Baby for You I'll Take This Fall

“There’s afraid of this?” Schuyler groaned quietly, staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. She had wiped a small streak off in her steam filled reflection. She could still not believe that it was she that was supposed to bring down the Silver Bloods. She was only a half blood, she wanted to scream. There had to be someone more qualified than her, someone in a better position, more powerful than her. Her mother expected so much from her alone.

No not alone, she thought. Not anymore.

As if on cue, she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her waist from behind. She smiled at their joined reflection in the mirror. Jack had his chin on her shoulder, smiling at her, though his face was still groggy from sleep. “Morning,” he said.

“Morning,” she replied, smiling back. She sighed. She still could not believe that he was with her, and had been with her for 6 months. In all that time they hadn't stopped anywhere for long, though their pace was slightly slower than when she was on the run with Oliver last year. Of course, that had more to do with the fact that Schuyler was a fugitive at the time, running from the Committee and the Venators.

We have more to fear than the Venators.

His grave reminder touched her mind gently. She nodded, but didn’t say anything. It was true. The Venators, the Committee, every one of the 400 could be hurdled against them and it wouldn’t be as bad as what was really coming for them. Everything else they could beat so long as they were together. The only way to survive now was to stay hidden until they were forgotten. And they both knew that Mimi would never forget.

She had already almost caught them once when they were in Portugal. It was thanks to Oliver’s warning call and Jack’s quick thinking that had saved them. It made Schuyler shudder to think what would happen if Mini had actually found them. It would mean death for either side. There was no other choice, she knew. Jack had broken the unbreakable bond when he had chosen to come with Schuyler instead of bonding with his twin. The Code of the Vampires decreed that anyone who violated the Sacred Law was condemned to death, the blood burning. Though Charles had refused to subject Schuyler’s mother to this fate, both Jack and Schuyler knew that Mimi would not let Jack escape.

“We should check the European Coven Repository again today,” Jack said as he moved to her side, leaning against the door frame.

“We haven’t found anything there,” she sighed, reminding him.

Jack sighed in frustration. “There has to be something. There must be a gate somewhere else here in Europe. There aren’t enough places in the world to hide the gates.”

“There’s only 5 left,” she reminded him. “It doesn’t have to be in Europe.”

“But we need a lead,” he reminded her. “We need a place to go. Maybe Oliver’s had more luck in New York.”

She nodded, but felt a knot tying in her stomach. She didn’t like involving Oliver. She was putting him in danger. What if someone tapped their phones or used the glom? She had already caused him so much pain by just being away. She knew he must still feel the pull towards her, because she had marked him as her own, her familiar. And she was here, on a different continent, with the one she loved. She felt unnecessarily cruel to him.

Jack touched her cheek lightly, already knowing what she was thinking. “He has already given us so much I know,” he said. “But we must find something Schuyler.”

“I know,” she reached up to put her hand on his as it remained on her cheek. They stepped out of the bathroom and into their hotel room. It wasn’t the best of accommodations, but with the Committee no longer after them, Mimi did not have the same resources to find them with. That, of course, only slowed her down slightly. But for now, they were able to access accounts and stretch their finances even further than Oliver had been able to.

He leaned in and kissed her as they sat on the bed. She could still feel so much love in every kiss, every touch. Ever since they had come out of the gloom and he had taken her blood to still the poison, they had been even more connected than ever before. Schuyler trusted him inexplicitly, and she knew he felt the same.

“It would have helped if Lawrence had left some record of his work,” Jake said jokingly.

Schuyler froze at his words, staring at him. When he had said it out loud, something in her mind had clicked. “Jack, that’s it!”

“What’s it?” he asked. He tried to probe her mind, but she was concentrating too hard. He couldn’t get through. He took her chin in his hands, making her face him. His eyes stared into her bright blue ones. “Skye, what is it?”

“His work,” she said hurriedly. “Jack, he was working on The Van Alen Legacy while he was in exile. In Italy,” she added when he still didn’t comprehend.

“You think his work is still there?” he asked, his eyes bright now. Lawrence had spent decades working on the Legacy. His work could hold the key to everything. If Schuyler was right, they could be on their way to find the next gate.

“It has to be,” she said determinedly. Schuyler had a good feeling about this. She knew Italy would have some kind of answers. And they needed anything they could get.