“Have you cleared it with Aiden?” Tyler asked.
Polly paused, and Caitlin’s stomach tightened. She hoped that she wasn’t intruding.
“Not yet,” Polly said. “He’s off somewhere. But I’m sure he’ll be agreeable. How could he not?
She’s darling. We could use someone like her. Not to mention, the room next to mine is empty.”
“I’m Taylor,” she said, reaching out her hand with a warm, friendly smile.
Caitlin was tempted to say, I know .
Instead, she merely reached out and took her hand.
Taylor’s hand, cold and firm, felt very real, and helped bring her back to reality.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Caitlin said.
“And what have we here?” Taylor asked, as she reached down and petted a willing Rose. “My, she’s adorable.”
“I’m Tyler,” he said, elbowing his way in, and grinning down at Caitlin. As she shook his hand, she could feel his attraction to her, and she remembered the first time they’d met, in Pollepel. Some things never changed.
Tyler suddenly screamed and jumped.
Taylor stood behind him, grinning, having just whacked him hard with her wooden sword in the back of the leg. “Stop idling around,” she said. “We have a dance to get ready for.”
Tyler jumped back into the fight, swinging wildly at her, she parrying blow for blow.
Polly continued down the corridor, and Caitlin followed.
“This is where we live and train,” Polly said. “We’ve been here for hundreds of years. I can’t envision us ever leaving this place, unless there were a really good reason.”
Caitlin thought of the future, and for a moment, debated telling Polly that she would, indeed, one day leave this place. But she realized that if she did, Polly would think she was totally crazy.
Besides, why disappoint her?
Still, it was weird, knowing what Polly’s future would be, when Polly herself didn’t even know. It made Caitlin realize that we all feel so certain things will never change, but eventually, all of our plans never quite end up exactly how we thought.
“It’s usually packed in here,” Polly said, as they continued down a corridor. “But not today.
Most of us are sleeping. Getting ready for the big night.”
Caitlin looked over the place, and thought of the twins, and wondered about the other coven members. Was there anyone else she’d know? Her heart beat faster, as she suddenly remembered: Blake. She was almost afraid to ask.
“Among your coven members, is there somebody here named Blake?”
“No Blake here,” Polly said. “Why?”
Caitlin breathed a sigh of relief. She was on edge enough as it was just looking for Caleb. Having Blake there now, too, would just be too much.
“No reason,” she said, then quickly changed the subject. “So what is this Ball, exactly?”
Polly looked at her, eyes wide in excitement. “It’s only the biggest night of the year. I’ve been waiting for ages. Everyone, and I mean everyone , will be there. Not just humans, but every vampire, too. Everyone has a date. Everyone looks stunning,” she said, getting more excited as she went.
Caitlin thought. Everyone . She wondered if that meant Caleb.
“So, are there…vampires from all the covens?” Caitlin asked.
“Everyone who’s anyone in the vampire world,” Polly said. “Not just the surrounding covens—
they come from all over Europe. It’s the very best of high society. Not only that, it’s also a masquerade. You would not believe it—there are the most elaborate costumes. You can’t get in without a mask. And it goes on for hours. No one knows who’s who. It’s always someone different than you think.”
“Are there parties here all the time?” Caitlin asked. “This whole city seems like it’s drunk.”
“You’ve really never been here, have you?” Polly shook her head in disbelief. “It’s Carnival season. It’s days and days of games, parties, drinking, gambling….That’s why it’s such a madhouse here. I mean, it’s always a madhouse in Venice, but now, especially. Everyone’s out in force. The finest costumes from all of Europe, all in one place. It’s like a huge party, and it never ends. You came at the perfect time! And very convenient for vampires, I might add: with everyone in costumes, no one thinks twice about whether someone is human.”
Polly opened an arched, oak door, and entered a small room, leaving the door open. Caitlin followed tentatively, with Rose.
This was clearly Polly’s bedroom. The simple stone room had a large window in it, looking out at the trees, and Polly had a big, comfortable straw bed, covered in a pink linen and in what looked like straw teddy bears. Polly blushed at the site, and quickly shoved them under her pillow.
There were clothes strewn all over the floor, and all over her wooden dresser. Polly quickly tried to tidy the place.
“Sorry,” she said, “my room is such a mess. I wasn’t expecting any guests. Aiden would kill me if he saw it like this. But what does he expect? Tonight’s the big dance. And I still have absolutely no idea what I’m wearing,” she said, as she hurried through the room, trying to make sense of the chaos.
Caitlin saw several elaborate dresses along the wall, and several intricate masks. She was amazed by their craftsmanship. They looked like works of art. Some had long, curved noses, while others were small, no more than just an eye mask. There were gold masks and silver masks, some simple, and others elaborately adorned. Some were sinister, some jovial; some had feathers, others were plain. It was quite a collection.
Caitlin, fascinated, made her way over to the wall, and reached up and touched one.
“Go ahead, try it on,” Polly said. “It’s fun. You can be anyone you want. And you can switch every night. That’s what Venice is about.”
Caitlin gingerly removed a mask. It was the most unusual of them all. It was ornate, with a Persian or Indian influence, and its colors were copper, gold, and a burnt orange. A pattern of flowers was carved over the forehead and down between the eyes, giving it a regal quality.
Caitlin reached up and gently put it on her face. She walked over to the mirror, and then remembered. No reflection.
“I know, it sucks, doesn’t it?” Polly asked. “I can never tell what I look like. It’s so frustrating. I don’t know why I even keep a mirror. I guess I’m hoping one day it will work. In the meantime, you just have to learn to go by what other people say.”