On what grounds do you demand the renascence?" Disin asked, her voice deceptively soft.

Milo pointed at me. "The Court has been compromised. A non-member mortal holds the title of virtue, which is against the laws to which the hierarchy of the Court is bound."

"Portia is not yet a virtue," Theo argued, his arm sliding around my waist. I leaned into him, more than a little sick that everything had spiraled so far out of control. That I could be used as an excuse for the overthrow of the Court was unthinkable…wasn't it? "She will not claim that title until she completes the seventh trial."

"Which I am certainly not going to do now," I added.

Milo smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

Uh-oh. What's he smiling about?

I have a bad feeling it's about something Terrin was about to tell me when you showed up with Carol in tow.

"You are unfamiliar with our laws, nephilim. When a renascence is called, all scheduled business is completed before the Court is disbanded and remade."

My stomach tightened into a small wad of unhappiness.

"The seventh and final trial of the mortal Portia Harding is scheduled for today, if I am not mistaken," Milo continued. "Once she has completed it, the grounds for renascence will be satisfied, and by the laws that govern the Court, it must be destroyed before reformation."

"Well then, I simply won't do the seventh trial," I told him, relief filling me at this easy way out of the situation.

"You cannot stop the trial from commencing," Milo said. "As it is scheduled, it must be enacted."

"Fine. Enact away. I will simply do the opposite of whatever it is. Er…what is the seventh trial?"

"Faith," Terrin answered, his eyes unreadable. "It is a trial of your faith."

I laughed without the slightest shred of mirth. "Displaying a lack of faith is not going to be difficult for me." I turned to the mare to explain, wanting to make sure they understood that my feelings were grounded in a lifelong battle rather than a slight against the Court itself. "I grew up in a religious cult, one that required its members to show absolute, unbreakable faith in the leaders and religion itself. Anyone questioning the religion was severely punished. I believe I spent more time during my childhood locked in a closet, ordered to examine my sins and renounce my disbeliefs, than I did out of it. Faith is not a commodity I have in abundance. Because of this, I can just about guarantee you that I will fail the seventh trial."

"If you do so, then you throw away all chances of an exculpation for Theo North," Milo pointed out. "He will never be a member of the Court of Divine Blood. He will remain a nephilim, an outcast, tainted by the sins of his father, for the rest of his life. He will never have a soul."

I opened my mouth to say that we'd be just fine without Theo being a member of the Court, but stopped, stunned at Milo's words.

What was that about a soul?

Theo's sigh echoed through my mind. I wasn't going to tell you this, since it puts more pressure on you to obtain my exculpation, but members of the Court of Divine Blood cannot be soulless. If a member lacks one, it is granted when the membership is made official.

You knew this and you didn't tell me? I wanted to whap Theo on the arm, but now was not the time. Well, this makes everything so much easier. Instead of waiting around for an opportunity for me to make some big sacrifice on your behalf, I can get your soul back just by becoming a recognized virtue!

It's not quite that simple, sweetling, he said, his thoughts rich with emotion.

Theo, I know what it means to you—

No. You know what it meant to me. That was before I found you, before our lives were bound together. An exculpation is no longer as desirable as is a future with you, my love.

The world as I knew it rocked, shifted slightly, and settled back, but it was changed. I was changed. I stared at Theo, stunned by his words, by the feelings he had shared with me. My mind struggled to cope with the revelation he laid open for me—it was as if I'd spent my whole life waiting for that exact moment in time, the moment when I knew what it was to truly be loved above all else…and the knowledge that I would literally move heaven and earth for the man standing next to me.

That is, without the slightest doubt, the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I just can't believe how much I love you, Theo.

As much as five to the tenth power? he teased.

Oh no, my darling, my love for you can only be described in terms of equations containing complex numbers. My tone was light, but I shook with emotion as, deep in the back of my mind, an idea was born.

"It would be within Portia Harding's rights to refuse to participate in the seventh trial," Disin said after a brief consultation with the other mare. "Furthermore, we feel it important to point out that even if she does successfully complete the trial and is accepted as a member of the Court, any exculpation she seeks is not automatically granted."

I gathered my wits together and tried to regain control of myself. We still have the Beloved path of soul redemption. How would you feel if I ditched the virtue business? Could we get along just fine without the Court?

More than fine, he answered, and allowed me to see the truth in his words. It's you I want, Portia. Not reparation, not even my soul, is as important as a life with you.

My knees turned to jelly under the look he gave me. I didn't think it was possible, but I fell even more in love with him. I knew then what Irina had meant about being lost. Theo had shown me the path that I needed to take.

I looked at Milo. "Theo has decided not to pursue his exculpation. I will pass on the position of virtue. The seventh trial will be conducted without my participation, and given my failure, I assume I'll be booted out of the program."

Suria and Disin nodded.

"So nice try, Milo, but your little scheme to use us for your own evil plans isn't going to fly."

Milo's laughter rolled with sickening intensity down the length of the ballroom. "You have chosen not to pursue exculpation…do you hold Theo's soul in so little value?"

"On the contrary, I'd do just about anything to retrieve it…just about anything, but not this."

Milo stopped before us, his head tipped to the side as he looked at me. "Consider this, Beloved…you have completed the seven steps of Joining, but you have yet to finalize it by making a sacrifice. You look surprised that I am so familiar with the rules governing Dark Ones, but this plan has been a long time in the making. Do you think I would go to the trouble of arranging for Bael to curse Theo if it was not important to gain leverage for just such a situation as this?"

"You bastard," I screamed, lunging forward to throttle him. Only Theo's restraining hold kept me from strangling Milo…that and the sense of calmness and love he poured into me. "You planned this?"

"Of course. The downfall and subsequent complete restructuring of the Court is not something to be undertaken without some thought."

"Well then, you've gone through a whole lot of trouble for nothing," I spat, still wanting badly to attack him for what he'd done to us. "There is another way for me to get Theo's soul back. I will not become a virtue."

Milo heaved a mock sigh. "You still don't understand, do you? Even if you refuse to become a member, thereby saving the Court, you will have damned Theo to an eternity without his soul."

"I'm his Beloved. All I have to do is make a sacrifice on his behalf, and I'll get it back—" I started to say.

"Exactly." Milo smiled, and my stomach turned over. "You see it at last. You can save the Court of Divine Blood, or you can save Theo's soul—but only the act of sacrificing the former will grant the latter."